Spanish boss Miguel Angel Lotina has emerged as one of the contenders for the vacant coaching position at Omonia with the Cypriot title holders desperate to have slot filled before they take on Enosis Neon Paralimniou on January 5.
Lotina – who famously led Espanyol to victory in the 2006 Spanish Cup against fellow finalists Zaragoza – has been out of work since failing to save Villareal from relegation back in 2012.
Another famous feat for Lotina was when he took third division outfits Numancia to the quarterfinals of the 1996 Spanish Cup after they surprisingly eliminated top La Liga sides Sociedad, Santander and Sporting Gijon before eventually bowing at 5-3 on aggregate at the hands of Barcelona.
In 2002, he made history for Celta Vigo when he guided them to fourth place in La Liga and a first ever participating in the Champions League. But he was then sacked the following season after his side suffered relegation.
The 56-year-old is said to be a leading to contender to take over from Toni Savevski while media reports have also linked former AEK Larnaca coach Ran Ben Shimon to the job. Other candidates include Alejandro Caceres and Nenad Starovlah who have been acting as caretaker managers since the departure of Savevski earlier this month and who also orchestrated the 3-2 victory over title rivals Anorthosis Famagusta last weekend.
Omonia officials did meet with Israel national team boss Eli Guttman earlier this week but talks fell through over what they claim were his “high wage demands” leaving the door open for fellow Israeli Ben Shimon who is reportedly unhappy at his current club Hapoel Tel Aviv.
Omonia are currently over €10million in debt and have repeatedly called on the fans to help bail the club out of its financial difficulties. They are five points adrift of league leaders AEL heading in the second half of the normal season.
Omonia will be missing three key players heading into their trick away fixture against Enosis Neon Paralimniou on January 5 and the Nicosia’s club’s task has not been made easier by the improvement in form at the Paralimni club since the arrival of new coach Nicos Andronikou. Lukasz Gikiewicz, Anthony Scaramozzino and Joao Paulo will all be missing in action after they picked up bookings in their 3-2 win over Anorthosis on the weekend while George Efrem has yet to recover from his operation earlier this month. Enosis are pitted deep in the relegation zone but have been on a strong run of late – despite their 3-0 home reverse against APOEL last weekend – with a victory over Doxa Katokopia as well as draws against AEK Kouklion and Ethnikos Achnas.

Cyprus Weekly