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APOEL

Full name	Athletikos Podosferikos Omilos Ellinon Lefkosias
Nickname(s)	Τhrylos (The Legend)
Founded	8 November 1926; 92 years ago (1926-11-08)
Ground	GSP Stadium, Nicosia, Cyprus
Capacity	22,859
Owner	APOEL Football Limited
Chairman	Prodromos Petrides
Manager	Paolo Tramezzani
League	First Division
2017–18	First Division, 1st (champions)
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours
Current season

Active departments of APOEL Nicosia
Football Basketball Volleyball Futsal Handball Table tennis Bowling Archery Cycling Water polo Runners team Swimming The Club

APOEL FC (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. APOEL is the most popular and the most successful football team in Cyprus with an overall tally of 27 national championships, 21 cups, and 13 super cups.^[1][2][3]

APOEL's greatest moment in the European competitions occurred in the 2011–12 season, when the club participated in the group stages of the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League (along with FC Porto, Shakhtar Donetsk, and Zenit St. Petersburg). The club achieved qualification for the quarter-finals of the competition by topping the group and eliminating Olympique Lyonnais in the last 16, becoming the only Cypriot club to reach the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals.^[4] APOEL's European competitions highlights also include appearances in the group stages of the 2009–10 and 2014–15 UEFA Champions League and the group stages of the 2013–14, 2015–16, and 2016–17 UEFA Europa League. They marked their most successful UEFA Europa League campaign during the 2016–17 season, when they managed to top their group (along with Olympiacos, Young Boys, and Astana) and eliminated Athletic Bilbao in the round of 32, to reach the last 16 of the competition for the first time in their history.^[5][6] APOEL is the only Cypriot club who have reached the group stages (and the knockout stages) of both major UEFA competitions (UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League). In the 2016–17 season, APOEL drew an average home league attendance of 7,126 and their highest league attendance was 15,462. Both were the highest in the league.^[7]

APOEL FC is part of the APOEL multi-sport club, which was founded in 1926 and maintains departments for several sports including football, basketball, volleyball, futsal, table tennis, bowling, cycling, archery, swimming and water polo. APOEL is one of the founding members of the Cyprus Football Association^[8] and also an ordinary member of the European Club Association, an organization that replaced the previous G-14 which consists of major football clubs in Europe.

History

1926–1929 : The early years

The club was formed as POEL (Greek: ΠΟΕΛ; Ποδοσφαιρικός Όμιλος Ελλήνων Λευκωσίας, Podosferikos Omilos Ellinon Lefkosias, Football Club of Greeks of Nicosia) on 8 November 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 express 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.^[8] The first clubhouse was the "Athenians Club" (Λέσχη Αθηναίων) at the end of Ledra Street.^[8]

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.

The 1930s : The first league titles

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 in the final by 4–0. In 1934, there was a disagreement between Trust 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 23 September 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).^[8]

The 1948 conflicts

Politics, however, would soon spark conflict within the team. On 23 May 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.^[9] A few days later, on 4 June 1948, they founded AC Omonia, which until today is the archrival of APOEL and there has been a traditional animosity between the fans of the two teams.^[9]

1955–59 period

More conflicts led to further struggles for APOEL. Athletes belonging to the club frequently participated in national clashes. During the 1955–59 national uprising 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.

Triumph in the 1963–64 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup

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.^[10]

The successful participation in pan-Hellenic Greek Championship

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.^[11]

The 1980s: European Cup 1986–87 withdrawal

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.^[12] This penalty was later reduced to one-year.

The 1990s : The unbeaten "double" in 1995–96

The 1990s^[13] 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 1990s 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.

The formation of APOEL FC Company

APOEL Football (Public) Ltd was established in May 1997, after the decision of APOEL committee.^[14] This had a significant effect on the club because it separated the activities of the football team from those of the sports club.^[15] 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.

