# 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. AEL Limassol were the defending champions. APOEL won the championship two matchweeks before the end of the season.
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.
| 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 | 4th | Toni Savevski | 26 September 2012 |
| Apollon | George Burley | Sacked | 19 September 2012 | 6th | Nikodimos Papavasiliou | 20 September 2012 |
| Olympiakos | Nikodimos Papavasiliou | Signed by Apollon | 20 September 2012 | 7th | Renos Demetriades | 25 September 2012 |
| Enosis | Zouvanis Zouvani | Resigned | 24 September 2012 | 9th | Ton Caanen | 3 October 2012 |
| Ethnikos | Nicos Papadopoulos | Mutual consent | 8 October 2012 | 12th | Nikos Andronikou | 14 October 2012 |
| AEL | Pambos Christodoulou | Mutual consent | 22 October 2012 | 4th | Jorge Costa | 23 October 2012 |
| Doxa | Marios Constantinou | Resigned | 1 November 2012 | 14th | Loukas Hadjiloukas | 1 November 2012 |
| AEP | Ioannis Topalidis | Mutual consent | 5 November 2012 | 9th | Horácio Gonçalves | 8 November 2012 |
| Nea Salamina | Nicos Andreou | Resigned | 18 November 2012 | 10th | Mirsad Jonuz | 21 November 2012 |
| AEP | Horácio Gonçalves | Resigned | 22 November 2012 | 14th | Saša Jovanović | 26 November 2012 |
| Alki | Kostas Kaiafas | Resigned | 2 December 2012 | 12th | Neophytos Larkou | 5 December 2012 |
| Ethnikos | Nikos Andronikou | Mutual consent | 3 December 2012 | 13th | Stephen Constantine | 5 December 2012 |
| Ayia Napa | Nicos Nicolaou | Mutual consent | 10 January 2013 | 13th | Nikos Kolompourdas | 16 January 2013 |
| Olympiakos | Renos Demetriades | Sacked | 10 February 2013 | 10th | Marios Constantinou | 11 February 2013 |
| Ethnikos | Stephen Constantine | Sacked | 25 February 2013 | 11th | Nikos Kolompourdas | 26 February 2013 |
| Ayia Napa | Nikos Kolompourdas | Signed by Ethnikos | 25 February 2013 | 13th | Costas Loizou | 25 February 2013 |
| Apollon | Nikodimos Papavasiliou | Sacked | 8 March 2013 | 6th | Christakis Christoforou | 12 March 2013 |
| Anorthosis | Ronny Levy | Sacked | 1 April 2013 | 2nd | Pambos Christodoulou | 2 April 2013 |
| Alki | Neophytos Larkou | Resigned | 9 April 2013 | 9th | Kostas Kaiafas | 9 April 2013 |
| Enosis | Ton Caanen | Mutual consent | 13 April 2013 | 8th | Marios Karas | 16 April 2013 |

## 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 | Qualification for second round, Group A |
| 3 | AEK Larnaca | 26 | 17 | 4 | 5 | 50 | 21 | +29 | 55 | Qualification for second round, Group A |
| 4 | Omonia Nicosia | 26 | 16 | 5 | 5 | 51 | 22 | +29 | 53 | Qualification for second round, Group A |
| 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 | Qualification for second round, Group B |
| 7 | Doxa Katokopias | 26 | 8 | 6 | 12 | 26 | 40 | −14 | 30 | Qualification for second round, Group B |
| 8 | Enosis Neon Paralimni | 26 | 6 | 10 | 10 | 23 | 35 | −12 | 28 | Qualification for second round, Group B |
| 9 | Alki Larnaca | 26 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 33 | 46 | −13 | 25 | Qualification for second round, Group C |
| 10 | Olympiakos Nicosia | 26 | 6 | 9 | 11 | 36 | 44 | −8 | 24 | Qualification for second round, Group C |
| 11 | Nea Salamis Famagusta | 26 | 6 | 5 | 15 | 18 | 36 | −18 | 23 | Qualification for second round, Group C |
| 12 | Ethnikos Achna | 26 | 4 | 10 | 12 | 28 | 40 | −12 | 22 | Qualification for second round, Group C |
| 13 | Ayia Napa (R) | 26 | 2 | 2 | 22 | 15 | 59 | −44 | 8 | Relegation to Cypriot B1 Division |
| 14 | AEP Paphos (R) | 26 | 4 | 3 | 19 | 17 | 64 | −47 | 3 | Relegation to Cypriot B1 Division |
* ↑ On 22 May 2012, Olympiakos Nicosia were deducted three points by CFA because they failed to meet the financial criteria.
* ↑ On 11 June 2012, AEP Paphos were deducted three points by CFA because they failed to meet the financial criteria. On 13 August 2012, AEP Paphos were deducted another three points by CFA because they failed again to meet the financial criteria. 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. On 13 May 2012, AEP Paphos were deducted another three points because of FIFA decision.

### 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 | |

## 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 | Qualification for Europa League second qualifying round |
| 4 | AEK Larnaca | 32 | 19 | 4 | 9 | 55 | 28 | +27 | 61 | |

#### 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 | |

### 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 |
| 7 | Doxa Katokopias | 32 | 10 | 9 | 13 | 33 | 47 | −14 | 39 | |
| 8 | Enosis Neon Paralimni | 32 | 7 | 10 | 15 | 28 | 49 | −21 | 31 | |
* ↑ 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 | |

### 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 | 57 | −14 | 32 | |
| 11 | Nea Salamis Famagusta (O) | 32 | 8 | 7 | 17 | 27 | 44 | −17 | 31 | Qualification for Relegation play-offs |
| 12 | Olympiakos Nicosia (R) | 32 | 8 | 10 | 14 | 46 | 56 | −10 | 31 | Relegation to Cypriot B1 Division |
* ↑ On 22 May 2012, Olympiakos Nicosia were deducted three points by CFA because they failed to meet the financial criteria.
* ↑ 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 | |

### 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.

## 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 |
| 5 | Henrique | Olympiakos | 13 |
| 5 | Barak Itzhaki | Anorthosis | 13 |
| 8 | Gustavo Manduca | APOEL | 12 |
| 8 | Jan Rezek | Anorthosis | 12 |
| 10 | Nassir Maachi | AEK Larnaca | 11 |
| 10 | Patrick Vouho | AEL | 11 |

### 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 | 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)