2016–17 AEK Athens F.C. season

The 2016–17 season was the 93rd season in the existence of AEK Athens F.C. and the 56th competitive season and second consecutive in the top flight of Greek football. They competed in the Super League, the Greek Cup and the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League. The season began on 28 July 2016 and finished on 31 May 2017.

Kits







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Overview
In the summer of 2016, AEK after searching for a new coach they ended up with their former player, Temur Ketsbaia. The team made some great additions, such as the former Barcelona defender, Dmytro Chyhrynskyi, the former English international defender, Joleon Lescott, Patito Rodriguez and the international Portuguese striker, Hugo Almeida, while from the Greek market they were strengthened with the talented Vasilis Barkas and Anastasios Bakasetas. In the departures, those of Arzo, Cordero, Buonanotte and Djebbour stood out, while after the end of the European games Barbosa departed as well and was immediately replaced by the Greek international, Lazaros Christodoulopoulos.

Winning the cup the previous season brought AEK back to European competitions and the third qualifying round of the Europa League, where they were unlucky to be drawn with French side Saint-Etienne. In the first leg at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, AEK fought the game to a 0–0 draw, while in the second leg at the Olympic Stadium, they conceded an early goal and they were eliminated, unable to do anything, since the French kept the score until the end by playing defensively.

AEK started the league well, but their defensive playing style, resulted in facing difficulties in scoring goals and dropped points in easy games. A 3–0 away defeat by Olympiacos, eventually led in the termination of the contract of Ketsbaia. In the attempt to find a manager with an offensive philosophy, the management proceeded in hiring the Portuguese José Morais, the former assistant of José Mourinho in several clubs, but without much experience as a head coach. With Morais on the bench, the team presented themselves trying to play offensively, leaving their defense open and conceded goals with ease, not being able to impose themselves on their opponents. Thus, AEK were left far behind in the league, bringing bad results and Morais not being able to manage the situation, resigned from the team's bench in January. The removal of the Portuguese coach resulted in the return of Manolo Jimenez, who had won the 2011 cup with AEK. With the club having already signed Astrit Ajdarevic and the Bosnian international defender Ognjen Vranjes, who came in to replace Lescott, who was released after disagreements with management over his treatment from an injury, were also strengthened with Vinicius Freitas and most importrantly with the loan of the great Argentinian striker, Sergio Araujo from Las Palmas. Under Jimenez, AEK managed to cover the lost ground, finishing the championship at the fourth place, with only 1 defeat in 3 months and thus advanced to the play-offs.

In the cup, AEK after being the first to pass their group with their opponents Kerkyra, Anagennisi Karditsa and Lamia, easily eliminated Levadiakos for the round of 16 and then Platanias to advance to the semi-finals. There they met Olympiacos and in the first match at Karaiskakis Stadium they got a big win with 1–2. In the rematch at the Olympic Stadium, AEK having a qualifying score controlled the game, but a mistake by Mantalos in the midfield brought the ball into the possession of Romao who scored from an advantageous position. From there the game took off with the red and whites pressing in an episodic match that ended with Almeida playing as the goalkeeper in stoppage time, after the suspension of Anestis and AEK taking a very stressful qualification. AEK were in the final for a second consecutive season, where they faced PAOK, who didn't want the final to be held at the Olympic Stadium and made an issue of the venue of the final. In the end, a solution was found with the final taking place at Panthessaliko Stadium, which was turned into a construction site in order to ensure security measures, which however proved ineffective, as violent incidents between the ultras of the two clubs took place inside and outside the stadium. In the match, AEK, who faced a hostile referee, were left behind in the score, but managed to equalize immediately and towards the end of the match, PAOK regained their lead from an obvious offside position and made the final 2–1, claiming their first title after 14 years.

In the play-offs, AEK initially took their revenge for the lost cup final by winning 0–1 at Toumba Stadium and after an impressive run managed to take the first place in the relevant standings that led to the Champions League, with a win in the final matchday and thus finishing second in the league.