The domestic domination of the last fifteen years

APOEL is the most successful football team in Cyprus since the 2000s. The last fifteen years, the club won ten championships (2002, 2004, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017), four cups (2006, 2008, 2014, 2015) and six super cups (2002, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013). In season 2013–14, APOEL achieved a historical domestic treble by winning all the Cypriot competitions trophies, the league, the cup and the super cup. The next season (2014–15), the club won their second consecutive double, after winning again the championship and the cup. The 2016–17 season, APOEL managed to win their fifth consecutive league title and equalled the club's record which was set 77 years before (1936–1940).

European ambitions

APOEL's first great run in European competitions came in 2002, when the team was knocked out on the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League, entered the UEFA Cup and reached the second round of the competition. The following years, APOEL qualified three times for the UEFA Champions League group stages (2009–10, 2011–12, 2014–15) and managed to reach the quarter-finals in the 2011–12 season.^[4] The team also participated in the group stages of the 2013–14, 2015–16 & 2016–17 UEFA Europa League, managing to reach the last 16 of the competition.^[5][6]

APOEL FC as a company

The football department of APOEL is legally owned by APOEL Football (Public) Ltd (Greek: ΑΠΟΕΛ Ποδόσφαιρο (Δημόσια) Λτδ), a public limited company,^[15] since 1997. The company's main activity is the management, operation and commercial exploitation of APOEL Football club. The company owns all the rights for the football department under an agreement with APOEL sports club and pays the club CY£100,000 annually for the privilege.^[13] The agreement between the company and the club is renewed every five years. The company has 1745 shareholders^[15] and besides the football club, also maintains a team boutique (Orange Shop), the APOELFC (Greek: ΑΠΟΕΛFC) magazine and the apoelfc.com.cy website among others.

Youth Academy

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. Players started from the academy and had great contribution APOEL are: Marinos Satsias, Constantinos Charalambides, Nektarios Alexandrou, Michalis Morfis and Marios Antoniades. 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.

UEFA Youth League participations

APOEL's U19 team participated for the first time in the UEFA Youth League group stage during 2014–15 season, drawn in Group F alongside Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Ajax.^[16] APOEL managed to collect only one point after drawing 0–0 with Ajax at home^[17] and lost their other five Group F matches. They lost twice to Barcelona (2–3 at home, 0–3 away), lost twice to Paris Saint-Germain (0–3 at home, 0–6 away) and also lost to Ajax 1–4 away, finishing fourth in their group.

The next two seasons, APOEL's U19 team participated again in the UEFA Youth League. The 2015–16 season they competed in the first round of the Domestic Champions Path, being drawn to face Puskás Akadémia from Hungary. After a dramatic 3–3 draw in the first leg in Nicosia, APOEL U19 suffered a heavy 6–1 loss in Felcsút and were eventually eliminated. The 2016–17 season they competed in the first round of the Domestic Champions Path, being eliminated by Italian side A.S. Roma after losing 0–3 at home and 1–6 in Italy.

Colours and badge

The club's colours and badge displayed by APOEL fans in the 2009–10 Champions League match against Chelsea.

APOEL's colours are blue and yellow. Blue symbolizes Greece and yellow symbolizes Byzantium.^[18][19] 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 (2008–09 season), two stars were added above the logo to symbolize the 20 championship titles (one star for every ten championships won). Other than that, the badge has remained the same since the establishment of the club.

Stadium

APOEL's home ground since 23 October 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.^[20]

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).

Supporters

APOEL fans celebrating after eliminating Wisła Kraków in the play-off round of the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League.

