Athens giants AEK poised for top-flight comeback

ATHENS: Fallen Athens footballing giants AEK are poised to return to Greece’s top flight next season after a disgraceful drop to amateur status following a period of turmoil.

“The story is well known and very sad for our fans,” said AEK executive director Dusan Bajevic on Monday.

“But now we are on the right path and feel much better. We must keep our feet on the ground, be serious, make the right moves and avoid mistakes.”

Bajevic, a former star player, Yugoslavia international and AEK coach, added that from the summer of 2013 a serious effort began “to make AEK a protagonist once again”.

“The financial situation is stable now and I’m sure everything will go well. No AEK fan was happy with the team playing in an amateur league after such a long and glorious history,” said Nikos Angelidis, a fanatic supporter and founder of fan site

AEK Live.

AEK are virtually assured of reentering the top-flight Super League next season, after finishing atop the Second Division undefeated on Sunday and with a 19-point advantage on runners-up Panachaiki.

Heading into the post-season playoffs, they have a 10-point lead in bonus points over their opponents.

Just two years ago, the story was entirely different.

In 2013, the club were relegated to the Second Division for the first time in their 81-year history over a €35mil (RM138mil) debt caused by the financial mismanagement of successive short-lived administrations.

Although AEK’s management woes were over a decade in the making, the fall coincided with the climax of Greece’s own economic crisis. To clear the slate, the club opted to drop to the amateur Third Division in order to be able to qualify for liquidation.

AEK soon took that league by storm, notching a record 23 wins, three draws and only one defeat to climb one category within a year.

Much of that is due to the relentless determination of club owner Dimitris Melissanidis, a shipping magnate and fuel trader widely known in Greece as “the Tiger”.

Melissanidis, 63, now bankrolls the team and has found additional sponsors to improve club finances.

Things are also on the up as AEK have also joined the London Stock Exchange Group’s pan-European platform, bringing them into direct contact with Europe’s financial and advisory community as they aim to build a new stadium. — AFP