"APOEL" redirects here. For the basketball team, see APOEL B.C.. APOEL F.C. (Greek: ΑΠΟΕΛ Ποδόσφαιρο) is a professional football club based in Lefkosia (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 19 championships, 19 cups and 10 super cups. APOEL's European competitions highlights include appearances on the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League (2002-2003) and the second round of the UEFA Cup (2002-2003). APOEL F.C. is part of the APOEL multisport club. APOEL (Greek: ΑΠΟΕΛ; Aθλητικός Ποδοσφαιρικός Όμιλος Eλλήνων Λευκωσίας, Athlitikos Podosfairikos Omilos Ellinon Lefkosias, Athletic Football Club of Greeks of Nicosia) is a Cypriot multisport club based in Nicosia, Cyprus. APOEL was founded in 1926 and it maintains departments for several sports including football, basketball, volleyball, table tennis and cycling.
History
The club was formed as POEL (Greek: ΠΟΕΛ; Ποδοσφαιρικός Ομιλός 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 all Greeks of the capital. The meeting took place at a traditional confectionery, owned by Charalambos Hadjioannou, down town in Ledra Street and the first president of the club was Giorgos Poulias[2]. The first clubhouse was the "Athenians Club" (Greek: 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 2 championships (1980,1986), 1 cup (1984) and 2 FA shields (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 2 years disqualification from any UEFA competition.[4] This penalty was later reduced to 1 year.
The 90s were a successful decade for APOEL with 3 championships (1990, 1992, 1996), 5 cups (1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999) and 4 FA shields (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.[5] 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.[5] The company began it operations with a capital of CY£600,000.[5]
In 2002, the football team embarked on an impressive European run, playing ten games before being knocked out, an impressive feat for a Cypriot club. The team participated in the Champions League and was knocked out by AEK Athens on the third qualifying round. They entered the UEFA Cup on the first round and advanced until the second round when they were knocked out by Hertha BSC Berlin.
Academy
The APOEL academy are 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: Constantinos Charalambides, Nektarios Alexandrou, Marinos Satsias and Marios Elia. All of them have also competed at international level with the Cyprus National Football Team. while Charalambides and Nektarios Alexandrou have played for teams in the Greek Super League in the past.
Colours and badge
APOEL's colours are blue and yellow. Blue symbolises Greece and yellow symbolises Cyprus. The logo is a blue and yellow shield with the name of the club written diagonally in blue. The badge has remained the same since the establishment of the club.
Stadium
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APOEL plays in the 22,859 seater New GSP Stadium (also known as the Pancypria Stadium), the biggest stadium in Cyprus, since October 23, 1999. They share it with local rivals Omonia and Olympiakos Nicosia.
APOEL played in the Makario Stadium from 1978 until 1999 and in the Old GSP Stadium before that.
The club's basketball team hosts its matches at Lefkotheo Indoor Arena which was built in 1980 with Omonia and has a capacity of 3,000 seats. For many years APOEL B.C. used as home venue the biggest indoor sport venue in the island, the Eleftheria Indoor Hall with a capacity of 6,800 seats. The volleyball team of APOEL host its matches at the Lefkotheo Indoor Arena too. The team shares the venue with Omonia's volleyball team.
Supporters
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.
Main supporter groups include PAN.SY.FI (Greek: ΠΑΝ.ΣΥ.ΦΙ) and Pirates. PAN.SY.FI was founded in 1979 [6] 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. [6]
The club record for ticket sales in a single season is 116,015 (13 matches, home league games only) during the 2006-07 season.[7] The average league game attendance (home and away) for the last 5 seasons is 8,218.[8] The number of season tickets for the 2007-08 season was 5,442.[9]
Current squad
Last Update: September 11, 2008[10]
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| Possible Lineup for 08/09 Season. |
Squad changes for 2008/09 season
In:
Out:
Club officials
Board of directors
- President: Kyriakos Zivanaris
- Vice-President: Vassos Iliadis
- Director of Internal Organisation of Company: Alkis Filippou
- Director of Football: Theodoros Kyriakides
- Technical Manager: Michalis Hadjipieris
- Legal Director: Antis Polydorou
- Planning Director: Vassos Iliadis
- Planning Director: Theodoros Kyriakides
- Director of Fighting of Violence: Michalakis Rafael
- Safety Director: Stelios Zambas
- Marketing Director: Telis Ioannidis
- Marketing Director: Aliki Iliadou
- Communication Director: Takis Antoniou
- Director: Antonis Demetriou
Coaching staff
Medical staff
- Club Doctor: Dr. Costas Schizas
- First Team Physiotherapist: Antonis Kentelis
- Assistant First Team Physiotherapist: Dimitri Stoyanov
- Team Nutritionist: Nicoletta Michaelidou
Sponsorship
- Official Shirt Sponsor - MTN [24]
- Official Sport Clothing Manufacturer - Lotto
- Official Athletism Sponsor - Jeep
- Official Stadium Sponsor - Alfa Capital Holdings
- Official Communication Sponsor - LTV
- Official Sport Drink - Isostar
Other sponsors
Notable former players
"See also" category: APOEL FC players
- Cyprus
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- Argentina
- Armenia
- Australia
- Austria
- Brazil
- Colombia
- Costa Rica
- Croatia
- Czech Republic
- England
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- England (cont.)
- France
- FYROM
- Greece
- Hungary
- Morocco
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- Netherlands
- Nigeria
- Northern Ireland
- Poland
- Portugal
- Serbia
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Togo
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Managerial history
"See also" category: APOEL FC managers
Last Update: May 9, 2008 [26]
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