The 1987–88 season was the 64th season in the existence of AEK Athens F.C. and the 29th consecutive season in the top flight of Greek football. They competed in the Alpha Ethniki and the Greek Cup. The season began on 6 September 1987 and finished on 15 May 1988.
Kits
Overview
In the summer of 1987, AEK returned to the Nea Filadelfeia Stadium and had to carry on without club legend, Thomas Mavros as well as Håkan Sandberg. On the other hand, some useful players were acquired such as Giorgos Savvidis, Henrik Nielsen and Vasilios Vasilakos. The Yugoslav Todor Veselinović was appointed as the new manager, who was familiar with Greek football with spells at Olympiacos, Apollon Athens and Diagoras.
Under Veselinović, the team performed well and remained in contention for the championship and with both Panathinaikos and Olympiacos out of the title race early on, AEK were the main contenders for the title, alongside the strong at that time AEL. However, the "Tsingov case" played a crucial role in the outcome of the Championship. The footballer of AEL, Georgi Tsingov tested positive in a doping test after the match against Panathinaikos. The court's decision was as the regulation predicted, awarding the match to their opponents, deducting two points from AEL and punishment of the player, which brought AEK at the top of the table. AEL appealed with their supporters protesting by blocking the highway, closing railway lines among other things. Before the appeal was heard the then Minister of Sports, Sifis Valirakis changed the regulation overnight. The new regulation dictated that in cases of doping, only the footballer would be punished and not the club. Thus, the points were returned to AEL who eventually won the championship. Essentially, AEK were entitled to win the championship on courts, but since AEL emerged as champions on the pitch, the principles of the yellow-blacks did not allow them to pursue the matter further in court.
In the Cup, AEK after eliminating Iraklis at the first round and Kallithea at the round of 32, were drawn against Olympiacos for the round of 16. In the first match at Karaiskakis Stadium, AEK got a significant 1–1 draw. On the eve of the rematch, a big scandal broke out as the former footballer of AEK, Dinos Ballis visited the hotel where the team were staying carrying a bouquet intended for the goalkeeper, Theologis Papadopoulos and raising strong suspicions that he was attempting to bribe him. The match took place, with Olympiacos winning 1–3 and the case proceeded to court. The Koskotas brothers were accused of trying to bribe Papadopoulos and Vasilakos through Ballis, while many fans of AEK believe that the management of AEK was involved in the whole case. Eventually, in what many considered a controversial verdict, Ballis was the only person convicted, being found guilty of attempted bribery.
Another scandal of the season was the "Vosdos case". The president of Panachaiki, Aris Loukopoulos, denounced AEK for an attempt to bribe their defender, Leonidas Vosdos, before the match between the two sides in Patras. The footballer himself stated that no one approached him and the judges concluded that the allegations were fabricated by Loukopoulos to create a climate of tension in view of the match. Thus the president of Panachaiki was punished.
The last match of the season at Nea Filadelfeia against Iraklis was marked by terrible incidents. The ultras' stand had grown frustrated with Zafiropoulos, who was considered unable to lift the "weight" of the club's management, but the tension that existed did not justify the following events. Riot police entered the ultras' stand, a decision that was heavily criticized and used force against those in the stand in their way. That resulted in heated encounters with the ultras, with many believing that Zafiropoulos had influenced the police officers to act in this way. The main players of the season for AEK were Manolas, Nielsen, Savvidis, Vasilakos, Janjanin and Patikas. The biggest victory of the season was the 7–1 home win against Veria. Henrik Nielsen finished the league season as top scorer with 21 goals.
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 15 May 1988, 23:59 UTC+3.
