TOM HEAD, From Nicosia With Love: How to Develop An Obsession With an Obscure European Club…
How many of you have lived to see a team you follow be immortalised into legend, right before your very eyes?
To put it in terms we can all relate to, It’s like drinking pint after pint of disbelief and euphoria, followed by a few shots of vindication and heightened satisfaction, and waking up with a hangover of fist-clenching, unbridled joy.
To put it in terms we can all relate to, It’s like drinking pint after pint of disbelief and euphoria, followed by a few shots of vindication and heightened satisfaction, and waking up with a hangover of fist-clenching, unbridled joy.
Though I’m still a madcap Nottingham Forest fan, I was born in 1991 and never got to see us play in one of those electrically atmospheric European glory nights – something I struggled to come to terms with when coming home from goalless draws away at Crewe, and cataclysmic play-off devastation at the hands of… Well, almost everyone.
For me, following APOEL
started off as something of a summer romance. My parents have had their own place in Larnaca for seven years, so most of my ventures abroad have been spent in Cyprus. We became friends with locals and regional taverna owners a like, most of which had an affinity to the island’s most successful club… It couldn’t hurt if I kept an eye on them too, right?
Initially, it was just a warming to a team. Like when you see a side as unlikely as Swansea thread every intricate pass with consummate ease, or seeing have-a-go heroes like Blackpool give the Premier League a bloody good go. It was a ‘soft spot’, if you will. Two title wins for APOEL in 2007 and 2009 were well received by this now, all-but-adopted, Cypriot.
Then there was a catalyst. It was something that propelled them from a peripheral existence, and into my life. I was watching in Larnaca, when APOEL fervently had to defend a 3-2 lead they had taken in the second leg of a Champions League qualifier, against FC Copenhagen. Put it this way: Steve Kean, in his entire 18 month reign at Blackburn, faced nowhere near as much pressure as our back four did in 50 minutes. Well, by the second half, it was our back eleven.
A barrage, a deluge, hell, we’re all grown ups here… an orgy of chances, shots, deflections, crosses, set pieces and recoil-in-horror moments rained down upon our penalty area. Just as mythical as the Gods from his country, Greek goalkeeper Dionisis Chiotis pulled off an unimaginable array of save after save. I fancy myself as a goalkeeper so to see someone have a perfect game the way Dio did really spoke volumes to me. I knew there was something special about this team.
The atmosphere watching the game in a bar with the Cypriots was unreal. I felt like I was on a sabbatical to study the art of going completely mental. I was impressed with what I saw, and I was convinced APOEL were my mistress – With Forest being the ol’ ball and chain, of course.
The only problem with that Copenhagen game was that it upset a Danish barmaid I was failing to woo. I don’t blame APOEL for the fact she never called me… I have no doubt I would have comfortably messed things up by myself in next to no time!
I was able to see all of APOEL’s Champion League games that year, and although two points from six games is not so heartily impressive, I remember revisiting what I learned on my so called ‘sabbatical’, and completely went mental when we bagged an 87th minute equaliser at Stamford Bridge. A goal I could celebrate, without offending gorgeous barmaids. Felt like a win for me, definitely.
I carried on banging the drum for the team I was now developing an infatuation for, and was rewarded for my persistence when another 87th minute goal guided us through to Champions League proper again in 2011.
I had some incredibly tolerant house mates, who would put up with me watching APOEL when other European fixtures were on. They had all cleared off by time we’d scored two in two minutes, to chalk up our first ever group stage win against Zenit. It was lucky we were heading out that night too, because I didn’t much fancy drinking on my own.
The win against Porto on matchday three was what I believed to be the pinnacle of what a small Cypriot club could achieve on the big stage. Gustavo Manduca (who has his own ingenious chant from yours truly, which I will provide on request) netted in stoppage time, putting us top of our group. A couple more hard fought draws included, we qualified as winners of group G.
