Anorthosis Famagusta

The early years

Anorthosis Famagusta was founded on 30 January 1911. In the early years the club was not focused on sports but mainly national, spiritual, cultural and social activities. In 1928 it began to develop sporting activities. However, the young men of the club had been active in football much earlier. In the early 1920s they had formed a team with the name "Football Club of Greeks of Varosha" (POEV, Greek: Ποδοσφαιρικής Ομάδας Ελλήνων Βαρωσίων). In 1929, POEV officially joined Anorthosis and its players, all of whom were also members of Anorthosis, formed the club's first football team.

1930s

In 1930–31, Anorthosis participated in and won the first Famagusta provincial football tournament, organised by Evagoras Gymnastic Club (G.S.E.).

In 1932, Anorthosis participated in the first island-wide tournament, the city championship (Greek: πρωτάθλημα πόλεων), which was organised by Pezoporikos Larnaca and used a knock-out system. The second city championship was organised by APOEL in 1933. 8 teams participated, however it was controversial with several teams making complaints about the integrity of their matches, while Anorthosis and Poseidon Limassol withdrew from participation. The third edition was organised by AEL, with Anorthosis finishing in sixth place.

The fourth tournament was due to be organised by Anorthosis. However, after the announcement of a championship in Nicosia by Trust (to celebrate the tenth anniversary of its foundation), and a resulting dispute between the two clubs, as well as other issues on which there were disagreements (Olympiakos Nicosia and Aris Limassol raised the issue of players freely moving from one club to another), the clubs decided to create an authority which would be responsible for organising the championships. Thus, on 23 September 1934, the Cyprus Football Association was established, with Anorthosis and 7 other clubs as the founding members.

In 1934–35 the first official Cypriot Championship was held by the CFA. Anorthosis played their home games at the G.S.E. and finished in 5th place. The Cypriot Cup was also held for the first time where Anorthosis were eliminated by Trust in the semi-finals. In 1935–36, Anorthosis finished in 7th place in the 8 team championship, followed by finishing in bottom position in 1936–37. In 1937 the club ceased the operation of its football department due to financial difficulties, and was removed from the CFA. During the following years, the G.S.E. was closed under the control of the British Army.

1940s

After the team had disbanded in 1937, its players had joined other teams, mainly EPA and Pezoporikos. In 1945 the club decided to re-establish the football team. Several of the former players rejoined Anorthosis as well as some new players. Anorthosis joined the Cypriot Second Division for the 1945–46 season; at the time, the Second Division also included reserve teams of the First Division clubs. Anorthosis would face the reserve team of APOEL in a two-leg final to determine the champion. In the first match, APOEL won 5–3 while the second match was a 1–1 draw. The B team of APOEL won the championship, but Anorthosis were promoted to the First Division because APOEL were not allowed to be represented by multiple teams in the same division. Additionally, the CFA wanted to promote Anorthosis because there were no other First Division clubs from Famagusta at the time.

Anorthosis reached the final of the 1946–47 Cypriot Cup. They would lose 4–1 to APOEL.

In 1947, Anorthosis along with EPA and Pezoporikos requested a change in the constitution of the CFA with the main demand being the rotation of presidency between all cities. The clubs felt that they were being unfairly treated relative to teams from Nicosia, where the CFA was based, and that particularly APOEL were treated favourably by the officials. The request was discussed at a general assembly of the CFA on 27 August 1947, but only those three teams voted in favour of the proposal. Following the result, Anorthosis, EPA and Pezoporikos withdrew from the CFA and formed their own organisation, the "Football Athletic Federation of Cyprus" (PAOK, Greek: Ποδοσφαιρική Αθλητική Ομοσπονδία Κύπρου), based in Larnaca. Five additional clubs (AMOL Limassol, Larnaka Türk, Mağusa Türk Gücü, Mağusa Türk Ujiu and Çetinkaya Türk) joined this federation. The conflict between the two federations ended after one year when PAOK was dissolved and Anorthosis, EPA and Pezoporikos were reintegrated into the CFA in the autumn of 1948.

Anorthosis finished in second place in the 1948–49 First Division. They played in the Cypriot Cup final in April 1949 at the G.S.P. in Nicosia, where they were trailing 3–2 against APOEL until the 87th minute when the game was stopped due to incidents among the players and crowd trouble. The game was replayed in June at the same stadium, with Anorthosis victorious 3–0 and winning their first major trophy.

1950s

The 1949–50 season was historic for Anorthosis, as they won the Cypriot First Division for the first time, finishing one point ahead of EPA Larnaca. The two sides also met in the final of the Cypriot Cup, in which Anorthosis was leading 1–0 until the final minutes when EPA won a penalty. The kick was successful, but the referee ordered a retaking. The second attempt was unsuccessful and the EPA fans invaded the pitch, causing the match to be abandoned after 82 minutes. The CFA ordered a replay of the match, which EPA won 2–1. Anorthosis felt they were wronged and that a replay should never have been ordered, as the match was stopped due to the fault of the opposing team.

