" AEK " ( Greek Αθλητική Έvωση Κίτιον Λάρνακας ) is a Cyprus football club from the city of Larnaca . It was founded in 1994 after the merger of the two city clubs “ EPA ” and “ Pesoporikos ”. Home matches are held at the AEK Arena stadium with a total capacity of 7,400 spectators. An active participant in Division A , the major league of the Cyprus Football Championship.
 AEK Larnaca | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Full title | Αθλητική Ένωση Κίτιον | |||
| Nicknames | Φρουροί (Warriors) Κιτρινοπράσινοι (Yellow green) | |||
| Based | July 18, 1994 | |||
| Stadium | AEK Arena Larnaca | |||
| Capacity | 7,400 | |||
| The president | Antreas Carapatakis | |||
| Main coach |  Imanol Idyakes | |||
| Captain | David Katala | |||
| Rating | 137th place in the UEFA ranking [1] | |||
| Site | Official site | |||
| Competition | Division A | |||
| 2018/19 |  2nd place | |||
| ||||
The football club is part of the AEK sports society, which includes the AEK men's basketball club and the AEK women's club, as well as the AEK women's volleyball club.
Content
Club History
The emblem of the club depicts Admiral Cimon , who died defending the city of Kition (modern Larnaca ) in a major battle in Cyprus around 450 BC. e. , in the fight against the Persians . Cimon ordered his officers to keep secret the news of their possible death. The quote “Και Νεκρος Ενικα” (“Even in death he conquered”) refers to him.
After AEK reached the final of the Cyprus Cup 1995/96, the club received the right to participate in the Cup Winners Cup 1996/97. In the preliminary round, AEK confidently passed the Armenian “Kotayk” (5: 0, 0: 1), and in the 1/16 finals met with “Barcelona”. On September 12, 1996, Barcelona won the Lewis Company’s Olympic Stadium with two goals from 19-year-old Ronaldo (2-0). In the second leg in Larnaca, AEK sensationally managed to reduce the match in a draw 0-0, but still dropped out of the tournament. It was the only Barcelona match in the Cup of Cup victory for her in which the Catalan club failed to score.
Successfully for AEK was formed and the Europa League 2011/12. In the qualifying rounds, the Cypriot club successively passed the Maltese Floriana, the Czech Mladu Boleslav and the Norwegian Rosenborg, having never lost in six matches. In the group stage, AEK also managed to take away points from all three opponents: a victory over Maccabi (Haifa) and draws against Schalke 04 and Steaua. However, five points in six matches left AEK in last place in the group.
In the 2014/15 season, AEK first took second place in the Cyprus Championship, and in the next season managed to repeat this achievement. Both times, APOEL from Nicosia became the champion.
Before the 2016/17 season, a significant transition took place for Cypriot football: AEK’s ranks were replenished by long-time leader and captain of the Cyprus and APOEL national teams, 35-year-old attacking midfielder Kostas Charalambidis .
In the Europa League 2016/17 AEK confidently passed the “ Folgor / Falciano ” from San Marino (3: 0 and 3: 1) and the Northern Ireland “Cliftonville” (2: 0 and 3: 2). In the third qualifying round, AEK met with Moscow Spartak , which was considered the favorite in the pair. In the first home game, AEK managed to recoup thanks to the ball by Andre Alves (1: 1). On August 4, 2016, in Moscow at the Otkritie Arena, AEK won one of the most high-profile victories in its history. Before the match, AEK's chances of winning were estimated by bookmakers at the level of 5-10%. Spartak did not realize a number of advantageous moments in the first and second half (the ratio of shots on goal at the end of the match was 18-4 in favor of the hosts), and in the 89th minute the Macedonian Ivan Trichkovsky brought AEK, in the starting lineup of which there were no Cypriot, sensational victory. On UEFA's official website, AEK’s victory was noted as one of the most unexpected of all matches of the third qualifying round, along with the victory of the Azerbaijani “ Gabala ” over the French “ Lille ” [2] . It should be noted that before the 2016/17 season AEK won only 1 time out of 10 in away matches in European Cups - in 2011 against the Maltese Floriana .
