The 2011–12 season was APOEL's 72nd season in the Cypriot First Division and 84th year in existence as a

football club A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an all- ...

Season review

Pre-season and friendlies

The first training session for the season took place on 8 June 2011 at GSP Stadium. On 19 June 2011, the team flew to Obertraun in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

to perform the main stage of their pre-season training. APOEL returned to

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

on 2 July 2011. During the pre-season training stage in

APOEL APOEL FC ( el, ΑΠΟΕΛ; short for Αθλητικός Ποδοσφαιρικός Όμιλος Ελλήνων Λευκωσίας, ''Athletikos Podosferikos Omilos Ellinon Lefkosias'', literally "Athletic Football Club of Greeks of Nicosia") ...

participated in Salzburg Airport Cup and played in total four friendly matches.

Domestic Competitions

Laiki Bank League

completed the regular season of the

2011–12 Cypriot First Division The 2011–12 Cypriot First Division was the 73rd season of the Cypriot top-level football league. It began on 27 August 2011 and ended on 12 May 2012. APOEL were the defending champions. AEL Limassol won the championship one matchweek before the ...

having 17 wins, 5 draws and 4 losses, scoring 39 goals and conceding 13 goals. So,

entered

championship play-offs The English Football League Championship play-offs are a series of play-off matches contested by the association football teams finishing from third to sixth in the EFL Championship table and are part of the English Football League play-offs. , ...

from the third place with 56 points, four points behind leaders AEL Limassol (60 points) and one point behind second placed Omonia (57 points). In the first championship play-off match, APOEL won Omonia by 2–1, with a last-minute winner from

Gustavo Manduca Gustavo Manduca (born 8 June 1980) is a Brazilian former Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward or an Midfielder (association football)#Attacking midfielder, attacking midfielder, currently a Man ...

and moved up to the second place, only two points behind leaders AEL Limassol who on the same day drew 1–1 at Anorthosis. In the second play-off match, APOEL suffered a 2–1 home loss from Anorthosis and leaders AEL Limassol (who at the same day won Omonia by 2–0) gained a five-points advantage. In the next play-off match,

Ivan Tričkovski Ivan Trichkovski ( mk, Иван Тричковски; born 18 April 1987) is a Macedonian professional footballer who plays for and captains AEK Larnaca in the Cypriot First Division. Club career Red Star Belgrade Trichkovski joined Red Star ...

's last-minute winner helped APOEL beat AEL Limassol 1–0 at home, to reduce AEL's lead to just two points. Another match between AEL Limassol and APOEL followed one week later, but the two teams drew 0–0 in Limassol and AEL remained two points clear of APOEL, with only two matches remaining. On 5 May 2012, APOEL lost from Omonia at home by 2–1 and at the same day AEL Limassol crowned champions by beating Anorthosis 1–0 at Limassol. In the last match of the season, APOEL won Anorthosis at Larnaca by 2–1 and secured the second place in the league.

LTV Super Cup

On 7 August 2011,

won the 2011 Cypriot Super Cup by beating Omonia 1–0 in the GSP Stadium. The winner came from

Christos Kontis Christos Kontis ( el, Χρήστος Κόντης, born 13 May 1975) is a Greek professional football manager and former player. Club career Kontis started his career at Ethnikos Piraeus. In Greece he played also for Panionios, Olympiacos and A ...

in the 81st minute.

Cypriot Cup

In the first round of the

2011–12 Cypriot Cup The 2011–12 Cypriot Cup was the 70th edition of the Cypriot Cup. A total of 28 clubs entered the competition. It began on 30 November 2011 with the first round and concluded on 16 May 2012 with the final which was held at GSP Stadium. AC Omonia, ...

, APOEL eliminated

Akritas Chlorakas Akritas Chlorakas ( el, Ακρίτας Χλώρακας) is a Cypriot football club based in Chloraka, Paphos. The club was founded in 1971, and currently plays in the Cypriot First Division. Akritas' colours are green and white, and they play ...

by winning 9–1 in a knock-out match which was held at GSP Stadium. In the last 16 of the Cup, APOEL faced up AEL Limassol in a two-legged tie and lost 0–1 on aggregate. In the first match at GSP Stadium, APOEL lost 0–1 from a Patrick Vouho's goal in the 40th minute. On the return leg, APOEL was held to a 0–0 draw, and so eliminated very early from the competition.

