2012–13 Cypriot First Division

The 2012–13 Cypriot First Division was the 74th season of the Cypriot top-level football league. It began on 1 September 2012 and ended on 19 May 2013.^[1] AEL Limassol were the defending champions. APOEL won the championship two matchweeks before the end of the season.

Cypriot First Division

Season	2012–13
Champions	APOEL 22nd title
Relegated	Olympiakos Ayia Napa AEP
Champions League	APOEL
Europa League	Anorthosis Omonia Apollon
Matches played	218
Goals scored	592 (2.72 per match)
Top goalscorer	Bernardo Vasconcelos (18 goals)
Biggest home win	APOEL 6–0 AEP (17 March 2013) Omonia 6–0 Nea Salamina (30 March 2013)
Biggest away win	Enosis 0–5 APOEL (3 September 2012) AEP 0–5 Olympiakos (30 March 2013)
Highest scoring	Alki 6–5 Ethnikos (30 March 2013)
Longest winning run	9 games Anorthosis Omonia
Longest unbeaten run	20 games Anorthosis
Longest winless run	16 games Ethnikos
Longest losing run	9 games AEP
← 2011–12 2013–14 →

The league comprise eleven teams from the 2011–12 season and three promoted teams from the 2011–12 Second Division.

Teams

Ermis Aradippou and Anagennisi Dherynia were relegated at the end of the first stage of the 2011–12 season after finishing in the bottom two places of the table. They were joined by Aris Limassol, who finished at the bottom of the second-phase Group C.

The relegated teams were replaced by 2011–12 Second Division champions Doxa Katokopias, runners-up Ayia Napa and third-placed team AEP Paphos.

AEK
Alki
Anorthosis
Nea Salamina

AEL
Apollon

APOEL
Olympiakos
Omonia

Ayia Napa
Enosis

Ethnikos

AEP

Doxa

Location of teams in 2012–13 Cypriot First Division

Club	Location	Venue	Capacity
AEK	Larnaca	Neo GSZ Stadium	13,032
AEL	Limassol	Tsirion Stadium	13,331
AEP	Paphos	Pafiako Stadium	9,394
Alki	Larnaca	Neo GSZ Stadium	13,032
Anorthosis	Larnaca	Antonis Papadopoulos Stadium	10,230
APOEL	Nicosia	GSP Stadium	22,859
Apollon	Limassol	Tsirion Stadium	13,331
Ayia Napa	Ayia Napa	Tasos Marcou Stadium	5,800
Doxa	Katokopia	Ammochostos Stadium	5,500
Enosis	Paralimni	Tasos Marcou Stadium	5,800
Ethnikos	Achna, Famagusta	Dasaki Stadium	7,000
Nea Salamina	Larnaca	Ammochostos Stadium	5,500
Olympiakos	Nicosia	GSP Stadium	22,859
Omonia	Nicosia	GSP Stadium	22,859

Personnel and kits

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

Team	Head coach	Captain	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsor
AEK	Ran Ben Shimon	Ander Murillo	Puma	Cytavision
AEL	Jorge Costa	Marios Nicolaou	Puma	Cytavision
AEP	Saša Jovanović	Alexandros Garpozis	Givova	Skycore
Alki	Kostas Kaiafas	Emiliano Fusco	Joma	Cyta
Anorthosis	Pambos Christodoulou	Ioannis Okkas	Puma	Cytamobile-Vodafone
APOEL	Ivan Jovanović	Marinos Satsias	Puma	MTN
Apollon	Christakis Christoforou	Giorgos Merkis	Macron	Cyta
Ayia Napa	Costas Loizou	Martinos Solomou	Givova	Ayia Napa Municipality
Doxa	Loukas Hadjiloukas	Ricardo Fernandes	Givova	Cytanet
Enosis	Marios Karas	Demos Goumenos	Nike	Cyta
Ethnikos	Nikos Kolompourdas	Christos Poyiatzis	Legea	Cyta
Nea Salamina	Mirsad Jonuz	Prodromos Therapontos	Givova	Cytamobile-Vodafone
Olympiakos	Marios Constantinou	Nikolas Nicolaou	Givova	Cyta
Omonia	Toni Savevski	Leandro	Nike	Cytamobile-Vodafone

