Supplier: KappaSponsor(s): Marfin From the middle of previous season, Dimitris Melissanidis had taken over the management of the team again and had been credited the success of the entrance to the Champions League qualifiers.

The highlight was the loan of Dragan Ćirić from Barcelona, which raised a storm of excitement in the AEK fans, who rushed to the airport to welcome him.

However, the team of Tumbaković was not presented ready for the first leg at Nikos Goumas Stadium in August and the Swedish champions left with a valuable 0–0 draw.

AIK, despite being outsiders, managed to qualify after withstanding the pressure of AEK at the end, when even Dellas stepped up to the attack and played as a center forward.

Despite this, AEK put in a poor performance at the Hidegkuti Nándor Stadium and were stymied by Henk ten Cate's complex tactical ploys.

Fortunately After Ćirić scored midway through the second half and a nightmarish 2–0 in the half-time, turned into an attractive 2–1, a scoreline that could easily be overturned in Athens.

In Louis De's second leg, AEK were as good as in the first game, as they fought and created the chances that would have given them the qualification, but a miscalculation by Atmatsidis, brought the goal by Simone just after half an hour.

Since the team's elimination from the Champions League, Melissanidis subtly left the management, a fact that Petros Stathis kept as secret as possible, before the multinational owners took the matter into their hands and appoint the first foreign president in history of the club, Cornelius Sierhuis.

The situation brought Takis Karagiozopoulos as an interim coach and immediately after Giannis Pathiakakis on the team's bench, with the entire organization of AEK considering the season wasted.

AEK opened the score with an amazing goal by Vasilis Lakis and then accepted the pressure of Olympiacos, which bore fruit in the 75th minute when Alexandris also equalized to make the final 1–1.

After 21 nights, Nea Filadelfeia was on fire, AEK and their people are "thirsty" to restore the injustice and on the evening of March 8, Olympiacos were scattered, losing already by the 48th minute by 3–0.

Two goals by Petkov and Maladenis followed and AEK won the Cup amidst celebrations and emotion from the "rookie" in titles, Pathiakakis.

Highlights of the match included the fair play move by Nikolaidis, who after scoring a goal with his hand, asked the referee to disallow it, which led the International Olympic Committee to award him for his sportsmanship.