In night it has not been as long as it could be assumed after the pafos has conquered the first league title of its still short history (founded in 2014 from the fusion of two other clubs). In fact, when he receives the call calls early on Monday, Juan Carlos Carcedo is already arriving at the hotel where a meeting with the Russian magnates owners of the Cipriota club is scheduled. “I am comfortable here, but you have to establish the project, clarify the objectives, specify the budget, prepare the preseason …”, the coach will summarize, with a contract until 2026, once that appointment is finished.
The calendar does not give truce, in addition. “We did the typical bus tour through the city and I think the players left a little later, but this afternoon we trained at six”, Explains Carcedo. The pafos faces tomorrow the return of Cup semifinals, after imposing himself on Apollon 4-2 in the first leg. And it is a tournament to which there is special affection, because, beyond that he would be worth a double, it is the first one that was won, just a year ago and also under the orders of the Rioja coach.
Pafos is waking up, people here had the feeling of being somewhat forgotten
The League was certified by throwing Aris on Sunday: “It was a day of tension, because it was a trap game. If we won we got the title, but if we lost they put us to a point with a calendar in the simplest theory and without having to play a cup. Actually we will end the season with about 60 games, 20 more than them after all the European qualifiers we had to play“Of course, everything went well:” We were perfect. On the second time we made the first goal, in one against the second, our goalkeeper stopped his, when they made changes looking for the comeback came the third … ”
So pafos has become a party: “You have to keep in mind that it is the fourth city of Cyprus, behind Nicosia, Larnaca or Limassol, and that nothing had never earned, but but People are waking up. Until now they had the feeling of being a little forgotten“Carcedo arrived in Cyprus in the summer of 2023:” It is a very pleasant place, with a spectacular climate and brutal security, which is also growing at a tourist level, but there are not many Spaniards because of the distance and because there are no direct flights. “
The difficult thing is to team with so many languages, religions or cultures in the costumes
Topó, in the locker room, with a melting pot of nationalities: “Last season we had up to 17, this one less. Perhaps the most difficult thing is to make team managing different languages, different religions or diverse cultures, but I think we have achieved it.” Socceristically speaking, superiority has been evident: “We have sought a mixed team, which had quality but also intensity. I like to master the game, but I prefer to have opportunities to have possession. I wanted us to be vertical and compact, without losing order. ”
Carcedo He works directly with Sebastián Corona, Assistant, and Sergio Domínguez, physical trainer, also thanking the important work of Cristiano Giaretta as sports director. “Everything has gone well, but just like you, you lose. I insist that I am happy here, but in football you never know how long you can be in a place or what can happen in the future.”
A national hero in the Paphos Shield
Evagoras Pallikarides (1938-1957) was hanged shortly after he turned 19, but by then he was already a national hero in the struggle for Chipriota independence regarding British domination and since then he has become a real legend. Poet in addition to revolutionary, some of his best known verses (“I will take a uphill, I will take the paths to find the stairs that lead to freedom”) serve as an introduction to the documentary 'Paphos FC: Against The World', which, on the occasion of the conquered cup a year ago, premiered last week and can be seen on YouTube. Pallikarides' face, in fact, appears clear on the current club shield. “The team was born from the idea of the young hero. He fought for freedom and always said: 'No matter how many opponents are, I'm going to fight. If I win, I win; if I lose, I lose with honor,” explains Charis Hadjikyriakos, local journalist. “That is something that represents pafos and pafos. It is not just an emblem, it is a philosophy, a way of living,” adds Theodosis Vrizonis, an entity fan, happy today like all of them.
At the moment, With the Champions on the horizoneven in the form of a previous one, there is still a lot of work to do. It is Carcedo's revolution in a revolutionary club.
