Aris Limassol FC

Aris Limassol
Full name	Aris Limassol Football Club
Nickname(s)	Ελαφρά Ταξιαρχία (The Light Brigade)
Founded	1930
Ground	Alphamega Stadium
Capacity	10,700
Chairman	Vladimir Federov
Manager	Aleksey Shpilevsky
League	First Division
2021–22	First Division, 4th
Website	Club website

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 Alphamega Stadium. Founded in 1930, Aris Limassol is one of the most historic football clubs of Limassol.

The club also maintains teams in other sports including basketball, table tennis and chess. The Aris chess team dominated Cypriot chess in the 1980s.

History

One of the founder members of the Cyprus Football Association, Aris competed in the first five seasons of the Cypriot First Division, with their league placement ranging from 5th to 7th. The club ceased operation in 1939 due to financial difficulties, and returned in 1952, competing in the Second Division. Aris returned to the First Division in 1954, but finished last and was relegated. The following season they won the Second Division and returned to the top-tier league, only to be relegated again. Aris returned to the First Division once more the following season, placing 4th, the club's best league placement to date.

Being one of the weaker teams in the First Division during the 1960s, they were finally relegated in the 1969–70 season, placing 12th, and spent two years in the Second Division. The situation improved for Aris, with the team finishing 4th in the First Division, in the 1976–77 and 1978–79 seasons. In 1981, they were relegated again after finishing last but returned as runner-ups the following season and finished 5th in the 1985–86 season. The greatest success of the club came in 1989, when the team qualified to the final of the Cypriot Cup, where they lost to AEL Limassol. The following season, Aris signed Oleh Blokhin, the 1975 European Footballer of the Year, who helped them finish 4th in the league. At the end of the season, Blokhin ended his career playing for Aris Limassol.

Following relegation in 1993, Aris won the Second Division for the third time in the club's history. From 1997 until 2006, the team would be relegated to the Second Division every year, and would return to the First Division the following year. This situation ended in the 2006–07 season, when the team managed to remain in the First Division, placing 8th. However, the following season Aris was relegated once more,and the trend returned. After 9 years of drought, Aris managed to remain in the First Division in the 2015–16 season, finishing in 10th place. This season, Aris was the only team which played more than 6 Cypriot players in every match. After three seasons in the First Division, Aris was relegated and spent another three seasons in the Second Division, before being promoted once more in the 2020-21 season.

In Summer 2021, a new era began for Aris, with the Russian investor Vladimir Fedorov, who intends to transform Aris into one of the elite clubs of Cyprus. The following season, Aris finished fourth in the league, meaning the club had qualified for the 2022-23 UEFA Europa Conference League, the first time the club had ever qualified for European football. They made their European debut in the second qualifying round against Neftçi Baku, and despite a 2-0 win at home, Aris lost 3-0 in the second tie, and was eliminated.

Supporters

Aris has a smaller number of fans compared to other Limassol clubs, but these are very committed to their club.

Choir

The Aris choir was established in 1938 by the conductor and composer Solon Michaelides who remained its conductor until 1956. In 1962, the choir returned the direction of Marinos Mitellas and remains one of the best-known Hellenic choirs performing in Cyprus, Greece and internationally.

Players

As of January 2023

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	BRA	Vaná
2	DF	ALG	Abdeljalil Medioub
3	DF	BRA	Caju
4	DF	CMR	Ismael Yandal
5	DF	CYP	Kostas Pilea
6	DF	GHA	Eric Boakye
7	MF	SWE	Leo Bengtsson
8	MF	ENG	Morgan Brown
9	FW	AUT	Daniel Sikorski
10	MF	CYP	Matija Špoljarić
11	FW	POL	Mariusz Stępiński
13	DF	CPV	Delmiro (Captain)
14	FW	SEN	Yannick Gomis
20	DF	BFA	Steeve Yago


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
21	FW	RSA	Mihlali Mayambela
22	FW	FRA	Kévin Monnet-Paquet
23	MF	POL	Karol Struski
30	DF	GAB	Alex Moucketou-Moussounda
31	DF	SWE	Franz Brorsson
37	MF	SVK	Július Szöke
38	GK	CYP	Michalis Sofroniou
58	MF	BLR	Yevgeny Yablonsky
80	MF	GAB	Shavy Babicka
88	FW	BLR	Artyom Shumansky
90	GK	CYP	Ellinas Sofroniou
97	MF	BUL	Ivan Pankov
99	FW	RUS	Aleksandr Kokorin (on loan from Fiorentina)

