1975–76 AEK Athens F.C. season

In the summer of 1975, Loukas Barlos, setting everything else aside, focused his efforts on signing Thomas Mavros. The 21-year-old striker of Panionios had impressed with his performances and he decided that it was time to move to one of the major clubs of the league. Barlos, true to his usual approach, was prepared to make a substantial offer for the player, but Panionios was blocking the transfer. The president of AEK approached Mavros and convinced him to join his club. The player pushed for his transfer, but was met with a relentless stance from Panionios. A legal dispute began, after Mavros' brother, who also acted as his lawyer, discovered that their father's consent had never been signed when the player joined Panionios as a minor. Until the dispute was resolved, Mavros was ineligible to compete for either club,^[2] in a situation similar to that of Kostas Nestoridis in 1955. Meanwhile, the work of František Fadrhonc with the team was beginning to bear fruit, as AEK developed into an attractive and effective side.^[3]

After two consecutive years of absence from European competitions, AEK returned to the UEFA Cup. The draw brought them against the Yugoslav Vojvodina. The first match at Karađorđe Stadium ended 0–0, while the yellow-blacks secured qualification with a 3–1 victory in the rematch. In the second round, the draw brought AEK against the Czechoslovak Inter Bratislava. In the first match at Bratislava, the Greek club faced a defeat by 2–0. In the rematch at Nea Filadelfeia the Czechoslovaks took an early lead in the second minute and the task of AEK became even more difficult. The yellow-blacks managed to turn the game around by scoring three goals in the second half, but were unable to score the fourth goal required to overturn the aggregate deficit.

In the league, AEK remained undefeated for 23 consecutive games and reached seven matches before the finish, with the title race in their own hands. Unfortunately, they lost both of their next two matches to Panathinaikos and Aris respectively. Furthermore, another defeat at the hands of PAOK resulted in their second place finish for a second season in a row, five points from the top, allowing PAOK to secure the title. Fadrhonc's attacking style of play resulted in Georgios Dedes finishing as the league's top scorer with 15 goals, while Walter Wagner and Mimis Papaioannou also finished among the league's top scorers with 11 goals each.^[4]

In the Cup, AEK eliminated Agios Dimitrios 7–0 in the first round, Anagennisi Karditsa 2–1 in the second round, Olympiakos Neon Liosion 6–0 in the third round at home. In the quarter-finals, they faced Fostiras at Tavros Stadium and won 1–0. In the semi-finals, they were drawn against Olympiacos at home and despite taking the lead early on, they eventually lost the match by 3–2 and were eliminated from the competition.^[5][6]