AEK Athens is the first Greek club that reached the quarter-finals of the European Cup in 1968–69, the first Greek club that participated in the UEFA Champions League in 1992–93 and the first Greek club that participated its first group stage of the in 1994–95. In 2002–03 season, they became the only club to have drawn all their games in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League, the only Greek club to have participated in the Champions League without losing a single game and the only club that has ever achieved six draws in six matches in a European competition. AEK Athens is the only Greek club to have reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup in 1976–77. AEK Athens is the only Greek club to have participated in the quarter-finals of all three European competitions at least once. AEK Athens is the only Greek club to have participated in the Europa League without losing a single game in 2017–18. They are the only Greek club to have advanced to the quarter-finals of European competitions 2 consecutive seasons in 1996–97 and 1997–98, the only Greek club to have advanced to the round of 16 in European competitions for 4 consecutive seasons in 1994–95, 1995–96, 1996–97 and 1997–98 and the only Greek club to have advanced to the round of 16 in the Cup Winners' Cup for 3 consecutive seasons 1995–96, 1996–97, 1997–98. They are also the only Greek club to have advanced to the round of 16 in the UEFA Cup for 3 consecutive seasons in 2000–01, 2001–02, 2002–03. AEK Athens holds the domestic record of the longest unbeaten streak in UEFA competitions with 14 consecutive games.
History
First years
The first participation of AEK Athens a in European competion was in the Balkans Cup in the 1960–61 season alongside Steagul Roșu Brașov, Levski Sofia, Partizani Tirana and Fenerbahçe. After 4 matchdays they manached to achieve 1 win 1 draw and 2 defeats and since Steagul Roșu Brașov had secured the title, AEK withdrawn from the tournament, losing the rest of their games without a match.
Having won the championship of 1963, AEK competed for the first time in their history in the UEFA competitions, as they qualified in the preliminary round of the European Cup in 1963–64 season. The draw brought them against the French champions, Monaco. The first appearance in a UEFA match quickly turned into a nightmare as they faced a 7–2 defeat at Stade Municipal du Ray. The rematch in Athens was purely procedural, as 1–1 draw couldn't change anything in the qualification outcome, as it was secured by the Monegasques from the first match.
In 1964 they played their first match in a final stage of a UEFA competition, compteting in the first round of the European Cup Winners' Cup, which were drawn against Dinamo Zagreb. In the first leg at AEK Stadium both clubs started scared and harsh, with the Yugoslavs playing extremely unsportsmanlike, as they wanted a draw and to kill the game off, while AEK pressed unorthodoxly, but were unable to create many chances. Eventually, AEK scored twice within 5 minutes with Mimis Papaioannou and Kostas Nestoridis and the game ended 2–0, with the team gaining an important advantage, while also achieving their first victory in the UEFA competitions. In the rematch at Stadion Maksimir, Dynamo played much more aggressively and took the lead at the end of the first half. With the game bordering on unsportsmanlike in the second half, Dynamo quickly equalized the score of the first match and 7 minutes later they made it 3–0, which left AEK out of the tournament.
During the 1966–67 season AEK played in 2 European competitions. The first was the European Cup Winners' Cup, with their opponent for its first round being Braga, who in the previous season had won their first title and made their maiden appearance in European competitions. The performance of the club in both legs was not enough as they were eliminated by 2 defeats with 0–1, in the first leg at Athens and 3–2 in the second leg at Braga. The second was the Balkans Cup, where they were placed in the 2nd group alongside FK Vardar, Lokomotiv Sofia and Farul Constanța. There, under Jenő Csaknády, they managed to finish first, undefeated as they achieved 3 wins all of them at home and 3 draws away from home and were qualified for the 2-legged final, facing Fenerbahçe. In the first game at Nea Filadelfeia, AEK won by 2–1 and went to Istanbul to defend their slight lead. The Turks managed to equalize the lead of the first leg, winning by 1–0 and since the away goals rule was not applied in the tournament, a third match was set. In order for a free date for the match to be found, 7 months had to pass and on 30 May 1968 at Mithat Paşa, AEK were defeated by 3–1 and a lost a great opportunity to win an international trophy.
The following season they competed again in the Balkans Cup finishing third in their respective group, behind Spartak Sofia, Olimpija Ljubljana, tied with Fenerbahçe.