APOEL is the most popular team in Cyprus.^[1][2] APOEL fans are right-wing in their majority but there are no strong ties between the organised fans and any political party.^[18] That wasn't always the case but during the past years they have actively avoided association with any political party.^[18]

The main supporter group is PAN.SY.FI (Greek: ΠΑΝ.ΣΥ.ΦΙ). PAN.SY.FI was founded in 1979^[21] 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.^[21] APOEL have reserved the shirt number 79 in honour of PAN.SY.FI. (APOEL Ultras), to denote the year the group was founded, 1979.^[22]

The club record for ticket sales in a single season is 141,268^[23] (15 matches, home league games only) during the 2010–11 season. The club record for average league games attendance in a single season is 9,582 (13 matches, home league games only) during the 2012–13 season.^[24] The club's season tickets sales record was set on season 2014–15, in which more than 8,000 season tickets were sold.^[25]

APOEL holds the record of the highest home attendance for Cyprus First Division in the game against Omonia with 23,043^[26] tickets for 2002–03 season. The match was held at GSP Stadium on 7 December 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^[27] 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 7 March 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^[28] 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^[29] 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^[30] 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.

Rivalries

Nicosia derby

The Nicosia derby (or the Derby of the eternal enemies) refers to the Nicosia's local derby, football matches played between APOEL and Omonia. It is the classic rivalry of the Cypriot football, as the two teams are the most successful and most popular football clubs of the island. The rivalry is also indicative of social, cultural and political differences and originates from 1948 when the board of APOEL sent 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 stating its wish for the "communist mutiny" to be ended. Club's players considering this action as a political comment on the Greek Civil War distanced themselves or were expelled from APOEL and a month later they formed Omonia.^[31] The first derby was played on 12 December 1953 and ended in a goalless draw.^[32]

Current squad

As of 10 September 2018^[33]

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

No. Position Player 1 GK Rafael Romo 3 DF Caju (on loan from Santos) 4 MF Kostakis Artymatas 5 DF Jesús Rueda 6 MF Savvas Gentsoglou 7 MF Georgios Efrem 8 MF Lucas Souza 13 MF Musa Al-Taamari 17 MF Ghayas Zahid 18 MF Andreas Artemiou 19 MF Tomas De Vincenti 23 MF Juan Cascini (on loan from Estudiantes) 26 MF Nuno Morais (captain) 27 FW Andreas Katsantonis

No. Position Player 29 DF Praxitelis Vouros 30 DF Giorgos Merkis 37 FW Léo Natel (on loan from São Paulo) 44 DF Nicholas Ioannou 45 DF Mickaël Facchinetti 46 MF Efstathios Aloneftis (vice-captain) 49 FW Dellatorre 50 DF Carlão (on loan from Torino) 70 MF Antonio Jakoliš 71 MF André Vidigal (on loan from Fortuna Sittard) 77 FW Norbert Balogh (on loan from Palermo) 89 FW Roman Bezjak 95 GK Dimitris Priniotakis 99 GK Boy Waterman

For recent transfers, see List of Cypriot football transfers summer 2018.

Out on loan

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

No. Position Player MF Minas Antoniou (on loan at Enosis Neon Paralimni) FW Michalis Charalambous (on loan at Varzim) FW Reza Ghoochannejhad (on loan at Sydney FC)

Loan deals expire at the end of 2018–19 season

Club officials

Board of directors

Source: apoelfc.com.cy

Personnel

Position	Staff
General Manager	Efthymios Agathokleous
Football Director	Svetozar Šapurić
Financial Controller	Alexis Demetriou
Operations Manager	Marios Christodoulou
Marketing Manager	George Lykouris
Youth Academies General Manager	George Markides
Head of Communications Department	Nectarios Petevinos
Team Manager	George Savvides
Accountant	Antigoni Lambrou

Source: apoelfc.com.cy

Technical staff

Technical staff
Head coach	Bruno Baltazar
Assistant coach	Eddie Cardoso
Assistant coach	Guilherme Ramos
Assistant coach	Paulo Jorge
Assistant coach/Analyst	Giorgos Kostis
Goalkeeper coach	Michalis Morfis
Assistant fitness/recovery coach	Christos Sotiriou
Scouting staff
Head of Scouting Department	Juan José Lorenzo[34]

