This blogger Artur Yanturin of Russia copied many of my blog teams. This blog was one of them. It was my Russia All-Time Team here. His team was written in 2020, but mine was uploaded in 2014. His Spartak Moscow All-Time team entry of was published in October 2020, but mine was uploaded in 2017. His entry of the Dutch-German rivalry between Real Madrid and Barcelona was written in 2020, but mine was uploaded in 2014. He also copied many many of my blog entries.
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| Three Straight League titles 1991-1994. |
Please also see my All-Time World Cup Team Index.
This is my selection of a 25 member all-time team for AEK Athens Ένωσις Κωνσταντινουπόλεως. The number 25 was chosen because it is the official squad size for the Champions' League.
Established in Athens in 1924 by Greek refugees from Constantinople after the 1919–22 Greco-Turkish war and the subsequent population exchange between Greece and Turkey, it is one of the three most successful clubs in Greece. While it fields teams in many sports under the umbrella of its amateur sports arm, Amateur AEK (Greek: Ερασιτεχνική ΑΕΚ; Erasitechnikί AEK) with A.E.K. Handball team to be the best greek hanball club in European achievements having obtained one EHF European Cup (in 2021) and having also reached to the finals (in 2018) and to the semi-finals (in 2019), AEK sports club is best known for its professional football team which have made some notable wins on European competitions (participating at the Semi-final of Europa League in 1977), having also obtained 12 Greek Championships, 15 Greek Cups, 1 Greek League Cup, 3 Greek Super Cups) and also for the professional basketball team which has won the Greek Basket League eight times, the Greek Basket Cup five times, the FIBA Saporta Cup twice, once the FIBA Basketball Champions League and once the FIBA Intercontinental Cup.
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| UEFA Semi-Final in 1977 |
Team
GK: Stelios Serafeidis (Greece)
Stelios Serafidis was one club man with AEK Athens, where he played from 1953 to 1972. He made 300 appearances in all competitions and many titles and distinctions. Serafidis was a permanent member of the national team, but he only made 1 cap because he was the back up keeper to Savvas Theodoridis and Takis Ikonomopoulos during his prime.
GK: Ilias Atmatsidis (Greece)
Atmatsidis played most of his career for AEK Athens.
He played with AEK as a starter achieving 251 apps in 10 years. He was their starting goalkeeper in the Golden era of the 1990's. He also spent the last three years in PAOK Thessaloniki. Having debuted for the Greek national team in 1994 he played 47 matches, and was a participant at the 1994 World Cup, playing as starting goalkeeper in a 0–4 loss against Bulgaria.
GK: Spyros Economopoulos (Greece)
At 18, Spyros joined AEK Athens. He played 19 consecutive seasons for the club, 17 of which until December 1977. His heroic performance helped AEK to win their first title after 10 years. The fans gave him the nickname "Mr. Championship 1989". He played 12 times for Greece between 1984 and 1989. He made his debut in 1984 against East Germany.
RB: Vassilios Borbokis (Greece)
Borbokis e started his career at Apollon Kalamarias, in which he played from 1987 to 1993, when he was transferred to AEK Athens, where played until 1997 celebrating a championship, two cups and a Super Cup. He later played for Sheffield Wednesday and Derby in England before joining PAOK in 2000. He returned to AEK in 2002, where he finished his career. Borbokis has played twice with national team of Greece during 1998.
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| Vassilios Borbokis |
Papaioannou played in defence and in the midfield for Rodos FC (1979–1984) and AEK from 1984 until 1993. For his International career, he was eligible to play for Greece through his father and Brazil through his mother and place of birth. Pavlos Papaioannou was eventually capped 10 times by the National Football Team of Greece. When he made his Greek national team debut, he officially became the first Greek with a mixture of Brazilian descent to play for the country.
CB: Stelios Manolas (Greece)
From 1978 to 1989, Stelios Manols played for AEK Athens. He was considered one of their greatest defenders. He was one club man. He ended his career having played 447 matches in the 1st Division, ranking second in terms of appearances behind Mimis Papaioannou and twelfth in the history of the respective division. He was capped 71 times. He was a member of the team that played in the 1994 World Cups.
