The 1967–68 season was the 44th season in the existence of AEK Athens F.C. and the ninth consecutive season in the top flight of Greek football. They competed in the Alpha Ethniki, the Greek Cup and the Balkans Cup. The season began on 7 October 1967 and finished on 31 August 1968.
Overview
In the summer of 1967, ambitions of AEK Athens for the season were strengthened by the presence of Jenő Csaknády from its beginning. Evaluating the roster, the manager decided that without the need for any major signings, he could turn the club into title favourites. The previous season, in which Csaknády had managed to bring AEK back into title contention despite being six points behind Olympiacos, convinced the club that another championship triumph, similar to that of 1963, was possible. Csaknády instilled discipline and determination within the squad, with the players fully committed to both the team and their manager.
AEK entered the championship race and in their first six matches achieved five wins and a draw in the derby against Panathinaikos at Leoforos Alexandras Stadium. The defeat in Katerini against Pierikos by 1–0 on 29 November temporarily removed them from the top of the standings. The yellow-blacks responded emphatically in the following matchday, when they defeated fellow title contenders Olympiacos 4–1 at Karaiskakis Stadium. As the league race progressed, AEK performed strongly in derby matches throughout the season, achieving five victories in six matches against the three big clubs of Thessaloniki, with Aris being the only side to hold them to a draw on their home ground. With the victory against Panathinaikos at home the yellow-blacks maintained their unbeaten derby record, with the only remaining derby being the match against Olympiacos at Nea Filadelfeia. On 31 March, AEK effectively secured the title on the 26th matchday with their second 2–1 victory over the Piraeus club. The win was celebrated by the thousands of supporters at the stadium, with some of them entering the pitch and taking the jerseys and shorts of the players as souvenirs. The championship was mathematically secured on 4 April, in the 1–0 win against Panelefsiniakos away from home.
While AEK had already been crowned champions, they were also considered favourites to win the Cup, which raised expectations of a domestic double. They entered the round of 32, where they eliminated Vyzas Megara away from home by defeating them 1–2 after extra time. Afterwards, they faced Aris at Thessaloniki for the round of the 16 and qualified with a 0–1 win. In the quarter-final they eliminated Panionios with another 0–1 away win. The semi-final draw brought them against Olympiacos at Karaiskakis Stadium. There, the red and whites managed to take their revenge for their loss of the championship, by eliminating AEK by 2–1 and eventually winning the Cup.
Top scorer of the team in the league was Mimis Papaioannou with 19 goals. The Hungarian-German manager, continuing the "tradition" he had established, decided to leave the club, thereby winning the championship in both of his full seasons at the bench of AEK.
Management team
a. Branko Stanković took charge for the remaining matches of the Balkan Cup after the season was over.
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 31 August 1968, 23:59 UTC+2.
PlayerNat.Position(s)Date of birth (Age)SignedPrevious clubTransfer fee Goalkeepers Stelios Serafidis GK 1953 AEK Athens U20 — Theodoros Maniateas GK 1964 Panthisiakos Free Stelios Konstantinidis GK 1967 AEK Athens U20 — Defenders Alekos Sofianidis LB / LM / LW 1959 Beşiktaş Free Aleko Yordan CB / RB 1964 Beykoz Free Tasos Vasiliou CB 1965 Apollon Athens ₯1,200,000 Giorgos Kefalidis RB / CB 1964 Pierikos ₯800,000 Fotis Balopoulos CB / DM / CM / ST 1964 Proodeftiki ₯450,000 Lakis Frogoudakis LB / RB / CB / DM 1964 AEK Athens U20 — Giannis Stavrou RB / LB / CB 1967 AEK Athens U20 — Midfielders Stelios Skevofilakas LM / RM / AM / CM 1961 Eleftheroupoli Free Panagiotis Ventouris LM / RM / LW / RW / ST / AM / SS 1965 Fostiras ₯400,000 Nikos Stathopoulos LM / LB / CM 1965 AEK Athens U20 — Michalis Simigdalas CM / RM / LM / RB / LB 1963 AEK Athens U20 — Giorgos Karafeskos CM / DM / RM / RW 1964 AEK Athens U20 — Forwards Andreas Stamatiadis (Captain) RW / LW / SS / ST 1952 AEK Athens U20 — Vasilis Mastrakoulis RW / ST / SS 1966 Apollon Athens ₯270,000 Kostas Papageorgiou ST 1963 Atromitos ₯200,000 Mimis Papaioannou SS / ST / AM / RW 1962 Veria ₯175,000 Spyros Pomonis LW / LM 1960 AEK Athens U20 — Nikos Exarchidis ST 1966 Niki Plaka Free Kostas Nikolaidis RW / LW / SS / ST 1965 PAO Safraboli Free Dimitris Kyrmizas ST 1967 AEK Athens U20 —
Transfers
In
PlayerFromFeeDateSource AEK Athens U20Promotion AEK Athens U20Promotion
Out
PlayerToFeeDateSource OFIFree transfer KorinthosFree transfer
Loan out
PlayerToFeeDateUntilOption to buySource HellenicFree30 June 1968
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
AEK entered the Greek Cup at the round of 32.
Matches
Balkans Cup
Matches
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 CupBalkans CupTotal119 1 121218 1 019313 0 1144 8 3 0115 2 0 356 2 0 13 2 0 138 2 0 029 1 0 01 1 0 01Own goals 0 0 00Totals68 5 780
Hat-tricks Numbers in superscript represent the goals that the player scored. PlayerAgainst Result Date Competition Source Mimis Papaioannou Panserraikos 4–0 (H) 12 November 1967 Alpha Ethniki Kostas Nikolaidis Olympiakos Nicosia 5–0 (H) 20 December 1967 Alpha Ethniki Mimis Papaioannou Vyzas Megara 6–1 (H) 21 January 1968 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 CupBalkans CupTotal1 9 2 1122 4 0 04Totals13 2 116
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)444–2–41–34
Player Stelios SerafidisGKTasos VasiliouRCBFotis BalopoulosLCBAleko YordanRBAlekos SofianidisLBGiorgos KarafeskosRCMStelios SkevofilakasLCMAndreas Stamatiadis (C)RWPanagiotis VentourisLWMimis PapaioannouRCFKostas NikolaidisLCF
References
External links AEK Athens F.C. Official Website A.E.K. FC Database