# 2008–09 AEK Athens F.C. season

The 2008–09 season was the 85th season in the existence of AEK Athens F.C. and the 50th consecutive season in the top flight of Greek football. They competed in the Super League, the Greek Cup and the UEFA Cup. The season began on 14 August 2008 and finished on 31 May 2009.

## Kits

Supplier: Puma Sponsor(s): LG Corp Features: Chevrolet, Diners Club
| Home | Away | Third |

## Overview

A strange and ultimately unsuccessful season for AEK, who failed to handle the outcome of the previous season's Wallner case, mainly at the administrative level, but also at the financial level. The president, Demis Nikolaidis, decided to put his resignation at the disposal of the shareholders of the club, but he proceeded with fundamental changes in both the roster and the technical leadership of the team. He spent a lot of money, in order to change the balance in dressing room by essentially releasing the captains, Dellas and Liberopoulos and selling the talented Papastathopoulos to Genoa. He even proceeded with very expensive transfers for the club's standards, especially with that of Rafik Djebbour from Panionios, who spent the record amount of 3,200,000 euros. Alonsgside Djebbour, AEK also proceeded in the transfers of Kyrgiakos, Basinas, Majstorović, Saja, Pelletieri, Burns, Geraldo Alves and Juanfran, but the one who stood out was that of Ignacio Scocco, which was also the highest quality transfer during the Nikolaidis presidency. The most debatable choice of Nikolaidis was the hiring of Georgios Donis for the position of coach, since Donis had only worked with teams of a lower magnitude, where there wasn't the high pressure of the league race. The club sold 18,200 season tickets.
For the UEFA Cup, AEK were drawn with Cypriot Omonia and seemingly seemed the absolute favorite for the qualification. Donis, trying to change AEK's playing philosophy from the previous seasons, tried to implement an unattractive football model and very soon AEK paid the price. In Athens, Omonia, with a lucky goal towards the end of the first half, took the lead and finally got the victory against the unrecognizable and lazy AEK. AEK in the last match of Rivaldo, who in the following days surpisingly left for Bunyodkor from Uzbekistan, did not react at any point of the match, unable to produce phases and reduced to meaningless possession. The completely wrong approach and preparation of the match by Donis and his footballers made the task of AEK very difficult out of nowhere. The disaster for AEK was completed in the second leg at GSP Stadium, where spirited and tough Omonia limited them again, taking the lead in the score and despite being equalized by AEK did not lose control of the match, regaining the lead in the second half and only AEK managed to avoid the second defeat, equalizing at the end of the match. The disastrous exclusion from Europe effectively put AEK out of financial plans, which increased introversion and essentially forced Nikolaidis to leave earlier than the end of his presidency as he had informed the shareholders from the beginning of the summer.
AEK started the championship with a great victory, winning 2–1 against the newly rich Panathinaikos of the "multi-shareholder" era, but the continuation was disappointing. A series of 4 unsuccessful results brought Donis near to the exit door. On the 8th matchday amid heavy disapproval, AEK beat Asteras Tripolis with two goals in stoppage time at the Olympic Stadium and after the end of the match, Nikolaidis resigned implicitly attributing responsibilities to the ultras of the club. Donis was already fully exposed and the pressure appeared with yet another draw in Skoda Xanthi and along with a draw with Panserraikos at home, he resigned. The remaining management, Kanellopoulos and Koulis, believing that the team needed a great personality, hired Dušan Bajević, with the intention to turn him into general manager of AEK. The shareholders, after a final rift between them, decided to appoint Giorgos Kintis to the presidency, who immediately offered AEK a shop instead of one euro, as long as the prospective buyer took over the settled debts of the team, as well as the heavy opening of 15 million euros from the expensive transfer moves of the summer. No one appeared except for a written statement of intent by Dimitris Melissanidis and AEK continued with the internal upheavals being indescribable. Bajević had an indifferent season, which he also attributed to a lack of confidence in himself and was asking for big investments to be able to watch Olympiacos and Panathinaikos matches. Kintis, after a month and a half, being at a dead end and advocating a completely different philosophy from Bajević, resigned, Kanellopoulos resigned and left his shares to the Amateur AEK with Koulis following the same path. Nikos Thanopoulos, the chosen of the then major shareholder, Nikos Notias, took over as president after intense back-and-forth. And while the season was heading towards an unremarkable close, Bajević seemed to lack confidence in his players and was more concerned with management reshuffles than the team. So AEK ended the season with many draws, unattractive football and in fourth place behind Olympiacos, PAOK and Panathinaikos and without a competitive identity entered the play-offs with just one point, starting from a disadvantageous position .
The activities in the Cup started with a near exclusion from Ilisiakos who were left with 10 players and AEK taking the qualification in extra time. In the next phase against Kerkyra AEK were qualified with an amazing goal by Scocco in the 89th minute. In the quarter-finals, AEK's opponent was Skoda Xanthi, from who were lost 2–1 away, but managed to qualify thanks to a header from Blanco in the rematch. AEK easily qualified for the final after overcoming the obstacle of Panserraikos. The final that the club and the fans needed, especially against a great rival like Olympiacos, was ahead. On May 2, the best Cup final in the history of Greek football took place. AEK got off to a magical start, taking a 2–0 lead, thanks to two great goals from Blanco, but were leveled by goals from Derbyshire and Dudu. In the 90th minute, the class of Ignacio Scocco spoke, who passed everyone in front of him and perfectly shot past Nikopolidis. AEK, affected by the Argentine's superb goal, did not handle the stoppage time as needed and were leveled again by Derbyshire in the 96th minute. The game went to overtime, where AEK were shocked and conceded a fourth goal in the 102nd minute from Galletti. However, Ignacio Scocco in the 108th minute, again with a goal of rare beauty, equalized once more for AEK with the two teams going to the penalty shootout. So after 32 penalties and the score having reached the admirable 15–14, the final ended with the Olympiacos being crowned as the cup winner.
The play-offs started with ambition for AEK, who despite not winning the Cup, seemed determined to chase the position that led to the Champions League qualifiers. Indeed, until the last game AEK was the favorite along with Panathinaikos and the first place would be decided in the derby between them. Panathinaikos appeared more ready and determined and beat AEK by 0–2, which ended the season, without managing to return in the beficial qualifiers of the Champions League.

