AEK FC ( el, ΠΑΕ A.E.K. ; Αθλητική Ένωσις Κωνσταντινουπόλεως; ''Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos'', meaning ''Athletic Union of Constantinople'') is a Greek professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

club based in Nea Filadelfeia, a suburb of

Attica Attica ( el, Αττική, Ancient Greek ''Attikḗ'' or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the city of Athens, the capital of Greece and its countryside. It is a peninsula projecting into the Aegean ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

. Established in Nea Filadelfeia in 1924 by

Greek refugees Greek refugees is a collective term used to refer to the more than one million Greek Orthodox natives of Asia Minor, Thrace and the Black Sea areas who fled during the Greek genocide (1914-1923) and Greece's later defeat in the Greco-Turkish War ...

from

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

in the wake of the

Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922) The Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922, ota, گرب جابهاسی, Garb Cebhesi) in Turkey, and the Asia Minor Campaign ( el, Μικρασιατική Εκστρατεία, Mikrasiatikí Ekstrateía) or the Asia Minor Catastrophe ( el, Μικ ...

, AEK is one of the three most successful teams in Greek football (including

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς, Olympic Club of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a numbe ...

and Panathinaikos), winning 30 national titles and the only one to have won all the competitions organised by the

Hellenic Football Federation The Hellenic Football Federation (HFF), also known as the Greek Football Federation ( el, Ελληνική Ποδοσφαιρική Ομοσπονδία; ΕΠΟ, translit=Ellinikí Podosferikí Omospondía; EPO) is the governing body of football ...

(12

Championships In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

, 15

Greek Cup The Greek Football Cup ( el, Κύπελλο Ελλάδος Ποδοσφαίρου), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Kypello Elladas is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second most ...

s, 1

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

and 2 Super Cups). The club has appeared several times in European competitions (

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...

and the defunct

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tourn ...

). It is the only Greek team that advanced to the semi-finals of the

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...

( 1976–77) and the quarter-finals of the

twice ( 1996–97 and 1997–98). AEK was also the first Greek team that advanced to the quarter-finals of the

European Cup The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

( 1968–69) and also to the group stage of the

( 1994–95).

History

Establishment and early years (1924–1944)

The large Greek population of

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

, not unlike those of the other Ottoman urban centres, continued its athletic traditions in the form of numerous athletic clubs. Clubs such as Énosis Tatávlon () and Iraklís () from the Tatavla district, Mégas Aléxandros () and Ermís () of

Galata Galata is the former name of the Karaköy neighbourhood in Istanbul, which is located at the northern shore of the Golden Horn. The district is connected to the historic Fatih district by several bridges that cross the Golden Horn, most nota ...

, and Olympiás () of

Therapia Tarabya ( ota, Tarabiye, el, Θεραπειά, translit=Therapiá) is a neighbourhood in the Sarıyer district of Istanbul, Turkey. It is located on the European shoreline of the Bosphorus strait, between the neighbourhoods of Yeniköy and Ki ...

existed to promote 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 World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. After the war, with the influx of mainly French and British soldiers to Constantinople, many of the city's clubs participated in regular competitions with teams formed by foreign troops. Taxim, Pera, and Tatavla became the scene of weekly competitions in not only football, but also athletics, cycling, boxing, and tennis. Pera Club

Of the clubs in the city, football was dominated by Énosis Tatávlon and Ermís. Ermís, one of the most popular sports clubs, was formed in 1875 by the Greek community of Pera (Galata). Known as "Pera" since the mid-1880s, and "The Greek Football Team" when its football department was formed in 1914, it was forced to change its name to " Pera Sports Club", and then "Beyoğluspor Kulübü" in 1923. 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 Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...

. 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 centre of Athens, and created

AEK A.E.K ( el, AEK , formally Αθλητική Ένωσις Κωνσταντινουπόλεως; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople''), known as A.E.K, is a major Greek multi-sport club based in Nea Filadelf ...

. Their intention was to create a club that provided athletic and cultural diversions for the thousands of predominantly Constantinopolitan and

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

n refugees who had settled in the new suburbs of Athens (including Nea Filadelfeia,

Nea Ionia Nea Ionia ( el, Νέα Ιωνία, meaning New Ionia) is a northern suburb of Athens, Greece, and a municipality of the Attica region. It was named after Ionia, the region in Anatolia from which many Greeks migrated in the 1920s as a part of the ...

Nea Chalkidona Nea Chalkidona ( el, Νέα Χαλκηδόνα, meaning New Chalcedon) is a suburb of Athens, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Filadelfeia-Chalkidona, of which it is a municipal unit. Nea Chalkidona is ...

Nea Smyrni Nea Smyrni ( el, Νέα Σμύρνη, ''Néa Smýrni'', "New Smyrna") is a municipality in South Athens, Greece. At the 2011 census, it had 73,076 inhabitants. It was named after İzmir in Turkey, which Greek's called it as Smyrna, whence many ...

). The first team of AEK was: '' GK: Kitsos, DF: Ieremiadis, 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 Panionios G.S.S. Football Club (Greek: ΠΑΕ Πανιώνιος Γ.Σ.Σ.), the ''Pan- Ionian Gymnastics Club of Smyrna'' (Πανιώνιος Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Σμύρνης, ''Panionios Gymnastikos Syllogos Smyrnis'') ...

, Apollon Smyrnis 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 Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium ( el, Γήπεδο Απόστολος Νικολαΐδης), commonly known as Leoforos Alexandras Stadium or Leoforos Stadium, is a football stadium and multi-sport center in Athens, Greece. It was inaugurated in 19 ...

. AEK's first president, Konstantinos Spanoudis (1871–1941), a journalist and associate of the Prime Minister

Eleftherios Venizelos Eleftherios Kyriakou Venizelos ( el, Ελευθέριος Κυριάκου Βενιζέλος, translit=Elefthérios Kyriákou Venizélos, ; – 18 March 1936) was a Greek statesman and a prominent leader of the Greek national liberation movem ...

, petitioned the government to set aside land for the establishment of a sports ground. In 1926, land in Nea Filadelfeia which 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. Tryfon Tzanetis

In 1928, Panathinaikos, Olympiacos and AEK began a dispute with the fledgling

(EPO), decided to break away from the Athens regional league, and formed an alliance called

POK POK, PoK, or Pok may refer to: * Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, the name used by India for the portion of Kashmir under Pakistani administration * Pantoate kinase or PoK, an enzyme * P.O.K. (''Podosfairikes Omades Kentrou''), a former coalition of foot ...

(from their initial letters, K was for AEK: ''Konstantinoupόleos''). 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 1930, the property where AEK trained was officially 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 Nikos Goumas Stadium ( el, Στάδιο Νίκος Γκούμας) was a multi-purpose stadium in Nea Filadelfeia, a northwestern suburb of Athens, Greece. It was used mostly for football matches and was the home stadium of AEK Athens F.C. It is ...

. The first home game, in November 1930, was an exhibition match against

that ended in a 2–2 draw. In 1932, AEK won their first Greek Cup title, beating

Aris Aris or ARIS may refer to: People * Aris (surname) Given name * Aris Alexandrou, Greek writer * Aris Brimanis, ice hockey player * Aris Christofellis, Greek male soprano * Aris Gavelas, Greek sprinter * Aris Howard, Former President of the Jama ...

5–3 in the final. The team boasted a number of star football players like

Kostas Negrepontis Kostas Negrepontis ( el, Κώστας Νεγρεπόντης; 31 October 1897 – 19 February 1973) was a Greek footballer who played as a center forward in the 1920's and 1930's and a later manager. He was considered a great virtuoso of the bal ...

(a veteran of the original Pera Club of Constantinople),

Kleanthis Maropoulos Kleanthis Maropoulos ( el, Κλεάνθης Μαρόπουλος; 1919 – 3 January 1991) was a Greek footballer who played as a striker for AEK Athens He was a star footballer during the 1930's and 1940's and arguably the greatest Greek playe ...

Tryfon Tzanetis Tryfon Tzanetis () was a Greek international football player and a later manager. He was best known as a great figure for AEK Athens during the 30's and 40's, partnering Kleanthis Maropoulos in AEK's front line. Tzanetis also contributed to AE ...

, Michalis Delavinias, Giorgos Mageiras, and

Spyros Sklavounos Spyros Sklavounos ( el, Σπύρος Σκλαβούνος; 1912 –?) was a Greek footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He played in eight matches for the Greece national football team from 1932 to 1938. He was also part of Greece's team for th ...

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

1960–1974: Nestoridis-Papaioannou era

With

Kostas Nestoridis Kostas Nestoridis ( el, Κώστας Νεστορίδης, born 15 March 1930) is a Greek former professional footballer, who played as a forward and a former manager. He is amongst the best players in the history of AEK Athens and one of the g ...

scoring goals in the early 1960's (top goalscorer for 5 seasons in row, from 1958 to 1963), and the timely signing of attacker

Mimis Papaioannou Dimitrios "Mimis" Papaioannou ( el, Δημήτριος "Μίμης" Παπαϊωάννου; born 23 August 1942) is a Greek former professional football player, who played as a forward, mostly for AEK Athens and a former manager. His nickname w ...

