| Full name | Athletikos Podosferikos Omilos Ellinon Lefkosias (Athletic Football Club of Greeks of Nicosia) Greek: Aθλητικός Ποδοσφαιρικός Όμιλος Eλλήνων Λευκωσίας |
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| Founded | November 8, 1926 | |||
| Ground | GSP Stadium, Nicosia, Cyprus (Capacity: 22,859) |
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| Chairman | Phivos Erotokritou | |||
| Manager | Ivan Jovanović | |||
| League | Cypriot First Division | |||
| 2010–11 | 1st | |||
| Website | Club home page | |||
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| Current season | ||||
APOEL F.C. (Greek: ΑΠΟΕΛ Ποδόσφαιρο; 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 FC Porto, Shakhtar Donetsk and Zenit St. Petersburg) and achieved qualification for the Last 16 of the competition by topping the group, becoming the first and only Cypriot club to reach the UEFA Champions League knockout stages. 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 all Greeks of the capital. 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" (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 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 decade. 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). Also, APOEL qualified twice for the UEFA Champions League group stages (2009–10 & 2011–12), and reached the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League knockout phase, writing the greatest chapter in the club's history.
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.
| APOEL's most frequent starting lineup in the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League group stages. |
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chelsea | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 4 | +7 | 14 |
| Porto | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 3 | +5 | 12 |
| Atlético Madrid | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 12 | −9 | 3 |
| APOEL | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 7 | −3 | 3 |
The first big success of the club in European competitions came on August 26, 2009, when the team knocked out F.C. Copenhagen in the 2009–10 Champions League play-off round by winning 3–2 on aggregate and reached the group stages of the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League for the first time. APOEL were drawn in Group D against Chelsea FC, FC Porto and Atlético Madrid. APOEL drew 0–0 against Atlético Madrid at the first game at Vicente Calderón Stadium and won its first ever point in group stages. At the second game APOEL faced up English giants Chelsea F.C. and the Cypriot team was beaten by Nicolas Anelka's goal in the 18th minute. On matchday three APOEL played against FC Porto at Dragão. APOEL took the lead on 22’ from Alvaro Pereira's own goal but Hulk scored two goals on 33’ and 48’ with a penalty and finally lost 2-1. Then followed another match against FC Porto in Nicosia. APOEL stood well but lost 1-0 after Radamel Falcao's goal in the 84th minute. In the fifth match of the group APOEL drew with Atlético Madrid 1–1 at GSP Stadium. APOEL took the lead in the game in the 5th minute after Nenad Mirosavljević scored, but Atlético Madrid equalised with the Portuguese international Simão Sabrosa on 62 minutes. For matchday six, on December 8, 2009 APOEL travelled to London to play against Chelsea. At Stamford Bridge the team had the support of 6,000 fans who traveled from Cyprus. APOEL took the lead on 6th minute with Marcin Żewłakow, but Chelsea scored two goals with Michael Essien on 19’ and Didier Drogba on 26' to make it 2–1. APOEL equalised after Nenad Mirosavljević scored in the 87th minute and the match ended 2–2. APOEL finished fourth in the group having equal points with Atlético Madrid, but failed to qualify to UEFA Europa League, because of the away goal that Atlético Madrid had scored in Nicosia. At the end of the season Atlético became the eventual winner of the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League.
| The 2011–12 UEFA Champions League starting lineup that managed to beat Zenit St. Petersburg 2–1 at home and secured APOEL's first ever UEFA Champions League group stage victory. |
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| APOEL | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 9 |
| Zenit St. Petersburg | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 5 | +2 | 9 |
| Porto | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 8 |
| Shakhtar Donetsk | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 8 | −2 | 5 |
Two years after its first participation APOEL managed to qualify again for the UEFA Champions League group stages. The team won the 2010–11 Cypriot First Division and entered the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League second qualifying round. A successful campaign saw them through to the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League group stages by eliminating Skënderbeu Korçë (6–0 agg.), Slovan Bratislava (2–0 agg.) and Wisła Kraków (3–2 agg.). APOEL drawn in Group G, alongside FC Porto, Shakhtar Donetsk and Zenit St. Petersburg. On September 13, 2011, APOEL hosted Zenit St. Petersburg in GSP Stadium and secured its first ever victory in the UEFA Champions League group stage proper with a 2–1 comeback victory against the Russian side. Konstantin Zyryanov put Zenit ahead in the 63rd minute but APOEL was rewarded for its attacking play 10 minutes later when Gustavo Manduca pounced on a loose ball in the box and slotted the ball into the Zenit net. The winner came two minutes later when Brazilian striker Aílton evaded the Zenit defense and shot into the far corner past goalkeeper Vyacheslav Malafeev. In its second match in