AEK Larnaca FC
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Full name | Αθλητική Ένωση Κιτίον Λάρνακας Athletic Union Kition of Larnaca | ||
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Nickname(s) | LARNACA GUARDIANS | ||
Short name | AEK | ||
Founded | 18 July 1994 | ||
Ground | AEK Arena – Georgios Karapatakis Larnaca, Cyprus | ||
Capacity | 8,058 | ||
Chairman | Andreas Karapatakis | ||
Manager | Ran Ben Shimon | ||
League | First Division | ||
2022–23 | First Division, 3rd | ||
Website | Club website | ||
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AEK Larnaca FC (
The club's name comes from the ancient Greek city of Cyprus,
The club's key milestones - beside being runner-up for the league 5 times - , are qualifying to the 2011–12 and 2022–23 UEFA Europa League group stages, winning the Cypriot Cup in two instances in 2004 and 2018, its Champions League debut in 2022, and becoming the second Cypriot club to make the Round of 16 of a European competition, and the first to do so in the Europa Conference League.
History
Foundation
AEK was founded on 18 July 1994. It came from the merger of two historic Larnaca clubs,
EPA and Pezoporikos
Pezoporikos had been established in 1924. In 1926, serving retired members of Pezoporikos founded AMOL (stands for "Athletic Educational Union of Larnaca" in Greek). In 1932, the two clubs were merged, creating EPA Larnaca (EPA stands for "Union of Pezoporikos-AMOL" in Greek). However, in 1937 a group of members and players of EPA left and refounded Pezoporikos. After several decades, in 1994, the two clubs were merged and created AEK Larnaca.[2]
Apart from football, the two clubs had other athletic departments. The decision to merge was made, in order to create a sports club in Larnaca which could star in all competitions (football, basketball, volleyball, etc.) without financial problems.[2]
1994–1999: The early years
After the merger of Pezoporikos and EPA, AEK replaced Pezoporikos in the first division (EPA had been relegated in the last season of its existence). In its first participation in the championship, in the 1994–95 season, AEK finished in 9th place. In the 1995–96 season, they finished 4th. AEK and APOEL were tied for the best defense in the league with 21 conceded goals. In the 1995–96 Cypriot Cup, the club reached the final, where they lost to APOEL.
However, because APOEL had won the championship and participated in the 1996–97 UEFA Cup, the finalists of the Cypriot Cup, AEK represented Cyprus in the 1996–97 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. In the preliminary round, AEK faced the Armenian club Kotayk Abovyan. The first match took place in Armenia (8 August 1996), where AEK lost 1–0.[3] The second leg was held at the New GSZ Stadium on 22 August 1996 with AEK winning 5–0 and progressing to the first round of the tournament. In this round, AEK were drawn to face Barcelona. The first leg (12 September 1996) was held at the Barcelona Olympic Stadium, where the Spanish team won 2–0.[4] The second leg took place at the GSZ Stadium (26 September 1996) and ended in a 0–0 draw, meaning Barcelona had qualified.[4] They would go on to reach the final and win the competition.
Before the beginning of the 1996–97 season, AEK, as runners-up of the Cypriot Cup, played against the league winners for the Super Cup, losing 1–0.[5] In the 1996–97 season, AEK finished in 4th place and reached the semi-finals of the domestic cup. This was followed by 5th place in 1997–98, before returning to 4th place in the 1998–99 season.
