Nikos Kourbanas has resigned as coach of Kallithea. The 49-year old coach submitted his resignation, which was accepted by the club's management, after the friendly against Poseidon Glyfada (3-3).

According to PAE majority shareholder Nikos Salevris' statements to ERA Sport, there was a communication problem between the two men while Kourbanas' successor has not yet been found.

Informed sources say that the 3-3 result in the friendly against Poseidon Glyfada was the final straw, coupled with the fact that Kallithea have only two victories to show in all their matches so far (competitive and friendlies). Nikos Salevris however, claimed that there existed a "communication problem" between the two sides who agreed late on Wednesday night, 4 September 2002, to part company.

"We dissolved the working relationship, by mutual consent, and would like to thank Mr Kourbanas for his great contribution to Kallithea: He was the driving force behind our promotion, last year, into the A' National Division", said Salevris who went on to say: "Don't think that Nikos Kourbanas left Kallithea because of the results of the last few days. In our games against Olympiakos and Akratitos we played well and were unfortunate to lose".

The PAE President implied that Kourbanas was an easy target "...as you can understand, I can't sack all the players. Everyone shares in the blame: the players, the coach and his staff, as well as management. We want the team to run smoothly".

Finally, as far as the successor to Kourbanas goes, the likeliest candidates to head Kallithea are Giorgos Paraschos and Nikos Anastopoulos with the former being the favorite. Salevris, however, claims that no contact has been made with anyone: "I have not spoken with anyone. Someone has mentioned the name of Mr. Paraschos but we may prefer a person who has already worked in Kallithea".

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