## Management team

| Position | Staff |
| Manager | Dušan Bajević |
| Assistant manager | Lysandros Georgamlis |
| Goalkeeping coach | Slobodan Šujica |
| Fitness coach | Antonis Kezos |
| Fitness coach | Dimitris Bouroutzikas |
| U-17 Manager | Charis Kopitsis |
| Technical director | Eugène Gerards |
| Academy director | Toni Savevski |
| Academy manager | Bledar Kola |
| Scout | Eugène Gerards |
| Scout | Kostas Tsanas |
| Scout | Periklis Papapanagis |
| Head of Medical | Lakis Nikolaou |
| Physiotherapist | Nikos Pantazis |

## Events

* 14 May: Georgios Donis replaces Nikos Kostenoglou as head manager.
* 16 May: Midfielder Antonis Rikka agrees to join AEK from Skoda Xanthi
* 20 May: Defender Daniel Majstorović agrees to join AEK from Basel
* 5 June: Midfielder Dániel Tőzsér joins Genk
* 1 July: Goalkeeper Sebastián Saja agrees to join AEK from San Lorenzo de Almagro
* 1 July: Striker Nacho Scocco agrees to join AEK from Club Universidad Nacional
* 1 July: Striker Nathan Burns agrees to join AEK from Adelaide United
* 1 July: Midfielder Júlio César signs for Rapid București on a free transfer
* 1 July: Striker Pantelis Kapetanos is released from the club after his contract expired.
* 3 July: Goalkeeper Stefano Sorrentino joins Chievo on loan until the end of the season.
* 7 July: Striker Nikos Liberopoulos is released from the club.
* 23 July: Defender Traianos Dellas is released from the club.
* 30 July: Defender Juanfran agrees to join AEK from Real Zaragoza
* 31 July: Midfielder Angelos Basinas agrees to join AEK from Mallorca
* 1 August: Defender Sotirios Kyrgiakos agrees to join AEK from Eintracht Frankfurt
* 1 August: AEK is drawn against Omonia in the UEFA Cup Second qualifying round<
* 2 August: Defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos joins Genoa
* 22 August: Chairman Demis Nikolaidis announces his intention to resign from his position at the end of the season.
* 27 August: Midfielder Rivaldo joins FC Bunyodkor.
* 30 August: Striker Rafik Djebbour agrees to join AEK from Panionios
* 1 September: Midfielder Agustín Pelletieri agrees to join AEK on loan from Lanús
* 2 November: Chairman Demis Nikolaidis resigns as president of AEK
* 5 November: Takis Kanellopoulos and Nikos Koulis take temporary charge of the club
* 17 November: AEK part ways with manager Giorgos Donis
* 21 November: Stelios Manolas becomes technical director of the club
* 21 November: Dušan Bajević becomes manager for the third time
* 1 December: Georgios Kintis becomes 43rd president of AEK.
* 27 January: Defender Edson Ratinho joins Mogi Mirim
* 2 February: Midfielder Angelos Basinas joins Portsmouth

