AEK Larnaca FC ( el, AEK; for short Αθλητική Έvωση Κίτιον Λάρνακας , translit=''Athletiki Enosi Kition Larnakas'', "Athletic Union

Kition Kition ( Egyptian: ; Phoenician: , , or , ; Ancient Greek: , ; Latin: ) was a city-kingdom on the southern coast of Cyprus (in present-day Larnaca). According to the text on the plaque closest to the excavation pit of the Kathari site (as of ...

of Larnaca") is a Cypriot professional football club based in

Larnaca Larnaca ( el, Λάρνακα ; tr, Larnaka) is a city on the south east coast of Cyprus and the capital of the district of the same name. It is the third-largest city in the country, after Nicosia and Limassol, with a metro population of 144 ...

. The club was formed in 1994 after a merger of two historical Larnaca clubs,

EPA Larnaca EPA Larnaca (, ''Enosis Pezoporikou Amol'') was a Cypriot football club based in the city of Larnaca. Founded in 1930 with the merge of two local clubs, Pezoporikos and AMOL, the club was a founding member of Cyprus Football Association and part ...

and

Pezoporikos Pezoporikos Club Larnaca ( el, Πεζοπορικός Όμιλος Λάρνακας, ''Pezoporikos Omilos Larnakas'') was a Cypriot sports club based in Larnaca with football, basketball and volleyball teams. Founded in 1927, the football club ...

. The club also has a men's basketball team, a women's volleyball team and a men's futsal team. The club's name comes from the ancient Greek city of Cyprus,

, which was located on the site of today's Larnaca. The colours of the club are yellow and green, and their emblem is admiral

Kimon Cimon or Kimon ( grc-gre, Κίμων; – 450BC) was an Athenian '' strategos'' (general and admiral) and politician. He was the son of Miltiades, also an Athenian ''strategos''. Cimon rose to prominence for his bravery fighting in the naval Bat ...

, who died at the seafront while defending the city of Kition circa 450 BC, in a fight against the Persians. He had told his officers to keep the news of his possible death secret. The quote "Και Νεκρος Ενικα" ("Even in death he was victorious") refers to Kimon. The club's key milestones - beside being runner-up for the league 5 times - , are qualifying to the

2011–12 UEFA Europa League group stage This article details the 2011–12 UEFA Europa League group stage. The group stage featured 48 teams: the 38 winners of the play-off round, and the 10 losing teams from the Champions League play-off round. The teams were drawn into twelve gr ...

, winning the

Cypriot Cup The Cypriot Cup () is the main cup competition in Cypriot football, run by the Cyprus Football Association (CFA). It began in 1934, the same season with the Cypriot Championship. It is the second most important competition for Cypriot club team ...

in two instances in 2004 and 2018, its Champions League debut and re-entering the

Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

group stage in 2022, and securing its place in the Round of 32 of the 2022-23 Europa Conference League becoming the first Cypriot football team who achieved it, and the second Cypriot team that passed in the second round of any European Competition group stage.

History

Foundation

AEK was founded on 18 July 1994. It came from the merger of two historic clubs,

and

EPA and Pezoporikos

Pezoporikos had been established in 1924. In 1926, serving retired members of Pezoporikos founded the "Athletic Educational Larnaca Club" (Greek: ΑΜΟΛ; Αθλητικός Μορφωτικος Όμιλο Λάρνακας, Athlitikos Morfotikos Omilos Larnakas). In 1932 the two clubs were merged by founding EPA Larnaca (Greek: Ένωσις Πεζοπορικού ΑΜΟΛ, Enosis Pezoporikou AMOL). 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.

EPA The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it be ...

had 50 participations in the first division, won the championship three times ( 1945, 1946, 1970), five times the

(1945, 1946, 1950, 1953, 1955) and once the shield of CFA (1955). In addition, the season 1970–71 participated in the

Alpha Ethniki The Super League Greece 1 ( el, Ελληνική Σούπερ Λιγκ 1), or Super League 1, is the highest professional association football league in Greece. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and replaced ''Alpha Ethniki'' at the top of ...

of Greece and had three appearances in European competitions.

had 49 participations in the first division, won two championships ( 1954, 1988) and one

(1970). It also had three appearances in European competitions. Apart from football, the two clubs had other athletic departments. The efforts and the decision to merge was made to create in Larnaca a sports club that starred in all competitions (football, basketball, volleyball, etc.) and would not have financial problems.

1994–1999: The early years

After the merge of the Pezoporikos and EPA, AEK replaced Pezoporikos in the first division (EPA had relegated the last period of existence). In its first participation in the championship, in 1994–95 season, AEK finished in the 9th place. In 1995–96 season, won the 4th place. Together with APOEL had the best defense in the league with 21 conceded goals. In the

1995–96 the club reached the final, where they lost to

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") ...

