# 2008–09 APOEL FC season

The 2008–09 season was APOEL's 69th season in the Cypriot First Division and 81st year in existence as a football club.
The first training session for the season took take place at the training ground at GSP Stadium on 11 June 2008. APOEL left on 20 June 2008 for Obertraun in Austria to perform the main stage of their pre-season training and returned to Cyprus on 7 July 2008.
The team finished 2nd in the league in the previous season so the club participated in the UEFA Cup.
On 30 October 2008, Kyriakos Zivanaris (the chairman of APOEL since 2006) resigned and he was replaced by Phivos Erotokritou.
The team won their 20th championship two rounds before the end after an away draw against Anorthosis on 25 April 2009. The draw also put an end to a 16-game winning streak that started on 21 December 2008 on the away game against Doxa Katokopias.

## Current squad

Last Update: March 15, 2008
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 | CYP | Michalis Morfis |
| 4 | DF | CYP | Paraskevas Christou |
| 5 | DF | ROU | Daniel Florea |
| 6 | MF | CYP | Demetris Kyriakou |
| 7 | DF | GRE | Savvas Poursaitides |
| 8 | DF | FRA | Bark Seghiri |
| 10 | MF | CYP | Constantinos Charalambides |
| 11 | MF | POL | Kamil Kosowski |
| 14 | DF | NED | Joost Broerse |
| 15 | DF | CYP | Marios Antoniades |
| 17 | MF | CYP | Marinos Satsias (captain) |
| 19 | DF | CYP | Marios Elia |
| 20 | MF | BRA | Jean Paulista |
| 21 | FW | POL | Marcin Żewłakow |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 22 | GK | GRE | Dionisis Chiotis |
| 23 | MF | POR | Helio Pinto |
| 24 | DF | GRE | Christos Kontis |
| 26 | MF | POR | Nuno Morais |
| 29 | MF | CYP | Nektarios Alexandrou |
| 30 | FW | SRB | Nenad Mirosavljević |
| 32 | DF | ALB | Altin Haxhi |
| 33 | MF | CYP | Chrysis Michael |
| 40 | MF | CYP | Giorgos Economides |
| 60 | GK | CYP | Kyriacos Ioannou |
| 71 | MF | CYP | Marios Theodorou |
| 80 | FW | NGA | Benjamin Onwuachi |
| 88 | GK | CYP | Tasos Kissas |
For recent transfers, see List of Cypriot football transfers summer 2008. Also, see List of Cypriot football transfers winter 2008–09.

### Squad changes

In:
| No. | Pos. | Name | Age | EU | Moving from | Type | Transfer window | Ends | Transfer fee | Source |
| 7 | RB | Poursaitides | 31 | EU | Anorthosis Famagusta | Transfer Y | Summer | 2010 | Free | 24sports.com.cy |
| 19 | RB | Elia | 29 | EU | Ethnikos Achna | Loan return → | Summer | 2009 | — | — |
| 21 | CF | Żewłakow | 32 | EU | Dender | Transfer Y | Summer | 2010 | Free | kerkida.net |
| 9 | CF | Papathanasiou | 24 | EU | Ermis Aradippou | Transfer Y | Summer | 2010 | Free | — |
| 4 | CB | Christou | 24 | EU | AEK Larnaca | Transfer Y | Summer | 2012 | €120K | sigmalive.com |
| 22 | GK | Chiotis | 31 | EU | Kerkyra | Transfer Y | Summer | 2010 | Free | kerkida.net |
| 20 | AM | Paulista | 30 | EU | Wisła Kraków | Transfer Y | Summer | 2010 | Free | kerkida.net |
| 6 | DM | Kyriakou | 21 | EU | Digenis Morphou | Loan return → | Summer | 2009 | — | — |
| 11 | RW | Kosowski | 30 | EU | Cádiz | Transfer Y | Summer | 2010 | Free | apoelfc.com.cy |
| 80 | CF | Onwuachi | 24 | Non-EU | Ionikos | Loan → | Summer | 2009 | €200K | apoelfc.com.cy |
| 29 | LW | Alexandrou | 24 | EU | Larissa | Transfer Y | Summer | 2011 | Free | apoelfc.com.cy |
| 16 | AM | Paulo Costa | 29 | EU | Anorthosis Famagusta | Loan → | Winter | 2009 | Free | apoelfc.com.cy |
Total expenditure: €320K
Out:
| N | Pos. | Name | Age | EU | Moving to | Type | Transfer window | Transfer fee | Source |
| 9 | CF | Machlas | 34 | EU | Retirement | Retirement | Summer | — | contra.gr |
| 20 | RW | Makrides | 26 | EU | Metalurh Donetsk | End of contract N | Summer | Free | kerkida.net |
| 69 | CF | Čorović | 32 | Non-EU | AEL Limassol | Loan return → | Summer | — | — |
| 11 | RW | Louka | 25 | EU | AEL Limassol | End of contract N | Summer | Free | kerkida.net |
| 4 | CB | Kapsis | 34 | EU | Levadiakos | End of contract N | Summer | Free | — |
| 18 | CB | Daskalakis | 30 | EU | AEK Larnaca | End of contract N | Summer | Free | apoel.net |
| 31 | CF | Zé Carlos | 33 | EU | Trofense | Contract termination N | Summer | Free | apoelfc.com.cy |
| 28 | CF | Vourkou | 22 | EU | Doxa Katokopias | Loan → | Summer | Free | — |
| 77 | RB | Panayiotou | 19 | EU | Digenis Morphou | Loan → | Summer | Free | — |
| 12 | GK | Nikolovski | 35 | Non-EU | AEP Paphos | Mutual consent N | Winter | Free | — |
| 9 | CF | Papathanasiou | 25 | EU | Ermis Aradippou | Loan → | Winter | Free | — |
| 16 | AM | Paulo Costa | 29 | EU | Anorthosis Famagusta | Mutual consent N Loan return → | Winter | Free | apoelfc.com.cy |
Total income: €0
Last updated: March 13, 2009

