José Luis Mendilibar

Jose Luis Mendilibar is the kind of manager I have a soft spot for: a player who never rose above Spain's second division yet built a far bigger name on the touchline. As a midfielder he spent most of his career with Sestao, grinding out appearances and goals well outside the spotlight. That long apprenticeship in the lower tiers seems to feed his pragmatic, hard-working coaching style. Watching him land at a club like Olympiacos in Greece, I think there is something quietly inspiring about a Basque journeyman who turned persistence into a managerial career most flashier ex-pros never reach.

José Luis Mendilibar Etxebarria (born 14 March 1961) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder, currently manager of Super League Greece club Olympiacos. He played no higher than Segunda División, making 290 appearances and scoring 34 goals mainly for Sestao. He also represented Logroñés in that league.

Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Name (English)

José Luis Mendilibar

Name (Japanese)

ホセ・ルイス・メンディリバル

Reading

ほせ・るいす・めんでぃりばる

Born

March 14, 1961 (age 65)

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Pisces / Ox

Origin

Zaldibar, Biscay, Spain

Blood type

Private

Height

2 cm

Agency

Private

Occupation

association football player / association football coach

Elementary school

Private

Junior high

Private

High school

Private

University

Private

Spouse

Private

Children

Private

Parents

Private

Siblings

Private

Motto

Private

• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%9B%E3%82%BB%E3%83%BB%E3%83%AB%E3%82%A4%E3%82%B9%E3%83%BB%E3%83%A1%E3%83%B3%E3%83%87%E3%82%A3%E3%83%AA%E3%83%90%E3%83%AB

Tags

• Biscay
• association football player
• association football coach

Last updated

2026-06-02

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.