## 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 May 2009, 23:59 UTC+3.
| No. | Player | Position(s) | Date of birth (Age) | Signed | Previous club | Transfer fee | Contract until |
| Goalkeepers |||||||||
| 23 | Sebastián Saja | GK | (1979-06-05)5 June 1979 (aged 30) | 2008 | San Lorenzo | Free | 2012 |
| 77 | Jürgen Macho | GK | (1977-08-24)24 August 1977 (aged 31) | 2007 | Kaiserslautern | €300,000 | 2009 |
| 84 | Giannis Arabatzis | GK | (1984-05-28)28 May 1984 (aged 25) | 2002 | Makrochori | €22,000 | 2011 |
| Defenders |||||||||
| 4 | Geraldo Alves | CB / RB | (1980-11-08)8 November 1980 (aged 28) | 2007 | Paços de Ferreira | €300,000 | 2010 |
| 5 | Daniel Majstorović (Vice-captain 3) | CB | (1977-04-05)5 April 1977 (aged 32) | 2008 | Basel | Free | 2011 |
| 6 | Georgios Alexopoulos | CB / RB | (1977-02-07)7 February 1977 (aged 32) | 2005 | Egaleo | Free | 2010 |
| 7 | Juanfran | LB / LM / CB | (1976-07-15)15 July 1976 (aged 32) | 2008 | Real Zaragoza | Free | 2010 |
| 12 | Olivier N'Siabamfumu | CB / RB / DM | (1986-03-17)17 March 1986 (aged 23) | 2009 | Free agent | Free | 2009 |
| 13 | Dimitrios Koutromanos | RB / LB / DM | (1987-02-25)25 February 1987 (aged 22) | 2009 | Panetolikos | €50,000 | 2011 |
| 25 | Sotirios Kyrgiakos (Captain) | CB | (1979-07-23)23 July 1979 (aged 29) | 2008 | Eintracht Frankfurt | Free | 2013 |
| 31 | Nikolaos Georgeas (Vice-captain 2) | RB / LB / DM | (1976-12-27)27 December 1976 (aged 32) | 2001 | Kalamata | €1,500,000 | 2010 |
| Midfielders |||||||||
| 1 | Pantelis Kafes (Vice-captain) | CM / DM / AM / RM / LM | (1978-06-24)24 June 1978 (aged 31) | 2007 | Olympiacos | Free | 2009 |
| 8 | Tam Nsaliwa | DM / CM / CB | (1982-01-28)28 January 1982 (aged 27) | 2007 | Panionios | €400,000 | 2010 |
| 11 | Gustavo Manduca | RM / AM / RW / LM / LW / CM / SS / ST | (1980-06-08)8 June 1980 (aged 29) | 2007 | Benfica | €800,000 | 2010 |
| 16 | Vasilios Pliatsikas | DM / CM / RB / CB | (1988-04-20)20 April 1988 (aged 21) | 2005 | Chaidari | Free | 2010 |
| 17 | Antonis Rikka | DM / CM | (1986-03-03)3 March 1986 (aged 23) | 2008 | Skoda Xanthi | €600,000 | 2013 |
| 19 | Panagiotis Lagos | LM / LW / LB / CM / DM | (1985-07-18)18 July 1985 (aged 23) | 2006 | Iraklis | €900,000 | 2010 |
| 24 | Agustín Pelletieri | DM / CM | (1982-05-17)17 May 1982 (aged 27) | 2008 | Lanús | €700,000 | 2009 |
| 34 | Panagiotis Tachtsidis | CM / DM / AM | (1991-02-15)15 February 1991 (aged 18) | 2007 | AEK Athens U20 | — | 2010 |
| 56 | Përparim Hetemaj | CM / DM / AM / RM / LM / RW / LW | (1986-12-12)12 December 1986 (aged 22) | 2006 | HJK Helsinki | €450,000 | 2010 |
| 80 | El Hadji Diouf | AM / CM | (1989-08-20)20 August 1989 (aged 19) | 2007 | Xam-Xam | Free | 2011 |
| 90 | Savvas Gentsoglou | DM / CB / CM | (1990-09-19)19 September 1990 (aged 18) | 2006 | AEK Athens U20 | — | 2013 |
| Forwards |||||||||
| 9 | Edinho | ST / SS / RW | (1982-07-07)7 July 1982 (aged 26) | 2008 | Vitória de Setúbal | €350,000 | 2011 |
| 10 | Rafik Djebbour | ST / SS / RW / LW | (1984-03-08)8 March 1984 (aged 25) | 2008 | Panionios | €3,200,000 | 2011 |
| 18 | Ismael Blanco | ST / SS | (1983-01-19)19 January 1983 (aged 26) | 2008 | Colón | €850,000 | 2011 |
| 20 | Nathan Burns | RW / SS / ST / LW / AM | (1988-05-07)7 May 1988 (aged 21) | 2008 | Adelaide United | €450,000 | 2012 |
| 32 | Ignacio Scocco | SS / LW / AM / ST / LM / RW / RM | (1985-05-29)29 May 1985 (aged 24) | 2008 | UNAM | €1,500,000 | 2011 |
| 83 | Michalis Pavlis | SS / ST / RW / LW | (1989-09-22)22 September 1989 (aged 19) | 2006 | AEK Athens U20 | — | 2011 |
| Left during Summer Transfer Window |||||||||
| — | Rivaldo | AM / SS / LM | (1972-04-19)19 April 1972 (aged 37) | 2007 | Olympiacos | Free | 2009 |
| Left during Winter Transfer Window |||||||||
| 2 | Edson Ratinho | RB / RM / RW | (1986-05-31)31 May 1986 (aged 23) | 2007 | Mogi Mirim | €350,000 | 2012 |
| 14 | Angelos Basinas | DM / CM / AM | (1976-01-03)3 January 1976 (aged 33) | 2008 | Mallorca | Free | 2011 |
| 40 | Panagiotis Zorbas | AM / RW / LM / LW / CM | (1987-04-21)21 April 1987 (aged 22) | 2005 | Bayer 04 Leverkusen U19 | Free | 2011 |

