History of AEK Athens F.C.

Konstantinos Spanoudis, first president of AEK

Honours Won: —

Runner-up: Athens Championship: 3 (1925, 1927, 1929)

AEK's squad in 1924

AEK's team in 1925

In 1924, the founders of AEK – a group of Constantinopolitan refugees (among them former athletes from the Pera Sports Club and the other Constantinopolitan clubs) – met at the athletic shop "Lux" of Emilios Ionas and Konstantinos Dimopoulos on Veranzerou Street, in the center of Athens and created AEK.[2] Their intention was to create a club that provided athletic and cultural diversions for the thousands of predominantly Constantinopolitan and Anatolian refugees who had settled in the new suburbs of Athens (including Nea Filadelfeia, Nea Ionia, Nea Chalkidona, Nea Smyrni).

AEK's first game was a 1–1 friendly draw against Atromitos in October 1924. Their first official match was a 4–2 win against Goudi on 14 December 1924.

AEK's football team grew rapidly in popularity during the 1920's, eclipsing the already-established Athens-based refugee clubs (Panionios, Apollon Smyrnis), thanks mainly to the large pool of immigrants that were drawn to the club and due, in no small part, to the political connections and wealth of several of the club's board members. Not possessing a football ground, AEK played most of their early matches at various locations around Athens, including the grounds of the Temple of Olympian Zeus and the Leoforos Alexandras Stadium.

AEK's first president, Konstantinos Spanoudis (1871–1941), a journalist and associate of the then Greek Prime Minister, Eleftherios Venizelos, petitioned the government to set aside land for the establishment of a sports ground. In 1926, land in Nea Filadelfeia that was originally set aside for refugee housing was donated as a training ground for the refugees. AEK began using the ground for training (albeit unofficially) and by 1930 the property was signed over to the club.

In 1927 Panathinaikos, Olympiacos and AEK decided to break away from the Athens regional league after a dispute with the fledgling Hellenic Football Federation (EPO). They formed an alliance called P.O.K. (acronym for Podosfairikes Omades Kentrou or Panathinaikos Olympiacos Konstantinoupolis) and started organising friendly matches against each other and several continental European clubs. This also marked the start of the so-called Easter Cup. In 1928, though, the dispute ended and AEK, along with the other P.O.K. clubs, entered the HFF fold once again.

In 1928, Venizelos approved the plans to build what was to become the club's home ground for the next 70 years, the AEK Stadium.

Iliaskos, Dimopoulos, Negrepontis and Emmanouilidis.

Chatzistavridis, Tzanetis, Maropoulos and Christodoulou (1939–40)

Honours Won: Greek Cup: 2 (1931–32, 1938–39), Easter Cup: 1 (1938), Panhellenic Championship: 2 (1938–39, 1939–40), Athens Championship: 1 (1940)

Runner-up: Athens Championship: 5 (1930, 1931, 1937, 1938, 1939)

In 1930 the AEK Stadium was completed. The area where the stadium was located had been previously used as the training ground of the club. The first home game, in November 1930, was an exhibition match against Olympiacos that ended in a 2–2 draw.

In 1932, AEK won the inaugural Greek Cup, beating Aris 5–3 in the final. The goals for AEK were scored by Ilias Iliaskos, Nikos Baltas (twice), Oikonomou (O.G.) and Kostas Negrepontis, a veteran of the original Pera Club of Constantinople. This was also the first ever title won by the club.

In 1933, former star striker, Kostas Negrepontis took over the managerial guidance of AEK. He managed to build a formidable team which was led by Kleanthis Maropoulos and Tryfon Tzanetis, the best pair of forwards at the time and one of the best in Greek football's history. Other important players included Christos Ribas, Michalis Delavinias, Georgios Magiras and Spyros Sklavounos.

The club's success during the late 1930's was highlighted by the Panhellenic Championships in 1939 and 1940. The 2–1 win in the 1939 cup final, goals by Alekos Chatzistavridis and Vasilios Manettas, marked the first ever double (domestic Championship and Cup) in the history of Greek football.

Honours Won: Christmas Cup: 1 (1943) Easter Cup: 1 (1944)

Runner-up: —

The 1940–41 Panhellenic Championship was interrupted due to the Greco-Italian War (1940–1941). After the Battle of Greece (1941) and during the Axis occupation of Greece (1941–1945) sporting events were scarce.

During the Greco-Italian War in a battle at Pogradec, AEK player K. Vavanis was badly injured by a mortar bomb that exploded in front of him. During the spring of 1942 Panathinaikos and AEK were to give a friendly match to raise money for a hospital but were asked to give part of the revenue to the occupation forces. Tasos Kritikos and Kleanthis Maropoulos, who served as captains of the two clubs, refused and the 15,000 spectators turned into one of the largest protests of the time. The game became known as the "Resistance Derby". In June 1944 AEK player Spyros Kontoulis was killed by the Nazi forces during his attempt to escape while being transported to Kaisariani in order to be executed for being part of the resistance.[3]

The 1942–43 Panhellenic Championship was an attempt to restart sporting activity but was not completed.

Honours Won: Athens Championship: 3 (1946, 1947, 1950), Christmas Cup: 1 (1947), Greek Cup: 2 (1949, 1950)

Runner-up: Panhellenic Championship: 1 (1946), Greek Cup: 1 (1948), Athens Championship: 2 (1951, 1952)

With English coach Jack Beby at the wheel, veteran players such as Maropoulos, Tzanetis, Delavinias and Magiras, along with new generation players such as Kostas Poulis, Goulios and Pavlos Emmanouilidis, AEK won the Greek Cup of 1949 and 1950, beating Panathinaikos by 2–1 and Aris by 4–0.

AEK won also the Athens regional championship of 1950, but the play–off games for the Panhellenic Championship were not played, due to many players being called up for a prolonged training camp for the national team.

Honours Won: Christmas Cup: 1 (1957), Greek Cup: 1 (1956), Easter Cup: 2 (1955, 1958)

Runner-up: Panhellenic Championship: 2 (1958, 1959), Greek Cup: 1 (1953), Athens Championship: 2 (1954, 1958)

The early 1950's saw the addition of the next generation of star footballers in Giannis Kanakis, Andreas Stamatiadis and goalkeeper Stelios Serafidis and along with Poulis and Emmanouilidis.

In 1955 AEK signed Kostas Nestoridis, a player who would become the greatest forward of his era. His former team Panionios did not consent with the transfer, so Nestoridis was forced to sit out both the 1955–56 and the 1956–57 seasons, due to the restraining law which applied at the time. In his first season at the club Nestoridis showing his class, finished as the top scorer of the league.

AEK won the Greek Cup title of 1956, this time beating Olympiacos by 2–1 in the final.

Honours Won: —

Runner-up: Alpha Ethniki: 1 (1960)

1959–60 season

In first season of the newly formed Alpha Ethniki, AEK under the Austrian Lukas Aurednik, were strenghted with the left back, Petros Stamatelopoulos from Panerythraikos the striker turned into a defender, Giannis Marditsis from Egaleo and the left wing-back, Alekos Sofianidis, a Greek born in Turkey and played for Beşiktaş. Kostas Poulis left the club after 11 years for Propontis Chalkida as well as Lelos Adamantidis, Stavros Giafaloglou and Giannis Chaniotis. In the first matchday on 25 October, the captain of AEK, Giannis Kanakis became the scorer of the first ever goal of the institution, when he scored in the 3rd minute of the match against Ethnikos Piraeus at the Karaiskakis Stadium. The end of the championship found AEK and Panathinaikos tied at the top and thus the champion was to be determined by a play-off match. In the match that took place on 31 July, AEK despite taking the lead by a goal from Christos Ampos, eventually lost the chance to win the title as the "greens" overturned the score and won by 2–1. Kostas Nestoridis won the top scorer award for the second time in a row.

1960–61 season, Part I

AEK Athens continued this season with one of their "Patriarchs", Tryfon Tzanetis in the technical leadership, who was officially hired in January with the task of revitalizing the team. However, his predecessor, Lukas Aurednik, remained in the team and alongside the former players, Christos Ribas formed a coaching triumvirate with Tzanetis apparently having the first say, but Auretnik maintaining the tactical support and the acceptance of the vast majority of the fans. Aurednik promoted the team's future star, Spyros Pomonis, alongside Nikos Zagotsis from their academies, while the additions of Thanasis Gouvas from A.E. Messolonghi and Aris Tsachouridis from Makedonikos were also noteworthy. Among the departures were that of Thanasis Tsangaris to Panerythraikos and that of the captain, Giannis Kanakis, who retired after 12 years of service. A series of incidents with the referees prevented AEK from claiming any distinctions in the league and in combination with some bad results, lead in Aurednik steping down as the manager of the club.