In the following years, Anorthosis did not challenge for the league and they could not progress past the semi-final stage of the cup in any year. Starting in 1956–57, however, the team's fortunes changed, as they won 5 championships and 3 cups in 8 years. Anorthosis won the 1956–57 First Division without losing a game, and then retained the title in 1957–58. The following year no championship was held due to the Cypriot War of Independence. However, the Cypriot Cup, which had not been played since 1954–55 for the same reason, was held in 1958–59 in response to the cancelled championship. Anorthosis would win the trophy, defeating AEL 1–0 in the final.

1960s

In the 1959–60 season, Anorthosis won a third consecutive league title and fourth overall. The following season they finished as runners up to Omonoia. The Cypriot First Division and the Cypriot Cup were both held in the 1961–62 season, the first time both competitions had been played in a season since 1954–55. Anorthosis won the championship and defeated Olympiakos Nicosia 5–2 in the cup final, achieving the first league and cup double in their history. They were awarded the Shield of Pakkos in 1962 without playing the match, as they had won both the league and cup the previous season.

The following season Anorthosis won the First Division for the sixth time and again reached the Cypriot Cup final. They lost the trophy to APOEL, after a 2–2 draw and then a 1–0 loss in the replay. The two sides met again for the 1963 Shield of Pakkos, which APOEL won 1–0.

The 1963–64 league season was suspended in December 1963 due to intercommunal violence on the island and was not resumed. In the Cypriot Cup, Anorthosis won the trophy beating APOEL 3–0 in the final.

For the rest of the decade, Anorthosis were not competitive for any titles, with the exception of the 1966–67 First Division, in which they finished in third place, one point behind the champions Olympiakos.

1970s

In the 1970s, Anorthosis did not claim a single league title. However, they managed to win two cups, the first of which was in 1970–71 when they defeated Omonoia 1–0 in a replay at the G.S.E. after a 1–1 draw in Nicosia.

The decade proved to be a terrible time in the club's history due to what happened off the pitch. On 14 August 1974, Famagusta was occupied by Turkish troops following the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, and Anorthosis was made a refugee club. The players and fans of Anorthosis were dispersed throughout the free areas of Cyprus. Anorthosis Famagusta continued with a temporary base in Larnaca.

Despite the difficulties that the club was facing, Anorthosis managed to finish in sixth position in the 1974–75 First Division. In addition, they reached the 1974–75 Cup final and lifted the trophy after a 3–2 victory against Enosis Neon Paralimni.

1980s

The 1980s was another disappointing period in the history of the Anorthosis football team, as they didn't win a single trophy in this time. In 1981–82, Anorthosis had the worst season in their history until that point, as they were involved in a relegation battle. They eventually finished in ninth place. In 1982–83 they finished as runners up by just three points to Omonoia. In 1984–85 they once again fought for the championship but after a poor end to the season they finished third. Anorthosis only managed to reach the semi-final stage of the Cypriot Cup once during the decade, in 1982–83, when they were eliminated by Omonoia.

1990s

In the 1990s, Anorthosis returned to winning titles and became one of the permanent contenders for the championship. In 1990–91 Anorthosis finished in second place, three points behind Apollon. They finished in the same position in 1991–92, this time two points behind APOEL. In 1993–94 they again finished in second place for the third time in four years, this time 2 points behind Apollon. In the same season Anorthosis reached the Cypriot Cup final, where they were beaten 1–0 by Omonoia.

After a 32-year wait, Anorthosis finally won their seventh league title in 1994–95. They also won the CFA Shield for the first time in 33 years at the start of the 1995–96 season, defeating APOEL on penalties after a 1–1 draw. Anorthosis finished second in the 1995–96 First Division.

Over the next four seasons, with Kikis Konstantinou as president and Dušan Mitošević as manager, Anorthosis would be the permanent champions of Cyprus. To begin with, they won the 1996–97 First Division. They lost the 1997 CFA Shield match 2–1 against APOEL, but won both the First Division and Cypriot Cup titles in 1997–98, the second league and cup double in their history. They defeated Apollon 3–1 in the cup final, and then again 4–1 in the 1998 CFA Shield match.

The 1998–99 First Division finished with Anorthosis as champions for the tenth time, beating Omonoia on goal difference thanks to an all-time record 95 goals scored in the first division. They reached the Cypriot Cup final once again, but were defeated 2–0 by APOEL. They won the 1999 CFA Shield by beating APOEL 2–0.

