1987–88 Alpha Ethniki
52nd season of top-tier football league in Greece
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The 1987–88 Alpha Ethniki was the 52nd season of the highest football league of Greece. The season began on 6 September 1987 and ended on 15 May 1988. AEL won their first Greek title in its history. The season was notable as the only season where neither Panathinaikos or Olympiacos, by far the most successful and dominant clubs, finished in the top four.
| Season | 1987–88 |
|---|---|
| Champions | AEL 1st Greek title |
| Relegated | Veria Panserraikos Panachaiki |
| European Cup | AEL |
| UEFA Cup | AEK Athens PAOK |
| Cup Winners' Cup | Panathinaikos |
| Matches | 240 |
| Goals | 602 (2.51 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Henrik Nielsen (21 goals) |
← 1986–87 1988–89 → | |
The point system was: Win: 2 points - Draw: 1 point.
Teams
| Promoted from 1986–87 Beta Ethniki |
Relegated from 1986–87 Alpha Ethniki |
|---|---|
| Panachaiki Panserraikos Levadiakos |
Doxa Drama Apollon Athens PAS Giannina |
Location of teams in 1987–88 Alpha Ethniki
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AEL (C) | 30 | 18 | 7 | 5 | 51 | 22 | +29 | 43 | Qualification for European Cup first round |
| 2 | AEK Athens | 30 | 15 | 10 | 5 | 51 | 31 | +20 | 40 | Qualification for UEFA Cup first round |
| 3 | PAOK | 30 | 17 | 5 | 8 | 60 | 27 | +33 | 39 | |
| 4 | OFI | 30 | 17 | 3 | 10 | 54 | 41 | +13 | 37 | |
| 5 | Panathinaikos | 30 | 15 | 6 | 9 | 47 | 34 | +13 | 36 | Qualification for Cup Winners' Cup first round |
| 6 | Iraklis | 30 | 13 | 8 | 9 | 42 | 32 | +10 | 34 | |
| 7 | Ethnikos Piraeus | 30 | 12 | 8 | 10 | 27 | 28 | −1 | 32 | |
| 8 | Olympiacos | 30 | 9 | 13 | 8 | 39 | 41 | −2 | 31 | |
| 9 | Aris | 30 | 11 | 5 | 14 | 39 | 41 | −2 | 27 | |
| 10 | Panionios | 30 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 32 | 34 | −2 | 26 | |
| 11 | Apollon Kalamarias | 30 | 7 | 10 | 13 | 23 | 39 | −16 | 24 | |
| 12 | Diagoras | 30 | 7 | 9 | 14 | 25 | 38 | −13 | 23 | |
| 13 | Levadiakos | 30 | 7 | 9 | 14 | 32 | 46 | −14 | 23 | |
| 14 | Veria (R) | 30 | 7 | 9 | 14 | 24 | 53 | −29 | 23 | Relegation to Beta Ethniki |
| 15 | Panserraikos (R) | 30 | 8 | 5 | 17 | 24 | 42 | −18 | 21 | |
| 16 | Panachaiki[a] (R) | 30 | 7 | 7 | 16 | 32 | 53 | −21 | 20 |
Source: RSSSF
Rules for classification: 1st points; 2nd head-to-head points; 3rd head-to-head goal difference; 4th decision match.
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
Rules for classification: 1st points; 2nd head-to-head points; 3rd head-to-head goal difference; 4th decision match.
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
- Panachaiki were deducted 1 point.
Results
Top scorers
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Henrik Nielsen |
AEK Athens | 21 |
| 2 |  Michalis Ziogas |
AEL | 16 |
| Thomas Mavros |
Panionios | ||
| 4 | Vasilis Dimitriadis |
Aris | 12 |
| Dimos Kavouras |
Levadiakos | ||
| 6 | Christos Dimopoulos |
Panathinaikos | 11 |
| 7 | Sakis Anastasiadis |
Iraklis | 10 |
| Sakis Moustakidis |
Olympiacos | ||
| Ioannis Samaras |
OFI | ||
| Stefanos Borbokis |
PAOK |
Attendances
Olympiacos drew the highest average home attendance in the 1987–88 Alpha Ethniki.[1]
| # | Team | Average attendance |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Olympiacos | 38,604 |
| 2 | Panathinaikos | 23,634 |
| 3 | PAOK | 17,286 |
| 4 | AEK Athens | 16,811 |
| 5 | AEL | 12,951 |
| 6 | Aris | 10,158 |
| 7 | Iraklis | 8,641 |
| 8 | OFI | 8,040 |
| 9 | Ethnikos Piraeus | 7,846 |
| 10 | Panachaiki | 7,479 |
| 11 | Panionios | 6,879 |
| 12 | Panserraikos | 6,559 |
| 13 | Levadiakos | 4,537 |
| 14 | Veria | 3,895 |
| 15 | Apollon Kalamarias | 3,443 |
| 16 | Diagoras | 3,336 |