AEK Athens F.C.

AEK

Full name	Αθλητική Ένωσις Κωνσταντινουπόλεως (Athletic Union of Constantinople)
Nickname(s)	Enosis (Union) Κιτρινόμαυροι (The Yellow-Blacks) Dikefalos Aetos (Two-Headed Eagle)
Founded	13 April 1924 (1924-04-13)
Ground	Olympic Stadium
Ground Capacity	69,618[1]
Owner	Dimitris Melissanidis[2]
Chairman	Evangelos Aslanidis
Manager	Manolo Jiménez
League	Superleague Greece
2016–17	Superleague Greece, 4th After play-off, 2nd
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours Third colours

Active departments of AEK Athens
Football Basketball Volleyball (Men's) Handball Water Polo Volleyball (Women's) Futsal Athletics Cycling Table tennis Boxing Fencing Field hockey Rugby Chess Muay Thai MMA Weightlifting

AEK F.C. (Greek: ΠΑΕ ΑΕΚ) abbreviated as AEK, known in European competitions as AEK Athens F.C.,^[3] is a Greek association football club based in the Nea Filadelfeia suburb of Athens.

Established in Athens in 1924 by Greek refugees from Constantinople in the wake of the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922), its name is a direct reference to the origins of the founders. The club's emblem is the double-headed eagle, used by the Palaiologos dynasty and traditionally by the Byzantine Empire, as a remembrance of the Byzantine legacy and the historical ties of the club. AEK is one of the three most successful teams in Greek football, including Olympiacos and Panathinaikos, winning 30 national titles and the only one to have won all the competitions organised by the Hellenic Football Federation (including 11 Championships, 15 Greek Cups, 1 League Cup and 2 Super Cups).^[4]

They are one of the most popular Greek clubs with millions of fans in Greece and Cyprus, and in Greek communities worldwide, mainly in Australia, the United Kingdom and North America.

The club has appeared several times in European competitions (UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and the defunct UEFA Cup Winners' Cup), in which they are the second most successful Greek football club in terms of achievements. They were the first Greek team to compete in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League in the early 1990s, and to this day, they are the only Greek team to have reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup, in 1976–77. They have also reached the quarter-finals of the European Cup once, in 1968–69, and the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup twice, in 1996–97 and 1997–98. AEK is a member of the European Club Association.

AEK's matches against Olympiacos and Panathinaikos, the other two major clubs from Athens, are considered AEK's traditional rivalries. PAOK is another of the club's rivals.

History

Creation and first years (1924–1944)

The large Greek population of Constantinople, not unlike those of the other Ottoman urban centres, continued its athletic traditions in the form of numerous athletic clubs. Clubs such as Enosis Tataoulon (Ένωσις Ταταούλων) and Iraklis (Ηρακλής) from the Tatavla district, Megas Alexandros (Μέγας Αλέξανδρος) and Hermes (Ερμής) of Galata, and Olympias (Ολυμπιάς) of Therapia existed to promote the Hellenic athletic and cultural ideals. These were amongst a dozen Greek-backed clubs that dominated the sporting landscape of the city in the years preceding World War I. After the war, with the influx of mainly French and English soldiers to Constantinople, many of the city clubs participated in regular competition with teams formed by the foreign troops. Taxim, Pera and Tatavla became the scene of weekly competitions in not only football, but of athletics, cycling, boxing and tennis.

However, of the clubs in the city, football was dominated by Enosis Tataoulon and Hermes. Hermes, one of the most popular clubs, was formed in 1875 by the Greek community of Pera (Galata). Forced to change its name to Pera Club in 1921, many of its athletes, and those of most other sporting clubs, fled during the population exchanges at the end of the Greco-Turkish War, and settled in Athens and Thessaloniki.^[5]

In 1920, a group of Constantinopolitan refugees (among them athletes from Pera Club and the other Constantinopolitan clubs) met at the athletic shop "Lux" of Emilios Ionas and Konstantinos Dimopoulos on Veranzerou Street, in the centre of Athens, and founded AEK.^[6]

The founders of AEK established the club with the intention of providing athletic and cultural diversions for the thousands of predominantly Constantinopolitan and Anatolian refugees who had settled in the new suburbs of Athens (Nea Filadelfeia, Nea Ionia, Nea Chalkidona, Nea Smyrni, etc.), and in other Greek cities, under difficult circumstances.

AEK FC first team

GK: Kitsos, DF: Ieremiades, DF: Asderis, MF: Kechagias, MF: Paraskevas, MF: Dimopoulos, MF: Karagiannides, FW: Baltas, FW: Milas, FW: Iliades, and FW: Georgiades. AEK played its first match against Aias Athinon in November 1924, winning 2–0.

AEK's football team grew rapidly in popularity during the 1920s, eclipsing the already-established Athens-based refugee clubs (Panionios, Apollon Smyrni, etc.), thanks mainly to the large pool of immigrants that were drawn to the club, the significance of the name "Constantinople" for many refugees and Greeks, plus, 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 its 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 Prime Minister of Greece 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' sports activities. AEK began using the ground for training (albeit unofficially) and by 1930, the property was signed over to the club. Venizelos soon approved the plans to build what was to become AEK's home ground for the next 70 years, the Nikos Goumas Stadium. The first home match, in November 1930, was an exhibition match against Olympiacos which ended in a 2–2 draw.^[7]

In 1928, Panathinaikos, Olympiacos and AEK began a dispute with the fledgling Hellenic Football Federation (EPO), decided to break away from the Athens regional league and formed an alliance called POK (from their initial letters, K was for AEK: Konstantinoupolis). During the dispute, POK organised friendly matches against each other and several continental European clubs. In 1929, though, the dispute ended and AEK, along with the other POK clubs, entered the EPO fold once again.

In 1932, AEK won their first Greek Cup title, beating Aris 5–3 in the final. The team boasted a number of star football players like Kostas Negrepontis (a veteran of the original Pera Club of Constantinople), Kleanthis Maropoulos, Tryfon Tzanetis, Michalis Delavinias, Giorgos Mageirasand Spyros Sklavounos.

The club's mixed success during the 1930s was highlighted by the first Greek Championship and Greek Cup (making the double) in 1939. Under former player Kostas Negrepontis as coach, AEK also won the Greek Championship of 1940.

After WWII (1944–1959)

With English coach Jack Beby at the reins of AEK, veteran players Maropoulos, Tzanetis, Delavinias and Mageiras, along with new blood Kostas Poulis, Giorgos Goulios, and Pavlos Emmanouilidis, won the Greek Cup competitions of 1949 and 1950, beating Panathinaikos 2–1 and Aris 4–0.

AEK won also the Athens regional championship of 1950, but the playoff games for the Pan-Hellenic title were not played, due to many players being called up for a prolonged training camp for the national team.

The early 1950s saw the addition of the next generation of star footballers in Giannis Kanakis, Andreas Stamatiadis, and goalkeeper Stelios Serafeidis. Along with Kostas Poulis and Pavlos Emmanouilidis, AEK won the Greek Cup title again in 1956. In the final, they beat Olympiacos 2–1 at Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium to win their fifth cup. The year 1957 saw the debut of one of the greatest forwards of the era and one of the most notable players in the club's history, Kostas Nestoridis. Having joined AEK from Panionios in 1956, Nestoridis was forced to sit out the 1956 season because of a dispute between the two clubs over his transfer. In 1958 and 1959, he finished as top goal scorer in the league, but it was not enough for AEK to win any titles. On both occasions, they finished second in the league behind Olympiacos.

New successes (1960–1974): Nestoridis-Papaioannou era

With Kostas Nestoridis scoring goals aplenty in the early 1960s (the top goalscorer for five seasons in row, from 1958 to 1963), and the timely signing of attacker Mimis Papaioannou (all-time top goalscorer and appearances recordman of the club) in 1962, AEK won the 1962–63 championship. Known affectionately as "Mimis" by AEK supporters, Papaioannou scored twice in the 1963 playoff against Panathinaikos, levelling the score at 3–3 and giving AEK its first post-war championship on aggregate. Coached by Hungarian–German Jenő Csaknády, the championship team also consisted of Stelios Serafeidis, Miltos Papapostolou, and Andreas Stamatiadis. Youngsters like Alekos Sofianidis, Stelios Skevofilakas, Giorgos Petridis and Manolis Kanellopoulos also played a significant role in the victorious 1963 campaign.

