Pavlidis From Bochum Fringe to Benfica Form Ahead of Greece-Germany

Vangelis Pavlidis, once unable to break through at VfL Bochum, heads into Greece's Sunday meeting with Germany as one of Europe's most productive scorers at Benfica.

Greece face Germany on Sunday, and Vangelis Pavlidis will be in the Greek squad after a start to the season that ranks among the best in Europe. The Benfica striker has ten goal contributions in seven matches, placing him near the top of the scoring charts in Europe's leading leagues, behind players such as Raphinha and Lamine Yamal. The original report also flags him as a name Jürgen Klopp's Germany setup should be tracking.

His path began in Germany, where he came through at VfL Bochum. Coach Gertjan Verbeek gave him his 2. Bundesliga debut in May 2016, aged 17, but only three further brief appearances followed. Bochum had no reserve team at the time, which left the young striker with almost no senior football.

A loan to Borussia Dortmund II failed to change his fortunes. "He wouldn't have made the leap in Bochum," Thomas Reis, his former Bochum U19 coach, later conceded, while also remembering a player who "was very ambitious and never gave up."

The Netherlands provided the way out. At Eredivisie club Willem II, even with Alexander Isak established up front, Pavlidis shifted to the wing, earned a regular spot and was signed permanently for 250,000 euros. His market value today sits above 20 million euros.

In Dutch football he refined his technique, his movement and his calmness when finishing. A solo goal in a Willem II shirt brought a nomination for the FIFA Puskás Award in 2021, although the prize went elsewhere.

Pavlidis traces his rise to work rate rather than natural gifts, saying he understood early that thousands of children chase the same dream. "Scoring goals is not something that comes naturally. Every extra session helps you become more precise," he said in an interview two years ago, adding that he knew he had "to be more hardworking than everyone else."

Greece have capped him 57 times. After his move to AZ Alkmaar, Louis van Gaal, then the Netherlands head coach, called him "a real Louis van Gaal striker" who can dribble, cross, control the ball and pass. "If you give him the ball, he scores," van Gaal said.

Benfica bought him in 2024. Last season he delivered 36 goal contributions in 53 matches across all competitions, including a goal and two assists in a 4-2 Champions League league-phase win over Real Madrid.

His career mirrors that of Deniz Undav, the Stuttgart forward who was also passed over by the German professional system before reaching international football by an unconventional route; Undav will watch Sunday's match on television. Whether Pavlidis starts against Germany or comes off the bench is uncertain given the competition for places in Greece's attack. Either way, the jump from Regionalliga West football to the Champions League stage with Benfica has taken him under six years.