Honours Won: —

Runner-up: —

1960–61 season, Part II

The assumption of technical leadership by Tryfon Tzanetis for the fourth time did not change things up as AEK finished in the fourth place. The roster was stenghthened with the arrival of the talented midfielder, Stelios Skevofilakas from Eleftheroupoli at the end of the season. Kostas Nestoridis defended successfully his title as the top scorer of the league, for a third season in a row.

1961–62 season

AEK Athens aspired to return in the championship conquest. With Tryfon Tzanetis on the wheel of the team and Kleanthis Maropoulos in the position of technical director, they carried out the transfers of Panikos Krystallis and Dimitris Zagylos from Cyprus, who were considered very skilled footballers. The defender Nikos Melissis retired, while Pavlos Emmanouilidis and Thymios Polyzos left for Panachaiki. In January 1962, Nikos Goumas completed the constructions on the Nea Filadelfeia Stadium, which was modernized with the reconstruction of its stands and by acquiring turf. The high competition with Panathinaikos, Olympiacos and Apollon Athens, who proved to be more consistent, did not allow them to finish higher than the fourth place for a second season in a row. Kostas Nestoridis stood up again, claiming the top scorer award for a fourth time in a row.

Honours Won: Alpha Ethniki: 1 (1963)

Runner-up: —

Serafidis

Marditsis

Papapostolou

Kanellopoulos

Sofianidis

Stamatiadis (c)

Tsachouridis

Petridis

Skevofilakas

Papaioannou

Nestoridis

Lineup against Panathinaikos (1963-06-23)

1962–63 season

The performances of Nestoridis alone were not enough for AEK to win any titles. It was not until a young striker, Mimis Papaioannou was signed from Veria that AEK managed to rise to the top. He formed a formidable duo of forward with Nestoridis and scored a total of 47 goals combined in their first season. Furthermore, the president, Nikos Goumas in his effort to upgrade the club in any way he could, brought the Hungarian-German manager, Jenő Csaknady, with successfull spells in the Bundesliga. Csaknady brought to the team the iron disciplined model in the locker rooms, inovating training methods and new tactical systems. Alongside Papaioannou, Manolis Kanellopoulos from Egaleo, Vangelis Petrakis from Aris, Aleko Yordan, the Turkish intrnational defender of a Greek descent, who didn't had the right to compete that season and the Syrian international striker, Ibrahim Mughrabi, the first foreign player to ever play for a Greek club, were amongst the tranfers of the season. The goalkeeper Sotiris Fakis, the defender Stefanos Demiris and the forward Christos Ampos were amongst the departure. AEK finished at the top, tied with Panathinaikos and a championship play-off was set. Panathinaikos took the lead in the 8th minute, but the duo of Papaioannou-Nestoridis took action with two goals by Papaioannou in the 23rd and 27th minute and one by the Nestoridis in the 39th minute from a direct corner kick, made it 3–1. However, the "greens" took advantage of a period of inactivity of AEK and equalized in the final 3–3. Thus, by the regulation of the time AEK won the title with a goal ratio of 3.14 against the 2.68 of the Panathinaikos.[4] As AEK won their first post-war league and the first since the establishment of national divisions, Nestoridis emergerd as the league's top scorer for the fifth time and the last of his career with 23 goals, making a record of concecutive wins of the award.[5]

Honours Won: Greek Cup: 1 (1964)

Runner-up: —

1963–64 season

Heinrich Müller

Petrakis

Papapostolou

Marditsis

Charalampidis

Theofanidis

Tasinos

Kanellopoulos

Skevofilakas

Papaioannou

Petridis

Nestoridis (c)

Lineup against Monaco (1963-09-18)

In 1963, the management of AEK removed the championship-winning manager, Jenő Csaknády and the Austrian Heinrich Müller with successfull spells at Austria Wien and Willem II was hired in his place. Ibrahim Mughrabi returned to Syria, Thanasis Gouvas, Petros Stamatelopoulos and Nikos Zagotsis left and the Cypriots, Panikos Krystallis and Dimitris Zagylos returned to their homeland, while Giannis Marditsis, after the first match against Monaco, withdrew from the team. The team was strenghtened by the additions of Theodoros Maniateas, a goalkeeper from Panthisiakos, Panagiotis Charalambidis a defender from Iraklis, Fanis Tasinos a promising left midfielder from Pagorinthiakos and the striker of Atromitos, Kostas Papageorgiou. Furthermore talented players such as Michalis Simigdalas, Giorgos Karafeskos and Nikos Sevastopoulos were promoted from the academies. AEK played for the first time in their history in the UEFA competitions and the European Cup, but they were quickly eliminated in the preliminary round by the French champions, Monaco. The team ended up finishing 3rd, but they won the Cup even though the final did not took place, since the other semi-finalists, Panathinaikos and Olympiacos were disqualified due to serious fan incidents of both clubs in the semi-final of the Leoforos Alexandras Stadium.[6] After 5 consecutive wins of Kostas Nestoridis, the award of the league's top scorer was won by Mimis Papaioannou, who with 29 goals kept the award within the club. In the end of the season Müller left the club due to financial differences with the renewall of his contract.

Serafidis

Yordan

Balopoulos

Kefalidis

Sofianidis

Stamatiadis (c)

Pomonis

Petridis

Skevofilakas

Papaioannou

Nestoridis

Lineup against Dinamo Zagreb (1964-09-09)

Honours Won: —

Runner-up: Alpha Ethniki: 1 (1965)

1964–65 season

Küçükandonyadis

In the summer of 1964, the Austro-Hungarian Mirko Kokotović, a successful coach with Fenerbahçe was hired. The technical director Kleanthis Maropoulos, proceeded in the transfers of the goalkeeper Theodoros Maniateas from Panthisiakos, the defenders Fotis Balopoulos from Proodeftiki, Giorgos Kefalidis from Pierikos and Lakis Fragoudakis, while the Fenerbahçe and Turkey legend of Greek descent, Lefter Küçükandonyadis also joined the club at an advanced age. Giannis Marditsis, Panagiotis Charalampidis, Mimis Anastasiadis, Aris Tsachouridis stood out among the departures of the season. AEK played for the first time in their history in the final stage of the Cup Winners' Cup against Dinamo Zagreb. Despite their elimination of the tournament, they managed to achieve their first ever European victory in the first leg. AEK fought for the league title until the final matchday, but were not able to claim it, finishing second, only 3 ponits behind Panathinakos. Kostas Nestoridis, Mimis Papaioannou and Kostas Papageorgiou among others stood out this season with their performances. Kokotović was released after the end of the season as the management wanted to proceed with another coach at the club's bench.

Honours Won: Greek Cup: 1 (1966)

Runner-up: —

1965–66 season

Tryfon Tzanetis in the summer of 1965 in his fifth and final spell in the club stuffed the roster with the transfers of the defener of Apollon Athens, Tasos Vasiliou, the forward of PAO Safrafolis, Kostas Nikolaidis and the midfielder of Fostiras, Panagiotis Ventouris, while Nikos Stathopoulos, Giorgos Karafeskos and Michalis Simigdalas were promoted from the infrastructure departments. On the other side Miltos Papapostolou and Lefter Küçükandonyadis retired, while Theofilos Vernezis and Emilios Theofanidis left the club. The start of the season was overshadowed by the departure of Mimis Papaioannou. In a friendly between AEK and Real Madrid which ended 3–3,[7] Papaioannou had an impresive performance and made the spaniards make an offer of 4,000,000 drachmas for the player. The club's refusal due to the fear of the crowd reactions to a possible departure of Papaioannou from the team,[8] embittered the player who withdrew from the club's activities and turned to singing, performing with Stelios Kazantzidis.[9] The championship begun with a great delay, due to conflicts between the "eternals", Olympiacos and Panathinakos, and a group of clubs consisted by AEK and other smaller clubs. Αt December, shortly before the derby with Panathinaikos and after an urge from Kazantzidis, AEK offerred a new contract to Papaioannou and the latter returned to the team.[10] Despite his monthly absence, Papaioannou scored one goal and with two goals by Nikolaidis, AEK won by 2–3.[11] In the same match of the second round, while the score was at 1–1, at the 88th minute Panathinaikos scored from an offside position, the referee awarded the goal and as a result wild incidents occurred with the participation of fans entering the field, which resulted in suspension of the match and its award to Panathinaikos.[12] As a protest, AEK were absent in the next match against Panserraikos,[13] but with the fear of relegation they were forced to return to the Championship, eventually finishing 3rd. Even though Papaioannou was absent from the preperatation of the team and from their first matches, he won the top scorer award for the second time in his career with 23 goals, succeding Nestoridis in beeing the leader of the team and the best player of his era. In the Cup, AEK qualified to the final against Olympiacos and the HFF set the march on 10 July 1966, at the Karaiskakis Stadium, which brought reaction of the side of Olympiacos who announced that they were not going to show up, protesting the advanced date in relation to their preparation for the next season. Thus, on 7 July, unable to convince Olympiacos for their participation in the final, the HFF declared AEK the winner of the cup.[14]

1966–67 season, Part I

After 11 seasons, the legendary Kostas Nestoridis left the club, as well as Giorgos Petridis and Fanis Tasinos, however AEK did not proceed in any particular transfer move, considering that the roster was sufficient from the previous seasons, procceding only in the acquisition of the forward, Vasilis Mastrakoulis from Apollon Athens, as a back-up choice for Mimis Papaioannou and Kostas Papageorgiou. AEK started the season with the European Cup Winners' Cup, playing against Braga, but they were eliminated with 2 defeats. After an away draw against Panserraikos at the 10th matchday, alarmed the management, who took the decision to remove of Tzanetis from the bench of AEK.

