OFI’s 36-year-old boss, Gennaro Gattuso, has had a change of heart after announcing he would quit the club following a 3-2 home loss to Asteras Tripoli last weekend.
The defeat left the club with nine points after seven games, but Gattuso’s backflip came after talks with the club’s administration and waves of support from club fans.
“After many hours of discussions with members of the board and with the organised supporter groups of OFI, and after the love I have been shown generally by the city of Heraklio, I have decided to take a step back and make a new start,” Gattuso told the club’s website.
“I want to start from the beginning again and the aim is for us to be stronger and more united than ever.”
The 2006 World Cup winner has made headlines of late in Greece, after he became animated and swore at journalists at a press conference last month.
Following his temporary resignation, he said he was concerned that his job had become more than he wanted to handle, and said the players didn’t believe in him.
“I have put all my passion and all my strength into this team but I cannot be the one solving all the club’s problems every day, I am not the president and my job should only be soccer. I feel very upset but I cannot continue. The players do not believe in me.”
OFI currently lies 11th in the Super League table of 18 teams.
Source: BBC Sport, Daily Mail