Signs doesn’t bode well for AEK ahead of Bayern clash
In the third match of the 2018/2019 UEFA Champions League group stage, AEK are in desperate need of a positive result against Bayern Munich, but history isn’t on the Athenians’ side.
AEK and Bayern Munich have never played each other in a competitive match, but the Enosis do have experience of facing German teams, picking up two victories, one draw and a large six defeats in a combined nine games against Cologne, Dynamo Dresden, Borussia Monchengladbach, Bayer Leverkusen and Alemannia Aachen. Let’s analyse those fixtures in more detail:
1982/1983 UEFA Cup first round, AEK - FC Cologne - 0:6 (0:1, 0:5)
In the first round of the 1982/1983 UEFA Cup, AEK faced Cologne, however they endured a pretty chastening couple of matches. Hosting the first leg in Athens, the Enosis had the aim of building up a solid advantage before travelling out to Germany, but the club contrived to lose 0:1 after Klaus Allofs hit the jackpot. Unfortunately for the Greeks, they failed to make an improbable comeback in the return, conceding five goals (four in the first half) to Cologne in a thumping 0:6 aggregate defeat. Not a night which AEK fans remember with fondness.
1989/1990 European Cup first round, AEK - Dynamo Dresden - 5:4 (0:1, 5:3)
AEK’s maiden victory over German opposition arrived in dramatic circumstances. Pitted against Dynamo Dresden in the first round of the 1989/1990 European Cup, AEK dropped a 0:1 defeat on the road, but it was a different story in Greece. Dresden’s Torsten Gutschow looked to have ended the tie as a contest with an early marker in the Greek capital, but AEK had other ideas, responding with five goals to eventually win 5:3 and progress to the second stage of the competition. Miroslaw Okonski, Giorgos Savvidis (2) and Toni Savevski all scored alongside an own goal from Ronny Teuber.
AEK exited the European Cup in the second round against Marseille (1:3).
1995/1996 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup second round, AEK - Borussia Monchengladbach - 1:5 (1:4, 0:1)
The Enosis eased past Swiss club Sion in the first round with a 4:2 triumph, but when playing Borussia Monchengladbach in the second phase, AEK met their match. All of the damage was done in the opening game in Germany. In a horrible evening, the visiting defence went missing, letting in four goals in a resounding 1:4 loss. Christos Maladenis’ late away goal had given AEK a glimmer of hope, but at home, the team came up short 0:1 and departed the tournament in meek fashion.
1999/2000 UEFA Cup third round, AEK - Bayer Leverkusen - 6:4 (4:4, 2:0)
What a match it was in Leverkusen. Incredibly, the two teams evenly shared eight goals in a pulsating encounter, a result which gave AEK a slight advantage ahead of the decider in Athens. Vasilis Lakis, Fernando Navas (2) and Vasilis Tsiartas struck gold in Germany, and had Leverkusen not snatched an equaliser in added time, AEK would have tasted a famous win.
Nevertheless, AEK got what they deserved at the Nikos Goumas Stadium in Nea Filadelfeia, brushing aside Leverkusen 2:0 as Navas and Tsiartas completed a memorable 6:4 aggregate victory. The Kitrinomavri were then destroyed 0:6 by Barcelona in the fourth round of the UEFA Cup.
2004/2005 UEFA Cup group stage, AEK - Alemannia Aachen - 0:2
It was a miserable 2004/2005 UEFA Cup campaign for the Athenians. In four matches against Zenit Saint Petersburg, Lille, Sevilla and Alemannia Aachen, they didn’t register a single point, finishing in a disappointing fifth position. On the final matchday, AEK welcomed Aachen to the Olympic Stadium, gifting the visitors a 2:0 victory with a lacklustre showing as Erik Meijer and Daniel Gomez scored for the German outfit.
