AC Omonia
| Full name | Athletic Club Omonia Αθλητικός Σύλλογος Ομόνοια |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1948 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ground | GSP Stadium, Nicosia (Capacity: 22,859) |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chairman |  Miltiadis Neophytou |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Manager |  Nedim Dudić |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| League | Cypriot First Division | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2007-08 | 3rd | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Athletic Club Omonia Nicosia (Greek: Αθλητικός Σύλλογος Ομόνοια Λευκωσίας) is a Cypriot football club, which plays in the capital, Nicosia. Omonia has won 19 league championships, 12 Cypriot Cups and 14 Super Cups. Omonia has also claimed a record five domestic doubles - in 1972, 1974, 1981, 1982 and 1983.The Cyprus Football Association declared them as the team of the 20th century, remaining the only team to have won the Cypriot Cup 4 times in a row between the years 1980 and 1984.
The club was established in 1948 and became a member of the Cyprus Football Association in 1953. As an athletic club, Omonia also has basketball, volleyball, futsal and cycling sections.
Contents |
History
AC Omonia was founded in 1948 as a result of the political turbulence of that period and the conflict between left-wing and right-wing in the Greek Civil War. In May 1948 APOEL sent a letter based on political content to SEGAS (Greek Gymnastic-Athletic Clubs Association), violating the club's statute to not be involved in politics. After that letter, several footballers of the club criticized the their club but that followed the expulsion of those players from the team. Those players with some other people established the new club of Nicosia, with the name Athletic Club Omonia Nicosia.
In 1953, clubs that were members of the Cyprus Amateur Football Association joined Cyprus Football Association. Omonia joined the Cypriot First Division in 1953, finishing seventh out of nine clubs in their first season.[1] The club won their first league title in 1960-61.[1]
1970s and 1980s
The club was the dominant force in Cypriot football during the 1970s and 1980s, winning the league for six consecutive seasons from 1974 until 1979, a record remains unbeaten. The club fielded players such as Sotiris Kaiafas, Spas Tsevizof and Gregory Savvas. Kaiafas won the European Golden Boot after finishing as Europe's top domestic scorer in 1976 with 39 goals.[2] – such feats led the Cypriot football assciation to name him as the greatest Cypriot player of the past 50 years in 2004.[2]
During the 1980s the club won five consecutive titles between 1981 and 1985 They were champions from 1981 to 1985 and again in 1987 and 1989.
1990s and 2000s
Although Omonia won the title again in 1992-93, the decade was dominated by Anorthosis Famagusta. Rainer Rauffmann, who arrived at the club in 1997, was the league's leading scorer for four years and also played for Cyprus national football team after gaining Cypriot citizenship.
The club won their ninteenth title in 2003, and are currently tied with APOEL for the most championships.[3]
Colours and badge
The club's badge is the shamrock. The shamrock supposedly represents the strength of the Omonia founders, and the green colour represents hope.
Stadium
Since 1999 the club has played at the 22,859-seat GSP Stadium, the largest in Cyprus, which they share with local rivals APOEL and Olympiakos Nicosia. There are plans for the club to build a 32,000-seat stadium,[4] located near Tseri, a village just outside Nicosia.
Previously Omonia had played at the old GSP Stadium (1953-1978) and the Makario Stadium (1978-1999). Both stadiums were also shared with APOEL and Olympiakos. Prior to 1953 the club had used the "Goal" Stadium.
The club's basketball team hosts its matches at the biggest indoor sport venue in the island, the Eleftheria Indoor Hall with a capacity of 6,800 seats while the volleyball team shares the Lefkotheo Indoor Hall which was built in 1980 with APOEL Nicosia. For the 2006–07 season, the futsal team uses the Indoor Hall of Melkonian institute which is a part of the institute complex and has capacity of 500 seats.
Supporters
The club has a wide supporter base outside Nicosia, whilst its fans are considered to be largely left-wing.