The club followed up with Greek Cup victories in 1964 and 1966. With the return of Csaknády to the coach's position in 1968 and with the addition of great players such as Kostas Nikolaidis, Giorgos Karafeskos, Panagiotis Ventouris, Fotis Balopoulos, Spyros Pomonis, Alekos Iordanou, Nikos Stathopoulos and Andreas Papaemmanouil, AEK easily won the 1967–68 championship.

European Champions Cup quarter-finals

In the 1968–69 season, AEK, with new Serbian coach Branko Stanković, became the first Greek football club to reach the quarter-finals of the European Cup. However, AEK was eliminated by Czechoslovakian side Spartak Trnava.

The addition of goalkeeper Stelios Konstantinidis and Apostolos Toskas reinforced the team, helping AEK win its fifth championship title in 1971.

AEK also won the unofficial SuperCup of 1971, beating Olympiacos 4–2 on penalty kicks after two draws (2–2 at Piraeus and 1–1 at Nea Filadelfeia). Thomas Mavros, Kostas Eleutherakis, and Christos Ardizoglou were part of the AEK outfit which dominated the Greek league in the late 1970s.

The great AEK of Barlos (1974–81)

Loukas Barlos, a successful industrialist, took over the presidency and financial support of AEK in 1974, and with the help of coach František Fadrhonc, built one of the finest squads in club history. The Barlos "Golden Era" saw some of the greatest players ever to have played for AEK: Christos Ardizoglou, Giorgos Dedes, Giorgos Skrekis, the Germans Walter Wagner and Timo Zahnleiter, Dionysis Tsamis, Pantelis Nikolaou, Petros Ravousis, Dušan Bajević, Takis Nikoloudis, Stefanos Theodoridis, Christos Itzoglou, Nikos Christidis and Stelios Manolas, among others.

UEFA Cup semi-finalists

Captained by Papaioannou in the 1976–77 season, AEK reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup, the first Greek football club to do so. After defeating FC Dynamo Moscow 2–0, Derby County 2–0 and 3–2, Red Star Belgrade 2–0 and Queens Park Rangers 3–0 and 7–6 on penalties, AEK was eventually eliminated by Gianni Agnelli's Juventus. Juventus went on to win its first European title.^[8]

Thomas Mavros: a goal-machine

It was during this period that AEK signed one of Greece's finest strikers, Thomas Mavros, a real goal-machine who is the all-time top goalscorer in the Greek Championship with 260 goals. During the following years, he and Dušan Bajević formed a frightening attacking duo for AEK.

He was an integral part of the team that reached the UEFA Cup final in 1976, but it was his devastating form (top goalscorer of 1978 and 1979 – 22 and 31 goals, respectively) that helped AEK to win the 1977–78 Championship and the Greek Cup, making the double. The addition of former Panathinaikos stars Mimis Domazos and Kostas Eleutherakis to the AEK squad, the following year, saw the club cap off their most successful decade to-date by winning the 1979 Championship.

Under the leadership of Loukas Barlos, the Nikos Goumas Stadium was finally completed with the addition of the iconic covered stand, or Skepasti (Σκεπαστή), which eventually became home to the most fanatic of AEK supporter groups, "Original 21". The next generation of star players, fresh out of AEK's Academy, made their debut during this period: Stelios Manolas, Spyros Ekonomopoulos, Vangelis Vlachos and Lysandros Georgamlis.

1981–1999

With new president Michalis Arkadis and Austrian head coach Helmut Senekowitsch, AEK won the 1983 Greek Cup, beating PAOK 2–0 in the newly built Athens Olympic Stadium. Thomas Mavros and Vangelis Vlachos were the goalscorers.

AEK also chased the elusive Championship title and it finally came in 1989. Coached by former player Dušan Bajević, AEK clinched the title after a winning a crucial match 1–0 against Olympiacos at the Athens Olympic Stadium. Takis Karagiozopoulos scored the goal which gave AEK its first Championship after ten years. AEK won also the 1989 Greek Super Cup, beating Panathinaikos on penalties after a 1–1 draw.

The "Golden Team" of Bajević: 3 consecutive Championships

After the 1989 triumphs, under Bajević, AEK built what was to become one of the most successful squads in club history. Captained by Stelios Manolas, the team, which included Toni Savevski, Daniel Batista, Vaios Karagiannis, Vasilis Dimitriadis, Giorgos Savvidis, Alekos Alexandris, Vassilios Tsiartas (one of the best players in AEK's history), Michalis Kasapis, Refik Šabanadžović, and Vassilios Borbokis, dominated the Greek league through the 1990s with three successive Championship titles (1992, 1993 and 1994). Temur Ketsbaia and Christos Kostis were later added to this group. AEK won the only Greek League Cup ever organised in 1990, beating Olympiacos 3–2.

First Greek presence in the UEFA Champions League group stage

In 1994–95, AEK was the first Greek football club which participated in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League after defeating Scottish champions Rangers. However, AEK was eliminated by Ajax and Milan, the latter which made it to the final. With Michalis Trochanas as president and Dušan Bajević as coach, the club won the Greek Cup in 1996.

Former player Petros Ravousis took over the coaching position when Dušan Bajević defected to Olympiacos at the end of 1996. Ravousis led the team to its second Super Cup in 1996, and its 11th Greek Cup title in 1997, defeating Panathinaikos in both finals.

By far, AEK's most successful run with titles, the period also saw AEK sign young talented players like Demis Nikolaidis, Christos Kostis, Vassilis Tsiartas, Christos Maladenis, Andreas Zikos and Michalis Kasapis. Nikolaidis, in particular, an AEK fan since childhood, declined more lucrative offers from Olympiacos and Panathinaikos to sign for his beloved club. During the 1996–97 and 1997–98 seasons, AEK progressed to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, where they were eliminated by Paris Saint-Germain and Lokomotiv Moscow respectively.

In 1999, former club president Dimitris Melissanidis organised a friendly match against 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 thousands of Serbian football fans invaded the pitch to embrace the footballers.

21st century

AEK won its 12th Greek Cup title in 2000 under coach Giannis Pathiakakis, defeating Ionikos 3–0 in the final. The club continued its consistency in the Championship of 2001–02, finishing second on goal aggregate to Olympiacos, but defeating Olympiacos in the Greek Cup final.

2002–03 UEFA Champions League unbeaten run

Dušan Bajević returned as coach in the summer of 2002, a move that sparked open hostility towards Bajević from a section of AEK supporters. A strong team, called Dream team by the fans, was created with players like Kostas Katsouranis, Ilija Ivić, Dionisis Chiotis, Vassilis Borbokis, Grigorios Georgatos, Theodoros Zagorakis, Walter Centeno, Michalis Kapsis, Michel Kreek, Vassilis Lakis, Vassilis Tsiartas (who returned from Sevilla), Ioannis Okkas, Nikos Liberopoulos and Demis Nikolaidis.

Under Bajević, AEK progressed through the qualifying rounds in the 2002–03 Champions League by eliminating APOEL. Drawn in Group A alongside Roma, Real Madrid and Genk, AEK with good performances drew all their games and were knocked out of the competition. They continued to UEFA Cup, eliminating Maccabi Haifa (4–0, 4–1) before being eliminated by Málaga.

Off the field, president Makis Psomiadis (died 06/01/2016) caused many problems for AEK and with his mismanagement overcharged the club. Also, with the assistance of his bodyguards, he allegedly assaulted captain Demis Nikolaidis and other players.

