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Apollon Limassol FC

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Apollon Limassol
File:Apollon-Limassol.png
Full nameApollon Limassol FC
Nickname(s)θεός, tr.Theos (God)
θρύλος, tr.Thrylos (legend)
Κυανό-λευκή, tr. Kianolefki (Blue-Whites)
Ο φυγάς, tr. O Fygas (The Fugitive)
Founded14 April 1954; 70 years ago (14 April 1954)
GroundTsirion Stadium,
Limassol, Cyprus
Capacity13,331
ChairmanNicos Kirzis
ManagerPedro Emanuel
LeagueCypriot First Division
2014–153rd
Websitehttp://www.apollon.com.cy/intro.php

Apollon Limassol (Template:Lang-el, Apollon Lemesou) is a Cypriot sports club, based in Limassol. It has football, basketball and volleyball teams. Founded in 1954, Apollon F.C. currently plays in Cypriot First Division and has won the championship title 3 times, the cup 7 times and the Super Cup once.

History and establishment

At the end of 1953, a team of young men placed as a dream and objective, the foundation of an association with national and athletic aims based on promoting the education and social skills of its young members. On 14 April 1954, the general assembly of these members with leader Mr Christakis Pavlides proposes the foundation of an athletic association called "APOLLON LIMASSOL".[1] The assembly approved the proposal and thus from that date "APOLLON was born". The first administrative council of the team included: Charalambos Lymbourides (Secretary), Andreas Psyllides (Cashier), Antonakis Fourlas (Adviser), Melis Charalampous (Adviser), Andreas Theoharous (Adviser) Andreas Aggelopoulos (Adviser) and Kostas Panayiotou (Adviser)

N.B. The 1st players of Apollon were previous players of AEL Limassol established in 1930

In its first year, Apollon had 8 defeats in 8 matches in the second division. Just before the next season (1956–57), Apollon won the regional group in the second division and subsequently the play-offs and then was promoted to the first division.

This took place in 1957 and ever since Apollon has been competing in the first division. Through his history, Apollon won three Championships (1991, 1994, 2006), seven Cups (1966, 1967, 1986, 1992, 2001, 2010, 2013), a Super Cup (2006) and also had some very successful participations in European competitions, winning several important games and at the same time, the respect of many European football clubs.[2]

1954–1955: Early years

In its first year, Apollon suffered 8 defeats in 8 matches in the second division. Just before the next season (1956–57), Apollon won the regional group in the second division and subsequently the play-offs and then was promoted to the first division. This took place in 1957 and ever since Apollon has been competing in the first division. Things were not easy however for the newly promoted club. Apollon couldn't reach a satisfactory position in the rankings and was struggling in the middle of the table for many years. But in the mid-60's things changed.[1]

1964–1967: The first distinctions

In 1965 Apollon reached the Cup Final. However, Omonia won the tile with a score of 5–1.[3] A year later, Apollon was in the Final again, and won the Cup by defeating Nea Salamina with the score of 4–2(Scorers: Panikos Yiolitis, Andros Konstantinou, Panikkos Kristallis, Antonis Panayides), and triumphantly took the trophy to Limassol.[2] Apollon managed to maintain its Cup title in 1967, by beating Alki 1–0 thanks to the goal of Antonis Panayides.[3] After celebrating these titles, Apollon had to wait another 15 years to start making history once again.

1981–1987: Back to the Cup Final after 20 fallow years

In the football season 1981–1982 Apollon managed to reach once again the Cup final however in double games Omonia won the Cup. In the 1985–1986 season,after 20 years of "drought" Apollon won once again the Cup in Tsirion Stadium, overcoming Apoel with a score of 2–0.[3] Scores were Kenny and Sokratous.[2]

