An Optimistic Take on Giannis Alafouzos’ Presidency

An Optimistic Take on Giannis Alafouzos’ Presidency


By Antonios Theodosis

 


Since 2012 many Panathinaikos fans, myself included, have been eager to see Panathinaikos get back to where the club used to be. To build a team that could attract names to the club and make some noise in Europe like in years past. It is no secret that the last eight years or so have not been the absolute best both domestically and in Europe however.

 

Many fans have criticized club president Giannis Alafouzos for the lackluster performances and have aggressively voiced their frustrations with the president often demanding he step down and sell the team. I will be honest, over the years I have had my fair share of criticism of Giannis Alfouzos, but recently I have had a change of heart. For the mistakes he has made, Alafouzos has also made some positive contributions to the club. For example, when he took over as president in 2012 the club was over thirty million euros in debt, and today that debt is almost all gone. The COVID-19 pandemic may have added some debt back to the club, but that is understandable and something that nobody saw coming.

 

Alafouzos has taken more of a “hands off” approach over the debt situation, and can you blame him? He is a business man first and foremost, he took over a team that was in deep debt from the doings of previous owners. He has no incentive to shell out money from his own pocket to clear the debt, but has gone about it in a way that is practical from a business standpoint.

 

Now, this approach may not come to us fans in a positive way because we want results now, but realistically speaking I would argue that the approach Alafouzos has taken will help the club in the long run. Instead of spending millions and splashing cash at every opportunity which would put the club further in debt, he has decided to go about keeping a strict transfer budget and signing players on loan and free transfers. At the moment, it may not be what we want ideally, but given the circumstances and the appointment of technical director Xavi Roca, the team assembled so far for next season seems quite promising.

 

I urge Panathinaikos fans to be just a bit more patient, I believe that Alafouzos has a plan. My thinking is that he is waiting to lower the debt to reach at or close to zero and then he will start to invest. This is because the club will be on a clean slate financially and realistically speaking Alafouzos has no incentive to sell the team. He is reportedly worth more than the owners of the other big three, and is in charge of one of the biggest clubs in Greece. The club is based in Athens and would allow for lucrative opportunities once the debt is cleared away. He can then go about building Panathinaikos in a way that does not hinder the club financially since realistically speaking the club has been dealing with the aftermath of the Vardinogiannis and Pateras era.

 

What are the reasons for my sudden change of heart? Well there are a couple of reasons. The first one I explained already, in that I decided to look at things from a business man’s perspective and not that of a fan’s. The other reason is that recently, I have noticed that Alafouzos has been more active in making public appearances regarding Panathinaikos and working diligently to get things sorted behind the scenes for next season. He was seen at the Athenian derby this past weekend which was the first time he has attended a Panathinaikos home game in almost three years. Along with this, club legend Juan Ramon Rocha stated in an interview over the weekend that a lot of the mistakes made during these last few years have been a result of Alafouzos trusting some people.

 

With all of that said, I think that looking at the glass half full rather than half empty is a good approach. There have been setbacks, but I trust that Alafouzos is doing it the long way for a reason. Whether we like it or not now, he has helped lower the debt tremendously and it is looking like we will have an exciting team ready to fight for a European spot next season.


Hellas Football


Follow @sntoniostheo on Instagram 

 

(Image labeled for reuse from Wikipedia)

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