# 2008–09 Anorthosis Famagusta FC season

The 2008–09 season (started 19 June 2008) is Anorthosis' 60th consecutive season in the Cypriot First Division. The team finished 1st in the league in the previous season so it will represent Cyprus in the Champions League. The first training session for the season took take place at the training ground at Antonis Papadopoulos Stadium on June 18, 2008. On August 27, 2008, they became the first Cypriot football club to reach the group stages of the Champions League, defeating Olympiacos of Greece in the third qualifying round.
In December 2008, Andreas Panteli, the chairman of the company since 2004, resigned and he was replaced by Chris Georgiades. Manager Temuri Ketsbaia left the club by mutual consent in April 2009 and was replaced by Michalis Pamboris as caretaker.

## Current squad

Last Update: 14 February 2009
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 | ALB | Arjan Beqaj |
| 3 | DF | CYP | Lambros Lambrou |
| 4 | DF | GRE | Nikos Katsavakis |
| 5 | MF | CYP | Nikos Nicolaou (captain) |
| 6 | MF | MNE | Siniša Dobrašinović |
| 8 | MF | GRE | Giannis Skopelitis |
| 9 | FW | POL | Łukasz Sosin |
| 11 | FW | GRE | Nikolaos Frousos |
| 12 | DF | NED | Jeffrey Leiwakabessy |
| 16 | FW | GEO | Klimenti Tsitaishvili |
| 17 | MF | BRA | Sávio |
| 18 | MF | ROU | Eugen Trică |
| 19 | FW | IRQ | Hawar Taher |
| 20 | MF | FRA | Vincent Laban |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 21 | MF | CYP | Giorgos Panagi |
| 22 | DF | SRB | Predrag Ocokoljić |
| 23 | DF | CYP | Constantinos Samaras |
| 24 | DF | CYP | Andreas Constantinou |
| 26 | FW | CYP | Chrysovalantis Panayiotou |
| 27 | MF | FRA | Cédric Bardon |
| 28 | DF | GRE | Georgios Georgiou |
| 30 | GK | HUN | Zoltán Nagy |
| 31 | GK | CYP | Demetris Leoni |
| 32 | GK | CYP | Gavriel Constantinou |
| 33 | DF | GRE | Traianos Dellas |
| 67 | DF | CYP | Giorgos Theodotou |
| 70 | FW | CYP | Giorgos Tofas |
| 80 | MF | CYP | Alexandros Garpozis |

### Transfers
#### Summer

In
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | DF | SRB | Predrag Ocokoljić (from AEL Limassol) |
| — | MF | GRE | Giannis Skopelitis (from Atromitos) |
| — | MF | CYP | Stefanos Voskaridis (from Kallithea) |
| — | MF | POR | Tiquinho (from AEL Limassol) |
| — | MF | MNE | Siniša Dobrašinović (from Omonia Nicosia) |
| — | DF | CYP | Giorgos Theodotou (from Omonia Nicosia) |
| — | DF | GRE | Georgios Georgiou (from Atromitos) |
| — | DF | NED | Jeffrey Leiwakabessy (from Alemannia Aachen) |
| — | MF | FRA | Cédric Bardon (from Bnei Yehuda) |
| — | DF | GRE | Traianos Dellas (from AEK Athens) |
| — | MF | BRA | Sávio (from Desportiva) |
| — | MF | IRQ | Hawar Taher (from Al-Khor) |
Out
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | DF | GRE | Savvas Poursaitidis (to APOEL) |
| — | MF | SVN | Anton Žlogar (to Omonia Nicosia) |
| — | DF | RWA | Hamad Ndikumana (to Omonia Nicosia) |
| — | DF | EGY | Amir Azmy (to Hacettepe) |
| — | MF | BRA | William Boaventura (to Metalurh Donetsk) |
| — | DF | CYP | Loukas Louka (to Alki Larnaca) |
| — | MF | BUL | Metodi Deyanov (released) |
| — | FW | SRB | Milan Belić (to A.E. Paphos) |
| — | DF | GRE | Theodoros Tripotseris (to Levadiakos) |

#### Winter

In:
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | ROU | Eugen Trică (from CFR Cluj) |
| — | GK | CYP | Demetris Leoni (from A.E. Paphos) |
| — | MF | CYP | Alexandros Garpozis (from Apollon Limassol) |
| — | FW | CYP | Giorgos Tofas (on loan from AEK Athens) |
Out:
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | POR | Tiquinho (to AEK Larnaca) |
| — | MF | POR | Paulo Costa (on loan to APOEL) |
| — | FW | CYP | Stefanos Voskaridis (on loan to Enosis Neon Paralimni) |