After the altercation, and partly due to the club's growing financial problems, Nikolaidis was let on free transfer by mutual consent to Atlético Madrid. Unable to cope with the negativity from a large section of AEK fans, Bajević resigned in 2004 after a match against Iraklis.

Demis Nikolaidis period

In 2004, Demis Nikolaidis and other significant AEK followers formed a supporters' club Enosis 1924 (Union 1924) in order to motivate all AEK supporters into taking up the club's shares and governance. The project was not fully realised because, in the meantime, various businessmen decided to buy shares and invest money in the club. However, to this date, Enosis 1924's chairman is member of the AEK board. The same year, Nikos Goumas Stadium, AEK's home stadium for over 70 years, was demolished.

In 2004, on the back of strong AEK fan support, Demis Nikolaidis, at the head of a consortium of businessmen, bought out the beleaguered club and became its new president. His primary task was to lead AEK out of its precarious financial position. The first success was an arrangement through the Greek judicial system to write off most of the massive debt that previous club administrators had amassed, and to repay any remaining public debts in manageable installments.

Securing the club's existence in the Alpha Ethniki, Nikolaidis began a program to rebuild AEK to its former glory. He appointed experienced former player Ilija Ivić as technical director and brought back Fernando Santos as head coach. The AEK fans, emboldened by Nikolaidis' efforts, followed suit by buying season ticket packages in record numbers (over 17,000).

AEK recruited promising young players to strengthen a depleted team. Led by the experienced Katsouranis and Lymperopoulos, and featuring Brazilian Júlio César, the club made it to the Greek Cup final for the seventh time in 13 years, but finished second in the Championship, and in the process, secured a place in the third qualifying round of the Champions League. For the 2006–07 season, former Real Betis coach Lorenzo Serra Ferrer was appointed to the coaching position after Fernando Santos' contract was not renewed.

By beating Scottish club Hearts over both legs (2–1 in Scotland and 3–0 in Greece), AEK progressed to the group stage of the Champions League. The club earned a total of eight points, having beaten Milan 1–0, Lille 1–0 and managing two draws with Anderlecht (1–1 in Greece and 2–2 in Belgium). AEK finished second in the Superleague Greece, qualifying again for the third round in the Champions League.

2007–2008 Championship

For the 2007–08 season, AEK changed kit sponsors from Adidas to Puma.^[9] They played Sevilla in the Champions League third qualifying round. The first leg was played on 15 August, away at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium, where AEK lost by two goals,^[10] and the second leg played on 3 September, at the Athens Olympic Stadium, where AEK lost 1–4.^[11]

AEK completed the signings of Brazilian legend Rivaldo, after he was released from Olympiacos, Rodolfo Arruabarrena, Charis Pappas and Argentine striker Ismael Blanco. Traianos Dellas was rewarded with a new contract, keeping him at the club until summer 2009.^[12] On 25 August, the Superleague Greece and Hellenic Football Federation opted to postpone the opening season's games due to the fire disaster in the Peloponnese.^[13][14]

After being eliminated from the Champions League, AEK was drawn to play against FC Salzburg in UEFA Cup qualification. On 20 September, AEK defeated Salzburg 3–0 in Athens.^[15] In the second leg, played in Salzburg on 4 October, AEK lost the match but still progressed 3–1 on aggregate.^[16] On 9 October, AEK was drawn in Group C in the UEFA Cup group stage along with Villarreal, Fiorentina, Mladá Boleslav and IF Elfsborg.^[17] On 25 October, AEK kicked off the group stage with a 1–1 draw away to Elfsborg.^[18] On 29 November, AEK drew 1–1 at home to Fiorentina.^[19] On 5 December, AEK defeated Mladá Boleslav 1–0 away^[20] and on 20 December, AEK was home defeated 1–2^[21] by Villarreal, but booked a place in the knockout stage by finishing third in the group. They were then drawn against Getafe in the round of 32. AEK advanced to the third round of UEFA Cup for the second consecutive season.

On 12 February, AEK parted company with head coach Lorenzo Serra Ferrer after a poor run of form and unsuccessful signings^[22] and replaced him with former player Nikos Kostenoglou, on a caretaker basis. The team initially finished in first place in the league, but after the court case between Apollon Kalamaria and Olympiacos for the illegal usage of a player in the 1–0 Apollon Kalamaria win earlier in the season, Olympiacos was awarded three points, thus finishing two points ahead of AEK.^[23]

President Demis Nikolaidis and several other managers and chairmen were angered with the court's decision, stating the Hellenic Football Federation knew about the usage of the illegal player prior to the match and had indeed issued a registration (blue card), but did not do anything about it. Panathinaikos also challenged the result at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) with no success, as the Hellenic Federation did not support the claim. Rivaldo had stated his intention to leave Greece if the ruling went in favour of Olympiacos and AEK was not declared champions. He stated, "[A] team that was not good enough to win the title on the pitch does not deserve the trophy."^[24]

Giorgos Donis was appointed head coach of AEK on 14 May.^[25] However, his tenure at the club did not go well. It all began when AEK failed to surpass Omonia in the UEFA Cup second qualifying round, which meant their elimination from European competitions for the season.^[26] Rivaldo asked to leave the club to sign for Bunyodkor on 27 August.^[27]

The league campaign started very well after a win over rivals Panathinaikos in the opening match of the season, but poor performances and results from then on left AEK in a difficult situation. Giorgos Donis was eager to leave the club, but club president Demis Nikolaidis did not allow him to leave. Nevertheless, Nikolaidis left due to disappointing results and after a controversy with the club's supporters, Original 21,^[28] leaving the presidency temporarily to the members of the board of directors, Nikos Koulis and Takis Kanellopoulos.^[29]

Financial problems and relegation

However, the series of disappointing results continued, bringing anger and insecure situations for everyone on the team. The first to be hit by this wave of disappointment and upset with the team council was coach Giorgios Donis, who was asked to leave the team.^[30] On 21 November 2008, AEK hired Dušan Bajević as head coach for third time.^[31] However, after a while, Takis Kanellopoulos left the club, as he sparked a rivalry with Bajević.

On 4 February 2009, Nikos Thanopoulos was elected as the 41st president of AEK.^[32] Bajević brought some much-needed stability to the club, and performances on the pitch improved vastly towards the end of the season, culminating in AEK's progression to the Greek Cup final against Olympiacos which was played on 2 May 2009, at Athens Olympic Stadium.^[33] AEK lost in the final 14–15 on penalties.^[34] AEK finished the regular season in fourth position, thus qualifying for the season's playoffs, in which they eventually finished second, just missing out on Champions League qualification.

In the 2010 summer transfer period, AEK, despite being low on budget, managed to reinforce its ranks with many notable players. Club idols Nikos Liberopoulos and Traianos Dellas signed the last one-year contracts of their careers, and many new and experienced players signed to AEK, the most notable of whom were Papa Bouba Diop, Cristian Nasuti and Christos Patsatzoglou. AEK qualified for the 2010–11 UEFA Europa League group stage after defeating Dundee United 2–1 on aggregate.

On 7 October 2010, Manolo Jiménez agreed to a two-year deal and took over as head coach for Dušan Bajević.^[35]

On 30 April 2011, AEK won the Greek Cup for the 14th time, defeating 3–0 Atromitos in the final.

To compensate for the departures of Nacho Scocco, Papa Bouba Diop, Sebastian Saja and Ismael Blanco in the summer of 2011, AEK signed the captain of the Iceland national team, Eiður Guðjohnsen, and Colombian international Fabián Vargas. Due to financial problems, on 25 June 2012 AEK legend Thomas Mavros took the club's management and on 1 August 2012 became president in an effort to save the club from financial disaster. Many other former AEK players like Vassilis Tsiartas, Mimis Papaioannou, Kostas Nestoridis, Christos Kostis, Vangelis Vlachos, Christos Arvanitis and Giorgos Karafeskos were hired to help the club return to its previous glory days. However, due to poor results, on 30 September 2012 Vangelis Vlachos was fired and Ewald Lienen was hired as AEK's head coach. On 9 April 2013, Lienen was fired after disappointing results and AEK hired Traianos Dellas as head coach, with Vassilis Borbokis and Akis Zikos as his assistants.

