UEFA.com works better on other browsers
For the best possible experience, we recommend using Chrome, Firefox or Microsoft Edge.

Cyprus on the up

The past four years has seen a steady rise in Cypriot football as the performances since the EURO 2000™ qualifiers have left many nations travelling to Cyprus with some uneasiness.

The past four years has seen a steady rise in Cypriot football. Once a football team that simply made up the numbers in European qualifying rounds, the performances since the EURO 2000™ qualifiers have left many nations travelling to Cyprus with some uneasiness.

Spanish beaten
The first signs of Cyprus being a potential banana skin came on 5 September 1998, when the little island achieved arguably the biggest upset in Spanish football history defeating Spain 3-2 at the Antonis Papadopoulos stadium in Larnaca. Goals from Yiotis Engomitis, Milenko Spoljaric and the then Olympiakos Piraeus FC striker Sinisa Gogic paved the way for Cyprus’s most famous win.

First success
The Cypriot part-timers went on to get further wins against Israel (3-2) and San Marino (4-0 and 1-0) to finish the group on twelve points, just one point behind second placed Israel. In February 2000, Cyprus went on to win their first international prize as the Cypriots defeated Romania 3-2 in the final of the Cyprus Rothmans Tournament.

Portuguese scared
In the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, Cyprus did not produce the same kind of giant-killing form but did give Portugal a scare in Nicosia. The Portuguese had to put on a fierce comeback to beat Cyprus 3-1 after trailing 1-0 in the first half. Cyprus began the campaign with a slender 3-2 win away to Andorra thanks to Michalis Konstantinou’s injury-time header but then two continuous 4-0 home defeats from the Netherlands and the Republic of Ireland quickly ended any qualification dreams. With tension mounting in the national squad over alleged comments made by players and the coach, Cyprus’s form started a downfall slope that resulted in a 2-2 home and away draw against Estonia as well as resounding away defeats away to the Republic of Ireland, the Netherlands and Portugal.

Coach resigned
Cyprus’s 4-0 home defeat by the Republic of Ireland also led to the resignation of the national team coach Stavros Papadopoulos and he was replaced by the Cyprus Under-21 boss, Takis Charalambous. It was not all doom and gloom for Cyprus, however, as they recorded their biggest ever international win with a 5-0 triumph over the Andorrans at the Tsirium Athletic Centre in Limassol with goals from Konstantinou, Yiannakis Okkas (2), Marios Christodoulou and Milenko Spoljaric. Cyprus’s last game was an impressive 2-1 win away over Greece in a friendly with Okkas and Akis Ioakim getting the goals.

Vast experience
Yugoslavian Momcilo Vukotic was then appointed coach of the national side in December 2001 due to his vast experience of coaching teams in the Cypriot Division A as well as for his impeccable reputation in Yugoslavia with FK Partizan. The past four years has also seen the standards of Cypriot players make a considerable rise with Konstantinou becoming one of the biggest talking points of Cypriot football after the bustling striker signed for Panathinaikos FC. Konstantinou has already made a huge impact at the Greek club with his goals in the Hellenic National League and the UEFA Champions League.

Selected for you