Ethnikos Achna FC
Ethnikos Achnas (Greek: Εθνικός Άχνας) is a Cypriot football club based in the village of Achna. The club was founded in 1968. The club's president is Kikis Philippou. Ethnikos Achnas plays in the Dasaki Stadium, which has a capacity of 7000 seats. It is currently used mostly for football matches and was built in 1997. It is the only Cypriot team to win a UEFA competition.
Full name | Ethnikos Achnas Football Club | ||
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Nickname(s) | Achniotes | ||
Founded | 1968 | ||
Ground | Dasaki Stadium, Dasaki Achnas | ||
Capacity | 7,000 | ||
Chairman | Kikis Filippou | ||
Manager | Elias Charalambous | ||
League | First Division | ||
2019–20] | First Division, 11th | ||
Website | Club website | ||
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History
The club played in the Cypriot Second Division until 1983 when it was promoted to the Cypriot First Division but was immediately relegated. Ethnikos was promoted to the First Division again in 1986 and stayed there for four seasons. Another two years in the Second Division ended with promotion to the First Division in 1992, where Ethnikos Achna have remained until 2018 when they were relegated again.
The team's best overall national ranking is fourth in the 1994–95, 1997–98 and 2006–07 seasons. The club participated in the Cypriot Cup final once in 2002, where they were beaten by Anorthosis Famagusta 0–1.
European competitions
Ethnikos Achnas played six times in the UEFA Intertoto Cup: 1998, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2008. Five times they were eliminated in the first round. However, in 2006 Ethnikos managed to win the UEFA Intertoto Cup and be one of the eleven winners of this year competition. After eliminating the Albanian team Partizani Tirana (winning at home 1–2 and losing away in Albania 2–1), they faced the Croatian team NK Osijek and tied both matches, the first leg in Osijek 2–2 and the second 0–0, becoming the only Cypriot team to advance to the third round of the Intertoto Cup. They exceeded this achievement by beating Maccabi Petah Tikva with a 2–0 victory away and a 2–3 loss at home, becoming one of eleven competition winners and progressing to the UEFA Cup second qualifying round and becoming the first Cypriot team to win a UEFA competition.
In the UEFA Cup, Ethnikos eliminated Roeselare with a 2–1 loss in Belgium and a 5–0 victory in Cyprus, qualifying for the first round. They were eliminated by Lens after drawing the first leg at home (played at GSP Stadium, Nicosia) 0–0 and losing 3–1 in France. Because of the success in Intertoto Cup, Ethnikos was awarded by Sports Journalists Union of Cyprus as the Sports Team of the Year of 2006. At the end of the same season, Ethnikos placed in the fourth position again and returned to the Intertoto Cup.
Honours
League
Cups
- Cypriot Cup:
- Runner-up (1): 2001–02
International
- UEFA Intertoto Cup:
- Winner (1): 2006
Players
- As of 18 January 2021
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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For recent transfers, see List of Cypriot football transfers summer 2020.
On loan
Out Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Loan deals expire at the end of 2020–21 season
Managers
- Stéphane Demol (2008–09)
- Panicos Orphanides (2009–10)
- Čedomir Janevski (2011–12)
- Stephen Constantine (2012–13)
- Danilo Dončić (2015–2016)
- Valdas Ivanauskas (2016–2017)[1]
- Panayiotis Engomitis (2017)
- Giorgi Chikhradze (2017–2018)
- Panayiotis Engomitis (2018–)
History in European competition
Overall
Competition | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
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UEFA Cup | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 5 | +2 |
UEFA Intertoto Cup | 16 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 20 | 30 | −10 |
Total | 20 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 27 | 35 | –8 |
Matches
Season | Competition | Round | Club | 1st leg | 2nd leg | Agg. |
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1998 | UEFA Intertoto Cup | 1R | Örgryte | 2–1 (H) | 0–4 (A) | 2–5 |
2003 | UEFA Intertoto Cup | 1R | Győri ETO | 1–1 (A) | 2–2 (H) | 3–3 (a) |
2004 | UEFA Intertoto Cup | 1R | Vardar | 1–5 (H) | 1–5 (A) | 2–10 |
2006 | UEFA Intertoto Cup | 1R | Partizani | 4–2 (H) | 1–2 (A) | 5–4 |
2R | Osijek | 2–2 (A) | 0–0 (H) | 2–2 (a) | ||
3R | Maccabi Petah Tikva | 2–0 (A) | 2–3 (H) | 4–3 | ||
2006–07 | UEFA Cup | 2Q | Roeselare | 1–2 (A) | 5–0 (H) | 6–2 |
1R | Lens | 0–0 (H) | 1–3 (A) | 1–3 | ||
2007 | UEFA Intertoto Cup | 1R | Makedonija GP | 1–0 (H) | 0–2 (A) | 1–2 |
2008 | UEFA Intertoto Cup | 1R | Besa | 0–0 (A) | 1–1 (H) | 1–1 (a) |
- Notes
- QR: Qualifying round
- 1Q: First qualifying round
- 2Q: Second qualifying round
- 3Q: Third qualifying round
- PO: Play-off round
References
- Macpherson, Graeme (29 January 2017). "Valdas Ivanauskas on Hearts 10 years on, working with Vladimir Romanov, and why Craig Gordon should sign for Chelsea". The Herald Scotland. Retrieved 26 October 2017.