## Player stats

Last update: May 10, 2009
| No. | Pos. | Name | Marfin Laiki League | Marfin Laiki League | Cypriot Cup | Cypriot Cup | UEFA Cup | UEFA Cup | LTV Super Cup | LTV Super Cup | Total | Total | Discipline | Discipline |
| No. | Pos. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | | |
| 1 | GK | Michalis Morfis | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | Paraskevas Christou | 10 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | Daniel Florea | 12 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | Demetris Kyriakou | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | DF | Savvas Poursaitidis | 27 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 34 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 8 | DF | Bark Seghiri | 14 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | Andreas Papathanasiou | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | Constantinos Charalambides | 24 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 35 | 5 | 6 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | Kamil Kosowski | 24 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 34 | 6 | 3 | 0 |
| 12 | GK | Jane Nikolovski | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | DF | Joost Broerse | 31 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | Marios Antoniades | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | Paulo Costa | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | Marinos Satsias(c) | 16 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 19 | DF | Marios Elia | 15 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 20 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | Jean Paulista | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | FW | Marcin Żewłakow | 24 | 11 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 36 | 12 | 1 | 0 |
| 22 | GK | Dionisis Chiotis | 28 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 23 | MF | Helio Pinto | 27 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 38 | 5 | 8 | 1 |
| 24 | DF | Christos Kontis | 28 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| 26 | MF | Nuno Morais | 30 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 42 | 3 | 7 | 0 |
| 29 | MF | Nektarios Alexandrou | 28 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 6 | 5 | 0 |
| 30 | FW | Nenad Mirosavljević | 25 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 35 | 11 | 3 | 0 |
| 32 | DF | Altin Haxhi | 18 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 25 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| 33 | MF | Chrysis Michael | 23 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 31 | 7 | 3 | 0 |
| 40 | MF | Giorgos Economides | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 60 | GK | Kyriacos Ioannou | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 71 | MF | Marios Theodorou | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 80 | FW | Benjamin Onwuachi | 24 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 34 | 12 | 1 | 0 |
| 88 | GK | Tasos Kissas | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

## Club
### Other information

| Chairman | Kyriakos Zivanaris (Until 30 October 2008) Phivos Erotokritou (From 30 October 2008) |
| Ground (capacity and dimensions) | GSP Stadium (22,859 / 105x68 m) |
Source: apoelfc.com.cy

## Preseason friendlies

APOEL left on 20 June 2008 for Obertraun in Austria, to perform the main stage of their pre-season training. The team returned to Cyprus on 7 July 2008. During the pre-season training stage in Austria, APOEL played four friendly matches.

## Competitions
### Overall

| Competition | Started round | Final position / round | First match | Last match |
| Marfin Laiki League | — | Winners | 1 September 2008 | 10 May 2009 |
| UEFA Cup | 1st qualifying | 1st round | 17 July 2008 | 2 October 2008 |
| Cypriot Cup | 2nd round | Semi-final | 21 January 2009 | 6 May 2009 |
| LTV Super Cup | Final | Winners | 23 August 2008 | 23 August 2008 |
Updated to match played 20 May 2009 Source: 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 summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: May 25, 2009. Source: soccerway.com

#### 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 | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | H |
| Result | W | D | W | D | W | W | W | L | W | W | W | W | D | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | D | W | P |

#### Playoffs table

The first 12 teams are divided into 3 groups. Points are carried over from the first round.

#### Group A

| 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

All times for the Domestic Competitions at EET

#### Playoffs
### UEFA Cup
#### First qualifying round

APOEL won 1–0 on aggregate.

#### Second qualifying round

APOEL 5–5 Red Star Belgrade on aggregate. APOEL won on away goals.

#### First round

FC Schalke won 5–2 on aggregate.

### LTV Super Cup

APOEL won the 2008 Cypriot Super Cup (10th title).

### Cypriot Cup
#### Second round

APOEL won 5–4 on aggregate.

#### Quarterfinals

APOEL won 4–1 on aggregate.

#### Semifinals

APOP Kinyras won 2–1 on aggregate.