New York Times: Apoel Is the Little Team That Could

http://goal.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/13/champions-league-apoel-is-the-little-team-that-could/#h[]

By ANTHONY MANNINO

Athletikos Podosferikos Omilos Ellinon Lefkosias, or Apoel as it is known across Europe — more widely than ever these days — is the club from the island of Cyprus that is slowly showing the world it can play soccer with anyone.
While Apoel does not have the same rich history as Barcelona or Real Madrid, after finishing first in its  Champions League group like those clubs, Apoel has the confidence to face anyone.

“Apoel definitely cannot be compared with all these giant football clubs,” the team’s Cyprus-born midfielder Constantinos Charalambides said in an email exchange. “However we will compete” with any opposing club, he added, because of the team’s newfound confidence.

Apoel’s claim to fame before this season was a 2-2 tie against Chelsea during the group stage in 2009. The tie, at Stamford Bridge in London, came on the last matchday of group play, with Chelsea already assured of advancing. Nevertheless, it was an impressive result and a sign of things to come.

Skip ahead two years and Apoel again found itself in the Champions League, this time in a group with last season’s Europa League winners, Porto; the 2010-11 quarterfinalist Shahktar Donetsk; and Zenit St. Petersburg. Apoel’s mission was to prove the earlier result at Chelsea was not a fluke.

“The fact that we ended up in the first place of our group was not a matter of luck, but it was the result of a steady performance in all the games of the group stage,” Charalambides said. “We have shown team spirit, passion, discipline and great effort.”

Apoel’s shocking run into this year’s Round of 16, where it will play at Olympique Lyon on Tuesday, might have been a surprise to the rest of the field, but it was expected in Cyprus. Having won 21 first division titles, Apoel is the Cypriot equivalent to Manchester United. A few wins in the Champions League gave the club the confidence it needed to believe it could thrive at such a level. With that confidence, the players did not just excel, they shocked their critics by becoming the first Cypriot club to advance to the round of 16 and win a Champions League group.

In other Champions League knockout-round games this week, Barcelona is at Bayer Leverkusen, Arsenal travels to A.C. Milan and Benfica visits Zenit St. Petersburg.

Apoel’s astonishing journey could have been a brief one, though. After losing the first leg of its Champions League play-in to Wisla Krakow, 1-0, Apoel got a 3-1 win at home and two crucial goals from the Brazil-born Ailton to advance.

“The fact that we turned it to 3-1 has proved that Apoel players are strong characters, disciplined and with full confidence during the game,” Charalambides said. “That didn’t happen once but repeated in the home games against Zenit and Porto as well.”

The confidence from the aggregate win over Wisla Krakow carried over into the group stage. This time it was a 2-1 comeback win over Zenit, with goals from the Brazilian tandem of Manduca and Ailton — the first win for Apoel in Champions League group play. The winning goal was set up by a perfectly weighted through ball from Gustavo and a curling finish by Ailton.

Confidence grew after back-to-back draws away from home against Porto and Shakhtar put Apoel in first place in the group. The club had a one-point advantage over Zenit and Porto going into its fourth match. A loss against Porto would have opened the group, but a win would give the club control of its destiny.

An early penalty kick by Ailton gave Apoel the lead, but Hulk responded with a penalty in the 89th minute to tie the score. It seemed the match was heading down the usual path in soccer, a last-second win for the bigger club, but Charalambidis had other ideas. His first-time cross in the final minute found Gustavo, and the Brazilian buried the chance.

“I think the goal against Porto here in Nicosia was the most important and exciting because it made us dream even with the qualification for the 16,” Manduca said.

Apoel now only needed a point in St. Petersburg, Russia, to become the first Cypriot club to advance to the round of 16. The club tied Zenit, 0-0, on an emotional day, one that was especially so for Charalambidis.

“It was, for me, a moment which I will never forget in my entire life,” he said. “I don’t know if a Cypriot team will succeed in the forthcoming years to qualify in the 16 best clubs in Europe and be the first of the group.”

Added Manduca: “I think Apoel has won the respect of the big teams. At this point we believe that anything can happen, and who knows if God-willing we can still go a little further.”

The odds of Apoel’s winning the Champions League are long. But coming into the group stage, it was viewed by many as a speed bump for Porto or Shakhtar. Instead, Nicosia has proved a fortress; Apoel has a record of 4-1-1 in Champions League at GSP Stadium, where Lyon will visit in three weeks in the return leg.

“We know a lot of people believe we will easily win against Apoel,” Lyon Coach Rémi Garde said. “Of course, it’s not our opinion.”

Lyon is right to be wary of a club out to prove wrong the naysayers who remain.