## Transfers
### In
#### Summer

| No. | Pos. | Player | From | Fee | Date | Contract Until |
| 5 | DF | Daniel Majstorović | Basel | Free transfer | 1 July 2008 | 30 June 2011 |
| 7 | DF | Juanfran | Real Zaragoza | Free transfer | 30 July 2008 | 30 June 2010 |
| 9 | FW | Edinho | Vitória de Setúbal | €350,000 | 1 July 2008 | 30 June 2011 |
| 10 | FW | Rafik Djebbour | Panionios | €3,200,000 | 1 July 2008 | 30 June 2011 |
| 13 | DF | Dimitrios Koutromanos | Anagennisi Karditsa | Loan return | 1 July 2008 | 30 June 2011 |
| 14 | MF | Angelos Basinas | Mallorca | Free transfer | 31 July 2008 | 30 June 2011 |
| 17 | MF | Antonis Rikka | Skoda Xanthi | €600,000 | 1 July 2008 | 30 June 2013 |
| 18 | FW | Ismael Blanco | Colón | €850,000 | 1 July 2008 | 30 June 2011 |
| 20 | FW | Nathan Burns | Adelaide United | €450,000 | 1 July 2008 | 30 June 2012 |
| 23 | GK | Sebastián Saja | San Lorenzo | Free transfer | 1 July 2008 | 30 June 2012 |
| 25 | DF | Sotirios Kyrgiakos | Eintracht Frankfurt | Free transfer | 1 August 2008 | 30 June 2013 |
| 32 | FW | Ignacio Scocco | UNAM | €1,500,000 | 1 July 2008 | 30 June 2011 |
| 40 | MF | Panagiotis Zorbas | Panetolikos | Loan return | 1 July 2008 | 30 June 2011 |
| 56 | MF | Përparim Hetemaj | Apollon Kalamarias | Loan return | 1 July 2008 | 30 June 2010 |
| 80 | GK | Giannis Fysekis | Lamia | Loan return | 1 July 2008 | 30 June 2010 |
| 90 | MF | Savvas Gentsoglou | A.O. Nea Ionia | Loan return | 1 July 2008 | 30 June 2011 |
| – | GK | Stefano Sorrentino | Recreativo de Huelva | Loan return | 1 July 2008 | 30 June 2010 |
| — | DF | Nikolaos Kourkoulas | A.O. Nea Ionia | Loan return | 1 July 2008 | 30 June 2010 |
| — | DF | Panagiotis Stergiatos | Anagennisi Karditsa | Loan return | 1 July 2008 | 30 June 2008 |
| — | DF | Nikos Barboudis | Fostiras | Loan return | 1 July 2008 | 30 June 2010 |
| — | DF | Dimitrios Amarantidis | Anagennisi Karditsa | Free transfer | 1 July 2008 | 30 June 2010 |
| — | DF | Vasilios Vallianos | A.O. Nea Ionia | Loan return | 1 July 2008 | 30 June 2008 |
| — | MF | Nikolaos Kaltsas | Acharnaikos | Loan return | 1 July 2008 | 30 June 2010 |
| — | MF | Manolis Tsagarogiannakis | Thiva | Loan return | 1 July 2008 | 30 June 2009 |
| — | MF | El Hadji Diouf | Ilisiakos | Loan return | 1 July 2008 | 30 June 2011 |

