AEK Athens II

First years

The first appearance of AEK Athens in European competitions was in the Balkans Cup of the 1960–61 season alongside Steagul Roșu Brașov, Levski Sofia, Partizani Tirana and Fenerbahçe. After 4 matchdays, they achieved 1 win 1 draw and 2 defeats, and when Steagul Roșu Brașov secured the title, AEK withdrew from the tournament, with the remaining games being awarded to their opponents.

Having won the championship of 1963, AEK competed for the first time in their history in UEFA competitions, playing in the preliminary round of the European Cup in 1963–64 season. The draw brought them against the French champions, Monaco. The first appearance in a UEFA match quickly turned into a nightmare, as they faced a 7–2 defeat at Stade Municipal du Ray, with a four-goal performance by Lucien Cossou and the goals of Yvon Douis and Karimou Djibrill with the Greek side reducing with Kostas Nestoridis and Fanis Tasinos. The rematch in Athens was purely procedural, as 1–1 draw with Theofanidis and Théodore couldn't change anything in the qualification outcome, as it was secured by the Monegasques from the first match.

In 1964, they played their first match in a final stage of a UEFA competition, competing in the first round of the European Cup Winners' Cup, which were drawn against Dinamo Zagreb. At AEK Stadium, both clubs started scared and harsh, with the Yugoslavs playing unsportsmanlike, as to kill the game off, while AEK pressed unorthodoxly. Eventually, the yellow-blacks scored twice with Mimis Papaioannou and Kostas Nestoridis and the game ended 2–0, achieving their first victory in UEFA competitions. In the rematch at Stadion Maksimir, Dynamo played offensively and managed to win by 3–0, which left AEK out of the tournament.

During the 1966–67 season AEK played in 2 European competitions. The first was the Cup Winners' Cup, with their opponent for its first round being Braga, who made their debut appearance in European competitions. The performance of the club in both legs was not enough as they were eliminated by 2 defeats with 0–1, in Athens and 3–2 in Braga. The second competition was the Balkans Cup, where they were placed in the Group B alongside Vardar, Lokomotiv Sofia and Farul Constanța. There, the team of Jenő Csaknády managed to finish first, undefeated, with 3 wins all of them at home and 3 draws away from home and were qualified for the 2-legged final, facing Fenerbahçe. In the first game at Nea Filadelfeia, AEK won by 2–1 thanks to the goals of Papaioannou and Sofianidis and went to Istanbul to defend their slight lead. The Turks managed to equalize the lead of the first leg, winning by 1–0 and since the away goals rule was not applied in the tournament, a third match was set. In order for a free date for the match to be found, 7 months had to pass and at Mithat Paşa, AEK were defeated by 3–1 and a lost a great opportunity to win an international trophy.

The following season they competed again in the Balkans Cup and with 1 win, 2 draws and 3 defeats they finished third in their respective group, behind Spartak Sofia, Olimpija Ljubljana, tied with Fenerbahçe.