(all-time top goalscorer and appearances recordman of the club) in 1962, AEK went on to win the 1962–63 championship. Known affectionately as "Mimis" by the AEK supporters, Papaioannou scored twice in the 1963 playoff against Panathinaikos, levelling the scores at 3–3 and giving AEK its first post-war championship on goal aggregate. Coached by Hungarian-German

Jenő Csaknády Jenő Csaknády (20 September 1924 – 7 January 2001) was a Hungarian football manager. Csaknády studied football at the Budapest Sports Academy for 8 semesters, while for 8 years he was the coach of the Hungarian team Czepel. He wrote a bo ...

, the championship team also consisted of Stelios Serafidis, Miltos Papapostolou, and Andreas Stamatiadis. Youngsters like

Alekos Sofianidis Alekos Sofianidis ( el, Αλέκος Σοφιανίδης, tr, Aleko Sofyanidis; 3 August 1937 – 6 July 2010) was a Turkish-born Greek professional footballer who played as a left back and a later manager. Club career Born in the Beyoğlu ...

, Stelios Skevofilakas,

Giorgos Petridis Giorgos Petridis ( el, Γιώργος Πετρίδης; 10 February 1938 – 2 February 2017) was a Greek professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder and a later manager. Club career Petridis started his career at Pera Club in ...

and Manolis Kanellopoulos also played a significant role in the victorious 1963 campaign. The club followed up with Cup victories in 1964 and 1966. With the return of Csaknády to the coach's position in 1968 and with the addition of some great players like

Kostas Nikolaidis Kostas Nikolaidis ( el, Κώστας Νικολαΐδης; born 10 September 1944) is a former Greek professional footballer who played as a striker. During his presence in Greek championship he scored 100 goals, which ranks him amongst the top ...

Giorgos Karafeskos Giorgos Karafeskos ( el, Γιώργος Καραφέσκος; born 8 December 1946) is a former Greek professional footballer who played as a midfielder, mostly for AEK Athens and a former manager. His nickname was ''"The Baby"'' ''( el, "Ο Μ� ...

Panagiotis Ventouris Panagiotis Ventouris ( el, Παναγιώτης Βεντούρης; 14 February 1944 – 10 June 2002) was a Greek professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Club career Early years Ventouris started his football career, wh ...

, Fotis Balopoulos, Spyros Pomonis, Alekos Iordanou,

Nikos Stathopoulos Nikos Stathopoulos ( el, Νίκος Σταθόπουλος; born 8 November 1943) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as left midfielder and a later manager. Club career Stathopoulos started football in 1956, when he joined the ...

and Andreas Papaemmanouil, AEK easily won the championship of 1967–68.

European Champions Cup quarter-finalists

In the 1968–69 season AEK, with new Serbian coach

Branko Stanković Branko "Stane" Stanković ( sr-Cyrl, Бранко "Стане" Станковић, ; 31 October 1921 – 20 February 2002) was a Bosnian Serb footballer and manager, from Sarajevo. Playing career Club He started his career in SK Slavija Sarajevo ...

, became the first Greek football club to reach the quarter-finals of the European Champions Cup, but were eliminated by the Czechoslovakian

Spartak Trnava FC Spartak Trnava () is a Slovak professional football club based in Trnava. Historically, it is one of the most successful clubs in the country, having won the Czechoslovak First League five times and the Czechoslovak Cup on four occasions, an ...

. The addition of goalkeeper Stelios Konstantinidis and Apostolos Toskas reinforced the team, and allowed AEK to take their fifth championship title in 1971. AEK also won the unofficial

Greek Super Cup The Greek Super Cup ( el, Σούπερ Καπ Ελλάδος), officially known as the Cup of Friendship and Solidarity ( el, Κύπελλο Φιλίας και Αλληλεγγύης) was a Greek Football (soccer), association football one-match ...

of 1971, beating Olympiacos 4–2 on penalty kicks after 2 draws (2–2 at Piraeus and 1–1 at Nea Filadelfeia). Mavros, Eleftherakis, and Ardizoglou were part of the AEK outfit that dominated the Greek league in the late 1970's.

1974–81: The great AEK of Barlos

Loukas Barlos Loukas Barlos ( el, Λουκάς Μπάρλος; 1920 – 20 October 1999) was a Greek businessman who served as the twenty third president of AEK Athens F.C. from 1974 until 1981. Early life Barlos was born and raised in Thessaloniki, but his p ...

, a successful industrialist, took over the presidency and financial support of AEK in 1974, and with the help of coach

František Fadrhonc František Fadrhonc (18 December 1914 – 9 October 1981) was a Czech football manager, who was born in Nymburk, Austria-Hungary, present day Czech Republic. He coached many teams in Europe, mostly in the Netherlands. After winning the Dutch cham ...

built one of the finest teams in the club's 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 Hans-Dieter "Timo" Zahnleiter (born 16 December 1948) is a German former professional football player and manager who played as a midfielder. Playing career Zahnleiter started his professional career in 1967 when he played for VfR Mannheim unt ...

, Dionysis Tsamis, Pantelis Nikolaou,

Petros Ravousis Petros Ravousis ( gr, Πέτρος Ραβούσης; born 1 October 1954) is a Greeks, Greek former professional Association football, footballer who played as Defender (association football), defender and a former manager. Club career Ravousis ...

Dušan Bajević Dušan "Duško" Bajević ( sr-Cyrl, Душан Бајевић, ; gr, Ντούσαν Μπάγεβιτς, ''Doúsan Báyevits''; born 10 December 1948) is a Bosnian professional Manager (association football), football manager and former player. H ...

, Takis Nikoloudis, Stefanos Theodoridis,

Babis Intzoglou Babis Intzoglou ( el, Μπάμπης Ιντζόγλου; born 1 April 1949) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a defender. Club career Intzoglou started football at a youth level with AE Nikaia and signed his first profess ...

and

Nikos Christidis Nikos Christidis (Greek: Νίκος Χρηστίδης; born 18 September 1944) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Club career Christidis started his football career in the youth divisions of Aris. In 1961 he w ...

UEFA Cup semi-finalists

Captained by Papaioannou in the 1976–1977 season, AEK reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup competition, the first Greek football club to do so. Beating

Dynamo Moscow MGO VFSO "Dynamo" (russian: МГО ВФСО «Динамо»), commonly known as Dynamo Moscow (russian: Динамо Москва) is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. Founded by Felix Dzerzhinsky on 18 April 1923, Dynamo Moscow was the first ...

(Russia) 2–0,

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 1884 ...

(U.K.) 2–0 and 3–2,

Red Star Belgrade Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club, ), commonly known as Red Star Belgrade in English-language media, is a Serbian professional football club based in Bel ...

(

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

) 2–0, and

QPR Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus R ...

(U.K.) 3–0 and 7–6 on penalties, AEK were eventually eliminated by

Gianni Agnelli Giovanni "Gianni" Agnelli (; 12 March 192124 January 2003), nicknamed ("The Lawyer"), was an Italian industrialist and principal shareholder of Fiat. As the head of Fiat, he controlled 4.4% of Italy's GDP, 3.1% of its industrial workforce a ...

Juventus Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional Association football, football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football leagu ...

. Juventus went on to win their first European title.

Thomas Mavros: a goal-machine

It was during this period that AEK signed one of Greece's finest strikers,

Thomas Mavros Thomas Mavros ( el, Θωμάς Μαύρος, born 31 May 1954) is a Greek former international football player who played as a striker. He was "the flag" of AEK Athens, that led the club to huge success, during the 70's and 80's. Mavros is regar ...

, the all-time top goalscorer in the

Greek Championship The Super League Greece 1 ( el, Ελληνική Σούπερ Λιγκ 1), or Super League 1, is the highest professional association football league in Greece. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and replaced ''Alpha Ethniki'' at the top of ...

. In the following years, he and

formed a formidable attacking duo for AEK. Mavros was an integral part of the team that reached the UEFA Cup semi-final in 1976, but it was his devastating form (top goal scorer of 1978 and 1979 – 22 and 31 goals, respectively) that helped AEK to win the 1977–78 Championship-Cup double. The addition of former Panathinaikos stars Domazos and Eleftherakis to the AEK roster, 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

was finally completed with the addition of the iconic ''covered stand'', or ''Skepasti'' (), 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 Stelios Manolas ( el, Στέλιος Μανωλάς, born 13 July 1961) is a Greek former international football player who played as a centre back for AEK Athens and a manager. Arguably the best Greek defender of his era, being one of the few ...

, Spyros Ikonomopoulos,

Vangelis Vlachos Vangelis Vlachos ( gr, Βαγγέλης Βλάχος; born 6 January 1962) is a Greek former international footballer who played as a midfielder. He is the manager of AE Mykonos Club career Vlachos started his career from the academies of AEK A ...

, and Lysandros Georgamlis.

1981–1999

With new president Michalis Arkadis and Austrian head coach

Helmut Senekowitsch Helmut Senekowitsch (; 22 October 1933 – 9 September 2007) was an Austrian football player and later a football manager. Playing career Club career He played for several clubs, including SK Sturm Graz, Real Betis and FC Wacker Innsbruck. I ...

, AEK won the 1983 Greek Cup, beating PAOK 2–0 in the newly built

Athens Olympic Stadium The Olympic Stadium of Athens " Spyros Louis" ( el, Ολυμπιακό Στάδιο Αθηνών "Σπύρος Λούης", ''Olympiakó Stádio Athinon "Spyros Louis"'') is a sports stadium in Athens, Greece. It is a part of the Athens Olympic ...