Honours Won: Alpha Ethniki: 1 (1968)

Runner-up: Alpha Ethniki: 1 (1967), Balkans Cup: 1 (1967),

1966–67 season, Part II

Serafidis

Yordan

Vasiliou

Skevofilax

Sofianidis

Karafeskos

Balopoulos

Stamatiadis (c)

Nikolaidis

Papaioannou

Mastrakoulis

Lineup against Fenerbahçe (1967-10-11)

The removal of Tzanetis brought back at the wheel of the club the emblematic winner of the 1963 league, Jenő Csaknády after three and a half years.[15] The Hungarian-German made his mark from the beginning, when in the first two matches achieved as many victories, including a home win against Olympiacos, who at the time seemed unstoppable. While AEK were covering the distance for the title race, the government was overthrown and a military dictatorship was imposed on the country resulting in the interruption of the championship for over a month. AEK were not affected by the interruption and continued in covering up the distance, but two draws in the final matchdays ended their chances of winning the championship, finishing second, 3 points behind Olympiacos. AEK also competed in the Balkans Cup finishing first in their group and qualified for the final against Fenerbahçe. In he first game at Nea Filadelfeia, AEK won by 2–1, but in Istanbul, the Turks managed to equalize the lead of the first leg, winning by 1–0 and a third match was decided. 7 months later, on 30 May 1968 at Mithat Paşa, AEK lost a great opportunity to win an international trophy, as they were defeated by 3–1.

1967–68 season

Serafidis

Vasiliou

Fragoudakis

Balopoulos

Karafeskos

Sofianidis

Stamatiadis (c)

Pomonis

Ventouris

Skevofilax

Papaioannou

Lineup against Olympiacos (1967-12-03)

In the summer of 1967, Csaknády, evaluating the team's roster decided not to proceed in any particular transfer, as he considered that the team was ready to claim the title. The goalkeeper Vangelis Petrakis left for OFI and the promising Stelios Konstantinidis was promoted from the infrastructure departments to replace him. Indeed AEK appeared complete in all their lines and under Csaknády seemed capable of defeating any opponent and on 3 December made that clear as they crushed Olympiacos by 1–4 at Karaiskakis Stadium.[16] In the second round with a victory by 2–1 against the same opponent at Nea Filadelfeia, they secured the title 8 matchdays before the end of the league.[17] Csaknády did not agree on staying in the club for another season, becoming the only coach of AEK to win two championship titles in his two full seasons.[18][19]

Honours Won: Alpha Ethniki: 1 (1971)

Runner-up: Alpha Ethniki: 1 (1970)

1968–69 season

Branko Stanković

Konstantinidis

Vasiliou

Balopoulos

Kefalidis

Stathopoulos

Karafeskos

Stamatiadis
(c)

Skevofilax

Nikolaidis

Pomonis

Papaioannou

Lineup against Spartak Trnava (1969-03-12)

A transitional year for AEK, as after the championship win of the previous season and the departure of Jenő Csaknády, the Yugoslav Branko Stanković was hired, with a great career in his country. Due to a lack of sufficient money, did not proceed in any big transfer moves as they acquired a couple of young footballers from smaller clubs and promoted talented players from the academy, such as the defensive midfielder Giorgos Lavaridis, while the striker Vasilis Mastrakoulis left. Under Stanković the team was based on the modern football of the time based on the tactics, technique, physical strength and discipline. The inability of the players to quickly adapt and respond to the new model of working, due to injuries and the advanced age of some players, resulted in a bad start in the league. However, in time the team started to increase their performance and on 27 October 1968 they defeted Olympiacos at Karaiskakis Stadium by 2–3 with Mimis Papaioannou playing as goalkeeper from the 85th minute, due to the suspension of Stelios Serafidis, making two saves to secure the victory.[20] AEK were consistently close in claiming the title, until the 22nd matchday when they were defeated at home Olympiacos, which resulted in the downfall of the team, as the end of the season found them in the 6th place, not beeing able to qualify in any European competition. However AEK made one of the most impresive European campaigns in the history of Greek football in the European Cup. Eliminating Jeunesse Esch from Luxembourg with ease in first round and the Danish AB in the second round became the first Greek club to ever reach the quarter-finals of the European Cup, or in any European competition at all. There AEK were drawn the Czechoslovakian Spartak Trnava and despite their away defeat in the first leg they fought for the qualification in the rematch, however the final 1–1 was not enough to proceed in the semi-finals of the tournament. At the end of the season, Stanković decided in a big renewal of the roster in order to improve their weaknesses, reduce the age average and return the club in claiming titles over the following years.

1969–70 season

In he second consecutive transitional season for AEK, Stanković proceeded in the renewal in their roster, that he planned since the previous season. The promising defenders, Stefanos Theodoridis and Giorgos Triantafyllou were promoted to the first team, while the defender of Trikala, Apostolos Toskas and the legendary former player of Panathinaikos, Andreas Papaemmanouil were aquired. At the same time in the context of that renewal, players with a huge offer to the club left, such as Alekos Sofianidis, Tasos Vasiliou, Aleko Yordan and the legendary captain, Andreas Stamatiadis, while other important players such as Michalis Simigdalas, Nikos Sevastopoulos and Kostas Papageorgiou also left. The conquest of the second place in the league was considered a success, considering the radical changes in the squad and the strength of Panathinaikos at the time. Mimis Papaioannou emerged as the top scorer of the club with 18 goals and second in the league behind Antonis Antoniadis. In the Cup, AEK were eliminated in the second round, by Panathinaikos at home as they lost lost 3–5 in the penalty shootout, in the first year of application of the procedure, since after the end of the extra time the score was 1–1.

1970–71 season

Stanković completed the renewall of the roster that he started from the previous seasons creating a well-worked team that was capable of claiming titles and distinctions. The club did not proceed in any particular transfer, while on the other side the experienced defenders Tasos Vasiliou, Fotis Balopoulos and Lakis Fragoudakis left the club for various reasons. The team began their competitive obligations with the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, where they were eliminated in the first round by the newly-formed Dutch Twente. Despite their elimination, AEK played spectacular football throughout the season, achieving the highest scoring victory in the championship against Veria with 8–2,[21] while they finished the season with only 3 defeats in the league, concieding 18 goals in total. Their great performance was rewarded with the conquest of the league, relatively early on in the season. Mimis Papaioannou and Kostas Nikolaidis stood out with their performances with the first adapting perfectly in his new role behind the strikers.

1971–72 season

Konstantinidis

Triantafyllou

Kefalidis

Theodoridis

Karafeskos

Lavaridis

Papaemmanouil

Pomonis

Ventouris

Papaioannou (c)

Psimogiannos

Lineup against Internazionale (1971-09-29)

Since the previous season, the administrative disputes and the over the top for the time demands of the players, appeared within the club, resulting in a series of issues, which marked the start of a declining period for AEK. However, that did not prevent AEK from presenting a competitive team. The roster was constantly renewed as a generation of players left, passing the torch to the next one, who however, were not ready to claim a leading role in the league. The defender of Aris Ptolemaidas, Giorgos Tanidis and the striker of Babis Psimogiannos from Aris Agios Konstantinos were transfered, however the transfer of the young striker of Atromitos, Lakis Nikolaou stood out for a fee of 600,000 drachmas and 4 players as an exchange.[22] AEK played in the European Cup and were eliminated from the first round by the European giants, Internazionale, but the achieved a historic victory over the mighty Italians at Nea Filadelfeia, with 3–2[23] In the league they finished third, 6 points from the top, while in the cup they expirienced a surprise elimination in the Round of 16 by Lamia, who defeated them 1–0 at the extra time.

