Aris Limassol F.C.

Football club infobox
clubname = Aris Limassol


fullname = "Άρης Λεμεσού"
"Aris Limassol"
nickname = "Ελαφρα Ταξιαρχια" (Light Brigade)
founded = 1930
ground = Tsirion Stadium,
Limassol, Cyprus
capacity = 13,152
chairman = flagicon|Cyprus Christakis Athanasiou
manager = flagicon|Cyprus Akis Agiomamitis
league = Cypriot Second Division
season = 2007-08
position = Cypriot First Division, 12^th (relegated)
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leftarm1=008000|body1=008000|rightarm1=008000|shorts1=008000|socks1=008000
pattern_la2=|pattern_b2=|pattern_ra2=
leftarm2=FFFFFF|body2=FFFFFF|rightarm2=FFFFFF|shorts2=FFFFFF|socks2=FFFFFF

Aris Limassol (Greek: "Άρης Λεμεσού") is a Cypriot football club based in Limassol. Green and white are the colours of the club and the team's home is the Tsirion Stadium.

History

One of the founder members of Cyprus Football Association, and was around between 5th and 7th position in 1930s. During the 1940s, the team didn't compete in the Cypriot First Division, however they returned back in the Cypriot Championship in 1954 and they were the first team to be relegated to the Second Division after finishing last in the table. The following season they became Champions in the Second Division and returned back to be relegated again. Returning to the First Division, where after a good appearance in the First Division, they gained the fourth position.

Being one of the weakest teams in the First Division during 1960s, they were finally relegated in 1969-70 as 12th and remained for two seasons in the Second Division. The situation changed for Aris between 1975 and 1980 when the team won again the fourth position in 1976-77 and 1978-79. Two years after winning the fourth position, in 1981 the team were relegated again after finishing last (14th) but returned as runners up the following season and finished 5th in 1985-86.

The greatest success of the club was in 1989 when the team qualified to the Cyprus Cup final, where they were beaten by AEL Limassol 2-3. The following season, in 1989-90, the club signed the Ukrainian Oleg Blokhin, the 1975 European Footballer of the Year, and helped them to win for another time the fourth position, which was the clubs greatest position. After the end of the season, Blokhin ended his career playing for Aris Limassol.

After the relegation in 1992/93, the team won the following season for third time the Second Division Championship. Since 1996/97, when the club was in Cypriot First Division, the team every year was relegated to the Second Division and the following year was promoted to the First one. That situation ended in 2006-07, when the team finished 8th in the championship and achieved to remain in First division.

In the 2007-08 season, Aris finished last, in the last group in the table and is therefore relegated to the Second division along with Olympiakos Nicosia and Nea Salamina. Because of this many starting eleven players of Aris have been released to continue their careers in other clubs, notably team-star striker Adrian Mihalcea, Hristo Yovov, Edwin Ouon and others.

Although the football team forms the centre of sporting activity for Aris, the club has over the years maintained teams in other sports including basketball, table tennis and chess. The Aris chess team dominated Cypriot chess during the 1980s.

Additionally, the Aris choir was established in 1938 by the famous conductor and composer Solon Michaelides who remained its conductor until 1956 to undertake the direction of the National Orchestra of Salonica, Greece. In 1962, the choir made a new start under the direction of Marinos Mitellas and remains one of the best known Hellenic choirs performing in Cyprus, Greece and internationally.

Current squad

Former Players

*flagicon|Cyprus Marios Antoniou
*flagicon|Cyprus Yiasoumis Yiasoumi
*flagicon|Cyprus Alekos Alekou
*flagicon|Bulgaria Hristo Yovov
*flagicon|Bulgaria Atanas Bornosuzov
*flagicon|Cameroon Gilbert Bayiha N'Djema
*flagicon|Czech Republic Jan Vorel
*flagicon|France Edwin Ouon
*flagicon|Romania Costel Mozacu
*flagicon|Romania Laurenţiu Diniţă
*flagicon|Romania Adrian Mihalcea
*flagicon|Slovenia Miha Golob
*flagicon|Slovakia Ivan Trabalík
*flagicon|Australia Adam Foti
*flagicon|Bosnia-Herzegovina Jovo Miseljic
*flagicon|Bulgaria Plamen Petrov
*flagicon|Bulgaria Radostin Stanev
*flagicon|Cameroon Vincent Ongandzi
*flagicon|Cape Verde Puma
*flagicon|Czech Republic Vlastimil Svoboda
*flagicon|Finland Jani Viander
*flagicon|Hungary Miklos Lendvai
*flagicon|Poland Waldemar Adamczyk
*flagicon|Portugal Paulo Costa
*flagicon|Serbia Mirza Golubica
*flagicon|Slovakia Marian Lalik
*flagicon|Ukraine Oleg Blokhin

Titles

*Cypriot Cup:
**Runners-up (1):1989

*Cypriot Second Division:
**Winners (3): 1954, 1956, 1994