CB: Lakis Nikolaou (Greece)
Nikolaou started with Atromitos Athens, but was widely known with the AEK team , where he played from 1971 to 1982 . With AEK, he won two championships ( 1977-78 , 1978-79 ), a cup ( 1977-78 ), while he was a member of the team that reached the semifinal of the UEFA Cup in 1977. He played 15 times for Greece. He participated in the Euro 1980 held in Italy.
CB: Carlos Gamarra (Paraguay)
Carlos Gamarra was widely considered a top defender in South America during his peak years. He played in Paraguay, Brazil, Greece, Italy and Portugal. He is the most capped player in Paraguayan football history. He was named as the Paraguayan Footballer of the Year in 1997 and 1998, and was also included in the 1998 World Cup Team of the Tournament. He also went to World Cup Finals in 2002 and 2006. He won a silver medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics.
Carlos Gamarra was widely considered a top defender in South America during his peak years. He played in Paraguay, Brazil, Greece, Italy and Portugal. He is the most capped player in Paraguayan football history. He was named as the Paraguayan Footballer of the Year in 1997 and 1998, and was also included in the 1998 World Cup Team of the Tournament. He also went to World Cup Finals in 2002 and 2006. He won a silver medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics.
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| Carlos Gamarra |
Traianos Dellas impressed during Greece's victory at the European Championship in 2004, during which he became the only player to score a silver goal in an international football match. He earned the nickname 'the Colossus of Rhodes'. In total, he had 53 caps for the national team. In his club career, he played for many clubs, including spells in England and Italy. In Greece, he was associated with AEK Athens.
LB: Michalis Kasapis (Greece)
Michalis Kasapis played five seasons for the Livadeia club before earning a transfer to AEK Athens in 1992, where he played until 2004. In 1995, Kasapis finished second in voting for Greek Footballer of the year. He was also voted one of the best 22 players in Europe during the 2001–02 season. Kasapis got 36 caps for the national team between 27 April 1994 and 2002.
LB: Alekos Sofianidis (Turkey/Greece)
Born in Istanbul, Sofianidis began his career at Beyoğluspor. He played in the first team from 1955 to 1958, when he transferred to Beşiktaş. In December 1958 Sofianidis moved to Greece and joined AEK Athens where he played between 1959 and 1969. He then played for Panachaiki. During his career, he played 240 Greek League games in total. He played represented Turkey B team in 1957. He also played 7 times for Greece.
DM: Refik Šabanadžović (Yugoslavia)
Refik Šabanadžović began with OFK Titograd before he moved to Sarajevo's Željezničar in 1983. He helped the club to reach the UEFA Cup semifinals in the 1984–85 season. He played for Red Stars Belgrade from 1987 to 1991, where he won the European Cup in 1991. With AEK, he won three league championship in the 1990's. He also played for Olympiacos and Kansas City Wizards. He was capped 8 times. he played 4 games at the 1990 World Cup Finals.
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| Refik Šabanadžović |
CM : Toni Savevski (Yugoslavia/Macedonia)
Savevski is widely regarded as one of the best foreign players to have played in the Greek football league. He started his career in Pelister Bitola and then played for Vardar Skopje until 1988.He spent 13 years with AEK, winning the Greek championship 4 times (1989, 1992, 1993, 1994) and the Greek cup (1996, 1997, 2000) 3 times.
He earned 2 caps for Yugoslavia before debuting for Macedonia in1994. He earned another 8 caps for Macedonia.
DM/CM: Theodoros Zagorakis (Greece)
Theodoros Zagorakis was the captain of the Greek national team that won the 2004 UEFA European Football Championship and he won Player of the Tournament. He was at one point Greece all-time cap leader with 120 caps between 1994 and 2007. Professionally, he played for POK and AEK Athens in Greece. He also had brief stints in England with Leicester City and in Italy with Bologna. He was elected as a Greek MEP at the May 2014 European Parliament election.
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| Theodoros Zagorakis |
RW: Andreas Stamatiadis (Greece)
Andreas Stamatiadis was a one club man for AEK Athens. He played for them from 1950 until 1969, captain of the team in the latter years. During his career, he made 267 league appearances and scored 60 goals for AEK Athens. He was also capped 8 times between 1954 and 1963 by the Greece national football team and was a regular of the All-Athens selections during the 1950s.