As the 1968 champions, AEK played in the European Cup. The draw of the first round brought them against Jeunesse Esch. At Nea Filadelfeia, the yellow-blacks prevailded harder than the final 3–0 implied, with the goals of Mimis Papaioannou, Kostas Papageorgiou and Giorgos Karafeskos. The qualification was at safety and the rematch became purely procedural. At Luxembourg, the suspense of qualification lasted for 16 minutes when Ventouris equalized the quick goal of Hoffmann. AEK also managed to take the lead with a second goal by Ventouris, but the players of Legrand showing character evenatully turned the match again taking the victory. In the second round AEK faced Akademisk Boldklub. At AEK Stadium, despite their offensive style of play, AEK played defensively for the whole match and managed to take the draw by 0–0. At the rematch in the frozen Copenhagen, AEK started the match very offensively and managed to take the lead early on with Stamatiadis. The Danes started to press unbearably to equalize, but thanks to Konstantinidis and Vasiliou, AEK went for the half time break with their lead intact. In the second half the team took advantage of the open spaces left by the Danes and played to extend their lead. Αt the 81st minute, after a cross by Sevastopoulos and Papaioannou with his unnatural jump, beat everyone in the air and made the final 0–2. AEK achieved the very first display of a Greek team in Europe, as they became the first team to achieve an away victory in a European match and the first Greek team to reach the quarter-finals of the European Cup, or in any European competition at all. In the quarter-finals AEK avoided all the giants of the draw as they faced Spartak Trnava. At the first match at Spartak Stadium, Branko Stanković set the team to maintain a favourable score for the rematch. Even though they withstood the pressure by the Czechoslovaks, they conceded two goals with Jarábek and Kabát, they managed to reduce their lead with Sevastopoulos and achieve their target. In the rematch at Athens, AEK seemed ready to respond to their challenge and take the qualification. Unfortunately, after a goal by Švec in the first half made the yellow-blacks chase the score, as the Czechoslovaks were closed behind. AEK attacked relentlessly, but the defense of Spartak seemed impenetrable, until the 77th minute, where Papaioannou managed to equalize. The team were left with only 13 minutes to take the match to the extra time and despite their intensive pressure for another goal the ball eventually did not end up in the net and AEK were eliminated from the tournament achieving one of the greatest campaigns in their history.
Declining period and comeback
After an absence for a season from the European competitions, in 1970 AEK Athens participated in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup for the first time in their history, drawing for its first round against the newly-formed Twente and were eliminated with a at both legs with 1–0 at home and 3–0 away being eliminated without scoring a single goal. Despite the club winning the championship of that season, the issues which appeared within the club marked the beginning of a declining period. Nevertheless, in the first round of the 1971–72 European Cup, AEK achieved a great 3–2 win at home over Internazionale with the goals of Ventouris, Papaioannou and Nikolaidis, but in the end they were eliminated due to the 4–1 defeat of the first leg at San Siro. This victory was widely celebrated as it was one of the greatest in Greek football at the time, where Inter eventualy reached the final of the tournament to be defeated by Ajax.
In 1972 AEK participated in the UEFA Cup for the first time in their history. In the first round, they were drawn against the Hungarian Salgótarján, where they easily prevailed with a 3–1 win at home and in a purely procedural rematch with a 1–1 draw away from home. In the second round, luck completely turned its back on AEK, bringing them against Liverpool of Bill Shankly. The first match at Anfield, the reds easily took the victory with 3–0 and finished the job with a 3–1 win in Athens, which sent them in the eventual conquest of the title.
As AEK were passing through their declining period were out of claiming titles and were left out of the European competitons for 2 seasons. As a new era begun at the club with the businessman, Loukas Barlos taking over the wheel of the club, AEK returned in the European competitions in 1975. For the first round of UEFA Cup, AEK were drawn against Vojvodina and after the 0–0 away from home they confirmed their superiority with the 3–1 win at home. In the second round, the draw brought AEK against Inter Bratislava, where they faced defeat by 2–0, while in the rematch at Nea Filadelfeia, the Czechoslovaks "froze" the stadium opening the score early on and even thought the yellow-blacks managed to turn the tie, the three goals they scored in the second half, were not enough and thus they were eliminated.
