Olympiakos Nicosia

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Olympiakos Nicosia
Full name	Ολυμπιακός Λευκωσίας Olympiakos Lefkosias
Nickname(s)	Mavroprasini (The Green Blacks)
Founded	1931
Ground	Neo GSP Stadium, Nicosia, Cyprus
Capacity	23,400
Chairman	Kleanthis Georgiades/Christos Hadjittofis
Manager	Juan Ramon Rocha
League	Cypriot First Division
2005-06	11th
Home colours 　 Away colours

Olympiakos Nicosia is a football club in the Cypriot capital of Nicosia. The Club was founded in 1931. It is a founding member of the Cyprus Football Federation. The jersey colors are black and green. Olympiakos's home ground is the New GSP Stadium of 23,400 seat capacity.

Olympiakos Nicosia has won three Cypriot First Division Championships one Cyprus Cup and one Cyprus Super Cup.

Contents 1 The Golden Decade 2 Greek Experience 3 European Experience 4 Cup Glory 5 Glory Days Revisited 6 Current Squad 6.1 Goalkeepers 6.2 Defenders 6.3 Midfielders 6.4 Attackers 7 Famous Former Players 8 Trophies 9 External links

[edit] The Golden Decade

The 1962-1972 decade is rightly known as the “Golden decade” of Olympiakos. The club was champion of the Cypriot First Division three times another three times it was runner-up, while it became the only Cyprus football club that participated three times in the Greek National 1st Division Championship.

It all started in the 1961-62 season, when Olympiakos reached the cup final for the first time. Despite this, the team did not manage to win the cup trophy. (As it lost from Anorthosis Famagusta FC with a score of 5-2)

The foundations had been laid however, in the 1964-65 season, Giorgos Paletsios an old Olympiakos football player for 18 years (who had also served as team captain)agreed to manage the team, without being paid a salary for his services. Paletsios proceeded to restructure the team’s squad promoting to the first team the young and talented Kettenis, Limbouris, Argyrou amongst other players. Bolstered with young enthusiasm the team finished in second place in the championship, while in the same year the top scorer of the championship was Olympiakos player Costakis Pieridis, scoring 21 goals.

In the 1965-66 season Olympiakos was once again runner-up, with 49 points, one point less than the then champion Omonoia. Top scorer of the championship is again an Olympiakos player, Panikos Efthymiadis scoring 23 goals.

In the 1966-67 season Olympiakos dominated the Cyprus Championship, with Pambos Avraamidis as their manager, the team triumphantly finished in first place and won the championship with 55 points as many as APOEL Nicosia, who in the last game of the season beat Aris Limassol with the huge score of 17-1. The title is judged on goal difference and despite APOEL’s huge score in the last game of the season, Olympiakos still had a superior goal difference so that the club was deservingly crowned champion.

In 1967, the champion Olympiakos played against the Cup-winner Apollon Limassol, beating them with 1-0 therefore winning the Pakkos Shield (as the Super Cup/Shield was then known.)

In the 1968-69 season, Olympiakos with Eric Brookes as manager won the championship for a second time, collecting 52 points the same number as AC Omonoia. Olympiakos is champion however because of the better goal difference. Top scorer of the championship is once again Panikos Efthymiadis scoring 17 goals.

The third Olympiakos championship came in the 1970-71 season with Rod Bradley as the manager the team finished in the first place with 31 points compared to the 27 of runner up Digenis Morfou. The title of top scorer was shared by 3 footballers who all scored 11 goals amongst them once again Panikos Efthymiadis.

In the 1972-73 season Olympiakos finished runner-up, while in the 1974-75 season the team finished third.

In 1971 Olympiakos wins the Paligenesias cup that was organised by the Cyprus Football Association(KOP), defeating Nea Salamis Famagusta with 1-0. In this golden period Olympiakos’ managers were the following: Pambos Avraamidis, Giorgos Paletsios, Takis Papaxeniou, Eric Brookes and Rod Bradley.