Managerial changes

Team	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Position in table	Incoming manager	Date of appointment
Omonia	Neophytos Larkou	Mutual consent	18 September 2012[2]	4th	Toni Savevski	26 September 2012[3]
Apollon	George Burley	Sacked	19 September 2012[4]	6th	Nikodimos Papavasiliou	20 September 2012[5]
Olympiakos	Nikodimos Papavasiliou	Signed by Apollon	20 September 2012[6]	7th	Renos Demetriades	25 September 2012[7]
Enosis	Zouvanis Zouvani	Resigned	24 September 2012[8]	9th	Ton Caanen	3 October 2012[9]
Ethnikos	Nicos Papadopoulos	Mutual consent	8 October 2012[10]	12th	Nikos Andronikou	14 October 2012[11]
AEL	Pambos Christodoulou	Mutual consent	22 October 2012[12]	4th	Jorge Costa	23 October 2012[13]
Doxa	Marios Constantinou	Resigned	1 November 2012[14]	14th	Loukas Hadjiloukas	1 November 2012[14]
AEP	Ioannis Topalidis	Mutual consent	5 November 2012[15]	9th	Horácio Gonçalves	8 November 2012[16]
Nea Salamina	Nicos Andreou	Resigned	18 November 2012[17]	10th	Mirsad Jonuz	21 November 2012[18]
AEP	Horácio Gonçalves	Resigned	22 November 2012[19]	14th	Saša Jovanović	26 November 2012[20]
Alki	Kostas Kaiafas	Resigned	2 December 2012[21]	12th	Neophytos Larkou	5 December 2012[22]
Ethnikos	Nikos Andronikou	Mutual consent	3 December 2012[23]	13th	Stephen Constantine	5 December 2012[24]
Ayia Napa	Nicos Nicolaou	Mutual consent	10 January 2013[25]	13th	Nikos Kolompourdas	16 January 2013[26]
Olympiakos	Renos Demetriades	Sacked	10 February 2013[27]	10th	Marios Constantinou	11 February 2013[28]
Ethnikos	Stephen Constantine	Sacked	25 February 2013[29]	11th	Nikos Kolompourdas	26 February 2013[30]
Ayia Napa	Nikos Kolompourdas	Signed by Ethnikos	25 February 2013[31]	13th	Costas Loizou	25 February 2013[32]
Apollon	Nikodimos Papavasiliou	Sacked	8 March 2013[33]	6th	Christakis Christoforou	12 March 2013[34]
Anorthosis	Ronny Levy	Sacked	1 April 2013[35]	2nd	Pambos Christodoulou	2 April 2013[36]
Alki	Neophytos Larkou	Resigned	9 April 2013[37]	9th	Kostas Kaiafas	9 April 2013[38]
Enosis	Ton Caanen	Mutual consent	13 April 2013[39]	8th	Marios Karas	16 April 2013[40]

First phase

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	APOEL	26	21	3	2	56	10	+46	66	Qualification for second round, Group A
2	Anorthosis Famagusta	26	18	6	2	57	21	+36	60
3	AEK Larnaca	26	17	4	5	50	21	+29	55
4	Omonia Nicosia	26	16	5	5	51	22	+29	53
5	AEL Limassol	26	14	9	3	46	26	+20	51	Qualification for second round, Group B
6	Apollon Limassol	26	11	7	8	32	24	+8	40
7	Doxa Katokopias	26	8	6	12	26	40	−14	30
8	Enosis Neon Paralimni	26	6	10	10	23	35	−12	28
9	Alki Larnaca	26	6	7	13	33	46	−13	25	Qualification for second round, Group C
10	Olympiakos Nicosia[a]	26	6	9	11	36	44	−8	24
11	Nea Salamis Famagusta	26	6	5	15	18	36	−18	23
12	Ethnikos Achna	26	4	10	12	28	40	−12	22
13	Ayia Napa (R)	26	2	2	22	15	59	−44	8	Relegation to Cypriot B1 Division
14	AEP Paphos[b] (R)	26	4	3	19	17	64	−47	3

Source: CFA
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head away goals scored; 5) goal difference; 6) number of goals scored
(R) Relegated
Notes:

1. On 22 May 2012, Olympiakos Nicosia were deducted three points by CFA because they failed to meet the financial criteria.^[41]
2. On 11 June 2012, AEP Paphos were deducted three points by CFA because they failed to meet the financial criteria.^[42] On 13 August 2012, AEP Paphos were deducted another three points by CFA because they failed again to meet the financial criteria.^[43] On 12 November 2012, AEP Paphos were deducted another three points by CFA because they failed to meet the financial criteria for the third time.^[44] On 13 May 2012, AEP Paphos were deducted another three points because of FIFA decision.^[45]