#### Winter

| No. | Pos. | Player | From | Fee | Date | Contract Until |
| 12 | DF | Olivier N'Siabamfumu | Free agent | Free transfer | 11 February 2009 | 30 June 2009 |
| 80 | MF | El Hadji Diouf | Anagennisi Karditsa | Loan termination | 20 November 2008 | 30 June 2011 |
| — | MF | Georgios Tofas | Anagennisi Karditsa | Loan termination | 31 December 2008 | 30 June 2010 |

### Out
#### Summer

| No. | Pos. | Player | To | Fee | Date |
| 3 | DF | Rodolfo Arruabarrena | Tigre | Contract termintion | 12 August 2008 |
| 5 | DF | Traianos Dellas | Anorthosis Famagusta | Contract termintion | 23 July 2008 |
| 7 | FW | Charilaos Pappas | Skoda Xanthi | €60,000 | 5 July 2008 |
| 9 | FW | Pantelis Kapetanos | Steaua București | Contract termintion | 1 July 2008 |
| 10 | MF | Rivaldo | Bunyodkor | €1,000,000 | 30 August 2008 |
| 14 | DF | Federico Azcárate | Polideportivo Ejido | End of contract | 22 July 2008 |
| 15 | DF | Sokratis Papastathopoulos | Genoa | €3,800,000 | 1 August 2008 |
| 16 | MF | Akis Zikos | Retired | Retired | 30 June 2008 |
| 18 | FW | Ismael Blanco | Colón | Loan return | 30 June 2008 |
| 20 | FW | Manú | Benfica | Loan return | 30 June 2008 |
| 22 | MF | Panagiotis Kone | Iraklis | Contract termintion | 29 August 2008 |
| 23 | FW | Mohamed Kallon | Al Shabab | End of contract | 1 July 2008 |
| 27 | MF | Christos Bourbos | Iraklis | End of contract | 1 July 2008 |
| 32 | GK | Marcelo Moretto | Benfica | Loan return | 30 June 2008 |
| 33 | FW | Nikos Liberopoulos | Eintracht Frankfurt | Contract termintion | 13 July 2008 |
| 36 | FW | Edinho | Vitória de Setúbal | Loan return | 30 June 2008 |
| 88 | MF | Dániel Tőzsér | Genk | €1,500,000 | 5 June 2008 |
| 99 | FW | Júlio César | Rapid București | End of contract | 1 July 2008 |
| — | DF | Panagiotis Stergiatos | Anagennisi Arta | End of contract | 1 July 2008 |
| — | DF | Vasilios Vallianos | Panachaiki | Free transfer | 1 July 2008 |
| — | MF | Manolis Tsagarogiannakis | Vyzas Megara | Free transfer | 1 July 2008 |

