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Last player of first Omonia FC team dies aged 91

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The funeral took place on Tuesday of Robert Costanian, the last surviving member of Omonia Nicosia football club’s first starting eleven in 1948.

Tributes poured in for the Cypriot Armenian footballer who died aged 91. The service took place at the Sourp Asdvadzadzin Armenian church in Nicosia.

An announcement on the club’s official Facebook page said that Costanian’s passing “closed the historical cycle for Omonia”.

It said he played with the No.10 shirt in the first-ever match against Limassol side AMOL on October 31, 1948, soon after the Nicosia club was established.

Omonia played in the Cyprus Amateur Football Federation and went on to win the league’s first title the same year, later to evolve into one of the most successful clubs in Cyprus football.

Costanian joined Omonia with a few other players from the group of “Friends of Armenia”.

He starred in midfield and played with the ‘Tryfilli’ (cloverleaf) side until 1953, remaining an ardent supporter of the illustrious Cypriot club throughout his life.