1966–67 AEK Athens F.C. season

The 1966–67 season was the 43rd season in the existence of AEK Athens F.C. and the eighth consecutive season in the top flight of Greek football. They competed in the Alpha Ethniki, the Greek Cup, the European Cup Winners' Cup and the Balkans Cup. The season began on 1 March 1966 and finished on 30 May 1968.

Overview

The presence of AEK Athens in the championship of the previous season may left them with the bitterness for not winning it, but taking into account the injustice and punishments they suffered, combined with the serious issue of the abstention of Mimis Papaioannou, gave the impression that the club was ready for the new championship race without significant transfer additions. The departures of Giorgos Petridis, Fanis Tasinos and above all, of the legendary Kostas Nestoridis, after nine active seasons at the club, did not disturb the manager, Tryfon Tzanetis, who did not proceed in any particular transfer move. Considering that the already existing roster that had been gradually acquired in the early 60's was sufficient to cope with the club's needs, procceding only in the acquisition of the forward of Apollon Athens, Vasilis Mastrakoulis as a back-up choice to Papaioannou and Papageorgiou who had formed an irreplaceable attacking duo. As far as covering the gap in the midfield was concerned, this was filled with the definitive return to the team of the versatile Panagiotis Ventouris, after the end of his spell in South Africa during the previous season.

AEK started the season at the first round of the European Cup Winners' Cup. Their opponent was the Braga, who in the previous season had won their first title and made their maiden appearance in European competitions. The performance of the club in both legs was not enough as they were eliminated by 2 defeats. The championship race started with Olympiacos, having found in the person of Márton Bukovi their own reformer, seemed unstoppable, as they achieved 11 straight victories in the same number of games. Additionally, the unexpected draw in Serres from Panserraikos, shook the management of AEK and playing their last card in the race for the league, removed Tzanetis from the team's bench and brought back after three and a half years the emblematic 1963 league winner, Jenő Csaknády.^[1] The Hungarian-German coach made his mark from the start, when in the first two matches achieved as many victories, including a home win against Olympiacos, reducing the distance from the top to 4 points. The imposing 5–1 victory over Panserraikos on 16 April reduced the distance even more to 3 points from Olympiacos.

However, five days later, the championship was interrupted for over a month, as the football stadiums were used by the rulers of the military dictatorship, that had meanwhile been imposed on the country as gathering places for arrested dissidents. Sports matches were some of the first social events that the dictatorial regime restored to their regular conduction.

AEK returned to action on 21 May winning Egaleo by 0–2, which combined with the draw of the red and whites, brought them within a breathing distance of 2 points from the top. However, a goaless draw against Ethnikos at home, as well as the 1–1 at Karaiskakis Stadium against Olympiacos marked the end of the league race, as they finished second with a difference of 3 points from the red and whites.

In the cup, AEK, like the rest of the teams that reached the round of 16 of the previous season, entered directly into the second round where they defeated with ease Athinaikos and Aspida Xanthi, respectively. In the quarter-finals they faced the eventual winners, Panathinaikos and were elimineted by a 2–1 defeat at home.

AEK also competed in the Balkans Cup of the season, placed in the 2nd group alongside FK Vardar, Lokomotiv Sofia and Farul Constanța. They manage to finish first undefeated as they achieved 3 wins and 3 draws and qualified for the 2-legged final, facing Fenerbahçe. In the first game at Nea Filadelfeia, AEK won by 2–1 and went to Istanbul to defend their slight lead. The Turks managed to equalize the lead of the first leg, winning by 1–0 and since the away goals rule was not applied in the tournament, a third match was set. In order for a free date for the match to be found, 7 months had to pass and on 30 May 1968 at Mithat Paşa, AEK were defeated by 3–1 and a lost a great opportunity to win an international trophy, that in those years had not yet lost its glory.^[2]

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 December 1967, 23:59 UTC+2.

