Why is Panathinaikos no longer a powerhouse in Greece?
Greek football is often remembered by many for its two Athens-based clubs—Olympiacos and Panathinaikos. While the former continues to enjoy supremacy in the league and manages to secure European participation, the latter has witnessed a drastic change in fortunes during the last decade.
So why is it that we no longer find Panathinaikos playing in Europe?
Panathinaikos' title-winning summer
Panathinaikos used to be the only Greek participant in the late 2000s to make it into the knockout stages of European competitions. Once home to star players like Georgios Seitadiris and Angelos Basinas, who all featured in Greece's successful 2004 Euros campaign, Panathinaikos' last top-flight victory came in the 2009/10 season. In fact, they managed to win the double that season.
#TBT
I'd like today to look back at my time in Panathinaikos. We had a tough group stage in Champions League and couldn't qualify but I enjoyed very much the passion for football in Greece. I had an Amazing time in Athens, one of the most beautiful city I've ever been. https://t.co/jGDruLJ3MI
Going public in 2011
Since 2008, the Vardinogiannis family owned 54% of the Panathinakos' senior team stakes. The club incurred a massive budget deficit in 2010 after signing star players like Dijbril Cisse from Marseille and Kostas Katsouranis from Benfica. A season later, they were forced to sell Cisse to Lazio as well as their first-team goalkeeper to reduce the financial burden stemming from players' wages.
Following the riots after a derby game with Olympiacos in 2012, the entire Panathinaikos board quit. The club announced its intention to go public to further boost their recovery given the impending financial crisis. The club's demise was truly well on track.
Following the club's sale of shares, the public became overly conscious of Panathinaikos' actual expectations and further reduced their contributions to the club.
A two-year recovery period followed by a further downturn
Following the dismissal of Andreas Stramaccioni in early 2016, the club appointed former star player and club legend Marinos Ouzounidis to the managerial position.
Welcome to the club Kiko! 100 league games with Panathinaikos shirt 👏
#Panathinaikos #PAOFC2021_22 #Macheda https://t.co/FMiP4saPYq
Ouzounidis' two-year spell greatly improved Panathianaikos' position in the table as the club finished third in both his seasons in charge. They also qualified for the Europa League in this period as well. It was a fairly good turnaround for a club that had finished as low as 6th in the division in 2012/13.
However, a tumultuous relationship with the board meant that Ouzounidis was given the sack in mid 2018.
Since then, the club has miraculously fallen off in the division. They have failed to mount any title challenges in recent years and have even finished outside the top 10 on one previous occasion. They have seen as many as four managerial changes in the last two years and currently find themselves placed fourth in the Super League Greece table. At the halfway stage, they are eighteen points off the top.