The 1974–75 season was the 51st season in the existence of AEK Athens F.C. and the 16th consecutive season in the top flight of Greek football. They competed in the Alpha Ethniki and the Greek Cup. The season began on 29 September 1974 and finished on 8 June 1975.
Overview
The summer of 1974 was a milestone in the history of AEK. It was the beginning of one the most glorious periods in the history of the club.[1] The political situation in Greece was normalizing, the "government commissioners" left the sports clubs and Loukas Barlos, after elections, got 58% and the wheel of AEK in his hands.[2] Barlos, a large industrialist of the time with the main occupation of the bauxite trade from the region of Boeotia, but above all a huge football fan, was to become the president-symbol in the history of the club. He envisioned a team that would surpass the Greek standards and without sparing any money, he started its "building", by hiring František Fadrhonc as coach, a specialist in both training and coaching at the time and co-creator of the "flying" Dutchmen of the early 70's, alongside Rinus Michels.[3] Fadrhonc was an unreachable name for the Greek standards of the time. He brought to AEK a series of innovations both in the style of training and coaching, as well as in its organization structure. The "grandfather", as he was nicknamed, due to his age, set new standards even to the sports equipment and the team's clothing.[1] AEK became the first Greek club to be dressed by a large sportswear brand.[1] The two legally allowed positions of foreign players were filled by two Germans, the striker, Walter Wagner from Austria Wien and Timo Zahnleiter from 1860 München, who was one of the first modern defensive midfielders in Greece.[1] From the domestic football market Barlos collected and delivered to the hands of Fadrhonc some of the best and most impressive players.[4] The fast winger Christos Ardizoglou from Apollon Athens[5] and the diligent scorer Georgios Dedes, alongside the defender Giorgos Skrekis from Panionios, arrived at the club.
The results were impressive and the renewed AEK, presented the best attack and defense of the league, having only 2 defeats. The second one against Olympiacos costed them the title since they finished second with 2 points from the red and whites.[6]
In the cup AEK entered at the round of 32, eliminating Ethnikos Piraeus. Then, they passed through Kavala at the round of 16, reaching the quarter-finals. There, they were eliminated by Iraklis with a 1–0 in Thessaloniki.[7] The management and the performance of the club, showed that the team along with their fans were about to experience greatness for the time to come.
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 8 June 1975, 23:59 UTC+3.
The list is sorted by competition order when total clean sheets are equal 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.