Player	Nat.	Position(s)	Date of birth (Age)	Signed	Previous club	Transfer fee	Contract until
Goalkeepers
Stelios Serafidis		GK	(1935-08-06)6 August 1935 (aged 32)	1953	AEK Athens U20	—	1972
Vangelis Petrakis		GK	(1938-09-07)7 September 1938 (aged 29)	1962	Aris	Free	1967
Theodoros Maniateas		GK	(1945-03-19)19 March 1945 (aged 22)	1964	Panthisiakos	Free	1969
Defenders
Alekos Sofianidis		LB / LM / LW	(1937-08-03)3 August 1937 (aged 30)	1959	Beşiktaş	Free	1969
Aleko Yordan		CB	(1938-01-10)10 January 1938 (aged 29)	1962	Beykoz	Free	1969
Tasos Vasiliou		CB	(1938-08-04)4 August 1938 (aged 29)	1965	Apollon Athens	₯1,500,000	1970
Giorgos Kefalidis		RB / CB	(1941-03-21)21 March 1941 (aged 26)	1964	Pierikos	Free	1972
Fotis Balopoulos		CB / DM / CM / ST	(1943-12-17)17 December 1943 (aged 24)	1964	Proodeftiki	₯450,000	1970
Lakis Fragoudakis		CB / DM	1944 (aged 22–23)	1964	Free agent	Free	1970
Midfielders
Stelios Skevofilakas		LM / RM / AM	(1939-01-06)6 January 1939 (aged 28)	1960	Eleftheroupoli	Free	1972
Panagiotis Ventouris		AM / SS	(1943-03-01)1 March 1943 (aged 24)	1965	Fostiras	₯435,000	1972
Nikos Stathopoulos		LM / LB	(1943-11-08)8 November 1943 (aged 24)	1965	AEK Athens U20	—	1974
Michalis Simigdalas		CM	(1944-06-23)23 June 1944 (aged 23)	1963	AEK Athens U20	—	1969
Giorgos Karafeskos		CM / DM / RM / RW	(1946-12-08)8 December 1946 (aged 21)	1963	AEK Athens U20	—	1974
Forwards
Andreas Stamatiadis (Captain)		RW / LW / SS / ST	(1935-08-16)16 August 1935 (aged 32)	1952	AEK Athens U20	—	1969
Vasilis Mastrakoulis		RW / ST / SS	1939 (aged 27–28)	1966	Hellenic	Free	1968
Kostas Papageorgiou		ST	(1941-01-01)1 January 1941 (aged 26)	1963	Atromitos	₯200,000	1969
Mimis Papaioannou		SS / ST / AM	(1942-08-23)23 August 1942 (aged 25)	1962	Veria	₯175,000	1979
Spyros Pomonis		LW / LM	(1944-02-12)12 February 1944 (aged 23)	1960	AEK Athens U20	—	1973
Kostas Nikolaidis		RW / LW / SS / ST	(1944-09-10)10 September 1944 (aged 23)	1965	PAO Safrabolis	Free	1973
Left during season
Giorgos Petridis		AM / SS / ST	(1938-02-10)10 February 1938 (aged 29)	1957	Pera Club	Free	1966
Nikos Sevastopoulos		RW / SS / AM / ST	(1945-02-26)26 February 1945 (aged 22)	1963	AEK Athens U20	—	1971

Transfers

In

Pos.	Player	From	Type	Fee	Date	Contract Until	Source
MF	Panagiotis Ventouris	Hellenic	End of loan	—	1 July 1966	30 June 1972
FW	Vasilis Mastrakoulis	Hellenic	Transfer	Free	16 August 1966	30 June 1968

Out

Pos.	Player	To	Type	Fee	Date	Source
MF	Fanis Tasinos	Free agent	End of contract	—	1 July 1966
MF	Giorgos Petridis	Vyzas Megara	End of contract	—	1 July 1966
FW	Dimitris Antoniou	Apollon Limassol	Transfer	Free	1 July 1966

Loan out

Pos.	Player	To	Fee	Date	Until	Option to buy	Source
FW	Nikos Sevastopoulos	Hellenic	Free	1 April 1967	30 June 1968	N

Overall transfer activity

Expenditure: ₯0

Income: ₯0

Net Total: ₯0

Pre-season and friendlies

Competitions

Overall record

Competition	First match	Last match	Starting round	Final position	Record
					Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
Alpha Ethniki	23 October 1966	18 June 1967	Matchday 1	2nd	30	18	10	2	52	21	+31	060.00
Greek Cup	14 May 1967	25 June 1967	Round of 32	Quarter-finals	3	2	0	1	10	3	+7	066.67
European Cup Winners' Cup	28 September 1966	5 October 1966	First round	First round	2	0	0	2	2	4	−2	000.00
Balkans Cup	1 March 1966	29 May 1968	Group Stage	Runners-up	9	4	3	2	13	10	+3	044.44
Total					44	24	13	7	77	38	+39	054.55

Alpha Ethniki

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Olympiacos (C)	30	21	7	2	59	17	+42	79	Qualification for European Cup first round
2	AEK Athens	30	18	10	2	52	21	+31	76
3	Panathinaikos	30	17	7	6	42	24	+18	71	Qualification for Cup Winners' Cup first round
4	PAOK	30	13	11	6	36	20	+16	67	Invitation for Inter-Cities Fairs Cup first round
5	Aris	30	14	5	11	38	30	+8	63

Results summary

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
30	18	10	2	52	21	+31	76	12	3	0	33	9	+24	6	7	2	19	12	+7

Results by Matchday

Fixtures

Greek Cup

AEK entered the Greek Cup at the round of 32.

