IT’S BEEN an extraordinary week for football in Cyprus. Local champions Anorthosis Famagusta’s victory over Turkish side Trabzonspor last Tuesday in the Champions League qualifiers has already been described as the greatest triumph in the history of the local game, a victory given extra spice by its political ramifications.
Anorthosis were forced to abandon their home town after the Turkish invasion of 1974, relocating to Larnaca as a refugee club.
It was therefore no surprise that UEFA classed the game – the first ever between Cypriot and Turkish opposition – as a high-risk fixture. But fears that the game could turn into national catastrophe should security fail at the highly-charged match in Nicosia were put to rest when no trouble or incidents were recorded in the stands. Add to that, Anorthosis finished 3-1 winners in a thrilling game, and are now within sight of a tie against Glasgow Rangers in the third and final round of the qualifying stages of the Champions League.
While Turkish media were stunned by the result, there was a recognition that the game proved how far Cyprus had come in recent years. Yeni Düzen newspaper noted with pride that, “despite the mixture of Greek, Turkish and Cypriot flags, there were no incidents at the stadium. In fact, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots were sitting side-by-side in some areas of the ground.”
The euphoria in the Greek Cypriot media was no surprise. Politis newspaper wrote that Anorthosis’ win was “something historic that will live on in the memory of all Cypriots”, while Simerini simply printed the word “Thank you” in big bold letters in front of a picture of Anorthosis players celebrating.
Player manager Temur Ketsbaia knows only to well the significance of their win.
“I am absolutely delighted with this result – it is probably the greatest result in Cypriot football history. Putting aside the other factors surrounding the game, Trabzonspor are not only one of the best teams in Turkey but also one of the hardest teams to beat in Europe.”
It remains to be seen whether Trabzonspor can crash the party by overturning the deficit in Turkey on Wednesday, but Ketsbaia and Anorthosis are aware of the task that still lies ahead. In fact, reports suggest that Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat and his predecessor Rauf Denktash could attend the game.
“We are well aware that we will get very difficult treatment when we fly out to Turkey,” Ketsbaia admitted to the Sunday Mail. “The atmosphere will be very fanatical at the game and we know that.”
With the outcome a matter of national honour, “the Turkish press is sharpening their knives ahead of this game in case Trabzonspor get knocked out by us,” said Ketsbaia. “If we prevent Trabzonspor from scoring then the Turks will start feeling the pressure and that will be in our favour. Even in the event that they score one, two or three goals, we still have the advantage of knowing that if we score there, the game will still be open for us.”
Scottish champions Glasgow Rangers are the prize. They will be keen to avoid the humiliation of bitter rivals Celtic, who fell to a shock 5-0 defeat in lowly Slovakia this week.
Ketsbaia, however, remains upbeat: “First we have to go to Turkey and qualify, which as well all know is going to be extremely difficult despite the two goal advantage we have.
“However, looking at Rangers, without putting them down, they are not the same side that Anorthosis played 10 years ago. Back then Anorthosis were unlucky to lose with just a single goal over the two games. I believe Anorthosis or Trabzonspor could have got a far harder opponent because the Scottish side is definitely beatable,” he added.
“In a different scenario, if Trabzonspor were to play Ranger I would fancy the Turks to go through, which says something about our team should we qualify to play them.”
