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Top 10 Greatest Football (Soccer) Players from Cyprus

In sports, football is arguably the most popular sport in Cyprus. The country is a member of all global football organizations, with the country鈥檚 national and the top clubs participating in all European competitions.

Although Cyprus is not regarded as one of the football powerhouses compared to some of its neighbors, it has produced a fair share of talented football players who have gone ahead to play for some of the biggest clubs in Europe.

Here are the top 10 greatest football players from Cyprus.

1. Sotiris Kaiafas

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Considered to be the best footballer Cyprus has ever produced, Sotiris Kaiafas is a retired Cyprus football player who is well known for winning the European golden boot after scoring 41 goals in a league season.

Sotiris joined Omonia football club in 1965 at the age of 16 and soon established himself as the most prolific striker Omonia had ever signed. In the 1975 -76 Cyprus league season, he scored 41 goals and became the first and the only Cyprus player to ever win the then prestigious European golden boot.

Throughout his career, Sotiris won a record 11 Cypriot Championship titles which made him a cult hero to the fans. He announced his retirement from football in May 1984 and was selected as the Golden Player of Cyprus. he also had the honor of representing his country at the UEFA Jubilee Awards.

2. Loannis Okkas 

Born on 11 February 1977, Loannis Okkas is one of the greatest football players ever to play for the Cypriot National team. He is the second leading scorer of all time with 27 goals and the most capped player in Cyprus history with 106 national team appearances.

Okkas started his career with Nea Salamis at the age of 17 and went on to play for 8 different teams between Cyprus and Greece. He also spent one league season playing for the Celta Vigo club in Spain.

Loannis retired from professional football in 2014 after 20 years of a successful career that saw him cumulatively make 613 appearances and score 189 career goals. He also captained the National Team of Cyprus for many years.

3. Michalis Konstantinou 

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Michalis Konstantinou is a Cypriot retired football striker. He played for the Cyprus national football team, and he is the all-time leading scorer with 32 goals in 85 appearances.

Konstantinou was born on 19 February 1978 and started his professional football at a hometown side Enosis Neon Paralimni. He then moved to greek where he played for Iraklis Thessaloniki, Olympiacos, and Panathinaikos.

He made his international debut in August 1998 and subsequently averaged almost one goal per game in his first 35 caps. In January 2014, he announced his retirement from football as a player.

4. Konstantinos Laifis 

Touted as one of the best Cypriot fullbacks ever, Konstantinos Laifis is a star player in the Belgian First Division A club Standard Li猫ge. He previously played in the Cypriot First Division for Anorthosis and Alki Larnaca.

Born on 19 May 1993, Laifis made his first-team debut for Anorthosis in 2012 and stayed with the club for three seasons before joining the Greek super league club Olympiakos in 2016. He later moved to standard liege, where he is plying his trade currently.

At the international level, Laifis has represented Cyprus national team at all under-age levels. He made his senior debut on 16 November 2014 in a UEFA Euro 2016 qualifier against Andorra.

5. Pieros Sotiriou

Pieros Sotiriou is a Cypriot professional footballer who plays as a striker for the Sanfecce football club in Japan. He is one of the most famous Cypriot football players and was awarded the “Young player of the season” in 2013.

Sotiriou is a product of Olympiakos Nicosia academies and made his senior debut for the club in the 2009鈥�10 seasons. He later played for Apoel and Copenhagen before joining Ludogorets in 2020.

In his professional career, Sotiriou has made a total of 359 appearances and has scored 124 career goals. He has also earned 44 caps for his national team, scoring 10 goals in the process.

6. Constantinos Charalambidis

Constantinos Charalambidis is a Cypriot retired footballer who was the captain of Apoel Nicosia and the Cyprus National Team.

He began his career at APOEL where he remained from 1997-2004 before moving to Greece for Panathinaikos from 2004鈥�2007. He also played in Germany for Carl Zeiss Jena before returning home to APOEL in 2008.

In his second spell with APOEL, he won a total of 18 titles, and 6 appearances in European competition group stages. He was also part of APOEL’s run to the quarter-finals of the 2012 UEFA Champions League.

Charalambides is a Legend and an important player for the Cypriot national team, making 93 appearances and scoring 12 goals.

7. Constantinos Makrides

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Currently the captain of the Cyprus National team, Constantinos Makrides is one of the best players Cyprus has ever produced. He has been an influential figure in the Cypriot league for almost 20 years now.

Makrides started playing football at Apollon Academies, before making his break for the first team in 2002. He later moved to Apoel Nicosia where he won two consecutive league titles. 

As the most experienced midfielder, he is also a regular player for the Cyprus national football team and the current captain of the team.

8. Demetris Christofi

Named as one of the most promising players in Cyprus in the late 2000s, Demetris Christofi is a Cypriot professional footballer who plays as a winger or as a center forward.

Christofi was born on 28 September 1988 and is currently a player for Cypriot club Anorthosis Famagusta.  He is highly valued and his transfer from Enosis Neon Paralimni was the most expensive in the history of Cypriot football, reaching a reported cost of 鈧�1 million.

Throughout his career, Christofi has played for four different clubs making 384 appearances and scoring 60 career goals in the process.

9. Georgios Efrem 

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Georgios Efrem is a professional Cypriot footballer who plays as a winger for Cypriot First Division club APOEL and the Cyprus national team. He received the best player of the  Award from Cyprus Football Association in 2016.

Efrem was born in Limassol and began his career as a 15-year-old with Arsenal in 2004; before he moved to Rangers in May 2007. He later joined Omonia where he stayed for five years, making 134 appearances and scoring 25 goals.

He currently plays for Apoel and has made 151 appearances and has scored 33 goals since he joined the club in 2014. Efrem has also earned 48 caps and scored 5 goals for his national team.

10. Efstathios Aloneftis

Known for his speed and unique playing technique, Efstathios  Aloneftis is a Cypriot international footballer. He plays as a left-wing back and he currently plays for Apoel.

Born in Nicosia, Cyprus, Aloneftis began his professional career playing for Omonia, making his first appearance for the senior squad during the 2000鈥�01 season.  he has gone on to play for four other European clubs, making 355 appearances and scoring 68 goals in his professional career.

At the international level, he made his national team debut on 30 March 2005, and he has appeared  60 times and scored 10 goals for his country.