2000s
For three seasons in a row,
The 2003–04 season was very important for the history of the team, as they managed to win their first trophy. Although they finished 9th in the league, they reached the final of the Cup, where they beat
In 2004, as cup winners, AEK faced league champions APOEL for the Cypriot Super Cup. AEK lost 5–4 after extra time.[5] In the 2004–05 season AEK finished in 9th place, just three points clear of relegation. The following season they finished 8th. In the 2005–06 Cypriot Cup, AEK reached the final against APOEL. The final took place at AEK's home ground, the GSZ Stadium, however, they failed to win the trophy, being defeated 3–2 after extra time.[citation needed]
In the 2006–07 season, AEK finished in 7th place and reached the semi-finals of the 2006–07 Cypriot Cup. In the 2007–08 season, AEK finished 4th in the league. AEK's worst league finish came in the 2008–09 season where they placed 13th and were relegated to the Second Division, for the first time in the club's history.[8]
2010s
In the 2009–10 season, AEK finished 2nd in the Second Division, and were promoted back to the First Division.[9] The following season, AEK finished in 4th place, allowing them to participate in the 2011–12 UEFA Europa League.[10]
In the 2011–12 season, the club finished 5th[11] and reached the semi-finals of the Cypriot Cup. In the 2012–13 season, AEK finished 4th in the league and made it to the semi-finals of the cup once more. In the 2013–14 season, the team placed 8th after a mediocre campaign.[12]
UEFA Europa League 2011–2012 Group Stages
The participation of the team in the 2011–12 Europa League was historic for both the club and for Cypriot football. AEK Larnaca became the first Cypriot team to qualify to the group stage of the Europa League (Anorthosis and APOEL had previously qualified to the Champions League groups stage). In the second qualifying round, AEK faced Maltese Floriana who they beat 8–0 away and 1–0 at home.[13][14] Their away win is the largest winning range of a Cypriot team in any European competition.[15][16] In the third qualifying round, AEK faced the Czech Mladá Boleslav. In the first match, AEK won 3–0 at home,[17] while in the second leg the teams were drawn by 2–2 with AEK qualifying to the play-offs of the Europa League.[18] Their next opponent was the Norwegian Rosenborg. A goalless draw was the result of the first leg between the two teams.[19] In the second leg (which was held at the Antonis Papadopoulos Stadium due to the fact that UEFA deemed the GSZ Stadium inappropriate for that phase of the tournament), AEK won 2–1 and qualified through to the group stages of the tournament.[20][21]
In the group stage, the team faced
), gathering five points. During that season, AEK set a new unbeaten record for Cypriot clubs in Europe, at six matches (four wins and two draws during the qualifying phase of the tournament). The same record is also hold by APOEL in the same season, but with three wins and three draws.Spanish Larnaca
In 2014, the arrival of sporting director Xavi Roca marked the beginning of a Spanish era at AEK Larnaca. Under the coach Thomas Christiansen, there were six regular starters from Spain in the lineup during the 2014–15 season. That season, the team challenged for the championship trophy until the last matchday. In the penultimate matchday, the team faced APOEL with whom they drew 1–1. If AEK had won, they would go to the top of the table.[25] In the last matchday, AEK beat Anorthosis and finished 2nd for first time in its history.[25][26]
As in 2014–15, Larnaca finished in 2nd place in the League for the 2015–16 season. As it was the case in the previous season, there were six Spaniards in the starting eleven, but this time just one player from Cyprus.
Christiansen then left to League rivals
2020s
Led by David Catala, and interim coach David Badia towards the end of the season, AEK Larnaca finished 2nd in the 2021–22 campaign. Cyprus' ranking in the UEFA coefficients at the time, meant that AEK had qualified for Champions League football, for the first time in the club's history.[27] Spaniard José Luis Oltra was brought in as the new coach for the 2022–23 season.
AEK made its Champions League debut in a qualifying round against
AEK finished third in Group B of the
Stadium
Since October 2016, AEK Larnaca's home ground is the
The previous home stadium of the football team was the
Honours
Domestic
European competitions record
Last update: 5 November 2022[31]
UEFA competitions | |||||||
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Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Last season played |
UEFA Champions League | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2022–23 |
UEFA Europa League / UEFA Cup | 60 | 28 | 16 | 16 | 95 | 70 | 2022–23 |
UEFA Europa Conference League | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2022–23 |
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 1996–97 |
Total | 68 | 30 | 20 | 18 | 102 | 75 |
Matches
Season | Competition | Round | Club | Home | Away | Aggregate | |