RW: Christos Ardizoglou (Greece)
Born in Jerusalem to Greek parents, Ardizoglou moved to his native homeland Greece in 1958. He started his football career with Apollon Smyrnis and won several titles in Greece with AEK Athens. His greatest moment was reaching the UEFA Cup semi-finals in 1977. He ended his career in Apollon Smyrnis. He played 43 times for Greece and scoring 2 goals. He was a participant at the 1980 European Championship.
AM: Nikos Liberopoulos (Greece)
Liberopoulos started off his career with Erani Filiatra, he then moved to Kalamata in 1994. From 1996 to 2003, he played for Panathinaikos. He then played for AEK Athens. He helped AEK Athens scoring 79 times in his 195 appearances and earning a top scorer award during the 2006–07 season. He spent two seasons with Eintracht Frankfurt before another spell with AEK. He was capped 76 times. He went to Euro 2008 and 2012.
AM: Vasilios Tsiartas (Greece)
Tsiartas started his career with Naoussa in 1989. Then, he played two spells with AEK Athens while playing for Sevilla in between(1996-2000). In Sevilla, he was known in Seville as "El Mago" ("The Magician"). He ended his career at 1. FC Köln after the 2004-2005 season. For Greece, he played 70 times between 1994 and 2005. He was a vital part of Greece's Euro 2004 winning team even through he was mainly used off the bench.
FW: Kostas Nestoridis (Greece)
Kostas Nestoridis is the only one who has emerged 5 times in a row as the top scorer of the Greek championship. He started his career with Panionios, where he played from 1948 to 1955. He is one of their greatest players. From 1955 to 1966, he played for AEK Athens. Later, he played in Australia. He wore the jersey of Greece 17 times, 2 as a player of Panionios and 15 as a player of AEK Athens, scoring a total of 3 goals.
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| Kostas Nestoridis |
ST/CB: Tryfon Tzanetis (Greece)
Tryfon Tzanetis started from the youth teams of AEK where he was promoted to the first team in 1935. He was responsible for AEK Athens winning the league in 1939 and 1940. Initially an attacker, but later in his career he became a central defender, when AEK's coach, Jack Beby converted him, in the WM system. For Greece, he only played once in 1949 against Greece B.
Vasilis Dimitriadis started his career with Aris Thessaloniki in 1986 and was already international when he was acquired by AEK in 1991. He was a part of AEK Athens' great team in the early 1990's. He was the top scorer in the first two championship in 1992 and 1993. He returned to Aris Thessaloniki in 1996. For Greece, he played 24 times between 1988 and 1994. He played twice in the 1994 World Cup Finals.
FW/AM: Mimis Papaioannou (Greece)
Mimis Papaioannou was a symbol of sportsmanship for AEK Athens and the Greek football. He played for the same team for the most of his career and was never shown a single red card with only three yellow cards. From 1962 to 1979, he played for AEK Athens. St one pint, he was invited to join Real Madrid, but turned it down. He was capped 61 times by Greece scoring 21 goals being Greece's ever top scorer, at the time.
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| Mimis Papaioannou |
Nikolaidis started his career with Ethnikos Alexandroupolis in 1992. In 1996, he joined AEK Athens where he won three Greek cups and the 1996 Super Cup, he was the topscorer in the 1999 Greek league and second scorer in the 2001 UEFA Cup (1 goal behind topscorer Dimitar Berbatov). He moved to Atletico Madrid in 2004, where he only spent a single season. He amassed 54 caps, netting 17 times for Greece and he went to Euro 2004.
ST: Dušan Bajević (Yugoslavia)
Dušan Bajević spent almost all of his career at hometown club Velež Mostar for who he played almost 400 games and scored 170 goals between 1966 and 1977. He also played with AEK Athens where he won the Alpha Ethniki two times and the Greek Cup once. Between 1970 and 1977, he played 37 times for Yugoslavia. He played in the 1974 World Cup, where he scored three goals against Zaire.