the group, APOEL held Shakhtar Donetsk to a draw at the Donbass Arena and stayed in first place in the group. APOEL took the lead when the striker Ivan Tričkovski finished off a counter attack in the 61st minute. Shakhtar equalised three minutes later when Jádson scored. Another away match followed against FC Porto and APOEL drew 1-1 at Dragão to extend its unbeaten start and keep them on the top of Group G. Brazilian forward Hulk put FC Porto ahead after 13 minutes with a curving free‑kick from distance and APOEL levelled six minutes later when Aílton received the ball close to the Porto area, dribbled past Fernando and sent a diagonal shot that gave the goalkeeper Helton no chance to block. However, on the last minute of added time APOEL could have won the match, but substitute Aldo Adorno was denied the winner by a block from Helton. On November 1, 2011, APOEL hosted FC Porto in GSP Stadium and Gustavo Manduca's last-minute winner meant APOEL remained unbeaten at the top of Group G, securing at least a place in the UEFA Europa League round of 32. On 42nd minute, Aílton was tripped by Eliaquim Mangala and the referee immediately signaled a penalty. The Brazilian striker stepped up and sent Helton the wrong way, scoring his third goal in the competition. On the 89th minute FC Porto won a penalty and Hulk made no mistake from the spot, equalizing for the visitors. It looked like the Portuguese side had salvaged a draw, but in the 90th minute Constantinos Charalambides fired in an accurate cross and found Gustavo Manduca in the box, whose left-footed strike from close range sealed the win for APOEL. On November 23, 2011, APOEL made history and became the first Cypriot team to reach the Last 16 of the UEFA Champions League by holding Zenit St. Petersburg to a 0-0 draw in Petrovsky Stadium.[7] APOEL eventually reached the Last 16 as a group winner, despite losing its unbeaten record after a 2-0 home defeat by Shakhtar Donetsk on the final match day. Luiz Adriano (who had in the first half a penalty saved by Urko Pardo) and Yevhen Seleznyov scored second-half goals for Shakhtar to win its first group stage match that season, but APOEL stayed top of Group G after Zenit St. Petersburg drew 0-0 at FC Porto.
The football department of APOEL is legally owned by APOEL Football Ltd (Greek: ΑΠΟΕΛ Ποδόσφαιρο Λτδ.), a public limited company,[8] 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.
APOEL has also a great history in Basketball and Volleyball.
The basketball team of APOEL won 10 Championships, 11 Cups and 10 Supercups 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 Nektarios Alexandrou have played for teams in the Greek Super League in the past.
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. 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[9] 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.[9] APOEL decided to reserve the shirt number 79 in honour of PAN.SY.FI., as the number 79 symbolizes the foundation year (1979) of the group.
The club record for ticket sales in a single season is 141,268[10] (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. APOEL is the first and only Cypriot club which reached 10,000 season tickets, by selling 10,325 season tickets for the 2010–11 season.
APOEL holds the record of the highest home attendance for Cyprus First Division in the game against Omonia with 23,043[11] 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 22,537[12] tickets in the match against Shakhtar Donetsk for the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League group G matchday 6. The match was held on December 6, 2011 at GSP Stadium of Nicosia and ended with a 0–2 loss for APOEL.
On 8 December 2009, APOEL fans created another impressive record. More than 6,000[13] fans of the team travelled to London at Stamford Bridge for the last match of the 2009–10 Champions League group D against Chelsea FC 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.
During 2009–10 season APOEL sold in total 254,119 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: August 31, 2011[14]
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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For recent transfers, see List of Cypriot football transfers summer 2011.
Also, see List of Cypriot football transfers winter 2011–12.
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EU Nationals |
EU Nationals (Dual citizenship) |
Non-EU Nationals |
79 – In honour of PAN.SY.FI (APOEL Ultras). The number symbolizes the foundation year (1979) of the group.
Last update: 23 September 2011; Source: apoelfc.com.cy
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Last Update: May 9, 2008[21]
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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:[22]
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Presidents:
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Chairmen:
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Last Update: December 7, 2011[28]
| Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UEFA Champion's League | 46 | 15 | 11 | 20 | 54 | 63 |
| UEFA Cup/Europa League | 50 | 19 | 13 | 18 | 75 | 71 |
| UEFA Cup Winner's Cup | 30 | 6 | 6 | 18 | 27 | 78 |
| TOTAL | 126 | 40 | 30 | 56 | 156 | 212 |
#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.
| Rank | Country | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61 | Celtic | 32.728 | |
| 62 | Athletic Bilbao | 31.922 | |
| 63 | Hapoel Tel Aviv | 31.400 | |
| 64 | APOEL | 30.449 | |
| 65 | Borussia Dortmund | 30.137 | |
| 66 | BATE Borisov | 29.641 | |
| 67 | Lazio | 29.624 |
Last update: December 16, 2011
Source: xs4all.nl
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