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| Full name | Athletic Club Omonia Αθλητικός Σύλλογος Ομόνοια |
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| Nickname(s) | Kifines (Male bees) Prasinoi (The greens) Kinezoi |
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| Founded | 1948 | |||
| Ground | GSP Stadium, Nicosia (Capacity: 22,859) |
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| Chairman |  Miltiades Neophytou |
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| Manager |  Takis Lemonis |
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| League | Cypriot First Division | |||
| 2008-09 | 2nd | |||
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Athletic Club Omonia Nicosia (Greek: Αθλητικός Σύλλογος Ομόνοια Λευκωσίας) is a Cypriot football club that plays in the capital city of Nicosia. Omonia ("Unity" in Greek) has won 19 league championships, 12 Cypriot Cups and 14 Super Cups. domestic doubles - in 1972, 1974, 1981, 1982 and 1983.The Cyprus Football Association declared them as the team of the 20th century, remaining the only team to have won the Cypriot Cup 4 times in a row between the years 1980 and 1983.
The club was established in 1948 and became a member of the Cyprus Football Association in 1953. As an athletic club, Omonia also has basketball, volleyball, futsal and cycling sections.
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AC Omonia was founded in 1948 as a result of political turbulence of that period and the ongoing conflict between the left-wing and right-wing in the Greek Civil War. In May 1948 APOEL sent a letter based on political content to SEGAS (Greek Gymnastic-Athletic Clubs Association), stating members violated the club's statute to not be involved in politics and those that where not right-wing where sent out from APOEL. After that letter, several footballers of the club criticized their club for its unfair ways which caused those players to be expelled from the team. Those players, along with others, established a new club which would also be based in Nicosia. The club would be named Athletic Club Omonia Nicosia.
In 1953, clubs that were members of the Cyprus Amateur Football Federation joined the Cyprus Football Association. Omonoia joined the Cypriot First Division in 1953 as well, finishing seventh out of nine clubs in their first season.[1] The club won their first league title in 1960-61.[1]
The club was the dominant force in Cypriot football during the 1970s and 1980s, winning the league six consecutive seasons from 1974 until 1979. A record remains unbeaten. The club fielded Cypriot legends such as Sotiris Kaiafas, Spas Tsevizof, Christos Philippou (Skouloukos) and Gregory Savva. Sotiris Kaiafas would go on and win the Europe's highest achievement, the European Golden Boot after finishing as Europe's top domestic scorer in 1976 with 39 goals.[2] – such feats led the Cypriot football association to name him as the greatest Cypriot player of the past 50 years in 2004.[2]
During the 1980s the club won five consecutive titles between 1981 and 1985 They were champions from 1981 to 1985 and again in 1987 and 1989.
Although Omonia won the title again in 1992-93, the decade was dominated by Anorthosis Famagusta. Rainer Rauffmann, who arrived at the club in 1997, was the league's leading scorer for four years and also played for Cyprus national football team after gaining Cypriot citizenship.
The club won their nineteenth title in 2003, and they are currently one title behind rival team APOEL for the most championships.[3]
The club's badge is the shamrock. The shamrock supposedly represents the strength of the Omonia founders, and the green colour represents hope.
Since 1999 the club has played at the 22,859-seat GSP Stadium, the largest in Cyprus, which they share with local rivals APOEL and Olympiakos Nicosia. There are plans for the club to build a 32,000-seat stadium,[4] located near Tseri, in the suburbs of Nicosia but CFA does not give clearanance for the new stadium to start building.
Previously Omonia had played at the old GSP Stadium (1953-1978) and the Makario Stadium (1978-1999). Both stadiums were also shared with APOEL and Olympiakos. Prior to 1953 the club had used the "Goal" Stadium.
The club's basketball team hosts its matches at the biggest indoor sport venue in the island, the Eleftheria Indoor Hall with a capacity of 6,800 seats while the volleyball team shares the Lefkotheo Indoor Hall which was built in 1980 with APOEL Nicosia. For the 2006–07 season, the futsal team uses the Indoor Hall of Melkonian institute which is a part of the institute complex and has capacity of 500 seats.
There are two major fan clubs supporting the team, FAN CLUB. and Gate 9, which is the most active and biggest fan club. The club took its name from Costas Kaiafas's father, Sotiris Kaiafas, who won the European Golden Boot in 1976. Gate-9 was first organized in 1992. Since then, thousands of loyal fans have followed the team around the world. The club's fanbase largely comes from the working class and is identified with the Communist Party of Cyprus (AKEL). From the time of its creation in 1948, AC Omonoia was and is widely supported throughout Cyprus and it is by far the most popular team throughout the island.
In 2001, the club broke the record for ticket sales, selling 109,303 tickets. In 2003, they broke their own record with the improved figure of 140,740 and the record was broken again the following year with 143,033 tickets sold. Every year new records are shattered in ticket sales.
