Anorthosis Ammochostos’ manager Ronny Levy desires success given that he is determined to build a team capable of challenging AEL, APOEL and Omonia in the championship title race, as the Cypriot football off-season transfer market starts to heat up.
After signing the influential defender Paulo Jorge ( in photo above with yellow shirt) from APOEL, Levy brought back a familiar face to Antonis Papadopoulos Stadium in the person of experienced defender William Boaventura who has been already two seasons with the club under Temuri Ketsbaia, winning the national cup in 2006-2007 and the championship title a year later. The Brazilian left back signed a season-long deal with the Ammochostos side and he is expected to feature regularly alongside Jorge in Anorthosis’ defence as a very important addition to their squad.
The Israeli manager also inked the Cypriot midfielder Giorgos Sielis, whose younger brother Valentinos is a Cyprus international and already plays for the club as a defender. Sielis spent the last three seasons with AEP Paphos where he scored three goals in 54 appearances.
There are also indications Levy is looking to sign 31-year-old Colombian defensive midfielder Jhon Jairo Culma, currently playing for the French side Stade Brestois. Levy is familiar with Culma’s capabilities from the Israeli championship, as the Colombian spent four seasons in the Israeli top-level competition.
Meanwhile, Ivan Jovanovic’s APOEL have brought in Francisco Zuela from Greek side Atromitos FC. The towering centre back from Angola is his national team’s captain, having represented his country 16 times since 2006. Jovanovic’s first signing was Portuguese right back Mario Sergio who played the last four years for the Ukrainian team Metalurh Donetsk.
The 30-year-old midfielder Christos Theophilou moved from Apollon to ruling champions AEL, which could cause controversy between the city rivals, while Charalambos Christodoulou is already strengthening his team for the early stages of the UEFA Champions League with Portuguese midfielder Paulo Sergio and Brazilian defender Maykon, who both moved to Cyprus from the Portuguese championship.
Enosis Neon Paralimni have added versatile Hungarian winger Boldizsar Bodor to their squad. Bodor played for the Dutch Eredivisie side Roda JC for the last seven seasons and he is renowned for being a free kick specialist.
Cyprus Mail