AEK Mid Season Review

AEK mid season review.

By Chris,

It’s funny how this blog would have had to be 80.000 words to precisely talk about how we have reached this point with AEK but can also be summed up in one sentence. 

AEK failed this summer massively and are now paying the price.

It is the summer of 2019, since AEK last won the league title in 2018 Manolo Jimenez has left, came back and then left again, Marinos Ouzounidis has come and gone and the club are now looking on who should be appointed. They don’t trust the man that brought them their first league title in 24 years, that’s clear enough from his shortest -3rd- stint at the club which lasted about 3 months.

The decision falls to Nikos Lymberopoulos’ hands, an incapable and incompetent DoF who decides that Miguel Cardoso is the right man for the job. “He plays attacking and exciting football”, “he fits he club’s attacking DNA”, “he wants to build the Manchester City of Greek Football” we hear. The club supposedly having learned from previous mistakes, awards Cardoso anything he wants to in order for him to build his perfect side. After long sagas, Paulinho, Verde, Nelson Oliveira, Vranjes, Geraldes and David Simao all arrive with optimism returning in the Athenian air. We are eagerly watching videos from pre-season training, reading articles about how this AEK side will be way different than the past. The focus will be on keeping possession, attacking with intent, passing out from the back (remember that later) and tactically outclassing their opponents with swift passing moves.

AEK easily negotiated past Universitatea Craiova in the Europa League 3rd Qualifying Round despite delivering a horrible performance in the 2nd leg at home, drawing 1-1. They then drew Trabzonspor in the Playoffs and the rest is history. AEK easily lose 1-3 at home in the 1st leg, the team has no shape, no identity and is trying to pass out from the back with players that cant complete a pass even if threatened at gunpoint. Not only that but there is also no organization, the team is conceding for fun. Cardoso encounters heavy criticism and we see Marko Livaja storm out to the locker room after being subbed out. Next up, SLGR opener vs Xanthi at home. Boos ring around OAKA at the sound of Cardoso’s name, a sign of things to come. Another absolutely horrible performance by AEK, losing 1-2 and gifting Xanthi their first away win vs AEK in their history. It is the end of the short Miguel Cardoso era, Dimitris Melissanidis visits the AEK locker room and fires both Cardoso and Lyberopoulos on the spot.

Next day we learn about a broken locker room. Miguel Cardoso apparently almost had a fight with Marko Livaja while there is also chat that he was heavily favoring Portuguese players over others. We learn that in pre-season the players would not do any running or off the ball work at all. It was 3 hours of tactics and listening to Cardoso. Melissanidis appoints Ivic as DoF and 

Nikos Kostenoglou as the interim manager. Both appointments bring a honeymoon period, AEK almost complete a historic comeback in Trapezunta and manage to remain unbeaten until late October. While Kostenoglou reverted back to a 3-5-2 formation, popular under Manolo Jimenez, and brought unity to the squad the performances would naturally dip and the enthusiasm would fade away after AEK remained behind league leaders PAOK and Olympiakos. Kostenoglou was often tactically outclassed by opposition managers (vs PAOK at home, vs Olympiakos away) and would often give in to anything so to appease players like Marko Livaja or Ognjen Vranjes. After multiple incidents, such as Livaja not obeying team orders and mocking the AEK bench in a shocking 3-2 loss away at Panathinaikos, a game which AEK led 0-2 until the 68th minute, or Vranjes not obeying direct orders from Ivic to remove Instagram posts about Gate 7 and almost having a fight in training with Michalis Bakakis the situation was untenable.

AEK handed a 1-month ban to Vranjes and after a winless November, Ivic appointed manager Massimo Carrera. 

The Italian is so far unbeaten in 3 games and has managed to make AEK way more compact, pragmatic and organized at the back.

Overall, it has been an extremely disappointing season for AEK with only small hints of optimism and excitement, particularly when Kostenoglou was first appointed. Now, we must all get behind Carrera who I am sure will do an okay job provided he has the means to do so.

January needs; AEK desperately need and will move for a quality center-back as well as a central midfielder and maybe a winger/striker.

Best Performers; Nelson Oliveira and Petros Mantalos have been terrific so far this season, despite the mediocrity of the side.

Worst Performers; Players like David Simao and Geraldes that were brought in by Cardoso have been a pain in the ass for AEK this season.

2nd half of the season goals; Clinch 3rd place, set the foundations for next season, win a derby (Jesus Christ) and go all in for the Greek Cup.

Hellas Football