The 2002–03 season was the 79th season in the existence of AEK Athens F.C. and the 44th consecutive season in the top flight of Greek football. They competed in the Alpha Ethniki, the Greek Cup, the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Cup. The season began on 8 August 2002 and finished on 25 May 2003.
Kits
Overview
For the second season in a row under the management of Makis Psomiadis, who had assembled a good team the previous season. Despite the team's good performance in the last season, Fernando Santos resigned due to the disrupted relationship with the administrative leader of the club. Afterwards Psomiadis made a controversial decision and brought Dušan Bajević back to the club after six years. The return of Bajević received a divided reaction, since a portion of the supporters did not want him in the club at all, others seemed to want him back due to his successful previous spell, while many seemed to view him strictly as a professional. Despite the problems he faced from time to time from a large portion of the crowd, Bajević was able to do his job without much trouble. Regarding the team's roster and the transfers of the summer of 2002, Carlos Gamarra departed as his loan ended, while Akis Zikos, not having the best relationship with Psomiadis, also left the club. On the other hand, Psomiadis made many transfers of prominent players such as Georgatos, Katsouranis, Borbokis, Wright, Centeno, Kreek, Nalitzis and Prieto.
AEK Athens presented an attractive team and produced several strong performances throughout the championship. Despite long periods of good form, they were left behind in the title race during the earlier stages of the season. However, a streak of 12 wins in the final 12 matches brought AEK back into contention for the title. Ultimately, they finished third, two points behind Olympiacos and Panathinaikos, who were tied in first place, with the former winning the title.
AEK once again had the opportunity to compete in the Champions League, entering the qualifying round. In the draw, AEK were among the seeded clubs and were drawn against APOEL. The first match took place in Cyprus, where APOEL took the lead early on and AEK turned the match around through two goals by Vasilios Borbokis. In the final minutes APOEL managed to equalise from the penalty spot, but AEK in the stoppage time with a goal by Nikolaidis secured a 3–2 victory. In the rematch of Athens, AEK missed several chances but the half ended without a goal. At the beginning of the second half, AEK took the lead and secured qualification for the group stage. AEK were drawn in Group C alongside the "galacticos" of Real Madrid, the historic Roma and Genk, where they achieved a record of drawing all six of the group stage games, but failed to qualify for the next stage of the competition, finishing third and continued to the knock-out stage of the UEFA Cup.
AEK continued in the UEFA Cup and faced the Israeli Maccabi Haifa. The first match in Athens, Maccabi came in stronger and won a penalty that hit the crossbar. From there on, AEK came to life and established a 4–0 lead by the 35th minute, which remained until the final whistle. In the match, Michalis Kasapis became the Greek footballer with the most appearances in European matches. Moreover, the last goal of the match by Theodoros Zagorakis would become the last goal scored by AEK in European matches at the Nikos Goumas Stadium, before its demolition. In the rematch that took place at GSP Stadium in Nicosia, the Israelis again entered the match better, winning an early penalty and taking the lead, but AEK took control of the match and scored four goals to secure not only the victory but also a triumphant qualification. In the round of 16, AEK faced Málaga. In the first match at La Rosaleda Stadium, the Spaniards came on strong and missed scoring chances, but the yellow-black defense stood up well and the match ended 0–0. The rematch at Nea Filadelfeia proved to be of historical importance, since it was the last European game at Nikos Goumas Stadium. The match did not go well for AEK, who conceded a goal in the first half and were unable to turn the situation around with the 0–1 score remained as the final score, ending their European campaign.
In the Cup, AEK initially eliminated Kassandra and Chalkidona. In the round of 16, they were drawn with Apollon Smyrnis, whom they also eliminated easily, and in the quarter-finals they faced Panionios, whom they eliminated with the qualification being decided in the rematch at Nikos Goumas Stadium. In the semi-finals they were placed against PAOK. In the first match in Nea Filadelfeia, AEK did not put in a good performance and were defeated 1–0. In the rematch of Toumba Stadium, AEK took an early lead, levelling the aggregate score, but eventually a late equaliser resulted in their elimination.
