The 1999–2000 season was the 76th season in the existence of AEK Athens F.C. and the 41st 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 7 August 1999 and finished on 27 May 2000.
Kits
Overview
From the middle of the previous season, Dimitris Melissanidis had taken over the management of the club and was credited with the club's success in reaching the Champions League qualifiers. Melissanidis decided to follow the example of Dušan Bajević's success and turned to the Serbian market in order to build a title-winning team. The promising Serbian manager Ljubiša Tumbaković from Partizan was hired and brought Matijašević, Petrić and Bjeković with him. The highlight was the loan signing of Dragan Ćirić from Barcelona, which excited the supporters, who rushed to the airport to welcome him. At the beginning of September a major earthquake struck Parnitha, causing damage to part of Nikos Goumas Stadium, which was deemed unsuitable. As a result, AEK were forced to play most of their home matches at Nea Smyrni Stadium.
The season started with enthusiasm, title expectations and a draw in the Champions League qualifiers that gave AEK confidence in their chances of reaching the group stage, which would have secured financial independence and self-sufficiency. Amid an atmosphere of excitement surrounding the club's return to the Champions League, AEK were drawn against Swedish AIK. The team of Tumbaković did not appear ready for the first leg at Nikos Goumas Stadium in August and the Swedish champions left with a 0–0 draw. Tumbaković had assured that the team would be better prepared for the rematch. Indeed, AEK played more offensively and created chances, but an error by Atmatsidis resulted in conceding a goal which eventually cost them the qualification for the group stage. Thus, AEK continued their European campaign in the UEFA Cup.
Disappointed after their elimination, AEK were drawn against the Georgian Torpedo Kutaisi. In a poor match at Ramaz Shengelia Stadium, the yellow-blacks again appeared unmotivated, but secured a 1–0 victory in the end of the match thanks to a goal by Zikos. The rematch at Nea Smyrni, AEK secured qualification with a 6–1 victory against the Georgians. The next opponent for AEK was the Hungarian MTK Budapest. At the Hidegkuti Nándor Stadium AEK put in a poor performance and were stymied by Henk ten Cate's tactical approach. Fortunately Ćirić scored midway through the second half and reduced to 2–1, a scoreline that could be overturned in Athens. The rematch in Nea Smyrni almost turned out to be a nightmare for AEK, as the well-prepared MTK put them under pressure. Ćirić by scoring another penalty fifteen minutes before the end of the match, securing qualification for AEK. In the draw for the third round of the UEFA Cup AEK came across Monaco. On 23 November in a difficult match, Monaco left Nea Filadelfeia with a 2–2 draw. In the second leg at Stade Louis II, AEK chased the qualification, but a miscalculation by Atmatsidis, led to a goal by Simone just after half an hour. For the rest of the match AEK were searching for an equalizer and Monaco limited themselves to counter-attacks. In the end, the 1–0 scoreline remained and AEK exited to the European Cups and the new millennium found them participating only in domestic competitions.
In the league Tumbaković did not start well, losing both the derbies against Panathinaikos and Olympiacos, which led to protests from the supporters early in the season. Moreover, the elimination from the Champions League, led in Melissanidis gradual withdrawal from the management. The multinational owners of ENIC, took the matter into their hands and appointed the first foreign president in history of the club, Cornelius Sierhuis. In the competitive part, Tumbaković brought inconsistent results and after a home defeat by Panionios and since the club was also been eliminated from the UEFA Cup he was removed from the bench. Among other things, his transfers proved to be mediocre, with Ćirić not being able to live up to the expectations surrounding his reputation. The situation led to Takis Karagiozopoulos taking charge as an interim manager, before Giannis Pathiakakis was appointed as his successor. The new manager raised the morale of the team, but also lost the derbies and AEK finished in the third place, far from the first two places.
