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Omonia

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Full name	Omonia Nicosia Athletic Club Αθλητικός Σύλλογος Ομόνοια Λευκωσίας
Nickname(s)	Vasilissa (The Queen) Trifylli (The Shamrock)
Founded	17 June 1948 (entered First Division in 1953)
Ground	GSP Stadium, Nicosia, Cyprus (Capacity: 22,859)
Chairman	Miltiades Neophytou
Manager	Neophytos Larkou
League	Cyprus First Division
2011–12	3rd
Website	Club home page
Home colours Away colours Third colours
Current season

Athletic Club Omonoia Nicosia (Greek: Αθλητικός Σύλλογος Ομόνοια Λευκωσίας) is a professional football club that plays in the Cyprus capital city Nicosia. The club was established in 1948  and became a member of the Cyprus Football Association in 1953. Omonoia, which means 'Concord' in Greek, has won 20 League Championships, 14 Cypriot Cups and 15 Super Cups and 5 domestic doubles – in 1972, 1974, 1981, 1982 and 1983 all since 1948. Omonoia's history speaks for herself. Since joining the Cypriot First Division, Omonoia has won nearly 1 out of every 3 league titles, qualifying it as the most successful club in Cypriot history. Prior to the 1953 season, no more than 8 teams participated in the Cypriot First Division, and half of which no longer exist. (APOEL Nicosia has won 21 titles. However half of them were won between the years 1935 and 1953, prior to the formation of AC Omonoia when Omonoia AC players still played for APOEL Nicosia). The Cyprus Football Association declared them as the Team of the 20th Century. Omonoia remains the only team to have won the Cypriot Cup 4 times in a row, between the years 1980 and 1983. As an athletic club, Omonoia also has basketball, volleyball, futsal and cycling sections.

History[link]

AC Omonoia was founded in 1948, in the backdrop of the Greek Civil War. During a period of the most hostile political turbulence which spilled over into Cyprus, APOEL board officials sent a telegram the Hellenic Amateur Athletic Association (SEGAS) with intention of having its players sign allegiances to Greece’s fascist dictatorship, clearly violating the statue prohibiting clubs from being associated with any political groups.

After numerous players criticized the decision made by the board, and ultimately refused to sign any documents professing any political party or philosophy, those players were expelled from the club. Betrayed, but determined to carry on, those players and other club members, would leave the team and establish their own, separate clubs in the Cypriot capital, Nicosia. On 17 June 1948, AC Omonoia was born and by 1953, AC Omonoia it was admitted into the Cypriot First Division. Nea Salamina, Alki Larnaca, and Orfeas Nicosia were also founded in the same year.

1950s[link]

After entering the 1953–54 in 1953, Omonoia only managed to place 7th out of 9 teams in the 1953–54 season, barely avoiding relegation. During that decade, the club’s best placing came during the 1956–57 season when the club finished 3rd.

1960s[link]

After a mediocre decade in the in 1953, AC Omonoia would make its closest push for the title during the 1959–60 season after finishing 2nd only 1 point behind Anorthosis Famagusta. More motivated than ever, the following year, after just 7 seasons in the First Division, AC Omonoia would go on and win its first title in 1960–61 season, sending shockwaves across Cyprus. Omonoia, in that season would score an unheard of 91 goals in 24 matches on their way to their first ever Cyprus First Division title. Omonoia would go on to win their second title during the 1965–66 season.