A notable event of the season was the conflict against Makis Psomiadis, who as the season progressed began to lose support within the club. In January, Demis Nikolaidis filed a lawsuit against Psomiadis, who had come by his house at 3 a.m. to check if the footballer was staying overnight. Nikolaidis accused Psomiadis of blackmailing, insulting and threatening his life and physical integrity, while the footballer stated that during the incident, apart from Psomiadis, some of his bodyguards were also present. Having lost all support within the club, Psomiadis left and AEK Athens continued with an administration under the president of Amateur AEK, Giannis Granitsas. The season was also punctuated by the demolition of Nikos Goumas Stadium on 5 May 2003, home to AEK Athens for 73 years.
Management team
Players
Squad information
NOTE: The players are the ones that have been announced by the AEK Athens' press release. No edits should be made unless a player arrival or exit is announced. Updated 25 May 2003, 23:59 UTC+3.
No.PlayerNat.Position(s)Date of birth (Age)SignedPrevious clubTransfer feeContract until Goalkeepers 12 Sotiris Liberopoulos GK 2001 Kalamata Free 2004 22 Dionysis Chiotis GK 1995 AEK Athens U20 — 2005 33 Chrysostomos Michailidis GK 1997 Eordaikos Free 2005 — Giannis Arabatzis GK 2002 Enosi Apostolou Pavlou €22,000 2007 Defenders 2 Vasilios Borbokis (Captain) RB / RM 2002 PAOK Free 2003 5 Nikos Kostenoglou CB / RB 1994 Skoda Xanthi €200,000 2003 8 Michel Kreek LB / CB / LM / CM / DM 2002 Vitesse €500,000 2004 16 Nikolaos Georgeas RB / LB / DM 2001 Kalamata €1,500,000 2004 17 Michalis Kasapis (Vice-captain 3) LB / LM 1993 Levadiakos €75,000 2006 19 Mauricio Wright CB / RB 2002 Herediano Free 2005 25 Stelios Maistrellis CB 2002 Aiolikos Free 2006 31 Grigoris Georgatos LB / LM / LW / CM 2002 Internazionale €3,000,000 2005 32 Michalis Kapsis CB 1999 Ethnikos Piraeus €250,000 2003 40 Grigoris Toskas CB 2000 AEK Athens U20 — 2005 81 Stathis Kappos RB 2001 Kalamata Free 2005 Midfielders 6 Theodoros Zagorakis CM / DM / AM / RM / CB / RB 2000 Leicester City Free 2003 7 Christos Maladenis CM / RM / LM / AM / DM / RW / LW / SS 1995 Skoda Xanthi €300,000 2003 10 Vasilios Tsiartas (Vice-captain 2) AM / RM / LM / SS 2000 Sevilla €3,500,000 2003 13 Giorgos Passios DM / CM / CB 1997 AEK Athens U20 — 2003 14 Ivan Rusev AM / RM / LM / CM 2001 Spartak Varna Free 2005 18 Walter Centeno AM / RM / LM / CM 2002 Saprissa €410,000 2007 21 Kostas Katsouranis CM / DM / RM / LM / AM / CB / RB / LB 2002 Panachaiki Free 2005 23 Vasilios Lakis RM / RW / AM / CM / RB 1998 Paniliakos €1,000,000 2003 28 Milen Petkov DM / CM / AM / RM / LM 2000 CSKA Sofia €800,000 2003 34 Nikos Pourtoulidis CM / AM 2002 Nea Karvali Free 2006 — Dimitris Karameris CM / DM 2000 AEK Athens U20 — 2005 Forwards 9 Ilias Solakis ST 2002 APOEL Free 2007 11 Demis Nikolaidis (Vice-captain) ST / SS 1996 Apollon Athens €1,000,000 2004 15 Livio Prieto LW / LM / SS / AM 2002 Independiente Free 2004 20 Sotiris Konstantinidis RW / LW / RM / LM / AM 1999 Iraklis Free 2004 24 Christos Kostis SS / ST / AM / RW / LW 2000 Anderlecht Free 2005 30 Ilija Ivić ST / LW 2002 Aris Free 2005 37 Dimitris Nalitzis ST 2002 Udinese Free 2003 Left during Winter Transfer Window 1 Ilias Atmatsidis GK 1992 Pontioi Veria €120,000 2004
Transfers
In
Summer
