The 2015–16 season was the 92nd season in the existence of AEK Athens F.C. and the 55th season in the top flight of Greek football. They competed in the Super League and the Greek Cup. The season began on 22 August 2015 and finished on 31 May 2016.
AEK started the championship well, but after a 4–0 defeat from Olympiacos on 20 October, Traianos Dellas resigned as coach after 2 and a half years at the team's bench, with the U20 coach, Stelios Manolas taking over as an interim coach, until a new coach was found.[1] On 29 October,[2] the Uruguayan Gus Poyet reached an agreement with the club and on 30 October signed a contract[3] until the summer with renewal option for two years, a discussion that would take place towards the end of the period. Poyet managed to change the atmosphere within the team and lead the club to an unbeaten streak spanning from the start of 2016 until February. The team picked up 3 important derby wins against PAOK, Panathinaikos and Olympiacos at home all by 1–0 win, with Vargas being the scorer. After a defeat against Atromitos at Peristeri Stadium incidents occurred between the fans.[4] That resulted in the team to be punished with a 3-point deduction and combined with the defeats that AEK suffered in the away games of the final matchdays, resulted in losing the second place and eventually finishing 3rd in the league. Even though the team's well performance, on 19 April Poyet was sacked, due to conflicts with Dimitris Melissanidis, mainly focusing the club's ambitions and budget.
In the cup, AEK easily passed through their respective group finishng first and eliminated Levadiakos for the round of 16 and Iraklis for the quarter-finals, winning all their games. In the semi-finals they faced Atromitos and with Manolas who had replaced Poyet and was appointed as interim coach until the end of the season, they qualifyed for the cup final, with a 1–0 at home and 1–1 away from home. On 17 May at the Olympic Stadium, AEK made clear of their strong comeback, as they beat the champion Olympiacos by 2–1 for the second time within 3 months and lifted the trophy for 15th time in their history. The same night, celebrations were organised at Nea Filadelfeia by fans, who celebrated with the players and staff.
After the conquest of the cup, Manolas did not sit on the bench of the team again due to overwork, with his assistant, Nikos Panagiotaras sitting in his place. In the play-offs the team did not capitalise on their form in the cup and facing the fatigue that was built up, achieved a 3rd-place finish, thus qualifying for the 3rd qualifying round in the next season's UEFA Europa League.[5]
30 October 2015Gus Poyet sign contract with AEK Athens The agreement is until the summer of 2016 with a two-year renewal option, a discussion that will take place towards the end of the period.
Players
Squad information
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 31 May 2016, 23:59 UTC+3.
Note: The friendly match took place within the agreement of the two clubs for the transfer of Michalis Bakakis in 2014, while before the start of the match, Dionysis Tsamis, who played in both teams, was honored.
Source: Superleague Greece, Soccerway Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Goals scored; 5) Goals against; 6) Play-offs (neutral ground); 7) Draw. (Note: Criteria 6 is only used if needed to decide champion, teams for relegation or teams for UEFA competitions).[40] (C) Champions Notes:
^Panathinaikos were deducted 3 points due to extreme fan behavior against Olympiacos. The match was awarded as a 3–0 win for Olympiacos.[38]
^AEK were deducted 3 points due to extreme fan behavior against Atromitos.[citation needed]
^PAOK were deducted 3 points due to extreme fan behavior against Olympiacos in Greek Cup semifinal match.[39]
Note: After the end of the match incidents between the fans of the 2 teams took place, which resulted in the punishment of both AEK and Atromitos with a deduction of 3 points in the league and 2 games behind closed doors, each.[4]
^The fifth-placed team of the 2015–16 Superleague Greece Panionios would have qualified for the Europa League second qualifying round, but were excluded from participating in the 2016–17 European competitions by UEFA for financial reasons. As a result, the berth was given to the sixth-placed team PAS Giannina.
The list is sorted by competition order when total clean sheets are equal, then by shirt number 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.
