KLN Chairman Stavros Michalakis with new KLN manager Michael Sifonios
Michael Sifonios started playing in the KOPA league in 1987, back when there was an under 18’s KOPA Youth League. He began his community football career at the tender age of 14, playing for Komi Kebir/PAOK F.C under Savva Toumazis, a man who had a great footballing mind and was a great ambassador for the KOPA Youth League. He encouraged all the youngsters to enjoy playing and loved the game; his famous quote was “Keep Playing.”
In 1989, Michael, then just 15, moved onto Omonia F,C where he developed his prowess as a young footballer. That season they won the Youth Division Cup, and by the age of 17, Michael began to play in the adult league. Under the guidance of manager, Jimmy Cattle, who was a great motivator and in Michael’s words “brought out the best in us as a team.” Cattle was known for nurturing young talented players and introduced Michael to adult football. This formula winning formula together with Marcel’s leadership led them to winning the Division Cup in1991/92 season.
After playing for Omonia F.C, Michael, young and eager to make an impression, transferred to Pezoporikos F.C, and after a season there, returned to Omonia F.C where they won the Challenge Cup and the following season were Division 1 Champions. With a season at APOEL and Maronites F.C, he then moved to K.L.N and played from the 1997/8 until 2004/5 season; K.L.N. were the 1998/99 first Division Cup Runners Up and in 2001, won the Challenge Cup. In 2004/5 season, they came close to doing the double, Runners Up for the league and the Challenge Cup. During this period, Michael also played for Haringey Borough and Waltham Abbey. Michael described this point in his life as “a peak time for me, inspired by the likes of Tom Loizou (Haringey Borough) who also coached me at K.L.N for a period.”
After this spell of playing continuous football, Michael managed to squeeze another season in with Aris F.C under Steve Sinotti where he also got his hands on silverware, wining the 1st Division KOPA League and the London Sunday Challenge Cup and continued the following season to win the league. With countless trophies under his belt, Michael decided to call it a day due to work commitments and to spend more quality time with his family.
Fighting with the urge to return to playing competitive football once again, it wasn’t long before Michael decided to play another season with his brother George, who was at APOEL F.C. It was a victorious season for the Sifonios siblings, doing the double, winning the 2nd Division and Divisional 2 Cup together in 2008/09. That particular season is embedded in Michael’s mind, being part of a team with his younger sibling of 11 years was a great way to end his competitive football career.
Once again, Michael’s retirement was short lived; known throughout the league for his vast experience, vision and ability to read the game, he was approached by the Omonia F.C committee and became a player at the age of 36, being part of the team that went on to win the 2nd Division.
Aware his sons where growing up and developing a real talent for the game, and as football was in his DNA, Michael decided to obtain his level 1 coaching badge where he managed the Whetstone Wanderers Tigers team from under 7s until under 15s. It was an exciting time for Michael, both fun and stressful but most of all, it was memorable. Having to cope with winning and losing, without being able to directly influence the game was a difficult experience for him to say the least, especially having to manage children and their parent’s expectations.
After his time at Whetstone Wanderers Tigers, he took a couple of years out of the game and as history repeats itself, Michael felt that something was missing, that he was depriving that footballer inside of him. So, when a K.L.N committee member approached Michael with the opportunity to manage the team, a meeting was set up with Chairman Stavros Michalakis. It was the perfect opportunity to get back involved in a club that he was very fond of, spending some of the best moments of his youth and is hopeful that his sons, who are now young adults, will have the same opportunity to create those memorable moments just as he once did with K.L.N.
Michael’s affinity with the club is far deep rooted. His fondest memories are as a young player, having been at the club through the majority of his 20s. To now be appointed manager of K.L.N, is a proud moment for him as his uncle, the late Dimitris Kyriacou, known to most as Daskalos, was one of the founding members who helped to create the team back in the 1950’s. Daskalos sadly passed away a couple of months ago leaving an unprecedented legacy in the hearts and minds of the community and to all those whom he met. Michael remembers the first book his uncle gave him, but it wasn’t until his late 20s that he decided to read one of his books and now “I cannot put his books down,” he said. He taught without pressure, and in Michael’s eyes, this is the best way to teach. Daskalos was aware of how important it was to building foundations to help the Cypriot community establish itself here in the UK and K.L.N was one of his many feats!
K.L.N is an organisation close to Michael’s heart and in his own words is “…looking forward to establishing (his) my ideas of how the game should be played and achieving great memories for the great committee and players involved.”