. Thomas Mavros and

were the goalscorers. AEK also chased the elusive Championship title and it finally came in 1989. Coached by former player

, AEK clinched the title after a winning a crucial match 1–0 against Olympiacos at the

. Takis Karagiozopoulos scored the goal that gave AEK its first Championship after ten years. AEK won also the Greek Super Cup of 1989, beating Panathinaikos on penalties after the match ended in a 1–1 draw.

Bajević golden team: Three consecutive championships

After the 1989 triumphs, under Bajević, AEK built what was to become one of the most successful teams in its history. Captained by

, the team, which included

Toni Savevski Toni Savevski ( mk, Тони Савевски; born 14 June 1963) is a Macedonian football player who played as a midfielder. Savevski is widely regarded as one of the best foreign players to have played in the Greek football league. After retir ...

Daniel Batista Daniel Batista Lima ( el, Ντανιέλ Μπατίστα Λίμα; born 9 September 1964) is a Greek former professional footballer of Cape Verdean descent who played as a forward. He has been given the title " Gullit of the poor" ''( el, "Γ� ...

Vaios Karagiannis Vaios Karagiannis ( el, Βάιος Καραγιάννης; born 25 June 1968) is a former Greek professional footballer who played as a defender and current manager. Club career Karagiannis started from Enippea Iteas Karditsa and then went to ...

Vasilis Dimitriadis Vasilis Dimitriadis ( el, Βασίλης Δημητριάδης; born 1 February 1966) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a striker. Club career Dimitriadis started his professional career at Aris in 1986. In 1991 Dimitria ...

Giorgos Savvidis Giorgos Savvidis ( gr, Γιώργος Σαββίδης; born February 8, 1961) is a former international Cypriot football attacking midfielder and football manager. During his playing days, he was regarded one of the best players in the country ...

Alexis Alexandris Alexis Alexandris (Greek: Αλέξης Αλεξανδρής, sometimes wrongly called ''Alekos Alexandris'' born 21 October 1968) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a striker. Club career Alexis Alexandris began his career ...

, Vasilis Tsiartas,

Michalis Kasapis Michalis Kasapis ( el, Μιχάλης Κασάπης; born 6 June 1971) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a left back and a later manager. In 1995 he was voted as the second best Greek footballer and as one of the 22 best E ...

, Refik Šabanadžović and Vasilis Borbokis dominated the Greek league through the 1990s with three successive Championship titles (1992, 1993, and 1994). 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 that participated in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League after defeating Scottish champions Rangers; AEK was eliminated by Ajax Amsterdam and

AC Milan Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 and 1982–83 seasons ...

, who 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

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 eleventh Cup title in 1997, beating Panathinaikos in both finals. By far AEK's most successful run with titles, the period also saw the club sign

Temur Ketsbaia Temuri Ketsbaia ( ka, თემურ ქეცბაია; born 18 March 1968) is a Georgian former professional football player and current manager. He is the current manager of the Cyprus national team. Club career After beginning his prof ...

and several young, talented players like

Demis Nikolaidis Themistoklis "Demis" Nikolaidis ( el, Ντέμης Νικολαΐδης; born 17 September 1973) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a striker. He was the forty second president of AEK Athens, and is considered one of the fi ...

Christos Kostis Christos Kostis ( el, Χρήστος Κωστής, born 15 January 1972) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a forward. Kostis is widely regarded to be one of the most technical players Greece has ever produced, but his great ...

Christos Maladenis Christos Maladenis (Greek: Χρήστος Μαλαδένης; born 23 May 1974) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He is the current scouter of AEK Athens Academy. Career Maladenis began his career in Skoda X ...

and

Akis Zikos Andreas Vasilios "Akis" Zikos ( gr, Ανδρέας Βασίλειος "Άκης" Ζήκος; born 1 June 1974) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. He was a strong and industrious player, known for his ...

. 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

, where they were eliminated by

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain, Paris, Paris SG or simply PSG is a professional football club based in Paris, France. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. As Fr ...

and

Lokomotiv Moscow FC Lokomotiv Moscow (''FC Lokomotiv Moskva'', russian: link=no, Футбольный клуб "Локомотив" Москва, ) is a Russian professional football club based in Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москв ...

. In 1999, ex-president

Dimitris Melissanidis Dimitris Melissanidis (Greek: Δημήτρης Μελισσανίδης; born 8 March 1951) is a Greek business shipping and oil tycoon who is one of Greece's most successful businessmen. He is the current owner of AEK Athens Football Club. He ...

organised a friendly match against

FK Partizan Fudbalski klub Partizan ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Партизан, ; en, Partizan Football Club), sometimes known as Partizan Belgrade in English, is a Serbia, Serbian professional football club (association football), football ...

in Belgrade, during the height of the

NATO bombing of Serbia The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) carried out an aerial bombing campaign against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The air strikes lasted from 24 March 1999 to 10 June 1999. The bombings continued until an a ...

. 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 twelfth Cup title in 2000 under coach Giannis Pathiakakis, defeating Ionikos 3–0 in the final (37' Nikolaidis, 77' Petkov, 82' Maladenis). The club continued its consistency in the Championship of 2001–02, finishing second by goal aggregate to Olympiacos, and beating 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 Kostas Katsouranis ( el, Κώστας Κατσουράνης; born 21 June 1979) is a Greek former international footballer. A versatile midfielder, who won the Super League Greek Footballer of the Year Award in 2005 and 2013, as well as the Co ...

Ilija Ivić Ilija Ivić (Serbian Cyrillic: Илија Ивић; born 17 February 1971) is a Serbian former professional footballer who played as a striker. A skillful attacker who showed great technical ability, Ivić could often be found in a supporting ...

, Dionysis Chiotis, Vasilios Borbokis,

Grigoris Georgatos Grigoris Georgatos ( el, Γρηγόρης Γεωργάτος; born 31 October 1972) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a left-back. His nickname was ''"the Crazy bald"'' ''( el, "ο Τρελός φαλακρός")'' due to hi ...

Theodoros Zagorakis Theodoros Zagorakis ( el, Θεόδωρος Ζαγοράκης ; born 27 October 1971) is a Greek politician and former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He was the captain of Greece that won UEFA Euro 2004, and was also presid ...

Walter Centeno Wálter Centeno Corea (born 6 October 1974) is a Costa Rican former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder and current manager of Guadalupe. He was a regular member of the Costa Rica national team and holds the record ...

Michalis Kapsis Michalis Kapsis ( el, Μιχάλης Καψής, born 18 October 1973) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He was an integral part of Greece's UEFA Euro 2004 winning squad. Club career Aris Nikeas Kapsis st ...

, Michel Kreek,

Vasilios Lakis Vasilios Lakis ( el, Βασίλειος Λάκης; born 10 September 1976) is a Greek former professional footballer. He was nicknamed "Turbo" for his speed when attacking along the right wing and ability to provide accurate crosses for the str ...

Vasilios Tsiartas Vasilios Tsiartas ( el, Βασίλειος Τσιάρτας; born 12 November 1972) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Although he was famed for his lackadaisical playing style, his ability was neve ...

(who returned from Sevilla),

Ioannis Okkas Ioannis "Giannis" Okkas (Greek: Ιωάννης «Γιάννης» Οκκάς; born 11 February 1977) is a retired Cypriot striker and a football manager. He was also the captain of the National Team of Cyprus for many years and he is the 2nd ...

Nikos Liberopoulos Nikolaos "Nikos" Liberopoulos ( el, Νίκος Λυμπερόπουλος; born on 4 August 1975) is a retired Greek former professional international footballer who played as a forward. He is famous for his aim-to-goal shot, his innate in-pla ...

and

. Under Bajević, AEK progressed through the qualifying rounds in the 2002 UEFA Champions League by eliminating

APOEL APOEL FC ( el, ΑΠΟΕΛ; short for Αθλητικός Ποδοσφαιρικός Όμιλος Ελλήνων Λευκωσίας, ''Athletikos Podosferikos Omilos Ellinon Lefkosias'', literally "Athletic Football Club of Greeks of Nicosia") ...

. Drawn in Group A with

AS Roma ' (''Rome Sport Association''), commonly referred to as Roma (), is a professional football club based in Rome, Italy. Founded by a merger in 1927, Roma has participated in the top tier of Italian football for all of its existence, except for ...

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

, and

Racing Genk Koninklijke Racing Club Genk (), commonly known as KRC Genk, Racing Genk or simply Genk, is a Belgium, Belgian professional association football, football club based in the city of Genk in Limburg (Belgium), Belgian Limburg. Racing Genk plays ...

, AEK with good performances drew all their games and were knocked out of the competition. They continued to

, eliminating

Maccabi Haifa Maccabi Haifa ( he, מכבי חיפה) is one of the biggest sports clubs in Israel and a part of the Maccabi association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Haifa which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, such as Football ...

(4–0, 4–1) before being knocked out by

Málaga CF Málaga Club de Fútbol (, ''Málaga Football Club''), or simply Málaga, is a association football, football club based in Málaga, Andalusia, Spain, that competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish football league system, ...