#### Winter

| No. | Pos. | Player | To | Fee | Date | Source |
| 2 | DF | Edson Ratinho | Mogi Mirim | €350,000 | 27 January 2009 | |
| 14 | MF | Angelos Basinas | Portsmouth | Contract termination | 2 February 2009 | |

### Loan in
#### Summer

| No. | Pos. | Player | From | Fee | Date | Until | Option to buy | Source |
| 24 | MF | Agustín Pelletieri | Lanús | €700,000 | 1 September 2008 | 30 June 2009 | Y | |

### Loan out
#### Summer

| No. | Pos. | Player | To | Fee | Date | Until | Option to buy |
| 80 | GK | Giannis Fysekis | Apollon Kalamarias | Free | 1 July 2008 | 30 June 2009 | N |
| — | GK | Stefano Sorrentino | Chievo Verona | €200,000 | 3 July 2008 | 30 June 2009 | Y |
| — | DF | Nikolaos Kourkoulas | A.O. Nea Ionia | Free | 1 July 2008 | 30 June 2010 | N |
| — | DF | Nikos Barboudis | Apollon Kalamarias | Free | 23 July 2008 | 30 June 2009 | N |
| — | DF | Dimitrios Amarantidis | Anagennisi Karditsa | Free | 1 July 2008 | 30 June 2010 | N |
| — | MF | Nikolaos Kaltsas | Chaidari | Free | 1 July 2008 | 30 June 2010 | N |
| — | MF | El Hadji Diouf | Anagennisi Karditsa | Free | 1 July 2008 | 30 June 2009 | N |
| — | MF | Georgios Tofas | Anagennisi Karditsa | Free | 1 July 2008 | 30 June 2009 | N |

#### Winter

| No. | Pos. | Player | To | Fee | Date | Until | Option to buy | Source |
| 40 | MF | Panagiotis Zorbas | Panetolikos | Free | 29 January 2009 | 30 June 2009 | N | |
| — | MF | Georgios Tofas | Anorthosis Famagusta | Free | 31 December 2008 | 30 June 2010 | Y | |
Notes
    a. $^^$ plus 15% of next sale.

### Contract renewals

| No. | Pos. | Player | Date | Former Exp. Date | New Exp. Date | Source |
| 13 | DF | Dimitris Koutromanos | 25 June 2008 | 30 June 2010 | 30 June 2011 | |
| 90 | MF | Savvas Gentsoglou | 25 June 2008 | 30 June 2009 | 30 June 2013 | |

### Overall transfer activity
## Competitions
### Overall record

| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record |
| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % |
| Super League | 31 August 2008 | 26 April 2009 | Matchday 1 | 4th | 30 | 14 | 13 | 3 | 40 | 24 | +16 | 046.67 |
| Super League Play-offs | 10 May 2009 | 31 May 2009 | Matchday 1 | 3rd | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 6 | +2 | 050.00 |
| Greek Cup | 29 October 2009 | 29 October 2009 | Round of 32 | Runners-up | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 8 | +4 | 057.14 |
| UEFA Cup | 14 August 2008 | 28 August 2008 | Second qualifying round | Second qualifying round | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 000.00 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | 45 | 21 | 18 | 6 | 62 | 41 | +21 | 046.67 |
Last updated: 31 May 2009 Source: Competitions

### Super League Greece
#### Regular season
##### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 2 | PAOK | 30 | 18 | 9 | 3 | 39 | 16 | +23 | 63 | Qualification for the Play-offs |
| 3 | Panathinaikos | 30 | 17 | 10 | 3 | 51 | 18 | +33 | 61 | Qualification for the Play-offs |
| 4 | AEK Athens | 30 | 14 | 13 | 3 | 40 | 24 | +16 | 55 | Qualification for the Play-offs |
| 5 | AEL | 30 | 12 | 13 | 5 | 36 | 26 | +10 | 49 | Qualification for the Play-offs |
| 6 | Aris | 30 | 13 | 8 | 9 | 30 | 31 | −1 | 47 | |

##### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 2009-04-26. Source: Super League Greece

##### Results by Matchday

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
| Ground | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A |
| Result | W | D | W | D | L | D | D | W | D | D | D | D | W | D | W | D | W | W | W | L | D | W | W | W | W | W | W | D | L | D |
| Position | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |

##### Fixtures
#### Play-offs
##### Table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 2 | Panathinaikos | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 3 | +9 | 18 | Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round |
| 3 | AEK Athens | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 6 | +2 | 12 | Qualification for the Europa League play-off round |
| 4 | PAOK | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 9 | −4 | 9 | Qualification for the Europa League third qualifying round |
| 5 | AEL | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 10 | −7 | 1 | Qualification for the Europa League second qualifying round |

##### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 2009-05-31. Source: Super League Greece

##### Results by Matchday

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| Ground | H | A | A | H | A | H |
| Result | W | D | W | W | D | L |
| Position | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |

##### Fixtures
### Greek Cup

AEK entered the Greek Cup at the round of 32.