Current squad
Performance Stats Since 2006
| Season | Rank | Tournament | A place | AND | AT | N | P | GZ | GP | WG | Glasses | Cup | Exodus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006/07 | one | Division A | 7 | 26 | eight | ten | eight | 33 | 32 | +1 | 34 | 1/2 finals | |
| 2007/08 | one | Division A | 4 * | 32 | 14 | eight | ten | 46 | 42 | +4 | 50 | 4th round | |
| 2008/09 | one | Division A | 13 [3] | 32 | 3 | 6 | 17 | 27 | 45 | -18 | 15 | 1/8 finals | |
| 2009/10 | 2 | Division B | 2 * | 32 | 17 | 6 | 9 | 49 | 27 | +22 | 57 | 1/8 finals | |
| 2010/11 | one | Division A | 4 * | 32 | 12 | 6 | 14 | 37 | 42 | -five | 42 | 1/4 finals | |
| 2011/12 | one | Division A | 5 * | 32 | 13 | ten | 9 | 40 | 27 | +13 | 49 | 1/2 finals | |
| 2012/13 | one | Division A | 4 * | 32 | nineteen | four | 9 | 55 | 28 | +27 | 61 | 1/2 finals | |
| 2013/14 | one | Division A | 8 * | 36 | 13 | eleven | 12 | 49 | 36 | +13 | 50 | 1/4 finals | |
| 2014/15 | one | Division A | 2 * | 32 | 17 | eight | 7 | 56 | 31 | +25 | 59 | 1/2 finals | |
| 2015/16 | one | Division A | 2 * | 36 | 23 | 6 | 7 | 61 | 34 | +27 | 75 | 1/2 finals | |
| 2016/17 | one | Division A | 2 * | 36 | 22 | ten | four | 66 | 28 | +38 | 76 | 1/4 finals | |
| 2017/18 | one | Division A | 4 * | 36 | 20 | eight | eight | 74 | 39 | +35 | 68 | Winner | |
| 2018/19 | one | Division A | 2 * | 32 | 18 | eight | 6 | 51 | 23 | +28 | 62 | 1/4 finals |
- According to the results of the playoff tournament.
Club Achievements
- Division A
- Vice Champion (4): 2014/15 , 2015/16 , 2016/17 , 2018/19
- Cyprus Cup
- Winner (2): 2003/04 , 2017/18
- Finalist (2): 1995/96 , 2005/06
- Cyprus Super Cup
- Finalist (2): 1996, 2004
Performances in European competitions
| Season | Tournament | Round | Rival | Houses | Away | Total score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996/97 | Cup Winners Cup | Preliminary round | Kotayk | 5: 0 | 0: 1 | 5: 1 | |
| 1/16 finals | Barcelona | 0: 0 | 0: 2 | 0: 2 | |||
| 2004/05 | UEFA Cup | 2nd qualifying round | Maccabi (Petah Tikva) | 3-0 | 0: 4 | 3: 4 | |
| 2011/12 | UEFA Europa League | 2nd qualification round | Floriana | 1-0 | 8: 0 | 9: 0 | |
| 3rd qualification round | Mlada Boleslav | 3-0 | 2: 2 | 5: 2 | |||
| Playoff round | Rosenborg | 2: 1 | 0: 0 | 2: 1 | |||
| Group J | Maccabi (Haifa) | 2: 1 | 0: 1 | 4th | |||
| Steaua | 1: 1 | 1: 3 | |||||
| Schalke 04 | 0: 5 | 0: 0 | |||||
| 2015/16 | UEFA Europa League | 3rd qualification round | Bordeaux | 0: 1 | 0: 3 | 0: 4 | |
| 2016/17 | UEFA Europa League | 1st qualification round | Folgore / Falciano | 3-0 | 3: 1 | 6: 1 | |
