The 2012–13 season was the 89th season in the existence of AEK Athens F.C. and the 54th consecutive season in the top flight of Greek football. They competed in the Super League and the Greek Cup. The season began on 25 August 2012 and finished on 21 April 2013.
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Overview
AEK, on the verge of dissolution, started the season without even the team's preparation being self-evident. The financial crisis had hit AEK for good and in combination with the abandonment of the team by the shareholders, created a heated atmosphere within the club. From the summer it was obvious that the team would fight for their stay in the first division, a tragic fact because AEK by nature could not handle that kind of circumstances. AEK terminated the contracts of most of their players and sold some of them at bargain prices in order to save money, while they acquired low-quality and young footballers who were unable to carry the burden of the size of the club. In the midst of this situation, the team naturally did not receive a license for their participation in Europa League.[1] The assumption of the presidency by the old legend of the club, Thomas Mavros, managed to rally a significant part of the world of the group around it. Mavros hired another former AEK player for the position of coach, Vangelis Vlachos. The position of technical director was taken over by Vasilios Tsiartas, who only managed to bring Miguel Cordero, whο was the most successful transfer of the team.[2]
In the championship, AEK started with defeats with the crowd showing the support to the team. The situation continued, resulting in the removal of Vlachos, a decision that also led to the resignation of Mavros from the presidency of AEK. Andreas Dimitrelos returned to the presidency of the team with the German Ewald Lienen being hired as the coach. It took October 28 for AEK to score their first victory of the season. In the cup, AEK were drawn against Kavala, who at the time were competing in the second division and after the away 0–0, they were eliminated, losing ny 0–1 at the Olympic Stadium. In the winter having only 3 wins, the team were strengthened with Antonis Petropoulos, Pavlos Mitropoulos, Anastasios Tsoumagas and Dimitrios Anakoglou and carried on with the hope that they could save the season. After a 6 match unbeaten streak, AEK regained their hopes and believed that their dignity would be saved and the team would avoid relegation. On 16 March, in another crucial match, AEK beat Veria with a redemption goal by Georgios Katidis in the last minutes of the match, but instead of celebrating, the scorer gave a Nazi salute to the people of the team, resulting in his punishment with exclusion, both from AEK and for the Greek national teams.[3] During that period, the conditions began to shape up perfectly in order for the team to be relegated. After an embarrassing defeat in Ioannina, Lienen resigned, with the former defender of the club, Traianos Dellas taking his place, while at the same time AEK's rivals for the stay suddenly transformed competitively and started to bring positive results. As things were set, AEK wanted 3 points to save themselves in the last 2 matches, with Panthrakikos at home and with Atromitos away from home. The match against the Thracians gathered a lot of crowd, who went to support their team in a "final" for the stay, in a match dominated by anxiety and nervousness on the field, with AEK being harmless and fearless, while as time passed, Panthrakikos continuously gained ground and 10 minutes before the end, Bougaidis scored an own goal, resulting in the invasion of the yellow and black ultras on the pitch, who stormed against everyone and looted the stadium.[4] From that moment on, it was all over for AEK, since they lost the match on paper with 0–3, while a 3-point deduction was imposed on them from the championship.[5] AEK then desperately appealed to sports justice to exhaust any chance of having the points returned to them, so that they could have a mathematical hope of avoiding relegation with a win in the last match.[6] In Peristeri Stadium, AEK, conceding a goal in the last minute of the game, were relegated for the first time in their glorious history, spreading sadness to their millions of fans across the globe.[7]
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 21 April 2013, 23:59 UTC+3.
Source: Super League Greece Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points;[66] 3) Head-to-head goal difference.[67] If in current league table there are tied teams after applying criteria 1 to 3, they are considered to share places and listed in Greek language alphabetic order.[68] If in final league table there are still tied teams after applying criteria 1 to 3, a decision match (or matches if they are more than two) are to be played but only in three cases: to determine the champion, to fill spots in the play-off or to determine the teams to be relegated.[69] In any other case, the final standings of tied teams are determined with a public draw[70] (R) Relegated Notes:
^AEK Athens were deducted 3 points because of severe crowd violence during their home match against Panthrakikos this year. They were also voluntarily relegated to the third division in order to enter the liquidation process and remove a big number of debts to the club.
Note: After the own goal by Bougaidis, an invasion by AEK ultras immediately evolved and forced the players of both teams to flee. The match was interrupted at 0–1 with huge incidents on the pitch between the ultras and the police. Players of both clubs were also injured during their departure at the entrance tunnel. An hour later, the suspension of the match was decided by the referee.[4] The match was awarded by 3–0 to Panthrakikos and AEK were punished with a 3-point deduction.[71]
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.