1972–73 season, Part I

The declining course of AEK Athens continued. Important players such as Petros Ravousis, Tasos Konstantinou, Lakis Stergioudas and Dionysis Tsamis were acquired, while the arrival of Latin American footballers, such as Néstor Errea, Rodolfo Vicente and Hugo Zeer did not offer anything special to the team. On the other hand, the lengendary goalkeeper Stelios Serafidis retired after 19 years at the club, Kostas Triantafyllou, Giorgos Kefalidis and Stelios Skevofilakas went to Atromitos as a part of the deal of transfer of Nikolaou from the previous season and the departure of Panagiotis Ventouris and Andreas Papaemmanouil were also of a great importance. In their first appearance in the UEFA Cup AEK were eliminated in the second round by the mighty Liverpool of Bill Shankly, who won the trophy. In the cup faced again a surprise elimination by Apollon Kalamarias at the round of 16. The elimination from the cup resulted in the removal of Stanković from the yellow-black bench.

Overview

Honours Won: —

Runner-up: —

1972–73 season, Part II

After the removal of Stanković after five years in the club, AEK proceeded in the acquisition of the coach of the national team, Billy Bingham. In a bad season for the club the Irish coach did not succeed in making any significant contribution. In the end AEK finished 5th and Bingham was sacked in the end of the season.

Honours Won: —

Runner-up: —

1973–74 season

Another bad year for AEK, as the combination of administrative changes and financial difficulties continued. The English coach Stan Anderson was hired, who the only club he previosuly coached was Middlesbrough. Players such as Giorgos Sidiropoulos, Sakis Zarzopoulos, Spyros Stefanidis, Lazaros Papadopoulos and the Uruguayan Jorge Fanìs were acquired, while Nikos Karoulias was promoted to the first team. Importand players such as Stelios Konstantinidis, Kostas Nikolaidis and Spyros Pomonis left. In a dissapointing season Anderson was sacked before the end of the season with the club proceeding with the coach of the reserve team, Kostas Chatzimichail at the bench until the end of the season. AEK finished for the second consecutive year in 5th place, not managing to qualify in any European competition yet again.

František Fadrhonc

Honours Won: —

Runner-up: Alpha Ethniki: 2 (1975, 1976)

1974–75 season

Huge administrative changes occured within the club in the summer of 1974, as the political situation in Greece was normalizing. Loukas Barlos, owner of bauxite factories, won the elections of the club with 58% and became its new president.[24] He envisioned a team that would surpass the Greek standards and without sparing any money, started its "building", by hiring the Czechoslovak František Fadrhonc as coach, a huge name at the time with long managerial career at the Dutch league and the Netherlands national team.[25] Fadrhonc brought to AEK a series of innovations both in the style of training and coaching, as well as in its organization structure. Barlos making some impresive transfer moves, brought some of the best players of the Greek market,[26] with the fast winger, Christos Ardizoglou from Apollon Athens[27] and the diligent scorer, Georgios Dedes and the defender, Giorgos Skrekis from Panionios arriving at the club. Furthermore the Germans, Walter Wagner, a striker from Austria Wien and Timo Zahnleiter, one of the fist modern defensive midfielders of the time from 1860 München also came. Among the departures were that of Néstor Errea, Giorgos Tanidis, Nikos Karoulias, Babis Psimogiannos, but most importantly that of the long time regulars, Giorgos Karafeskos and Nikos Stathopoulos. The newly reformed AEK played impressive football from their first season, finishing second in the league, two points behind Olympiacos, presenting the best attack and defense, while they reached the quarter-finals of the cup.

1975–76 season

The club continued their ascending course with Barlos and Fadrhonc, without any particular transfer taking place as the only arival was the promoton of Fotis Outsikas from the academies and the departures of Giorgos Lavaridis and Jorge Fanìs. The main focus point for Barlos was the acquisition of the young and talented striker of Panionios, Thomas Mavros. The president of AEK approached and convinced Mavros to join the club, but they found ahead of them the obstacle of Panionios. A legal dispute began, with Mavros paying the price of a complete absence of one year from the stadiums,[28] recalling the respective case of Kostas Nestoridis from 20 years ago. Fadrhonc's work was becoming effective, creating a team that combined spectacle and results. AEK returned in the UEFA Cup, after two years of absence, reacing its second round, where they were merely eliminated by the Czechoslovak Inter Bratislava. In the league, AEK despite beeing undefeated for 23 matches, some defeats during the end of the season, resulted in finishing at the second place for a second season in a row. Georgios Dedes with 15 goals won the top scorer award.

1976–77 season

Stergioudas

Nikolaou

Ravousis

Intzoglou

Theodoridis

Tsamis

Tasos

Nikoloudis

Papaioannou (c)

Wagner

Mavros

Lineup against QPR (1977-03-02)

The team that Loukas Barlos envisioned with František Fadrhonc was reaching its completion. Barlos, according to his usual strategy, brought once more to AEK the greatest players the Greek market had to offer, as the legal dispute with Panionios ended and Mavros finally completed his transfer. Apart from Mavros, the experienced goalkeeper, Nikos Christidis from Aris, the diligent shooter and free-kick specialist, Takis Nikoloudis from Iraklis, the talented defender Babis Intzoglou from Panionios were the most important aquisitions of the club. Fadrhonc, considering the playing intelligence and high technical qualities of Mimis Papaioannou, decided to relocate him as a attacking midfielder, in order to fit all the great attackers the club had to offer.

The club's most memorable moment in European competitions was the campaign to the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup. In the first round they faced Soviet champions, Dynamo Moscow. In Athens, they won 2–0 with goals by Nikoloudis and Papaioannou. At the Central Dynamo Stadium, Dynamo equalized the 2–0 of the first leg and sent the match to extra time. In the last minute of extra time, AEK won a penalty that was converted into a goal by Konstantinou and proceeded to the second round. There they came against the English Derby County. At AEK Stadium, a goal by Wagner and an own goal by Thomas gave AEK the 2–0 win. At the Baseball Ground, AEK found themselves behind in the score line but responded by scoring three times with Nikoloudis, Konstantinou and Wagner. The Rams only managed to score a consolation goal and the match ended in a huge 2–3 win. With that victory, AEK became the first club in the history of the European tournaments to win in English ground.[29] In the third round AEK had to oppose Yugoslav giants, Red Star Belgrade. In the first game of Athens, AEK were once again victorious by winning 2–0, with Papaioannou and Mavros. At the Red Star Stadium, the Yugoslavs took the lead with a goal by Baralić, but Wagner quickly equalised. The two additional goals scored by Filipović and Savić were not enough for Red Star as AEK Athens won on away goals. In the quarter-final AEK Athens faced their greatest challenge to that moment, English league's runner-ups, QPR. The first leg was played at the Loftus Road and the two penalty kicks in the first ten minutes scored by Francis and another goal scored by Bowles gave QPR the 3–0 win and what looked like a certain qualification. Nevertheless, in the rematch of Nea Filadelfeia, AEK did the impossible with two goals by Mavros and another by Papaioannou sending the match to extra time and eventually to a penalty shoot-out. At the end of the extra time, Fadrhonc, to everyone's surprise, subbed his goalkeeper Stergioudas, with the more experienced Christidis. His move proved vital as Christidis saved two penalties and gave AEK Athens a 7–6 win. In the semi-finals AEK Athens were drawn against the Italian giands, Juventus. At the Stadio Comunale, the Bianconeri scored first with Cuccureddu but AEK Athens responded with a goal by Papadopoulos. Two goals by Bettega and one by Causio followed, giving Juventus a 4–1 victory. Juventus also won in Nea Filadelfeia thanks to a goal scored by Boninsegna went on to win their first European title.

The negative results that were occurred in matches that coincided near European games, costed AEK points that prevented them from winning the title. As a result, AEK finished 4th place with 51 points at a distance of only 3 points from the top.

1977–78 season, Part I

Dušan Bajević

Barlos continued in streangthening the club's roster filled any gaps bringing the full-back of Egaleo, Aris Damianidis, the Uruguayan midfielder Milton Viera from Olympiacos, the top scorer of last season second division with AEL, Giannis Mousouris, who was converted into a right-back and most importantly the Yugoslav international striker, Dušan Bajević from Velež Mostar. On the other hand, Giorgos Sidiropoulos, Sakis Zarzopoulos, Giorgos Skrekis, Timo Zahnleiter, Walter Wagner and Georgios Dedes among others left the club. However, the philosophical differences between Barlos and Fadrhonc regarding the future of the team were presented, as the first wanted the staffing of AEK with big names, while the "grandfather" seemed to prefer the gradual staffing of the team through their upgraded academies, which he had under his supervision. The price of their differences of philosophy resulted in the removal of the Czechoslovak after the away defeat against Olympiacos at the 2nd matchday. His assistant, and former captain of the team, Andreas Stamatiadis sat on the bench for the next two games as an interim coach and from there Zlatko Čajkovski took over the fate of AEK.