1970s[link]

During the 1970s, AC Omonoia had established itself as a force to be reckoned with. During the decade, led by a young, Sotiris Kaiafas, Omonoia would accomplish what no team in Cyprus would ever accomplish by winning 7 Cypriot League Championships beginning in 1972, including six consecutive titles in 1974, 1975, 1976, 977, 1978, and 1979. By the time the decade would come to an end, Omonoia had already surpassed the number of titles of Anorthosis Famagusta which was established in 1911 (nearly 40 years prior to the establishment of Omonoia). Omonoia was also well under way to catching its rival, APOEL, who also had a 13 year head-start on Omonoia. At the end of the 1979 season, Omonoia only trailed APOEL by two championships. Sotiris Kaiafas would become top scorer in Cyprus during the 1971–72, 1973–74, 1975–76, 1976–77, 1978–79, 1980–81, 1982–83, and 1983–84 seasons. In 1976, Sotiris Kaiafas would go on and win the European Golden Boot Award for his single-season 36-goal performance. In 2003, he was awarded the UEFA Jubilee Awards for The Best Cypriot Footballer of the 20th Century.

1980s[link]

AC Omonoia won an additional seven Cypriot League Championship titles including another 5 consecutive in 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, and again in 1987 and in 1989. As the 1980s came to an end, Omonoia had surpassed Anorthosis and APOEL for the most titles in Cypriot history. In the 20 year span between 1970 and 1990, Omonoia had won 14 Cypriot Championship Titles.

1990s[link]

The 1990s would prove to be less fruitful than the previous two decades. During this time, AC Omonoia only mustered one Cypriot League title during the 1992–93 season. It would be eight long years before Omonoia would see its next title. The only ray of hope came in 1997 after the signing a German named Rainer Rauffmann. Rainer Rauffmann would leave his mark in the long line of Omonoia greats. With the help of other Omonoia great and then captain, Costas Malekkos, and a young Costas Kaiafas (son of Sotiris Kaiafas), Rainer Rauffmann would become top scorer of the Cypriot First Division in the 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–00 and 2000–01 seasons. Unfortunately, even with Rauffman’s success, Omonoia had no title to show for it.

2000s[link]

After a disappointing eight seasons, the 2000s decade began on the right foot. AC Omonoia would celebrate its 18th Cypriot League Championship title in 2001. Now captained by Costas Kaiafas, Omonoia would win its 19th Cypriot League Championship again in 2003. However, since 2003, the team would stumble and be without a title for the next several years. After numerous seasons of poor signings and underachieving, Omonoia’s reigns would be taken over by new chairman and team president, Miltiades Neofytou in 2008.

2009–2010[link]

The team would soon be put back on track starting in 2006, beginning with the signing of Cyprus national football team goalie, Antonis Georgallides. Omonoia would continue its star-studded signings by acquiring Cypriot stars that had been playing abroad such as, Elias Charalambous and Stathis Aloneftis. Omonoia would then make headlines with the shocking signing of all-time leading scorer of the Cyprus national football team, Michalis Konstantinou. In 2009, Omonoia would also sign another Cypriot star, Konstantinos Makrides. Along the way, Omonoia would also acquire young Cypriot hopefuls, 21 year-old Dimitris Christofi, and 20 year-old Georgios Efrem. Efrem, who had been playing on the youth team of Arsenal FC and later Scottish side, Rangers, would be the final piece to the puzzle needed to win its 20th Cypriot League Championship. After putting the proper pieces in place, AC Omonoia did just that. During the 2009–10 season, led by new captain, Elias Charalambous, AC Omonoia would not lose a single derby, including play-offs matches against either, APOEL, Anorthosis Famagusta, nor Apollon. After defeating its rival APOEL three consecutive times, Omonoia became the 2009–10 Cypriot League Champions for the 20th time.

2010–2011[link]

Omonoia would not be able to repeat as Champion during the 2010–2011 regular season, and instead had to settle with finishing 2nd, despite the addition of yet another young Cypriot rising star, Andreas Avraam. However the team was to end on a positive note. Under interim coach Neophytos Larkou, Omonoia defeated Apollon Limasol in the Cyprus Cup Final and won their 13th Coca-Cola Cup.

Colours and badge[link]

AC Omonoia's colors are green and white. Their current alternate kit is black. AC Omonoia's badge has a green shamrock in a white circle.