. Off the field, president Makis Psomiadis (died 6 January 2016) caused many problems for AEK and with his mismanagement overcharged the club. Also, with the assistance of his bodyguards, he allegedly assaulted captain

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 Club Atlético de Madrid, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish profess ...

. Unable to cope with the negativity from a large section of AEK fans, Bajević resigned in 2004 after a match against Iraklis.

Demis Nikolaidis era

In 2004,

and other significant AEK followers formed a supporters' club Enosis 1924 (Union 1924) 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 a member of the AEK FC board. The same year,

, AEK's home stadium for over 70 years was demolished, because a big part of it was beaten from 1999 Athens earthquake. 1 Sokratis Papastathopoulos (cropped)

In 2004, on the back of strong AEK fan support, Nikolaidis, at the head of a consortium of businessmen, bought out the beleaguered club and became the 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 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

as technical director and brought back Fernando Santos as a 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 Liberopoulos, 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 UEFA Champions League. For the 2006–07 season, former

Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () or just Betis, is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1907, it plays in La Liga. It holds home games at the Estadio Benito Vill ...

coach

Lorenzo Serra Ferrer Lorenzo Serra Ferrer (; ca, Llorenç Serra Ferrer ; born 5 March 1953) is a Spanish football manager. His career was mainly associated with Mallorca and Betis, and he also served the former in various other capacities. Playing career Born in ...

was appointed to the coaching position after Fernando Santos' contract was not renewed. By beating 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 obtained a total of 8 points, having beaten

1–0,

Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Pref ...

1–0, and managing two draws with Anderlecht (1–1 in Greece and 2–2 in Belgium). AEK finished second in the Greek Super League, qualifying again for the third round in the UEFA Champions League.

2007–08 Championship controversy

For the 2007–08 season AEK changed kit sponsors from

Adidas Adidas AG (; stylized as adidas since 1949) is a German multinational corporation, founded and headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, that designs and manufactures shoes, clothing and accessories. It is the largest sportswear manufactur ...

to Puma. They played with

Sevilla FC Sevilla Fútbol Club () is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville, the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. It plays in Spanish football's top flight, La Liga. Sevilla have won the UEFA Euro ...

in the

third qualifying round. The first leg was played on 15 August, away at the

Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Ramón or Ramon may refer to: People Given name * Ramon (footballer, born 1998), Brazilian footballer * Ramón (footballer, born 1990), Brazilian footballer *Ramón (singer), Spanish singer who represented Spain in the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest ...

, where AEK was defeated by 2 goals, and the second leg played on 3 September, at the

where AEK lost again by 1–4. Rivaldo

AEK completed the signings of Brazilian legend

Rivaldo Rivaldo Vítor Borba Ferreira (born 19 April 1972), known simply as Rivaldo (), is a Brazilian former footballer who played mainly as an attacking midfielder but also as a second striker, and on occasion deployed as a wide midfielder or as a w ...

, after he was let free from Olympiacos,

Rodolfo Arruabarrena Rodolfo Martín Arruabarrena (born 20 July 1975) is an Argentine professional football manager and former footballer, who is the current head coach of the United Arab Emirates national football team. As a footballer, he played as a left back ...

, Charis Pappas, and Argentine striker Ismael Blanco.

Traianos Dellas Traianos Dellas ( el, Τραϊανός Δέλλας; born 31 January 1976) is a Greek football manager and former professional footballer, who played as a centre back. He was an integral part of Greece's Euro 2004 winning squad, during which ...

was rewarded with a new contract, keeping him at the club until summer 2009. On 25 August, the

Super League The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of wh ...

and EPO decided to postpone the opening season's games due to the fire disaster in the

Peloponnese The Peloponnese (), Peloponnesus (; el, Πελοπόννησος, Pelopónnēsos,(), or Morea is a peninsula and geographic regions of Greece, geographic region in southern Greece. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmu ...

. After being eliminated from the

, AEK were drawn to play against

FC Salzburg FC Red Bull Salzburg is an Austrian professional football club based in Wals-Siezenheim, that competes in the Austrian Bundesliga, the top flight of Austrian Football. Their home ground is the Red Bull Arena. Due to sponsorship restrictions, ...

for the

. On 20 September, in Athens, AEK defeated

3–0. In the second leg, played in

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the ...

on 4 October, AEK lost the match but still went through 3–1 on aggregate. On 9 October, AEK were drawn in Group C in the UEFA Cup group stage along with

Villarreal Villarreal ( ca-valencia , Vila-real) is a city and municipality in the province of Castellón which is part of the Valencian Community in the east of Spain. The town is located at 42 m above sea level, 7 km to the south of the province's ...

Fiorentina ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional football club based in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while the actual club was refounded in August 2002 fo ...

Mladá Boleslav Mladá Boleslav (; german: Jungbunzlau) is a city in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 42,000 inhabitants. Mladá Boleslav is the second most populated city in the region and a major centre of the Czech automotive ind ...

, and

Elfsborg Idrottsföreningen Elfsborg, more commonly known as IF Elfsborg or simply Elfsborg (), is a professional football club based in Borås, Sweden, and is affiliated to the Västergötlands Fotbollförbund. They play in the Allsvenskan and have spe ...

. On 25 October, AEK kicked off the group stage with a 1–1 draw away to

. On 29 November, AEK again drew 1–1, this time at home to

. On 5 December, AEK won

1–0 away and on 20 December, AEK was home defeated 1–2 by

Villarreal CF Villarreal Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. ( ca-valencia, Vila-real Club de Futbol, S.A.D.), usually abbreviated to Villarreal CF or simply Villarreal, is a professional football club based in Villarreal, in the Castellón province of eastern Spain, th ...

, but finally booked a place in the knockout stage of the

by finishing third in the group. They were then drawn against

Getafe CF Getafe Club de Fútbol (), or simply Getafe, is a professional football club based in Getafe, a city in the Community of Madrid. The team competes in La Liga, the highest tier of the Spanish football system. The club's home stadium (owned and op ...

in the third round (phase of 32). AEK advanced to the third round of UEFA Cup for the second consecutive season. Ismael Blanco 2014

On 12 February, AEK parted company with

after a poor run of form and unsuccessful signings 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 Kalamarias Apollon Kalamarias (Greek: Απόλλων Καλαμαριάς) is a Greek sport's club from Thessaloniki founded in 1926. The club is named after Apollo, the mythical Greek god and its colors are red and black. History When thousands of Pontic ...

and

for the illegal usage of a player in the 1–0 Apollon Kalamarias win earlier in the season, Olympiacos was awarded 3 points, thus finishing 2 points ahead of AEK. President

and several other managers and chairmen were angered with the court's decision, stating that the

knew about the usage of the illegal player prior to the game and had indeed issued a registration (blue card), but didn't do anything about it. Panathinaikos also challenged the result at the Court of Arbitration in 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 were not declared champions. He stated, "a team that was not good enough to win the title on the pitch does not deserve the trophy".

Giorgos Donis Georgios Donis ( el, Γεώργιος Δώνης; born 22 October 1969) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a midfielder and currently a manager. He is the current manager of Saudi Arabian club Al-Fateh. He was the first ev ...

was appointed head coach of AEK on 14 May. His reign at the club did not go well. It all began when AEK failed to surpass

AC Omonia Athletic Club Omonia Nicosia ( el, Αθλητικός Σύλλογος Oμόνοιας Λευκωσίας, ΑΣΟΛ; ''Athlitikos Sillogos Omonias Lefkosias'', ''ASOL''), commonly known as Omonia Nicosia, or simply Omonia ("Harmony"; also trans ...

in the

second qualifying round, which meant their elimination from European competitions for the season.

asked to leave the club to sign for

Bunyodkor The Swallows uz, Osiyo BarselonasiAsian Barcelona , shortname = , image = Bunyodkor logo.png , image_size = 200px , founded = , ground = Milliy Stadium , capacity = 34,000 , chairman = , ceo = , mgrtitle = Ma ...

on 27 August. The league campaign started very well after a win over rivals Panathinaikos in the opening game of the season, but poor performances and results from then on left AEK in a difficult situation. Head coach Donis was eager to leave the club, but president 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, leaving the presidency temporarily to the members of the board of directors, Nikos Koulis, and Takis Kanellopoulos.

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 Donis, who was asked to leave the team. On 21 November 2008, AEK hired

as head coach for third time. 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 FC. 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

final against Olympiacos which was played on 2 May 2009, at

. AEK lost in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

14–15 on penalties. AEK finished the regular season in fourth position, thus qualifying for the season's

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

, in which they eventually finished second, just missing out on

qualification. In the summer transfer period of 2010, AEK, despite being low on budget, managed to reinforce its ranks with many notable players. Club idols

and

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 Papa Bouba Diop (28 January 197829 November 2020) was a Senegalese professional footballer. His preferred position was defensive midfield but he could also play as a centre back, where he previously played at Lens. Diop was considered a strong ...

Cristian Nasuti Cristian Javier Nasuti (born 6 September 1982) is a retired Argentine footballer who played as a centre-back. Career Nasuti started his career with Platense in the Argentine Primera B Nacional (Second Division) in 2001. He was spotted by Riv ...

, and

Christos Patsatzoglou Christos Patsatzoglou ( el, Χρήστος Πατσατζόγλου; born 19 March 1979) is a Greek former professional footballer of Romani origin who last played for APO Aetos Korydallou. Patsatzoglou started his career in Skoda Xanthi befor ...

