Time is invincible, it passes unnoticed and leaves its mark everywhere. It changes you, it takes things that you think are yours, valuable items that you hold like an amulet.

Mathieu Valbouena, who turns 38 in September, is keeping his class. In the summer, Olympiakos gave another year to Valbouena’s quality and it is certain that he has not looked back.

They kept him even though they knew he wouldn’t be himself

The manager and the club knew that time would not leave its mark on the Frenchman. The decline has been since last year, the time it could bid diminished with mathematical precision. But Martins also knew that Valbouena’s love of football is such that its class and quality are not easily surpassed over time.

So it was decided to keep him, even though everyone knew he couldn’t be a cog in the machine anymore. It was nonetheless the way to remain valuable with proper management. When it happened.

He came to win titles in the summer of 2019 and he succeeded

The real Valbouena, what this footballer can offer in terms of stamina, we all saw in his first year in Greece. He didn’t come to our country young, but at the age of 35, our football was fun.

In the summer of 2019, Olympiacos decided to invest in Martin’s work. The Portuguese coach had taken charge of the team in very bad shape a summer earlier. With footballers who believed they had the right to be paid well, train at a state-of-the-art training center and boldly say they have a physical problem.

From the first day he came to Olympiakos, Martins made it clear to everyone that the lies are over, the work is about to begin and a really good effort is being made. Olympiakos didn’t win anything in their first year but filled their world with the football they played. The management decided something unprecedented for the Greek data, even more complicated for the reality of Olympiacos: in the summer of 2019 they supported a coach who got nothing.

However, he supported a job that showed that if the quality footballers who bring efficiency to this project are won, there is no way the titles will be lacking. In the summer of 2019, two footballers came to give Martin’s work what it needed. We are certainly talking about Valbouena and El Arabi.

We saw the real Valbouena for the first time

The French creator raged at Olympiakos in his first year. He came with a thirst for football, because he was away at Fenerbahce. His numbers in the periods he played were great, but he wanted to go somewhere where, as long as he persevered, he would have the opportunity to become a leader.

Originally, Valbuena was supposed to start from the side and become the second striker. However, Fortunis’ injury came in preparation and the Frenchman took on an even bigger role. He was the one who, with his class, his quality in the stagnant selections, didn’t let Fortounis’ injury show.

He did not allow himself to lose this title. In his first year, he offered 7 goals and 13 assists in 1704 minutes in the league and the playoffs. In short, Valbuena, either with his own creation or his goal, gave Olympiakos a goal every 85.2 minutes. Across all competitions, Valbouena totaled 13 goals and provided 23 assists throughout his season in Greece.

Yes, you read that right, in the 2019/20 season he had turned football into basketball, 23 final passes were made from feet that became goals.

Martins gave him a clear role

But after 35, especially when you’re playing in offensive positions and in the conditions that all athletes have experienced in recent years, it’s difficult that time doesn’t leave its mark. Of course, the following year he continued to offer magical moments, but there was no such duration and the time he could offer was reduced.

In the summer his two years were up but Olympiakos decided to keep his class and quality in the Olympiakos squad. He might have wanted to believe, as a big player, that he could play more, but Martins had a clear role for him. Valbouena has become an offensive weapon this year, used for short periods, usually when the game isn’t going well, to open up opposing defenses with their quality.

4 of the 11 points of the difference are his

He offered two big goals en route to the title. 4 of the 11 points of the difference belong exclusively to him. Olympiakos also got stuck at Volos in the first lap. On November 28, the game was 1-1 and in the delay, with an impressive foul shot, he gave his team the victory.

The threesome on Sunday in Volos was badly needed by Martins. This win essentially freed Olympiacos from the need to play a crucial game in the playoffs. The championship is more or less decided. However, having opened Europe and the cup semi-finals with PAOK, Olympiakos doesn’t want the conditions to be created to open even a small gap in PAOK to believe it can claim the championship. Should it remain 0-0 in Volos, the Lucescu players would have the opportunity to reduce to 7 points a little later.

It was something Martins didn’t want anything to happen with and Valbouena didn’t let it happen. Not only did the difference not narrow, but it went to 11 and the title was sealed.

Olympiakos, without being good this season, will win a comfortable championship without having to claim a big win, a win that represents the conquest of the title. He took a difference early on that he kept and opened it up without impressing.

The two big goals he scored were Valbouena’s personal goals. The renewed confidence in the quality of the Frenchman has brought 4 of the 11 points difference between Olympiacos and PAOK in the championship. You don’t say it for a while.