#### Matches
##### Final
### UEFA Cup
#### Second qualifying round

The draw for the second qualifying round was held on 1 August 2008.

## Statistics
### Squad statistics

    As of 31 May 2009
| No. | Pos | Player | Super League | Super League | Super League Play-offs | Super League Play-offs | Greek Cup | Greek Cup | UEFA Cup | UEFA Cup | Total | Total |
| No. | Pos | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Goalkeepers |||||||||||||
| 23 | GK | Sebastián Saja | 29 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 42 | 0 |
| 77 | GK | Jürgen Macho | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 84 | GK | Giannis Arabatzis | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Defenders |||||||||||||
| 4 | DF | Geraldo Alves | 10 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | Daniel Majstorović | 28 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 43 | 3 |
| 6 | DF | Georgios Alexopoulos | 12 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 20 | 0 |
| 7 | DF | Juanfran | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 27 | 0 |
| 12 | DF | Olivier N'Siabamfumu | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 13 | DF | Dimitrios Koutromanos | 10 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 |
| 25 | DF | Sotirios Kyrgiakos | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 26 | 0 |
| 31 | DF | Nikolaos Georgeas | 19 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 0 |
| Midfielders |||||||||||||
| 1 | MF | Pantelis Kafes | 22 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 35 | 4 |
| 8 | MF | Tam Nsaliwa | 18 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | Gustavo Manduca | 13 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 1 |
| 16 | MF | Vasilios Pliatsikas | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | Antonis Rikka | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 19 | MF | Panagiotis Lagos | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 17 | 0 |
| 24 | MF | Agustín Pelletieri | 23 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 0 |
| 34 | MF | Panagiotis Tachtsidis | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 1 |
| 56 | MF | Përparim Hetemaj | 9 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 0 |
| 80 | MF | El Hadji Diouf | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| 90 | MF | Savvas Gentsoglou | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Forwards |||||||||||||
| 9 | FW | Edinho | 25 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 36 | 7 |
| 10 | FW | Rafik Djebbour | 23 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 10 |
| 18 | FW | Ismael Blanco | 30 | 14 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 44 | 23 |
| 20 | FW | Nathan Burns | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 32 | FW | Ignacio Scocco | 27 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 41 | 10 |
| 83 | FW | Michalis Pavlis | 7 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 15 | 2 |
| Left during Summer Transfer Window |||||||||||||
| — | MF | Rivaldo | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Left during Winter Transfer Window |||||||||||||
| 2 | DF | Edson Ratinho | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | Angelos Basinas | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 0 |
| 40 | MF | Panagiotis Zorbas | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 |

### Goalscorers

    As of 31 May 2009
| Rank | No. | Pos. | Player | Super League | Super League Play-offs | Greek Cup | UEFA Cup | Total |
| 1 | 18 | FW | Ismael Blanco | 14 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 23 |
| 2 | 10 | FW | Rafik Djebbour | 7 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 10 |
| 2 | 32 | FW | Ignacio Scocco | 6 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
| 4 | 9 | FW | Edinho | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 5 | 1 | MF | Pantelis Kafes | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 6 | 5 | DF | Daniel Majstorović | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 7 | 83 | FW | Michalis Pavlis | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 8 | 34 | MF | Panagiotis Tachtsidis | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | 11 | MF | Gustavo Manduca | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Own goals | Own goals | Own goals | Own goals | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | 40 | 8 | 12 | 2 | 62 |