On 19 April 2013, a Superleague disciplinary committee voted to dock AEK three points and award Panthrakikos a 3–0 win after fans stormed the pitch and chased players from the field during the AEK–Panthrakikos match on 14 April 2013. As a result, AEK was relegated from the Superleague to the second-tier Football League for the first time in its history. In addition, AEK started its Football League campaign with –2 points.^[36]

Fresh new start: Melissanidis era

On 7 June 2013, during an AEK council, it was decided AEK would become an amateur club and tey not participate in the Football League division for the 2013–14 season. The club "self"-relegated and would participate in the amateur Football League 2 division. On the same day, Dimitris Melissanidis, the former president of the club, became administrative leader of AEK, aiming to save the club under the supervision of the amateur AEK. Later, together with other notable AEK fans and old players, they created the non-profit association, "Union Friends of AEK" (Enosi Filon AEK), which took a majority stake of the club.^[37]

AEK managed to easily be crowned as the champions of the sixth group of the amateur Football League 2 division with a record of 23 wins, 3 draws and 1 loss. Thus, AEK participated in the Football League division for the 2014–15 season, where they once again outplayed every team and managed to earn the first spot, having only two draws and no defeats. However, the only league defeat came in the promotion playoffs in the opening match against Iraklis. AEK successfully finished first in the playoffs and gained promotion back to the Greek top tier, the Superleague.

On 20 October 2015, Traianos Dellas was forced to resign as a result of a dispute between him and the board, and a heavy 4–0 loss to Olympiacos. Stelios Manolas was named interim coach and later Gus Poyet was appointed as new head coach. On 19 April, Poyet resigned, leaving Manolas as interim coach again. Manolas managed to guide AEK to a third-place finish in the league, qualifying for the playoff round and also to its first trophy since 2010–11 by lifting the Greek Cup, defeating Olympiacos 2–1 in the final.^[38] With the postponement of the final on two separate occasions and the congested fixture list of the playoff round, it meant AEK was to play a fixture every three days, which evidently took its toll on the players, but they managed to finish third and qualified for the 2016–17 Europa League third qualifying round. The first season back in the top flight was considered a success with a trophy and qualification for European football next season, a return after a five-year hiatus.

The second season started well, save for the 0–1 aggregate loss to Saint-Étienne in Europa League qualifying. In the first match of the season, AEK defeated Xanthi 4–1. However, the decision was made to replace head coach Temur Ketsbaia with José Morais,^[39] a decision based on the team's stuttering start to the season, with three wins, two draws and two losses, and poor displays. However, Morais' arrival did not improve the team's results or performances, as the club won only 3 of its 14 matches under Morais. On 19 January 2017, former manager Manolo Jiménez was reappointed following Morais' resignation.^[40]

Badge and team colours

Kit and colours

The colours of yellow/gold and black were adopted from AEK's connections with Constantinople and the Byzantine Empire.^[41]

AEK has always worn predominantly gold or yellow shirts and black shorts. An exception has been the unusual, but notable and popular among the fans, Kappa kits of the 1990s which featured a big two-headed eagle motif across the kit.

AEK's traditional away colours are all-black or all-white. On a few occasions, the club has introduced as a third kit a light blue, a silver, and even a dark red, or a tyrian purple (porphyra), a type of reddish purple inspired by the war Byzantine flag^[42] and used also by the imperial dynasties of the Byzantine Empire.

Crest

In 1924, AEK adopted as its emblem the image of a double-headed eagle (Δικέφαλος Αετός). When AEK was created by Greek refugees from Constantinople in the years following the Greco-Turkish War and subsequent population exchange, the emblem and colours (yellow and black) were chosen as a reminder of lost homelands; they represent the club's historical ties to Constantinople. After all, the double-headed eagle is featured in the flag of the Greek Orthodox Church, whose headquarters are in Constantinople and served as Imperial emblem under the Palaiologos dynasty.

AEK's main emblem underwent numerous minor changes between 1924 and 1982. The design of the eagle on the shirt badge was often not identical to the design of the eagle depicted on official club correspondence, merchandise, and promotional material. All designs were considered "official" (in the broadest sense of the word), although it was not until 1982 that an identifiable, copyrighted design was established as the club's official shirt badge. The emblem design was changed in 1989 and again in 1993, to the current shield design.

Shirt sponsors and manufacturers

Since 2007, AEK's kit has been manufactured by Nike, which also supplied its kits from 2000 to 2004. Previous manufacturers have been Adidas (1974–75, 1977–83 and 2005–07), Zita Hellas (1983–89), Diadora (1989–93), Basic (1993–95), Kappa (1995–2000), and Puma (1975–77, 2007–15).

Starting in 2015, the club's main shirt sponsors are OPAP, which also sponsored them in 2010–14. Previous shirt sponsors have been Citizen (1982–83), Nissan (1983–85), Ethniki Asfalistiki (1985–93 and 1995–96), Phoenix Asfaleies (1993–95), Geniki Bank (1996–98), Firestone (1999), Marfin Investment Group (1999–2001), Alpha Digital (2001–02), Piraeus Bank (2002–04), TIM (2004–06), LG (2006–08), Diners Club (2009–10) and Jeep (2014–15).

Period	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsor
1974–1975	Adidas	—
1975–1976	Puma
1976–1982	Adidas[43]
1982–1983		Citizen
1983–1985	Zita Hellas	Nissan
1985–1989		Ethniki Asfalistiki
1989–1993	Diadora
1993–1995	Basic	Phoenix Asfaleies
1995	Kappa	Ethniki Asfalistiki
1995	Diadora[44]	—
1995–1996	Kappa	Ethniki Asfalistiki
1996–1998		General Bank of Greece
1999		Firestone
1999–2000		Marfin Investment Group
2000–2001	Nike
2001–2002		Alpha Digital
2002–2004		Piraeus Bank
2004		TIM
2005–2006	Adidas
2006–2007		LG
2007–2009	Puma
2009–2010		Diners Club
2010–2013		Kino
2013–2014		Joker
2014–2015		Jeep
2015–	Nike	Pame Stoixima

Financial information

Loukas Barlos, a successful industrialist, was owner and president since 1974, and was in charge when Greek football turned professional in 1979. In 1981, due to health problems, he passed his shares to Andreas Zafeiropoulos. In 1982 the business shipping magnate Michalis Arkadis became president, aiming to reinforce financial support, with Zafeiropoulos holding the majority stake. In 1988, Zafeiropoulos placed Efstratios Gidopoulos in the presidency, and AEK managed to win their first championship in ten years.

In 1992, the club passed to new owners. The business shipping magnate and oil tycoon Dimitris Melissanidis, together with Yiannis Karras, took the majority stake and continued the successful and champion seasons.

After an unsuccessful season, in 1995, they passed their shares to Michalis Trochanas, and with his turn a percentage to ENIC Group investment company. In 1999, NETMED, a Dutch media company, took over management of the club. A crisis period followed with mismanagement and many changes in the presidency. In 2004, ex-AEK player Demis Nikolaidis made a plan in order to progress with the reorganization and financial consolidation, and together with other investors (such as Nicholas X. Notias, Gikas Goumas, Takis Kanellopulos, a shareholder of Titan Cement, and others) took the majority stake.