PlayerNat.Position(s)Date of birth (Age)SignedPrevious clubTransfer feeContract until Goalkeepers Spyros Ikonomopoulos GK 1979 AEK Athens U20 — 1989 Theologis Papadopoulos GK 1984 AEL ₯9,000,000 1989 Fanis Kofinas GK 1982 Pelopas Kiato Free 1992 Defenders Makis Chatzis RB / LB 1984 Apollon Athens ₯6,750,000 1989 Takis Karagiozopoulos CB / DM / ST 1981 Veria ₯8,000,000 1991 Polyvios Chatzopoulos CB / DM 1985 Panionios ₯10,400,000 1990 Stelios Manolas (Captain) CB / RB 1980 AEK Athens U20 — 1989 Giorgos Peppes CB 1986 Ethnikos Piraeus ₯10,000,000 1991 Sotiris Mavrodimos CB / DM / RB / LB 1986 Kozani ₯5,500,000 1991 Christos Vasilopoulos RB / LB 1986 Panachaiki ₯8,000,000 1991 Georgios Koutoulas CB / LB 1987 AEK Athens U20 — 1990 Dimitris Volonakis LB / CB 1987 AEK Athens U20 — 1990 Midfielders Rajko Janjanin CM / AM / DM 1986 OFI Free 1988 Dimitris Pittas AM / SS / CM 1986 PAOK Free 1988 Pavlos Papaioannou (Vice-captain) DM / RB / LB / RM 1983 Rodos ₯10,000,000 1988 Nikos Pias CM / DM 1984 Rodos ₯1,350,000 1989 Vasilios Vasilakos AM 1987 PAOK ₯10,000,000 1990 Giorgos Savvidis RM / AM / RW / SS / ST 1987 Omonia ₯20,940,600 1992 Lampros Georgiadis LM / AM / LB 1986 Anagennisi Arta ₯11,000,000 1991 Jim Patikas RM / LM / RW / LW / SS 1985 Sydney Croatia ₯5,000,000 1988 Forwards Giannis Dintsikos ST / SS / RW / LW / AM 1981 Kastoria ₯20,000,000 1991 Henrik Nielsen ST / SS 1987 B93 ₯7,000,000 1990 Left during Winter Transfer Window Panagiotis Stylianopoulos RB / LB / RM / DM 1978 AEK Athens U20 — 1988 Georgios Christodoulou ST / SS / LW 1985 Akratitos Free 1993
Transfers
In
Summer
PlayerFromFeeDateContract UntilSource IonikosLoan return30 June 1992 AEK Athens U20Promotion30 June 1990 AEK Athens U20Promotion30 June 1990 Omonia₯20,940,60030 June 1992 PAOK₯10,000,00030 June 1990 B93₯7,000,00030 June 1990 FostirasLoan return30 June 1989
Winter
PlayerFromFeeDateContract UntilSource PannafpliakosLoan return30 June 1988
Out
Summer
PlayerToFeeDateSource IonikosContract termination LevadiakosContract termination Panserraikos₯3,000,000 PanioniosEnd of contract OlympiacosContract termination PAS GianninaFree transfer
Winter
PlayerToFeeDateSource IonikosContract termination Free agentContract termination
Loan out
Summer
PlayerToFeeDateUntilOption to buySource FostirasFree30 June 1988
Winter
PlayerToFeeDateUntilOption to buySource AcharnaikosFree30 June 1988
Contract renewals
PlayerDateFormer Exp. DateNew Exp. DateSource 30 June 198730 June 1992 30 June 198830 June 1993
Notes
a. and a friendly game between the two teams. b. The 5-year duration of the new contract is effective from June 30, when the previous contract ends.
Overall transfer activity
Expenditure Summer: ₯37,940,600
Winter: ₯0
Total: ₯37,940,600
Income Summer: ₯3,000,000
Winter: ₯0
Total: ₯3,000,000
Net Totals Summer: ₯34,940,600
Winter: ₯0
Total: ₯34,940,600
Pre-season and friendlies
Competitions
Overall record
Alpha Ethniki
League table
Results summary
Results by Matchday
Matches
Greek Cup
Matches
Round of 32
Round of 16
Statistics
Squad statistics
! colspan="9" style="background:#FFDE00; text-align:center" | Goalkeepers
! colspan="9" style="background:#FFDE00; color:black; text-align:center;"| Defenders
! colspan="9" style="background:#FFDE00; color:black; text-align:center;"| Midfielders
! colspan="9" style="background:#FFDE00; color:black; text-align:center;"| Forwards
! colspan="9" 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 alphabetically by surname. RankPlayerAlpha EthnikiGreek CupTotal121 2232 5 163 5 05 4 15 2 356 4 04 4 048 2 02 1 1210 1 01 1 01 1 01 0 11Own goals 0 00Totals51 960
Hat-tricks Numbers in superscript represent the goals that the player scored. PlayerAgainst Result Date Competition Source Henrik Nielsen4 Veria 7–1 (H) 6 December 1987 Alpha Ethniki
Clean sheets
The list is sorted by competition order when total clean sheets are equal and then alphabetically by surname. Clean sheets in games where both goalkeepers participated are awarded to the goalkeeper who started the game. Goalkeepers with no appearances are not included. RankPlayerAlpha EthnikiGreek CupTotal1 6 172 3 033 2 02Totals11 112
Disciplinary record
! colspan="14" style="background:#FFDE00; text-align:center" | Goalkeepers
! colspan="14" style="background:#FFDE00; color:black; text-align:center;"| Defenders
! colspan="14" style="background:#FFDE00; color:black; text-align:center;"| Midfielders
! colspan="14" style="background:#FFDE00; color:black; text-align:center;"| Forwards
! colspan="14" style="background:#FFDE00; color:black; text-align:center;"| Left during Winter Transfer Window
Starting 11 This section presents the most frequently used formation along with the players with the most starts across all competitions.
Formation Matchday(s)354–2–3–11–30
Player Theologis PapadopoulosGKStelios Manolas (C)RCBGiorgos PeppesLCBPolyvios ChatzopoulosRBGeorgios KoutoulasLBSotiris MavrodimosDMRajko JanjaninCMGiorgos SavvidisRMJim PatikasLMVasilios VasilakosAMHenrik NielsenCF
Awards PlayerAwardSource Henrik Nielsen FW Alpha Ethniki Top Scorer
References
External links AEK Athens F.C. Official Website A.E.K. FC Database