Ends Of Some Eras | This Is Mappa | Cyprus Football

The season may be over, but Cypriot football clearly didn’t get the memo.

This week on This Is Mappa, we work our way through the clubs with the best defensive records from the 2025/26 season and discover that whilst some teams were busy keeping clean sheets, others were busy clearing desks.

AEL begin their latest chapter with the arrivals of Giorgos Papageorgiou and former Greece international Stefanos Kapino. On paper, Kapino looks like a brilliant signing. Then you notice he conceded 97 goals last season and hasn’t kept a clean sheet since May 2025. Small detail.

At APOEL, Pablo Garcia’s reign comes to an end, Zisis Vryzas arrives as Sporting Director and the club finally appears to be clearing some of the legal and financial baggage left lying around. We discuss whether Vryzas is the right man for the job, why Garcia perhaps deserves more sympathy than he received, and why starting games with half a youth team and one available goalkeeper isn’t exactly ideal preparation.

Aris say goodbye to Jaden Montnor after three memorable years, while continuing their youth-focused rebuild with the arrivals of Gustavo Paje and Aleksandr Martynov. We also revisit Martynov’s previous encounter with Aris when BATE Borisov somehow managed to lose 5-3 despite scoring three goals.

Over at AEK, club legend Pere Pons departs and Tunisian international Amor Layouni arrives with a CV longer than some clubs’ honours lists. We ask whether AEK have once again quietly put together one of the smartest transfer windows in Cyprus.

Karmiotissa continue to be Karmiotissa. Panagiotis Tachtsidis arrives after a career that includes Roma, Olympiakos, Nottingham Forest, Saudi Arabia, Romania, Brazil and seemingly every airport lounge in Europe. We place our bets on whether he’ll still be there by January.

At Omonia, Willie Semedo departs after helping deliver a league title, while the Andronikos Kakoullis transfer situation becomes increasingly confusing. AIK say one thing, Aris say another, Omonoia announce an agreement and everyone else is left trying to work out who actually owns the player.

Transfers, confusion, boardroom drama, international football and at least three stories that raise more questions than answers.

Just another week in Cyprus football.