In the Cup, AEK were drawn in the 8th group with Trikala, Egaleo, Athinaikos, Akratitos and A.O. Karditsa and finished first after winning all of their matches. They advanced through the round of 32 without an opponent and in the round of 16 faced Trikala again, defeating them 6–0. The draw for the quarter-finals placed AEK against Olympiacos. At Olympic Stadium, AEK took the lead with Vasilios Lakis, but then came under pressure from Olympiacos, which resulted in an equaliser by Alexandris to make it 1–1. In the rematch at Nea Filadelfeia Olympiacos were swept aside, trailing 3–0 by the 48th minute. In the semi-finals with Panionios was a formality, as AEK won 4–1 and lost 2–1 at Nea Smyrni. AEK reached the final, where they faced Ionikos. On 10 May at the Olympic Stadium, Ionikos put up a relatively strong resistance and despite the goal by Nikolaidis in the first half, they maintained the narrow 1–0 scoreline until late in the match. Two goals by Petkov and Maladenis followed and AEK won the Cup amid celebrations, with Pathiakakis winning his first major title. Highlights of the match included the fair-play gesture by Nikolaidis, who after scoring a goal with his hand, asked the referee to disallow it. The gesture later led the International Olympic Committee to honour him for his sportsmanship.
Demis Nikolaidis who appeared to regain his form during the second half of the season, scored 22 league goals and was one of the positive elements of the season after winning the Cup, as the team failed to win any derby.
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 27 May 2000, 23:59 UTC+3.
No.PlayerNat.Position(s)Date of birth (Age)SignedPrevious clubTransfer feeContract until Goalkeepers 1 Ilias Atmatsidis (Captain) GK 1992 Pontioi Veria ₯40,000,000 2002 15 Chrysostomos Michailidis GK 1997 Eordaikos Free 2002 22 Lefteris Petkaris GK 1999 Makedonikos Free 2001 Defenders 2 Traianos Dellas CB 1999 Sheffield United Free 2002 5 Nikos Kostenoglou CB / RB 1994 Skoda Xanthi ₯70,000,000 2003 12 Charis Kopitsis RB / RM / LB / LM 1992 Panionios Free 2001 17 Michalis Kasapis (Vice-captain) LB / LM 1993 Levadiakos ₯25,000,000 2002 21 Vaios Karagiannis (Vice-captain 2) LB / CB 1990 A.O. Karditsa ₯11,000,000 2000 25 Giannis Kalitzakis CB 1997 Panathinaikos ₯23,800,000 2000 27 Filippo Dal Moro LB 2000 Roma ₯30,000,000 2000 29 Davide Belotti RB / CB 2000 Vicenza ₯30,000,000 2000 32 Michalis Kapsis CB 1999 Ethnikos Piraeus ₯80,000,000 2003 — Georgios Paraskevaidis CB 2000 AEK Athens U20 — 2005 Midfielders 6 Dimitris Markos CM / DM / LB / LM 1998 Kalamata Free 2001 7 Christos Maladenis CM / RM / LM / AM / DM / RW / LW / SS 1995 Skoda Xanthi ₯100,000,000 2003 8 Toni Savevski CM / LM / DM 1988 Vardar ₯34,000,000 2001 10 Dragan Ćirić AM 1999 Barcelona ₯300,000,000 2002 14 Akis Zikos DM / CM 1998 Skoda Xanthi ₯130,000,000 2002 16 Arnar Grétarsson CM / DM 1997 Leiftur Free 2000 18 Evripidis Katsavos CM / DM / RM 1997 Veria Free 2001 23 Vasilios Lakis RM / RW / AM / CM / RB 1998 Paniliakos ₯320,000,000 2003 24 Vladimir Matijašević DM / CM / RB / LB / CB 1999 Vojvodina ₯400,000,000 2002 26 Giorgos Passios DM / CM / CB 1997 AEK Athens U20 — 2003 28 Milen Petkov DM / CM / AM / RM / LM 2000 CSKA Sofia ₯260,000,000 2003 30 Pablo Cantero CM 2000 Estudiantes ₯500,000,000 2005 — Mattheos Platakis AM / ST / SS 1996 Phinikas Polichini Free 2000 Forwards 9 Nenad Bjeković ST 1999 Partizan ₯250,000,000 2001 11 Demis Nikolaidis (Vice-captain 3) ST / SS 1996 Apollon Athens ₯330,000,000 2004 19 Giorgos Kavazis ST 1999 Apollon Limassol ₯40,000,000 2003 20 Sotiris Konstantinidis RW / LW / RM / LM / AM 1999 Iraklis Free 2004 31 Ilias Anastasakos ST / LW / LM 1995 A.O. Dafniou Free 2002 Left during Winter Transfer Window 3 Gordan Petrić CB 1999 Hearts Free 2002
Transfers
In
Summer
PlayerFromFeeDateContract UntilSource2 Sheffield UnitedFree transfer30 June 20023 Crystal PalaceFree transfer30 June 20029 Partizan₯250,000,00030 June 200120 IraklisFree transfer30 June 200422 MakedonikosFree transfer30 June 200124 Vojvodina₯400,000,00030 June 2002— Ethnikos PiraeusLoan return30 June 2005— KavalaLoan return30 June 2000— PAOKLoan return30 June 2000— PanelefsiniakosFree transfer30 June 2000— Ethnikos PiraeusLoan return30 June 2000— PAOKFree transfer30 June 2003— PanelefsiniakosLoan return31 December 2005
Winter
PlayerFromFeeDateContract UntilSource28 CSKA Sofia₯260,000,00030 June 200330 Estudiantes₯500,000,00030 June 200531 Apollon AthensLoan return30 June 2002— AEK Athens U20Promotion30 June 2005
Out
Summer
PlayerToFeeDateSource5 LogroñésFree transfer9 PAOKLoan return10 ArsenalLoan return17 Free agentEnd of contract19 IraklisFree transfer20 ArisContract termination22 Ethnikos PiraeusEnd of contract23 ArsenalLoan return24 WolvesLoan return27 Free agentContract termination31 Ethnikos PiraeusEnd of contract— KavalaFree transfer— PAOK₯100,000,000— PanioniosContract termination— Skoda XanthiContract termination
Winter
PlayerToFeeDateSource3 Hearts₯250,000,000
Loan in
Summer
PlayerFromFeeDateUntilOption to buySource10 Barcelona₯300,000,00030 June 2000
Winter
PlayerFromFeeDateUntilOption to buySource27 Roma₯30,000,00030 June 200029 Vicenza₯30,000,00030 June 2000
Loan out
Summer
PlayerToFeeDateUntilOption to buySource26 Ethnikos PiraeusFree30 June 2000— ProodeftikiFree30 June 2000— AthinaikosFree30 June 2000
Contract renewals
PlayerDateFormer Exp. DateNew Exp. DateSource11 30 June 200130 June 2004
Overall transfer activity
Expenditure Summer: ₯950,000,000
Winter: ₯820,000,000
Total: ₯1,770,000,000
Income Summer: ₯100,000,000
Winter: ₯250,000,000
Total: ₯350,000,000
Net Totals Summer: ₯850,000,000
Winter: ₯570,000,000
Total: ₯1,420,000,000
Pre-season and friendlies
Competitions
Overall record
Alpha Ethniki
League table
Results summary
Results by Matchday
Matches
Greek Cup
Group 8
Matches
Round of 16
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Final
UEFA Champions League
Third qualifying round The draw for the third qualifying round was held on 23 July 1999.
UEFA Cup
First round
Second round
Third round
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 CupTotal1112211 0 33621010 6 0 31937 6 4 0 11149 6 2 0 19520 6 2 0 08623 3 3 0 066 2 4 0 06828 2 2 0 0412 0 2 0 24102 3 0 0 031132 2 0 0 028 2 0 0 0214 1 0 0 121425 1 0 0 0117 1 0 0 013 0 0 0 11Own goals 2 1 0 03Totals 69 38 0 11118
Hat-tricks Numbers in superscript represent the goals that the player scored.