Results

Home \ Away	AEK	AEL	AEP	ALK	ANO	APOE	APOL	AYN	DOX	ENP	ETH	NSL	OLY	OMO
AEK Larnaca		1–2	4–0	2–0	2–3	0–1	2–0	3–0	1–2	5–0	2–1	1–2	1–0	2–1
AEL Limassol	2–2		4–0	3–1	1–1	1–3	3–2	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–1	1–1	1–1
AEP Paphos	0–3	1–3		1–4	0–2	0–2	0–1	3–0	0–4	0–1	0–0	1–0	0–5	1–2
Alki Larnaca	0–1	2–3	0–2		0–3	1–3	1–3	0–2	2–2	1–1	6–5	1–0	0–0	2–4
Anorthosis Famagusta	1–1	1–1	5–1	3–0		0–2	0–0	5–1	3–0	1–1	5–1	1–0	4–3	2–0
APOEL	1–2	2–0	6–0	1–1	0–1		1–0	4–1	3–1	1–0	1–0	2–0	4–0	1–1
Apollon Limassol	1–2	0–0	4–0	2–1	0–2	1–2		2–1	1–0	0–0	2–0	3–1	1–1	2–1
Ayia Napa	1–1	0–4	1–2	0–3	0–1	0–2	0–1		0–2	1–4	1–0	1–2	1–1	0–3
Doxa Katokopias	2–6	1–3	1–0	0–1	0–2	0–3	0–0	2–1		1–1	1–1	1–0	1–1	1–1
Enosis Neon Paralimni	1–2	1–2	1–1	1–1	1–2	0–5	0–3	1–0	1–0		1–1	0–0	1–2	0–1
Ethnikos Achna	0–1	1–3	3–0	0–2	2–2	0–1	1–1	2–1	3–1	0–0		1–1	1–1	1–1
Nea Salamis Famagusta	0–0	0–1	1–1	1–1	2–1	0–3	2–0	1–0	0–1	0–2	0–1		3–2	0–1
Olympiakos Nicosia	0–2	0–0	3–1	2–2	1–3	0–2	1–1	3–2	1–2	2–3	3–1	2–1		1–4
Omonia Nicosia	0–1	2–0	4–2	1–0	1–3	0–0	2–1	5–0	3–0	2–0	2–1	6–0	2–0

Source: CFA
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Second round

Group A

Table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	APOEL (C)	32	23	4	5	62	19	+43	73	Qualification for Champions League third qualifying round
2	Anorthosis Famagusta	32	20	8	4	60	29	+31	68	Qualification for Europa League second qualifying round
3	Omonia Nicosia	32	20	6	6	66	27	+39	66
4	AEK Larnaca	32	19	4	9	55	28	+27	61

Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head goals scored; 5) goal difference; 6) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions

Results

Home \ Away	AEK	ANO	APOE	OMO
AEK Larnaca		0–1	0–1	0–2
Anorthosis Famagusta	0–3		2–1	0–0
APOEL	0–1	0–0		4–3
Omonia Nicosia	3–1	4–0	3–0

Source: UEFA
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Group B

Table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
5	AEL Limassol	32	18	10	4	59	31	+28	64
6	Apollon Limassol	32	13	9	10	40	31	+9	48	Qualification for Europa League play-off round[a]
7	Doxa Katokopias	32	10	9	13	33	47	−14	39
8	Enosis Neon Paralimni	32	7	10	15	28	49	−21	31

Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head goals scored; 5) goal difference; 6) number of goals scored.
Notes:

1. Apollon Limassol qualified for the play-off round of the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League after winning the 2012–13 Cypriot Cup.

Results

Home \ Away	AEL	APOL	DOX	ENP
AEL Limassol		2–1	3–0	3–0
Apollon Limassol	1–3		0–0	4–1
Doxa Katokopias	1–1	1–1		1–0
Enosis Neon Paralimni	2–1	0–1	2–4

Source: UEFA
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Group C

Table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
9	Ethnikos Achna	32	7	12	13	41	50	−9	33
10	Alki Larnaca	32	8	8	16	43	58	−15	32
11	Nea Salamis Famagusta (O)	32	8	7	17	27	44	−17	31	Qualification for Relegation play-offs
12	Olympiakos Nicosia[a] (R)	32	8	10	14	46	56	−10	31[b]	Relegation to Cypriot B1 Division

Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head goals scored; 5) goal difference; 6) number of goals scored.
(O) Play-off winners; (R) Relegated
Notes:

1. On 22 May 2012, Olympiakos Nicosia were deducted three points by CFA because they failed to meet the financial criteria.^[41]
2. SAL: 7 pts ; OLY: 4 pts

Results

Home \ Away	ALK	ETH	NSL	OLY
Alki Larnaca		1–3	1–2	2–1
Ethnikos Achna	1–1		2–2	3–1
Nea Salamis Famagusta	1–3	1–2		3–0
Olympiakos Nicosia	4–2	4–2	0–0

Source: UEFA
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Relegation play-offs

The 11th-placed team Nea Salamina faced 4th-placed 2012–13 Cypriot Second Division side Anagennisi Dherynia, in a single-legged play-off for one spot in the 2013–14 Cypriot First Division. The match was held at Antonis Papadopoulos Stadium on 23 May 2013 and Nea Salamina won by 3–0, retaining its Cypriot First Division spot for the 2013–14 season.

