Apollon Limassol appoint Andone as coach

Apollon Limassol FC have named Ioan Andone as their coach following the dismissal of Christos Christoforou last week.

Andone is scheduled to arrive in Cyprus on Sunday but will first travel to Germany to watch VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach – Apollon's opponents in UEFA Europa League Group A next Thursday − in Bundesliga action against Hannover 96.

The post will be the former Romania defender's second on the Mediterranean island, the well-travelled 54-year-old having coached AC Omonia between 2005 and 2007. "The large and proud family of Apollon welcomes Mr Andone to our team and wishes him every success," read a club statement.

Apollon will be Andone's 15th club in a nomadic coaching career that dates back to 1993. Capped 55 times by his country, Andone has worked in Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as well as in his homeland, where he has led, among others, CFR 1907 Cluj, FC Dinamo Bucureşti and FC Rapid Bucureşti.

His predecessor, Christoforou, took charge of Apollon in March 2013 and succeeded in not only turning around the team's fortunes but also guiding them to a Cypriot Cup triumph later that year and two consecutive appearances in the UEFA Europa League group stage.

In spite of some notable victories this season, including wins against FC Lokomotiv Moskva (4-1), FC Zürich (3-2) and arch-rivals AEL Limassol FC (2-1), he was relieved of his duties after back-to-back 4-0 defeats by Villarreal CF and Nea Salamis Famagusta FC.

Apollon are second in the Cypriot First Division, four points behind APOEL FC, after six games.