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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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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12 – Club Supporters (the 12th Man)
| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| President | Miltiades Neophytou |
| Vice-President | Christakis Giovanni |
| Director of Football Department | Christakis Giovanni |
| General Secretary | Andreas Leonidou |
| Governor of Football | Christos Tsangaris |
| Governor of Football | Sotiris Kaiafas |
| Governor of Football | Giorgos Antoniou |
| Governor of Football | Nicos Charalambous |
| Spokesman | Theodoros Kafkaridis |
| Marketing Manager | Pavlos Chrysanthou |
| Marketing Manager | Petros Petrou |
Last updated: June , 2009
Source: AC Omonia
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Listed according to when they made their debut:
Igor Netto (1967)
Iontso Arsof (1988)
Helmut Senekowitsch (1991)
Dušan Galis (1999) Asparuh Nikodimov (2000)
Arie Haan (2000) Henk Houwaart (2000)
Toni Savevski (2002)
Franciszek Smuda (2004)
Ioan Andone (2006)
Dragomir Okuka (2007) Ioannis Matzourakis (2007) Giorgos Savvidis (2008)
Nedim Tutić (2008-2009)Cyprus Amateur Football Federation
| This article's tone or style may not be appropriate for Wikipedia. Specific concerns may be found on the talk page. See Wikipedia's guide to writing better articles for suggestions. (July 2010) |
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| Full name |
Omonoia Athletic Club Αθλητικός Σύλλογος Ομόνοια | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Kifines (male bees), Trifylli (The Shamrock), Vasilissa(Queen) | |||
| Founded | 1948 | |||
| Ground |
GSP Stadium, Nicosia (Capacity: 22,859) | |||
| Chairman | Miltiades Neofytou | |||
| Manager | Dušan Bajević | |||
| League | Cyprus First Division | |||
| 2009-10 | 1st | |||
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Athletic Club Omonoia Nicosia (Greek: Αθλητικός Σύλλογος Ομόνοια) is a professional football club that plays in the Cyprus capital city Lefkosia (Nicosia). Omonoia, which means 'Unity' in Greek, has won 20 League Championships, 12 Cypriot Cups and 15 Super Cups and 5 domestic doubles - in 1972, 1974, 1981, 1982 and 1983 all since 1948, qualifying them as the best and most successful team in Cyprus in the last six decades, since the league was expanded. The Cyprus Football Association declared them as the Team of the 20th Century. Omonoia remains the only team to have won the Cypriot Cup 4 times in a row, between the years 1980 and 1983. The club was established in 1948 and became a member of the Cyprus Football Association in 1953. As an athletic club, Omonoia also has basketball, volleyball, futsal and cycling sections.
Omonoia is the current 2009-2010 Champions after winning the Marfin Laiki League title this year, making them the absolute best and the most successful club in Cypriot history with 20 League Championships since their formation in 1948.
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AC Omonoia was founded in 1948, after players of APOEL F.C. were forced to sign allegiances to political ideologies of the right-wing, during a period of the most hostile political turbulence in Cyprus’s history. After refusing to sign any documents professing any political party or philosophy, numerous players were banished from the club permanently. Betrayed, but determined to carry on, those players and other club members, would leave the team and establish their own, separate club in the Cypriot capital, Nicosia. On June 17, 1948, AC Omonoia was born and by 1953, AC Omonoia was admitted into the Cypriot First Division.
After entering the 1953-54 in 1953, Omonoia only managed to place 7th out of 9 teams in the 1953-54 season, barely avoiding relegation. During that decade, the club’s best placing came during the 1956-57 season when the club finished 3rd.
After a mediocre decade in the in 1953, AC Omonoia would make its closest push for the title during the 1959-60 season after finishing 2nd only 1 point behind Anorthosis Famagusta. More motivated than ever, the following year, after just 7 seasons in the First Division, AC Omonoia would go on and win its first title in 1960-61 season, sending shockwaves across Cyprus. Omonoia, in that season would score an unheard of 91 goals in 24 matches on their way to their first ever Cyprus First Division title. Omonoia would go on to win their second title during the 1965-66 season.
During the 1970s, AC Omonoia had established itself as a force to be reckoned with. During the decade, led by a young, Sotiris Kaiafas, Omonoia would accomplish what no team in Cyprus would ever accomplish by winning 7 Cypriot League Championships beginning in 1972, including six consecutive titles in 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, and 1979. By the time the decade would come to an end, Omonoia had already surpassed the number of titles of Anorthosis Famagusta which was established in 1911 (nearly 40 years prior to the establishment of Omonoia). Omonoia was also well under way to catching its rival, APOEL, who also had a 13 year head-start on Omonoia. At the end of the 1979 season, Omonoia only trailed APOEL by two championships.
Sotiris Kaiafas would become top scorer in Cyprus during the 1971-72, 1973–74, 1975–76, 1976–77, 1978–79, 1980–81, 1982–83, and 1983-84 seasons. In 1976, Sotiris Kaiafas would go on and win the European Golden Boot Award for his single-season 36-goal performance. In 2003, he was awarded the UEFA Jubilee Awards for The Best Cypriot Footballer of the 20th Century.