. AEK qualified for the 2010–11 Europa League group stage after defeating

Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dundee. The club name is usually abbreviated to Dundee United. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1 ...

2–1 on aggregate. Eidur Gudjohnsen

On 7 October 2010, Manolo Jiménez agreed to a two-year deal and took over for Bajević. On 30 April 2011, AEK won the

for the 14th time, defeating 3–0

Atromitos Atromitos (Greek: Ατρόμητος, "fearless") may refer to: * Atromitos F.C., a football team based in Peristeri, Athens, Greece * Atromitos Piraeus, a football team based in Piraeus, Athens, Greece * Atromitos Yeroskipou, a football team curr ...

at the final. To compensate for the departures of Nacho Scocco,

, Sebastián Saja, and Ismael Blanco in the summer of 2011, AEK signed the captain of

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

Eiður Guðjohnsen Eiður Smári Guðjohnsen (transliterated as Eidur Smari Gudjohnsen; born 15 September 1978) is an Icelandic professional football coach and former player who played as a forward. Eiður saw his greatest success in England and Spain with Chelsea ...

, and Colombian international

Fabián Vargas Fabián Andrés Vargas Rivera (born 17 April 1980) is a Colombian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He spent most of his professional career playing for América de Cali and Boca Juniors, making more than 100 appear ...

. Due to financial problems, on 25 June 2012, AEK's legend

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 Vasilis Tsiartas,

, Christos Arvanitis, and Giorgos Karafeskos were hired to help the club return to its previous glory days. Due to bad results, on 30 September 2012,

was fired and

Ewald Lienen Ewald Lienen (born 28 November 1953) is a German football manager and former player. He is the current technical director of FC St. Pauli. Playing career Lienen began his professional career at Arminia Bielefeld of the 2. Bundesliga North in 19 ...

hired as AEK's head coach. On 9 April 2013,

Lienen Lienen is a municipality in the district of Steinfurt, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated approximately 15 km south-east of Osnabrück and 30 km north-east of Münster. Lienen is a sister city with Saint Marys, Ohio in ...

was fired after disappointing results and AEK hired

as head coach with Vasilis Borbokis and

for assistants. On 19 April 2013, a Super League disciplinary committee voted to remove 3 points from AEK 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 were relegated from the Super League to the second-tier Football League for the first time in their history. In addition, AEK were to start their Football League campaign with minus 2 points.

Melissanidis return to ownership

On 7 June 2013, during an AEK council, it was decided that AEK FC would become an amateur football club and would not participate in the Football League division for the 2013–14 season, preferring instead, to self-relegate and participate in the Football League 2 division and start from scratch. On the same day

, the former president of the club, became administrative leader of the club, under the supervision of Amateur AEK, with the aim of saving the club. Along with other notable AEK fans and old players, they went on to create the non-profit association Independent Union of Friends of AEK ( el, Ανεξάρτητη Ένωση Φίλων ΑΕΚ; ''Anexártiti Énosi Fίlon AEK'') which took the majority stake of the football club. Malaga trenning (1)

AEK began its revival by signing

as their new head coach. Dellas led AEK to first place in the third national division with a record of 23 wins, 3 draws, and only one defeat. The following year AEK participated in the

2014–15 Football League The 2014–15 Football League (known as the Sky Bet Football League for sponsorship reasons) was the 116th season of the Football League. It consisted of the usual 72 clubs, with the new additions being Luton Town and play-off winners Cambridge U ...

, finishing first and undefeated in the regular season standings. AEK successfully finished first in the playoffs and gained promotion back to the top tier, the

Greek Super League The Super League Greece 1 ( el, Ελληνική Σούπερ Λιγκ 1), or Super League 1, is the highest professional association football league in Greece. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and replaced ''Alpha Ethniki'' at the top of ...

. The biggest transfer in the club after returning to the

was the Argentinian star

Diego Buonanotte Diego Mario Buonanotte Rende (; born 19 April 1988) is an Argentine naturalized Chilean Association football, footballer who plays for Peruvian club Sporting Cristal as an Midfielder#Attacking midfielder, attacking midfielder and Midfielder#Wing ...

, who only stayed at the club for a year. On 20 October 2015,

was forced to resign as a result of a dispute with the board, and a heavy 4–0 away loss to

was named interim coach and later

Gus Poyet Gustavo Augusto Poyet Domínguez (; born 15 November 1967) is a Uruguayan professional football manager and former footballer. He is currently the head coach of the Greece national football team. Poyet played as a midfielder and began his car ...

was appointed as new head coach. On 19 April, Poyet was fired by AEK Athens after being accused by the board for revealing private club conversations. Stelios Manolas took charge as interim coach once again. Manolas managed to guide AEK to a 3rd-place finish in the league qualifying for the playoff round and also to their first piece of silverware since the 2010–11 season by lifting the

, defeating Olympiacos in the final 2–1. With the postponement of the final on two separate occasions and the congested fixture list of the playoff round, it meant AEK were to play a fixture every three days, which evidently took its toll on the players, but they finished third in the playoffs and qualified for the 2016–17 UEFA 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. Dmytro Chygrynskyi (cropped)

The new season started with high expectations by AEK Athens fans as the club signed

Dmytro Chyhrynskyi Dmytro Anatoliiovych Chyhrynskyi ( uk, Дмитро Анатолійович Чигринський; born 7 November 1986) is a Ukrainian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Super League Greece club Ionikos. He spent most ...

Hugo Almeida Hugo Miguel Pereira de Almeida (born 23 May 1984) is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a centre-forward. After failing to establish himself at Porto, being loaned several times during his contract, he made a name for h ...

and Joleon Lescott, announcing three of the biggest transfers in their history. Unfortunately, the 34-year-old English defender suffered a knee detached cartilage while cycling in his apartment. The injury ruled Lescott out for the remainder of the season. The player refused to get help from the team's doctors and insisted on completing his rehabilitation in the United Kingdom. The board did not agree to the player's wishes and additional demands, which resulted in his contract being terminated. This outcome led what it until then seemed to be a powerful defending duo to a midsummer night's nightmare. In addition, a 0–1 aggregate loss to

AS Saint-Étienne Association Sportive de Saint-Étienne Loire (), commonly known as A.S.S.E. () or simply Saint-Étienne, is a professional football club based in Saint-Étienne in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France. The club was founded in 1933 and competes in ...

in the Europa League qualifiers brought disappointment to fans' dreams of European participation. Nevertheless, AEK defeated

Xanthi Xanthi ( el, Ξάνθη, ''Xánthi'', ) is a city in the region of Western Thrace, northeastern Greece. It is the capital of the Xanthi (regional unit), Xanthi regional unit of the modern regions of Greece, region of East Macedonia and Thrace. A ...

4–1 in the first match of the season raising hopes for national distinction. However, the decision was made to replace

with

José Morais José Manuel Ferreira de Morais (born 27 July 1965) is a Portuguese professional football coach and former player. Morais arrived at Inter Milan in July 2009 to replace the departing André Villas-Boas, who took the head coaching position with ...

; the decision was based on the team's stuttering start to the season, 3 wins, 2 draws and 2 losses, and poor displays. José's arrival, however, did not improve the team's results or performances, winning only three of his fourteen matches as manager. On 19 January 2017 former manager Manolo Jiménez was appointed as manager for the second time following José's resignation. Upon his appointment he got the team from 7th place up to a 4th-place finish, and first place in the European Playoffs, claiming second place in the league overall and qualifying for the

Third qualifying round. Jiménez also guided the team to a second consecutive

Greek Cup final The Greek Cup Final, commonly referred to in Greece as just The Cup Final is the last match in the Greek Cup. Teams in yellow background won both Panhellenic Championship (up to 1959) or Alpha Ethniki (up to 2006) or the Super League Greece (kn ...

where they faced PAOK in a controversial game marred by pre-match violence between the two sets of fans and a winning goal from an offside position.

UEFA Europa League unbeaten run and Greek champions

The third season back in the top flight began with a tough draw in the Champions League Third qualifying round versus

CSKA Moscow CSKA Moscow (russian: ЦСКА Москва) is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet Union, Soviet era, it was a central piece ...

losing 3–0 on aggregate. The loss meant AEK were demoted to the

Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

play-off round where they were pitted versus Belgians

Club Brugge (), known simply as Club Brugge (in English also: ''Club Bruges''), is a Belgian professional football club based in Bruges, Belgium. It was founded in 1891 and its home ground is the Jan Breydel Stadium, which has a capacity of 29,062.

. A 0–0 draw in Brugge in the first leg and a 3–0 win in the return in Athens meant that AEK qualified for the group stages of a major European competition for the first time in 6 years. They were seeded in pot 4 and were drawn along with

HNK Rijeka Hrvatski nogometni klub Rijeka ( en, Croatian Football Club Rijeka), commonly referred to as NK Rijeka or simply Rijeka, is a Croatian professional association football, football club from the city of Rijeka. HNK Rijeka compete in Croatia's top ...

and Austria Wien. AEK would go on to qualify for the round of 32 undefeated, a statement that solidified their return as one of Europe's elite teams, with a record of 1 win and 5 draws, the most notable being the two back-to-back 0–0 draws versus AC Milan. In the Round of 32 AEK were drawn against Ukrainian giants

Dynamo Kyiv Football Club Dynamo Kyiv (, ) is a Ukrainian professional Association football, football club based in Kyiv. Founded in 1927 as a Kyivan football team of republican branch of the bigger Soviet Union, Soviet Dynamo Sports Club, Dynamo Sports Soc ...