The club's most memorable moment in European competitions was the campaign to the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup, during the 1976–77 season under František Fadrhonc's management. On the way to the semi-finals, AEK Athens managed to eliminate four clubs. In the first round they faced Soviet champions, Dynamo Moscow. In Athens, AEK won 2–0 with goals by Takis Nikoloudis and Mimis Papaioannou. In Moscow, Dynamo paid them back by equalizing the score of the first game, leading the match to extra time. In the last minute of extra time, AEK managed to score thanks to a penalty kick by Tasos Konstantinou and proceeded to the second round. They were drawn against English 4th placed side, Derby County. In Nea Filadelfeia, a goal by Walter Wagner and an own goal by Rod Thomas gave AEK the 2–0 win. At Derby, AEK found themselves behind in the score line, but responded by scoring three times with Nikoloudis, Konstantinou and Wagner. Derby Country only managed to score a consolation goal and the match ended in a 2–3 win for AEK. That marked the first away victory over an English club in European history. In the third round AEK faced Yugoslav giants, Red Star Belgrade. In Athens, AEK was once again victorious by winning 2–0 with the goals of Mimis Papaioannou and Thomas Mavros. In Belgrade, Red Star took the lead with a goal by Petar Baralić but Walter Wagner quickly equalised. The two additional goals scored by Zoran Filipović and Dušan Savić were not enough and AEK won on away goals. In the quarter-finals, AEK faced their greatest challenge to that moment, the English league's runners-up, QPR. The first leg was played in London. The two penalty kick goals in the first ten minutes scored by Gerry Francis and another one scored by Stan Bowles gave QPR the 3–0 win and what looked like a certain qualification. Nevertheless, AEK made an impossible comeback and with two goals by Thomas Mavros and one more by Mimis Papaioannou AEK sent the match to extra time and eventually to a penalty shoot-out. Three minutes before the final whistle, František Fadrhonc had Nikos Christidis substitute Lakis Stergioudas, the team's regular goalkeeper. His move proved vital as Christidis saved two penalties and gave AEK a 7–6 win. In the semi-finals draw, AEK were to play either the Italian league's runner-up side, Juventus or Spanish league's third-placed side, Athletic Bilbao. Ultimately, AEK had to face the Italians. In Turin, Juventus scored first with Antonello Cuccureddu, but AEK responded with a goal by Lazaros Papadopoulos. Two goals by Roberto Bettega and one by Franco Causio followed, giving Juventus a 4–1 victory. Juventus also won in AEK Stadium thanks to a goal scored by Roberto Boninsegna end went on to win their first European title.
Another unforgettable feat was the unbeaten run in the UEFA Champions League was the highlight of the season. The club played against Cypriot champions, APOEL in the third qualifying round. In the first leg in Nicosia, APOEL scored first with Marinos Ouzounidis, but AEK managed to take the lead with Vasilios Borbokis scoring twice. A late equaliser by Costas Malekkos did not prove enough for APOEL as Demis Nikolaidis scored during stoppage time giving his club the win. In Athens, AEK won thanks to a header by Mauricio Wright and entered the group stage, where they were drawn against Belgian champions, Genk, Italian runner-up side, Roma and UEFA Champions League's holders, Real Madrid. AEK secured two goalless draws against Genk in Genk and against Roma in Athens before confronting Real Madrid. Defending champions Madrid drew 3–3 with AEK, but were twice behind against the Greek side. Vasilios Tsiartas became the first player to score against the Spanish side in this season's competition with a sixth-minute free-kick. However, Madrid were soon back on level terms thanks to Zinedine Zidane's goal after 15 minutes before further goals from Christos Maladenis and Demis Nikolaidis put the hosts in the driving seat. However, another Zidane strike and a second-half Guti goal ensured Madrid left with a point.[1] An in a way opposite match was played in Madrid where Steve McManaman's two goals put Real Madrid in front during half-time and AEK equalised with goal by Kostas Katsouranis and Walter Centeno.[2] The next match was against Racing Genk in Athens. Racing Genk scored first and AEK responded with Vasilios Lakis scoring. The group stage was concluded in Rome against Roma, where AEK was once again behind in the scoreline by a goal scored by Marco Delvecchio but managed to score a late equaliser with Walter Centeno. The six draws AEK secured is a feat no other club has ever accomplished.
