Elias Charalambous

Ilias Charalambous is a football coach with major successes in recent years. As a football player, he made 69 appearances with the Cyprus national team and played for top clubs in Cyprus, abroad, and in Greece — notably with PAOK from 2005 to 2008.
He began his coaching career as an assistant Coach with AEK Larnaca during the 2017–2019 seasons, and in the 2019–2020 season, he took over as head coach. In the 2020–2021 season, he started as an assistant coach at Hatta FC and finished the season as a Head Coach at Ethnikos Achnas.
Next season worked in Doxa Katokopias before taking a big step forward by joining Steaua Bucharest FCSB, where he has been for the past two years.

During these two seasons, he has made a significant impact on the team, winning the Roumanian league title for the 2023–2024 season, the Romanian Super Cup for 2025–2026, and leading his team to the Round of 16 in the UEFA Europa League this current season.

On a personal level, he was voted Best Coach in the Romanian league last season and Best Coach of the regular season this year.

TOPIC: Interview: How to succeed abroad, difficulties/opportunities