. AEK were better than their opponents, but also were unlucky and lost after two draws and on away goal rule. The first match took place in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, with a 1–1 draw and the second game in

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

, finished 0–0. In April, AEK won their 12th Greek championship, by recording a 2–0 home win against

Levadiakos Levadiakos Football Club ( el, ΠΑΕ Λεβαδειακός) is a Greek professional football club that plays in the Super League Greece. Based in Livadeia, Greece, the club was promoted to the Alpha Ethniki, forerunner of the Super League, afte ...

in front of 60,000 fans. This was their first championship after 24 years. AEK were crowned champions in front of 14,500 of their fans in the last matchday against Apollon Smyrnis at

Georgios Kamaras Stadium Georgios Kamaras Stadium ( el, Στάδιο Γεώργιος Καμάρας) is a multi-purpose stadium in Athens, Greece. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of Apollon Smyrnis. The stadium holds 14,200 ...

UEFA Champions League return and consecutive Greek cup finals

2018–19 season was the season that AEK returned to the groups of the UEFA Champions League, for the 5th time in the club's history after eliminating

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

(3–2 on aggregate) and MOL Vidi (3–2 on aggregate) in the qualifying stages. Led by former Panathinaikos' manager,

Marinos Ouzounidis Marinos Ouzounidis ( el, Μαρίνος Ουζουνίδης, born 10 October 1968) is a Greek football manager and former professional player. Playing career Ouzounidis started his professional career playing for Greek club Skoda Xanthi as a de ...

, AEK were drawn in Group E against

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...

, Benfica and

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Greek ...

but failed to make an impact after losing in all six occasions. Key-players Jakob Johansson,

Lazaros Christodoulopoulos Lazaros Christodoulopoulos (Greek: Λάζαρος Χριστοδουλόπουλος, born 19 December 1986) is a Greek professional footballer who plays for Super League club Aris. He plays as a winger, a second striker or a attacking midfie ...

Sergio Araujo Sergio Ezequiel Araujo (born 28 January 1992), nicknamed El Chino, is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for Greek Super League club AEK Athens, for which he is captain. Club career Boca Juniors Born in Buenos Aires, ...

and

Ognjen Vranješ Ognjen Vranješ (; born 24 October 1989) is a Bosnian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Süper Lig club Hatayspor. Vranješ started his professional career at Borac Banja Luka, before joining Red Star Belgrade in 2009. He w ...

as well as manager Manolo Jiménez that were essential to the 2017–18 triumphant season left the club and most transfers failed to add up to the team. Greek international

Marios Oikonomou Marios Oikonomou ( el, Μάριος Οικονόμου; born 6 October 1992) is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a centre-back. Club career PAS Giannina Born in Ioannina, Oikonómou began playing football with PAS Giannina. He sign ...

and Argentine striker

Ezequiel Ponce Ezequiel Ponce (; born 29 March 1997) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for La Liga club Elche. He also holds Spanish citizenship. Club career Newell's Old Boys Ponce is a youth exponent from his hometown club Newe ...

were the only newcomers that managed to make an impact on an overall disappointing season (3rd place, 23 points behind 1st PAOK and 18 points behind 2nd Olympiacos – third consecutive cup final loss from PAOK, 1–0). 2017–18 season's champions,

and

returned to Athens, and some other notable additions are Portuguese international

Nélson Oliveira Nélson Miguel Castro Oliveira (; born 8 August 1991) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a striker for Greek Super League club PAOK. Formed at S.L. Benfica, he made 24 appearances and scored three goals for the club, whil ...

and Serbian midfielder

Nenad Krstičić Nenad Krstičić (born 3 July 1990) is a Serbian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Serbian club Red Star Belgrade. He debuted for the Serbia national team in 2013. Club career Early career and cancer diagnosis Krstičić beg ...

. The 2019–20 season started catastrophically, with an early Europa League elimination from the Turkish side

Trabzonspor Trabzonspor Kulübü is a Turkish sports club located in the city of Trabzon. Formed in 1967 through a merger of several local clubs, the men's football team has won seven Süper Lig championships. Trabzonspor also have a women's football team, ...

(1–3 in Athens, 0–2 in Trabzon, 3–3 on aggregate) and disappointing domestic results. New manager, Miguel Cardoso was sacked quickly to be replaced with the club's veteran player and manager, Nikos Kostenoglou who was also later replaced by Italian manager,

Massimo Carrera Massimo Carrera (; born 22 April 1964) is an Italian professional football manager and former player, who was most recently the manager of clubs Spartak Moscow and later AEK Athens, before leaving continental football and joining local club Bari ...

. Under Carrera, AEK regained the confidence lost from the previous 1,5 years of bad results. Before the lockdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, AEK was 3rd in the regular season and in the semi-finals of the Greek Cup (2–1 home victory against

in the first leg). Afterwards going on to make it to the final for the fifth time in a row. However, they lost the final 1–0 to

. After the draw for the Europa League third qualifying round, AEK Athens got

VfL Wolfsburg Verein für Leibesübungen Wolfsburg e. V., commonly known as VfL Wolfsburg () or Wolfsburg, is a German professional sports club based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony. The club grew out of a multi-sports club for Volkswagen workers in the city of W ...

at the Play-off round they won 2–1 at the Olympic Stadium (Athens), Athens Olympic Stadium getting in the Group stage. However, AEK's campaign results in the Europa League as well as the first half of the domestic Superleague were lacklustre, the European campaign being one of their worst ever, only recording 1 win in the group stages. In December,

was relieved of his duties and replaced by Manolo Jiménez, previous Super League and Greek Cup winner with AEK – his fourth term at the club.

UEFA Europa Conference League disqualification, new stadium and top signings

Hoping to rebuild, AEK acquired the services of Vladan Milojević, Vladan Milojevic. However, his tenure ended early, with AEK Athens being disqualified on penalties by Bosnia and Herzegovina club FK Velež Mostar, Velež Mostar in the 2021–22 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League#Second qualifying round, Europa Conference League second qualifying round. The newly built stadium is located in the place where the old Nikos Goumas Stadium, Nikos Goumas stadium was situated, at Nea Filadelfeia. The Agia Sophia Stadium, Agia Sophia stadium, also known as OPAP Arena for sponsoring reasons, is a UEFA stadium categories, category 4 UEFA stadium and can host 30,500 spectators. The net construction cost is estimated around Euro, € 81,700,000. The administrative region of Attica funded the stadium with the amount of Euro, € 20,000,000. The stadium's opening ceremony took place on 30 September 2022. AEK Athens won Ionikos F.C., Ionikos Nikaias 4–1 in their new stadium opening game on 3 October 2022, a game conducted for the sixth fixture of the 2022–23 Greece Super League, Greek Super League. An interesting fact about the last goal scored in the old stadium and the first goal scored in the new stadium emerged after ten minutes of play in the Agia Sophia Stadium, Agia Sofia stadium. In the last game played in the demolished Nikos Goumas Stadium, Nikos Goumas stadium, a Serbian midfielder called

scored the last goal against

in a 4–0 win in favour of AEK Athens. This time a Serbian midfielder called Mijat Gaćinović scored the first goal in the opening game of the newly built stadium against Ionikos F.C., Ionikos Nikaias in a 4–1 win in favour of AEK Athens. In the summer transfer window of the 2022–23 season, AEK Athens announced the signing of two famous football players who played as opponents in the 2018 FIFA World Cup final in Russia. The first player was the Croatian centre-back Domagoj Vida who previously played for Süper Lig side Beşiktaş J.K., Beşiktaş, and the second player was the French right-back Djibril Sidibé (footballer, born 1992), Djibril Sidibé who lastly played for Ligue 1 club AS Monaco FC, Monaco. The latter is the most valuable player to have ever arrived at the club with a market value of Euro, € 8,000,000, surpassing the previous player Juanfran (footballer, born 1976), Juanfran by Euro, € 2,000,000. Djibril Sidibé (footballer, born 1992), Djibril Sidibé is also the fifth player to have won the FIFA World Cup that arrived in the Greece Super League, Greek Superleague, after the French star Christian Karembeu and the Brazilian stars

, Gilberto Silva and Denílson (footballer, born 1977), Denilson.

Crest

In 1924, AEK adopted the image of a double-headed eagle (; Dikéfalos Aetós) as their emblem. Created by Greeks, Greek refugees from Constantinople in the years following the Greco-Turkish War and subsequent Population exchange between Greece and Turkey, population exchange, the emblem and colours (yellow and black) of AEK were chosen as a reminder of lost homelands; they represent the club's historical ties to Constantinople. The double-headed eagle is featured in the flag of the Greek Orthodox Church, whose headquarters are in Constantinople, and served as Byzantine heraldry, Imperial emblem under the Palaiologos dynasty, which was the last one to rule the Byzantine Empire. 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), however, it was not until 1982 that an identifiable, copyrighted design was established as the club's official, and shirt badge. The emblem design was changed in 1989, again in 1993, and again in 2013 to the current design.

