"APOEL" redirects here. For the basketball team, see
APOEL B.C..
APOEL F.C. (Greek: ΑΠΟΕΛ; short for Αθλητικός Ποδοσφαιρικός Όμιλος Ελλήνων Λευκωσίας – Athletikos Podosferikos Omilos Ellinon Lefkosias – "Athletic Football Club of Greeks of Nicosia") is a professional football club based in Nicosia, Cyprus and they are one of the founding members of the Cyprus Football Association.[1] APOEL is one of the most popular football teams in Cyprus and they are the most successful with an overall tally of 21 championships, 19 cups and 12 super cups. APOEL's greatest moment in the European competitions occurred in the season 2011–12, when the club participated in the group stages of the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League (along with F.C. Porto, Shakhtar Donetsk and Zenit St. Petersburg) and achieved qualification for the quarter-finals of the competition by topping the group and eliminating Olympique Lyonnais in the last 16, becoming the first and only Cypriot club to reach the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals. APOEL's European competitions highlights include also appearances in the group stages of the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League, the second round of the 2002–03 UEFA Cup and the play-offs of the 2010–11 UEFA Europa League.
APOEL F.C. is part of the APOEL multi-sport club, which was founded in 1926 and maintains departments for several sports including football, basketball, volleyball, table tennis, bowling and cycling.
The club was formed as POEL (Greek: ΠΟΕΛ; Ποδοσφαιρικός Όμιλος Ελλήνων Λευκωσίας, Podosferikos Omilos Ellinon Lefkosias, Football Club of Greeks of Nicosia) on November 8, 1926. The club's formation came about when a group of forty people, with a common vision, met and set the foundations for creating a football club that would represent the Greek residents of the capital and exrpess their deep desire for Cyprus' incorporation (enosis) into Greece. The meeting took place at a traditional confectionery, owned by Charalambos Hadjioannou, downtown in Ledra Street and the first president of the club was Giorgos Poulias.[2] The first clubhouse was the "Athenians Club" (Λέσχη Αθηναίων) at the end of Ledra Street.[2]
After a journey to the football club in Alexandria, Egypt in 1927 the General Assembly of 1928 decided the players showed that they were not just good footballers but also excellent track and field athletes. Hence it was decided to create a track and field team in addition to the football team. The name APOEL was adopted to reflect this, with the 'A' standing for 'Athletic'. Soon after a volleyball team and a table tennis team were established.
Cyprus did not have any country-wide league until 1932. Football clubs of the time played friendly matches only. In 1932, Pezoporikos Larnaca organised an unofficial league, the first island-wide league, and it was won by APOEL after defeating AEL Limassol on the final with 4–0. In 1934, there was a disagreement between Trast AC and Anorthosis Famagusta on the organisation of the fourth unofficial league. APOEL and AEL Limassol organised a meeting for the foundation of a country-wide governing body and an official country-wide league. The meeting took place in APOEL's clubhouse on September 23 and the establishment of the Cyprus Football Association was agreed. Two years later the APOEL football team celebrated its first championship title of the official Cyprus football league. APOEL also won the championship for the following four years, making this a very successful period for the club with 5 consecutive championships (1936–1940).[1]
Politics, however, would soon spark conflict within the team. On May 23, 1948 the board of the club send a telegram to the Hellenic Association of Amateur Athletics (Greek: Σ.Ε.Γ.Α.Σ.), with the opportunity of the annual Panhellenic Track and Field Competition, which included wishes that "the rebellion" is finished. Several leftist club members perceived the telegram as a political comment on the Greek Civil War and they distanced themselves from the club.[3] A few days later, on June 4, 1948, they founded Omonia Nicosia Football Club. Omonia is to this date the arch rival of APOEL and there has been a traditional animosity between the fans of the two teams.
More conflicts led to further struggles for APOEL. Athletes belonging to the club frequently participated in national clashes. During the 1955–59 national up-rise against the British, many of APOEL's athletes and members of the club were active members of EOKA (the National Organisation of Cypriot Fighters), the most outstanding example being the club's track and field athlete Michalakis Karaolis who was hanged by the British colonial authorities. During this period the football team had their closest brush with relegation as most football players were actively taking part in the national struggle.