. However, because

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 has faced the Armenian club Kotayk Abovyan. The first match took place in

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

(8 August 1996), where AEK lost 1–0. 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 Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

. The first leg (12 September 1996) held at Barcelona Olympic Stadium where Spanish team won 2–0. The second leg took place at the GSZ Stadium (26 September 1996) with both teams stay tied 0–0 and the Spanish team qualified.

reached the final and won the trophy. In 1996, just before the beginning of the 1996–97 season, AEK as the finalist of the

, played against league winners the match for shield of CFA, losing 1–0. In the 1996–97 season, AEK finished again 4th place and reached to

semi-finals. This was followed by 5th place in 1997–98, to return to 4th place the 1998–99 season.

2000s

Three seasons in a row, 1999–00, 2000–01 and 2001–02, AEK finished in 7th place. In 1999–00 season the

reached the semi-finals and the 2002–03 ranked in 8th place. The 2003–04 season was very important in the history of the team, where managed to win the first trophy. Although in the league finished in 9th place, in the Cyprus Cup 2003–04 reached the final, where beat

AEL Limassol Athlitiki Enosi Lemesou ( el, Αθλητική Ένωση Λεμεσού, translation=Athletic Union of Limassol) commonly known as AEL, is a Cypriot sports club based in the city of Limassol, most famous for its football team. AEL also maintai ...

the

GSP stadium Gymnastic Club "The Pancyprians" Stadium (GSP Stadium) ( el, Στάδιο Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος "Τα Παγκύπρια") is a football stadium in Strovolos, Nicosia District, Cyprus. Although small by international standards ...

with score 2–1. The conquest of the cup gave the opportunity to participate the second time in European competition, the 2004–05 UEFA Cup. In the second qualifying round of the competition faced

Maccabi Petah Tikva Maccabi Petah Tikva F.C. ( he, מכבי פתח תקווה) (Full name: "Maccabi Avshalom Ironi Petah Tikva F.C., ) is an Israeli football club based in the city of Petah Tikva. It is part of the Maccabi World Union for international Jewish spo ...

. The first match took place on 12 August 2004 at

where AEK won 3–0. However, the first match score was not enough to offer the qualification in the Cyprus team. In the rematch in Israel, AEK lost 4–0 thus eliminated from the next round of the tournament. In 2004, as a cup winner, before the beginning of the 2004–05 season, AEK faced champions APOEL in the match for the shield of CFA. Match final score ended 3–3. AEK lost at extra time 5–4. In 2004–05 AEK finished in 9th place, just three points ahead of 12th place which leads to the

second division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

. The following season ranked 8th. In Cypriot Cup 2005–06 reached the final against

. After the draw between the home stadiums of the two clubs, the final took place at the home ground of AEK

GSZ Stadium GSZ Stadium or Gymnastic Club Zenon Stadium (; Γ.Σ.Ζ., ) is a multi-purpose stadium in Larnaca, Cyprus. Usually it is referred to as the 'neo GSZ Stadium' to distinguish it from the old GSZ Stadium, which it replaced. It is currently used mos ...

. However, the team failed to win the trophy after being defeated 3–2 at extra time. In 2006–07 season, AEK finished in 7th place and reached the semi-finals of the 2006–07 Cypriot Cup. In the 2007–08 season, won the 4th place in the league. The darkest page in the history of team was the 2008–09 season where AEK finished in 13th place and were relegated for the first time in its history in the

2010s

In 2009–10 season AEK finished 2nd in the

, ensuring its return to the first division. In 2010–11 season, AEK finished in 4th place winning ticket to participate in the 2011–12 UEFA Europa League. In 2011–12 season, the club ranked 5th and also reached the semi-finals of the

. The next season 2012–13, AEK reached the 4th place of the league and again to the semi-finals of the

cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay, ...

. In the 2013–14, the team were limited at the 8th place after a moderate season.

UEFA Europa League 2011–2012 Group Stages

The participation of the team in Europa League 2011–12 was historic for both the club and for Cyprus football. AEK Larnaca became the first Cypriot team which secured its qualification to the group stages of the

(were preceded the entries of

Anorthosis Anorthosis Famagusta ( el, Ανόρθωση Αμμοχώστου, translit=Anorthosi Ammochostou), commonly known as Anorthosis in English or Anorthosi in Greek, is a Cypriot football club, part of the Anorthosis Famagusta multi-sport club fo ...

and

in the group stages of the Champions League). In the second qualifying round AEK faced Maltese

Floriana Floriana ( mt, Il-Furjana or ''Il-Floriana''), also known by its title Borgo Vilhena, is a fortified town in the South Eastern Region area of Malta, just outside the capital city Valletta. It has a population of 2,205 as of March 2014. Floriana ...

which won by 8–0 away and 1–0 at home. They away win 8–0 is the largest winning range of Cypriot team in European competition. In the third qualifying round AEK faced the Czech

Mladá Boleslav Mladá Boleslav (; german: Jungbunzlau) is a city in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 42,000 inhabitants. Mladá Boleslav is the second most populated city in the region and a major centre of the Czech automotive in ...