Kit and colours

The colours of yellow/gold and black were adopted from AEK's connections with Constantinople and the Byzantine Empire. AEK have always worn predominantly gold or yellow shirts and black shorts. An exception has been the unusual, but notable and popular among the fans, Kappa (company), Kappa kits of the '90s 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 and used also by the imperial dynasties of the Byzantine empire (Eastern Roman empire).

Shirt sponsors and manufacturers

Since 1 June 2021, AEK's kit has been manufactured by Nike. Previous manufacturers have been

(1974–75, 1977–83 and 2005–07), Zita Hellas (1983–89), Diadora (1989–93), Basic (1993–95), Kappa (company), Kappa (1995–2000), Puma (1975–77 and 2007–15) and Capelli Sport, Capelli (2018–21). Starting in 2015, the club's main shirt sponsors are OPAP, which also sponsored them in 2010–14. Previous shirt sponsors have been Citizen Holdings, Citizen (1982–83), Nissan Motors, Nissan (1983–85), Ethniki Asfalistiki (1985–93 and 1995–96), Phoenix Asfaleies (1993–95), Geniki Bank (1996–98), Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, Firestone (1999), Marfin Investment Group (1999–2001), Alpha TV, Alpha Digital (2001–02), Piraeus Bank (2002–04), WIND Hellas, TIM (2004–06), LG Corp., LG (2006–08), Diners Club International, Diners Club (2009–10), and Jeep (2014–15). AEK shirt

Financial information

, a successful bauxite Mine Owner, was also 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. On 17 June 1992, the club passed to new owners. The business shipping magnate and oil tycoon

, together with Giannis 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

made a plan to progress with the reorganization and financial consolidation, and together with other investors (such as Nicholas X. Notias, Gikas Goumas, Takis Kanellopoulos, 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

, the old president of the club, became administrative leader of AEK, under the supervision of the amateur

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. 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 UK 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". On 27 April 2015, AEK FC was selected for the honor of opening a session of the London Stock Exchange. Current sponsorships: *Premium Sponsors: OPAP, Pame Stoixima, Nike, Inc., Nike *Official Sponsors: Football Pro, Piraeus Bank, Cosmote, Cosmote TV, LG Corporation

Stadium

File:Nikos Goumas Main.gif, The entrance of the historic

Nikos Goumas Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in Nea Filadelfeia ("''New Alaşehir#Ancient Philadelphia, Philadelphia''"), a northwestern suburb of Athens, Greece. It was used mostly for association football, football matches and was the home stadium of AEK FC. 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. The Nikos Goumas Stadium had severe damages from 1999's earthquake and in 2003 was demolished with the prospect to build a new stadium for AEK FC. Unfortunately, prolonged obstruction, legal issues and tight deadlines lapsed this prospect until recently. The club now plays its home games in the 70,000-capacity "Spyridon Louis, Spyros Louis" (

) in Athens and currently builds its new stadium in the same place where Nikos Goumas Stadium used to stand. 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 Finals, as well as other important athletic and cultural events, the most significant of which remains the Summer Olympic Games, Summer Olympics in 2004. Construction on an all-new purpose-built stadium began on 28 July 2017 in the site of the old Nikos Goumas stadium. It was completed in 2022 and the opening took place on 30th September 2022. The stadium has capacity of approximately 32,500 fans and features a unique underground road system that the teams will use to enter the stadium. Construction has suffered from major delays due to the local authorities taking too long on confirming certain proposals concerning the stadium's road system but construction of the system has finally begun as of March 2020. The stadium's opening ceremony took place on 30 September 2022. AEK Athens won Ionikos F.C., Ionikos Nikaias 4–1 in their new stadium opening game on 3 October 2022, a game conducted for the sixth fixture of the 2022–23 Greece Super League, Greek Super League.

Training facility

Since December 2010, AEK has been using state-of-the-art facilities in an area of 144 acres in the Mazareko area in Spata. Previously owned by Nicholas X. Notias, it is the most expensive (with a total cost around €25m) and one of the biggest training centers in Greece. These facilities include two lawns with natural turf and one with plastic for the needs of the Academies (which was created in 2013 with a viewing platform for spectators) and all the necessary and well-equipped areas for the preparation of a team with modern instruments. A standard football studio, one of the most complete in Greece. The main building of the centre 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 Spata Training Centre includes state-of-the-art facilities, a fitness and health centre with weight-training and fitness rooms, a cryotherapy centre and more. There are also plans for an AEK Museum, hotel, aquatic centre and two more soccer fields. From 2013 and on, AEK training centre services have been upgraded dramatically. The players of the teamwork daily in an environment with all the necessary infrastructure, while in the last few months they have at their disposal in the basement of the building a treatment centre with the most modern means. Even the young athletes of the Academies work in facilities that very few Academies have in Greece. But the outlook is even more impressive. Since 2014, the official name of the ground is "OPAP Sports Centre". On 4 July 2018, the Sports Centre came to auction which was bought by Dimitrios Melissanidis for a price of €3.5m and then donated it to AEK. Alongside the Sports Centre, Melissanidis also bought 70 hectares for an extra €5.5m which were added to the wider area of the existing training center and there will be additional stadiums along with the necessary additional facilities for the preparation of the team and for the hospitality of the players.

Supporters and rivalries

Support

AEK Athens has a large fan base across all of Greece and is the third most popular Greek football team in relation to their fan base. According to Sky Sports AEK have around 15% of all Greek football fans. AEK's fan base in Greece is believed to be over 1 million with various researches suggesting AEK have an estimated fan base between 1.1 – 1.3 million fans in Greece. AEK Athens traditional fanbase comes from the area of Nea Filadelfeia, where the club is based, as well as a good part of the rest of the Athens area. AEK have a strong following in the Greek diaspora especially in Cyprus where the club has a large following with a recent fan poll from Kerkida.net having AEK as the second most popular Greek supported team in Cyprus behind Panathinaikos A.O., Panathinaikos (34%) but ahead of Olympiacos (23%) with AEK having 27% of Cypriot football fans supporting the club. One of the main reasons AEK's popularity in Cyprus is large making them ahead of Olympiacos the most popular Greek team in Greece is due to the fact AEK are a refugee club which many Greek Cypriots are after the Turkish invasion of Cyprus and due to this many Greek Cypriots can relate to the similar history of AEKs being a refugee club. AEK have also a strong following in Australia, the US, Uk, Germany and France. The most hardcore supporters of AEK are Original 21, which is the largest group fan organisation of the club and are known for their loyal and passionate support.

Supporters friendships

A so-called "triangle of brotherhood" has developed between the largest left-wing fan clubs of AEK, Olympique de Marseille, Marseille and A.S. Livorno Calcio, Livorno. The connection is mostly an ideological one. Also, AEK's and FC St. Pauli, St. Pauli's left-wing fans, have a strong friendship and their connection is mostly for ideological reasons.

Club anthem

AEK's club anthem, Embrós tis AEK Palikária (Advance AEK's Lads), was composed by Stelios Kazantzidis. The lyrics were written by Christos Kolokotronis. The most-popular version of the anthem is sung by ex-football player

.
AEK club anthem

Rivalries

AEK FC's biggest rivalries are with Panathinaikos and

. Against their city 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 representative of the Athenian high-class society. The rivalry with Piraeus based club 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

moved to Olympiacos, and most recently after the controversial 2007–08 Super League Greece, 2007–08 Super League which was awarded to Olympiacos.

Honours

Domestic competitions

Leagues: *

(First National Division) ** Greece Super League gold

Winners (12): 1938–39 Panhellenic Championship, 1938–39, 1939–40 Panhellenic Championship, 1939–40, 1962–63 Alpha Ethniki, 1962–63, 1967–68 Alpha Ethniki, 1967–68, 1970–71 Alpha Ethniki, 1970–71, 1977–78 Alpha Ethniki, 1977–78, 1978–79 Alpha Ethniki, 1978–79, 1988–89 Alpha Ethniki, 1988–89, 1991–92 Alpha Ethniki, 1991–92, 1992–93 Alpha Ethniki, 1992–93, 1993–94 Alpha Ethniki, 1993–94, 2017–18 Super League Greece, 2017–18 *Football League (Greece), Football League (Second National Division) ** Gold medal with cup

Winners (1): 2014–15 Football League (Greece), 2014–15 *Gamma Ethniki (Third National Division) ** Gold medal with cup

Winners (1): 2013–14 Gamma Ethniki, 2013–14 ''(2013–14 Gamma Ethniki#Group 6, Group 6)'' Cups: *Greek Football Cup, Greek Cup ** Gold medal with cup

Winners (15): 1931–32 Greek Football Cup, 1931–32, 1938–39 Greek Football Cup, 1938–39, 1948–49 Greek Football Cup, 1948–49, 1949–50 Greek Football Cup, 1949–50, 1955–56 Greek Football Cup, 1955–56, 1963–64 Greek Football Cup, 1963–64, 1965–66 Greek Football Cup, 1965–66, 1977–78 Greek Football Cup, 1977–78, 1982–83 Greek Football Cup, 1982–83, 1995–96 Greek Football Cup, 1995–96, 1996–97 Greek Football Cup, 1996–97, 1999–2000 Greek Football Cup, 1999–2000, 2001–02 Greek Football Cup, 2001–02, 2010–11 Greek Football Cup, 2010–11, 2015–16 Greek Football Cup, 2015–16 *

Winners (2): 1989, 1996 *Greek League Cup ** Gold medal with cup

Winners (1) (record): 1990

Doubles

* Winners (2): 1938–39, 1977–78

European competitions

** ''Quarter-finals (1)'': 1968–69 *UEFA Europa League, UEFA Cup ** Bronze medal europe

''Semi-finals (1)'': 1976–77 *

** ''Quarter-finals (2)'': 1996–97, 1997–98 * Balkans Cup ** Silver medal europe

''Runners-up (1)'': 1966–67 Balkans Cup, 1966–67

Regional

*Athens Football Clubs Association, Athens F.C.A. Regional Championship ** Gold medal with cup

Winners (5): 1940, 1943, 1946, 1947, 1950 *Pre-Mediterranean Cup ** Gold medal with cup

Winners (1) (record): 1991

Tournaments

*Sydney Festival of Football ** Gold medal world centered-2

Winners (1) (record): 2010 * Nova Supersports Cup ** Gold medal europe

Winners (1) (joint record): 1999 ** Silver medal europe

''Runners-up (2):'' 2000, 2001 Source
AEK Athens F.C.