The plan initially seemed to work, but the downfall continued. The team was relegated after the 2012–13 season for the first time in its history. In an effort to discharge the immense debt created by years of mismanagement, its directors chose for the team to compete in the third tier. On the same day Dimitris Melissanidis, the old president of the club, became administrative leader of AEK, under the supervision of the amateur A.E.K. (sports club). Later, together with other notable AEK fans and old players, they created the non-profit association "Union Friends of AEK" (Enosi Filon AEK) which took the majority stake of the football club.^[37]

In March 2015, AEK FC became the first Greek company that was listed in the Elite programme of the London Stock Exchange, a pan-European programme for ambitious high-growth businesses that was launched in 2012 at Borsa Italiana and following its success was rolled out in the United Kingdom in 2014, and the first Greek football club quoted on a stock exchange. Raffaele Jerusalmi, executive director of the Board of Directors of LSEG, stated: "We are delighted to welcome AEK to Elite programme".^[45][46] On 27 April 2015, AEK FC was selected for the honor of opening a session of the London Stock Exchange.^[47]

Current sponsorships:

• Home Shirt Sponsor: Pame Stoixima
• Official Sport Clothing Manufacturer: Nike, Inc.
• Official Sponsor: Cosmote, Piraeus Bank, Nova Sports

Stadium

• 
  The entrance of the historic Nikos Goumas Stadium
• 
  Olympic Stadium of Athens

Nikos Goumas Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in Nea Filadelfeia ("New Philadelphia"), a northwestern suburb of Athens, Greece. It was used mostly for football matches and was the home stadium of AEK. It was named after one-time club president, Nicholas Goumas, who contributed to its building and later upgrading. It served as AEK's home ground since 1930.^[48] The club now plays its home matches in the 70,000-capacity Spiridon Louis (Athens Olympic Stadium) in Athens.^[49] The Olympic Athletic Center of Athens, also known as OAKA, is one of the most complete European athletic complexes.

The Olympic Athletic Center of Athens hosted the Mediterranean Games in 1991, the World Championship in Athletics in 1997, the 1994 and 2007 UEFA Champions League Final, as well as other important athletic and cultural events, the most significant of which remains the Summer Olympics in 2004.^[50]

Stadium	Capacity	Years
Nikos Goumas Stadium	27,729	1928–2003
Athens Olympic Stadium	69,618	2004–2019
Hagia Sophia Stadium	31,527	2019–

Attendance records

Year	Attendance	Stadium	Competition	Opponent
23/5/1986	74,473	Olympic Stadium	Superleague Greece	Panathinaikos
7/11/2004	63,129	Olympic Stadium	Superleague Greece	Olympiacos
21/11/2006	56,203	Olympic Stadium	Champions League	Milan
11/3/2015	64,256[51]	Olympic Stadium	Greek Cup	Olympiacos

Training facility

The training complex used by AEK is located in Spata. Owned by Nicholas X. Notias, it is the most expensive (with a total cost around €25 million^[52]) and one of the three biggest training centers in Greece. There are three regular pitches and one synthetic grass. The main building of the center hosts offices of the club, a press room, and the players' rooms. The training ground is used by the first team and youth teams. The Sports Center includes state-of-the-art facilities, a fitness and health center with weight-training and fitness rooms, a cryotherapy center and more. There are also plans for an AEK Museum, hotel, aquatic center and two more soccer fields. AEK moved to the complex in November 2010. Since 2014, the official name of the ground is "OPAP Sports Center".^[53]

Supporters, anthem and rivalries

Supporters

AEK has a large fan base across Greece and they are well known for their anti-fascist ideology. The majority of AEK supporters are refugees or of refugee descent from Constantinople and the forced population exchange of the Asia Minor Catastrophe of 1922. Original 21 is the largest AEK supporters club. The first attempt to organise AEK supporters was Gate 21 (formed in 1975), which took its name from the gate in the Nikos Goumas Stadium, Nea Filadelfia, where the most hardcore fans gathered. AEK also have many supporters worldwide, most of them Greek emigrants, in places such as North America, United Kingdom, Australia and Cyprus.

On 13 September 2015, AEK supporters in the match against PAS Giannina at the Olympic Stadium of Athens brought refugees from Syria with them, and upraised a banner saying, "ΑΕΚ ΜΑΝΑ ΟΛΩΝ ΤΩΝ ΠΡΟΣΦΥΓΩΝ", meaning, "AEK the mother of all refugees". AEK has a large fan base among highly educated people including artists, musicians and actors due to the team's distinctive culture.

Supporters friendships

There is a strong relationship between the clubs AEK Athens, Livorno and Marseille. AEK fans often lift banners and create choreography in support of their fellow teams. A so-called "triangle of brotherhood" has developed between the most heavily supported fan clubs of Marseille, Livorno and AEK Athens, namely between Commando Ultras 84, Brigate Autonome Livornesi 99 and Original 21.

On 25 April 2013, Fenerbahçe fans lifted a banner supporting AEK, saying, "AEK, ΚΡΑΤΑ ΓΕΡΑ," meaning, "AEK, hold on tightly."^[54] The clubs are also connected by Lefter Küçükandonyadis, who played for both teams. However, it is not confirmed whether the clubs have a brotherhood.

Club anthem

AEK's club anthem Empros tis AEK pallikaria (Go on AEK lads) was composed by Stelios Kazantzidis. The lyrics were written by Christos Kolokotronis. The current version of the anthem is sung by ex-football player Mimis Papaioannou.^[55]

Anastenazun ta goalposts ke ta dokaria spazun
(The goalposts are sighing and the crossbars are being broken)
Tis Enosis i aeti ta diktia komatiazun
(The Union's eagles destroy the nets)

Empros tis AEK palikaria, sutarete ke spaste ta dokaria!
(Come on AEK's men, shoot and break the crossbars!)
Ta diktia skiste, ti Doxa kataktiste!
(Tear up the nets, conquer the Glory!)
Nikiste, nikiste, nikiste!
(Win, win, win!)

I kinigi sou keravni, vrachos i amina su
(Your forwards are thunders, your defense is a rock)
Ke tis Real to fovitro egine to onoma su
(And your name became the fear of Real Madrid)

Listen AEK's club anthem

Rivalries

AEK's biggest rivalries are with Panathinaikos and Olympiacos. Against neighbours Panathinaikos, they contest the Athens local football derby. The rivalry started not only because of both competing for the major titles, but also because of the refugee ancestry of a big part of AEK fans and, by contrast, that Panathinaikos was considered in general the classic representative of the Athenian high class society.

The rivalry with Olympiacos stems from the rivalry between two of the most successful Greek football clubs. The rivalry was particularly inflamed after 1996, when AEK former star player and then-manager Dušan Bajević moved to Olympiacos, and most recently after the controversial 2007–08 Superleague Greece, which was awarded to Olympiacos.

Relationships with other clubs

AEK has links with many football clubs in Greece and in other countries where Greek immigrants live, for example AEK London Ontario and AEK Olympians F.C. in Canada, AEK Waverley Wanderers SC in Australia, AEK Beloiannisz in Hungary, AEK Kouklia in Cyprus, and AEK Archangelou, AEK Chania, AEK Argos, AEK Patras, AEK Kalamata, AEK Kavala, AEK Agiou Konstantinou, AEK Katsaba Iraklion and AEK Tripolis in Greece. The club also has a football academy in collaboration with Bankstown Berries F.C. in Sydney, Australia.

Also, during recent years, AEK usually organizes friendly summer matches against Roma and Sevilla.

