Tottenham In Cyprus: They’ve Met AEL Limassol Before

Are Tottenham in Cyprus for the first time? No, the Spurs match against AE Limassol will be their third visit to Cyprus but the second for a competitive game. They previously toured Cyprus in 1968 and played a UEFA Cup game in 2007.

Tottenham In Cyprus

1968 Tour

In the summer of 1968 Tottenham went on a 5-game tour of Greece and Cyprus. The tour started with a match in Greece against Panathinakos followed by four games in Cyprus including one against their Europa League opponents, AE Limassol.

19th May:

v Anorthosis Famagusta Won 5 – 0  Scorers: Robertson (3), Greaves (2)

As with all of the tour games in Cyprus, Tottenham enjoyed a very comfortable win against Limassol. Football on the Mediterranean island has moved on considerably since the 1960s and 70s so Spurs can expect a much sterner test in this evening’s Europa League match.

22nd May:

v AEL Limassol Won 7 – 1  Scorers: Jones (2), Bond, Robertson, Gilzean (3)

25th May:

v Cyprus International XI Won 3 – 0  Scorers: Robertson (2), Gilzean

29th May:

v Apoel Won 3 – 0  Scorers: Robertson, Pearce, Bond

The 18-man tour party was:

Pat Jennings, Joe Kinnear, Tony Want, Peter Collins, Mike England, Phil Beal, Alan Mullery, Dennis Bond, Terry Venables, Dave Mackay, Jimmy Robertson, Jimmy Pearce, Alan Gilzean, Cliff Jones, John Pratt, Neil Johnson, Martin Chivers, Jimmy Greaves

Tottenham in Cyprus for 2007-08 UEFA Cup

Tottenham’s first competitive match in Cyprus was in the 1st Round, 2nd leg UEFA Cup match against Anorthosis Famagusta. Spurs had won 6 – 1 in the 1st leg game at White Hart Lane and secured a 1 – 1 draw in Cyprus.

4th October, 2007

v Anorthosis Famagusta (a) Draw 1 – 1  Scorer: Keane

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With their passage to the Group stages secure after the first game which they won 6 – 1, there was little to play for as far as Spurs were concerned.

Tottenham created chances but failed to convert them and then in the second half found themselves a goal down. In the 54th minute Spurs found themselves looking at an embarrassing defeat when Nikolaos Frousos put the home side ahead.

In the 78th minute, substitute Robbie Keane saved Spurs’ blushes with the equaliser from a cross by Gareth Bale.

Manager Martin Jol was under pressure due to poor results and reports that Tottenham had been speaking to Juande Ramos. Goalkeeper Paul Robinson was also in the spotlight as he had made mistakes in Spurs 125th anniversary match against Aston Villa three days earlier. Those blunders had followed close on from his error for England in Croatia.

Team: Robinson; Lee (Keane), Dawson, Gardner, Stalteri; Malbranque, Zokora, Huddlestone, Boateng (Bale); Bent (Taarabt), Defoe

AEL Limassol are encouraged by their win over Zenit St. Petersburg and are looking to add the scalp of Tottenham Hotspur to their European record.