Spurned by AEK, Dellas off to Cyprus

Greece central defender joins Anorthosis Famagusta, hoping to play in the Champions League

Traianos Dellas, seen here winning the ball from France striker Thierry Henry, was a member of the national team that won the European Championship in Portugal four years ago.

Cypriot champion Anorthosis Famagusta acquired Greece defender Traianos Dellas yesterday, just one day after he was dumped by AEK Athens.

The player, whom Greece coach Otto Rehhagel has nicknamed “the Colossus,” signed a two-year contract with the club that has just won a place in the second qualifying round of the Champions League.

The 32-year-old said upon arrival in Cyprus that the lure of the Champions League and the fact that his former colleague at AEK, Temuri Ketsbaia, manages Anorthosis were the reasons for his decision. “This is a new page in my career. I have left a big team and gone to another big team,” said Dellas. “I do not consider Cyprus as ‘abroad,’ as this is Greece, too. I and all the other players will try to help the team win titles and do well in Europe.”

On Wednesday, Dellas had a stormy meeting with AEK President Demis Nikoliadis, who told to him he was no longer at the club he had served for five years over two spells. Ketsbaia revealed yesterday that he has also agreed to terms with former Newcastle and West Ham player Nolberto Solano. The Peruvian will go to Cyprus on Monday to negotiate his move to Anorthosis.

On Wednesday, Anorthosis beat Pyunik Yerevan 2-0 in Armenia and qualified with a 3-0 aggregate score to the second qualifying round of the Champions League. Greek striker Nikos Froussos scored Anorthosis’s second goal.

In the next round, the Famagusta club, temporarily based in Larnaca, will face Austrian champions Rapid Vienna.