The 1975–76 season was the 52nd season in the existence of AEK Athens F.C. and the 17th consecutive season in the top flight of Greek football. They competed in the Alpha Ethniki, the Greek Cup and the UEFA Cup. The season began on 17 September 1975 and finished on 23 May 1976.
Kits
Overview
In the summer of 1975, Loukas Barlos, setting everything else aside, focused his efforts on signing Thomas Mavros. The 21-year-old striker of Panionios had impressed with his performances and he decided that it was time to move to one of the major clubs of the league. Barlos, true to his usual approach, was prepared to make a substantial offer for the player, but Panionios was blocking the transfer. The president of AEK approached Mavros and convinced him to join his club. The player pushed for his transfer, but was met with a relentless stance from Panionios. A legal dispute began, after Mavros' brother, who also acted as his lawyer, discovered that their father's consent had never been signed when the player joined Panionios as a minor. Until the dispute was resolved, Mavros was ineligible to compete for either club, in a situation similar to that of Kostas Nestoridis in 1955. Meanwhile, the work of František Fadrhonc with the team was beginning to bear fruit, as AEK developed into an attractive and effective side.
After two consecutive years of absence from European competitions, AEK returned to the UEFA Cup. The draw brought them against the Yugoslav Vojvodina. The first match at Karađorđe Stadium ended 0–0, while the yellow-blacks secured qualification with a 3–1 victory in the rematch. In the second round, the draw brought AEK against the Czechoslovak Inter Bratislava. In the first match at Bratislava, the Greek club faced a defeat by 2–0. In the rematch at Nea Filadelfeia the Czechoslovaks took an early lead in the second minute and the task of AEK became even more difficult. The yellow-blacks managed to turn the game around by scoring three goals in the second half, but were unable to score the fourth goal required to overturn the aggregate deficit.
In the league, AEK remained undefeated for 23 consecutive games and reached seven matches before the finish, with the title race in their own hands. Unfortunately, they lost both of their next two matches to Panathinaikos and Aris respectively. Furthermore, another defeat at the hands of PAOK resulted in their second place finish for a second season in a row, five points from the top, allowing PAOK to secure the title. Fadrhonc's attacking style of play resulted in Georgios Dedes finishing as the league's top scorer with 15 goals, while Walter Wagner and Mimis Papaioannou also finished among the league's top scorers with 11 goals each.
In the Cup, AEK eliminated Agios Dimitrios 7–0 in the first round, Anagennisi Karditsa 2–1 in the second round, Olympiakos Neon Liosion 6–0 in the third round at home. In the quarter-finals, they faced Fostiras at Tavros Stadium and won 1–0. In the semi-finals, they were drawn against Olympiacos at home and despite taking the lead early on, they eventually lost the match by 3–2 and were eliminated from the competition.
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 23 May 1976, 23:59 UTC+3.