UEFA Champions League

The team won the

Cypriot championship The Cypriot First Division ( el, Πρωτάθλημα Α΄ Κατηγορίας) is the top tier football league competition in Cyprus, run by the Cyprus Football Association. Since February 2016, it is sponsored by Cyta and is thus officially ...

last season and as such entered the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League second qualifying round. A successful campaign saw them through to the

2011–12 UEFA Champions League The 2011–12 UEFA Champions League was the 57th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 20th season in its current Champions League format. As part of a trial that started in the 2009–10 UEFA Europa Lea ...

group stages by eliminating

Skënderbeu Korçë , reign = 28 November 1443 – 17 January 1468 , predecessor = Gjon Kastrioti , successor = Gjon Kastrioti II , spouse = Donika Arianiti , issue = Gjon Kastrioti II , royal house = Kastrioti , father ...

(6–0 agg.), Slovan Bratislava (2–0 agg.) and

Wisła Kraków Towarzystwo Sportowe Wisła Kraków Spółka Akcyjna, commonly referred to as Wisła Kraków (), is a Polish professional football club based in Kraków. It currently competes in the I liga, the second level of Polish football league system. It ...

(3–2 agg.). APOEL drawn in Group G, alongside

F.C. Porto Futebol Clube do Porto, MHIH, OM (), commonly known as FC Porto or simply Porto, is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Porto. It is best known for the professional football team playing in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portu ...

, Shakhtar Donetsk and Zenit St. Petersburg. On 13 September 2011, APOEL hosted Zenit St. Petersburg in GSP Stadium and secured its first ever victory in the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

group stage proper with a 2–1 comeback victory against the Russian side.

Konstantin Zyryanov Konstantin Georgiyevich Zyryanov (russian: Константин Георгиевич Зырянов; born 5 October 1977) is a Russian football manager and a former player of Komi descent. He is the manager of Chernomorets Novorossiysk. Club ...

put Zenit ahead in the 63rd minute but APOEL was rewarded for its attacking play 10 minutes later when

pounced on a loose ball in the box and slotted the ball into the Zenit net. The winner came two minutes later when Brazilian striker

Aílton Ailton is a given name. Notable people with the name include: Arts and Entertainment * Ailton Krenak (born 1954), Brazilian writer and journalist * Ailton Graça (born 1964), Brazilian actor Religion * Ailton Menegussi (born 1962), Brazilian bisho ...

evaded the Zenit defense and shot into the far corner past goalkeeper

Vyacheslav Malafeev Vyacheslav Aleksandrovich Malafeev ( rus, Вячесла́в Алекса́ндрович Малафе́ев, p=vʲɪtɕɪˈslaf ɐlʲɪkˈsandrəvʲɪtɕ məlɐˈfʲe(j)ɪf; born 4 March 1979) is a Russian football official and a former player ...

. In its second match in the group, APOEL held Shakhtar Donetsk to a 1–1 draw at the

Donbass Arena Donbass Arena ( uk, Донба́с Аре́на ; is a stadium with a natural grass pitch in Donetsk, Ukraine, that opened on 29 August 2009. The facility is located in the center of the city, in the Lenin Comsomol park. With a capacity of 52,187 ...

and stayed in first place in the group. APOEL took the lead when the striker

finished off a counterattack in the 61st minute. Shakhtar equalised three minutes later when

Jádson Jádson Rodrigues da Silva, professionally known as Jádson (; born 5 October 1983), is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder. He is currently playing for Vitória. Having begun his career at Atlético Para ...

scored. Another away match followed against F.C. Porto and APOEL drew 1–1 at Dragão to extend its unbeaten start and keep them on the top of Group G. Brazilian forward

Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk' ...

put F.C. Porto ahead after 13 minutes with a curving free-kick from distance and APOEL levelled six minutes later when Aílton received the ball close to the Porto area, dribbled past

Fernando Fernando is a Spanish and Portuguese given name and a surname common in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Switzerland, former Spanish or Portuguese colonies in Latin America, Africa, the Philippines, India, and Sri Lanka. It is equivalent to the G ...

and sent a diagonal shot that gave the goalkeeper

Helton Helton may refer to: * Helton, Cumbria, a village in England * Helton, Kentucky, United States * Helton, Missouri, United States * Helton Township, Ashe County, North Carolina, USA ** Helton, North Carolina, an unincorporated community in Helton To ...

no chance to block. However, on the last minute of added time APOEL could have won the match, but substitute