. In the first match at GSZ AEK won 3–0, while in the second leg away the teams were drawn by 2–2 with AEK qualifying to the play-offs of the UEFA Europa League. Next opponent was the Norwegian Rosenborg. A goalless draw was the result of the first leg between the two teams. In the second leg (which held at

Antonis Papadopoulos Stadium The Antonis Papadopoulos Stadium ( el, Στάδιο «Αντώνης Παπαδόπουλος») is a football stadium in Larnaca, Cyprus. With a current seating capacity of 10,230, it has been the home stadium of Anorthosis Famagusta since its co ...

due to the fact that

UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...

endorsed

inappropriate at that phase of the tournament), AEK won 2–1 and qualified through to the group stages of the tournament. In group stages the tournament the team was asked to face

Schalke 04 Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as FC Schalke 04 (), Schalke 04 (), or abbreviated as S04 (), is a professional German football and multi-sports club originally from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine ...

Maccabi Haifa Maccabi Haifa ( he, מכבי חיפה) is one of the biggest sports clubs in Israel and a part of the Maccabi association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Haifa which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, such as Football ...

and Steaua Bucharest. The only stadium in Cyprus which could host matches of group stages of European competitions was new GSP, whereupon AEK there gave its home matches of group stages. AEK finished at the bottom of Group J and eliminated. The club's performance at the tournament was one win (2–1 at home against

) and two draws (0–0 away against

and 1–1 home against Steaua), gathering five points. During that season, AEK created an unbeaten record for Cypriot club with six matches (four wins and two draws at the qualifying phase of the tournament). The same record is also hold by APOEL the same season but with three wins and three draws. Aekp

Spanish Larnaca

In 2014, the arrival of

Thomas Christiansen Thomas Christiansen Tarín (born 11 March 1973) is a former footballer who played as a striker, currently the manager of Panama. Left-footed, he played for a number of clubs in Danish, Spanish and German football over a 15-year professional ...

marked the beginning of a Spanish era at AEK Larnaca. Under the Danish coach, there have been six regular starters from Spain in the lineup during the 2014–15 season. In the 2014–15 season, the team claimed the championship trophy until the last matchday. In the penultimate matchday, the team faced APOEL with whom stayed at draw 1–1. If AEK won it would go to the top of the table. In the last matchday, AEK won

and ranked 2nd for first time in its history. As in 2014–15, Larnaca finished a strong second 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

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

. Christiansen was followed by a Spaniard,

Imanol Idiakez Joseba Imanol Idiakez Barkaiztegi (born 14 March 1972) is a Spanish former Association football, footballer who played as a midfielder, currently Manager (association football), manager of CD Leganés. Playing career Born in San Sebastián, Gipu ...

. Under Idiakez, Larnaca finished second once again in the 2016–17 season. The two best scorers of AEK Larnaca in the First Division where Ivan Trickovski with 14 goals, followed by the Spaniard Acorán Barrera who netted 9 goals. Idiakez nominated even seven Spaniards as regular starters, but no single player from Cyprus. 2017–18 season saw AEK Larnaca finishing in 4th place but winning the Cyprus Cup after 14 years. The French Striker Florian Taulemesse scored a staggering 22 goals in the championship and was nominated player of the year and player of the Cyprus Cup Final for the season.

completed 100 games in AEK Larnaca bench and in the final game he won the Cyprus Cup Final. He is replaced as from 23 May by another Spaniard

Andoni Iraola Andoni Iraola Sagarna (, ; born 22 June 1982) is a Spanish retired professional footballer who played as a right-back, currently manager of Rayo Vallecano. Combative and with good passing skills, he spent the vast majority of his professional c ...