For recent transfers, see List of Cypriot football transfers summer 2022

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
24	MF	CIV	Jean Marc Loukou Konan (at Achyronas Onisillos until 31 May 2023)
65	DF	FRA	Yanis Dede-Lhomme (at Achyronas Onisillos until 31 May 2023)
70	GK	CYP	Michalis Papastylianou (at Omonia 29M until 31 May 2023)


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
77	FW	SLE	Osman Koroma (at AEZ Zakakiou until 31 May 2023)
89	FW	CYP	Theodoros Iosifidis (at Omonia 29 Maiou until 31 May 2023)
—	DF	NGA	Odera Peter Ofornadu (at PAEEK until 31 May 2023)

Active International players

International Cypriot Players

Matija Špoljarić

International Foreign Players

International Youth Cypriot Players

Kostas Pilea (U-21)

International Youth Foreign Players

Jean Marc Loukou Konan

Foreign players

EU Nationals

Dual citizenship players

Non-EU Nationals

Under-23 Foreign Players

Ismael Yandal
Floriss Djave

Under-23 EU Players

Martin Šlogar
Morgan Brown
Carlos Hidalgo

Technical and medical staff

Position	Staff
Team manager	Kostas Tsironis
Head coach	Aleksey Shpilevsky
Assistant coach	Vitālijs Astafjevs
Assistant coach B	Tommy Jähnigen
Fitness coach	Christos Papadopoulos
Assistant fitness coach / Analyst	Ömer Erbay
Goalkeeper coach	Takis Taki
Physiotherapists	Constantinos Soutzis
	Alexis Marcou
	Andreas Sylvestros
Nutritionist	Evagoras Christofides

Managerial history

Tadeáš Kraus (1976–80), (1983–85)
Andreas Michaelides (1986–91)
Jerzy Engel (1997)
Milenko Špoljarić (2004–05)
Andreas Michaelides (2006–07)
Henk Houwaart (1 September 2007 – 30 November 2007)
Mihai Stoichiţă (2007–08)
Akis Agiomamitis (2008–09)
Marios Constantinou (17 May 2009 – 18 January 2010)
Stéphane Demol (21 Feb 2010 – 30 June 2010)
Dušan Mitošević (18 July 2011 – 30 June 2012)
Demetris Ioannou (1 July 2012 – 22 June 2013)
Tasos Kyriacou (1 July 2012 – 22 October 2013)
Ton Caanen (23 Oct 2013 – 11 May 2014)
Giorgos Polyviou (16 Jun 2014 – 14 October 2014)
Akis Agiomamitis (14 Oct 2014 – 14 September 2015)
Eugen Neagoe (15 September 2015 – 7 February 2016)
Kostas Kaiafas (8 Feb 2016 – 15 May 2016)
Thalis Theodoridis (24 Jun 2016 – 24 October 2016)
Frederik Vanderbiest (1 Nov 2016 – 3 January 2017)
Nicolas Martides (Jan 2017 – 3 October 2017)
Giannis Christopoulos (4 Oct 2017 – 22 January 2018)
Nicos Panayiotou (22 Jan 2018 – 13 March 2018)
Chrysis Michael (26 Apr 2018 – 13 January 2019)
Nicolas Martides (13 Jan 2019 – 31 May 2019)
Liasos Louka (11 Jul 2019 – 26 February 2022)
Aleksey Shpilevsky (26 Feb 2022 – )

Honours

Cypriot Cup
- Runners-up (1): 1988–89
Cypriot Second Division
- Winners (5): 1953–54, 1955–56, 1993–94, 2010–11, 2012–13

European record

Matches

Season	Competition	Round	Club	Home	Away	Aggregate
2022–23	UEFA Europa Conference League	2Q	Neftçi Baku	2−0	0−3	2−3

References

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

Cypriot First Division
2022–23 clubs	AEK Larnaca AEL Limassol Akritas Anorthosis APOEL Apollon Aris Doxa ENP Karmiotissa Nea Salamina Olympiakos Omonia Pafos
Stadiums	AEK Arena Alphamega Stadium Ammochostos Stadium Antonis Papadopoulos GSP GSZ Katokopia Stadium Makario Tasos Markou Tsirio
Former clubs	AEK Kouklia AEP AEZ Alki Larnaca Alki Oroklini Anagennisi APEP APOP APOP Kinyras ASIL Atromitos Ayia Napa AYMA Çetinkaya Chalkanoras Digenis EPA Ethnikos Assia Ermis Ethnikos Evagoras Keravnos Omonia Ar. Onisilos Orfeas Othellos PAEEK Pezoporikos THOI Trust
Competition	List of foreign players
Associated competitions	Second Division Third Division STOK Elite Division Cypriot Cup Super Cup Cup for lower divisions Women's 1st Division Women's Cup Women's Super Cup UEFA Champions League UEFA Europa League
Seasons	1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23