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1996–97 | UEFA Cup Winners' Cup | Qualifying round | Kotayk Abovian
|
5–0 | 0–1 | 5–1 | |
First round | Barcelona | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 | |||
2004–05 | UEFA Cup | Second qualifying round | Maccabi Petah Tikva | 3–0 | 0–4 | 3–4 | |
2011–12 | UEFA Europa League | Second qualifying round | Floriana | 1–0 | 8–0 | 9–0 | |
Third qualifying round | Mladá Boleslav | 3–0 | 2–2 | 5–2 | |||
Play-off round | Rosenborg | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | |||
Group stage (J) | Maccabi Haifa | 2–1 | 0–1 | 4th place | |||
Steaua București
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1–1 | 1–3 | |||||
Schalke 04 | 0–5 | 0–0 | |||||
2015–16 | UEFA Europa League | Third qualifying round | Bordeaux | 0–1 | 0–3 | 0–4 | |
2016–17 | UEFA Europa League | First qualifying round | Folgore
|
3–0 | 3–1 | 6–1 | |
Second qualifying round | Cliftonville | 2–0 | 3–2 | 5–2 | |||
Third qualifying round | Spartak Moscow | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | |||
Play-off round | Slovan Liberec | 0–1 | 0–3 | 0–4 | |||
2017–18 | UEFA Europa League | First qualifying round | Lincoln Red Imps | 5–0 | 1–1 | 6–1 | |
Second qualifying round | Cork City | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | |||
Third qualifying round | Dinamo Minsk | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | |||
Play-off round | Viktoria Plzeň | 0–0 | 1–3 | 1–3 | |||
2018–19 | UEFA Europa League | Second qualifying round | Dundalk | 4–0 | 0–0 | 4–0 | |
Third qualifying round | Sturm Graz | 5–0 | 2–0 | 7–0 | |||
Play-off round | AS Trenčín | 3–0 | 1–1 | 4–1 | |||
Group stage (A) | Bayer Leverkusen | 1–5 | 2–4 | 3rd place | |||
Ludogorets Razgrad | 1–1 | 0–0 | |||||
Zürich | 0–1 | 2–1 | |||||
2019–20 | UEFA Europa League | First qualifying round | Petrocub Hîncești | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | |
Second qualifying round | Levski Sofia | 3–0 | 4–0 | 7–0 | |||
Third qualifying round | Gent | 1–1 | 0–3 | 1–4 | |||
2022–23 | UEFA Champions League | Second qualifying round | Midtjylland | 1−1 ( a.e.t. )
|
1–1 | 2–2 (3–4 p) | |
UEFA Europa League | Third qualifying round | Partizan | 2–1 | 2–2 | 4–3 | ||
Play-off round | Dnipro-1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 5–1 | |||
Group stage (B) | Dynamo Kyiv | 3–3 | 1–0 | 3rd place | |||
Rennes | 1–2 | 1–1 | |||||
Fenerbahçe | 1–2 | 0–2 | |||||
UEFA Europa Conference League | Knockout round play-offs | Dnipro-1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | ||
Round of 16 | West Ham United | 0–2 | 0–4 | 0–6 | |||
2023–24 | UEFA Europa Conference League | Second qualifying round | Torpedo-BelAZ Zhodino | 1−1 | 3−2 | 4−3 | |
Third qualifying round | Maccabi Tel Aviv | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 |
Players
Current squad
- As of 2 February 2024[32]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Other players under contract
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Academy players with professional contracts
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Active International players
International Cypriot Players |
International Foreign Players |
International Youth Cypriot Players |
International Youth Foreign Players |
Foreign players
EU Nationals |
Dual citizenship players |
Non-EU Nationals |
Under-23 Foreign Players |
Club officials
Board of directors
Position | Staff |
---|---|
Chairman | Antros Karapatakis |
Members | Andreas Lefkaritis |
Joseph Frangos | |
Giorgos Savva | |
Evmeos Efthymiades |
Source: ΔΙΟΙΚΗΤΙΚΟ ΣΥΜΒΟΥΛΙΟ Archived 28 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine
Technical and medical staff
Position | Staff |
---|---|
Team manager | Marcos Sofroniou |
Technical director | Xavi Roca |
Head coach | Ran Ben Shimon |
Assistant coach | Gal Barshan |
Goalkeeper coach | Arjan Beqaj |
Analyst | Daniel Perez del Campo |
Fitness coach | Vacant |
Assistant fitness coach / Rehabilitation | Panayiotis Michael |
Medical staff | |
Sports Psychologist | Adamos Papantoniou |
Team doctor (orthopaedist) | Dr Giannis Efstathiades |
Team doctor (Pathologist) | Dr Kyriacos Economides |
Physiotherapists | Elias Hadjiioannou |
Tasos Kyriacou | |
Costas Gavrielides | |
Michalis Panagiotou | |
Nutritionist | Antri Panteli |
Massuers | Dimitar Yordanov |
Ilias Christoforides | |
Caregiver | Florin Jucan |
Source: ΤΕΧΝΙΚΗ ΗΓΕΣΙΑ Archived 29 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine
Other staff
Academy organisation
Source: ΟΡΓΑΝΟΓΡΑΜΜΑ Archived 11 November 2018 at the Wayback Machine
Sponsorship
- Major Sponsor – Meridian Bet
- TV Sponsor – PrimeTel PLC
- Clothing Sponsor – Puma
- Website Sponsor – Ideaseven Creative Solutions
- Official Sponsors:
- AJK Wealth Management Limited
- Petrolina
- K. Treppides & CO Certified Public Accountants
- C & C Londou Bros
- SunnySeeker Hotels
- ZEMCO Group
- McDonald's
- UCLan Cyprus
- METRO Supermarkets
- Kapnos Airport Shuttle
- Top Kinisis Travel
Supporters
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Source: aek.com.cy Archived 27 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine
Former players
Managerial history
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UEFA and IFFHS rankings
UEFA Club ranking
Last update: 27 August 2020 |
IFFHS Club World ranking
Last update: 16 January 2018 |
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References
- ^ "Η Ιστορία του αρχαίου Κιτίου" (in Greek). aek.com.cy. Archived from the original on 30 October 2015. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
- ^ a b c d e "Οι "εκλεκτοί γονείς" της ΑΕΚ Λάρνακας" (in Greek). sigmalive.com. 22 February 2013. Archived from the original on 30 October 2015. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
- ^ "1996/97 UEFA CUP WINNERS' CUP Qualifying round". UEFA. 16 January 2009. Archived from the original on 5 January 2013. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
- ^ a b "1996/97 UEFA CUP WINNERS' CUP First Round". UEFA. 16 January 2009. Archived from the original on 5 January 2013. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
- ^ a b "Cyprus – List of Super Cup Finals". RSSSF. 5 September 2013. Archived from the original on 19 October 2015. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
- ^ "2004/05 UEFA Cup". UEFA. 12 August 2004. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
- ^ "2004/05 UEFA Cup". UEFA. 26 August 2004. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
- ^ "Πρωτάθλημα Marfin Laiki Α΄Κατηγορίας – Φάση Α' (2008–2009)" (in Greek). CFA. Archived from the original on 16 October 2017. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
- ^ "Πρωτάθλημα Β' Κατηγορίας 2009–2010 – Α' ΟΜΙΛΟΣ – Φάση Β'" (in Greek). CFA. Archived from the original on 3 August 2017. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
- ^ "Πρωτάθλημα Marfin Laiki Α΄Κατηγορίας 2010–2011 – Φάση Β' – Α' ΟΜΙΛΟΣ" (in Greek). CFA. Archived from the original on 15 November 2017. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
- ^ "Πρωτάθλημα Λαϊκής Τράπεζας 2011/2012 – Φάση Β' – Β' Όμιλος" (in Greek). CFA. Archived from the original on 12 October 2017. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
- ^ "Παγκύπριο Πρωτάθλημα "Γλαύκος Κληρίδης" 13/14 – Α΄ Φάση" (in Greek). CFA. Archived from the original on 30 March 2014. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
- ^ "Floriana-AEK Larnaca". UEFA. 14 July 2011. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
- ^ "AEK Larnaca-Floriana". UEFA. 21 July 2011. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
- ^ "Ιστορική νίκη με σκορ ρεκόρ για ΑΕΚ Λάρνακας!". sentragoal.gr. 14 July 2011. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
- ^ "Βάζει ακόμη (0–8) η ΑΕΚ στην Ευρώπη! (ΦΩΤΟ)". sigmalive.com. 21 July 2011. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
- ^ "AEK Larnaca-Mladá Boleslav". UEFA. 28 July 2011. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
- ^ "Mladá Boleslav-AEK Larnaca". UEFA. 4 August 2011. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
- ^ "Rosenborg-AEK Larnaca". UEFA. 18 August 2011. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
- ^ "AEK Larnaca-Rosenorg". UEFA. 25 August 2011. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
- ^ "ΑΕΚάρα Ευρωπαία: Πέρασε στους ομίλους (2–1) !!!!!!!!!!". sigmalive.com. 26 August 2011. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
- ^ "AEK Larnaca-Maccabi Haifa". UEFA. 1 December 2011. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
- ^ "AEK Larnaca-Steaua". UEFA. 29 September 2011. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
- ^ "Schalke-AEK Larnaca". UEFA. 3 November 2011. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
- ^ a b "ΑΠΟΕΛ – ΑΕΚ 1–1 (video)" (in Greek). CFA. 16 May 2015. Archived from the original on 24 May 2015. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
- ^ "Η τελική κατάταξη" (in Greek). CFA. 24 May 2015. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
- ^ ""Αυτοκτόνησε" στην Πάφο ο ΑΠΟΕΛ, πήρε το... δώρο και πάει Champions League η ΑΕΚ" [APOEL commits "suicide" in Paphos, AEK takes the... gift and is going to the Champions League]. AlphaNews.Live (in Greek). 22 May 2022. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
- ^ "ΑΕΚ Larnacas". aek.com.cy. Archived from the original on 4 April 2018. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
- ^ "Α.Ε.Κ.ΛΑΡΝΑΚΑΣ". CFA. Archived from the original on 12 August 2014. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
- ^ "Γηπεδο (ΓΣΖ)". AEK Larnaca. Archived from the original on 30 October 2015. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
- ^ "AEK Larnaca FC – History". UEFA. 15 July 2015. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
- ^ "Ροστερ Α΄Ομαδας". AEK Larnaca FC. aek.com.cy. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
- ^ "BALLA SPECIAL: Τι βρίσκεται πίσω από μια επιτυχημένη… ΑΕΚ; (pics&vids)". balla.com.cy. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
External links
- Official website
- AEK Unofficial blog
- AEK Fans site. Archived 14 June 2016 at the Wayback Machine.
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- [2]