Former Bochum player Vangelis Pavlidis is once again making a name for himself. This time with the Greeks, who are putting England in its place in the Nations League.

Vangelis Pavlidis is still known to many in the Ruhr area. He rarely made headlines at VfL Bochum, but in the recent past he has repeatedly done so abroad. Now he has delivered again in the national team.

The Greek has played a major role in his nation’s imminent victory in the Nations League Group 2 in League B. Greece laid the foundation for this last Thursday, when Pavlidis’ team were guests of the favored English.

The former Bochum player put his Greeks in the lead after 49 minutes and still had an answer to Jude Bellingham’s equalizer in the 87th minute. In the fourth minute of stoppage time, Pavlidis actually scored to give Greece a 2-1 win.

On Sunday, the Greeks then followed up with a 2-0 home win over Ireland, this time without Pavlidis scoring. This puts them three points ahead of England. With two games to go, it’s a strong position to be in – thanks in part to Vangelis Pavlidis.

However, Pavlidis was unable to establish himself with the professionals at the then second division VfL Bochum. “Perhaps he was not technically advanced enough to immediately gain a foothold in professional football,” his former coach Jan Siewert once told 90Plus.

Pavlidis only made four appearances for the VfL professionals, and did not score a goal. Due to a lack of prospects, Bochum loaned him out to Borussia Dortmund’s U23 team and then to Willem II in the Netherlands, where the striker got off to a flying start. Siewert: “In terms of applying his technique under pressure, remaining calm and precise in front of goal, and making runs that led to goals, he took a further step in Holland.”

Pavlidis scored 85 goals in 165 appearances in the Eredivisie. Since this summer, he has been playing for Benfica Lisbon in Portugal, where he has scored two goals and provided two assists in nine competitive games.