Stadium[link]

Since 23 October 1999, Omonoia has been using the 22,859 seat GSP Stadium, the largest stadium in Cyprus. They share the stadium with local rivals APOEL and Olympiakos. Omonoia played in the Makario Stadium from 1978 until 1999 and in old GSP Stadium prior to 1978. When the club was first created, it used the Goal Stadium.

Supporters[link]

Omonoia fans' celebration upon winning their 20th title after the 2009-2010 season

Omonoia is by far the most popular team in the country. Omonoia is known for the left-leaning, socialist character of its supporters. Omonoia is also traditionally regarded as the club of Cyprus's working-class. Most of Omonoia's supporters have adopted an outspoken stance against both racism and fascism alike. Many of Omonoia's supporters can be seen waving banners bearing Che Guevara's image and unlike many of Cyprus's right-wing teams, proudly wave the flag of Cyprus during matches.  The extreme, more hardcore fans can be seen in Gate-9 and are commonly referred to as "Kifines" (or male bees). Thousands of them occupy the North stand at the GSP stadium during home games. Omonoia's fans are well known for their loyalty towards their club. Their presence is seen on the fields in Cyprus during Cypriot League matches and throughout Europe. In 2003, Omonoia's fans broke their previous record for attendance in home matches with the improved figure of 140,740. The record was broken again the following year with 143,033 tickets sold in 13 home matches.  The record now stands at 162,061 tickets sold during the 2009–2010 season. Retired number(s)

12 – Club Supporters (the 12th Man)

Honours[link]

Cyprus Football Association

• Cypriot Championship: 20
  • 1961, 1966, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1993, 2001, 2003, 2010

• Cypriot Cup: 14
  • 1965, 1972, 1974, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1988, 1991, 1994, 2000, 2005, 2011, 2012

• Cyprus FA Shield: 15 (record)
  • 1966, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1994, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2010

Players[link]

First team squad[link]

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 1 GK Johnny Leoni 2 DF Rasheed Alabi 5 DF Christos Karipidis (Vice-Captain) 7 MF Georgios Efrem 10 MF Bruno Aguiar 11 MF Andreas Avraam 13 MF Constantinos Makrides (Captain) 15 GK Giorgos Loizou 17 DF Anthony Scaramozzino 18 DF Christoforos Charalambous 19 DF David Ben Dayan 20 DF Sofiane Cherfa

No. Position Player 24 DF Yuval Spungin 25 FW Andre Alves 27 MF Antonis Katsis 28 DF Margaça 29 DF Iago Bouzón 30 GK Antonis Georgallides 32 GK Makis Giannikoglou 40 MF Charalambos Kyriakou 44 MF Leandro (3rd Captain) 77 FW Demetris Christofi 99 FW Freddy

Former players[link]

For details of former players, see Category:AC Omonia players

Personnel[link]

Coaching staff[link]

Technical staff
Head coach	Neophytos Larkou
Assistant coach	Sofoklis Sofokleous
Goalkeeping coach
Physical fitness coach	Alejandro Caceres
Fitness trainer	Onisiforos Onisiforou

Former managers[link]

Management[link]

• President: Miltiades Neophytou
• Vice-President : Stelios Milonas
• Vice-President: Nikos Charalambous
• General Secretary: Andreas Leonidou
• B General Secretary: Christos Tsangaris
• Pavlos Chrysanthou: Μember
• Petros Petrou: Μember
• Photos Ioannou: Μember
• Dafnis Aristodemou: Μember
• Constantinos Christou: Μember
• Filipos Demetriou: Μember
• Costas Vasiliou: Μember
• Christoforos Christofi: Μember
• Antonis Zimaras: Μember
• Giorgos Afxendiou: Μember

Administrative Staff

• Pavlos Nicolaides – Chief Executive Manager
• Michael Kavalieris – Team Manager
• Christos Andronikou – Press / Communication Officer
• Andreas Elia – Marketing Officer
• Christos Hadjisoteriou – Administrative / Marketing Officer
• Οdysseas Odysseos – Futsal, Basketball, Volleyball Officer
• Andreas Miliotis – Academy Director
• Charalambos Argyrou, Kostakis Yiannouris – Academy Officers
• George Tziambouris – Facilities Manager
• Stathis Vasiliou- Commercial Division Officer
• Yiota Rotou – Accountant
• Myria Strouthou – Secretary

