 Between 1999 and 2003, he worked as an assistant coach to Dušan Ivković and Dragan Šakota, that period being the most successful for AEK in the recent decades (1 Greek League championship, 2 Greek Cups, and 1 Saporta Cup).In 2003, he was named head coach as part of a board's project to rebuild the squad with young players, after the glorious and expensive 1999–2003 period.Despite his (and his players') lack of experience, he did quite well, reaching the Greek League playoffs' final, and the EuroLeague Last 16, during the 2004–05 season.