The football team were quickly back to full strength and made their debut in European Competitions (the first not only for APOEL but for any Cypriot team) in 1963, when they faced the Norwegian team SK Gjøvik-Lyn in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. Two victories for APOEL over both legs (6–0, 1–0) marked APOEL's successful European debut, as they became the first Hellenic team to progress in a European Competition. The next round against the tournament winners Sporting Clube de Portugal met APOEL with their heaviest defeat ever (16–1) and put an end to APOEL's European debut.[3]
Other triumphs followed in the early 1970s. In 1973 the domestic double was achieved with coach Panos Markovic. The following year APOEL became the only Cypriot team to avoid relegation from the pan-Hellenic Greek Championship. That was also the last season that the Cypriot champion played in the Greek Football League the following year due to the volatile situation in Cyprus during 1974.[3] 1973 also saw triumphs for the basketball side of APOEL, who gained their first trophy by winning the national cup. Three years later in 1976 they succeeded in winning the first basketball championship. The volleyball side of the club experienced their most successful period between 1979 and 1985 when they won six championships and five cups.
The 1980s were a relatively fruitless period for APOEL. They have only won two championships (1980,1986), one cup (1984) and two super cups (1984, 1986). In 1986 APOEL was drawn against Beşiktaş J.K. for the second round of the European Cup. This was the first time that a Cypriot team faced a Turkish team in a European football competition. The Cypriot government prohibited APOEL from playing against the Turkish team, so APOEL was punished with two years disqualification from any UEFA competition.[4] This penalty was later reduced to 1 year.
The 90s[5] were a successful decade for APOEL with 3 championships (1990, 1992, 1996), 5 cups (1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999) and 4 super cups (1992, 1993, 1996, 1999). The most successful season in the 90s was 1995–96 in which APOEL achieved a celebratory double while remaining undefeated in the league. The basketball team won a double on the same season, making this the ideal season for a 70th anniversary celebration.
On 1996 the APOEL Football Ltd. was formed.[6] This had a significant effect on the club because it separated the activities of the football team from those of the sports club. The formation of the company was necessitated by the financial difficulties the team faced at the time. The company began its operations with a capital of CY £600,000.
APOEL is the most successful football team in Cyprus in the 2000s. Since 2001, the club won 5 championships (2002, 2004, 2007, 2009, 2011), 2 cups (2006, 2008) and 5 super cups (2002, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2011). In 2002, the team was knocked out on the third qualifying round of the Champions League, entering the UEFA Cup and reaching the second round of the competition. Also, APOEL qualified twice for the UEFA Champions League group stages (2009–10 & 2011–12), and reached the quarter-finals in 2011–12 season.
In the 2002–03 season, the football team embarked on an impressive run, playing ten games before being knocked out from the European competitions. The team participated in the 2002–03 UEFA Champions League and after eliminating Flora Tallinn (1–0 on agg.) and NK Maribor ( 5–4 on agg.), was knocked out by AEK Athens (2–4 on agg.) on the third qualifying round. So, they entered the UEFA Cup on the first round and after eliminating Grazer AK (3–1 on agg.) they advanced until the second round when they were knocked out by Hertha BSC Berlin (0–5 on agg.).
The first big success of the club in European competitions came on season 2009–10, when the team reached the group stages of the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League for the first time, by eliminating EB/Streymur (5–0 on agg.), FK Partizan (2–1 on agg.) and F.C. Copenhagen (3–2 on agg.) in the qualifying rounds. APOEL were drawn in Group D against Chelsea F.C., F.C. Porto and Atlético Madrid. APOEL drew 0–0 against Atlético Madrid in the first game at Vicente Calderón, lost 0–1 from Chelsea F.C. at GSP stadium on matchday 2, lost 2–1 from F.C. Porto at Dragão in the third match and lost again 0–1 from F.C. Porto at GSP Stadium on matchday 4. In the fifth match of the group APOEL drew with Atlético Madrid 1–1 at GSP Stadium and on matchday 6, APOEL drew with Chelsea F.C. at Stamford Bridge. So, APOEL finished fourth having equal points (3) with Atlético Madrid, but failed to qualify to UEFA Europa League, because of the away goal that Atlético Madrid had scored in Nicosia.