Aldo Adorno Aldo Osmar Adorno Moreira (born 8 April 1982) is a Paraguayan footballer who plays as a forward for P.O. Xylotymbou in the Cypriot Third Division. Career Paraguay – Israel – Spain Adorno started his career from Sportivo Luqueño of Paragu ...

was denied the winner by a block from Helton. On 1 November 2011, APOEL hosted F.C. Porto in GSP Stadium and Gustavo Manduca's last-minute winner meant APOEL remained unbeaten at the top of Group G, securing at least a place in the

2011–12 UEFA Europa League knockout phase The knockout phase of the 2011–12 UEFA Europa League began on 14 February 2012 with the round of 32, and concluded on 9 May 2012 with the final at National Arena in Bucharest, Romania. Times up to 24 March 2012 (round of 32 and round of 16) are C ...

. On 42nd minute, Aílton was tripped by

Eliaquim Mangala Eliaquim Hans Mangala (born 13 February 1991) is a French professional footballer who plays as a centre-back. Born in France, he moved to Belgium as a child and began his career there at Standard Liège, going onto Porto in 2011 where he won c ...

and the referee immediately signaled a penalty. The Brazilian striker stepped up and sent Helton the wrong way, scoring his third goal in the competition. On the 89th minute F.C. Porto won a penalty and Hulk made no mistake from the spot, equalizing for the visitors. It looked like the Portuguese side had salvaged a draw, but in the 90th minute Constantinos Charalambides fired in an accurate cross and found Gustavo Manduca in the box, whose left-footed strike from close range sealed the win for APOEL. On 23 November 2011, APOEL made history and became the first Cypriot team to reach the last 16 of the

by holding Zenit St. Petersburg to a 0–0 draw in Petrovsky Stadium. APOEL eventually reached the last 16 as a group winner, despite losing its unbeaten record after a 0–2 home defeat by Shakhtar Donetsk on the final match day. Luiz Adriano (who had in the first half a penalty saved by

Urko Pardo Urko Rafael Pardo Goas ( el, Ούρκο Ράφαελ Πάρντο Γκόας; born 28 January 1983) is a retired professional footballer who last played as a goalkeeper for Olympias Lympion. Formed at Barcelona, he spent most of his career in ...

) and Yevhen Seleznyov scored second-half goals for Shakhtar to win its first group stage match that season, but APOEL stayed top of Group G after Zenit St. Petersburg drew 0–0 at F.C. Porto. In its first participation to the UEFA Champions League last 16, APOEL drawn against French side

Olympique Lyonnais Olympique Lyonnais (), commonly referred to as simply Lyon () or OL, is a men and women's French professional football club based in Lyon in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. The men play in France's highest football division, Ligue 1. Founded in 1950, th ...

. The first leg was held at Stade de Gerland on 14 February 2012, in front of over 5,000 travelling APOEL supporters. Lyon overcame APOEL's tight defense with a second-half goal by Alexandre Lacazette and secured a slender advantage by winning 1–0. In the second leg which was held at GSP Stadium on 7 March 2012, Gustavo Manduca's ninth-minute opener levelled the tie 1–1 on aggregate. After 90 minutes and 30 minutes of extra time the game remained 1–0 for APOEL and went to a penalty shoot-out. On the penalty shoot-out,

Dionisis Chiotis Dionysis Chiotis ( el, Διονύσης Χιώτης; born 4 June 1977) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Currently, he serves as a goalkeeping coach for AEK Athens Academy. Club career AEK Athens Chiotis t ...

made two saves by diving to his left to block penalties from Alexandre Lacazette and Michel Bastos, while APOEL converted all four of its own spot kicks and won 4–3, reaching the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals for the first time. APOEL has been drawn to face Spanish giants

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

in the quarter-finals. In the first leg which was held at GSP Stadium on 27 March 2012, APOEL stood well for 74 minutes, but Real Madrid ran out 3–0 winners thanks to late goals from Karim Benzema (74', 90') and

Kaká Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite (; born 22 April 1982), commonly known as Kaká () or Ricardo Kaká, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. In his prime as a playmaker at AC Milan, a period marke ...

(82'). In the return leg which was held at Santiago Bernabéu on 4 April 2012, Real Madrid took a 2–0 lead in the first half by

Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward and captains the Portugal national team. He is currently a free agent. Widely regarded as one of the greatest p ...