External links[link]

• Official website
• Omonoia News website
• Gate9 Official website
• Kifines Fan Page
• Omonoia News & Community
• national-football-teams
• Players of A. C. Omonia Nicosia
• Omonoia - Nea - Application for Android phones and tablets

Shaun Wright-Phillips

Wright-Phillips with Chelsea.
Personal information
Full name	Shaun Cameron Wright-Phillips[1]
Date of birth	(1981-10-25) 25 October 1981 (age 30)[1]
Place of birth	Greenwich, London, England
Height	1.66 m (5 ft 5 1⁄2 in) [2]
Playing position	Winger
Club information
Current club	Queens Park Rangers
Number	32
Youth career
1993–1998	Nottingham Forest
1998–1999	Manchester City
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1999–2005	Manchester City	153	(26)
2005–2008	Chelsea	81	(4)
2008–2011	Manchester City	53	(9)
2011–	Queens Park Rangers	32	(0)
National team‡
2001–2002	England U21	6	(1)
2004–2010	England	36	(6)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 08:56, 15 April 2012 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 16:24, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

Shaun Cameron Wright-Phillips (born 25 October 1981) is an English footballer who plays for Queens Park Rangers and the England national team. He is the adopted son of former England international, Ian Wright and the half-brother of fellow professional football player Bradley Wright-Phillips. He grew up in Brockley, South London, and attended the state school Haberdashers' Aske's Hatcham College in New Cross Gate. ESPN describes him as "a wonderful dribbler of the ball, he has pace to burn and creates numerous chances for his team-mates."^[3]

Club career[link]

Manchester City[link]

Born in Greenwich, London,^[1] Wright-Phillips was released by Nottingham Forest at the age of 17 and Manchester City took him to Maine Road. He made his debut as a substitute in the second leg of a League Cup against Burnley, replacing Terry Cooke.^[4] His League debut came two months later at Port Vale. Playing as striker, his substitute appearance helped his team turn a 1–0 deficit into a 2–1 win. His shot resulted in the first Manchester City goal, which Wright-Phillips attempted to claim, though the strike was later credited as an own goal instead.^[5] He then started the next two matches, in place of Paul Dickov, who was absent through injury. Once Dickov recovered, Wright-Phillips returned to the reserves, making only one further first team appearance that season. City finished second in the First Division, resulting in promotion to the Premier League for 2000/01. Wright-Phillips featured more regularly than the previous season but was still not fully established in the first team, making 12 starts and seven substitute appearances playing in a variety of attacking positions. Manchester City's stay in the Premier League was brief; at the end of the season they were relegated. The demotion brought about a change of manager, Kevin Keegan replacing Joe Royle.

Under Keegan Wright-Phillips firmly established himself in the first team, not as a forward, but as a wing-back.^[6] Keegan was known for playing attacking football, and decided to use the attacking Wright-Phillips in a traditionally defensive position due to his mobility and dribbling ability.^[6]

From 2000–2003 he won Manchester City's Young Player of the Year award four times in succession,^[7] surpassing Steve Kinsey's record of three times.^[8]

On 17 November 2004, he became one of the main targets of racist chants from the crowd at an international friendly between England and Spain in Madrid. However, he brushed that aside with his performance in his next Manchester City game at Portsmouth, saying to reporters after the game, "I just let the football do the talking." ^[9]

He also has a similar response regarding his father, saying in an interview with manchesteronline.co.uk: "The press brought up my adopted father's name. They relate to his name and that is fine by me – it comes with the name, but I will be my own man. I have made my own path and started to take my own steps."^[10]

Chelsea[link]

On 17 July 2005, Wright-Phillips completed a £21 Million^[11] move to Premier League champions Chelsea, returning to his native London. He joined the club on a five-year contract after agreeing to personal terms and passing a medical. He had previously said he would not leave Manchester City. His appearances were initially limited, starting only fifteen times for Chelsea in the 2005/06 season and struggling to find scoring form.

