APOEL: 10 Facts About Real Madrid's Champions League Opponents

APOEL Nicosia's march to the quarterfinals of the Champions League has been such a surprise that, even now, their name still leaps out whenever the contenders in the last eight are all named. 

The Cypriot champions have been rewarded for their progress—via topping a group which included Porto, Shakhtar Donetsk and Zenit St Petersburg, and beating Lyon on penalties—with a two-legged tie against nine-time winners Real Madrid.

Whether you want to view that draw as a dream or a nightmare is a matter of opinion.

Still, even now they remain something of an unknown quantity for many fans outside of the Mediterranean island. 

Here are 10 things you need to know about APOEL ahead of their first leg at the GSP Stadion on Tuesday.

Origin of Club and Name

The club was founded in 1926 by 40 men—chief among them Messrs Poulias, Artemi, Piki, Simeonides and Carditsas.

Keen to express their desire to represent the Greek side of Cyprus, they named their new club Podosferikos Omilos Ellinon Lefkosias (Football Club of Greeks of Nicosia), abbreviated to POEL.

A few years later, the club began competing in other sports, such as track and field, volleyball and table tennis, and so the word Athletikos was added to the front of their acronym moniker.

Fortress GSP

Just four years after their creation, APOEL moved into the GSP (Pancyprian Gymnastic Association) Stadion.

They shared this 12,000-capacity ground with local rivals Olympiakos Nicosia and Omonia Nicosia until its demolition in 1978, when both APOEL and Omonia moved to the newly-built Makario Stadium.

In 1999, again they moved to the new GSP Stadion. Although this current ground is only 23,000-strong, APOEL and their fans have made a fortress of Cyprus' biggest arena. 

Porto, Zenit and Lyon can all attest to the cauldron that is created within, with each of that trio losing there.

Major Honours

Simply put, APOEL are the most successful team in Cypriot football history.

They have won 21 championships —more than anyone else.

That is only one more than bitter rivals Omonia, but APOEL can still claim superiority by virtue of their 19 Cypriot Cup wins to Omonia's 13.

Those two clubs plus regular-season winners AEL Limassol and Anorthosis Famagusta will battle it out for this season's title now that the league has been broken up into three separate groups of four, with the top one playing for the title and European places.

Legendary Brits

Among the legends listed by APOEL are collection of names you could be forgiven not being familiar with, but a few names do leap off the page.

The list includes the British trio of former Tottenham forward Ian Moores, three-time European Cup winner Terry McDermott (pictured) of Liverpool fame and ex-Newcastle stalwart and Northern Ireland midfielder Tommy Cassidy.

Rather amusingly, those three are listed on APOEL's official website as Ian Murs, Teri Macdermod and Tomi Cassidi.

Manager

APOEL's Serbian coach Ivan Jovanovic has become something of an adopted Greek.

After finishing his unremarkable playing career at Iraklis Thessaloniki in 1999, he went on to manage three different clubs in Greece—including two spells at Iraklis—before beginning his second and current spell at APOEL in 2008.

A winner of three titles with the Cypriot club, Ivanovic appreciates the importance of the two legs against European giants Real Madrid.

He told UEFA.com after the club's penalty shootout victory over Lyon to reach the last eight: 

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"This is the most important night in APOEL's history. This is a big night for APOEL, the fans and Cypriot football.

"We never believed that we would be where we are today. But when you have players with so much confidence, then it is possible. 

"When you have a stadium filled with fans like ours, then it is possible. This is fantastic for everyone.

"The victory belongs to the players and the fans. We have worked hard for this. Nothing makes you happier than seeing so many people rejoice from your achievement. 

"I am delighted to have helped the APOEL fans enjoy such moments."

"

Ailton: Scored More Than Ronaldo

Just as goalkeeper Dionisis Chiotis was APOEL's hero in the last-16 penalty shootout win over Lyon, so striker Ailton was the man who fired them into the knockout phase. 

The Brazilian scored four goals in the qualifying rounds to get APOEL to the group stage, where he scored three more times: once against Zenit and one each home and away against Porto.

That takes his tally to seven for this season's competition, while Real's Cristiano Ronaldo has only got six. 

For the sake of this slide, we'll ignore the fact that the Portuguese forward has played several fewer matches than Ailton.

However, it is impossible to ignore the fact that the world's most expensive player has netted 35 goals in La Liga this season. The entire APOEL team side has netted just 39 so far in the Cypriot league this term. 

Started Campaign in July

APOEL's route to the quarterfinals—a stage which only one side from England, Italy and Germany made—has been a long and winding road.

Their campaign began in July in the second qualifying round when they beat Albanian side Skenderbeu Korca 6-0 on aggregate.

In the third and final round they beat Slovakian side Slovan Bratislava. Had they not, hardly anyone would have batted an eyelid.

Instead they prevailed, winning 2-0 away to reach the play-offs where they beat Polish side Wisla Krakow 3-2 over the two legs.

Few could have predicted that they would still be playing Champions League football in April, but here they are.

They Are More International Than Real

Real Madrid have an expensively assembled squad of superstars and household names.

Of the players who have featured in the Champions League for the giants from the Bernabeu, seven countries are represented: Spain, Portugal, France, Germany, Turkey, Brazil and Argentina.

However, APOEL's rag-tag bunch of journeymen can plant eight different flags into a world map: Cyprus, Greece, Macedonia, Spain, Portugal, Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay.

Add their Serbian manager to the mix and that's nine different nations who have tier countrymen about to line up against Real. 

Real's Budget Is 45 Times Bigger

At this stage of Europe's premier club competition, this tie is about as close as it gets to David vs. Goliath. 

APOEL's annual operating budget is around €10 million, which covers everything from players' wages to transfer fees to stadium hire. Real's yearly budget for the same things is €450 million.

Real spent €94 million on Cristiano Ronaldo in 2009, a fee which remains the world record to this day.

Ailton is APOEL's record signing, and he set the Cypriots back all of €1 million.

Not First Team from Nicosia to Meet Real

Back in 1969, Olympiakos Nicosia were drawn against Real Madrid in the first round of the European Cup, back in the days when it was a straight, two-legged knockout competition from the outset and only involved each country's league champion and the previous year's winner.

Both legs were played at the Santiago Bernabeu as the GSP in Nicosia was not deemed fit to play on. Real won the first leg 8-0 and the second 6-1.

For more on that tie, a moment to take in the account of that tie from Lakis Avraamides, who played in both legs, is well worthwhile.