's (26') and

's (37') goals. Gustavo Manduca scored a goal for APOEL in the 67th minute after an excellent through ball from Aílton, but Ronaldo scored his second goal with a free-kick in the 75th minute to make it 3–1 for Real Madrid. Substitute

José Callejón José María Callejón Bueno (; born 11 February 1987) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a forward or winger for Granada. He began his career with the reserve teams of Real Madrid, but made a name for himself at Espanyol. In ...

scored in the 80th minute but two minutes later APOEL won a

penalty Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) * Penalty ...

after Hamit Altıntop brought down

and

Esteban Solari Esteban Andrés Solari Poggio (; born 2 June 1980) is an Argentine former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football)#Striker, striker, currently Manager (association football), manager of Malaysi ...

beat

Iker Casillas Iker Casillas Fernández (; born 20 May 1981) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper and currently works as a football commentator. Popularly dubbed "''San Iker''" ("Saint Iker") for his ability to produce spectac ...

from the

spot Spot or SPOT may refer to: Places * Spot, North Carolina, a community in the United States * The Spot, New South Wales, a locality in Sydney, Australia * South Pole Traverse, sometimes called the South Pole Overland Traverse People * Spot (produ ...

to make it 4–2. Finally, another goal scored by Ángel Di María in the 84th minute and Real Madrid won by 5–2, reaching the semi-finals with an aggregate score of 8–2 and giving an end to APOEL's impressive run in the competition.

Current squad

''Last Update: 19 January 2012'' ''For recent transfers, see List of Cypriot football transfers summer 2011.''
''Also, see List of Cypriot football transfers winter 2011–12.''

International players

Nektarios Alexandrou Nektarios Alexandrou ( el, Νεκτάριος Αλεξάνδρου; born December 19, 1983 in Nicosia, Cyprus) is a Greek Cypriot former professional footballer. He was a left flank specialist, but he primarily played as the left winger. Care ...

* Constantinos Charalambides * Marios Elia * Tasos Kissas * Savvas Poursaitides *

Marinos Satsias Marinos Satsias ( el, Μαρινος Σατσιάς) is a retired Cyprus, Cypriot professional Association football, footballer who spent his entire 19-year career playing for APOEL F.C., APOEL in Cyprus. Career Satsias was a right-footed defen ...

* Athos Solomou *

Marios Antoniades Marios Antoniades ( el, Μάριος Αντωνιάδης; born 14 May 1990) is a Cypriot professional footballer who plays for Cypriot First Division club, Anorthosis Famagusta. He primarily plays as a left-back and more recently as a centre-b ...

( U-21) * Andreas Christofides ( U-21) *

Emilios Panayiotou Emilios Panayiotou ( el, Αιμίλιος Παναγιώτου; born 22 September 1992 in Limassol, Cyprus) is a Cypriot footballer who plays as a midfielder for AEZ Zakakiou in the Cypriot Second Division. Career He made his first football ste ...

( U-21)

Foreign players

EU Nationals * Paulo Jorge *

Nuno Morais Nuno Miguel Barbosa Morais (born 29 January 1984) is a Portuguese former professional footballer. Mainly a defensive midfielder, he could also appear as a central defender. He was signed by Chelsea in 2004, but stayed only two years with the c ...

Hélio Pinto Hélio José Ribeiro Pinto (born 29 February 1984) is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a central midfielder. A youth product of Benfica, he spent most of his career with APOEL in Cyprus, appearing in 276 competitive ma ...

Hélder Sousa Hélder Bruno Macedo Sousa (born 13 October 1977) is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Club career Born in Matosinhos, Sousa started his career with amateurs Padroense F.C. in 1997. In his country, in which ...

* Savvas Poursaitides *

EU Nationals (Dual citizenship) *

* Marcinho *

Non-EU Nationals *

William Boaventura William Cleite Boaventura (born February 14, 1980 in Brazil) is a retired Brazilian footballer. Career "Boa" started his career in the Brazilian team Cabofriense and arrived in Cyprus the summer of 2004, showing good skills while playing for ...

Marcelo Oliveira Marcelo de Oliveira Santos (born 4 March 1955) is a Brazilian professional football manager and former player who last managed Ponte Preta. Playing career Club Born in Pedro Leopoldo, Minas Gerais, he was known as Marcelo during his playing d ...

Squad changes

In: Total expenditure: €340K Out: Total income: €300K {,

Club

Management

Kit

, , ,

Other information

Squad stats

Top scorers

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Manduca ''Manduca'' is a genus of moths in the family Sphingidae, the hawkmoths. The genus is used as a model in the biological sciences. The tobacco hornworm (''Manduca sexta'') and the tomato hornworm (''M. quinquemaculata'') in particular have been w ...

