Monday, January 25, 2010

Cyprus First Division: Nationality Breakdown



The Cypriot Championship First Division, or officially, the Marfin Laiki League, has an amazing variety of world talent. An incredible 58 different nations are represented from nearly every corner of the globe. Costa Rican and former Chicago Fire/MLS defender Gonzalo Segares recently moved to Apollon Limassol FC in Cyprus and became the only CONCACAF player currently in the league.

The following list is a breakdown of the many International players that make up the Cypriot League.

# of Players by Nation:

1 - Afghanistan
6 - Albania
2 - Algeria
1 - Angola
8 - Argentina
2 - Armenia
1 - Austria
5 - Belgium
3 - Bosnia and Herzegovina
29 - Brazil
1 - Bulgaria
1 - Burkina Faso
2 - Cameroon
3 - Cape Verde
1 - Chile
1 - Costa Rica
1 - Croatia
129 - Cyprus
4 - Czech Republic
1 - Denmark
11 - France
3 - Georgia
5 - Germany
2 - Ghana
21 - Greece
1 - Guinea-Bissau
7 - Hungary
1 - Iran
1 - Ireland
2 - Israel
2 - Italy
1 - Ivory Coast
1 - Kosovo
2 - Latvia
9 - Macedonia
1 - Mali
1 - Mozambique
3 - Netherlands
3 - Nigeria
1 - Paraguay
1 - Peru
4 - Poland
43 - Portugal
2 - Romania
3 - Rwanda
1 - Scotland
3 - Senegal
8 - Serbia
5 - Sierra Leone
3 - Slovakia
6 - Slovenia
1 - South Africa
3 - Spain
1 - Sweden
1 - Switzerland
1 - Uruguay
3 - Venezuela
1 - Zambia
2 - Zimbabwe

Nations Represented by Region:
32 - Europe
16 - Africa
7 - South America
2 - Asia
1 - CONCACAF


Recent European Success

*Anorthosis Famagusta qualified for the Group Stages of the Champions League in 08-09 over teams like Rapid Wien and Olympiakos in the Qualifying Rounds. In the group stage, they earned an away point at Werder Bremen, Beat Panathinaikos, and earned a point at home against Inter Milan with a 3-3 draw.

In their win against Panathinaikos, Hawar Mulla Mohammed (who now plays with Persepolis in Iran), became the first player from Iraq to score a goal in the UEFA Champions League.

*In the 09/10 Champions League, APOEL reached the Group Stages and picked up 3 points with a draw at Atletico Madrid and two home draws against Chelsea and Atletico.

NOTES:

The Cypriot League is currently ranked 23rd by the UEFA League Coefficient, similar to leagues in Sweden, Israel, Austria, Serbia, Poland, Croatia, and Norway

In the last 10 years, players from Brazil, Argentina, Poland, Slovakia, Germany, and Cyprus have led the league in goals scored.

No comments:

Post a Comment