Two years after its first participation, APOEL qualified again for the UEFA Champions League group stages by eliminating Skënderbeu Korçë (6–0 on agg.), Slovan Bratislava (2–0 on agg.) and Wisła Kraków (3–2 on agg.) in the qualifying rounds. APOEL drawn in Group G, alongside F.C. Porto, Shakhtar Donetsk and Zenit St. Petersburg. On matchday 1, APOEL won 2–1 against Zenit St. Petersburg at GSP Stadium and secured its first ever victory in the UEFA Champions League group stage. On matchday 2, APOEL held Shakhtar Donetsk to a 1–1 draw at the Donbass Arena and in the third match they drew 1–1 with F.C. Porto at Dragão. On matchday 4, APOEL won 2–1 against F.C. Porto at GSP Stadium and on the next matchday they made history and reached the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League by holding Zenit St. Petersburg to a 0–0 draw in Petrovsky Stadium.[9] Eventually, APOEL reached the last 16 as a group winner, despite losing 0–2 at home from Shakhtar Donetsk on the last matchday. In the last 16, APOEL was drawn against Olympique Lyonnais. Lyon won 1–0 in the first leg at Stade de Gerland, but in the second leg at GSP Stadium APOEL won 1–0, sending the match to penalties where they won 4–3, reaching the quarter-finals for the first time. In the quarter-finals, APOEL hosted Real Madrid in the first leg, but were defeated 0–3 by the Spanish giants. In the second leg at Santiago Bernabéu, APOEL managed to score twice but Real Madrid won by 5–2 and reached the semi-finals with an aggregate score of 8–2.
The football department of APOEL is legally owned by APOEL Football Ltd (Greek: ΑΠΟΕΛ Ποδόσφαιρο Λτδ.), a public limited company,[10] since 1996. The company owns all the rights for the football department under an agreement with the APOEL sports club. The company pays the club CY£100,000 annually for the privilege.[5] The agreement between the company and the club is renewed every five years. The company, besides the football club, also maintains a team boutique (Orange Shop), the APOELFC (Greek: ΑΠΟΕΛFC) magazine and the apoelfc.com.cy website among others.
Main articles:
APOEL B.C. and
APOEL VCAPOEL has also a great history in Basketball and Volleyball.
The basketball team of APOEL won 10 Championships, 11 Cups and 10 Super Cups in his golden history and there is no doubt that APOEL is one of the biggest basketball clubs in the country. The volleyball team of APOEL won 8 championships (1 held by SEGAS, 1 by the Greek Volleyball Federation and 6 by the Cyprus Volleyball federation) and 5 Cups. Mainly, the peak years for the APOEL volleyball team were between 1980–1990. Since then some good years were being made by the team but without any title outcome.
APOEL's youth academy is a separate legal entity from the football club. They are responsible for the under 21 teams for football, basketball and volleyball and they have their own board of directors and budget. The football academy has produced many quality Cypriot players over the years. The following players started from the academy and are now playing for APOEL: Michalis Morfis, Constantinos Charalambides, Nektarios Alexandrou, Marinos Satsias and Tasos Kissas. All of them have also competed at international level with the Cyprus national football team while Charalambides and Alexandrou have played for teams in the Greek Super League in the past.
The club's colours and badge displayed by its supporters
APOEL's colours are blue and yellow. Blue symbolises Greece and yellow symbolises Byzantium. The logo is a blue and yellow shield with the name of the club written diagonally in blue. After the club won their 20th championship (season 2008–09) two stars were added over the logo to symbolise the 20 championships. Other than that, the badge has remained the same since the establishment of the club.
APOEL's home ground since October 23, 1999, is the 22,859 seater GSP Stadium. It is the largest stadium in Cyprus and they share it with local rivals Omonia and Olympiakos Nicosia.