Matches

European Cup Winners' Cup

First round

Balkans Cup

Group B

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GR	Pts	Qualification
1	AEK Athens (A)	6	3	3	0	10	5	2.000	9	Advances to finals
2	Lokomotiv Sofia	6	2	2	2	11	10	1.100	6
3	Farul Constanța	6	2	1	3	8	14	0.571	5
4	FK Vardar	6	1	2	3	6	6	1.000	4

Matches

Group stage

Finals

Statistics

Squad statistics

As of 29 May 1968

No.	Pos	Player	Alpha Ethniki		Greek Cup		European Cup Winners' Cup		Balkans Cup		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Goalkeepers
—	GK	Stelios Serafidis	21	0	2	0	0	0	7	0	30	0
—	GK	Vangelis Petrakis	6	0	1	0	1	0	2	0	10	0
—	GK	Theodoros Maniateas	2	0	0	0	2	0	2	0	6	0
Defenders
—	DF	Alekos Sofianidis	28	0	3	0	2	0	6	1	39	1
—	DF	Aleko Yordan	5	0	3	0	0	0	6	0	14	0
—	DF	Tasos Vasiliou	30	2	2	0	2	0	9	0	43	2
—	DF	Giorgos Kefalidis	14	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	18	0
—	DF	Fotis Balopoulos	25	0	1	0	2	0	8	0	36	0
—	DF	Lakis Fragoudakis	18	1	3	0	1	0	4	0	26	1
Midfielders
—	MF	Stelios Skevofilakas	23	2	3	1	2	0	7	0	35	3
—	MF	Panagiotis Ventouris	25	13	1	1	0	0	6	0	32	14
—	MF	Nikos Stathopoulos	16	0	1	0	1	0	3	0	21	0
—	MF	Michalis Simigdalas	2	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	3	0
—	MF	Giorgos Karafeskos	15	1	2	0	2	0	9	1	28	2
Forwards
—	FW	Andreas Stamatiadis	24	2	2	0	1	0	8	0	35	2
—	FW	Vasilis Mastrakoulis	9	0	0	0	2	0	4	0	15	0
—	FW	Kostas Papageorgiou	3	1	1	1	1	0	4	1	9	3
—	FW	Mimis Papaioannou	22	10	3	3	2	1	9	8	36	22
—	FW	Spyros Pomonis	18	9	2	0	1	0	4	1	25	10
—	FW	Kostas Nikolaidis	24	11	3	4	1	0	9	1	37	16
Left during season
—	MF	Giorgos Petridis	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
—	FW	Nikos Sevastopoulos	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Goalscorers

As of 29 May 1968

Rank	Pos.	Player	Alpha Ethniki	Greek Cup	European Cup Winners' Cup	Balkans Cup	Total
1	FW	Mimis Papaioannou	10	3	1	8	22
2	FW	Kostas Nikolaidis	11	4	0	1	16
3	MF	Panagiotis Ventouris	13	1	0	0	14
4	FW	Spyros Pomonis	9	0	0	1	10
5	MF	Stelios Skevofilakas	2	1	0	0	3
	FW	Kostas Papageorgiou	1	1	0	1	3
7	DF	Tasos Vasiliou	2	0	0	0	2
	FW	Andreas Stamatiadis	2	0	0	0	2
	MF	Giorgos Karafeskos	1	0	0	1	2
10	DF	Lakis Fragoudakis	1	0	0	0	1
	DF	Alekos Sofianidis	0	0	0	1	1
Own goals			0	0	1	0	1
Totals			52	10	2	13	77

Hat-tricks

Numbers in superscript represent the goals that the player scored.

Player	Against	Result	Date	Competition	Source
Kostas Nikolaidis	Panserraikos	5–1 (H)	16 April 1967	Alpha Ethniki
Kostas Nikolaidis	Aspida Xanthi	5–1 (A)	14 June 1967	Greek Cup

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.

As of 29 May 1968

Rank	Player	Alpha Ethniki	Greek Cup	European Cup Winners' Cup	Balkans Cup	Total
1	Stelios Serafidis	12	1	0	2	15
2	Vangelis Petrakis	3	0	0	0	3
3	Theodoros Maniateas	0	0	0	1	1
Totals		15	1	0	3	19

Disciplinary record

As of 29 May 1968

N	P	Nat.	Name	Alpha Ethniki			Greek Cup			European Cup Winners' Cup			Balkans Cup			Total			Notes
Goalkeepers
—	GK		Stelios Serafidis
—	GK		Vangelis Petrakis
—	GK		Theodoros Maniateas
Defenders
—	DF		Alekos Sofianidis
—	DF		Aleko Yordan
—	DF		Tasos Vasiliou
—	DF		Giorgos Kefalidis
—	DF		Fotis Balopoulos
—	DF		Lakis Fragoudakis
Midfielders
—	MF		Stelios Skevofilakas
—	MF		Panagiotis Ventouris
—	MF		Nikos Stathopoulos
—	MF		Michalis Simigdalas
—	MF		Giorgos Karafeskos
Forwards
—	FW		Andreas Stamatiadis
—	FW		Vasilis Mastrakoulis
—	FW		Kostas Papageorgiou
—	FW		Mimis Papaioannou
—	FW		Spyros Pomonis
—	FW		Kostas Nikolaidis
Left during season
—	MF		Giorgos Petridis
—	FW		Nikos Sevastopoulos

Awards

Player	Pos.	Award	Source
Kostas Nikolaidis	FW	Greek Cup Top Scorer

References

External links

• AEK Athens F.C. Official Website
• A.E.K. FC Database