The Real Reason Behind AEK's Failures

AEK Athens’ derby defeat will not come as a shock to most of its fans – which is why it is all the more difficult for them to take.

One year ago, Llorenc Serra Ferrer sent a side laden with attacking quality and variety into the Giorgios Karaiskakis for a season-defining derby against Panagiotis Lemonis’ Olympiakos.

After more than a decade without a domestic championship, for many an AEK fan it was seen as the season where the Erythrolefki’s dominance could finally be broken, with the steal of their former Brazilian superstar Rivaldo epitomizing what was a conspicuous attempt by chairman Demis Nikolaidis to bring belated silverware to the Enosis.

During the previous season, Ferrer had brought a culture of attacking, attractive football to the club following the rebuilding process that had taken place under the guidance of Portuguese manager Fernando Santos.

Perhaps the Spaniard was the man to deliver a rare win in Piraeus.

Alas, the attacking football AEK had developed a recent reputation for never quite eventuated in the port city, as the Dikefalos Aetos stuttered their way to an anti-climatic 1-0 defeat thanks to a Darko Kovacevic header.

Whilst the title was not solely decided on that day, the result and performance proved that it was a championship that was Lemonis’ to lose – AEK, meanwhile, were shown not to have any new-found mental-edge over their rivals.

One year later and the Greek football landscape has on the surface, changed considerably for the two powerhouses. AEK have a new manager, new squad and an administration in transition, whilst Olympiakos have endured similar transition on the pitch.

Yet, in reality, for the former, such changes have proven to be trivial. Yes, the two newly acquired center-backs have proven themselves to be adequate replacements for their predecessors. Yes, AEK boast possibly the most talented Greek manager inhabiting the football sphere in the form of the 38 year-old Giorgios Donis.

But frustratingly for AEK fans, despite fundamental changes on and off the pitch, the club still retains the psychological limitation that was its downfall last season.

The men who stepped out onto the Karaiskaki pitch immediately handed the initiative to their hosts, seemingly more concerned with containing their opposition rather than exposing their defensive flaws and relative lack of form; against anything approaching quality and organization this season, Olympiakos have struggled.

It was an all too familiar sight in Piraeus on Sunday evening though: the same withdrawn, conservative aura emitted by the players, the same result.

Many will point to Donis’ tactical decisions and selection of playing personnel as the source of AEK’s recent downfall but these are irrelevant when considered against the greater context of a club whose problems reside in matters more complex than the clash of 4-3-3 and 4-4-2 playing systems.

Rather, administrative uncertainty and a lack of strong board-room leadership has filtered its way through to the pitch and manifested itself in the worst possible form.

AEK no longer genuinely believe that they can win titles.

The lack of such a mentality is epitomised by the conservative approach taken to the most recent incarnations of ‘Athenian’ derbies, not considering the freak 4-0 victory over a Lemonis-less Olympiakos at the end of last season (which proved to be inconsequential in the greater scheme of the title race).

A sharp contrast can be made to the manner in which Olympiakos approached yesterday’s match – committing bodies forward, pressing high up the park, looking considerably more threatening – though perhaps not as economical – in possession. It was only a matter of time before Kovacevic was thrown on to win the match and so it was just after the hour mark.

For loyal AEK followers, the pain of conceding that first and inevitable second by Academy Award Nominee Diego (a lovely finish, to his credit) reside in the inevitability of both: it was a case of when and not if.

So look not towards managers, players, officials or court-rooms for AEK’s failures. These are merely means to an inevitable end, pre-determined in the losing psychology of what should be a winning club.


Chris Paraskevas