LW/ST: Thomas Mavros (Greece)
Thomas Mavros started with Panionios in 1970. He later played with AEK Athens between 1976 and 1987, where he helped them to reach the semifinal of the 1977 UEFA Cup. He was known as one of AEK Athens greatest players. Their fans called him "the God". He returned to Panionios in 1987. He is the all-time leading scorer in the Greek league and is also the youngest ever scorer at the age of 16 years old. He had 36 caps for Greece and went to Euro 1980 in Italy.
Thomas Mavros started with Panionios in 1970. He later played with AEK Athens between 1976 and 1987, where he helped them to reach the semifinal of the 1977 UEFA Cup. He was known as one of AEK Athens greatest players. Their fans called him "the God". He returned to Panionios in 1987. He is the all-time leading scorer in the Greek league and is also the youngest ever scorer at the age of 16 years old. He had 36 caps for Greece and went to Euro 1980 in Italy.
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| Thomas Mavos and Dušan Bajević |
Honorable Mention
Stefano Sorrentino (Italy), Spyros Sklavounos (Greece), Nikos Christidis (Greece) Lakis Stergioudas (Greece), Michalis Delavinias (Greece), Sokratis Papastathopoulos (Greece), Bruno Alves (Portugal), Dmytro Chygrynskiy (Ukraine), Petros Ravousis (Greece), Stelios Skevofilakas (Greece), Ignacio Scocco (Argentina), Rivaldo (Brazil), Dimitris Saravakos (Greece), Grigoris Georgatos (Greece), Vaios Karagiannis (Greece), Alexis Alexandris (Greece), Vassilis Lakis (Greece), Daniel Batista (Greece), Akis Zikos (Greece), Grigoris Georgatos (Greece), Vaios Karagiannis (Greece), Charis Kopitsis (Greece), Georgios Kefalidis (Greece), Kleanthis Maropoulos (Greece), Giorgos Karafeskos (Greece), Sergio Araujo (Argentina), Marko Livaja (Croatia), Jakob Johansson (Sweden), Lazaros Christodoulopoulos (Greece) Ognjen Vranješ ( Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Squad Explanation
-- AEK Athens under manager and former player Dušan Bajević dominated the Greek league through the 1990s with three successive Championship titles (1992, 1993, and 1994). It was considered one of the best club sides in Greek football. Toni Savevski, Ilias Atmatsidis, Vasilis Dimitriadis,Vasilis Tsiartas, Michalis Kasapis, Refik Šabanadžović and Vasilis Borbokis made this all-time team.
-- AEK Athens won back-to-back league titles in 1977 and 1978. They won the Double in 1977. They also reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup in 1977. Lakis Nikolaou, Dusan Bajevic, Thomas Mavros, and Mimis Papaioannou played in that era for the Union.
-- Andreas Stamatiadis, Stelios Serafeidis, Kostas Nestoridis, Mimi Papaioannou, Thomas Mavro, Dusan Bajevic and Stelios Manolas were probably their greatest players.
-- I did not include any player from their 2017-2018 Super League Championship winning team, but I added Sergio Araujo (Argentina), Marko Livaja (Croatia), Jakob Johansson (Sweden), Lazaros Christodoulopoulos (Greece) and Ognjen Vranješ ( Bosnia and Herzegovina) to honorable mention. It was their first title in 24 years.
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| Super League winner 2017-2018 |
Goalkeeper
--One fan poll voted Ilias Atmatsidis as their greatest ever goalkeeper. He spent 10 years with the club, playing in the Golden era of the 1990's. However, Stelios Serafeidis was often named as one of their greatest ever players. The pair took the first two spots. The third was different to choose. Spyros Ikonomopoulos was sensational in winning the 1989 league title. He was often mentioned alongside Italian Stefano Sorrentino as one of AEK's finest ever, but Sorrentino only played briefly here. So I took Ikonomopoulos. Spyros Sklavounos, Nikos Christidis, Lakis Stergioudas and Michalis Delavinias were also serious candidates.
Defenders
-- Both fullback Vassilios Borbokis and Michalis Kasapis played under manager Dušan Bajević over here. Then, I selected Alekos Sofianidis as my backup leftback. LB Grigoris Georgatos also played here, but his spell was short. He supposed to be Greece's greatest leftbacl. I put him on honorable mention. I did not select a backup rightback. Pavlos Papaioannou (Greece) would be my backup rightback. I put Charis Kopitsis and Georgios Kefalidis on honorable mention.