1990–1999: 10 years of glory

A Apollon former coach
Diethelm Ferner

In these years, it emerged clearly that absent was this "something" that could make the difference for the team to lead in the Championship. This "something" therefore was non-other than the German coach named Diethelm Ferner who, upon arriving in Cyprus was determined to win. The German, with his discipline and hard work accomplishes "links" between young talented footballers with older more experienced footballers creating a team ready for the big time. Thus in the season 1990–1991 the team entered the championship "marathon" wanting to write the biggest and most glorious page in its history book. After a frantic and impressive season, offering both substance and spectacle in its game, Apollon was finally crowned Champion of Cyprus![4] From that year and for a five-year period the team gained the admiration of all Cypriot football fans after playing modern football. In 1991–1992 season Apollon won the Cup for the fourth time, overcoming Omonia in final with a final score of 1–0.[3] The scorer was Evgenio Ptak. However, in the next season of 1992–1993 Apollon lost both titles. The team returned strongly and gained the club's second Championship one year later in 1993–1994 season, later after a hard duel with Anorthosis where the title was judged on the last day of the season.[4] In the 1994–1995 season Apollon reached the Cup final losing from Apoel with 2–4 while the same happened also in the 1997–1998 season with "executioner" this time the almighty Anorthosis, that accomplishes and gains the cup with a final score 1–3. In that five-year period Apollon was accomplished in the European ties, winning enough games and at the same time the respect of many European football clubs. However the game, in which Apollon wrote his own unique history is non-other than with the big opponent of F.C. Internazionale Milano (Inter Milan) in the UEFA Cup! The 1 – 0 in "Stadio Giuseppe Meazza" (San Siro) left margins for Apollon to believe in a miracle, against the Italians for the second leg game of 3 November 1993. The Cup Champions, staffed with a squad of international players led by Dutchman Dennis Bergkamp talked for a walkover in Cyprus against "fishermen" (thus called the footballers of Apollon the goalkeeper of Inter, Walter Zenga before the game) and that the game in Milan was just a bad game for their team. However, the Inter team was found in Limassol, losing in the first ten minutes with a 0–2 score and only finally managed to recover and to finish another historic tie with 3–3, leaving at the end the great Italian goalkeeper speechless!. Scorers for the Apollon team were Milenko Spoljaric, Zlatan Šcepovic and Giorgos Iosifidis.[5]

2000–2010: 1 Championship, 2 Cups and 1 Super Cup

Apollon supporters during a match in 2006.

In the 2000–2001 season Apollon won the Cup against Nea Salamis Famagusta FC in the GSP stadium, with final score 1–0. Scorer was the unforgettable Viktor Zubarev.[3]

In the middle of the football season (2004–2005) and after enough failed attempts for glory after the final of 2001,German manager Bernd Stange took the responsibility, accomplishing late but regularly he brought back the lost glamour of the team. In the season, 2005–06 Apollon won the league title undefeated and earned a club record of 64 points.[4] Apollon had 19 wins and 7 draws in 26 matches and this went down in Cypriot Football history, due to fact that it was the fourth team in the Cyprus Championship that won the title unbeaten(*Apollon was the only undefeated team in Europe, running an unbeaten streak since 12 March 2005 (30 games). The next year Apollon won for the first time in his history the Super Cup beating Apoel 1–3 at home.

In 2010 Apollon won the Cup after 9 years (2001 Final Cup), beating APOEL Nicosia in GSZ Stadium. The final score was 2–1.[3]

2010-11: Cup finalists

The following year (2011), Apollon reached the final of the Cypriot Cup for the second consecutive year, but lost to AC Omonoia on penalties, after a 1–1 draw following extra time[3]

2012-13: Cypriot Cup winners

On 22 May 2013, Apollon won the Cup after 3 years (last Cup won in 2010). Apollon won in the final by beating 1-2 AEL Limassol at Tsirion Stadium in extra time, achieving the club's 7th Cypriot Cup title.[3] Apollon fans are very demanding and loyal to the Club and after 3 years they celebrated the Cup by singing, drinking, celebrating the whole week.