His first goal for the club came in a 2–0 Champions League win over Levski Sofia on 5 December 2006, almost 17 months after his transfer. An unhappy first season with Chelsea culminated in him missing out on the opportunity to travel to Germany with the England squad for the 2006 World Cup.

Despite making few first-team appearances, Wright-Philips maintained that he was happy at Chelsea and wanted to stay and fight for a first team place. He received a boost from his then manager José Mourinho, when the latter declined to make an approach for Spain and Real Betis (as of the 2006/07 season with Valencia CF) winger Joaquín, stating that he had enough options in terms of wingers.

As the 2006/07 season progressed, Wright-Phillips picked up form and scored his first league goal against West Ham United, he followed up with his second in the same match. Subsequently, he started in several games towards the end of the season including the FA Cup final which Chelsea won, however Wright-Phillips was substituted during the second half.

In the beginning of the 2007–08 season, Wright-Phillips maintained his starting place on the right wing. He also maintained his place after Jose Mourinho left Chelsea and under new coach Avram Grant. Wright-Philips was selected to play in the League Cup final, which Chelsea lost to Tottenham Hotspur. He only made another six appearances that season and failed to make the match day squad for the 2008 UEFA Champions League Final. Having made 65 starting appearances for the club, with a further 60 as a substitute, Wright-Phillips had been unable to secure a regular place in the side under Grant and Mourinho. After also falling out of favour with new manager Luiz Felipe Scolari, he was allowed to leave the club.

Return to Manchester City[link]

2008–09 season[link]

On 28 August 2008, he re-joined his former club Manchester City on a four year contract for an undisclosed fee, believed to be in the region of £8.5million.^[12][13] He was allocated the number 8 shirt for the 2008–09 season. On his second debut, Wright-Phillips scored two goals against Sunderland in the 3–0 away win in the Premier League.^[14] Wright-Phillips' third goal for Manchester City came in a 6–0 victory over Portsmouth on 21 September. After his dismal spell at Stamford Bridge, Wright-Phillips equalled his entire goalscoring record at Chelsea just over a month after returning to City. His right footed drive in the second half against Omonia Nicosia on 2 October helped steer City through to the group stages of the UEFA Cup for the first time. On 29 October, Wright-Phillips swore at former Middlesbrough manager Gareth Southgate during Manchester City's 2–0 defeat to Boro after Southgate complained about Wright-Phillips appearing to go down too easily after a challenge from a Boro player. The FA warned Wright-Phillips about his future conduct.

2009–10 season[link]

The 2009–10 season started very well for Wright-Phillips, setting up a goal for Emanuel Adebayor in the 3rd minute, in a 2–0 win against Blackburn.Three weeks later against Arsenal, he set up a goal for Emanuel Adebayor before scoring one for himself.He followed that up with a goal in a Carling Cup tie with Crystal Palace. He went on to score in 3 successive home games against Burnley, Hull City and then Arsenal in the Carling Cup.^[15] He has found himself in and out of the team under Roberto Mancini, with new signing Adam Johnson's form forcing Wright-Phillips to be a substitute in most matches, including City's game at his former club Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. He came off the bench to replace Johnson in the 60th minute and then set up Craig Bellamy's second goal in the 4–2 win over the Blues. Despite his impact in the game, Wright-Phillips has not secured a place in the team. He started for City on the final game of the 2009–10 Premier League season against West Ham United at Upton Park, where he scored the equalising goal in a 1–1 draw.

Queens Park Rangers[link]

On 31 August 2011, the final day of the transfer window, Wright-Phillips signed for Queens Park Rangers.^[16] He made his full debut for QPR against Newcastle United on 12 September 2011, making the starting line-up and winning Man of the Match by supporters. ^[17]

Club statistics[link]

As of 25 May 2011.