Overview

Zlatko (Čik) Čajkovski

Honours Won: Alpha Ethniki: 1 (1978), Greek Cup: 1 (1978)

Runner-up: —

1977–78 season, Part II

Christidis

Nikolaou

Ravousis

Mousouris

Intzoglou

Viera

Tasos

Nikoloudis

Papaioannou (c)

Bajević

Mavros

Lineup against Olympiacos (1978-05-17)

The so-called "Čik" with a long and successfull career at the German championship with Köln and Bayern Munich among others, was an ardent supporter of attacking and spectacular football. In the UEFA Cup, AEK after eliminating the Romanian ASA Târgu Mureș in the first round, were eliminated in the second round by the Belgian Standard Liège. After the passing of the first months and the recovery of the injured Bajević and his pairing with Mavros in the team's offense, AEK played impressive attacking football achieving a total of 74 goals, they easily won the league with only 2 defeats. Thomas Mavros claimed the top scorer of the league award with 22 goals. AEK's superiority was also confirmed in the cup. Čajkovski's team seemed unstoppable as they eliminated AO Chania in the first round, Panathinaikos in the second round, Panionios in the round of 16 and Panelefsiniakos in the quarter-finals. In the semi-finals, they faced Olympiacos in Nea Filadelfeia, where they beat him with the historic 6–1. In the final, AEK confirmed their superiority defetaing PAOK by 2–0 and were crowned Cup winners, winning the Double for the second time in their history, after 39 years. Dušan Bajević emergerd as the top scorer of the cup with 9 goals. Despite that beeing on of the most successful year in the history of the club, Čajkovski reached an agreement with Zürich before the end of the season.

Honours Won: —

Runner-up: —

1978–79 season, Part I

Ferenc Puskás

Christidis

Nikolaou (c)

Ravousis

Mousouris

Intzoglou

Tasos

Ardizoglou

Nikoloudis

Domazos

Bajević

Mavros

Lineup against Porto (1978-09-13)

Barlos hoping that the club would continue their great course in both domestic and European competition, did not proceed in any particular addition as the team was already full, with the transfer of Stavros Letsas and the promotion of future important players, Spyros Ikonomopoulos and Panagiotis Stylianopoulos. During the summer the legendary captain and star player of Panathinaikos, Mimis Domazos was released from the club, due to conflicts with their management. Barlos took advantage of the opportunity and immediately approached Domazos to sign him, after getting the approval by captain of the club, Mimis Papaioannou and the huge transfer took place. Thus, for one season, AEK had the two best Greek football players of their era, Papaioannou and Domazos. The addition of the "general" Mimis Domazos to the roster, with his leadership skills and football mind, would give the already impressive team, the element that would make them one of the most spectacular that have ever played in the Greek stadiums. Stefanos Theodoridis and Fotis Outsikas were among the departures. Trying to achieve a breakthrough at the European stage Barlos hired the great Ferenc Puskás to the team's bench, who alongside Domazos were the architects of the course of Panathinaikos to the 1971 European Cup Final.

In the championship, AEK started impressively and were ahead in the standings with Olympiacos beeing the only rival for the title. While AEK were scattering their opponents, there were many official complaints of the opponents of Olympiacos for attempts of bribery from the red and whites. AEK in the European Cup against were drawn against Porto for the fist round and they achieved their greatest victory in the European Cup, scattering the Portuguese champions with 6–1, while in the rematch AEK took the lead, securing the qualification, but in the end lost by 4–1. In the second round they faced Nottingham Forest, who did not underestimate the yellow-blacks and eliminated them with 2 wins. Towards the end of the season, AEK presented an decline in their performance and Barlos in fear of losing the championshing, removed Puskás from bench of the team.

Honours Won: Alpha Ethniki: 1 (1979)

Runner-up: Greek Cup: 1 (1979)

1978–79 season, Part II

After the removal of Puskás from bench his assistant, Andreas Stamatiadis took charge for the rest of the season. The end of the championship found AEK and Olympiacos, tied in the first place and a play-off match for the title was set. Olympiacos either in fear of a possible embarrassment from AEK, or as part of an unofficial deal with the HFF in exchange for silencing allegations of bribery and consequently avoiding demotion, did show up to the match and AEK were declared champion.[30] In the cup, AEK easily reached the final where they met Panionios and despite taking the lead early on, they lost the title with a 3–1 defeat in one of the biggest surprises in the history of the tournament.[31] Thomas Mavros was declared the top scorer of the league with 31 goals and 40 in total, winning the European Silver Shoe, just 3 goals behind Kees Kist.[32] At the end of the season the club's legend Mimis Papaioannou decided to leave after 17 years of service.

Honours Won: —

Runner-up: —

1979–80 season, Part I

From this season and on, football in Greece became professional with the chairman, Loukas Barlos becomin the first owner of AEK Athens. Barlos realizing that it was impossible to compete financially with his rich rivals of and having an aversion to the professionalization of sports, was preparing the ground for his departure. His last great offer to AEK was the construction of the first two-story podium in a Greek stadium, the so called "Skepasti" (The Covered).[33] Transferwise, AEK mostly promoted talents that emerged from their famous academies managed by František Fadrhonc, such as Stelios Manolas, Lysandros Georgamlis, Vangelis Vlachos and Giorgos Chatziioannidis, also aquired Dimitris Argyros, Spyros Thodis, Stelios Kaselakis Panikos Hatziloizou and Franjo Vladić, the alter ego of Dušan Bajević at Velež Mostar. On the other hand Apostolos Toskas, Milton Viera, Lazaros Papadopoulos and most importantly Mimis Papaioannou, left the club. In the position of the coach the Austrian champion with Austria Wien, Hermann Stessl was hired. AEK were eliminated in the first round of the European Cup the Romanian Argeș Pitești, with the people of AEK blaiming for the referee of the second leg, the Swiss André Daina, who denied them three penalties and the possibility of the qualification to the next round and after the incidents that followed in the locker room and the referees' room, AEK was punished with a one-year ban from the European competitions by UEFA.[34] AEK did not start the championship well and were left behind in the standings, while in the cup they were eliminated by PAOK at the round of 16. In the first winter transfer period in Greek football AEK were weakened as Mimis Domazos left to close his career at Panathinaikos, Takis Nikoloudis was transfered to Olympiacos and Dionysis Tsamis departed for Korinthos. The left back of Trikala, Vangelis Paraprastanitis arrived ta the club. A series of unfortunate results brought the dismissal of Stessl from the bench.

Honours Won: —

Runner-up: Alpha Ethniki: 1 (1981)

1979–80 season, Part II

Miltos Papapostolou

The veteran AEK player Miltos Papapostolou took over on the bench with the help of Fadrhonc. The team returned to the successful results and assisted significantly by the 25 goals of Bajević, who emerged as the legue's top scorer, finished tied with Panathinaikos in the third place, two points behind the equal in the first place Olympiacos and Aris. This tie led to play-off matches for both the first place for the championship and the third place for a ticket to the UEFA Cup. The play-off match between AEK and Panathinaikos was from all sides a very strange match, as the yellow-blacks were punished with exclusion from the European Cups by UEFA, which meant that whatever the result of the game, Panathinaikos would play in the UEFA Cup, but if AEK won, they would simply serve their sentence immediately. The people of Panathinaikos implied that they did not want the match to take place, but Barlos, showing a high sense of honor and having in mind the incident of Olympiacos not showing up in the last season's play-off match demanded the match to be held and thus, the match took place with AEK losing by 1–0 finishing eventually 4th in the league.[35]

1980–81 season

AEK entered the decade, essentially closing one of their most successful historical periods, since this season was the last year of Loukas Barlos ownership. AEK aquired Giorgos Rigas, Michalis Tzirakis, Kostas Eleftherakis, Dimitrios Gesios, Dimitrios Papadopoulos and Manolis Kottis among others, as well as Petros Karavitis from the winter. Babis Intzoglou, Aris Damianidis and Tasos Konstantinou from the winter, were the most important departures. The club did not compete in the UEFA competitions this year, thus they played in the Balkans Cup instead where in the group stage, all three teams were on tied and Velež Mostar with a better goal ratio were the club that took the qualification for the final of the institution. AEK finished at the second place five points behind Olympiacos. In the cup, they were eliminated in the semi-finals by PAOK.

