Van der Vaart admits he once snubbed Pavlidis: The blind spot of Dutch football

Rafael van der Vaart is not afraid to face his own mistakes. Before Greece and the Netherlands meet in the UEFA Nations League, the Dutch legend spoke on NOS and admitted he once underestimated Vangelis Pavlidis. “At first I did not rate him at all. But every time I watched him again, he took another step forward,” Van der Vaart said. That admission is not just pre-match chatter. It opens a bigger question: why has Dutch football overlooked a striker with 74 goals in 123 matches for Benfica for so long? Pavlidis, born in 2026, is 27 and at the peak of his value. His career path has been deliberate: Willem II, AZ Alkmaar, then Benfica. In 2026, AZ sold him to Portugal for €18 million. Since then, according to Goal.com, he has scored 74 goals and made 22 assists in 123 appearances. Those numbers need independent verification, but if correct, they make him one of the most effective strikers to move from the Eredivisie to Portugal in the past decade. What makes this story compelling is not simply that Pavlidis has excelled. Everyone can see the stats. The real issue is how Dutch pundits have handled that success. Wim Kieft claims he always rated Pavlidis highly. Van der Vaart, however, is more honest when he says he was wrong. That honesty carries far more weight than a retrospective “I knew it all along” statement. Pierre van Hooijdonk also praised the Greek striker, recalling that even in his early days in the Netherlands, Pavlidis already showed the qualities of a modern centre-forward. Van Hooijdonk’s evaluation matters because it was made before Pavlidis went on a scoring spree in Lisbon. That is a forward-looking judgment, not one distorted by hindsight. Tactically, Kieft’s description of Pavlidis is crucial. He talks about his ability to hold the ball, turn quickly in small spaces, and act as a target man for his teammates. This is not a sprinter who runs in behind defences. This is a link-up number nine – someone who receives the ball with his back to goal, absorbs contact, keeps the rhythm and brings wingers or attacking midfielders into play. Against the Netherlands, if Greece drop deep and defend in a low block, Pavlidis will be their first outlet under pressure. The Netherlands will probably dominate possession. But possession has never decided matches. When a weaker team sits deep, they need a striker who can win a long ball, stop the opposition defence from attacking too high, and create space for his teammates. Pavlidis does not produce viral dribbling highlights. He is valued through goals, precise touches, and correct movements in the penalty area. That is what he has been doing for Benfica for two seasons. Van der Vaart and many Dutch experts are trapped in an old template: they only trust strikers with beautiful images, speed, or outstanding individual skill. Pavlidis is not that type. He is a classic centre-forward in the sense of intelligence, positioning, and efficiency. His value is not in the eye of the spectator, but in the numbers. The Pavlidis story teaches a lesson about the transfer market. Benfica paid €18 million – not a huge sum for a striker. If the numbers are accurate, this is one of Benfica’s best pieces of business in recent years. But before that, few people in the Netherlands valued him correctly. Clubs like Benfica exploit the gap between real ability and Dutch bias, buying low and cashing in later. There is a paradox here. The same player, with the same talent, suddenly becomes more valuable when he joins a bigger club. Dutch football still produces good strikers, but its internal evaluation system misses them. Without external validation from abroad, these biases will continue. Even Van der Vaart, when he admits he was wrong, proves that the system itself is flawed. Greece against the Netherlands is therefore not just a Nations League match