International career[link]

Wright-Phillips made his England debut as a substitute against Ukraine on 18 August 2004 and scored an impressive goal late in the second half. A real bundle of energy, he was frequently called upon throughout England's World Cup qualifying campaign. However, after a decline in form, especially a poor performance away to Northern Ireland, and a lack of games following his move to Chelsea he missed out on a place in the 2006 World Cup squad.

Wright-Phillips played on the right wing during England's two Euro 2008 qualifiers against Macedonia and Croatia. After a good start to the 2007–08 campaign, Wright-Phillips received an England recall to play against Germany in a friendly match at the new Wembley Stadium. Wright-Phillips was brought on as a substitute in the second half during the match in which England lost 1–2 to Germany and he was named the England sponsor's Man of the Match after an impressive performance.

Selected to start against Israel on 8 September, he scored the first goal in the 3–0 victory and won the England sponsor's Man of the Match award with his performance.

He was once again selected to start for England against Estonia and scored his third goal for England and the opener in a third consecutive 3–0 win at Wembley.

He was selected in England's critical Euro 2008 qualifying game against Croatia, substituted at half time in favour of David Beckham with England trailing 2–0, with England eventually losing 3–2 and therefore missing out on Euro 2008.

On 19 November 2008, Wright-Phillips was selected to start in England's friendly against Germany in Berlin.

On 14 October 2009, with England having already qualified for World Cup 2010, Wright-Phillips was selected in the starting XI against Belarus at Wembley. Unusually, he was joined in the side (which was missing Wayne Rooney through injury) by Tottenham Hotspur's Aaron Lennon, meaning England played with two recognised wingers. Mid-way through the second half, Wright-Phillips drove in a shot from the edge of the penalty area which beat the dive of the Belarus goalkeeper. He appeared as a second-half substitute against Egypt on 3 March 2010, scoring England's second goal and assisting Peter Crouch for the third as they came from behind to win 3–1.^[18]

On 1 June 2010, Shaun Wright-Phillips was selected for England's final 23 man squad that was to play in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. This came as a shock to many journalists who had thought that the dropped Theo Walcott would be in the squad instead.^{[citation needed]}

International statistics[link]

^[19]

Scores and results list England's goal tally first.

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	18 August 2004	St James' Park, Newcastle	Ukraine	3–0	3–0	Friendly
2	8 September 2007	Wembley Stadium, London	Israel	1–0	3–0	UEFA Euro 2008 Qual.
3	13 October 2007	Wembley Stadium, London	Estonia	1–0	3–0	UEFA Euro 2008 Qual.
4	6 February 2008	Wembley Stadium, London	Switzerland	2–1	2–1	Friendly
5	14 October 2009	Wembley Stadium, London	Belarus	2–0	3–0	2010 FIFA World Cup Qual.
6	3 March 2010	Wembley Stadium, London	Egypt	2–1	3–1	Friendly

Honours[link]

Manchester City

• First Division: 2001–02
• FA Cup: 2010–11

Chelsea

• FA Community Shield: 2005
• Premier League: 2005–06
• Football League Cup: 2006–07
• FA Cup: 2006–07

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Shaun Wright-Phillips

• Shaun Wright-Phillips career stats at Soccerbase
• TheFA.com profile
• BBC profile
• Official Shaun Wright-Phillips Website
• Premier League profile

v t e England squad – 2010 FIFA World Cup 1 James 2 Johnson 3 A. Cole 4 Gerrard (c) 5 Dawson 6 Terry 7 Lennon 8 Lampard 9 Crouch 10 Rooney 11 J. Cole 12 Green 13 Warnock 14 Barry 15 Upson 16 Milner 17 Wright-Phillips 18 Carragher 19 Defoe 20 King 21 Heskey 22 Carrick 23 Hart Coach: Capello