European performance

Best seasons

UEFA ranking

Players

Current squad

Reserves and Academy

Out on loan

Statistics and records

Domestic and European records

One-club men

Super League top scorers

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

Player records

* Most club appearances: 593–

* Most club goals: 299–

Manager records

* Most club titles: 8–

Contribution to the Greece national team

AEK, through its history, has highlighted some of the greatest Greek players in the history of Football in Greece, Greece football, who contributed also to the Greece national football team, Greece national team (Mimis Papaioannou, Papaioannou, Kostas Nestoridis, Nestoridis, Mavros, Vasilios Tsiartas, Tsiartas, Nikolaidis, etc.). Five players of the club were part of the golden team of 2004 that won the UEFA Euro 2004: * UEFA Euro 2004 (5):

(player of the tournament),

and

. A total of 112 players of AEK had played for the Greece national football team up to 20 November 2022.

Player list

Notable former players

File:DK-AEK (4) (croppe.jpg, Anastasios Bakasetas File:CSKA-AEK (5).jpg, André Simões File:Bruno Alves.jpg, Bruno Alves File:Malaga trenning (1).jpg,

File:Dionisis Chiotis.jpg, Dionysis Chiotis File:Bajevic Maric Vladic (Bajevic cropped).jpg,

File:DK-AEK (4 cropped).jpg,

File:Eidur Gudjohnsen.jpg, Eidur Gudjohnsen File:Ezequiel Ponce 2019 (1).jpg,

File:Fabián Andrés Vargas (2011-10-20).jpg, Fabián Vargas File:Krychowiak in 2020.jpg, Grzegorz Krychowiak File:Hugo Almeida - SV Werder Bremen (1).jpg,

File:Ignacio Scocco en Newell's Old Boys 2021.jpg, Ignacio Scocco File:NACIONAL VS BARCELONA 2 LAC (15388871639).jpg, Ismael Blanco File:Joleon Lescott 20120611.jpg, Joleon Lescott File:Juan Cala.jpg, Juan Cala File:20130814 AT-GR Kostas Katsouranis 2377.jpg,

File:Loc-Rub (4).jpg, Marko Livaja File:Nelson Oliveira - Croatia vs. Portugal, 10th June 2013 (crop).jpg,

File:Liberopoulos.JPG,

File:Paulo Assunção.jpg, Paulo Assunção File:Rivaldo bunyodkor 2010.jpg,

File:20130814 AT-GR Sokratis Papastathopoulos 2368.jpg, Sokratis Papastathopoulos File:Dellas 2008.jpg,

Personnel

Ownership and current board

Executives

Administration Department

Football Department

Coaching and medical staff

;Coaching staff ;Medical staff ;Other staff

Presidents

Notable managers

File:František Fadrhonc (1974).jpg,

led AEK Athens to the 1976–77 UEFA Cup semi-finals File:Zlatko Čajkovski 1953.jpg, Zlatko Čajkovski 1977–78 Alpha Ethniki champion and 1977–78 Greek Football Cup, 1977–78 Greek Cup winner File:Ferenc Puskás (cropped).jpg, The Golden Team, "Mighty Magyar" Ferenc Puskás, manager of the club in the 1978–79 Alpha Ethniki, 1978–79 season File:Dusan Bajevic.jpg,

4 times Super League Greece, Alpha Ethniki champion, 1 time Greek Football Cup, Greek Cup, Greek League Cup and

winner File:20150616 - Portugal - Italie - Genève - Fernando Santos.jpg, Fernando Santos (Portuguese footballer), Fernando Manuel Fernandes da Costa Santos winner of the 2001–02 Greek Football Cup, 2001–02 Greek Cup File:2017-08-02 Manolo Jimenez.jpg, Manolo Jiménez 2017–18 Super League Greece, 2017–18 Greek Super League champion and 2010–11 Greek Football Cup, 2010–11 Greek Cup winner File:Dellas 2008.jpg,

led the club to promotion to the

File:Massimo Carrera Aug 8 2016.jpg,

led the club to the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League group stage ;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 shootout (association football), penalty shootouts are not counted.

References

Bibliography

* Μακρίδης, Παναγιώτης (1955). ''Η ΙΣΤΟΡΙΑ ΤΗΣ ΑΕΚ'' . Αθήνα, Ελλάδα: Αθλητική Ηχώ. * Συλλογικό έργο (1979). ''Η αθλητική δράση των Ρωμιών της Πόλης 1896–1976'' . Κωνσταντινούπολη, Τουρκία: Ειδική Έκδοση. * Αλεξανδρής, Γ.Χ. (1996). ''Η Ιστορία της ΑΕΚ'' . Αθήνα, Ελλάδα: Ιδιωτική Έκδοση Γ.Χ. Αλεξανδρής. * Καραπάνος, Παναγιώτης (1999). ''Το αλφαβητάρι της ΑΕΚ: Όλα όσα πρέπει να ξέρεις και δεν σου έχουν πει για την ΑΕΚ'' . Αθήνα, Ελλάδα: Εκδόσεις Δίαυλος. . * Νόταρης, Ι. Σωτήρης (2002). ''ΑΕΚ, κλασικός αθλητισμός: Ο καρπός της αθλητικής παράδοσης της Πόλης στη σύγχρονη Αθήνα από το 1924 έως τις μέρες μας'' . Αθήνα, Ελλάδα: Εκδόσεις Καλαβρία. * Συλλογικό έργο (2007). ''Ο Κιτρινόμαυρος Δικέφαλος'' . Αθήνα, Ελλάδα: Εκδόσεις Παπαδόπουλος. . * Κατσαρός, Κωνσταντίνος (2008). ''Κώστας Νεστορίδης: Ο μάγος της μπάλας'' . Αθήνα, Ελλάδα: Εκδόσεις Άγκυρα. . * Συλλογικό έργο (2009). ''ΑΕΚ: Για πάντα πρωταθλητές'' . Αθήνα, Ελλάδα: Εκδόσεις Σκάι. . * Κακίσης, Σωτήρης (2011). ''Ένωσις!'' . Λευκωσία, Κύπρος: Εκδόσεις Αιγαίον. . * Συλλογικό έργο (2014). ''90 ΧΡΟΝΙΑ, Η ΙΣΤΟΡΙΑ ΤΗΣ ΑΕΚ'' . Αθήνα, Ελλάδα: Εκδοτικός Οίκος Α. Α. Λιβάνη. . * Συλλογικό έργο (2017). ''Ποιος, ποιος, ποιος, ο μαύρος θεός'' . Αθήνα, Ελλάδα: Εκδόσεις Ελληνοεκδοτική. . * Αγγελίδης, Νικόλαος (2017). ''Όλες οι ΑΕΚ του κόσμου'' . Αθήνα, Ελλάδα: Εκδόσεις Νότιος Άνεμος. .

History

Establishment and early years (1924–1944)

1960–1974: Nestoridis-Papaioannou era

European Champions Cup quarter-finalists

1974–81: The great AEK of Barlos

UEFA Cup semi-finalists

Thomas Mavros: a goal-machine

1981–1999

Bajević golden team: Three consecutive championships

First Greek presence in the UEFA Champions League group stage

21st century

2002–03 UEFA Champions League unbeaten run

Demis Nikolaidis era

2007–08 Championship controversy

Financial problems and relegation

Melissanidis return to ownership

UEFA Europa League unbeaten run and Greek champions

UEFA Champions League return and consecutive Greek cup finals

UEFA Europa Conference League disqualification, new stadium and top signings

Crest

Kit and colours

Shirt sponsors and manufacturers

Financial information

Stadium

Training facility

Supporters and rivalries

Support

Supporters friendships

Club anthem

Rivalries

Honours

Domestic competitions

Doubles

European competitions

Regional

Tournaments

European performance

UEFA ranking

Players

Current squad

Reserves and Academy

Out on loan

Statistics and records

Domestic and European records

One-club men

Super League top scorers

Player records

Manager records

Contribution to the Greece national team

Player list

Notable former players

Personnel

Ownership and current board

Executives

Administration Department

Football Department

Coaching and medical staff

Presidents

Notable managers

See also

References

Bibliography

External links