2000s

Anorthosis won their fourth consecutive league title in 1999–2000, and also won the 2000 CFA Shield. In the 2001–02 First Division, Anorthosis lost the title to APOEL by just one point. However, they continued their successful era by beating Ethnikos Achna in the Cypriot Cup final, earning them another appearance in the CFA Shield match, which they lost 4–2 against APOEL. They again lost the league title by just one point in 2002–03, this time finishing second behind Omonoia. The cup final was once again won by Anorthosis in 2002–03, this time on penalties after a 0–0 draw against AEL. They lost the 2003 CFA Shield match 3–2 against Omonoia.

In 2004, Temur Ketsbaia, who was in his second successful spell as an Anorthosis player, became player-manager and remained in charge of the team until 2009, leading the team to multiple trophies and the biggest achievement of the club, participation in the UEFA Champions League group stages.

In 2004–05, Anorthosis won the league again. They lost the 2005 CFA Shield match on penalties against Omonoia. Anorthosis won the 2006–07 Cypriot Cup final 3–2 against Omonoia, and the 2007 CFA Shield 2–1 against APOEL. Anorthosis won their 13th First Division title in 2007–08, going undefeated for the full season. They reached the Cypriot Cup final against APOEL, which they lost 2–0. APOEL won the CFA Shield match in 2008 with a score of 1–0.

In the summer of 2008, Anorthosis became the first Cypriot club to qualify for the group stages of a European competition. They defeated Olympiacos CFP in the qualifying round to secure a place in Group B of the 2008–09 Champions League. Despite being heavy underdogs, Anorthosis still had a chance to progress to the knockout round ahead of the final group game, after producing some great results. They beat Panathinaikos in the first match 3–1 at home, drew twice with Werder Bremen and drew their home game against José Mourinho's Inter Milan, who would win the competition the following season.

2010s

After the most successful decade in the club's history in the 2000s, Anorthosis would not win a single trophy in the next decade. They suffered from financial problems in the first years of the 2010s, although in the 2012–13 season they fought for the championship, and were leading by 6 points after 20 weeks. However, they had a poor run of results and ultimately finished in second position.

In July 2013, following elimination from the Europa League second qualifying round at the hands of Gefle IF, the club entered a financial crisis and forced club president Savvas Kakos to step down from his position. A general assembly of the club followed and in August, Achilleas Nicolaou was elected as the new president. His first actions were to find a solution for the financial problems and with the help of financial contribution by the fans and Christos Poullaidis, who was deputy president at the time, he succeeded to keep the club alive. In October, Nicolaou stepped down as president with Poullaidis as his successor.

In 2013–14, Anorthosis finished outside of the top 5 positions in the league for the first time in 24 years, and they did not finish higher than third position for the rest of the decade. In June 2019, club legend Temur Ketsbaia returned for his second spell as manager.

2020s

In the 2019–20 Cypriot First Division, Anorthosis were equal on points with first-placed Omonia but ranked second due to a worse head-to-head record, when the season was abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The following season in 2020–21, Anorthosis were just 5 points behind leaders Omonia with 10 games to go, however they earned just 6 points in the remainder of the season, finishing in fourth and 22 points adrift of the eventual champions. Silverware would return to Anorthosis that season, as they were 2–1 victors after extra time against Olympiakos Nicosia in the 2020–21 Cypriot Cup final.

The cup victory earned Anorthosis a place in the 2021–22 Europa League qualifying rounds. They lost to Rapid Wien, and dropped into the Europa Conference League playoffs. They beat Hapoel Be'er Sheva 3–1 on aggregate and secured their return to the group stage of a European competition. They were drawn in Group B with Gent, Partizan and Flora. Despite losing their opening two games and then drawing both games against Flora after leading 2–0, they were still in with a chance of qualifying for the knockout stages ahead of the final game thanks to a spectacular long-distance goal by Lazaros Christodoulopoulos which gave them a shock 1–0 home victory over Gent. They would draw 1–1 in Belgrade against Partizan, missing out by 2 points on progression to the knockout rounds.

In the 2021–22 league season, Anorthosis were hopeful of qualifying to the Champions League by finishing in the top 2 positions with two games remaining in the season, however a 1–1 draw against APOEL and a 3–0 home defeat to Aris Limassol left Anorthosis in fifth position and outside of the European qualification positions. Manager Temur Ketsbaia left the club in June 2022 by mutual consent.

The first round of the 2022–23 Cypriot First Division saw Anorthosis out of the Championship playoffs, with the team eventually finishing in seventh place. The team's struggles forced Christos Poullaidis to step down from his position, with Cypriot businessman and former vice-president of the club, Andreas Santis taking over as the new president. Antonio Prieto was appointed as the team's technical director, and David Gallego was appointed as head coach ahead of the 2023–24 season.