Kostas Kaiafas ( gr, Κώστας Καϊάφας; born 22 September 1974 in
Nicosia) is Cypriot former
football player and manager.
As a player, he was a
midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
for Omonia and
Alki Larnaca
Alki Larnaca ( el, ΑΛΚΗ Λάρνακας, ''ALKI Larnakas'') was a Cypriot football club based in the town of Larnaca. The club was founded in 1948 and it was dissolved on the 6th of May of 2014 due to financial issues. The club's colours wer ...
. He was the
captain of Omonia and the second longest servant in the history of the club, only five appearances short of becoming Omonoia's all-time record holder.
Playing career
Kaiafas came through the AC Omonia academies, playing at first as a right midfielder but then moving to the centre as a defensive midfielder. 2008–2009 was his last season with Omonia, as manager
Takis Lemonis let him know that he is no longer included in his squad, and decided to announce his retirement from the team in June 2009. His final game with Omonia was a friendly match against the Lithuanian champions
Ekranas, on 7 July 2009.
Although, later he came out of retirement and signed a contract with
Alki, a team from
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 1 ...
, that was playing in the
Cypriot Second Division
The Cypriot Second Division ( el, Πρωτάθλημα Β΄ Κατηγορίας) is the second highest football division of the Cypriot football league system. Administrated by the Cyprus Football Association, it is contested by 16 teams, with th ...
during the season 2009–10. He played a major role and captain the team to the league championship and promotion to First Division.
During 2010–11, he became the first and only member of the Kaiafas family, to play against Omonia, on 18 September 2010, despite having said that he never wishes to do so. The match was 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 ...
, and despite playing as opponent, Kaiafas was very well accepted by Omonia fans.
In the same season, Kaiafas was a key figure for Alki, but on 29 November 2010 he was involved in an infamous incident which attracted headlines and controversy in Cyprus. In a home match against Ermis Aradippou, he was sent off for pushing and swearing at the referee, after the away team scored the winning goal. Kaiafas was suspended for six months, which ruled him out of first team action, resulting to an inglorious end to his career.
Managerial career
Immediately after Kaiafas ended his career as football player, he took over Alki as manager, however not being holder of the
UEFA Pro Licence
UEFA, the governing body for football in Europe, mandates several coaching licences for professional managers, each valid for coaching at a certain level. These include the UEFA Pro Licence, the UEFA A Licence, and the UEFA B Licence. They are is ...
, he was reported as assistant of
Radmilo Ivančević
Radmilo Ivančević ( sr-cyr, Радмило Иванчевић; born 4 September 1950) is a Serbian football manager and former footballer.
Coaching career
Ivančević's career began in 1983 as manager of Serbian amateur club Šumadija Aranđ ...
. The duo stayed at Alki until they resigned at 3 December 2012.
Later in the same season (2012/13), Kaiafas was appointed on 4 April 2013, as first manager for Alki Larnaca. After terrible season with Alki during 2013/14, due to the heavy financial problems the club was facing, Kaiafas returned to Omonia on 12 March 2014, taking over as manager.
Ανακοίνωση Διοικητικού Συμβουλίου (Greek)
Οmonoia.com.cy
Personal life
He is the son of Sotiris Kaiafas
Sotirios Kaiafas (Greek: Σωτήριος Καϊάφας; born 17 December 1949) is a retired Cypriot footballer who is considered to be the best footballer that Cyprus has ever produced. He played for Omonia and Cyprus. During his career at O ...
, winner of 1975/76 European Golden Boot
The European Golden Shoe, also known as European Golden Boot, is an award that is presented each season to the leading goalscorer in league matches from the top division of a European national league. The trophy is a sculpture of a football boo ...
.
Omonia statistics
* Kaiafas' first league game was on 18 January 1992 against Alki. Omonia won 2–0 and he scored the second goal, the first of his career. His last game was on 2 May 2009 against 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 ...
. Omonia won 1–0 and he scored the winning goal, the last of his career.
* Kaiafas' first international appearance was a friendly match against Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...
on 19 August 1997 in Heraklion. His first and only goal was scored on 2 February 1998 during a friendly match against Slovenia
Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...
, which Cyprus won 1–0. His last game with Cyprus was on 17 November 2004 in a defeat against Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
.
* Kaiafas totalled 498 appearances with Omonia, only five behind the all-time record owned by Andreas Kanaris with 503 appearances. He did however overtake his father, Sotiris Kaiafas, who made 476 appearances for the club.
Honours
* 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 ...
(3): 1993, 2001, 2003
* 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 ...
(4): 1991, 1994, 2000, 2005
* Cyprus FA Shield (4): 1991, 1994, 2001, 2005
* Football Player of the Year : 2003 (awarded by Cyprus Sports Journalists)
References
External links
*
* http://www.footballdatabase.eu/football.joueurs.kostas.kaiafas.3695.en.html Kostas Kaiafas] at Footballdatabase
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaiafas, Kostas
1974 births
Living people
Cypriot footballers
Cyprus international footballers
AC Omonia players
Alki Larnaca FC players
Cypriot First Division players
Association football midfielders
Sportspeople from Nicosia
Cypriot football managers
Alki Larnaca FC managers
AC Omonia managers
Ermis Aradippou FC managers