Panathinaikos coach Marinos Ouzounidis resigns after former 20-time Greek champions endure dismal year

Athens: Panathinaikos coach Marinos Ouzounidis on Monday announced his resignation after the 20-time Greek champions ended the season in the bottom half of the league table. [caption id=“attachment_4460831” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File photo of Panathinaikos coach Marinos Ouzounidis. Reuters[/caption] The team lost 1-2 at home to Xanthi in their final league game leaving them 11th with just 32 points. Ouzounidis, 49, joined them last year signing an 18-months contract. On Saturday, Thai entrepreneur Pairoj Piempongsant agreed to acquire a majority stake in the financially-troubled iconic Athens outfit for a reported €27 million ($43million) next month. If the sale is completed, Panathinaikos will become the first Greek professional football team owned by a foreign group. The side were banned last month from European competition for three years by UEFA for failing to pay their debts. At any rate, they have failed to qualify for European competition next season. Last week the club paid off outstanding debts to their former defender Jens Wemmer to avoid being demoted to the second division. Panathinaikos’s squad had held two strikes over the last two months over unpaid wages. The club are the only-ever Greek side to have made it to a European Cup final when in 1971, under the guidance of coach Ferenc Puskas, they lost 0-2 in the final to Ajax at Wembley.