Anorthosis Famagusta () is a Cypriot football club, part of the Famagusta multi-sport club founded in 1911 in Varosha, Famagusta.Ιστορικά γεγονότα , Anorthosis Famagusta Official Website
Anorthosis was one of the founding clubs of the Cyprus Football Association in 1934. After the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974, they were forced to relocate to Larnaca where they now play their home matches at the Antonis Papadopoulos Stadium. The club's original stadium, GSE, has been abandoned since 1974 and is in poor condition.
One of the most successful clubs in Cypriot football, Anorthosis have won 13 National Championships, 11 cups and 6 Super Cups. Anorthosis is one of three Cypriot clubs never to have been relegated to the second division, was the first Cypriot club to participate in the Champions League group stage, and the second Cypriot club to qualify for the Europa Conference League group stage.
History
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. The name "Anorthosis", meaning realignment or rectification, reflected the founders' support for then-Prime Minister of Greece Eleftherios Venizelos and his goal of enosis—the political union of Greece and Cyprus. 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, ). 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 (), 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, ), 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