Drawn against a dwindling Lyon squad, it was easy to forget where we had come from. A 1-0 away loss in France grounded a lot of that dizzying belief we shared as APOEL fans. Although our Serbian manager, Ivan Jovanovic, claimed in later press conferences ‘It was always his plan’ to lose by one goal.
The return leg, on our home turf, was a carnival of yellow and orange-clad madmen making an ungodly amount of noise. Again, resigned to watching via Sky Sports (because 2500 miles is a bloody long way for anyone to travel to a home game), I could see what a once in a lifetime event this was. It completely transcended football.
To have missed out on this special sort of life-changing game with Forest, I fully embraced what was about to unfold. Our living room was an all-ticket affair, packed to a capacity EIGHT people. The ‘West Yorkshire Branch of APOEL Fans’ had something to truly invest every iota of faith and good will in to. We were helped immensely when Gustavo Manduca, who is on par with Batman in terms of showing up as and when needed, put us level on aggregate less than 10 minutes in.
It would be another TWO AND A HALF HOURS before we would even get near to a conclusion. As comforting as it was to know Christopher Nolan was directing this particular game, it didn’t exactly help my nerves. The off-license round the corner had that covered. I could have guessed it. We were going to penalties…
Dionisis Chiotis. Remember him? He saved Lyon’s last two kicks, after APOEL had converted every one of their penalties. Cyprus had a name in a Champions League Quarter-final; an island with roughly the same population of Lincolnshire. How do you like your stories of abject heroism? I take mine with a dose of cult heroes and maniacal celebrations, please.
Our days in the sun were all but numbered when we were paired up with Real Madrid in the next round. Though comprehensively beaten over two legs, APOEL managed to score twice in the Bernabéu. We’d definitely heard worse reasons to celebrate.
It’s hard not to love APOEL: The fans have been as welcoming as they are passionate. The city they are based in has been ravaged by unlawful occupation of Turkish troops, making this journey all the more remarkable. Just when I was starting to feel like a glory supporter, we crashed out to Neftchi Baku in Europa League qualifying this year. Equilibrium restored, one feels.
This does come across as an open love letter to my team. That’s because it is. I just wanted to fully explain how a portly teenager from Nottingham ends up trawling Twitter with his broken Greek in order to pick up any scraps of news involving APOEL. It’s been a brilliant ride, it has brought a lot of people together, and I’ve even been told I’m something of a hero amongst cults.
Well, I think the word was ‘cults’, anyway…
– POSTED ON OCTOBER 15, 2012POSTED IN: BLOGS, SPORT, UNCATEGORIZED
SOME COMMENTS TO FOLLOW.....
– POSTED ON OCTOBER 15, 2012POSTED IN: BLOGS, SPORT, UNCATEGORIZED
SOME COMMENTS TO FOLLOW.....
24 Comments
APOELFANS
LEGEND IS OUR MIDDLE NAME… ΑΠΟΕΛ ΘΡΥΛΟΣ- TOM OUR DOORS ARE OPEN FOR YOU TO VISIT OUR FANCLUB http://www.au-79.net … You are one of us now an APOELFAN… BE PROUD…………… EUROPE WE ARE COMMING BACK SOON!!!!!!!!!!!!
Alex
ΜΟΝΟ ΑΠΟΕΛ (ONLY APOEL) . Mate you make us feel proud. Thank you a lot for writing about our love APOEL. We REALLY welcome you into our FAMILY. That’s APOEL for us. Also, check this site out if you want, you may find articles in English sometimes.
