Real’s new Greek star
James Evmorfidis, the third of Pavlos and Miriam Evmorfidis’s four children, is a 9-year-old who likes riding his bicycle, skiing, snowboarding and swimming, board games, movies and cartoons. But James is no ordinary boy; he has overcome cancer and has worn the colors of two famous soccer teams – Ajax and Real. James’s family has been living in Madrid since September, following his transfer from Ajax, and is helping him achieve his goal of becoming a professional footballer. The house they were assigned in Madrid is next door to the Beckhams, but James isn’t impressed. He has never put up posters of famous players in his room; what interests him are the moves, the technique. «I want my team to win. I don’t wait for the ball, I go after it,» he said. His father has always been his greatest fan and the family has given up a great deal to see James realize his dream. «Since the day he was born, we have moved house eight times and James has switched teams six times,» said Pavlos Evmorfidis, who has written a book about his life, to be published within the next few months. «I want people to realize that a person is weak only when he doesn’t take risks and that one sets one’s own limits,» he explained. James was born at a time when his parents were struggling hard to set up their firm, the mattress manufacturer Coco-Mat. He started kicking a ball around at the age of 18 months, with his left foot, and by the age of 4 he was already scoring goals. In 2001, when the family was on a summer holiday in the Netherlands, Miriam’s birthplace, James sustained what was thought to be a minor leg injury while playing ball. A short while after the family returned to Greece, James collapsed in pain. At the hospital, they were told that the child had a cancerous growth on his leg. Months of surgery and recovery followed before James’s parents succumbed to his pleading to be allowed back to training. James’s big break came when Stelios Manolas, a former champion with AEK, saw him training with Olympiakos Kapandriti and recommended him to Militos Karatzas, who used to coach Apollon. «Talents like his don’t appear every day. We have to help him,» was Karatzas’s comment. But James was not yet 7 and no Greek team would take him on. The idea of approaching Ajax was put forward a few months later, and his name went on a list of over 1,000 other applicants for Ajax’s annual Talent Day. He was one of the 13 eventually selected. After a year with Ajax, his fame reached the ears of Spanish talent scouts, and the Evmorfidis family moved house once more. James has acclimatized to his new home, goes to Spanish school and has made new friends. He trains with the son of Zinedine Zidane, but says his favorite player is still Demis Nikolaidis. This article appeared in the April 2 edition of K, Kathimerini’s color supplement. Photographs by Michalis Sourlis.
