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APOEL Nicosia have been besieged by fans desperate for tickets for Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final first leg at home to Real Madrid but even the club's most ardent supporters know this will be the toughest test yet in their fairytale season.
Record nine-times winners Real are big favourites to end APOEL's stunning run in becoming the first Cypriot side to reach the last eight of any European competition, not that the APOEL faithful care about the threat of defeat.
Chairman Phivos Erotocritou has apologised after thousands waited for tickets on Thursday but only a handful managed to get their hands on the prized asset.
"It is truly shameful what happened, with the hassle we imposed on so many thousands of people with a wrong decision we made," Erotocritou was quoted as saying by the Cyprus Mail.
"I won't try to justify the unjustifiable. We have responsibility, we did not handle this matter with the tickets the way we should have. I truly apologise and say sorry to everyone."
The scramble for tickets follows APOEL's strong showings in the 23,000-capacity GSP Stadium during the competition with a motley mix of journeymen from around the world really making Cyprus home.
However, a goalless draw against city rivals Omonia Nicosia on Friday suggested APOEL are not in the best of form.
Even though Omonia played the whole second half with 10 men, APOEL failed to create any good chances with their mind probably on Tuesday's game.
Coach Ivan Jovanovic will be without suspended Brazilian Gustavo Manduca, whose early goal was vital in the last-16 triumph against Lyon three weeks ago.
The Serbian will have the rest of the squad at his disposal.
DOGGED DEFENCE
APOEL fans are banking on Greek goalkeeper Dionisios Chiotis, whose heroics have been a crucial part of their dogged defence this term and who was in the AEK Athens team which drew twice against Real in 2002.
Real return to European competition after a poor run in La Liga when two straight draws slashed their lead over second-placed Barcelona to six points and coach Jose Mourinho was sent off in a bad-tempered 1-1 stalemate at Villarreal last week.
The controversial Portuguese, dismissed for criticising the referee, is due to speak to the media for the first time since then at Monday's news conference in Nicosia.
The last time he visited Cyprus, his then Inter Milan side drew 3-3 against Anorthosis Famagusta in the 2008 group stage, so he knows not to underestimate Cypriot football.
Mourinho was banned from the bench when Real crushed Real Sociedad 5-1 in La Liga on Saturday, Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema each scoring twice and Gonzalo Higuain also finding the net.
Real will be without influential midfielder Xabi Alonso on Tuesday after the Spain international picked up a yellow card in the round of 16 second-leg win against CSKA Moscow.
With Lassana Diarra injured, Esteban Granero is likely to slot in alongside Sami Khedira in the holding midfield role.
Probable teams:
APOEL: 22-Dionisios Chiotis; 7-Savvas Poursaitides, 3-Paulo Jorge, 6-Marcelo Oliveira, 98-William Boaventura; 10-Constantinos Charalambides, 23-Helio Pinto, 26-Nuno Morais, 81-Marcinho, 8-Ailton; 11-Ivan Trickovski
Real Madrid: 1-Iker Casillas; 17-Alvaro Arbeloa, 3-Pepe, 4-Sergio Ramos, 12-Marcelo; 6-Sami Khedira, 11-Esteban Granero; 10-Mesut Ozil, 8-Kaka, 7-Cristiano Ronaldo; 9-Karim Benzema
Referee: Felix Brych (Germany)
Cypriots were "as soft as bread" for Real in 1969
Former Cyprus international Lakis Avraamides played for Olympiakos Nicosia from 1962 to 1970 and faced Real Madrid in 1969. He now covers soccer for Reuters and will be present for Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final first leg between APOEL Nicosia and Real.
Coming out of the tunnel, I stood for what seemed like an eternity on the pitch at Real's huge Santiago Bernabeu stadium, listening to the chants of the fans. As a footballer from Cyprus, the biggest crowd I ever played in front of was 12,000.
But this was no local Cypriot fixture in what was then a soccer backwater. I had travelled to the famous stadium in September 1969 as part of the Olympiakos Nicosia squad which had been drawn against Real Madrid in the European Cup first round.
We lost the first leg 8-0 and were crushed 6-1 in the second with both games played in Madrid.
The tie was likely to be a footnote in history but a fixture 43 years later has proven how far Cypriot soccer has come from the days when grassless stony pitches made most European clubs shun the country.
On Tuesday, another Nicosia team, APOEL, host the Spanish giants in the Champions League quarter-final first leg. An army of 23,000 passionate fans will be roaring the home team on.
Unlike 1969, this will be no walk in the park for Real. With a dogged defence and a team of determined journeymen from around the world, APOEL have dumbfounded sceptics by becoming the first Cypriot team to reach the last eight of any European competition.
But back in 1969, we were under no illusions against Real, who at that point had won six of their nine European Cups.
Even though we were destroyed, just playing against a team of top players made us feel like we were flying, it was a very special experience.
My memories from 43 years ago are fuzzy, but as a midfielder, I think the second leg was one of my best performances. I was brought on as a substitute in the first leg, but for the second I played for the whole 90 minutes.
We tried to play as much as possible, but it was a game to enjoy and savour the experience. After all, we were eight behind at that point and had nothing to lose.
Newspapers gave me good reviews, giving myself and three others from Real top marks for our performance.
WATER TRUCK
All of their players were dangerous. I especially remember Amancio, who went on to manage Real 15 years later.
They put out their best team in the first leg on Sept. 24th. Mission accomplished, they used most of their reserves for the second leg a week later.
At least Georgos Kettenis scored a goal for us in the return and what a sweet goal it was, smashing the ball into the net under heavy rain. Even Spanish media did not believe it. One Spanish newspaper's report the next day said: "Olympiakos scored a goal in Madrid."
Compare the then 125,000-capacity Bernabeu with Cypriot stadiums. Hard ground, no turf, a maximum of 12,000 spectators and only goalposts and white lines suggesting it was a football pitch.
Let us not forget the water truck from the local council, which came to hose the stadium 30 minutes before kickoff to make the surface softer.
It was conditions such as that which made some teams avoid Cyprus on a club level. Expenses would be paid in full to play both matches away, rather than travel to a tiny country which some could barely find on the map of Europe.
Even recently, TV channel CNN showed the Italian island of Sicily instead of Cyprus on a graphic when doing a piece about APOEL's stunning season.
One image imprinted in my memory is that of Real fans holding up a long, soft loaf of bread during the second match in 1969. Their message was simple. We were very soft for them, like bread. How times have changed.