2020s

AEK Larnaca finished 2nd in the 2021–22 campaign. Cyprus' ranking in the

UEFA coefficient In European football, the UEFA coefficients are statistics based in weighted arithmetic means used for ranking and seeding teams in club and international competitions. Introduced in 1979 for men's football tournaments, and after applied in wome ...

s at the time, meant that AEK had qualified for Champions League football, for the first time in the club's history. AEK made its Champions League debut in a qualifying round against

Midtjylland The Central Denmark Region ( da, Region Midtjylland), or more directly translated as the Central Jutland Region and sometimes simply Mid Jutland, is an administrative region of Denmark established on 1 January 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish muni ...

on 19th of July. After being eliminated at the penalty shootout of the second leg with two consecutive draws, AEK proceeded to the qualifying round of

and kicked out

FK Partizan Fudbalski klub Partizan ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Партизан, ; en, Partizan Football Club), sometimes known as Partizan Belgrade in English, is a Serbia, Serbian professional football club (association football), football ...

and SC Dnipro-1, successfully entering the

group stage for the second time in the club's history. By finishing 3rd in the 2022-23 2022-23 Europa League Group Stage group stage, AEK secured its place in the Round of 32 of the 2022-23 Europa Conference League, becoming the first Cypriot football team who achieved it, and the second Cypriot team that passed in the second round of European Competition group stage.

Stadium

Since October 2016, AEK Larnaca's home ground is the AEK Arena which opened its doors hosting the very first match of AEK Larnaka against

Aris Limassol Aris Limassol (Greek: ''Άρης Λεμεσού'') is a Cypriot football club based in Limassol and one of the founder members of Cyprus Football Association. The club's colours are green, black and white, and their home is the Tsirion Stadiu ...

. The previous home stadium of the football team was the

Neo GSZ Stadium GSZ Stadium or Gymnastic Club Zenon Stadium (; Γ.Σ.Ζ., ) is a multi-purpose stadium in Larnaca, Cyprus. Usually it is referred to as the 'neo GSZ Stadium' to distinguish it from the old GSZ Stadium, which it replaced. It is currently used most ...

, which was common used by EPA and Pezoporikos. Before the construction of the stadium, the two teams used old GSZ stadium.

Honours

Domestic

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 ...

::Runner-up (5): 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2018–19, 2021–22 *

: ::Winners (2): 2003–04, 2017–18 ::Runner-up (2): 1995–96, 2005–06 *

Cypriot Super Cup The Cypriot Super Cup is a Cypriot football trophy, contested in an annual match between the previous season's Cypriot First Division champions, and the Cypriot Cup winners. The match is contested at the beginning of the football season, and is u ...

: ::Winners (1): 2018 ::Runner-up (2): 1996, 2004

European competitions record

''Last update: 5 November 2022''

Matches

Players

Current squad

Other players under contract

Academy players with professional contracts

Out on loan

Active International players

Foreign players

Club officials

Board of directors

Source
ΔΙΟΙΚΗΤΙΚΟ ΣΥΜΒΟΥΛΙΟ
/small>

Technical and medical staff

Source
ΤΕΧΝΙΚΗ ΗΓΕΣΙΑ
/small>

Other staff

Academy organisation

Source
ΟΡΓΑΝΟΓΡΑΜΜΑ
/small>

Sponsorship

* Major Sponsor – Meridian Bet * TV Sponsor –

PrimeTel PLC Primetel PLC is a Cypriot telecommunications company that offers and develops Voice, Data and Video services. The company owns and operates a truly regional network, spanning across Cyprus, Germany, Greece, Russia and the United Kingdom, provid ...

* Clothing Sponsor – Puma * Website Sponsor – Ideaseven Creative Solutions * Official Sponsors: ** AJK Wealth Management Limited **

Petrolina Petrolina is a municipality located in the southernmost point of the state of Pernambuco, in Northeast Brazil, in the valley of the São Francisco River. The population was 354,317 in 2020, and the total area is km², making it the largest m ...

** K. Treppides & CO Certified Public Accountants ** C & C Londou Bros ** SunnySeeker Hotels ** ZEMCO Group **

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hambur ...

** UCLan Cyprus ** METRO Supermarkets ** Kapnos Airport Shuttle ** Top Kinisis Travel

Supporters

KPMG KPMG International Limited (or simply KPMG) is a multinational professional services network, and one of the Big Four accounting organizations. Headquartered in Amstelveen, Netherlands, although incorporated in London, England, KPMG is a net ...

* Tofalli Construction & Development * Marselli Aluminium Cyprus * Pissis Signs * YDROGIOS INSURANCE COMPANY LTD * Theasis Online Ticketing * Lefteris Livadhiotis & Sons * Nicolaides Group * DioCare Natural Products * Zenon Tavern * Mazzo Food & Bar * Titan Office Source
aek.com.cy
/small>

Former players

Managerial history

UEFA and IFFHS rankings

UEFA Club ranking

Last update: 27 August 2020

IFFHS Club World ranking

Last update: 16 January 2018

References

External links

Official website

AEK Unofficial blog

AEK Fans site

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aek Larnaca AEK Larnaca FC, Football clubs in Cyprus Association football clubs established in 1994 1994 establishments in Cyprus Football clubs in Larnaca