With Stratos Gidopoulos and Dušan Bajević at the wheel for the second season in a row, having won the championship of the previous year and having included Daniel Batista in their roster, AEK started the 1989–90 season with great optimism. They played good football and had the best defense in the league for the second consecutive year, but in the end they finished in the second place behind Panathinaikos. The greatest victories of the season were the 8–0 against Skonda Xanthi and the 7–1 against Panionios.
The start was good, as AEK won the Super Cup on penalties against Panathinaikos. Shortly afterwards, the epic showdown came in the European Cup match against Dynamo Dresden where, despite the defeat in Germany by 1–0, AEK played a magical game in the rematch of AEK Stadium and prevailed with the incredible 5–3 in a game that had it all and showed the potential of the team. However, the draw brought AEK Athens facing Marseille of Bernard Tapie. In the first match in Marseille, the referee Sandoz canceled a clean goal by Patikas and AEK lost 2–0. In the rematch in Nea Filadelfeia, the French reported an attack on the team bus, the match ended in a 1–1 draw and in addition to their elimination from the tournament, UEFA eventually punished the club with one-year ban from all European competitions.[1]
In the Cup, the team finished at the top of their group without a defeat, but they got knocked-out for the second consecutive season of exclusion-shock in the round of 32, this time by the newly promoted Ionikos.
AEK completed their competitive obligations with the conquest of the League Cup against Olympiacos on 2 June, in an event that took place only this season.[2]
Many players stood out this season such as Savevski, Okoński, Batista, Manolas, Savvidis, Patikas and Christodoulou. The club's top scorer for the season in the league was Daniel Batista with 15 goals.[3]
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 2 June 1990, 23:59 UTC+3.
Note: When Olympiacos equalized to make the score 2–2, the match was suspended by the referee, due to incidents between the fans of both clubs and AEK were later punished with two games behind closed doors.
Source: RSSSF Rules for classification: 1st points; 2nd head-to-head points; 3rd head-to-head goal difference; 4th decision match. (C) Champions Notes:
^AEK Athens were punished with a one-year ban from all European competitions by the UEFA disciplinary committee after being charged for the eventful European Cup match against Marseille on 1 November 1989.
Note: Due to incidents that took place by AEK ultras on the arrival of Marseille at AEK Stadium and for throwing smokers on the pitch at the entrance of AEK Athens, UEFA punished the club with a one-year ban from all European competitions.[5]
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.