-- Stelios Manolas was the club's greatest defender. Carlos Gamarra was the most famous defender who ever wore the colors of the "Unionist". I thought hard before taking him. He only played a year on loan here, but his performance here was beyond anyone seen with the club. His name was mentioned frequently during my research. Traianos Dellas is on my All-Time Greece team. Lakis Nikolaouwas was a legend in his own right. He actually started off as a center forward before switching to the defence. He won consecutive championships in 1978 and 1979 and reached the UEFA Cup semi-finals. I left his partner Petros Ravousis off the team. Sokratis Papastathopoulos supposed to be one of their greatest ever defenders from AEK, but he left the club before reaching his prime. I only put him on honorable mention.
Midfielders/Wingers
-- Both Kostas Katsouranis and Theodoros Zagorakis were two of the best ever midfielders ever from Greece, but they seldom listed as AEK Athens' greatest ever players. They formed a great team in the early 2000's for AEK Athens. In 2004, they helped Greece to win the European Championship in Portugal. Katsouranis was the Greek Player of the Year for 2004-2005. Zagorakis also won plenty of awards while here, but he won it for his performance in Euro 2004. For his last season here, he did not take any pay so that the club could survive. Refik Šabanadžović's name was often mentioned. I took him as my third midfielder.
-- CM Toni Savevski was considered one of the three greatest foreign players ever graced the Greek league. He played for them during AEK's most successful period. A fan poll chose him as AEK's greatest foreign player over Rivaldo.
-- Rivaldo moved to AEK Athens after Olympiacos gave up on him. He did a heroic performance in his only season here, but legal decision kept AEK Athens from winning the league and gave it to Olympiacos. I put him on honorable mention.
-- Mimis Domazos also joined AEK Athens when he was 36 years old and AEK Athens won the league title with him. But he was more of a Panathinaikos FC icon. Instead I took Nikos Liberopoulos who ironically was also a Panathinaikos icon. He won Greek Footballer of the year twice while wearing AEK's jersey. I also selected Vasilios Tsiartas who seemed to be an undisputed selection for this team. I did not have space for Giorgos Savvidis of Cyprus.
-- For right wingers, both Andreas Stamatiadis and Christos Ardizoglou were one of the greatest ever players in AEK Athens' history. That left no space for Giorgos Karafeskos and Ignacio Scocco.
Forwards
-- Mimis Papaioannou and Kostas Nestoridis formed a lethal attack line over here. They were the obvious choices for forwards. Papaioannou was awarded as the best Greek footballer of the 20th Century by IFFHS. Nestoridis won 5 straight scoring titles in the 1960's. The pair scored 39 goals together as they won the 1962-1963 League Title with a better goal difference than Panathaikos who finished level on points that season.
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| Mimis Papaioannou and Kostas Nestoridis |
-- Tryfon Tzanetis was the first legend of the club. He could play both defensively and offensively. Together with another icon Kleanthis Maropoulos, he helped AEK Athens to win back-to-back championship in 1939 and 1940. Both were Greek refugees from Constantinople. However, I only have a space for Tzanetis.
-- The last forwards I selected would be Demis Nikolaidis and Vasilis Dimitriadis. Nikolaidis scored hundred of goals and he received plenty of votes for AEK Athens' greatest player according to a poll I found online. Vasilis Dimitriadis (Greece) was the leading player as AEK Athens won three consecutive championships in 1992, 1993 and 1994. FW Dimitris Saravakos only played briefly over here. So I left him on honorable mention.
Formation
Atmatsidis
ReplyDeleteManolas Nikolaou Ravousis Kasapis
Zagorakis Katsouranis
Tsiartas
Vasilis-Lakis Nikolaidis Papaioannou
Manolas started his career as a rightback. His sacrificial positioning will keep the Nikolaou Ravousis synergy intact.
Zagorakis Katsouranis is the second killer pair.
Vasilis Lakis was one of AEK's top performers in Europe, together with Nikolaidis and Tsiartas.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AEK_Athens_F.C._in_European_football
Ardizoglou lists as an central offensive midfielder. I could not place him over Lakis, despite being more present in the national team.