AEK’s transfer business - Incompetence or lack of ambition?

The date is April 22nd 2018, AEK have just celebrated a 2-0 win over Levadiakos at OAKA. This is not an ordinary win, OAKA was packed with AEK fans that are ready to witness the club’s first league title since 1994. 24 years of drought, 24 years of pain and suffering, including one relegation to the 3rd tier of Greek Football, 2 years spent away from the Greek Superleague, countless close calls and many painful losses, are about to end. AEK’s 2017-18 season was one of the best the club has had since 1994. They won the league, made it to the Europa League Round of 32 - while also remaining unbeaten for 10 European games - and a 3rd consecutive Greek Cup final.
Daniel Majstorovic
The season had many heroes, but one in particular got almost no credit at all for the club’s success. Daniel Majstorovic, the club’s technical director had done wonders over the past year. In January of 2017 he signed cult hero Sergio Araujo on loan for 6 months and Ognjen Vranješ on a free transfer. Two amazing players and two key members of the title winning side. His amazing work continued over the summer, bringing Panagiotis Kone, Marko Livaja, Sergio Araujo (again) and Helder Lopes. Four players that gave a huge boost on the quality of the team and four players that made AEK capable of having the season that they had. Yet inexplicably, Daniel Majstorovic left in September of that year in favor of Nikos Lyberopoulos, a club legend that is now the current technical director at AEK. A move that soon proved to be disastrous.
2018 Summer Transfer Window
In May 2018, the future looked brighter than ever for the club. The next goal was qualification to the Champions League Group Stages, for the first time after 12 years.  Soon enough though the atmosphere shifted, Lazaros Christodoulopoulos and Manolo Jimenez, two huge figures at the club left unexpectedly and Ognjen Vranješ was soon to follow. AEK fans were angry and opponents soon started talking about the end of AEK’s 2017-18 title winning team. There was a strong sense among AEK fans that despite the huge losses the club could make everything right with a good transfer window, a transfer window that would solidify AEK as the best team in Greece and one that would leave opponents with no room to talk. The club hinted at big signings that would not only cover the holes that were left after Lazaros and Vranjes departed, but ones that would transform the team. Yet what we were left with was silence and an endless list of names floating around.
The training camp at Poland had started, we were 20 days away from the first Champions League 3rd qualifying match yet no new signings had been made. Eventually the club signed Ponce, Boye, Alef and Oikonomou by mid-July. All loans with an option to buy. The club played the games against Celtic and Vidi with only Alef and Oikonomou getting enough game time. Marinos Ouzounidis managed to push what was practically last year’s team to the Champions League Group Stages for the first time after 12 years. The club hinted that 2 big game changing players would be bought with the 15 million euros secured via the Champions League. Yet only Gianniotas was bought on a free transfer which left AEK helpless in the Champions League and unable to be the favourites to retain the Greek Superleague this season.
Who is to blame?
AEK is now left with almost no natural wingers and 5 defensive midfielders with no number 8 to join them. AEK owner Dimitris Melissanidis gets all the blame on social media for his unwillingness to spend money on transfers but he is only part of the problem. Nikos Lyberopoulos has a terrible record at signing new players. He almost failed to sign Ponce, he failed to sign Narsingh and Radoja at the end of the transfer window while having no “Plan B”, he failed to sign Hernani, Bebe, Cuypers, Volkan Sen and any big target AEK has had since he joined.
Lyberopoulos has failed at his job. He has left the team exposed, having to play the same players week in week out without strengthening the side at all. Melissanidis not wanting to spend much money is not an excuse, This season Panathinaikos and ARIS have proved what a team can do without much money at their disposal. The key is good knowledge of the transfer market, good scouting, good negotiation skills and good connections. Things that Lyberopoulos doesn’t seem to have. By Mesartic for Hellas Football


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