2008–09 AEK Athens F.C. season
| 2008–09 season | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Chairman |
 Demis Nikolaidis(until 2008-11-02) Giorgos Kintis(until 2009-01-23) Nikos Thanopoulos
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| Manager |
Giorgos Donis (until 2008-11-17)  Dušan Bajević
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| Super League Greece | 3rd (4th in regular season) | ||
| Greek Cup | Final | ||
| UEFA Cup | Second qualifying round | ||
| Top goalscorer |
League: Ismael Blanco (14) All: Ismael Blanco (23) |
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| Highest home attendance | 44,104 vs Olympiacos (1 February 2009) |
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| Lowest home attendance | 4,315 vs Kerkyra (22 January 2009) |
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| Average home league attendance | 14,138 | ||
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AEK Athens F.C. competes for the fiftieth consecutive season in the Greek topflight. They started their European campaign in the UEFA Cup Second qualifying round after finishing second in last season's playoffs.
After the end of an indifferent season, the team initially finished in first place in the league, but after the court case between Apollon Kalamaria and Olympiacos for the illegal use of a player in the 1-0 Apollon Kalamaria win earlier in the season, Olympiacos were awarded the 3 points in a court hearing, thus finishing 2 points ahead of AEK. AEK then finished 2nd in the national playoffs which saw them qualify for the UEFA Cup.
The club sold 18,200 season tickets. The new season started nervously, since the team was constantly under-performing during friendly games. The apparent nervousness reached a new high, when the team was defeated at home by underdogs Omonia at the first leg of the UEFA Cup Second qualifying round, followed by the chairman Demis Nikolaidis' resignation announcement for the end of the season, and Rivaldo's sudden intention to leave the club in order to join FC Bunyodkor from Uzbekistan. AEK was eventually eliminated from the UEFA Cup. Despite the disappointment, the team responded surprisingly well and put an assertive performance against fierce rivals Panathinaikos by beating them 2-1 at home during matchday 1, but poor performances and results from then on left AEK in a difficult situation. Head coach Giorgos Donis was eager to leave the club, but president Demis Nikolaidis did not allow him to leave. Nevertheless, Nikolaidis left due to these disappointing results and after a controversy with the clubs supporters Original 21, leaving the presidency to member of the D.C., Nikos Koulis and Takis Kanellopoulos.
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