2013–14: Gold history and big dreams

Apollon Limassol skipper Giorgos Merkis implored his team-mates not to rest on their laurels after securing a famous 2-0 victory against OGC Nice in the first leg of their 2013–14 UEFA Europa League play-off. Christakis Christoforou's men were billed as overwhelming underdogs going into the tie, but a second-half double from Argentinian forward Gaston Sangoy has put them in a commanding position ahead of the 29 August decider at Stade Municipal du Ray. The next week Apollon travelled to Nice and the dream came true. Apollon lost 1-0 from OGC-Nice but qualified at the group stage of Europa League for first time in team's history. In the group stage Apollon will play with: Lazio, Trabzonspor and Legia Warsaw. At the debut match at G.S.P stadium in Nicosia in the group stage of Europa League Apollon Limassol defeated by Trabzonspor 1-2 and scorer was the team's star Gaston Sangoy. On 26 September Apollon became the first Cypriot side to win a game in Poland on matchday two, ending a seven-game losing streak away from home in Europe to beat Legia Warsaw 1-0. Scorer against Polish side was again Gaston Sangoy. It is a first away victory for a Cypriot side in a UEFA club competition group stage in their last 16 attempts. In the third match on 24 October Apollon claimed a 0-0 draw against Serie A side Lazio in Nicosia to keep alive their chances of qualifying from UEFA Europa League Group J.

2014-2015

After finishing 3rd in the 2013–14 Cypriot First Division, Apollon entered the 2014–15 UEFA Europa League play-off round, where they faced Russian Premier League club FC Lokomotiv Moscow. First leg was held in Cyprus and ended with a 1-1 draw. Second leg, held in Moscow, ended with a 4-1 win to the guests and brought Apollon to group stage of the competition. Apollon became the first team in Cyprus to qualify for a European competition by winning in an away game in the play-off round for two consecutive years as well as joining UEFA Europa League for two years a row.

Apollon, having 3 points, were out of the competition after losing to FC Zürich in a replay match.

Crest and colours

The team' s emblem represents the olympian God Apollo from the Greek mythology. Apollo was considered the god of sun, poetry and music. The colours of the team are blue and white. They represent the colours of the Greek flag as the creation of the team was well connected with the struggles of Cypriot people for unification with Greece. The away colours are white and the home kit blue.

Other teams

Basketball team

See also: Apollon Limassol BC

The Basketball team of Apollon was founded in 1967 and is one of the founding members of Cyprus Basketball Federation.[citation needed] From then the team participated regularly in the championship of 1st Division. The unique titles in the history of department, are two cups in 2002 and 2014 and a Super Cup in 2004. While it finished many times in second places.

Volleyball team

A Founding member of the Cyprus Volleyball Federation, the women's team participated in several Championship finals (1999, 2001, 2003, 2010,2011,2012,2013) and in eight Cup finals (1992, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2003,2011,2012,2013) . Apollon won: 3 National Championships (2011,2014 and 2015), 2 National Cups (2014- AEK Larnaca 3-0, 2015- AEK Larnaca 3-0),4 Super Cups (2003- AEL 3–0, 2013- Anorthosis Famagusta 3-0, 2014- AEK Larnaca 3-0,2015- AEK Larnaca 3-2)

Women's football team

See also: Apollon Limassol (women)

The women's team has won the Cypriot First Division as well as the Cypriot Women's Cup four consecitive times from 2009 to 2012. The team also reached the UEFA Women's Champions League round of 32 in 2010 and 2011.

Apollon limassol girls win the first super cup, at 15/10/2013 against anorthosis, anorthosis won the double last year and played final with Apollon limassol in the cup. Super cup Score: 3-0

Stadium

Football

The team's current stadium is the 13,000 seater Tsirion Stadium, also known as the Olympia Stadium (G.S.O), it is also the home ground of AEL Limassol and Aris Limassol, The stadium holds 13,331 people and was built in 1975. Apollon Limassol generally use the West Stand of the stadium, but when the match attendance necessitates, the North and East Stands are sometimes used.

Apollon deposited to KOA (Cyprus Sports Organisation, GREEK: Κυπριακού Οργανισμού Αθλητισμού) its plans for the creation of its own stadium and every Apollon supporter is now looking forward for the work to begin. The stadium will be able to accept 12.500 (seated) people but a prospect will allow the increase of the capacity to 16.000.