Honours Won: —

Runner-up: —

1981–82 season, Part I

After the departure of Loukas Barlos the ownership of the club Andreas Zafiropoulos, a sports goods businessman. The new administration proceeded with the renewal of the roster with the addition of Takis Karagiozopoulos from Veria, the promising young striker of Kastoria, Giannis Dintsikos, Dinos Ballis from Aris, the Yugoslav striker Mojaš Radonjić and the well-known Bulgarian international, Hristo Bonev, who however, suffered from injuries. Dušan Bajević and Franjo Vladić had already left the roster of the team with Kostas Eleftherakis, Dimitrios Gesios and Dimitrios Papadopoulos coming next. Former German international goalkeeper Hans Tilkowski took over at the yellow-black bench. The team made one of the worst starts in their history and the German coach was fired midseason.

Honours Won: –

Runner-up: —

1981–82 season, Part II

Zlatko Čajkovski, who had won the Double in 1978 was hired. AEK recovered competitively, but not at an extend to claim the league. In the cup, AEK faced PAOK at the round of 16 and were eliminated for second consecutive year. AEK eventually finished at 4th place in the league, 5 points from the top and managed to secure a spot in the European competitions, after two season of absence.

1982–83 season, Part I

In the summer of 1982, Zafiropoulos stepped out of the presidency, which was handed over to the shipowner Michalis Arkadis. Takis Nikoloudis returned to the team after his spell at Olympiacos, while AEK also proceeded with the transfers of the goalkeepers Christos Arvanitis and Fanis Kofinas, while the Bulgarian midfielder Angel Kolev was also aquired. Hristo Bonev returned to Lokomotiv Plovdiv, Petros Karavitis left for Proodeftiki, Giannis Mousouris for Veria, Giorgos Rigas for Makedonikos, while the veterans Nikos Christidis and Lakis Nikolaou retired. AEK competed in the UEFA Cup, where they played against Köln in the first round and were eliminated with two defeats. As season progressed, the relations of Čajkovski with some players and the management, caused controversy in the face of the Yugoslav and after some bad result he was fired from the club.

Honours Won: Greek Cup: 1 (1983)

Runner-up: —

Arvanitis

Karagiozopoulos

Manolas

Georgamlis

Paraprastanitis

Ballis

Vlachos
(c)

Ardizoglou

Kottis

Dintsikos

Mavros

Lineup against PAOK (1983-06-29)

1982–83 season, Part II

After a brief spell by the former legend, Kostas Nestoridis at the bench of the club, the well-known from his term at Panathinaikos and Olympiacos, Helmut Senekowitsch was hired. The team finished in the 3rd place, 5 from the top. AEK completed the season with the conquest of the cup, eliminating Olympiacos in the quarter-finals with 2 wins and defeating PAOK by 2–0 at the Olympic Stadium in the final that was marked by crowd incidents.[36]

Honours Won: —

Runner-up: —

1983–84 season, Part I

In the summer of 1983, AEK faced another administrative change in their presidency, as Michalis Arkadis left he not having the financial means to lift the burden of their obligations and the Cypriot travel agency owner, Lefteris Panagidis stepped in and replaced him. The new president was admirer of the English football model, which through his choices he tried to pass on to the club. So, for the team's bench, he hired the British John Barnwell, former Wolves coach. British footballers Trevor Ross, from Everton and Tommy Langley, from Crystal Palace, came with him to the team in an atmosphere of excitement and high expectations. AEK also proceeded with the acquisition of the Greek-Brazilian Pavlos Papaioannou from Rodos, as well as the promising midfielder of Veria, Babis Akrivopoulos. On the other hand, Mojaš Radonjić returned to Yugoslavia, while Michalis Tzirakis left the club. After a bad start and an elimination from the Cup Winners' Cup's the first round by Újpest Barnwell was fired.

Honours Won: –

Runner-up: —

1983–84 season, Part II

The British coach was succeeded by the "old acquaintance" Austrian Helmut Senekowitsch. Takis Nikoloudis and Angel Kolev left, while the British Trevor Ross and Tommy Langley failing to fullfill any expectation in their face, were released. Senekowitsch did not manage to change the bad performances of the team and was also fired after 2 and a half months. Kostas Nestoridis, who completed the tragic season for AEK, who eventually finished 7th at the league, while at the cup were eliminated at the round of 16 by the later finalist, AEL.

Honours Won: —

Runner-up: —

1984–85 season, Part I

Honours Won: —

Runner-up: —

1984–85 season, Part II

Honours Won: —

Runner-up: —

1985–86 season

Arvanitis

Georgamlis (c)

Manolas

Chatzis

Armodoros

Karagiozopoulos

Pias

Dintsikos

Papaioannou

Esterházy

Sandberg

Lineup against Real Madrid (1985-09-18)

Summer arrivals included Australian international Jim Patikas.

Overview

Under Gmoch's management the club played a total of 41 matches winning 19 of them and drawing in 12 more. They scored a total of 65 goals while conceding 40.

Honours Won: —

Runner-up: —

1986–87 season, Part I

Honours Won: —

Runner-up: —

1986–87 season, Part II

Honours Won: —

Runner-up: Alpha Ethniki (1988)

1987–88 season

Summer arrivals included Henrik Nielsen and Cypriot international Giorgos Savvidis.

Honours Won: Alpha Ethniki: 4 (1989, 1992, 1993, 1994), Greek Super Cup: 1 (1989), Greek League Cup: 1 (1990), Greek Cup: 1 (1996)

Runner-up: Alpha Ethniki: 2 (1990, 1996), Greek Super Cup: 3 (1992, 1993, 1994), Greek Cup: 2 (1994, 1995)

1988–89 season

Ikonomopoulos

Peppes

Manolas

Vasilopoulos

Chatzis

Papaioannou

Stamatis

Savevski

Savvidis (c)

Christodoulou

Okoński

Lineup against Olympiacos (1989-05-07)

AEK Athens chased the elusive Championship title and it finally came in 1989. Coached by former star player Dušan Bajević, AEK Athens clinched the title after a winning a crucial match 1–0 against Olympiacos at the Athens Olympic Stadium. Takis Karagiozopoulos scored the goal that gave AEK its first Championship in a decade.

1989–90 season

Ikonomopoulos

Peppes

Manolas

Chatzis

Koutoulas

Papaioannou

Savevski

Savvidis (c)

Patikas

Okoński

Batista

Lineup against Dynamo Dresden (1989-09-27)

AEK playing against PAOK in Toumba Stadium (1989-09-17)

Summer arrivals included Daniel Batista.

AEK Athens also won the Greek Super-Cup of 1989, beating Panathinaikos on penalties, (normal time 1–1). AEK also won the Greek League Cup of 1990 (beating Olympiakos 3–2).

1990–91 season

Summer arrivals included Vaios Karagiannis.

1991–92 season

Summer arrivals included Greek international Vasilis Dimitriadis, Yugoslav international Refik Šabanadžović, Zoran Slišković and Alexis Alexandris.

1992–93 season

Minou

Koutoulas

Stamatis

Vasilopoulos (c)

Karagiannis

Papaioannou

Šabanadžović

Savevski

Alexandris

Slišković

Dimitriadis

Lineup against PSV Eindhoven (1992-10-21)

Summer arrivals included Greek internationals Tasos Mitropoulos and Giorgos Agorogiannis, Charis Kopitsis and Ilias Atmatsidis. Vasilios Tsiartas joined the roster during the winter transfer period.

The departure of star player Daniel Batista for rival Olympiacos did not affect AEK's performance as they won the Alpha Ethniki with Vasilis Dimitriadis being the league's top scorer.

AEK Athens also qualified in the Last 16 of the newly founded UEFA Champions League where they were eliminated by Dutch champions PSV (1–0 in Athens, 0–3 in Eindhoven).

1993–94 season

Summer arrivals included Greek international Michalis Vlachos and Michalis Kasapis.

AEK went on to win the Greek league a third consecutive year, a record for the club.

They also reached the final of the Greek Cup.

1994–95 season

Atmatsidis

Manolas (c)

Papadopoulos

Vlachos

Agorogiannis

Kasapis

Šabanadžović

Savevski

Tsiartas

Saravakos

Kostis

Lineup against Rangers (1994-08-24)

Summer arrivals included Greek internationals Dimitris Saravakos and Christos Kostis, Georgian international Temur Ketsbaia and Nikos Kostenoglou. Alexis Alexandris departed for rival side Olympiacos.

