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Aris Limassol FC

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Aris Limassol
File:Aris Limassol.png
Full nameΆρης Λεμεσού
Aris Limassol
Nickname(s)Ελαφρα Ταξιαρχια (Light Brigade)
Founded1930
GroundTsirion Stadium,
Limassol, Cyprus
Capacity13,331
ChairmanCyprus Kyriacos Hadjikyriacos
ManagerSerbia Dušan Mitošević
LeagueCypriot Second Division
2010–11Second Division, 1st (Promoted)

Aris Limassol (Greek: Άρης Λεμεσού) is a Greek Cypriot football club based in Lemesos. Green and white are the colours of the club and the team's home is the Tsirion Stadium.

History

One of the founder members of Cyprus Football Association, and was around between 5th and 7th position in 1930s. During the 1940s, the team didn't compete in the Cypriot First Division, however they returned back in the Cypriot Championship in 1954 and they were the first team to be relegated to the Second Division after finishing last in the table. The following season they became Champions in the Second Division and returned back to be relegated again. Returning to the First Division, where after a good appearance in the First Division, they gained the fourth position.

Being one of the weakest teams in the First Division during 1960s, they were finally relegated in 1969-70 as 12th and remained for two seasons in the Second Division. The situation changed for Aris between 1975 and 1980 when the team won again the fourth position in 1976-77 and 1978-79. Two years after winning the fourth position, in 1981 the team were relegated again after finishing last (14th) but returned as runners up the following season and finished 5th in 1985-86.

The greatest success of the club was in 1989 when the team qualified to the Cyprus Cup final, where they were beaten by AEL Limassol 2-3. The following season, in 1989-90, the club signed the Ukrainian Oleg Blokhin, the 1975 European Footballer of the Year, and helped them to win for another time the fourth position, which was the clubs greatest position. After the end of the season, Blokhin ended his career playing for Aris Limassol.

After the relegation in 1992/93, the team won the following season for third time the Second Division Championship. Since 1996/97, when the club was in Cypriot First Division, the team was then every year relegated to the Cypriot Second Division and the following year was promoted to the Cypriot First Division. That situation ended in 2006-07, when the team finished 8th in the championship and managed to remain in the Cypriot First Division. Aris was relegated to the Cypriot Second Division in 2008-2009, the team finished in 2nd place and played in the Cypriot First Division in 2009-2010 but has been relegated yet again. In 2009-2010 it reached the Cyprus Cup semi-final.

Although the football team forms the centre of sporting activity for Aris, the club has over the years maintained teams in other sports including basketball, table tennis and chess. The Aris chess team dominated Cypriot chess during the 1980s. Also, Aris has around 300 fans and they said that they are the 300 of Leonidas in Thermopylea.

Additionally, the Aris choir was established in 1938 by the famous conductor and composer Solon Michaelides who remained its conductor until 1956 to undertake the direction of the National Orchestra of Salonica, Greece. In 1962, the choir made a new start under the direction of Marinos Mitellas and remains one of the best known Hellenic choirs performing in Cyprus, Greece and internationally.

Current squad

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Cyprus CYP Giorgos Charalambous
4 DF Portugal POR Comboio
5 DF Serbia SRB Dragan Radosavljević
8 MF Bosnia and Herzegovina BIH Vladan Grujić
9 FW Poland POL Łukasz Sosin
10 FW Argentina ARG Silvio González
11 MF Brazil BRA Ricardo Malzoni
13 MF Bosnia and Herzegovina BIH Dušan Kerkez
15 DF Argentina ARG Andrés Imperiale
16 FW Brazil BRA Gelson
17 MF Cyprus CYP Giorgos Geka
18 MF Cyprus CYP Elias Elia
19 MF Cyprus CYP Giorgos Vasiliou
20 MF Cyprus CYP Christos Charalampous
No. Pos. Nation Player
21 DF Bulgaria BUL Ventsislav Vasilev
22 MF Serbia SRB Predrag Lazić
23 MF Cyprus CYP Andreas Theofanous
25 DF Cyprus CYP Panayiotis Ioannou
28 MF Cyprus CYP Kypros Christoforou
29 GK Hungary HUN Zoltán Kovacs
30 MF Cyprus CYP Costas Markou
51 GK Cameroon CMR Gilbert N'Djema
55 DF Slovakia SVK Maroš Klimpl
69 DF Cameroon CMR Carl Lombé
77 MF Cyprus CYP Menelaos Aristeidou
99 FW Cyprus CYP Alexandros Tsitouris
MF Romania ROU Claudiu Ionescu

For recent transfers, see List of Cypriot football transfers summer 2011.

Former players

Template:Famous players

Titles