If you were told that a club founded in 2014 from Cyprus would currently be in the top 24 of the Champions League group stage, there would be a large selection of football fans who wouldn’t believe you.
However, after drawing 2-2 with Ligue 1 side AS Monaco, Pafos FC sit 24th while other fixtures are being played for Wednesday Night’s games.
‘The Light Brigade’ are first in the Cypriot first division, aiming to defend their league title triumph from last season.
After five games in the biggest European competition, Juan Carlos Cacedo’s team are on six points with one win, three draws and one loss.
The Cyprus side succeeded in their qualification after defeating Maccabi Tel Aviv, Dynamo Kyiv and Crvena zvezda.
In their first Champions League game, Pafos secured a 0-0 draw away to OLympiacos and survived with 10 men through most of the game after Bruno Felipe was sent off in the 26th minute.
They were then unable to pull off a shocking upset in their next match, losing 5-1 to Bayern Munich, although Mislav Orsic had the pleasure of becoming the first Pafos player to score in the UCL stage.
In their third game, Cacedo’s squad had to fight for a point away to Kairat after Joao Correira was red carded after 4 minutes. Luckily, the match finished 0-0.
Then the biggest win of the club’s career occurred when Pafos faced in-form La Liga side, Villareal, winning 1-0 thanks Derrick Luckassen’s early second half strike.
A home draw against Monaco has been seen as a sublime achievement, especially after they equalised late through an own goal from Mohammed Salisu.
Not to forget that former Arsenal, Chelsea and PSG defender David Luiz had scored the first leveller in the game to make it 1-1.
The Light Brigade’s last three matches in the Champions League stage are all against tough opponents as they play Juventus in December, before competing against Chelsea and Slavia Praha in January.
If Pafos can somehow keep themselves in the top 24 of the group stage and make the play-off round for the last 16, it could just be the most monumental moment in the club’s history.
The Sports Buff ⚽️ ⚾️ 🏈 
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