In 1994–1995 AEK became the first Greek football club that participated in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League after eliminating Scottish champions Rangers by beating them twice. AEK Athens was eliminated in the group stage by Dutch champions Ajax and Italian champions Milan, who both made it to the final. The fourth club of the group was Casino Salzburg.

In the Alpha Ethniki AEK Athens had one of the least successful seasons in its history finishing in the fifth position, 21 points behind champions Panathinaikos.

1995–96 season

Atmatsidis

Manolas (c)

Vlachos

Kostenoglou

Borbokis

Kasapis

Šabanadžović

Savevski

Ketsbaia

Tsiartas

Batista

Lineup against Apollon (1996-05-15)

With Michalis Trochanas as president and Dušan Bajević as coach, the club won the Greek Cup.

Although Bajević had been stating throughout the season that he would renew his contract if the club managed to win the Greek Cup he decided to turn the offer down for a more lucrative deal with Olympiacos.

Overview

Under Bajević's management the club performed what was to be called Greek total football, a true Golden Era for AEK Athens.

Honours Won: Greek Super Cup (1996), Greek Cup (1997)

Runner-up: Alpha Ethniki (1997)

1996–97 season

Atmatsidis

Manolas (c)

Kostenoglou

Borbokis

Kasapis

Machairidis

Ketsbaia

Savevski

Nikolaidis

Kostis

Batista

Lineup against Panathinaikos (1997-04-16)

The 1996 summer transfer period was marked by Demis Nikolaidis' decision to decline the more lucrative offer from Olympiacos and join AEK Athens, his favourite team since childhood. Former player Petros Ravousis took over the coaching position when Dušan Bajević defected to Piraeus-based rivals Olympiacos at the end of 1996 and led the team to its second Super-Cup (August 1996), beating Panathinaikos on penalties and to its eleventh Cup title in 1997, again beating Panathinaikos on penalties.

AEK Athens also reached the 1996–97 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup quarter-finals where they lost to Paris Saint-Germain.

Honours Won: —

Runner-up: —

1997–98 season

AEK Athens also reached the 1997–98 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup quarter-finals (for the second consecutive season) where they lost to Lokomotiv Moscow due to a last minute goal.

Overview

Under Dumitriu's management the club played a total of 36 matches winning 22 of them and drawing in 7 more. They scored a total of 62 goals while conceding 32.

Honours Won: —

Runner-up: —

1998–99 season, Part I

Overview

Under Stepanović's management the club played a total of 11 matches winning 6 of them and drawing in 3 more. They scored a total of 22 goals while conceding 14.

Honours Won: —

Runner-up: Alpha Ethniki (1999)

1998–99 season, Part II

In the Alpha Ethniki AEK Athens secured the second place and an UEFA Champions League third qualifying round ticket.

In the UEFA Cup AEK Athens was beaten by Dutch third placed side Vitesse.

Overview

Under Blokhin's management the club played a total of 24 matches winning 16 of them and drawing in 4 more. They scored a total of 52 goals while conceding 19.

Honours Won: —

Runner-up: —

1999–2000 season, Part I

In 1999, ex-president Dimitris Melissanidis organised a friendly match against FK Partizan, in Belgrade, during the height of the NATO bombing of Serbia. As a gesture of compassion and solidarity towards the embattled Serbs, the AEK players and management staff defied the international embargo and traveled to Belgrade for the match. The game ended 1–1, when after 60 minutes of play thousands of Serbian football fans invaded the pitch to embrace the footballers.

Honours Won: Greek Cup (2000)

Runner-up: —

1999–2000 season, Part II

Atmatzidis (c)

Kalitzakis

Dellas

Kapsis

Kasapis

Zikos

Petkov

Ćirić

Lakis

Konstantinidis

Nikolaidis

Lineup against Ionikos (2000-05-10)

Giannis Pathiakakis replaced Takis Karagiozopoulos in the middle of the 1999–00 season but failed to achieve more than the third place in the league, yet won their twelfth Cup title by defeating Ionikos 3–0 in the final. The tree goals were scored by club icon Demis Nikolaidis, Milen Petkov and Christos Maladenis. Nikolaidis was later given an award by FIFA’s Fair Play committee after informing the referee that one of the goals he scored during the match was a handball.

2000–01 season, Part I

Atmatzidis (c)

Ferrugem

Kapsis

Kostenoglou

Kasapis

Zikos

Lakis

Navas

Tsiartas

Ruiz

Nikolaidis

Lineup against Bayer Leverkusen (2000-11-23)

During the 2000 summer transfer period AEK Athens signed Greek internationals Vasilios Tsiartas and Theodoros Zagorakis who alongside Argentine Fernando Navas who joined from Boca Juniors were meant to give them the edge to win the Greek league.

In the UEFA Cup AEK Athens easily overcame Hungarian third placed side Vasas and Danish champions Herfølge and were drawn against German runner-up side Bayer Leverkusen. AEK Athens secured a 4–4 away draw thanks to goals by Vasilios Lakis, Fernando Navas (2) and Vasilis Tsartas. In Athens AEK won 2–0, goals by Navas and Tsartas and progressed to the Fourth round.

In the Greek Cup second round AEK Athens was drawn against Olympiacos. In the first leg and while the score was 1–1, AEK Athens fans were ready to enter the field because of referee Pontikis constantly favouring Olympiacos when AEK Athens chairman Petros Stathis instructed the players to fake injuries so that the match would stop. Olympiacos won 0–2 without a match.

Overview

Under Pathiakakis' management the club generally perform well. They played a total of 59 matches winning 37 of them and drawing in 10 more. They scored a total of 143 goals conceding 70.

Honours Won: —

Runner-up: —

2000–01 season, Part II

Toni Savevski replaced Giannis Pathiakakis in the middle of the 2000–01 season but failed to achieve more than the third place in the league.

In the UEFA Cup fourth round AEK Athens was eliminated by Spanish runner-up side Barcelona.

Overview Under Savevski's management the club generally performed well. They played a total of 17 matches winning 11 of them and drawing in 1 more. They scored a total of 32 goals conceding 18.

Demis Nikolaidis against Nafpaktiakos Asteras (2001-08-29)

Honours Won: Greek Cup (2002)

Runner-up: Alpha Ethniki (2002)

Chiotis

Gamarra

Kapsis

Georgeas

Kasapis

Zikos

Zagorakis (c)

Tsiartas

Lakis

Konstantinidis

Nikolaidis

Lineup against Olympiacos (2002-04-27)

2001–02 season

New chairman Makis Psomiadis managed to hire Fernando Santos as the new head coach. Summer transfers included the signing of Paraguayan international centre back Gamarra and Polish international striker Grzegorz Mielcarski.

The club performed well in all competitions and managed to be in the first position during the Christmas holidays. In the winter transfer season AEK Athens signed António Folha and Ilija Ivić to further strengthen its squad. Traianos Dellas left the club during the winter transfer period. The club continued its consistency in the 2001–02 Alpha Ethniki but a lack of form resulted it three straight losses that allowed Olympiacos to cover the lost ground. Ultimately AEK Athens finished equal-first with Olympiacos, however the Piraeus club had a better goal thus prevented AEK Athens from winning their twelfth title.

However they did win their thirteenth Greek Cup achieving a 0–4 away victory against PAOK and defeating Olympiacos 2–1 in the final.[37] Sotiris Konstantinidis gave AEK Athens the lead but Giovanni equalised for Olympiacos. Golden sub Ilija Ivić scored AEK Athens' winning goal a minute after he entered the pitch.

In the 2001–02 UEFA Cup AEK Athens reached the fourth round (last 16) eliminating Luxembourgian runner-up side Grevenmacher, Scottish third placed side Hibernian, Croatian runner-up side Osijek and Bulgarian fourth placed side Litex Lovech in the process. Now they would face Italian fifth placed side Inter Milan. In Stadio Giuseppe Meazza although AEK Athens managed to score an early away goal, thanks to a long shot by Thodoris Zagorakis, they did not manage to overpower Inter Milan who reversed the scoreline winning 3–1 thanks to goals by Javier Zanetti, Mohamed Kallon and Nicola Ventola. In Nikos Goumas Stadium Inter scored first with Vratislav Greško but AEK Athens took the lead with goals by Sotiris Konstantinidis and Demis Nikolaidis. Ventola equalised and the match ended in a 2–2 draw preventing AEK from further progressing into the competition.

Honours Won: —

Runner-up: —

2002–03 season

Chiotis

Wright

Kapsis

Kostenoglou

Georgatos

Katsouranis

Zagorakis

Tsiartas

Lakis

Kasapis

Nikolaidis (c)

Lineup against Real Madrid (2002-10-22)

AEK Athens chairman Makis Psomiadis replaced popular head coach Fernando Santos[38] with former AEK Athens legend Dušan Bajević. This decision was not received well by hardcore fans Original 21 who protested because they considered his move to rivals Olympiacos six year ago as high treason. Despite the open hostility towards Bajevic the signings of Vasilios Borbokis and Grigoris Georgatos spread optimism for a successful season.