| 2nd qualification round | Cliftonville | 2-0 | 3: 2 | 5: 2 | |||
| 3rd qualification round | Spartak Moscow) | 1: 1 | 1-0 | 2: 1 | |||
| Playoff round | Slovan (Liberec) | 0: 1 | 0: 3 | 0: 4 | |||
| 2017/18 | UEFA Europa League | 1st qualification round | Lincoln Red Imps | 5: 0 | 1: 1 | 6: 1 | |
| 2nd qualification round | Cork city | 1-0 | 1-0 | 2-0 | |||
| 3rd qualification round | Dynamo (Minsk) | 2-0 | 1: 1 | 3: 1 | |||
| Playoff round | Victoria (Pilsen) | 0: 0 | 1: 3 | 1: 3 | |||
| 2018/19 | UEFA Europa League | 2nd qualification round | Dundalk | 0: 0 | 4-0 | 4-0 | |
| 3rd qualification round | Sturm (Graz) | 5: 0 | 2-0 | 7: 0 | |||
| Playoff round | Trenchin | 3-0 | 1: 1 | 4: 1 | |||
| Group A | Bayer (Leverkusen) | 1: 5 | 2: 4 | 3rd | |||
| Ludogorets | 1: 1 | 0: 0 | |||||
| Zurich | 0: 1 | 2: 1 | |||||
| 2019/20 | UEFA Europa League | 1st qualification round | Petrocube | 1-0 | 1-0 | 2-0 | |
| 2nd qualification round | Levski (Sofia) | 3-0 | 4-0 | 7: 0 | |||
| 3rd qualification round | Gent | 1: 1 | 0: 3 | 1: 4 |
Euro Cup Statistics
| Statistics of performances in European competitions | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tournament | Matches | Victory | Draw | Defeat | Goals scored | Goals conceded | Goal difference |
| Cup Winners Cup | four | one | one | 2 | five | 3 | +2 |
| UEFA Cup / Europa League | 36 | 18 | 9 | 9 | 59 | 35 | +24 |
| Total: | 40 | nineteen | ten | eleven | 64 | 38 | +26 |
Club Coaches
- Andreas Muskalis (1994)
- Stavro Papadopoulos (1994)
- Petros Ravusis (1998 - 1999)
- Radmilo Ivanchevich (2001 - 2002)
- Dusan Mitosevich
- Michalis Hadzhipiris (2002 - 2003)
- Nikos Androniku (2003)
- Andreas Muskalis (2003 - 2004)
- Neophytos Larku (2004)
- Nikolai Kostov (2004 - 2005)
- Marios Konstantinou (2005 - 2007)
- Nir Klinger (2007 - 2008)
- Makis Katsavakis (2008 - 2008)
- Louis Stephanie (2008)
- Christos Cassianos (2009)
- Savvas to Konstantin (2009 - 2009)
- Andreas Michaelides (2009 - 2010)
- Ton Kaanen (2010 - 2011)
- Leon Fleings (2011 - 2012)
- Ran Ben Shimon (2012 - 2013)
- Dimitrios Eleftheropoulos (2013 - 2014)
- Floros Nicolau (2014)
- Thomas Christiansen (2014 - 2016)
- Imanol Idyakes (June 2016 - May 2018)
- Andoni Iraola (May 2018 -present )
Famous Players
- / Heffren
- Igor Gabilondo
- Javier Garrido
- Mikel Gonzalez
- Juanma Ortiz
- Tim de Claire
- Ivan Trichkovsky
- Andres Oper
Notes
- ↑ UEFA club rating
- ↑ Larnaca topple Spartak Moskva, Qäbälä stun LOSC - uefa.com, August 4, 2016
- ↑ Based on the results of the regular season