The history of Panathinaikos’ change of ownership
The history of Panathinaikos’ change of ownership
Now that the well-documented Pan Asia takeover of Panathinaikos is well and truly underway following this week’s developments, here is an insight into the history of the club’s off-field ownership over the years from 1979 onwards, when Greek football became professional.
Lengthy and Successful Giorgos Vardinogiannis Era (1979-2000)
The Vardinogiannis family purchased Panathinaikos FC in 1979 and shipping magnate Giorgos Vardinogiannis became the President after much conjecture. Predecessor Jack Nikolaidis (nephew of the legendary Apostolos Nikolaidis) opted for Vardinogiannis over another influential Panathinaikos figure Pavlos Giannakopoulos.
At this point in time, the club was in crisis with the debt spiralling out of control, but under Giorgos Vardinogiannis things went from strength to strength on the pitch. In the 1980’s the club won 5 Greek Cups (1982, 1984, 1986 - beating Olympiakos 4-0 in the final, 1988 and 1989) and 2 League Championships (1984 and 1986).
On the European front, the club enjoyed success in the 1984-85 season by making the European Cup semi finals. The team knocked out Feyenoord, Linfield and IFK Goteborg to tee up a semi final tie against Liverpool. In 1987-88, the team reached the quarter finals of the UEFA Cup.
The 1990’s proved to be even more successful for the Greens. They won a whopping 4 League titles (1990, 1991, 1995 and 1996), 4 Greek Cups (1991, 1993, 1994 and 1995) and 2 Greek Super Cups (1993 and 1994).
Panathinaikos was the first Greek club to participate in the new-look group stage format of the UEFA Champions League. One of the best moments in the club’s history was under Giorgos Vardinogiannis - almost reaching the 1995-96 Champions League final. The team beat Ajax 0-1 in Amsterdam thanks to a late goal via Krzysztof Warzycha that was brilliantly set up by current manager Giorgos Donis. Unfortunately a capitulation in the return leg in Athens prevented the Trifylli from making another European Cup final.
Aside from the aforementioned Warzycha and Donis, under Giorgos Vardinogiannis fans were privileged to see players such as Dimitris Saravakos, Giannis Kyrastas, Juan Ramon Rocha, Stratos Apostolakis, Giorgos Georgiadis and Juan Jose Borelli.
Giannis Vardinogiannis Steps Forward (2000-2008)
In the summer of 2000, Giorgos Vardinogiannis stepped down from his role as President of Panathinaikos FC due to the refereeing situation in Greece and his nephew Giannis took over the reigns. There were mixed emotions from the fans as many demanded for change. This period lasted for 8 years, culminating in 25,000 fans rallying against the Vardinogiannis family outside Leoforos. It was still nonetheless a relatively successful era for the club on the field.
The team made the quarter finals of the 2001-02 Champions League where they faced Barcelona, going down 3-2 on aggregate (they won the first leg 1-0 at Leoforos via an Angelos Basinas penalty). The Greens topped a group containing Arsenal, Mallorca and Schalke and finished the second group stage in second in a group featuring Real Madrid, Porto and Sparta Prague.
The team also made the quarter finals of the 2002-03 UEFA Cup and won the League-Cup double in the 2003-04 season. Key players over this time were Emmanuel Olisadebe, Ezequiel Gonzalez, Michalis Konstantinou and the aforementioned Basinas.
Era of Multi-Dimensionality (2008-2012)
After much external pressure, Giannis Vardinogiannis announced that his family’s sole 30 year ownership of the club would come to an end. Fans got what they were after with a share capital increase enabling various investors to contribute funds. In these years, several new minority shareholders entered the picture such as Andreas Vgenopoulos, Pavlos Giannakopoulos, Nikos Pateras and Adamantios Polemis. In this case, the Vardinogiannis family were still the majority owners.
Overall, it was a mixed 4 years for the club with the major on-field success being the unforgettable 2009-10 League-Cup double winning season. Gilberto Silva, Djibril Cisse, Sebastian Leto, Kostas Katsouranis and Giorgos Karagounis all wore the Trifylli during this time.
However, the approach of spending big to bring success was ultimately the club’s undoing off the field as they were forced to sell off their best players in 2011 due to facing severe financial problems. The budget cuts saw the squad’s best players depart on cut-price deals.
The Panathinaikos Alliance of Giannis Alafouzos (2012-2018)
With the club in a difficult position, “Mr.SKAI” Giannis Alafouzos came forward with a plan to takeover the shares of the Vardinogiannis family in order for fans from around the country to purchase shares in the team. Under this agreement, Alafouzos would have the majority of shares (54%) and make all of the key decisions.
The first season of this new-look Alliance was nothing short of a disaster on the field with the team finishing in 6th spot and failed to qualify for a European competition for the first time in 16 years. The club then focused on young and hungry Greek players to turn its fortunes around and the results did improve to a certain extent but ultimately nowhere near to the level they should be for a club like Panathinaikos. Defeating PAOK 4-1 via a Marcus Berg hat trick in the 2013-14 Greek Cup final was undoubtedly the highlight. Apart from Berg, the inspirational Zeca was another fan favourite.
The Alliance failed to generate the off-field interest Alafouzos thought it would have, with memberships failing to rise above to 10,000 for each season. As a result, Alafouzos tightened the pursestrings and reduced the budget in 2017. This led to many players leaving and the club facing the very real threat of relegation for the time in its history. The team finished in 11th spot in 2017-18 (the worst ever finish) as points were docked on several occasions.
Dimitris Giannakopoulos tried to acquire the Football Club with his “Athens Alive OAKA” project but a very public feud between him and Alafouzos meant it was never going to be a realistic chance. Thai businessman Pairoj Piempongsant made his interest clear in early 2018 and even though negotiations dragged on for many months, the first phase of the Pan Asia takeover has happened.
by Nick Tsambouniaris
Image Source: gazzetta.gr
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