PlayerFromFeeDateContract UntilSource2 PAOKFree transfer30 June 20038 Vitesse€500,00030 June 20049 APOELFree transfer30 June 200712 La LouvièreLoan termination30 June 200414 Unión Santa FeLoan return30 June 200515 IndependienteFree transfer30 June 200418 Saprissa€410,00030 June 200719 HeredianoFree transfer30 June 200521 PanachaikiFree transfer30 June 200525 AiolikosFree transfer30 June 200731 Internazionale€3,000,00030 June 200533 Ethnikos AsterasLoan return30 June 200534 Nea KarvaliFree transfer30 June 200735 Apollon SmyrnisLoan return30 June 200536 Apollon SmyrnisLoan return31 December 2005— Enosi Apostolou Pavlou€22,00030 June 2007— MarkoLoan return30 June 2006
Winter
PlayerFromFeeDateContract UntilSource9 PanioniosLoan return30 June 200714 AthinaikosLoan return30 June 2005
Out
Summer
PlayerToFeeDateSource3 Free agentContract termination4 FlamengoLoan return12 IraklisContract termination14 MonacoFree transfer14 Free agentContract termination15 Free agentContract termination19 KallitheaContract termination21 Poseidon Neon PoronEnd of contract26 PortoLoan return33 Free agentContract termination36 KalamataFree transfer— PierikosContract termination
Winter
PlayerToFeeDateSource1 PAOKContract termination
Loan in
Summer
PlayerFromFeeDateUntilOption to buySource88 UdineseFree30 June 2003
Loan out
Summer
PlayerToFeeDateUntilOption to buySource9 PanioniosFree31 December 200227 La LouvièreFree30 June 200335 AthinaikosFree31 December 2002
Contract renewals
PlayerDateFormer Exp. DateNew Exp. DateSource1 30 June 200230 June 200424 30 June 200230 June 2005
Overall transfer activity
Expenditure Summer: €3,932,000
Winter: €0
Total: €3,932,000
Income Summer: €0
Winter: €0
Total: €0
Net Totals Summer: €3,932,000
Winter: €0
Total: €3,932,000
Pre-season and friendlies
Competitions
Overall record
Alpha Ethniki
League table
Results summary
Results by Matchday
Matches
Greek Cup
First round
Second round
Round of 16
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
UEFA Champions League
Third qualifying round The draw for the third qualifying round was held on 26 July 2002.
First group stage
The draw for the group stage was held on 29 August 2002.
Matches
UEFA Cup
Knockout stage
Round of 32 The draw for the round of 32 was held on 15 November 2002.
Round of 16 The draw for the round of 16 was held on 13 December 2002.
Statistics
Squad statistics
! colspan="13" style="background:#FFDE00; text-align:center" | Goalkeepers
! colspan="13" style="background:#FFDE00; color:black; text-align:center;"| Defenders
! colspan="13" style="background:#FFDE00; color:black; text-align:center;"| Midfielders
! colspan="13" style="background:#FFDE00; color:black; text-align:center;"| Forwards
! colspan="13" style="background:#FFDE00; color:black; text-align:center;"| Left during Winter Transfer Window
Goalscorers
The list is sorted by competition order when total goals are equal, then by position and then by squad number. RankPlayerAlpha EthnikiGreek CupChampions LeagueUEFA CupTotal11112 1 2 11622312 0 1 2158810 4 0 11541011 0 1 012530 9 1 0 010621 6 1 1 1977 4 3 1 0882 3 0 2 0520 2 3 0 051018 1 1 2 041131 2 0 0 13129 0 2 0 0218 0 1 1 026 0 1 0 1228 0 1 0 12Own goals 2 0 0 02Totals 74 19 11 8112
Hat-tricks Numbers in superscript represent the goals that the player scored. PlayerAgainst Result Date Competition Source Vasilios Lakis Panachaiki 6–0 (H) 12 January 2003 Alpha Ethniki Dimitris Nalitzis Egaleo 3–2 (H) 26 January 2003 Alpha Ethniki Vasilios Tsiartas Kallithea 3–1 (A) 23 February 2003 Alpha Ethniki
Assists
The list is sorted by competition order when total assists are equal, then by position and then by squad number.