Remembering the first Cypriot football season after the Turkish invasion
Exactly 46 years after Turkey began their devastating invasion of Cyprus, AGONAsport looks back at the first season on the island following the start of the illegal occupation.
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July 20th, 1974, a tragic day for Cyprus, as Turkey invades the island under the pretense of protecting the Turkish Cypriot community from the junta-motivated coup against President Makarios five days earlier. 200,000 Cypriots became refugees in their own country, 1,619 are still missing and 37% of the island remains occupied after 46 long years. As a tribute to our people, we analyse how Cypriot football tried to get back on its feet after those terrible events, remembering the sacrifices and with hope for the reunification of our island.
Needless to say, Cypriot football was facing it’s toughest moment after the 1963/1974 season which was abandoned as a consequence of the fighting. July and August were dead months due to the military operations and the massive problems which displaced clubs had to face.
In September, the first signs of football activity were recorded. All the teams would be coached by Cypriots, while Omonoia Nicosia, Pezoporikos Larnakas and Enosis Neon Paralimniou declared that they would not participate in European competitions despite their qualification.
On September 6, APOEL president Michalakis Zivanaris travelled to Athens by boat to discuss his team’s participation in the Alpha Ethniki, after achieving their stay from the 1973/1974 campaign. The final decision was for APOEL to be put in reserves for the season until further notice, while the possibility to return to the Alpha Ethniki for the 1975/1976 season was left open. It was later decided for APOEL to participate in the Cypriot First Division, with their games not to be counted in the table. They were the last Cypriot team to participate in the Alpha Ethniki as in June 1975 the decision was taken for the end of the football union between Cyprus and Greece. On September 8th, Cypriot star footballer Stavros Papadopoulos was transferred to Ethnikos Piraeus from Pezoporikos Larnakas.
The first post-war game took place on September 22, at the GSO Stadium in Limassol. It was a friendly game between mixed teams from Famagusta and Limassol, which managed to collect 800 Cypriot pounds for the support of the refugees. Steadily, more friendly games started taking place around the island, with the teams getting more readily organized.
AEL Limassol began training on October 15th at the GSO Stadium under the guidance of Panikkos Krystallis. APOEL followed up two days later at the GSP Stadium with Andreas Lazaridis as the coach. Takis Antoniou, who was captured as a prisoner at the first stage of the invasion, was released and joined the squad. Omonoia’s Nikos Patikis was also captured by the Turkish forces, while APOP Pafou had two of its members killed in action, G. Savva and Sotiris Papalazarou. Olympiakos Nicosia player Sotiris Hadjikyriakou was also murdered, while their general manager, A.Photiades, was a prisoner. Andreas Konstantinou-Esso took over Omonoia, while Anorthosis and ASIL Lysis began practicing together under the supervision of Antonis Karas and Panikkos Iakovou respectively. Alki Larnakas were guided by their old players, Panais and Nikolis, Pezoporikos by Andreas Mavros, Aris Limassol by Andreas Kotsonis and APOP by Andreas Kokkinos.
Digenis Morfou saw two of their players moving permanently abroad, while they saw their squad depth take a drop to 15 players from 40. In order to participate in the upcoming season, they asked for help from the CFA and the CSA for providing them with sports equipment and covering their transportation expenses. The situation was dire as there wasn’t even one ball for practice or a uniform available. A particularly harsh period for all the teams which lost their dear homes and became refugees alongside their people.
The fans welcomed the decision for restarting the football activities in Cyprus. Every little spark of activity in the everyday life of the island was an ethical and moral victory of the Cypriot people against the tragic and harsh situation created by the Turkish invasion. On November 4, CFA announced the start of the season without mandatory participation and without relegation. A special combined season was also announced for the second and third divisions too. APOEL’s participation would not be counted on the table and Panikos Iakovou took over the national team without earnings. Α friendly game between Cyprus and Greece took place on November 15 at the Karaiskakis Stadium in Piraeus for the support of the refugee fund, with the hosts earning a 3:1 win.
The 1974/1975 season finally started four months after the invasion took place, with the displaced teams facing large problems after losing their facilities and many of their players. The first two games took place on 30 November, with champions Omonoia prevailing 3:0 over EPA Larnakas at the GSZ, with goals from V.Kartabis, N.Siakolas and Andreas Kanaris. The other game took place at the GSP Stadium where APOEL in an unaccounted game beat Alki Larnakas by an emphatic score of 6:2. On December 1, the other five games took place as Anorthosis and AEL shared a 2:2 draw, Chr. Kovis and an own goal from Kostantis for the Famagusta side, while the latter had goals from Stellakis and Stavros. Meanwhile, a historic game took place at the GSP, as two refugee teams faced each other for the first time. Digenis Morfou and Nea Salamina Ammochostou (Famagusta) played to a 1:1 draw with goals from Manos and Kokos Ioannou. In Paralimni, Enosis hosted Aris Limassol and got the win with two goals from Kyriakos Tsoukkas. At the GS Koroivos in Pafos, local side Evagoras with goals from Yiallouris and Stefos prevailed over Apollon Limassol, while at the GSZ in Larnaka, Pezoporikos and Olympiakos Nicosia remained goalless.
Cyprus and its football would take years to recover from the consequences of the Turkish invasion. The resilience of the Cypriot people and their ability to stand up and make the best out of even the worst situations always shined through. Despite that, 46 years after those tragic events, 37% of our island is still illegally occupied by Turkey. We remember those events and how our people battled the occupation and displacement, with respect to the past and hope for the future. We always look towards the silent ghost-town of Famagusta, once a popular tourist destination, the saddened port city of Keryneia, the traumatized Pentadaktylos Mountains and all of our occupied lands. We promise to do our best to preserve our heritage and bring a peaceful solution to the Cypriot problem, in the hopes that one day, Cyprus will be reunited.
