Caanen and AEK Larnaca FC split

17:48 AEK Larnaca FC and coach Ton Caanen have parted ways after a disappointing start to the UEFA Europa League and Cypriot First Division season.

The club praised Caanen’s contribution in a statement after Saturday’s goalless draw against AEL Limassol: “Without a doubt, Ton Caanen has earned himself the reputation of being the most successful coach in AEK’s history and the club would like to wish him the very best both professionally and personally.”

It added: “This was a difficult decision for our club to make and we would like to thank Ton Caanen for his loyalty and for the success that he brought to our club during the last year and a half,”

Caanen was brought into the club by technical director Jordi Cruyff, leading the newly promoted side to finish the 2010/11 season in fourth place.

He then helped AEK eliminate Floriana FC, FK Mladá Boleslav and Rosenborg BK to become the first Cypriot team to reach the UEFA Europa League group stage.

AEK are bottom of Group J with two points from four games, but have also struggled domestically. They are eighth in the Cypriot First Division, 12 points adrift of leaders AC Omonia.

AEK still have a slim chance of qualifying for the round of 32 ahead of the visit of Maccabi Haifa FC on 1 December.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.