http://www.apoelworld.com/Cheers !Panayiotis Evagorou
Hey Tom,Reading through your article I couldn’t resist feeling proud that my team has managed to capture your heart and admiration. Also I really enjoyed all your comments and I must admit some of them made me crack up at work in my cubicle and made all my colleagues giving me the raised eyebrow. Just wanted to let you know if you need any news about our team we can set up a contact via twitter, sort of like pen pals if you like and I can keep you up to date with all the news should you wish too, since the language barrier is no problem to me since I’m a cypriotFollow me @IxnaycyRegards,
Panayiotis EvagorouPetros
Tom! I am sorry to tell you that it seems that you caught the apoel bug also. There is no cure. Sorry.- Wonderful beat ! I would like to apprentice at the same time as you amend your web site, how can i subscribe for a weblog web site? The account aided me a applicable deal. I had been a little bit acquainted of this your broadcast offered bright transparent concept
Giannis S. Ioannou
Only a true football lover could have written this article… all the moments of this amazing journey passed again in front of my eyes thanks to you Tom. We truly, madly, deeply believe in the ”Legend”, in the ”Idea” of A.P.O.E.L. and it’s a privilege for our team to have a supporter like you. You are a real APOEL ULTRA (AU)!Savvas
It never crossed my mind that APOEL would be able to get followers up to this level of devotion! This is an amazing story and I am happy you that you let us know it.
You really moved me. I am proud of you and I am proud of our team!Official APOEL should be informed about this.
Maybe this is the time that APOEL websites should consider translating the news about our team in English. Having heard this I am sure that there are more APOEL fans out there!nai-re-APOEL
hi Tom , loved your blog man
we ll be back in champions league next year and we will live the same moments again.
you are one of us now.Stella Georgiou
Its amazing how this team is not made just for locals!!!We should definitely try to embrace our supporters out of the island and you are the living proof that these fans exists:) thanks for your story is truly original!LP
Life is strange Tom. Or maybe there is mystical connection between Forest and Apoel. Back in 1988 while studying in Nottingham I went to watch Forest playing Liverpool, in all honesty it was a chance to watch the big club Liverpool. Within 90 minutes I transforned into a Forest fan! Season ticket at the standing Trend end, tickets in the black market to watch the Forest against Notts County, Wembley, Evening Post, chanting for greats. Psycho, Teddy, Roy, Nigel …..george nikitaras
Although im double your age- dearest tom – you have managed to capture in a simple letter the meaning of this huge team called APOEL. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your lovely letter to all us crazy PORTOKALI fans.Though im a big fan of MAN.UTD i wish the best to not.forest team and to you personally.Phoenix
That is an excellent article Tom. I wish someone wrote a similar article for the achievements of my team, the historic Anorthosis Famagusta. I really felt proud for my country as I was reading your story. Congratulations to you and of course to your team Apoel for their extra-ordinary achievements.- I have been browsing online more than 3 hours today, yet I never found any interesting article like yours. It is pretty worth enough for me. Personally, if all webmasters and bloggers made good content as you did, the web will be a lot more useful than ever before.
APOEL UK- Nottingham
Dear Tom Head,
there is actually a group of students watching every game of APOEL at Walkabout Pub in Nottingham. We would love to meet you since we share the same bug and craziness! email me so we can get in touch:plyns1@nottingham.ac.uk
Cheers- I believe you’ve made a few genuinely fascinating factors. Not many folks would certainly in fact look at this the method that you merely would. I am actually pleased in which there’s a great deal concerning this subject matter i’m talking about been recently revealed so you achieved it very well, with considerably class. Good one you, man! Really great stuff here.
brainwash79
Hey Tom,Thank you for a beautiful article. You’ve taken me back to last year’s unbelievable achievements of APOEL. Here comes that weird chill…APOEL… something more than a team.. a belief.. an idea..You are an APOEL fan now so anything you need, just let us know brother !Take care of your selfGO APOEL – GO FOREST !!Tom Head
Wow. I’m overwhelmed, This is amazing guys, thank you so much for your support! Really appreciate everything you have said, makes me love APOEL just that bit more!And the Manduca chant goes like this (for you Michael Christofides)(To the tune of ‘Agadoo’, by Black Lace)Mannnduuuca, ca, ca!
He is better than Kaka,
Manduca, ca, ca,
He’s the pride of Lefkosia!Down the left, down the right
He makes Europe’s best look shite
He can shoot, he can pass,
He’s better than Fabregas!MANNNNDUUUUCA, CA, CA….
chem1cal
MonoAPOEL
Michael Christofides
APOELISTAS