Basketball/Volleyball

Apollon has its own indoor hall, the PrimeTel Apollon Stadium, with a capacity of 2,800.

Supporters

In 1981, the organised portion of the supporters of the club, with no official name yet, elected council members and began organising themselves, in a tiny room of the clubhouse (where it now houses the offices of the football Company) the membership fee was then 10 Cypriot cents. Later on in 1982 after the positive response in enlisting new members of the fan club, the cost of registration was increased to 2 Cyprus pounds. At a time when no other team had yet an organised groups of fans on the island, a new fan club was registered. The registration was triggered after a game in Paphos where the followers of Apollon made an organised excursion something that had not been done previously. On their return, everyone was happy with the experience, that they agreed to set up formally and officially the Sy.Fi Association (Apollon Limassol)-Apollon Limassol Fan club. In 1982 Costas Katafygiotis was elected first president of the Apollon Sy.Fi in September 1982. The next year the fan club worked in an official manner. Chaired by Dino it opened in parallel a souvenir shop on the street and gained its Independence from the football club and became a housing association for the fans. The years went by, the Apollon Sy.Fi renamed itself later to PA.SY.FI Apollon (Apollon Cyprus Association of Supporters) and much later PAN.SY.FI APOLLON (Pan Hellenic Supporters Association of Apollon) to show the bond of our association with Greece.

From 1996 onwards PAN.SY.FI became synonymous with GATE-1 a designation which originated from the entrance gate in the West Tsireio stadium stand, where members gather.

PAN.SY.FI Apollon Gate 1 is the name of the supporters fan club.

Apollon is amongst the most popular football teams in Cyprus. The fans are very demanding and loyal to the Club. More than 12.000 Apollon fans traveled from Limassol for the 2001 Cup Final that took place in Nicosia (14.828 tickets). This number also beat the previous top record for a team traveling for an away game to Nicosia. Celebrations for winning the League championship for the 1993/94 season following the victory against Omonoia F.C. More than 20.000 fans overflowed the Stadium to see Apollon clinch the title in the final game of the season. Celebrations following the victory against Omonoia F.C. at the 1992 FA Cup Final in Tsirio, stadium. More than 20.000 fans attended the game.

− After 13 years (2005/06 season) Apollon was the unbeaten champion and the fans were singing, drinking, celebrating the whole week and in Limassol the only colours on public display were white and blue.

Current squad

As of 15 January 2016[6]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
2 DF Brazil BRA Elízio
3 DF Portugal POR Nuno Lopes
4 DF Brazil BRA Freire
5 MF Argentina ARG Esteban Sachetti
9 FW Brazil BRA Thuram
10 MF Brazil BRA Alex da Silva
11 MF Croatia CRO Dejan Mezga
14 DF Portugal POR Jaime (on loan from União Madeira)
17 MF Portugal POR João Pedro (on loan from Braga)
18 MF Bulgaria BUL Simeon Slavchev (on loan from Sporting CP)
19 FW Ivory Coast CIV Abraham Gneki Guié
20 MF Cyprus CYP Constantinos Makrides
21 FW Cyprus CYP Georgios Kolokoudias
22 MF Serbia SRB Luka Stojanović
23 GK Albania ALB Isli Hidi
25 MF Cyprus CYP Chambos Kyriakou
No. Pos. Nation Player
26 MF Greece GRE Fotios Papoulis (vice-captain)
27 DF Cyprus CYP Angelis Angeli
28 MF Cyprus CYP Marios Stylianou
31 GK Cyprus CYP Michalis Fani
33 DF Portugal POR Monteiro (on loan from Braga B)
42 DF Cyprus CYP Christos Wheeler
44 GK Cyprus CYP Panayiotis Panayiotou
47 DF Cyprus CYP Christos Antoniou
49 DF Cyprus CYP Vassilis Kyriacou
51 DF Cyprus CYP Stylianos Stylianou
52 MF Cyprus CYP Ioannis Pittas
53 FW Cyprus CYP Theodoros Iosifides
57 FW Cyprus CYP Petros Psychas
83 GK Portugal POR Bruno Vale (vice-captain)
88 MF Cyprus CYP Giorgos Vasiliou (Captain)
99 FW Croatia CRO Anton Maglica

For recent transfers, see List of Cypriot football transfers summer 2015.