Honours

Domestic competitions

League:

• Superleague Greece
  • Winners (11): 1938–39, 1939–40, 1962–63, 1967–68, 1970–71, 1977–78, 1978–79, 1988–89, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94
• Football League
  • Winners (1): 2014–15
• Football League 2
  • Winners (1): 2013–14 (Group 6)

Cup:

• Greek Cup
  • Winners (15): 1931–32, 1938–39, 1948–49, 1949–50, 1955–56, 1963–64, 1965–66, 1977–78, 1982–83, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1999–2000, 2001–02, 2010–11, 2015–16
• Greek Super Cup^[56]
  • Winners (2): 1989, 1996
• Greek League Cup
  • Winners (1) (record): 1990

International competitions

• UEFA Europa League
  • Semi-Finals (1): 1976–77
• UEFA Champions League
  • Quarter-finals (1): 1968–69
• UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
  • Quarter-Finals (2): 1996–97, 1997–98
• Balkans Cup
  • Runners-Up (1): 1966–67

Regional

• Athens F.C.A. Regional Championship
  • Winners (4): 1940, 1946, 1947, 1950

International record

Best seasons

Season	Manager	Round	Notes
Champions League / European Cup
1968–69	Branko Stanković	Quarterfinal	eliminated by Spartak Trnava (1 – 2 in Trnava, 1 – 1 in Athens)
1978–79	Ferenc Puskás	Last 16	eliminated by Nottingham Forest (1 – 2 in Athens, 1 – 5 in West Bridgford)[57]
1989–90	Dušan Bajević	Last 16	eliminated by Marseille (0 – 2 in Marseille, 1 – 1 in Athens)
1992–93	Dušan Bajević	Last 16	eliminated by PSV (1 – 0 in Athens, 0 – 3 in Eindhoven)
1994–95	Dušan Bajević	Last 16	eliminated by Ajax and Milan[58]
Cup Winners' Cup
1995–96	Dušan Bajević	Last 16	eliminated by Borussia M'gladbach (1 – 4 in Mönchengladbach, 0 – 1 in Athens)
1996–97	Petros Ravousis	Quarterfinal	eliminated by Paris Saint-Germain (0 – 0 in Paris, 0 – 3 in Athens)
1997–98	Dumitru Dumitriu	Quarterfinal	eliminated by Lokomotiv Moscow (0 – 0 in Athens, 1 – 2 in Moscow)
Europa League / UEFA Cup
1976–77	František Fadrhonc	Semifinal	eliminated by Juventus (1 – 4 in Turin, 0 – 1 in Athens)
1991–92	Dušan Bajević	Last 16	eliminated by Torino (2 – 2 in Athens, 0 – 1 in Turin)[59]
2000–01	Toni Savevski	Last 16	eliminated by Barcelona (0 – 1 in Athens, 0 – 5 in Barcelona)[60]
2001–02	Fernando Santos	Last 16	eliminated by Internazionale (1 – 3 in Milan, 2 – 2 in Athens)
2002–03	Dušan Bajević	Last 16	eliminated by Málaga (0 – 0 in Málaga, 0 – 1 in Athens)

Notable wins Season Match Score Champions League / European Cup 1971–72 AEK – Internazionale  [a]3 – 2 [a] 1978–79 AEK – Porto 6 – 1 1989–90 AEK – Dynamo Dresden 5 – 3 1992–93 AEK – PSV 1 – 0 1994–95 Rangers – AEK 0 – 1 1994–95 AEK – Rangers 2 – 0 2006–07 AEK – Milan  [b]1 – 0 [b] 2006–07 AEK – Lille 1 – 0 Cup Winners' Cup 1964–65 AEK – Dinamo Zagreb 2 – 0 Europa League / UEFA Cup 1976–77 AEK – Dynamo Moscow 2 – 0 1976–77 Derby County – AEK 2 – 3 1976–77 AEK – Derby County 2 – 0 1976–77 AEK – Red Star Belgrade 2 – 0 1976–77 AEK – Queens Park Rangers 3 – 0 1985–86 AEK – Real Madrid  [c]1 – 0 [c] 1988–89 AEK – Athletic Bilbao 1 – 0 1991–92 AEK – Spartak Moscow 2 – 1 2000–01 AEK – Bayer Leverkusen 2 – 0 2009–10 AEK – Benfica 1 – 0

Biggest wins Season Match Score Champions League / European Cup 1968–69 AEK – Jeunesse Esch 3 – 0 1978–79 AEK – Porto 6 – 1 2006–07 AEK – Hearts 3 – 0 Cup Winners' Cup 1996–97 AEK – Olimpija Ljubljana 4 – 0 1997–98 AEK – Dinaburg 5 – 0 Europa League / UEFA Cup 1976–77 AEK – Queens Park Rangers 3 – 0 1977–78 AEK – ASA Târgu Mureș 3 – 0 1998–99 AEK – Ferencváros 4 – 0 1999-00 AEK – Torpedo Kutaisi 6 – 1 2000–01 AEK – Herfølge 5 – 0 2001–02 AEK – Grevenmacher 6 – 0 2002–03 AEK – Maccabi Haifa 4 – 0 2002–03 Maccabi Haifa – AEK 1 – 4 2007–08 AEK – Red Bull Salzburg 3 – 0 2009–10 AEK – Vaslui 3 – 0

Notes

UEFA ranking

As of 17 May 2017^[61]

Rank	Country	Team	Coeff.
206		Motherwell	6.785
207		Utrecht	6.712
208		AEK Athens	6.580
209		PAS Giannina	6.580
210		Xanthi	6.580

Players

Current squad

As of 4 July 2017^[62]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 1 GK Vasilios Barkas 2 DF Michalis Bakakis 3 DF Hélder Lopes 4 DF Ognjen Vranješ 5 DF Vassilis Lambropoulos (3rd captain) 6 MF Astrit Ajdarević 7 MF Lazaros Christodoulopoulos 8 MF André Simões (4th captain) 9 FW Hugo Almeida 10 FW Marko Livaja (on loan from Las Palmas) 11 FW Giorgos Giakoumakis 12 DF Rodrigo Galo 14 FW Anastasios Bakasetas 15 DF Uroš Ćosić 16 GK Panagiotis Tsintotas

No. Position Player 17 DF Vinícius Freitas 18 MF Jakob Johansson (vice-captain) 19 DF Dmytro Chygrynskiy 20 MF Petros Mantalos (captain) 22 GK Giannis Anestis 24 DF Konstantinos Manolas 25 MF Konstantinos Galanopoulos 28 FW Viktor Klonaridis 29 MF Patito Rodríguez 30 MF Arnór Ingvi Traustason (on loan from Rapid Wien) 31 FW Dimitris Melikiotis 33 DF Giorgos Giannoutsos 40 FW Andreas Vlachomitros 55 DF Adam Tzanetopoulos 87 GK Panagiotis Dounis

Other players under contract

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 23 DF Dídac Vilà

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player — DF Stavros Vasilantonopoulos (at Lamia until 30 June 2018)

No. Position Player — MF Ilias Tselios (at Lamia until 30 June 2018)

AEK U20 squad

AEK U20 is the youth team of AEK. They participate in the Superleague U20 championship. They play their home games at the Spata Sports Center in Spata.

P. ^{^} Players with professional contract.

As of 20 October 2016^[63]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player GK Giannis Papadopoulos [P] GK Athanasios Pantos GK Vasilios Chatziemmanouil GK Panagiotis Ginis GK Giannis Fegoulis DF Panagiotis Kofsanidis DF Dimitrios Psanis DF Michail Bousis DF Giannis Tsivelekidis DF Alexandros Limnios DF Stamatis Georgopoulos MF Giannis Roussos MF Dimitrios Moraitakis MF Ilias Koulouris MF Giorgos Andreopoulos

No. Position Player MF Giorgos Stavropoulos MF Dimitrios Georgamlis MF Dimitri Lici MF Vasil Pogosian 98 MF Christos Giousis [P] MF Giannis Messinis 99 MF Charalambos Paris [P] MF Nikos Spiliotis MF Alexandros Asprogiannis FW Kofi Boachi Yadom FW Vasilios Vafeiadis FW Chariton Moultsias FW Nikos Lepeniotis 97 FW Christos Antoniou [P] FW Themis Christopoulos

Statistics and records

One-club men

Player	Nationality	Position	Debut	Last match
Kleanthis Maropoulos		FW	1934	1952
Andreas Stamatiadis		MF	1950	1969
Stelios Manolas		DF	1979	1998

Superleague top scorers

AEK has a remarkable tradition in strikers ang goal-scoring players. 14 different teams' players, 24 times overall, have finished the season as the top scorer in the Superleague.