### Assists

    As of 31 May 2009
| Rank | No. | Pos. | Player | Super League | Super League Play-offs | Greek Cup | UEFA Cup | Total |
| 1 | 32 | FW | Ignacio Scocco | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 |
| 2 | 18 | FW | Ismael Blanco | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| 3 | 31 | DF | Nikolaos Georgeas | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 3 | 11 | MF | Gustavo Manduca | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 3 | 9 | FW | Edinho | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 6 | 25 | DF | Sotirios Kyrgiakos | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 | 34 | MF | Panagiotis Tachtsidis | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 | 8 | MF | Tam Nsaliwa | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 | 10 | FW | Rafik Djebbour | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 10 | 1 | MF | Pantelis Kafes | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 10 | 19 | MF | Panagiotis Lagos | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 10 | 56 | MF | Përparim Hetemaj | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 10 | 6 | DF | Georgios Alexopoulos | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 10 | 4 | DF | Geraldo Alves | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 10 | 14 | MF | Angelos Basinas | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | 25 | 3 | 9 | 2 | 39 |

### 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.
    As of 31 May 2009
| Rank | No. | Player | Super League | Super League Play-offs | Greek Cup | UEFA Cup | Total |
| 1 | 23 | Sebastián Saja | 11 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 15 |
| 2 | 77 | Jürgen Macho | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Totals | Totals | Totals | 11 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 16 |

### Disciplinary record

    As of 31 May 2009 N P Nat. Name Super League Super League Play-offs Greek Cup UEFA Cup Total Notes Goalkeepers 23 GK Sebastián Saja 4 1 5 77 GK Jürgen Macho 1 1 84 GK Giannis Arabatzis Defenders 4 DF Geraldo Alves 3 1 2 6 5 DF Daniel Majstorović 6 2 1 9 6 DF Georgios Alexopoulos 4 1 5 7 DF Juanfran 6 1 1 1 7 1 1 12 DF Olivier N'Siabamfumu 13 DF Dimitrios Koutromanos 2 2 25 DF Sotirios Kyrgiakos 7 3 1 10 1 31 DF Nikolaos Georgeas 3 2 1 5 1 Midfielders 1 MF Pantelis Kafes 4 2 1 7 8 MF Tam Nsaliwa 5 2 3 10 11 MF Gustavo Manduca 1 1 2 16 MF Vasilios Pliatsikas 4 4 17 MF Antonis Rikka 1 1 19 MF Panagiotis Lagos 2 1 3 24 MF Agustín Pelletieri 4 1 5 34 MF Panagiotis Tachtsidis 1 1 56 MF Përparim Hetemaj 4 2 1 6 1 80 MF El Hadji Diouf 90 MF Savvas Gentsoglou Forwards 9 FW Edinho 4 1 1 6 10 FW Rafik Djebbour 1 1 18 MF Ismael Blanco 1 1 2 20 FW Nathan Burns 1 1 32 FW Ignacio Scocco 7 1 1 2 1 11 1 83 FW Michalis Pavlis 1 1 Left during Summer Transfer window — MF Rivaldo 1 1 Left during Winter Transfer window 2 DF Edson Ratinho 14 MF Angelos Basinas 8 1 1 10 40 MF Panagiotis Zorbas 1 1

### UEFA rankings

| # | Previous | Team | Ranking |
| 80 | 77 | Feyenoord | 25.825 |
| 81 | 69 | Dinamo București | 25.781 |
| 82 | 83 | AEK Athens | 25.632 |
| 83 | 84 | Slavia Prague | 25.150 |
| 84 | 95 | Nancy | 25.033 |
| # | Previous | League | Ranking |
| 10 | 8 | Liga Sagres | 36.462 |
| 11 | 11 | Turkcell Super Lig | 32.225 |
| 12 | 14 | Super League Greece | 28.165 |
| 13 | 10 | Clydesdale Bank Premier League | 27.875 |
| 14 | 13 | Jupiler Pro League | 25.325 |

## Awards

| Player | Pos. | Award |
| Rafik Djebbour | FW | Best Goal Award (8th Matchday) |
| Edinho | FW | Best Goal Award (14th Matchday) |
| Ignacio Scocco | FW | MVP Award (19th Matchday) |
| Ignacio Scocco | FW | Best Goal Award (19th Matchday) |
| Panagiotis Tachtsidis | MF | Best Goal Award (22nd Matchday) |
| Edinho | FW | Best Goal Award (24th Matchday) |
| Ignacio Scocco | FW | MVP Award (27th Matchday) |
| Ismael Blanco | FW | Super League Top Scorer (shared) |
| Ismael Blanco | FW | Greek Cup Top Scorer |