The management of Lakis Nikolaou negotiated with big name coaches and got close to sign Joachim Löw,[1] but eventually ended up with the experienced but controversial Dragoslav Stepanović.

[2] AEK eventually built a decent team, while in January they were strengthened a lot with the loan moves of Wreh and Méndez from Arsenal being the most important additions.

In the end, AEK could not claim the championship from Olympiacos, but they managed to beat Panathinaikos the race to the second place that led to the next season's Champions League qualifiers.

In the cup, AEK were prematurely knocked out after they suffered a shock defeat in their first game from third–tier club, Poseidon Michaniona, with a terrible performance by the team.

AEK pulled off a reaction in the stoppage time and with two goals that allowed them to avoid humiliation, claimed the chances of qualifying in the rematch of Athens.

Machlas destroyed any hopes of qualification in stoppage time scoring Vitesse's third goal and AEK had their backs against the wall ahead of the rematch.

In an atmosphere of disappointment and protest for the AEK coach, the team's exit from the European obligations of the season and limited themselves to the domestic ones since too many things changed along the way, both at the competitive and administrative level.

[3] In April 1999 by the initiative of Dimitris Melissanidis, a friendly match was organised against Partizan in Belgrade, during the height of the NATO bombing of Serbia.

As a gesture of compassion and solidarity towards the embattled Serbs, the AEK players and management staff defied the international embargo and traveled to Belgrade for the match.

After a stop at the Presidential Palace, where AEK conveyed the message of support of the Greek people, the team arrived at the Partizan Stadium.