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, align=center, , align=center, 4 , align=center, 0 , align=center, 0 , align=center, 7 , align=center, 11 , - , align=center, 4 ,

Charalambides Charalambides is an avant garde musical group originally from Houston, Texas, United States and lately of Austin, Texas. Formed in 1991 (under the short-lived name Mutual Admiration Society) by Tom Carter, Christina Carter and Kyle Silfer, they ...

, align=center, , align=center, 7 , align=center, 0 , align=center, 0 , align=center, 1 , align=center, 8 , - , align=center, 5 , Tričkovski , align=center, , align=center, 6 , align=center, 0 , align=center, 0 , align=center, 1 , align=center, 7 , - , rowspan="2" align=center, 6 ,

Morais Morais or Moraes (the latter is an archaic spelling in Portugal, but contemporary in Brazil and India — or for both variants) is a Portuguese surname. The link between Morais/Moraes and the Spanish surname Morales is controversial. Notable p ...

, align=center, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0 , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4 , - ,

Adorno Theodor W. Adorno ( , ; born Theodor Ludwig Wiesengrund; 11 September 1903 – 6 August 1969) was a German philosopher, sociologist, psychologist, musicologist, and composer. He was a leading member of the Frankfurt School of critica ...

, align=center, , align=center, 0 , align=center, 3 , align=center, 0 , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4 , - , align=center, 8 , Marcinho , align=center, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0 , align=center, 0 , align=center, 3 , - , align=center, 9 , Boaventura , align=center, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0 , align=center, 0 , align=center, 2 , - , rowspan="10" align=center, 10 , Oliveira , align=center, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0 , align=center, 0 , align=center, 0 , align=center, 1 , - , Elia , align=center, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0 , align=center, 0 , align=center, 0 , align=center, 1 , - , Belaid , align=center, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0 , align=center, 0 , align=center, 0 , align=center, 1 , - ,

Pinto Pinto is a Portuguese language, Portuguese, Spanish language, Spanish, Sephardi Jews, Jewish (Sephardic), and Italian language, Italian surname. It is a high-frequency surname in all List of countries and territories where Portuguese is an officia ...

, align=center, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0 , align=center, 0 , align=center, 0 , align=center, 1 , - , Solomou , align=center, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0 , align=center, 0 , align=center, 0 , align=center, 1 , - , Alexandrou , align=center, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0 , align=center, 0 , align=center, 0 , align=center, 1 , - , Poursaitides , align=center, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0 , align=center, 0 , align=center, 0 , align=center, 1 , - , Paulo Jorge , align=center, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0 , align=center, 0 , align=center, 0 , align=center, 1 , - ,

, align=center, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0 , align=center, 0 , align=center, 0 , align=center, 1 , - , Kontis , align=center, , align=center, 0 , align=center, 0 , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0 , align=center, 1 , - , colspan="3" align=center, '' Own goals'' , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0 , align=center, 0 , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2 , - !colspan="3" align=center, TOTAL !align=center, 46 !align=center, 9 !align=center, 1 !align=center, 20 !align=center, 76 Last updated: 13 May 2012
Source: Match reports in Competitive matches

Captains

# Constantinos Charalambides # Marios Elia #

Pre-season friendlies

Mid-season friendlies

Competitions

Overall

Laiki Bank League

Classification

Results summary

Results by round

Play-offs

The first 12 teams are divided into 3 groups. Points are carried over from the first round.

=Group A

Matches

Kick-off times are in EET.

=Regular season

=Play-offs

UEFA Champions League

Qualifying phase

=Second qualifying round

= ''APOEL won 6–0 on aggregate.''

=Third qualifying round

= ''APOEL won 2–0 on aggregate.''

=Play-off round

= ''APOEL won 3–2 on aggregate.''

Group stage

=Group G standings and fixtures

=Matches

Knockout phase

=Round of 16

= ''1–1 on aggregate. APOEL won 4–3 on penalties.''

=Quarter-finals

= ''Real Madrid won 8–2 on aggregate.''

LTV Super Cup

''APOEL won the 2011 Cypriot Super Cup (12th title).''

Cypriot Cup

First round

Second round

''AEL Limassol won 1–0 on aggregate''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:APOEL F.C. Season 2011-12 APOEL FC seasons APOEL F.C. season 2011–12 UEFA Champions League participants seasons