Ivan Kolev

The chairman of the AEK stockholders council – Nikos Notyas arrived in Athens yesterday, in order to see the upcoming final with Olympiakos on Saturday. During the early afternoon Mr. Notyas had a meeting with the club’s board of directors and technical staff.

Also present at the meeting were AEK’s president Nikos Thanopoulos, the coach Doushan Baevich and Stelios Manolas. For three hours, all of them were discussing the upcoming season and the future development of the team.

The financial condition of the club was stressed during this meeting.

Earlier yesterday, the online “Elefteros Tipos” newspaper wrote that AEK’s president – Nikos Thanopoulos defined Saturday’s game as very hard to win. And few days earlier, in a letter to the club’s stockholders Thanopoulos defined winning the cup as “miracle.”

The president painted the financial condition of the yellow-blacks with dark colors. In his letter he says: “Sometimes I feel very bad asking money from you but we have to admit the big mistakes of the past, for which all of us are accountable and to continue going…We do not have other options.” During yesterday’s conversation, it became known that if another strategic investor is not found, the financial means for the upcoming season will be very limited. In more detail, AEK’s budget for next season will be decreased with ?5 million in comparison to the one before.

Nikos Notyas has expressed his unconditional support for the Swiss coach and strategist Doushan Baevich and has informed the board of directors for the future transfers in the team.

Baevich and Manolas have assured Notas that even with limited financial means, they will continue their work. For the most part, this meeting erased the piled pressure between the management of the club and the stockholders. During the afternoon training, the president of the club Nikos Thanopoulos announced to the players that if they win on Saturday, their bonus will be ?300 000.

Sotiris Kiryakos and Rafik Djimpur had a very hard training yesterday under the supervision of Dushan Baevich. Their participation in the Saturday’s game was under question because they had some serious traumas.