Andreas Filotas, Varnavas Christofi, Nikos Theocharidis, Demos Flourentzou, Giorgos Hadjikonstantis, Dimitrakis Argyrou, Yiannis Xipolitas, Savvakis Constantinou, Michalakis Argyrou, Sotirakis Georgiou, Lakis Avraamidis, Markos Markou, Andreas Nicolaou (Lympoyris), Vasilis Fragkiskou (Katsis), Dimitriadis, Tasos Louka, Andreas Assiotis, Giorgos Kettenis, Panikos Efthymiadis, Costakis Pieridis, Charalambos Partasidis, Giannos Pavlou, Takis Papettas, Kokos Michael, Nikos Mailos, Michalis Stavrou, Giorgos Aristeidou, Koullis Iliadis, Lakis Mitsidis, Panagiotis Prodromou were the footballers of the great successes of this period.

[edit] Greek Experience

Olympiakos became the first Cypriot football team that participated in the Pan-Hellenic Championship, in the 1967-68 season, something which reoccurred twice more, in 1969-70, and in 1971-72, rendering the club the only Cypriot team that participated three times in the Greek National 1st Division Championship. Olympiakos has also taken part in all three European competitions.

[edit] European Experience

In the European Champions Cup in 1967 the club faced FK Sarajevo Yugoslavia. In the first game the teams drew 2-2, while in second game Olympiakos lost with 3-1.

Also in the European Champions Cup, Olympiacos Nicosia played against Real Madrid in 1969, losing both matches with 8-0 and 6-1. Olympiacos later played in the same competition in 1971 and met Feyenoord of the Netherlands and lost 8-0 and 9-0.

In the Cup Winners' Cup, Olympiakos took part once in 1977 playing against FC Universitatea Craiova Romania while in 1973 Olympiakos played against the German team VfB Stuttgart for the UEFA Cup.

[edit] Cup Glory

In 1977, Olympiakos Nicosia scored 2-0 over Alki Larnaca to win the Cyprus Cup. In 1991, Olympiakos Nicosia lost the Cyprus Cup in the finals losing 1-0 to AC Omonia. That was their last appearance in the Cyprus Cup finals.

[edit] Glory Days Revisited

Olympiakos Nicosia also played in the UEFA Cup (after finishing runner up in the Cyprus championship) in the 2001-02 season against the Hungarian team Dunaffer FC (drawing 2-2 in Nicosia and scoring an amazing 2-4 away win, the first for the club in Europe) and proceeded to the next round of the Uefa Cup to play against Club Brugge of Belgium and was eventually eliminated.

[edit] Current Squad

[edit] Goalkeepers

• 01. Tassos Giallouris
• 12. Miloš Radanović
• 20. Dimitris Stylianou
• 30. Giorgos Loizou

[edit] Defenders

• 03. Ivo Rafael Brandão Afonso
• 04. Savvas Parmakis
• 06. Makis Papaioannou
• 15. Christos Efthymiou
• 21. Nikos Nicolaou
• 22. Stefanos Georgiou
• 28. Giorgos Hadjikyriakos
• 32. Iacovos Tsolakidis

[edit] Midfielders

• 05. Luís "Vouzela" Miguel da Silva Tavares
• 07. Kostas Solomou
• 10. Marios Themistokleous
• 11. Kostas Malekos
• 16. Ablordey Godwin
• 17. Evangelos Christodoulou Mavris
• 23. Feidias Panayiotou
• 24. Nikolas Nicolaou
• 25. Giorgos Georgiades
• 27. Odysseas Stavrou
• 31. Dimitris Filaniotis

[edit] Attackers

• 08. Alexis Pittas
• 09. Giorgos Nicolaou
• 13. Kostas Kostantinou
• 14. Tiago Vieira Pinto Carneiro Carvalho
• 19. Dragan Simović
• 26. Petr Sasykov
• 29. Loukas Karipis

[edit] Famous Former Players

• Saša Gajser

• Miran Pavlin

• / Paulo Rink

• Siniša Gogić

• Marko Simeunovič

• Romik Khachatryan

[edit] Trophies

• Cypriot championship: 3
  • 1967, 1969, 1971

• Cyprus Cup: 1
  • 1977

• Cyprus FA Shield: 1
  • 1967

[edit] External links

• Fan site

Cypriot First Division, 2006-2007
AEK Larnaca | AEL FC | AEP Paphos | Anorthosis Famagusta | APOEL | Apollon Limassol | Aris Limassol | Ayia Napa | Digenis Morphou | EN Paralimni | Ethnikos Achna | Nea Salamis Famagusta | Olympiakos Nicosia | AC Omonia
Football in Cyprus
Cyprus Football Association - National team - List of football clubs in Cyprus
Competitions: Cypriot First Division - Cyprus Cup - Cyprus FA Shield