The team continued in the UEFA Cup and smashed Israeli champions Maccabi Haifa by achieving two of their biggest wins ever in European competitions. They first won in Athens 4–0 with goals by Grigoris Georgatos, Demis Nikolaidis, Milen Petkov and Theodoros Zagorakis and then 4–1 in Nicosia with two goals by Vasilis Lakis and two more by Kostas Katsouranis and Dimitris Nalitzis. Walid Badir had earlier scored a penalty kick for Maccabi Haifa. AEK's run was brought to an end in the round of 16 by Spanish side Málaga. They drew 0–0 in Málaga but lost 0–1 in Athens thanks to a goal by Manu.
After getting eliminated from the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League by CSKA Moscow, AEK Athens were drawn in the play-off round of the UEFA Europa League against Club Brugge. They appeared well-prepared against their opponent and in the first match at the Jan Breydel Stadium they easily held the 0–0, despite being down to 10 men during the second half, due the suspension of Marko Livaja. In the rematch at the Olympic Stadium, AEK in one of their best European appearances in recent years turned the qualifying event into a triumph, by winning by 3–0 with a goal by Lazaros Christodoulopoulos and two more by André Simões, dominating their opponents throughout the match. Thus, the team made their return to the group stage of the Europa League after 6 years.
AEK were placed in Group D alongside Milan, Rijeka and Austria Wien. After the away win against Rijeka in the first matchday, AEK managed to finish in second place, drawing the rest of their games, keeping clean sheats in both matches against Milan and were qualified to the round of 32 of the competition after ten years.
In the round of 32, they were drawn against Dynamo Kyiv. In the first game in Athens, AEK entered strongly, but they conceded a goal by Viktor Tsyhankov in the only chance of Dynamo in the match and then the Ukrainians were closed in their area with the yellow-blacks pressing relentlessly and equalizing at the end of the match with Lazaros Christodoulopoulos. With no easy task, AEK traveled to NSC Olimpiyskiy, where they pressed Dynamo, who were playing to keep the qualification score. The yellow-blacks missed big chances and in the end, but the goal never came, with AEK being eliminated without defeat and completing a 10-match unbeaten run in UEFA competitions.
The record after the last entry is 273 matches in total (85W, 65D, 123L, GF341, GA422), with 136 home matches (60W, 35D, 41L, GF211, GA148) and 137 away matches (25W, 30D, 82L, GF130, GA274).
The record after the last entry is 273 matches in total (85W, 65D, 123L, GF341, GA422), with 136 home matches (60W, 35D, 41L, GF211, GA148) and 137 away matches (25W, 30D, 82L, GF130, GA274).
AEK Athens is the only club to have drawn all their games in the group stage of the Champions League (2002–03). It is the only club that has ever achieved six draws in six matches in a European competition.
AEK Athens is the only Greek club to have participated in the quarter-finals round of all three European competitions at least once.
AEK Athens is the only Greek club to have reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup (1976–77).
AEK Athens is the only Greek club to have participated in the Champions League without losing a single game (2002–03).
AEK Athens is the only Greek club to have participated in the Europa League without losing a single game (2017–18).
AEK Athens is the only Greek club to have advanced to the quarter-final of European competitions 2 consecutive seasons (1996–97, 1997–98).
AEK Athens is the only Greek club to have advanced to the round of 16 in European competitions for 4 consecutive seasons (1994–95, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1997–98).
AEK Athens is the only Greek club to have advanced to the round of 16 in the Cup Winners' Cup for 3 consecutive seasons (1995–96, 1996–97, 1997–98).
AEK Athens is the only Greek club to have advanced to the round of 16 in the UEFA Cup for 3 consecutive seasons (2000–01, 2001–02, 2002–03).
AEK Athens is the only Greek club that has remained unbeaten for 14 consecutive European matches.
AEK Athens is the first Greek club that reached the quarter-finals of the European Cup (1968–69).
Stadium: Athens Olympic Stadium Attendance: 16,954 Referee: Paweł Gil (Poland) Assistant referees: Konrad Sapela (Poland) Assistant referees: Radosław Siejka (Poland) Fourth official: Paweł Sokolnicki (Poland) Goal-line assistants: Jaroslaw Przybyl (Poland) Goal-line assistants: Piotr Lasyk (Poland) Man of the Match: Marko Livaja
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