Ivic gets AEK back on track with professional approach

Last August, the future looked bleak for AEK following a terrible start to the season, but Ilija Ivic subsequently steadied the ship after returning as technical director.

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August 2019 was not a particularly enjoyable month for AEK supporters. Initially, the team began the campaign with a positive 2-0 win at Craiova in the first leg of the UEFA Europa League, but matters took a turn for the worse with a lucky 1-1 draw in the return in Athens. With head coach, Miguel Cardoso, only succeeding in alienating the team, AEK then conceded a miserable 3-1 defeat to Trabzonspor in the same competition, before losing 2-1 at home to Xanthi on matchday one of the Super League. It was no surprise to see Cardoso sacked after the embarrassing defeat against Xanthi.

However, while the hapless Cardoso simply had to go, arguably even more important was the departure of technical director, Nikos Liberopoulos. His decision to resign opened the door for Ivic to return to AEK after he last worked with the club in the same role between 2004 and 2007.

Ivic backed the call to give Nikos Kostenoglou a chance as manager after Cardoso was fired. Nevertheless, when the wheels rapidly started falling off towards the end of autumn, the 49-year-old Serbian took action. Kostenoglou was given the boot and Massimo Carrera, after Ivic had reportedly held advanced negotiations with Leonid Slutsky, was hired. Carrera, 55, had built up a solid reputation after inspiring Spartak Moscow to the Russian Premier League crown in 2017. 

One of the main reasons behind AEK’s decision to employ Carrera was his ability to organise his teams defensively. AEK had shipped goals for a run during Kostenoglou’s spell in charge.

Both Carrera and Ivic have played a vital role in AEK’s impressive turnaround. While Carrera introduced a disciplined, intelligent approach on the pitch, Ivic brought professionalism and stability behind the scenes, ensuring that there were healthy relations between the players and management while instantly earning the trust of the squad. In the winter, Ivic made a clever swoop for Damian Szymanski from Akhmat Grozny, having signalled out that AEK were in dire need of a box-to-box midfielder. Szymanski has become a key player for the Kitirnomavri with his ability to quickly switch the play from defence to attack.

Ivic also pulled off a shrewd signing in the form of Ziga Laci. The 17-year-old Slovenian defender, joining AEK from Mura, caught the eye in training and was handed his Super League debut for the Enosi in the concluding round of the regular season against Panionios. His promising showing in Nea Smyrni has suggested that Laci could become a leader for AEK in the centre of defence in the future.

At the same time, Ivic has helped shift unwanted players out of the team, with Erik Moran, David Simao, Stavros Vasilantonopoulos and Giorgos Giakoumakis all leaving. Furthermore, Giakoumakis wasn’t particularly keen on moving to Poland on loan with Gornik Zabrze, however, after long discussions, Ivic eventually managed to persuade the striker to leave. Giakoumakis only scored one league goal for AEK across three campaigns.

The fact that Ivic shares the vision held by AEK owner, Dimitris Melissanidis, has been a crucial ingredient of their success so far. Moving forward, especially taking into account that AEK are scheduled to move into their new Agia Sofia Stadium next year, the pair are eager to invest in more youth, hence the signing of Laci in January. According to reports, Melissanidis had wanted to hire Ivic earlier than August of last year, but the latter hadn’t been keen on returning to the sport at that time.

In his first period as the AEK technical director, Ivic managed to secure the signatures of talented players such as Bruno Alves, Traianos Dellas, Bruno Cirillo, Julio Cesar, Stefano Sorrentino and Gustavo Manduca. AEK reached the group stage of the 2006/2007 UEFA Champions League with Ivic’s help, with Julio Cesar notably scoring the winning goal in a famous 1-0 win against AC Milan at the Olympic Stadium.

Ivic, with the 2019/2020 campaign indefinitely paused as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, is now putting his plans in place for next season. With the future of Niklas Hult, Dmytro Chygrynskiy and Ognjen Vranjes somewhat uncertain, Ivic is putting emphasis on strengthening the defensive line. 

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