Oliver Glasner: “Marinakis made me change my mind”

Glasner refused to accept his first (and second) refusal. It was Nottingham Forest and behind their insistence was Evangelos Marinakis. Glasner finally agreed.

Oliver Glasner had almost mapped out his next path. He wanted Europe, big nights, stadiums full of expectations and that special tension that international competitions generate. Nottingham Forest, no matter how heavy their history, was not initially in his plans. Until a dinner in Athens changed the facts.

After leaving Crystal Palace, the 51-year-old Austrian had several options before him. His phone rang often and offers came from different corners of Europe. One side, however, refused to accept his first (and second) refusal. It was Nottingham Forest and behind their insistence was Evangelos Marinakis.

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Glasner finally agreed to travel to Athens and meet the owner of Forest. At the table of “Papaioannou”, in Vouliagmeni. Not just a contract was discussed. A plan was discussed. And above all a shared ambition.

The 51-year-old Austrian does not hide that until that moment he had essentially rejected the prospect of the City Ground. He came from a period full of European performances and successes and did not want to abandon this level. Personal contact with Marinakis, however, made him see Forest differently.

“There were two reasons why I changed my mind,” he confessed. One was the competitive potential he saw in the roster. The other was Marinakis himself and his determination to lead the club higher. Glasner recognized in him something he considers essential for any great undertaking: a man who is not satisfied with little.

This is exactly what he wants to convey to Forest now. Not a European exit as a snapshot of a beautiful season, but duration. He is not interested in a club that will briefly appear in the spotlight and then return to the battle for survival. He wants stability, development and a team that will learn to look higher without losing its balance.

His own path, after all, seems to have been written against the odds. The kid from small Riedau, Austria, who once thought of becoming a teacher, went on to win the Europa League with Eintracht Frankfurt and make history with Crystal Palace. Despite his successes, he insists that he never forgets where he started.

Perhaps that is why Forest's prospect moves him so much. He is not looking for trophies that are taken for granted before the season has even begun. He is looking for that moment when a team surpasses itself and makes its people believe that something greater is being born.

At the City Ground he has already felt that power. As he says, when he hears the stands singing before kick-off, he gets goosebumps. And just like that, a “no” that seemed definitive turned into a “yes”. Not because Forest could offer him the Europe he was looking for today, but because Marinakis convinced him that they could claim it together. For Glasner, that was ultimately more exciting.