Source: apoelfc.com.cy

Medical staff

Medical staff
Head of medical department	Nikolaos Tzouroudis
Head of physiotherapy dept.	Marios Siamaris
Physiotherapists	Constantinos Kaparis
	Marinos Evripidou
Masseur	Evangelos Kanellos
Nutritionist	Nicoletta Michaelidou
Caregiver	Costas Stefanou

Source: apoelfc.com.cy

Sponsorship

Main sponsors

• Official shirt sponsor – Pari-Match
  


• Official sport clothing provider – Nike
  


• Official host broadcaster – Cytavision
  


• Official back of shirt sponsor – 3CX
  


• Official shorts sponsor – DIMCO LTD
  

Source: apoelfc.com.cy

Managerial history

Last Update: 21 April 2016^[35]

Presidential history

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:

Former players

List of former players with national team appearances or having won multiple titles with the club:^[37]

Honours^[3]

• Cypriot Championship

Winners (27) (record): 1935–36, 1936–37, 1937–38, 1938–39, 1939–40, 1946–47, 1947–48, 1948–49, 1951–52, 1964–65, 1972–73, 1979–80, 1985–86, 1989–90, 1991–92, 1995–96, 2001–02, 2003–04, 2006–07, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18

• Cypriot Cup

Winners (21) (record): 1936–37, 1940–41, 1946–47, 1950–51, 1962–63, 1967–68, 1968–69, 1972–73, 1975–76, 1977–78, 1978–79, 1983–84, 1992–93, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1998–99, 2005–06, 2007–08, 2013–14, 2014–15

• Cypriot Super Cup

Winners (13): 1963, 1984, 1986, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013

Records

Last update: 16 March 2017

• Record League win: 17–1 vs Aris Limassol (4 June 1967) — 1966–67
  


• Record League defeat: 6–1 vs Nea Salamina (2 May 1998) — 1997–98
  


• Record European competition win: 6–0 vs SK Gjøvik-Lyn (8 September 1963) — UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, Preliminary round 1st leg, 1963–64^[39]
  000000000000000000000000000006–0 vs HB Tórshavn (28 August 1997) — UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, Qualifying round 2nd leg, 1997–98^[40]


• Record European competition defeat: 16–1 vs Sporting CP (13 November 1963) — UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, 1st round 1st leg, 1963–64^[41]


• Most consecutive League games unbeaten: 34 — From 18 September 1946 to 23 November 1949


• Most consecutive League games won: 16 — From 21 December 2008 to 11 April 2009


• Most League points in a season:

3 for win: 83, 2015–16^[42] (full season) — 69, 2008–09 (regular season)

2 for win: 51, 1976–77

• Most League goals in a season: 91, 2015–16^[42]


• Record average League home attendance: 9,582 — 2012–13^[24]


• Record League home attendance: 23,043 vs Omonia (7 December 2002) — 2002–03^[26]


• Record European competition home attendance: 22,701 vs Olympique Lyonnais (7 March 2012) — UEFA Champions League, Last-16 2nd leg, 2011–12^[27]


• Most League appearances for club: 371 — Yiannos Ioannou
  


• Most League goals for club : 191 — Yiannos Ioannou
  


• Most European competitions appearances for club: 91 — Nuno Morais
  


• Most European competitions goals for club : 9 — Aílton José Almeida
  

League and Cup history

IFFHS Club World Ranking

Rank	Country	Team	Points
61		Sparta Prague	153,00
62		Atlético Nacional	152,50
63		BATE	152,00
64		APOEL	149,50
65		Slovan Liberec	149,00
66		Astana	146,00
		Club América	146,00

Last update: 7 January 2015

Source: IFFHS

References

External links

• 
  Official website (in Greek), (in English)
  


• 
  APOEL Athletic Football Club official website (in Greek)
  


• 
  APOEL Ultras official website (in Greek)