1972–73 AEK Athens F.C. season

The 1972–73 season was the 49th season in the existence of AEK Athens F.C. and the 14th consecutive season in the top flight of Greek football. They competed in the Alpha Ethniki, the Greek Cup and the UEFA Cup. The season began on 13 September 1972 and finished on 3 June 1973.

The declining course of AEK Athens continued during the period 1972–73. Important players such as Petros Ravousis, Tasos Konstantinou and Dionysis Tsamis were acquired. On the other hand, the arrival of dubious value of Latin American footballers, according to the current of the time, such as Néstor Errea, Rodolfo Vicente and Hugo Zeer did not offer anything special to the problematic AEK.

AEK participated in the UEFA Cup for the first time in their history. In the first round, they were drawn against the Hungarian Salgótarján. It was characteristic, that the two matches against AEK constitute the whole of the European presence in Salgótarján's history. In the first leg at Nea Filadelfeia, AEK prevailed easily with 3–1.^[1] The rematch in Hungary had acquired a purely procedural character and the yellow-blacks qualified with a 1–1 draw.^[2] In the second round, luck completely turned its back on AEK, bringing them against the great Liverpool of Bill Shankly. The first match on Anfield, Liverpool's unquestionable superiority was certified, as the reds took the victory with 3–0 and largely ensured the qualification for the next round.^[3] In the rematch of AEK Stadium, Liverpool finished the job with a 3–1 win,^[4] which sent them to the next round and in the conquest of the title, at the end of the season.^[5]

For another year AEK stayed away from claiming the cup. In the first round, they eliminated Korinthos at home and in the round of 32, they overcame Ethnikos Asteras, with an impressive 9–0 home win. At the round of 16, AEK were drawn against the second division club Apollon Kalamarias and were eliminated with a 2–1 defeat at Kalamaria. That resulted in the removal of Branko Stanković from the bench of the team, after 5 years at the club.

After a period with the manager of the reserve team, Kostas Chatzimichail at the wheel, Billy Bingham, the then manager of the national team, was hired in February at a very difficult turn for the club, which was plagued by administrative and competitive problems. AEK were far from the top and the Irishman failed to change the situation and was fired at the end of the season. As a result, the club finished 5th, at a distance of 23 points from the top. The counterproductive attack of AEK in contrast to their long tradition in this section, was remarkable, as they scored only 39 goals while conceding 36.^[6]

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 3 June 1973, 23:59 UTC+2.

Expenditure: ₯2,840,000

Income: ₯0

Net Total: ₯2,840,000

As of 3 June 1973

As of 3 June 1973

Numbers in superscript represent the goals that the player scored.

The list is sorted by competition order when total clean sheets are equal 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.

As of 3 June 1973

As of 3 June 1973

• AEK Athens F.C. Official Website
• A.E.K. FC Database