Nea Salamina	3 – 0	Anagennisi Dherynia
Alimi 17', 66' Roque 58'	Report

23 May 2013

17:00 EEST

Antonis Papadopoulos Stadium, Larnaca

Attendance: 800

Referee: Vasilis Demetriou

Season statistics

Top scorers

Including matches played on 19 May 2013; Source: Cyprus Football Association

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Bernardo Vasconcelos	Alki	18
2	Andre Alves	Omonia	16
3	Marco Paixão	Ethnikos	15
4	Juliano Spadacio	Anorthosis	14
5	Aldo Adorno	APOEL	13
	Henrique	Olympiakos
	Barak Itzhaki	Anorthosis
8	Gustavo Manduca	APOEL	12
	Jan Rezek	Anorthosis
10	Nassir Maachi	AEK Larnaca	11
	Patrick Vouho	AEL

Hat-tricks

#	Player	For	Against	Result	Date
1.	Aldo Adorno	APOEL	Enosis	0–5	3 September 2012
2.	Aldo Adorno	APOEL	Ayia Napa	4–1	5 November 2012
3.	Barak Itzhaki	Anorthosis	Olympiakos	4–3	3 February 2013
4.	Andre Alves	Omonia	Olympiakos	1–4	16 March 2013
5.	Esteban Solari	Apollon	Enosis	4–1	20 April 2013
6.	Gaossou Fofana	Doxa	Enosis	2–4[permanent dead link]	18 May 2013

Scoring

• First goal of the season: 25 minutes – Juliano Spadacio (Anorthosis) against AEP Paphos (19:25 EET, 1 September 2012)
• Fastest goal of the season: 15 seconds – Mario Budimir (APOEL) against Alki (22 September 2012)
• Latest goal of the season: 102 minutes and 23 seconds – Jan Rezek (Anorthosis) against Omonia (21 October 2012)
• First own goal of the season: 49 minutes – Fabeta (Ayia Napa) for Omonia (20:04 EET, 2 September 2012)
• First scored penalty kick of the season: 84 minutes – Freddy (Omonia) against Ayia Napa (20:39 EET, 2 September 2012)
• Most scored goals in a single fixture – 38 goals (Fixture 26)
  • Fixture 26 results: Enosis 1–2 AEL, AEP Paphos 0–5 Olympiakos, Omonia 6–0 Nea Salamina, Alki 6–5 Ethnikos, Apollon 2–1 Ayia Napa, Doxa 2–6 AEK, Anorthosis 0–2 APOEL.
• Highest scoring game: 11 goals
  • Alki 6–5 Ethnikos (30 March 2013)
• Largest winning margin: 6 goals
  • APOEL 6–0 AEP Paphos (17 March 2013)
  • Omonia 6–0 Nea Salamina (30 March 2013)
• Most goals scored in a match by a single team: 6 goals
  • APOEL 6–0 AEP Paphos (17 March 2013)
  • Omonia 6–0 Nea Salamina (30 March 2013)
  • Alki 6–5 Ethnikos (30 March 2013)
  • Doxa 2–6 AEK (31 March 2013)
• Most goals scored by a losing team: 5 goals
  • Alki 6–5 Ethnikos (30 March 2013)

Discipline

• First yellow card of the season: Gora Tall for AEP Paphos against Anorthosis, 15 minutes (19:15 EET, 1 September 2012)
• First red card of the season: Kyriacos Polykarpou for Olympiakos against Nea Salamina, 37 minutes (20:37 EET, 1 September 2012)
• Most yellow cards in a single match: 13
  • Anorthosis 1–1 AEL – 6 for Anorthosis (Dan Alexa, Paulo Jorge, Valentinos Sielis (2), Jurgen Colin, Giannis Skopelitis) and 7 for AEL (Dosa Júnior, Marco Airosa, Luciano Bebê, Carlitos, Dédé (2), Ebo Andoh) (1 December 2012)
• Most red cards in a single match: 3
  • AEL 3–2 Apollon – 1 for AEL (Edwin Ouon) and 2 for Apollon (Sebastián Setti, Giorgos Vasiliou) (5 January 2013)