2005–06 AEK Athens F.C. season

The 2005–06 season was the 82nd season in the existence of AEK Athens F.C. and the 47th 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 29 August 2005 and finished on 14 May 2006.

Kits







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Overview
Second season in a row for the administration of Demis Nikolaidis and for Fernando Santos on the team's bench. The plan was the same as that of the previous season, the tight budget and step by step for the team to finish as high as possible. However, in relation to the previous year, the enthusiasm and above all the same-mindedness was lacking. A huge role for the lack of unity was played by the events of the first match, in the away match against Atromitos, where, after incidents, Nikolaidis turned against with some of the ultras of AEK and since then nothing has interfered in the same way in the relations between Demis and a portion of the fans. In the summer transfer window, AEK made some useful additions, mainly those of the two Italians, Bruno Cirillo and Stefano Sorrentino, but also of the Ukrainian Oleh Venhlinskyi.

The team, with Nikos Liberopoulos and Kostas Katsouranis as their main players, even though they went for the championship, but it did not seem at any stage of the season to be able to displace Olympiacos from the top. In the end, he finished in 2nd place in a tie with Panathinaikos, 3 points behind the red and whites, but he took the ticket for the Champions League qualifiers of the next season. Also, there began to be a questioning of a part of the world and also of the management towards Fernando Santos, not so much for the efficiency, but for the defensive way the team was playing.

Just one year after the first meeting between the two teams, fortune again brought Zenit Saint Petersburg to the road of AEK in the UEFA Cup. This time, AEK were much more careful in defense and managed to leave St. Petersburg's Petrovsky Stadium with a goalless draw that gave them plenty of chances to qualify. The rematch of Olympic Stadium was expected to be difficult from the start and AEK again approached the game in the same way they faced Zenit in Russia. In the second half, AEK tried to take a little more risk by raising the lines, they had some good phases, but very soon the pace dropped again and while the game was heading to extra time, Andrey Arshavin, in the 89th minute, raced from the left, converged to the center and unleashed a powerful right-footed shot into Sorrentino's corner that touched of the ball but failed to clear the goal. The final result was 0–1 and AEK were left out of European competitions.

In the Greek Cup, AEK initially eliminated PAS Giannina with 0–3 in a single match. He then eliminated Ethnikos Piraeus in the penalty shoot-out and in the quarter-finals he eliminated Niki Volos. In the semi-finals, they played against Agrotikos Asteras, where they eliminated easily and thus advanced to the final against Olympiacos. On May 10 at the Pankritio Stadium, after a poor performance, AEK were defeated with their "hands down" by 3–0 and lost the title.

Management team

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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 14 May 2006, 23:59 UTC+3.''

Contract renewals
Notes


 * a. AEK Athens enabled the player's buy-out clause, prematurely. The player's loan was expiring at 30 June 2006.

Expenditure
Summer: €1,350,000

Winter: €550,000

Total: €1,900,000

Income
Summer: €0

Winter: €150,000

Total: €0

Net Totals
Summer: €1,350,000

Winter: €400,000

Total: €1,750,000

Greek Cup
AEK entered the Greek Cup at the Round of 32.

Squad statistics
! colspan="13" style="background:#FFDE00; text-align:center" | Goalkeepers

! colspan="13" style="background:#FFDE00; color:black; text-align:center;"| Defenders

! colspan="13" style="background:#FFDE00; color:black; text-align:center;"| Midfielders

! colspan="13" style="background:#FFDE00; color:black; text-align:center;"| Forwards

! colspan="13" style="background:#FFDE00; color:black; text-align:center;"| Left during Winter Transfer Window


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Clean sheets
''The list is sorted by competition order when total clean sheets are equal, then by shirt number 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.''

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

! colspan="17" style="background:#FFDE00; color:black; text-align:center;"| Left during Winter Transfer window


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