AEK Athens' unbeaten run in the UEFA Champions League was the highlight of the season. The club played against Cypriot champions APOEL in the third qualifying round. In the first leg in Nicosia APOEL scored first with Marinos Ouzounidis but AEK Athens managed to take the lead with Vasilios Borbokis scoring twice. A late equaliser by Costas Malekkos did not prove enough for APOEL as Demis Nikolaidis scored during stoppage time giving his club the win. In Athens AEK Athens won thanks to a header by Mauricio Wright and entered the group stage where they were drawn against Belgian champions Racing Genk, Italian runner-up side Roma and UEFA Champions League's holders Real Madrid. AEK Athens secured two goalless draws against Racing Genk in Genk and Roma in Athens before confronting Real Madrid. Defending champions Madrid drew 3–3 with AEK, but were twice behind against the Greek side. Vasilis Tsiartas became the first player to score against the Spanish side in this season's competition with a sixth-minute free-kick. However, Madrid were soon back on level terms thanks to Zinedine Zidane's goal after 15 minutes before further goals from Christos Maladenis and Demis Nikolaidis put the hosts in the driving seat. However, another Zidane strike and a second-half Guti goal ensured Madrid left with a point.[39] An in a way opposite match was played in Madrid where Steve McManaman's two goals put Real Madrid in front during half-time and AEK Athens equalised with goal by Kostas Katsouranis and Walter Centeno.[40] The next match was against Racing Genk in Athens. Racing Genk scored first and AEK Athens responded with Vasilios Lakis scoring. The group stage was concluded in Rome against Roma where AEK Athens was once again behind in the scoreline by a goal scored by Marco Delvecchio but managed to score a late equaliser with Walter Centeno. The six draws AEK Athens secured are a feat no other club has ever accomplished.

The team continued in the UEFA Cup and smashed Israeli champions Maccabi Haifa by achieving two of their biggest wins ever in European competitions. They first won in Athens 4–0 with goals by Grigoris Georgatos, Demis Nikolaidis, Milen Petkov and Thodoris Zagorakis and then 4–1 in Nicosia with two goals by Vasilis Lakis and two more by Kostas Katsouranis and Dimitris Nalitzis. Walid Badir had earlier scored a penalty kick for Maccabi Haifa. AEK Athens' run was brought to an end in the last-16 round by Spanish side Málaga. They drew 0–0 in Málaga but lost 0–1 in Athens thanks to a goal by Manu.

The season was also punctuated by the demolition of Nikos Goumas Stadium, home to AEK for over 70 years and the assault of club president Makis Psomiadis and his bodyguards to the team captain Demis Nikolaidis.[41]

2003–04 season Part I

Vasilios Tsiartas (2005-06-21)

Chiotis

Amponsah

Kapsis

Borbokis

Georgeas

Katsouranis

Zagorakis

Tsiartas (c)

Okkas

Georgatos

Liberopoulos

Lineup against Grasshopper (2003-08-27)

After seven years wearing AEK Athens' number 11 shirt during which he scored 125 goals in the Alpha Ethniki and partly due to the club's growing financial problems from mismanagement,[42] Demis Nikolaidis terminated his contract by mutual consent and signed for Atlético Madrid.[43] The transfers of Nikos Liberopoulos from Panathinaikos[44] and Giannis Okkas from PAOK promised to revitalise the club's on-field success amid the growing financial problems.

Overview

Under Bajević's management the club generally perform well, especially in his first season. They played a total of 82 matches winning 45 of them and drawing in 23 more. They scored a total of 166 goals conceding 78.

2003–04 season, Part II

Modest performances, though, were not enough as more off-field dramas unfolded. Unable to cope with the negativity from a large section of AEK Athens fans, Bajević resigned in 2004 during a season match against Iraklis and Ilie Dumitrescu was appointed as a caretaker manager.[45]

AEK contributed vitally to Greece's triumph in UEFA Euro 2004. Five out of the total 24 players of the Greek squad came from AEK Athens' squad (Thodoris Zagorakis, Vasilis Tsiartas, Michalis Kapsis, Kostas Katsouranis, Vasilios Lakis). Two more former AEK players were present though they had left the club at the time (Traianos Dellas and Demis Nikolaidis).

Dellas and Zagorakis were voted in the UEFA Team of the Tournament. Zagorakis, who captained Greece, was also voted MVP of the tournament.

Honours Won: —

Runner-up: Alpha Ethniki (2006), Greek Cup (2006)

2004–05 season

Chiotis

Alves

Katsouranis (c)

Bourbos

Kontis

Moras

Kyriakidis

Rusev

Júlio César

Soares

Liberopoulos

Lineup against Panathinaikos (2005-02-03)

On the brink of bankruptcy and losing most of their UEFA Euro 2004 stars and experienced players to other European clubs, AEK needed a miracle to prevent them from being relegated to the Greek amateur leagues. Though both Kostas Katsouranis[46] and Nikos Liberopoulos remained, Vasilios Borbokis, Grigoris Georgatos,[47] UEFA Euro 2004 MVP Theodoros Zagorakis,[48] Michalis Kapsis, Michalis Kasapis, Michel Kreek, Vasilios Lakis, Vasilios Tsiartas and Ioannis Okkas all left the club in the wake of the troubles.

In was then when Demis Nikolaidis persuaded a group of businessmen (including Nikos Notias, Petros Pappas, Takis Kannelopoulos and Gikas Goumas) to buy shares and invest money to the club and became the new club president with the help of all AEK fans who started mass protests organized by the hardcore fans Original 21. His primary task was to lead AEK Athens out of its precarious financial position. The first success was an arrangement through the Greek justice system to write off most of the massive debt that previous club administrators had amassed and to repay any remaining public debts in manageable instalments. Securing the club's existence in the Alpha Ethniki, Nikolaidis then began a program to rebuild AEK to its former glory. He appointed experienced former player Ilija Ivić as technical director of the club and brought back Fernando Santos as head coach.[49] The AEK Athens fans, emboldened by Nikolaidis's efforts, followed suit by buying season ticket packages in record numbers (over 17,000). AEK Athens recruited mostly young Greek players led by Katsouranis and Liberopoulos to form a competitive team. Santos also brought two players from his former club Porto on loan, Paulo Assunção and Bruno Alves both of whom were integral during the season.

With the winter additions of Júlio César, Serbian international Vladimir Ivić and Ilias Kyriakidis AEK Athens came close to winning the 2004–05 Alpha Ethniki but a surprise loss to underdogs Ionikos cost them the title. Furthermore, a serious mistake by referee Kyros Vassaras made them lose the chance to compte in the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round.

2005–06 season

The next season the club was strengthened with Greek internationals Vasilios Lakis[50] and Traianos Dellas,[51] Giorgos Alexopoulos, Stefano Sorrentino[52] and Bruno Cirillo.[53] A group of young talented Greek footballers including Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Panagiotis Kone and Vasilis Pliatsikas were also purchased. During the winter transfer period AEK Athens signed Emerson and Pantelis Kapetanos.

In the Alpha Ethniki AEK Athens finished second securing a place in the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round. The highlight was a 3–0 home win against Panathinaikos, with all tree goal scored in the last ten minutes by Nikos Liberopoulos, Louay Chanko and Vasilios Lakis.

In the Greek Cup AEK Athes reached the final for the seventh time in the last thirteen years surpassing PAS Giannina, Ethnikos Piraeus, Niki Volos and Agrotikos Asteras.

In the UEFA Cup first round AEK Athens were unfortunate enough to draw against Russian fourth placed side Zenit even though they were a seeded club. They managed to secure a 0–0 draw in Saint Petersburg but lost 0–1 in Athens due to an 89th-minute goal by Andrei Arshavin.

Honours Won: —

Runner-up: Super League Greece (2007)

2006–07 season

Sorrentino

Dellas (c)

Papastathopoulos

Cirillo

Tziortziopoulos

Zikos

Emerson

Tőzsér

Manduca

Júlio César

Liberopoulos

Lineup against Milan (2006-11-21)

President Demis Nikolaidis appointed former Real Betis manager Lorenzo Serra Ferrer as head coach[54] so that AEK Athens could play a more attacking style of football.

Kostas Katsouranis was transferred to Benfica for €2.5M.[55] Summer transfers included Greek internationals Panagiotis Lagos[56] and Akis Zikos[57] and the loan of Gustavo Manduca.[58]