Before moving to GSP Stadium, APOEL used as home grounds the Makario Stadium (from 1978 until 1999) and the old GSP Stadium (prior to 1978).
The club's basketball and volleyball teams host their matches in the 2,200 seater Lefkotheo Indoor Arena which was built in 1980. For many years the basketball team used as home venue the biggest indoor sport venue in the island, the Eleftheria Indoor Hall with a capacity of 6,800 seats.
APOEL is one of the most popular teams in Cyprus. APOEL fans are right-wing in their majority but there are no strong ties between the organised fans and any political party. That wasn't always the case but during the past years they have actively avoided association with any political party. During political elections the organised fans post "My (Political) Party is APOEL" (in Greek) on banners outside the fan club, stickers etc.
The main supporter group is PAN.SY.FI (Greek: ΠΑΝ.ΣΥ.ΦΙ). PAN.SY.FI was founded in 1979[11] and has branches in all major cities in Cyprus and also in other countries. The PAN.SY.FI (and most ultras) wear orange jackets (or T-shirts). The first game they sported the orange jackets was during the first round game of the 1992–93 championship against AEL Limassol in Makario Stadium.[11] APOEL have reserved the shirt number 79 in honour of PAN.SY.FI. (APOEL Ultras), to denote the year the group was founded, 1979.
The club record for ticket sales in a single season is 141,268[12] (15 matches, home league games only) during the 2010–11 season. The club record for average league games attendance in a single season is 9,418 (15 matches, home league games only) during the same season. The club's season tickets sales record was set on season 2011–12, in which more than 7,000[13] season tickets were sold.
APOEL holds the record of the highest home attendance for Cyprus First Division in the game against Omonia with 23,043[14] tickets for 2002–03 season. The match was held at GSP Stadium on December 7, 2002 and ended in a goalless draw.
The club holds also the record of the highest attendance of a Cypriot team for a European Competition game with 22,701[15] tickets in the match against Olympique Lyonnais for the return leg of the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League last 16. The match which was held on March 7, 2012 at GSP Stadium of Nicosia ended with a 1–0 win for APOEL after extra time and 4–3 win on penalties.
On 8 December 2009, APOEL fans created another impressive record. More than 6,000[16] fans of the team travelled to London at Stamford Bridge for the last match of the 2009–10 Champions League group D against Chelsea F.C. which ended in a 2–2 draw. This is the biggest number of fans of any Cypriot team that had ever travelled away from Cyprus. A similar record created on 14 February 2012, in APOEL's participation to the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League last 16, when more than 5,000[17] APOEL fans travelled in France to support their team against Olympique Lyonnais. The match was held at Stade de Gerland and Olympique Lyonnais took a slender advantage into the second leg by winning 1–0. Also, on 4 April 2012, about 4,000[18] APOEL fans travelled to Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid, to support APOEL against Real Madrid for the return leg of the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League quarter-finals, in a match which Real Madrid won by 5–2.
During 2009–10 season APOEL sold in total 244,977 tickets for its home matches in all competitions (Championship, Cup, Champions League), which is the biggest number of tickets sold by a Cypriot club in a single season.
Last Update: May 21, 2012[19]
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
For recent transfers, see List of Cypriot football transfers summer 2012.
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EU Nationals
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EU Nationals (Dual citizenship)
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Non-EU Nationals
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79 – In honour of PAN.SY.FI (APOEL Ultras), to denote the year the group was founded, 1979.