Rank	Nationality	Player	Times	Seasons
1		Kostas Nestoridis	5 (national record)	1959–1963
2		Thomas Mavros	3	1978, 1979, 1985
3		Vasilis Dimitriadis	2	1992, 1993
4		Mimis Papaioannou	2	1964, 1966
5		Ismael Blanco	2	2008, 2009
6		Kleanthis Maropoulos	2	1939, 1940
7		Alexandros Alexandris	1	1994
8		Nikos Liberopoulos	1	2007
9		Kostas Vasiliou	1	1939
10		Giorgos Dedes	1	1976
11		Demis Nikolaidis	1	1999
12		Vassilios Tsiartas	1	1996
13		Dušan Bajević	1	1980
14		Henrik Nielsen	1	1988

Player records

• Most Superleague appearances: 480-Mimis Papaioannou
• Most Superleague goals: 234-Mimis Papaioannou

Domestic records

Outline	Record
Biggest win in a Greek Cup final	7–1 (vs Apollon Smyrni, 1995–96)

Contribution to the Greek national team

AEK, through its history, has highlighted some of the greatest Greek players in the history of Greek football, who contributed also to the Greece national team (Mimis Papaioannou, Kostas Nestoridis, Thomas Mavros, Vassilios Tsiartas and Demis Nikolaidis, among others).

Five players of the club were part of the golden team of 2004 which won UEFA Euro 2004:

• UEFA Euro 2004 (5): Theodoros Zagorakis (player of the tournament), Vassilios Tsiartas, Michalis Kapsis, Kostas Katsouranis and Vassilis Lakis

A total of 104 players of AEK have played for the Greece national team, as of May 2017.

Player list

N.	Name	Pos.	Years	Apps	Goals
1	Alexis Alexandris	FW	1991–1994	9	0
2	Georgios Alexopoulos	DF	2005	3	0
3	Dimitris Anastasiadis	DF	1960–1961	3	0
4	Goulios Arvanitis	DF	1948–1952	5	0
5	Christos Ardizoglou	FW	1975–1984	43	2
6	Elias Atmatsidis	GK	1994–1999	47	0
7	Tasos Vasiliou	DF	1966–1967	2	0
8	Vangelis Vlachos	MF	1982–1984	4	0
9	Michalis Vlachos	DF	1994–1997	10	0
10	Georgios Gasparis	DF	1935–1938	2	0
11	Georgios Giamalis	GK	1929–1932	10	0
12	Michalis Delavinias	GK	1948–1951	4	0
13	Traianos Dellas	DF	2001, 2006–2008	32	1
14	Vasilis Dimitriadis	FW	1991–1993	14	1
15	Ioannis Dintsikos	FW	1984	3	0
16	Lakis Emmanouilidis	FW	1950–1958	12	3
17	Theodoros Zagorakis	MF	2000–2004	45	0
18	Akis Zikos	MF	1999–2001	18	0
19	Ilias Iliaskos	FW	1932	1	0
20	Stefanos Theodoridis	DF	1971	1	0
21	Babis Intzoglou	DF	1976–1977	2	0
22	Giannis Kanakis	FW	1951	1	0
23	Ioannis Kalitzakis	DF	1997–1999	21	0
24	Vaios Karagiannis	DF	1992	8	0
25	Giorgos Karafeskos	MF	1968–1971	8	0
26	Michalis Kasapis	DF	1994–2002	37	0
27	Kostas Katsouranis	MF	1976–1977	29	2
28	Pantelis Kafes	MF	2007–2011	10	0
29	Michalis Kapsis	DF	2003–2004	15	0
30	Giorgos Kefalidis	DF	1963–1964	2	0
31	Giorgos Kontoulis	MF	1938	3	0
32	Giorgos Koutoulas	DF	1988–1990	11	0
33	Sotirios Kyrgiakos	DF	2008–2009	10	0
34	Stefanos Konstantinidis	MF	1929–1932	6	0
35	Dimitrios Konstantopoulos	GK	2011	1	0
36	Nikos Kostenoglou	DF	1996	1	0
37	Christos Kostis	FW	1994–1997	11	3
38	Panagiotis Lagos	MF	2006–2011	5	0
39	Vassilis Lakis	MF	1999–2004	35	3
40	Nikos Liberopoulos	FW	2004–2008,2010–2012	30	5
41	Mallios Gkalits	DF	1930–1933	12	1
42	Grigoris Makos	MF	2010–2012	10	0
43	Vassilis Manettas	FW	1938	1	0
44	Stelios Manolas	DF	1982–1994	71	6
45	Xenofon(Xenos) Markopoulos	FW	1948–1949	5	2
46	Dimitris Markos	MF	1998–1999	17	1
47	Kleanthis Maropoulos	FW	1938–1950	10	1
48	Thomas Mavros	FW	1976–1982	36	11
49	Antonis Minou	GK	1992–1993	16	0
50	Tasos Mitropoulos	FW	1992–1994	16	2
51	Giorgos Mouratidis	DF	1951–1952	2	0
52	Vaggelis Moras	DF	2006	1	0
53	Fotis Balopoulos	DF	1965–1969	10	0
54	Angelos Basinas	MF	2008	6	0
55	Daniel Batista	FW	1995–1998	10	1
56	Dimitris Nalitzis	FW	2002–2003	6	0
57	Kostas Negrepontis	FW	1929–1930	2	0
58	Kostas Nestoridis	FW	1956–1962	14	3
59	Kostas Nikolaidis	MF	1971–1973	4	0
60	Demis Nikolaidis	FW	1996–2003	54	17
61	Lakis Nikolaou	DF	1973–1980	15	0
62	Takis Nikoloudis	MF	1976–1979	16	3
63	Spiros Ikonomopoulos	GK	1984–1989	12	0
64	Ilias Papageorgiou	FW	1950–1953	12	4
65	Giorgos Papadopoulos	FW	1934–1938	9	0
66	Theologis Papadopoulos	GK	1986–1987	24	0
67	Michalis Papatheodorou	FW	1950–1951	2	0
68	Mimis Papaioannou	FW	1963–1978	61	29
69	Pavlos Papaioannou	MF	1985–1992	10	0
70	Sokratis Papastathopoulos	DF	2008	3	0
71	Antonis Parayios	DF	1950–1951	2	0
72	Vaggelis(Johnny) Paraprastanitis	DF	1980	1	0
73	Panagiotis Patakas	FW	1952	1	0
74	Giorgos Petridis	FW	1963	1	1
75	Vasileios Pliatsikas	MF	2008	1	0
76	Spiros Pomonis	FW	1964–1972	5	1
77	Kostas Poulis	MF	1950–1953	9	0
78	Petros Ravousis	DF	1976–1981	22	0
79	Christos Ribas	GK	1933–1936	9	0
80	Dimitris Saravakos	FW	1994	1	1
81	Labis Serafeidis	FW	1952	2	0
82	Stelios Serafeidis	GK	1963	1	0
83	Giorgos Sidiropoulos	GK	1975	1	0
84	Giorgos Simos(Mageiras)	MF	1948–1949	4	0
85	Stelios Skevofilax	MF	1963–1966	11	0
86	Spiros Sklavounos	GK	1932	3	0
87	Alekos Sofianidis	DF	1959–1967	7	0
88	Nikos Stathopoulos	DF	1961–1971	12	0
89	Stavros Stamatis	MF	1989–1990	5	0
90	Andreas Stamatiadis	FW	1954–1963	8	0
91	Lakis Stergioudas	GK	1976–1977	5	0
92	Tryfon Tzanetis	DF	1949	1	0
93	Apostolos Toskas	DF	1969–1973	20	0
94	Dionisis Tsamis	MF	1975–1976	2	0
95	Vassilios Tsiartas	MF	1994–1996,2000–2004	56	10
96	Aris Tsachouridis	FW	1963	1	0
97	Dionisis Chiotis	GK	2002	1	0
98	Nikos Christidis	GK	1978	5	0
99	Giorgos Christodoulou	FW	1938	1	0
100	Petros Mantalos	MF	2014–	15	2
101	Michalis Bakakis	DF	2014–	1	0
102	Christos Aravidis	FW	2015–2017	5	1
103	Adam Tzanetopoulos	DF	2015–	1	0
104	Tasos Bakasetas	FW	2016–	6	0