PlayerNat.Position(s)Date of birth (Age)SignedPrevious clubTransfer feeContract until Goalkeepers Giorgos Sidiropoulos GK 1973 Trikala ₯1,800,000 1981 Lakis Stergioudas GK 1972 Niki Poligyrou ₯36,000 1981 Defenders Giorgos Skrekis RB / CB 1974 Panionios ₯500,000 1982 Spyros Stefanidis CB / RB 1973 Panserraikos ₯500,000 1981 Apostolos Toskas CB 1969 Trikala ₯1,500,000 1977 Lakis Nikolaou CB / RB / ST / RW 1971 Atromitos ₯600,000 1979 Sakis Zarzopoulos CB / DM / RB / LB 1973 Panserraikos ₯2,500,000 1981 Stefanos Theodoridis RB / LB / CB / RM / LM 1969 AEK Athens U20 — 1977 Nikos Karoulias LB / LM / AM 1973 AEK Athens U20 — 1981 Petros Ravousis CB / RB 1972 Aetos Skydra Free 1981 Midfielders Giorgos Lavaridis CM / DM / CB 1968 AEK Athens U20 — 1976 Timo Zahnleiter CM / DM / LB 1974 1860 München ₯1,200,000 1976 Takis Timotheou AM / CB 1974 APOEL Free 1982 Lazaros Papadopoulos RM / RB / LM / LB / RW / LW 1973 Veria ₯1,300,000 1981 Dionysis Tsamis CM / DM / AM 1972 Panetolikos ₯2,350,000 1981 Christos Ardizoglou RM / LM / RW / LW / AM / RB / LB 1974 Apollon Athens ₯12,000,000 1982 Fotis Outsikas LM / LB / LW 1975 AEK Athens U20 — 1983 Forwards Mimis Papaioannou (Captain) SS / ST / AM / RW 1962 Veria ₯175,000 1976 Georgios Dedes ST / SS / RW / LW / RM / LM 1974 Panionios ₯1,000,000 1982 Walter Wagner ST / SS / RW / LW / RM 1974 Austria Wien Free 1976 Tasos Konstantinou RW / SS / ST / RM / AM 1972 EPA Larnaca ₯600,000 1980
Transfers
In
PlayerFromFeeDateContract Until – Greek and Cypriot professional footballers were bound to their clubs for eight years, effectively functioning as eight-year contracts.Source AEK Athens U20Promotion30 June 1983
Out
PlayerToFeeDateSource Apollon AthensEnd of contract PanachaikiContract termination PanachaikiContract termination PanioniosContract termination Montevideo WanderersEnd of contract
Loan out
PlayerToFeeDateUntilOption to buySource KastoriaFree30 June 1976
Overall transfer activity
Expenditure: ₯0
Income: ₯0
Net Total: ₯0
Pre-season and friendlies
Competitions
Overall record
Alpha Ethniki
League table
Results summary
Results by Matchday
Matches
Greek Cup
Matches
UEFA Cup
First round
Second round
Statistics
Squad statistics
! colspan="11" style="background:#FFDE00; text-align:center" | Goalkeepers
! colspan="11" style="background:#FFDE00; color:black; text-align:center;"| Defenders
! colspan="11" style="background:#FFDE00; color:black; text-align:center;"| Midfielders
! colspan="11" style="background:#FFDE00; color:black; text-align:center;"| Forwards
Goalscorers
The list is sorted by competition order when total goals are equal, then by position and then alphabetically by surname. RankPlayerAlpha EthnikiGreek CupUEFA CupTotal115 4 019211 3 216311 3 1154 8 2 2125 5 5 0106 3 0 03 3 0 038 1 0 01 0 1 01 0 0 11Own goals 0 0 00Totals5718 681
Hat-tricks Numbers in superscript represent the goals that the player scored. PlayerAgainst Result Date Competition Source Georgios Dedes Kastoria 4–0 (H) 5 October 1975 Alpha Ethniki Mimis Papaioannou Agios Dimitrios 7–0 (H) 2 November 1975 Greek Cup Christos Ardizoglou Olympiakos Neon Liosion 6–1 (H) 10 March 1976 Greek Cup Georgios Dedes Pierikos 5–0 (H) 16 May 1976 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 CupUEFA CupTotal114 1 0152 3 2 16Totals17 3 121
Disciplinary record
! colspan="17" style="background:#FFDE00; text-align:center" | Goalkeepers
! colspan="17" style="background:#FFDE00; color:black; text-align:center;"| Defenders
! colspan="17" style="background:#FFDE00; color:black; text-align:center;"| Midfielders
! colspan="17" style="background:#FFDE00; color:black; text-align:center;"| Forwards
Starting 11 This section presents the most frequently used formation along with the players with the most starts across all competitions.
Formation Matchday(s)394–4–21–34
Player Giorgos SidiropoulosGKApostolos ToskasRCBLakis NikolaouLCBStefanos TheodoridisRBTimo ZahnleiterLBDionysis TsamisDMChristos ArdizoglouCMTasos KonstantinouRMGeorgios DedesLMWalter WagnerRCFMimis Papaioannou (C)LCF
Awards PlayerAwardSource Georgios Dedes FW Alpha Ethniki Top Scorer Christos Ardizoglou MF Greek Cup Top Scorer (shared)
References
External links AEK Athens F.C. Official Website A.E.K. FC Database