There are two major fan clubs supporting the team, PA.SY.FI. and Gate 9, which is the most active and biggest fan club. The club took its name from Kaiafas' father, Sotiris Kaiafas, who won the European Golden Boot in 1976 and was first organised in 1992. Since then they are following the team everywhere in the world.
In 2001, the club broke the record for ticket sales, selling 109,303 tickets. In 2003, they broke their own record with the improved figure of 140,740 and the record was broken again the following year with 143,033 tickets sold.
Current squad
|
|
Club officials
Board of directors
- President: Miltiadis Neophytou
- Vice-President/Economic Director: Nick Nicolaou
- Vice-President/General Head of Football's department: Christakis Giovannis
- General Secretary: Andreas Leonidou
- Governor of Football/B General Secretary: Christos Tsangaris
- Governor of Football: Sotiris Kaiafas
- Governor of Football: Kokos Antoniou
- Governor of Football: Nikos Charalambous
- Governor of Basketball: Petros Souppouris
- Governor of Volleyball: Photos Ioannou
Coaching staff
- Manager: Nedim Dudić
- Assistant Manager: Arsen Mihajlović
- Goalkeeping Coach: Christophoros Loizou
- Fitness Coach: Spyros Spyrous
- Chief Scout: Rainer Rauffmann
Notable former players
Listed according to when they made their debut:
|
|
|
Notable former managers
Igor Netto (1967)
Iontso Arsof (1988)
Helmut Senekowitsch (1991)
Dušan Galis (1999)- Asparuh Nikodimov (2000)
Arie Haan (2000)- Henk Houwaart (2000)
Toni Savevski (2002)
Franciszek Smuda (2004)
Ioan Andone (2006)
Dragomir Okuka (2007)
Ioannis Matzourakis (2007)- Giorgos Savvidis (2008)
Honours
Football
Cyprus Football Association
-
- 1961, 1966, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1993, 2001, 2003
- Cypriot Cup: 12
-
- 1965, 1972, 1974, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1988, 1991, 1994, 2000, 2005
- LTV Super Cup: 14
-
- 1966, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1994, 2001, 2003, 2005
Cyprus Amateur Football Federation
- Championship: 4
-
- 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952
- Cup: 5
-
- 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953
Volleyball
- Cup:
- Winner (2): 1999, 2006
Club records
- Largest victory: 11-0 v Doxa Katokopia, Championship, 17 January 2004
- Largest European Victory: 6-1 v FA Red Boys Differdange, Champions Cup, Round 1, 3 October 1979
- Worst Defeat: 0-10 v Ajax Amsterdam, Champions Cup, Round 1, 24 October 1979
- Worst League Defeat: 1-7 v AEL FC, 1953-54
- Most League Points (2 for a win): 54, 1976-77
- Most League Points (3 for a win): 67, 1998-99
- Most League Goals: 91, 1960-61
- Most consecutive league matches unbeaten: 46, 29 January 1984 - 14 December 1985
- Most Appearances : 503 Andreas Kanaris
- Most Goals scored : 321 Sotiris Kaiafas
- Most Goals scored in a Match: 8 Rainer Rauffmann v Anagennisis Deryneia, 1998
- Most Goals scored in league season:: 44 Sotiris Kaiafas, 1976-77
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Cyprus - List of Final Tables 1931-1998 RSSSF
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Kaiafas famed for golden goals". UEFA. Retrieved on 2008-09-22.
- ↑ Cyprus - List of Champions RSSSF
- ↑ Omonia Stadium StadiumGuide.com
External links
- Official GATE 9 Fan Club website
- GATE 9 LIMASSOL - The Red Version
- Omonia Nicosia Fans
- OmonoiaG9.com Fans Site
- Omonia Fans website
- Omonia Fans Portal
- Fans of Omonia - Videoblog
- Stadiumguide.com Profile for Omonia future stadium
- national-football-teams
|
Cypriot First Division 2008-09
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Football in Cyprus
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
UEFA Cup 2008–09
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||