Management team

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Events

 * 29 May 2016 Before 2015–16 Super League Greece the campaign was over, Anastasios Bakasetas agreed to a 3-year contract with AEK Athens which was made effective on 1 July.
 * 5 June 2016 Former AEK Athens player, Temur Ketsbaia reached an agreement to be the new coach of the team.
 * 11 June 2016 AEK signs goalkeeper Vasilis Barkas from Atromitos for 3 years.
 * 11 June 2016 Experienced defender Dmytro Chyhrynskyi joins AEK from Dnipro for 2 years.
 * 1 July 2016 Rafik Djebbour, Macauley Chrisantus and Fotis Karagiolidis are released from AEK.
 * 6 July 2016 Aristidis Soiledis joins Omonia from AEK.
 * 8 July 2016 Juan Díaz joins AEK from Racing for 2 years.
 * 18 July 2016 International striker Hugo Almeida joins AEK from Hannover 96 for 2 years.
 * 19 July 2016 César Arzo joins Kairat from AEK.
 * 20 July 2016 Patito Rodríguez joins AEK from Santos for 2 years.
 * 20 July 2016 Stratos Svarnas joins Xanthi from AEK.
 * 25 July 2016 Dimitrios Anakoglou is released from AEK.
 * 5 August 2016 AEK signs Konstantinos Manolas, son of Stelios from Levadiakos for 3 years.
 * 24 August 2016 Hélder Barbosa joins Al Wasl from AEK.
 * 27 August 2016 Lazaros Christodoulopoulos joins AEK from Hellas Verona for 2+1 years.
 * 29 August 2016 Former England international Joleon Lescott joins AEK from Aston Villa for 2 years.
 * 30 August 2016 Miguel Cordero is released from AEK.
 * 18 October 2016 Coach Temur Ketsbaia is released from AEK.
 * 18 October 2016 AEK announces José Morais as their new coach for 1+1 years.
 * 24 November 2016 Joleon Lescott is released from AEK.
 * 13 December 2016 AEK signs Astrit Ajdarević from Örebro for 2 and a half years.
 * 21 December 2016 Vangelis Platellas is released from AEK.
 * 23 December 2016 AEK signs international Bosnian defender Ognjen Vranješ from Tom Tomsk for 2 and a half years.
 * 2 January 2017 AEK signs Dimitrios Melikiotis from Veria for 3 and a half years.
 * 4 January 2017 Darko Zorić is released from AEK.
 * 13 January 2017 Rodrigo Galo signs new 2-year deal.
 * 18 January 2017 José Morais resigns from AEK.
 * 19 January 2017 Manolo Jimenez returns to the bench of AEK after 6 years until June 2018.
 * 27 January 2017 Sergio Araujo joins AEK as a loan from Las Palmas until the end of the year.
 * 31 January 2017 AEK signs Vinicius from Lazio for 2 and a half years.
 * 14 April 2017 Vasilios Lampropoulos and Michalis Bakakis sign new 2-year deal.
 * 19 April 2017 Konstantinos Galanopoulos signs new 4-year deal.

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 May 2017, 23:59 UTC+3.''

Expenditure
Summer: €950,000

Winter: €200,000

Total: €1,150,000

Income
Summer: €750,000

Winter: €0

Total: €750,000

Net Totals
Summer: €200,000

Winter: €200,000

Total: €400,000

Third qualifying round
The draw for the third qualifying round was held on 15 July 2016.

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 Summer Transfer Window

! 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="20" style="background:#FFDE00; text-align:center" | Goalkeepers

! colspan="20" style="background:#FFDE00; color:black; text-align:center;"| Defenders

! colspan="20" style="background:#FFDE00; color:black; text-align:center;"| Midfielders

! colspan="20" style="background:#FFDE00; color:black; text-align:center;"| Forwards

! colspan="20" style="background:#FFDE00; color:black; text-align:center;"| Left during Summer Transfer window

! colspan="20" style="background:#FFDE00; color:black; text-align:center;"| Left during Winter Transfer window


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