Overview
In the summer of 1988, an important administrative change came to the team, since the major shareholder, Andreas Zafiropoulos stepped down, with the overwhelming majority of the fans against him and handed over the management of club to the nightclub owner, Stratos Gidopoulos. Dušan Bajević returned to club he was loved in the past as a footballer after 7 years, but this time as a manager. Supported by the management, Bajević and the people of the club, very quickly built a tight and well-worked team, which had the best defense in the league and knew how to get the results in most matches. Gidopoulos, for his part, in addition to the very successful transfers he achieved, brought for the first time after years a wind of optimism, as he knew how to cheer up the team and the crowd with his statements, while in general proved to be a very capable agent who had the means to the players and the people of AEK not to feel at a disadvantage against their much stronger financial rivals. That finally turned out to be a dream season, although few expected that to happen, since the team had to face much stronger financial rivals in the league. The big transfer of the Polish star, Mirosław Okoński took place, Stelios Manolas was convinced to stay, while in December, Stavros Stamatis and Toni Savevski also arrived, but AEK still seemed to be an outsider for winning the league.
The team played in the UEFA Cup, where they played against Athletic Bilbao in the first round. In the first leg in a full AEK Stadium, despite the pouring rain, AEK pressed from the start and managed to take an early lead with a very impressive header from Pittas. The game was very intense and particularly hard. The Basques pushed for an equalizer, but AEK also had chances to extend the score. In the end, the fluid 1–0 remained and the rematch was set for 14 days later in the Basque Country. In the second leg, in the packed San Mamès, AEK were stunned and concieded 2 quick goals by Uralde. By the 6th minute, Athletic had already a qualification score and the remaining 84 minutes went by with AEK looking for the goal. In the end, the "golden" goal never came, despite some tepid chances. A highlight of the match at San Mamès, the human wall erected by the Basque fans to protect those of AEK from the Spanish police, an unforgettable move that was duly appreciated by the Greek excursionists. [1]
In the Cup, AEK qualified as first in their respective group in the first round. Afterwards, they did not do well, since they were eliminated in the second round by Levadiakos, with the yellow-blacks having major complaints from the referee in the second leg, with Gidopoulos as their main expressor. [2]
The most important moment of the year was clearly the away match against Olympiacos on 7 May, for the penultimate matchday of the championship. A match which many considered the red and whites to be a sure winner and did not give AEK any chance, even though the draw was also in their favor. The atmosphere at the period of the preparation of the two teams before this match was heated, as the players of Olympiacos cut a celebratory cake with the inscription "Olympiacos-AEK 4–0" at the "tower" of their president Argyris Saliarelis in Aegina, while at the same time the AEK were doing a mini-preparation at Parnitha. [3]
At the Olympic Stadium the match started with Olympiacos pressing hard, but the defense of AEK as well as Ikonomopoulos held well. The pressure of the red and whites kept increasing, but the yellow-blacks did not concede a goal. The clearance of the ball at the goaline by Manolas with his head on the header of Détári [4] and the spirited play of the whole team in general kept them intact during the match. At the 83rd minute, in a counterattack of AEK, Karagiozopoulos, who had come in as a substitute, made the "1-2" with Okoński and scored the "golden" goal which gave AEK the historic title victory. [5]
The stars of the team were Okoński, Manolas, Savvidis, Savevski and Ikonomopoulos. The goalkeeper of AEK specifically had an incredible performance, giving valuable points to the team with 3 crucial penalty-kick saves during the season and was given the nickname "Mr. Championship 1989" by the fans. [6] The team's top scorer in the league was Mirosław Okoński with 11 goals. [7]