Out on loan

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
41 MF Scotland SCO Alastair Reynolds (on loan to Ayia Napa until 30 June 2016)
43 MF Cyprus CYP Stelios Tampouris (on loan to Enosis Neon Parekklisia until 30 June 2016)
45 DF Cyprus CYP Renos Christodoulou (on loan to Enosis Neon Parekklisia until 30 June 2016)
- FW Argentina ARG Valentín Viola (on loan to Royal Mouscron-Péruwelz until 30 June 2016)
- DF United States USA Shane O'Neill (on loan to Cambridge United until 30 June 2016)
- DF Romania ROU Cristian Manea (on loan to Royal Mouscron-Péruwelz until 30 June 2016)

Club officials

Board of directors[7]

Position Staff
Chairman Cyprus Nicos Kirzis
Vice-Chairman A' Cyprus Marinos Efstathiou
Vice-Chairman A' Cyprus Fanos Kinnis
Vice-Chairman A' Cyprus Antonis Glykis
Member Cyprus Costas Papachristoforou
Member Cyprus Ntinos Ellinas
Member Cyprus Georgios Chari
Member Cyprus Charalampos Antoniou

Staff [8]

Position Staff
General Director Cyprus George Papayiannis
Press Officer Cyprus Fanourios Constantinou
Marketing Department Cyprus Koulla Stavrinidou
Events and Public Relations Department Cyprus Jovana Alavania
Accountant Cyprus Despo Panayi
Sports Material Department Cyprus Kyriakos Vassiliou
Football Operations Department Cyprus Giannis Kyriakides
Tickets Department Cyprus Panicos Frangkoudes
Secretary Cyprus Stella Ignatiou

Technical and medical staff [9]

Technical staff
Team manager Cyprus Socratis Socratous
Head coach Portugal Pedro Emanuel dos Santos
Assistant coach Portugal Virgilio Eduardo Martins
Fitness coach Portugal Rui Pedro
Goalkeeping coach Cyprus George Nicolaou
Kit Man Cyprus Grigorii Sprinceam
Cyprus Stavros Stavrou
Cyprus Chrysanthos Evripidou
Medical staff
Doctor Cyprus Dr. Christoforos Kannavas
Rehabilitation Trainer Cyprus Andreas Nicolaou
Rehabilitation Trainer Cyprus Giannis Demetriou
Physiotherapist Cyprus Savvas Skanavias
Physiotherapist Cyprus Nikos Menelaou
Physiotherapist Cyprus Kleanthis Antoniou
Kinesiologist Cyprus Panayiotis Papandreou
Nutritionist Cyprus Costas Chari

Sponsorship[10]

  • Major Sponsor – CYTA
  • TV Sponsor – PrimeTel
  • Official Sponsors:
    • Puma
    • ARISTOS OFFICESERV.NET LTD
    • MEGABET PLUS LTD
    • Petrolina
    • Christian Xenon Jewellery and Watches

Supporters

Former managers

Former players

Cyprus

Albania

Algeria

Argentina

Bulgaria

Brazil

Cameroon

Canada

Chile

Colombia

Costa Rica

Croatia

Czech

England

France

Macedonia

Georgia

Germany

Ghana

Greece

Hungary

Iceland

Iraq

Israel

Kazakhstan

Montenegro

Morocco

Netherlands

Nigeria

Paraguay

Peru

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Rwanda

Scotland

Senegal

Serbia

Sierra Leone

Slovenia

South Africa

Spain

Sweden

Uruguay

Venezuela

Yugoslavia

Honours

National Titles

Cypriot First Division

Cypriot Cup

LTV Super Cup

European competition history

Last update: 28 August 2014

Overall

Competition App. Played Won Drawn Lost GF GA Points
UEFA Champions League 2 6 1 1 4 5 9 4
UEFA Cup/Europa League 9 33 11 7 15 49 56 40
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 6 16 3 2 11 16 50 11
Total 17 55 15 10 30 70 115 55

