Panathinaikos Finally On The Right Track To Bring Future Success
PANATHINAIKOS FINALLY ON THE RIGHT TRACK TO BRING FUTURE SUCCESS
By Nick Tsambouniaris
Despite several painful seasons, normality is closer than ever to becoming the new reality for Panathinaikos. The powerhouse club became a fallen giant in late 2017 when Giannis Alafouzos infamously announced that he would no longer be investing in the club. As a result, the debt increased, players (past and present) and staff went unpaid for months, a ban was handed down by UEFA from participating in European competitions, and the team even flirted with relegation.
Giorgos Donis has done an amazing job, mostly focusing on developing youth players. This has led to the club not needing to send big money on foreigners. Panathinaikos can later sell these players and make a profit in the future and become self-sustainable. This also lowered the budget and in turn, the debt as there are less expenses. Alafouzos has also back flipped on his word - he has made significant investments into the club over the last 18 months, mainly through share capital increases. Consequently, the debt has been almost wiped out and financial obligations to past and present players are up to date.
Moving forward, it is hoped Alafouzos can allocate a sizable budget for Spanish technical director Xavi Roca to work with (the club will make a loss from the effects of the Coronavirus, mainly through no ticket sales, but the size of the loss is unknown). The Spaniard worked wonders for the Greens in the January transfer window and he has a proven track record of luring good players on a tight budget.
Donis also has the team playing good football - the team has only lost twice in its last 18 League matches. There is a sense of defensive solidity at the back with the duo of Bart Schenkeveld and Achilleas Poungouras forging a strong partnership at the heart of defence, and Sokratis Dioudis has been a consistent presence between the sticks. Federico Macheda has hit double digits for goals for the second season in a row, Dominik Nagy has tormented opposition defences since joining in January on the wing, and Christos Donis is even enjoying career-best form.
The team ended the regular season in 4th spot and are hoping to pick up where they left off (whenever the playoffs resume). This has also prompted Alafouzos to speak to UEFA about overturning the ban imposed on the club. He has already met with UEFA officials and the club was hopeful of a successful appeal (they are seeking a hearing in early May), however, the outbreak of the Coronavirus may impact this.
Moving forward, the core of the team is set to remain for next season, as the likes of Tasos Chatzigiovanis, Giannis Bouzoukis, Schenkeveld and Dioudis have all put pen to paper on new deals. Carlitos has been training with the squad ever since joining in January as he is ineligible to play this season. However, this is a signing that should genuinely excite fans. He has a huge potential to succeed and become the best striker in the League. He is lethal in front of goal and his all-round game is strong (see below). In addition, Fran Velez has joined from Aris in a bid to boost the defensive stocks.
These two signings are only the beginning. Yassin Ayoub was signed in January and he can make a difference in the hole behind the striker. Even though he has barely featured this season, this signing was always with one eye on next season. It will be a busy summer for Xavi Roca as he looks to make 5-6 new signings, extend the contracts of several current players, offload players surplus to requirements and figure out what to do with the loan players.
The Spaniard has identified the positions of centre midfield (both number 6 and number 8), winger, striker, left back and right back as areas where he will look to strengthen. Judging by the moves for Carlitos and Velez, he could look to continue down the path of signing Spanish players and possibly even from the Cypriot league, where he has worked before.
New signings will need to be made in the fullback areas as it loos likely that Emanuel Insua and Mattias Johansson will leave in the summer. The former has attracted several offers from abroad for some time and Panathinaikos has done well to keep him for this long, whereas the latter cannot come to an agreement with the club over a new contract. Kostas Apostolakis also looks set to join APOEL. Giorgos Vagiannidis looks set to agree to a new contract to stay at the club. Keeping the highly rated teenager is considered as a massive coup for the club, after he knocked back offers from the likes of Monaco to stay at the club.
The club could also look to sell Macheda. The Italian striker has received interest from clubs in the Middle East and Turkey. At 28, this could be his last chance to earn a big money contract or return to one of the top 5 European leagues. He is happy in Athens and the club would like to keep him, but they face the risk of losing him on a free transfer next summer when his contract ends. With this in mind, Xavi Roca may opt to sell him now in a bid to obtain a fee (in the region of 1-1.5 million EUR).
The futures of the on-loan trio of Ghayas Zahid, Anuar Tuhami and Nagy all remain uncertain for now. In the case of Zahid, the Trifylli will struggle to meet the 1.6 million EUR asking price from APOEL, but the player wants to stay in Greece. Keeping Nagy remains unlikely as the club cannot afford his 800,000 EUR salary.
Releasing out of favour players who have fallen down the pecking order will play a vital role in enabling Xavi Roca to spend more in the transfer market. Numerous under-performers are unwanted such as Yohan Mollo, Uffe Bech, Dimitris Kolovos and Nikos Vergos. Shifting these players on will assist in bringing about more funds.
Furthermore, the deadline to submit a case to obtain a licence to participate in next season's Championship ends this month. In more positive news for the club and its fans, there appears to be no issue in obtaining this, further illustrating the club is on the right track to achieve future success and emerge as a powerhouse in Greek football. The debt has been drastically reduced and investment has been frequent. The good news does not end there, as it appears likely that the team will return to its spiritual home of Leoforos to host its home matches as of next season as opposed to OAKA. This is something Donis wanted to see as he believes it will help the team in matches against the mid-table/smaller clubs as the 'cold' conditions of OAKA make it impossible to generate any kind of atmosphere.
Hellas Football
First off, thanks for the articulate and well written piece! Where does the club stand in its tensions between Donis and Alafouzos? It seemed like things were coming to a head a few weeks back and that all of this progress was at risk. Have they made peace? What’s Rocha’s role in that? Who has leverage here?
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