IF THERE is one thing that wealthy entrepreneur Peter Theo has brought to Cypriot football, other than promises that he will turn his beloved AEL into the greatest club on the island, it is a touch of personality.
The British Cypriot businessman moved to the island 15 months ago and it wasn’t long before he started his love affair with football club AEL Limassol.
Despite boasting a huge following, AEL have been starved of silverware for almost 18 years, despite reaching two cup finals in the last five years.
And just to rub salt on their wounds, they have since seen their arch rivals, Apollon Limassol, snap up three league titles and two cups since 1991.
But the arrival of Theo has been a breath of fresh air to the hungry fans, who have been promised a professional makeover for their new director of football.
Theo has also pledged to AEL fans that “the sleeping giant has finally woken” and that they will no longer have to live in the shadow of rivals Apollon.
His arrival onto the football scene in Cyprus first created a media stir, with reporters already casting doubts over whether he can turn AEL “into the best club in Cyprus”.
Speaking to the Sunday Mail this week, Theo insisted, “I am very happy here. The enthusiasm and love the supporters have for their team has grown inside me and this has given me the strength and momentum to do the things that I am doing now. I feel and believe that AEL can be the number one club in Cyprus. They have been fantastic to me since I have been here.”
‘Lack of direction’
Lack of direction and professionalism was something Theo wanted immediately to put right, he explained, adding that he wanted to put his experience working with Arsenal into practice with AEL.
“I think that for many years, the fans have been suffocating from empty promises and unknowledgeable people running the club. I don’t mean any disrespect to those people, what I mean is that they gave everything and loved the club but they just weren’t experienced in matters of football and that worked against them.
“It’s not that they didn’t try, they just weren’t football people. You need to have a football brain to run a football club.”
Although football in Cyprus is still at a level far behind what Theo has experienced in England, he is hopeful that in time other clubs will take lessons from his new AEL outfit and help raise the standard of football on the island.
“We are introducing a professional academy, a scouting system, that no other clubs have, and a code of conduct. We want to change to a similar style that can be found at Arsenal, AC Milan and Manchester United. In time, I think the rest will follow. We have to start showing football in Cyprus how to move forward into a new era.”
Some of his goals includes keeping in contact with Arsenal – a team he has worked for in the past – to help bring players to his club.
“I will be looking at the youngsters being released from Arsenal, so we’ll be giving that kid from Arsenal another chance to make it in life here in Limassol. If we can then get two or three years from that kid, then that could create a good combination with our young players here. We will then have something really good.”
Media buzzing
The media have been buzzing since the arrival of Theo, with reporters enjoying the somewhat innovative chance to exchange humorous banter with the British Cypriot businessman.
Some reporters have compared him to legendary gangster Al Capone, and Theo was quick to the draw, telling the press that his new signings were “Lucky” Luciano and “Bugsy” Malone.
“This is just a game I’m playing with the media and I enjoy it. I’m just myself really. I think having a sense of humour is good as well keeping your professionalism.”
But more than anything, Theo believes that he is back in Limassol for a reason and that his destiny is to make AEL the best in the land.
“Things have happened in my life, with my father and brother dying, and that tells me that this was meant to be. I believe AEL football club in Limassol, where I was born, is my destiny. I will be here for a long, long time. I won’t stop until I make AEL the best club in Cyprus”
Despite his big plans for his new club, Theo says that the transformation of AEL into one of the biggest clubs again will not happen overnight and things will begin to get better on a slowly-slowly basis.
But not all Cypriot journalists are quite so upbeat.
Some have accused Theo and jumping into the deep end too soon and that it could come crashing down on him.
But that has done little to intimidate Theo, who winked and told the Sunday Mail: “I’m far too good at my job for something like that to happen”.
Whether the critics will be silenced or not remains to be seen.
What is sure is that Peter Theo is the most unique character to enter the game and that if anything he will gave a less one-dimensional view to the world of football in Cyprus.
