Can Bajevic Rebuild AEK?

By: Chris Paraskevas | November 22nd, 2008

In cooperation with Goal.com:

On his third return to AEK Athens, Dusan Bajevic has spoken of the need for a rebuilding phase at a club who have endured a 14-year league title drought. However, without the right tools and scaffolding, even his undoubted skills as a managerial carpenter will be useless…

Bajevic’s appointment is clearly a sign of an increasingly insatiable thirst for silverware from a club whose instabilities extend far beyond the substitutes bench.

It is partly for this reason why the talented Giorgios Donis was sacrificed, a move made all the more odd considering his departure was at the hands of caretaker presidents.

One would have thought that, given their claims to be searching for a permanent successor for the now resigned Demis Nikolaidis, presidential duo Nikos Koulis and Takis Kanellopoulos would have wanted to bring an element of stability on the pitch to entice potential investors.

The sacking of Donis and his being replaced with Bajevic might, may on the surface, be purely about a change in the club’s direction on the pitch.

But what motivations does it serve within the board-room?

Make no mistake about it: signing Bajevic is a massive statement by AEK Athens. The undertones of his arrival extend far beyond a style of football – his name is synonymous with trophies, stadiums, history and, ultimately, hooliganism, an utterly blurred nostalgia.

It is entirely possible that the current regime of caretakers have made the choice purely to refresh a club who stagnated badly with the under-resourced Donis at the helm, with a view to attracting outside interest.

However, it might just be that his appointment marks the beginning of a move from a specific party to take over: Exactly who had the greatest influence in bringing Bajevic back to AEK? Has someone promised he will be at the helm of some financial or administrative revolution?

Such questions simply must be asked of a man whose sudden decision to return may transcend his “love for the club”, which admittedly is as potent a motivation as any other.

The fact is, Bajevic was driven out of AEK in what I recall to be some fairly disgusting and unjustifiable circumstances on the part of certain individuals – there is no reason to believe that a man who once feared for the safety of his family would return to the scene of such unimaginable tension.

Unless of course he has been assured of support and ‘protection’, to an extent.

The sudden appointment of former player Stelios Manolas as technical director and mediator for Bajevic’s arrival might represents more than a shift in the managerial landscape at AEK – this appears to be more of a so far unidentified statement of administrative revolution.

It is within such a context of ‘mystery’ that the limits of Bajevic’s influence must also be considered.

Undoubtedly AEK’s most successful ever manager and arguably the greatest in Greece’s domestic history, Bajevic’s knowledge of the Greek game is unquestionable.

However, modern football has changed considerably since his first and most successful stint at AEK, during which he lead the club to four league titles.

Olympiakos and Panathinaikos (the latter more recently) have virtually monopolized the domestic scene financially and in terms of any tangible success.

Theirs is a dominance that cannot simply be broken by the efforts of a single man, no matter how discerning he may be.

Bajevic, for all of his ability and presence, is but a mere placebo for AEK’s epidemic administrative and social problems.

Whether he is able to transcend the immediate turmoil that surrounds his arrival might not depend so much on his ability to lead AEK to victory what will be some fascinating derby encounters, but on whether AEK have a permanent president by the time the January transfer window arrives – and how Bajevic will be able to work within it.

In the meantime, lack of discernible financial backing, strong administrative leadership and squad depth are compounded by volatile sections of what appears to be an increasingly impatient fan-base.

All of these are issues that will need addressing if the Serbian manager is to bring anything approaching his initial success back to a once great club.

If such widespread changes don’t happen quickly, AEK will be left with a carpenter who may begin to blame his tools – rather than a manager who has been given the infrastructure within which to build a dynasty.