Matches

Season Competition Round Club Home Away Aggregate
1966–67 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1R Belgium Standard Liège 0–11 1–5 1–6
1967–68 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1R Hungary Győri ETO 0–42 0–5 0–9
1982–83 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1R Spain FC Barcelona 1–1 0–8 1–9
1984–85 UEFA Cup 1R Czechoslovakia Bohemians 2–2 1–6 3–8
1986–87 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1R Sweden Malmö FF 2–1 0–6 2–7
1989–90 UEFA Cup 1R Spain Real Zaragoza 0–3 1–1 1–4
1991–92 European Cup 1R Romania Universitatea Craiova 3–0 0–2 3–2
2R Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Red Star Belgrade 0–2 1–3 1–5
1992–93 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1R England Liverpool 1–2 1–6 2–8
1993–94 UEFA Cup 1R Hungary Vác-Újbuda 4–0 0–2 4–2
2R Italy Inter Milan 3–3 0–1 3–4
1994–95 UEFA Cup PR Albania KS Teuta Durrës 4–2 4–1 8–3
1R Switzerland FC Sion 1–3 3–2 (aet) 4–5
1997–98 UEFA Cup 1Q Finland MYPA 3–0 1–1 4–1
2Q Belgium R.E. Mouscron 0–0 0–3 0–3
1998–99 Cup Winners' Cup QR Lithuania FK Ekranas 3–3 2–1 5–4
1R Czech Republic FK Baumit Jablonec 2–1 1–2 (aet) 3–3 (4–3 p)
2R Greece Panionios 0–1 2–3 2–4
2001–02 UEFA Cup QR Albania Tirana 3–1 2–3 5–4
1R Netherlands Ajax 0–3 0–2 0–5
2006–07 UEFA Champions League 1Q Republic of Ireland Cork City 1–1 0–1 1–2
2010–11 UEFA Europa League 3Q Russia FC Sibir Novosibirsk 2–1 0–1 2–2 (a)
2013–14 UEFA Europa League PO France Nice 2–0 0–1 2–1
Group J Turkey Trabzonspor 1–2 2–4 3rd place
Poland Legia Warsaw 0–2 1–0
Italy Lazio 0–0 1–2
2014–15 UEFA Europa League PO Russia Lokomotiv Moscow 1–1 4–1 5–2
Group A Switzerland FC Zürich 3–2 1–3 4th place
Spain Villarreal 0–2 0–4
Germany Borussia Mönchengladbach 0–2 0–5
2015–16 UEFA Europa League 1Q Moldova FC Saxan 2–0 2–0 4–0
2Q Lithuania FK Trakai 4–0 0–0 4–0
3Q Azerbaijan Gabala 1–1 0–1 1–2
Notes
  • QR: Qualifying round
  • PR: Preliminary round
  • 1R: First round
  • 2R: Second round
  • 1Q: First qualifying round
  • 2Q: Second qualifying round
  • 3Q: Third qualifying round
  • PO: Play-off round
  • 1: Both matches played in Belgium.
  • 2: Both matches played in Netherlands.

Source: UEFA.com

See also

References

  1. ^ a b http://www.apollon.com.cy/founded.php
  2. ^ a b c "Apollon FC Europe".
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h "Τελικοί Κυπέλλου Κύπρου - Κυπριακή Ομοσπονδία Ποδοσφαίρου". Cite error: The named reference "Apollon Limassol CFA" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b c "Cyprus Football Association - Championship record".
  5. ^ "UEFA Europa League UEFA.com".
  6. ^ "Roster 2015-16". Apollon FC. apollon.com.cy. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  7. ^ "Board". Apollon FC. apollon.com.cy. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
  8. ^ "Staff". Apollon FC. apollon.com.cy. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
  9. ^ "Coaching Staff". Apollon FC. apollon.com.cy. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
  10. ^ "Sponsors". Apollon FC. apollon.com.cy. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
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