Antonis Papadopoulos Stadium, home of Anorthosis Famagusta and venue of Maccabi's Champions League 2nd round qualifier against Santa Coloma, is a symbol for the struggle between the Greek and Turkish communities on Cyprus
Eleven years after having to "host" their Champions League qualifiers in Hungary, Maccabi Tel Aviv tonight find themselves at Antonis Papadopoulos Stadium in Cyprus under similar circumstances. The ground of Cypriot side Anorthosis Famagusta FC was built in 1986 to provide a home for a team that suffered years of playing at various stadiums under Turkish rule. Starting at a capacity of 6,000, the stadium has undergone a number of transformations in the new millennium that have raised that number to 10,230. Painted in the blue-and-white colours of the home side, the stadium is closed on all sides, with the western terraces having been renovated in the last decade to two levels, housing the press, the dressing rooms, a bar and the VIP lounge. The northern terraces are much more run down, perhaps the reason they serve as headquarters of the "Warriors", Famagusta's version of what are known among Israel football fans as "Ultras".
Antonis Papadopoulos Stadium was approved by UEFA for European competition, primarily for the qualifying rounds. It often hosts the Cypriot national team, with Spain's 3-2 victory here in the Euro 2000 qualifiers a particularly memorable event. Last season it was the venue for Famagusta's Europa League 2nd round qualifier against Swedish side Gefle IF. Two former Maccabi players, striker Roberto Colautti and midfielder Gonzalo Garcia, provided the hosts with a promising three-goal lead after the first leg, with a brace by the former and an individual effort by the latter. The return leg however went in Gefle's favour, with a dramatic fourth goal to no reply in the match's dying moments sending the Swedes through to the 3rd round.
This will in fact be the third time in their history that Maccabi Tel Aviv are forced to host their European home fixtures outside Israel. In the 2002/3 season the competition was the now moribund UEFA Cup and the venue was Sofia, Bulgaria. In the first round Maccabi advanced at the expense of Estonian side Levadia by winning 2-0 both away and at "home". In round two against Portuguese side Boavista Sofia once again proved a good home, with Maccabi winning 1-0, but a 4-1 defeat in the second leg in Porto saw Maccabi's run in the competition come to an end. A year later the Israeli champions once again found themselves outside Israel, this time in the Champions League. After losing 1-0 in Slovakia to MSK Zilina Maccabi hosted the "home" leg in Budapest and were knocked out after drawing 1-1.
But back to the present. After scoring a precious away goal against Santa Coloma in the first leg, any draw will see Maccabi through to the third qualifying round. Let's hope that by then we'll have no more need for a "home" away from home.