Personnel

Ownership and current board

Position	Staff
Owner	Dimitris Melissanidis
Chairman	Evangelos Aslanidis
CEO	Minas Lysandrou
CFO	Dimitris Patkas
Executive Director	Dušan Bajević
Legal Department	Charis Grigoriou
Legal Department	Petros Kaimakamis
Communications Director	Andreas Dimatos
Commercial Director	Nikos Karaouzas
Deputy General Manager Communication and public relations	Angeliki Arkadi
Chief Scouting	Vacant
Scout	Dimitrios Barbalias
Technical Director	Daniel Majstorović
Football Manager Operation Department	Vasilis Dimitriadis
Board Member	Andreas Anatoliotakis
Board Member	Konstantinos Marinakis
Board Member	Stergios Gantzoulas

Presidents

AEK F.C. presidential history from 1924 to present
Konstantinos Spanoudis (1924–32) Alexandros Strogilos (1932–33) Konstantinos Sarifis (1933–35) Konstantinos Theofanidis (1935–37) Konstantinos Chrisopoulos (1937–38) Vassilios Fridas (1938–40) Emilios Ionas (1945–49) Spiridon Skouras (1949–50 ) Georgios Melas (1950–52) Eleftherios Venizelos (1952) Georgios Chrisafidis (1952–57) Nikolaos Goumas (1957–63) Alexandros Makridis (1963–66) Michail Trikoglou (1966–67) Emmanuil Calitsounakis (1967) Kosmas Kiriakidis (1967–68)	Ilias Georgopoulos (1968–69) Georgios Chrisafidis (1969–70) Kosmas Chatzicharalabous (1970–73) Dimitrios Avramidis (1973) Ioannis Theodorakopoulos (1973–74) Loukas Barlos (1974–81) Andreas Zafiropoulos (1981–82) Michalis Arkadis (1982–83) Eleftherios Panagidis (1983–84) Andreas Zafiropoulos (1984–88) Efstratios Gidopoulos (1988–91) Konstantinos Generakis (1991–92) Dimitris Melissanidis (1992–93) Ioannis Karras (1993–94) Dimitris Melissanidis (1994–95) Michalis Trochanas (1995–97) Georgios Kiriopoulos (1997)	Alexis Kougias (1997) Lakis Nikolaou (1997–98) Dimitris Melissanidis (1998–99) Stefanos Mamatzis (1999–2000) Cornelius Sierhuis (2000–01) Filonas Antonopoulos (2001) Petros Stathis (2001) Chrysostomos Psomiadis (2001–03) Giannis Granitsas (2003–04) Demis Nikolaidis (2004–08) Georgios Kintis (2008–09) Nikolaos Thanopoulos (2009–10) Stavros Adamidis (2010–12) Thomas Mavros (2012) Andreas Dimitrelos (2012–13) Evangelos Aslanidis (2014–)

Coaching, medical and academies staff

Coaching staff

Position	Name	Nationality
Head coach	Manolo Jiménez
Assistant coach	Felipe Benítez Ufano
Physical fitness coach	Sebastián López Bascón
Physical fitness coach	Giannis Kesoglou
Goalkeeping coach	Kostas Kabolis
Scouting	Michalis Kasapis

Medical staff

Position	Name	Nationality
Medical Director	Dr. Lakis Nikolaou
Club's doctor	Alkiviadis Kalliakmanis
Club's doctor	Panagiotis Alexandropoulos
Head of Rehabilitation	Nikos Pantazis
Physiotherapist	Giannis Bouroutzikas
Physiotherapist	Yiannis Stathas
Physiotherapist	Dionysis Engarchos
Dietician	Dionysis Panos

Academies staff

Position	Name	Nationality
Management	Gregory Sarantis
Technical Director	Akis Zikos
Assistant	Ioannis Samaras
Coordinator on organizational issues	Nikos Georgeas
Head Scouting and operational issues	Stavros Letsas
Departments caretaker	Vacant
Goalkeeping coach	Chrisostomos Michailidis
Goalkeeping coach	Elias Atmatsidis
Fitness coach	Eric Buracchi
Fitness coach	Dimitris Stergiopoulos
Under20 coach	Georgios Simos
Assistant	Georgios Alexopoulos
Under17 coach	Ivan Nedeljković
Under16 coach	Vacant
Under15 coach	Vacant
Under14 coach	Vacant
Under13 coach	Vacant
Under12 coach	Stelios Orfanidis
Under11 coach	Vacant
Under10 coach	Michalis Pavlis
Chief Scouting	Vacant
Scout	Dimitris Markos
Scout	Michalis Vlachos
Scout	Charis Kopitsis
Scout	Christos Vasilopoulos

Key

* Served as Caretaker-manager.
† Served as caretaker manager before being appointed permanently.

Only competitive matches are counted. Wins, losses and draws are results at the final whistle; the results of penalty shootouts are not counted.

Notable managers

Name	Nat	From	To	Championships
				Cups
Kostas Negrepontis		1933 1937 1944 1955 1958	1936 1940 1948 1956 1959	2 Greek Leagues 1 Greek Cup
Jack Beby		1948	1951	2 Greek Cups
Mario Magnozzi		1951	1953	—
Tryfon Tzanetis[A]		1954 1956 1960 1965	1955 1957 1962 1966	—
Heinrich Müller		1963	1964	1 Greek Cup
Jenő Csaknády[A]		1962 1967	1963 1968	2 Greek Leagues
Branko Stanković[A]		1968	1973	1 Greek League
Stan Anderson[A]		1973	1974	—
František Fadrhonc		1974	1977	—
Zlatko Čajkovski		1977 1982	1978 1982	1 Greek League 1 Greek Cup
Ferenc Puskás		1978	1979	—
Helmut Senekowitsch		1983	1983	1 Greek Cup
Giannis Pathiakakis		09/01/2000	24/01/2001	1 Greek Cup
Fernando Santos		2001 2004	2002 2006	1 Greek Cup
Lorenzo Serra Ferrer		2006	2008	—
Dušan Bajević		1988 20/05/2002 21/11/2008	1996 25/01/2004 27/09/2010	4 Greek Leagues 1 Greek Cup 2 Greek League Cups 1 Greek Super Cup
Manolo Jiménez		06/10/2010 19/01/2017	06/10/2011	1 Greek Cup
Traianos Dellas		09/04/2013	20/10/2015	1 Football League 2 1 Football League
Stelios Manolas*		20/10/2015 20/04/2016	29/10/2015 31/05/2016	1 Greek Cup

See also

• List of AEK Athens F.C. records and statistics
• AEK Athens in Europe

Bibliography

• Η ΙΣΤΟΡΙΑ ΤΗΣ ΑΕΚ, Πάνος Μακρίδης. 1955, Αθλητική Ηχώ, Αθήνα
• ΑΕΚ:Ο καρπός της αθλητικής παράδοσης της πόλης στη σύγχρονη Αθήνα από το 1924 έως τις μέρες μας, Ι. Σ. Νόταρης. 2002, Εκδόσεις Καλαύρια, Αθήνα
• 90 ΧΡΟΝΙΑ, Η ΙΣΤΟΡΙΑ ΤΗΣ ΑΕΚ, Συλλογικό έργο. 2014, Εκδοτικός Οίκος Α. Α. Λιβάνη, Αθήνα, ISBN 978-960-14-2802-4
• ΟΛΕΣ ΟΙ ΑΕΚ ΤΟΥ ΚΟΣΜΟΥ..., Νίκος Αγγελίδης. 2017, Εκδοτικός Οίκος Νότιος Άνεμος, Αθήνα, ISBN 978-960-95-1152-0

Notes

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to AEK FC.

• AEK F.C. (Official website) (in Greek) (in English)
• AEK F.C. at uefa.com
• AEK Athens Ultras Group
• ΑΕΚ.com

Media

• Official YouTube channel

Press

• AEK365 (in Greek)