[edit] Board of directors[20]
- Chairman: Phivos Erotokritou
- Vice-Chairman A': Giorgos Georgiou
- Vice-Chairman B': Antis Polydorou
- Vice-Chairman C': Andreas Spyrides
- Secretary: Marios Athanasiou
- Member: Andreas Hadjikyriakos
- Member: Stelios Zambas
- Member: Takis Antoniou
- Member: Constantinos Constantinou
- Member: Alkis Philippou
- Member: Giannos Pantazis
- Member: Michalakis Rafael
- Member: Christos Hadjikyriakos
- Member: Costas Schizas
- Member: Kyriakos Kyriakou
- General Manager: Marios Georgiou
- Team Manager: Giorgos Savvides
- Marketing Manager: Phivos Papadopoulos
- Operations Manager: Efthymios Agathokleous
- Press Officer: Panikos Chatziliasis
- Accountant: Antigoni Lambrou
[edit] Coaching staff[22]
- Club Doctor:
Dr. Costas Schizas
- Physiotherapist: Constantinos Voniatis
- Assistant Physiotherapist:
Dimitri Stoyanov
- Assistant Physiotherapist: Svetlin Petrov
- Assistant Physiotherapist: Georgi Gospodinov
- Team Nutritionist: Nicoletta Michaelidou
Source: apoelfc.com.cy
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This list of "famous" or "notable" sporting persons has no clear inclusion or exclusion criteria. Please help to define clear inclusion criteria and edit the list to contain only subjects that fit that criteria. |
- Cyprus
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- Albania
- Armenia
- Australia
- Austria
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Brazil
- Colombia
- Costa Rica
- Croatia
- Czech Republic
- England
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- France
- Ghana
- Greece
- Hungary
- Macedonia
- Morocco
- Netherlands
- Nigeria
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- Northern Ireland
- Peru
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- Serbia
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Togo
- Tunisia
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Last Update: May 9, 2008[26]
APOEL has had numerous presidents over the course of their history. Since the establishment of APOEL Football Ltd., the presidents of the board of directors of the company (chairmen) have assumed all presidential duties for the football club. Here are complete lists of both:[27]
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Presidents:
- 1926–1958 – Georgios Poulias
- 1958–1967 – Efthyvolos Anthoullis
- 1967–1968 – Mihalakis Triantafyllidis
- 1968–1969 – Takis Skarparis
- 1969–1971 – Constantinos Loukos
- 1971–1974 – Mihalakis Zivanaris
- 1974–1975 – Kikis Lazaridis
- 1975–1983 – Iakovos Filippou
- 1983–1988 – Mihalakis Zivanaris
- 1988–1991 – Andreas Papaellinas
- 1991–1992 – Kykkos Fotiades
- 1992–1994 – Mike Ioannides
- 1994–1996 – Christos Triantafyllidis
- 1996–1999 – Ouranios Ioannidis
- 1999–2000 – Dinos Palmas
- 2002–2004 – Dinos Fysentzidis
- 2004–2007 – Yiannos Ioannou
- 2007–2008 – Costas Schizas
- 2008–2009 – Christodoulos Ellinas
- 2009–2011 – Prodromos Petridis
- 2011–present – Aris Vasilopoulos
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Chairmen:
- 1997–1998 – Mike Ioannides
- 1998–2000 – Christos Triantafyllidis
- 2000–2001 – Harris Papanastasiou
- 2001–2006 – Prodromos Petridis
- 2006–2008 – Kyriakos Zivanaris
- 2008–present – Phivos Erotokritou
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- Winners (21): 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1952, 1965, 1973, 1980, 1986, 1990, 1992, 1996, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2009, 2011
- Winners (19): 1937, 1941, 1947, 1951, 1963, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1984, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2006, 2008
- Winners (12): 1963, 1984, 1986, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2011
- Winners (10): 1976, 1979, 1981, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2009, 2010
- Winners (11): 1973, 1979, 1984, 1986, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2002, 2003
- Winners (10): 1972, 1976, 1986, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2010
- Winners (7): 1972, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1985
- Winners (5): 1979, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1985
- Most consecutive League games unbeaten: 34 – From September 18, 1946 to November 23, 1949
- Most consecutive League games won: 16 – From December 21, 2008 to April 11, 2009
- Most League points in a season:
- 3 for win: 82, 2008–09 (Full season) – 69, 2008–09 (regular season)
- 2 for win: 51, 1976–77
Last Update: April 5, 2012[32]
#Q = #preliminary, #R = #round, PO = play-offs, G = Group stage, R16 = last 16, QF = quarter-finals
1: Both matches played in Portugal.
2: Both matches played in Germany.
3: Both matches played in Belgium.
Last update: May 24, 2012
Source: xs4all.nl
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APOEL F.C.
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APOEL F.C. – current squad
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