### Foreign players

Teams in the Cypriot First Division can register up to eighteen non-EU nationals and players with European ancestry.
| EU Nationals Vincent Laban Cédric Bardon Nikos Katsavakis Giannis Skopelitis Nikolaos Frousos Traianos Dellas Georgios Georgiou Zoltán Nagy Łukasz Sosin Eugen Trică Jeffrey Leiwakabessy | EU Nationals (Dual citizenship) Sávio | Non-EU Nationals Arjan Beqaj Klimenti Tsitaishvili Hawar Taher Siniša Dobrašinović Predrag Ocokoljić |

### International players

| Lambros Lambrou Nikos Nicolaou Giorgos Panagi Andreas Constantinou Giorgos Theodotou Demetris Leoni Alexandros Garpozis | Arjan Beqaj Sávio Nikolaos Frousos Traianos Dellas Eugen Trică | Łukasz Sosin Predrag Ocokoljić Hawar Taher |

## Club
### Other information

| Chairman | Andreas Panteli (until December 2008) Chris Georgiades (from January 2009) |
| Ground (capacity and dimensions) | Antonis Papadopoulos Stadium (9,782 / 105x70 m) |
Source: anorthosisfc.com

## Competitions
### Marfin Laiki League
#### Classification

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | APOEL | 26 | 22 | 3 | 1 | 53 | 14 | +39 | 69 | Qualification for second round, Group A |
| 2 | Omonia Nicosia | 26 | 21 | 1 | 4 | 61 | 18 | +43 | 64 | Qualification for second round, Group A |
| 3 | Anorthosis Famagusta | 26 | 20 | 2 | 4 | 49 | 19 | +30 | 62 | Qualification for second round, Group A |
| 4 | AEL Limassol | 26 | 13 | 4 | 9 | 34 | 30 | +4 | 43 | Qualification for second round, Group A |
| 5 | Apollon Limassol | 26 | 13 | 4 | 9 | 53 | 34 | +19 | 43 | Qualification for second round, Group B |
* 1 2 AEL 1–0 APOL; APOL 1–3 AEL

#### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 |
| Ground | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | A |
| Result | W | W | W | W | D | L | W | W | W | W | W | L | W | W | W | W | W | D | L | W | W | W | W | W | L | W | L | W | L | D | L | D |

#### Playoffs table

The first 12 teams are divided into three groups. Points are carried over from the first round.
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | APOEL (C) | 32 | 26 | 4 | 2 | 62 | 17 | +45 | 82 | Qualification for Champions League second qualifying round |
| 2 | Omonia Nicosia | 32 | 25 | 1 | 6 | 70 | 22 | +48 | 76 | Qualification for Europa League second qualifying round |
| 3 | Anorthosis Famagusta | 32 | 21 | 4 | 7 | 52 | 26 | +26 | 67 | Qualification for Europa League first qualifying round |
| 4 | AEL Limassol | 32 | 13 | 5 | 14 | 38 | 41 | −3 | 44 | |

## Matches
### Pre-season and friendlies

Anorthosis left on 25 June for Amsterdam, Netherlands, and Golden Tulip Victoria athletic centre to perform most of their pre-season training. The team returned on 9 July. While in Netherlands Anorthosis played four friendly matches.

### LTV Super Cup

Time at EET

#### Regular season

Time at EET

#### Playoffs
### Cypriot Cup

All times at EET

#### Second round
### 2008–09 UEFA Champions League

Time at CET
* First Qualifying Round
* Second Qualifying Round
* Third Qualifying Round

#### Group Stage: Group B

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | PAN | INT | BRM | ANO |
| 1 | Panathinaikos | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 7 | +1 | 10 | Advance to knockout phase | — | 0–2 | 2–2 | 1–0 |
| 2 | Internazionale | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 7 | +1 | 8 | Advance to knockout phase | 0–1 | — | 1–1 | 1–0 |
| 3 | Werder Bremen | 6 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 9 | −2 | 7 | Transfer to UEFA Cup | 0–3 | 2–1 | — | 0–0 |
| 4 | Anorthosis Famagusta | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 6 | | 3–1 | 3–3 | 2–2 | — |