AC Omonoia won an additional seven Cypriot League Championship titles including another 5 consecutive in 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, and again in 1987 and in 1989. As the 1980s came to an end, Omonoia had surpassed Anorthosis and APOEL for the most titles in Cypriot history. In the 20 year span between 1970 and 1990, Omonoia had won 14 Cypriot Championship Titles.
The 1990s would prove to be less fruitful than the previous two decades. During this time, AC Omonoia only mustered one Cypriot League title during the 1992-93 season. It would be eight long years before Omonoia would see its next title. The only ray of hope came in 1997 after the signing a German named Rainer Rauffmann. Rainer Rauffmann would leave his mark in the long line of Omonoia greats. With the help of other Omonoia great and then captain, Costas Malekkos, and a young Costas Kaiafas (son of Sotiris Kaiafas), Rainer Rauffmann would become top scorer of the Cypriot First Division in the 1997-98, 1998–99, 1999-00 and 2000-01 seasons. Unfortunately, even with Rauffman’s success, Omonoia had no title to show for it.
After a disappointing eight seasons, the 2000s decade began on the right foot. AC Omonoia would celebrate its 18th Cypriot League Championship title in 2001. Now captained by Costas Kaiafas, Omonoia would win its 19th Cypriot League Championship again in 2003. However, since 2003, the team would stumble and be without a title for the next several years. After numerous seasons of poor signings and underachieving, Omonoia’s reigns would be taken over by new chairman and team president, Miltiades Neofytou in 2006.
The team would soon be put back on track starting in 2006, beginning with the signing of Cyprus national football team goalie, Antonis Georgallides. Omonoia would continue its star-studded signings by acquiring Cypriot stars that had been playing abroad such as, Elias Charalambous and Stathis Aloneftis. Omonoia would then make headlines with the shocking signing of all-time leading scorer of the Cyprus national football team, Michalis Konstantinou. In 2009, Omonoia would also sign another Cypriot star, Konstantinos Makrides. Along the way, Omonoia would also acquire young Cypriot hopefuls, 21 year-old Dimitris Christofi, and 20 year-old Georgios Efrem. Efrem, who had been playing on the youth team of Arsenal FC and later Scottish side, Rangers, would be the final piece to the puzzle needed to win its 20th Cypriot League Championship.
After putting the proper pieces in place, AC Omonoia did just that. During the 2009-10 season, led by new captain, Elias Charalambous, AC Omonoia would not lose a single derby, including play-offs matches against either, APOEL, Anorthosis Famagusta, nor Apollon. After defeating its rival APOEL three consecutive times, Omonoia became the 2009-10 Cypriot League Champions for the 20th time.
Since October 23, 1999, Omonoia has been using the 22,859 seat GSP Stadium, the largest stadium in Cyprus. They share the stadium with local rivals APOEL. Omonoia played in the Makario Stadium from 1978 until 1999 and in Old GSP Stadium prior to 1978. When the club was first created, it used the Goal Stadium.
Omonoia is by far the most popular team in the country, with figures showing the club having a following consisting of 34% and even numbers closer to half of the island's population. Omonoia is known for the left-leaning, socialist character of its supporters. Most of Omonoia's supporters have adopted an outspoken stance against both racism and fascism alike. Omonoia is traditionally regarded as the club of Cyprus's working-class and its supporters are commonly regarded as communist. Many of Omonoia's supporters can be seen waving banners bearing Che Guevara's image or the flag of Cyprus during matches. The extreme, more hardcore fans can be seen in Gate-9 (comprising of thousands of members) and are commonly referred to as "Kifines" (or male bees). They occupy the North stand at the GSP stadium during home games.
Omonoia's fans are well known for their loyalty towards their club. Their huge presence not only in the fields within Cyprus during Cypriot League matches but also abroad during international matches, and even training camps outside of Cyprus. In 2003, Omonoia's fans broke their previous record for attendance in home matches with the improved figure of 140,740. The record was broken again the following year with 143,033 tickets sold in 13 home matches. The record now stands at 162,061 tickets sold during the 2009-2010 season.
12 – Club Supporters (the 12th Man)
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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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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| Technical staff | |
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| Head coach | Dušan Bajević |
| Assistant coach | Michalis Kavalieriss |
| Goalkeeping coach | Christoforos Loizou |
| Physical fitness coach | Alejandro Caceres |
| Fitness trainer | Onisiforos Onisiforou |
| General Manager | Christos Georgiou |
| Academy Director | Nenad Starovlah |
| Scouter | Giorgos Savvidis |
| First team physiotherapist | Giorgos Mavros |
| Physiotherapist | Dimitris Dimitriou |
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Administrative Staff
Cyprus Amateur Football Federation
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   | Omonia Fans Portal - ♣ KIFINES.COM ♣ Οικοσελίδα ♣ OMONOIA Nicosia Fans Portal ♣ |
| | Omonia Nicosia Fans - omonoia fill tri ara stock at trifillara.com |
 | Stadiumguide.com Profile for Omonia future stadium - The Stadium Guide - Omonia Stadium |
| | Omonia AC - www.agora-cyprus.com |
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