By Martyn Herman
LONDON (Reuters) – Greece’s two-goal hero Vangelis Pavlidis paid an emotional tribute to George Baldock after his side’s 2-1 Nations League victory over England at Wembley on Thursday.
British-born Greek international Baldock, who joined Panathinaikos from Sheffield United in May, died this week aged 31 after being found in a swimming pool at his Glyfada home.
The Wembley crowd observed a minute of silence before kickoff and Greece’s players looked flat at the final whistle despite sealing their first-ever win against England.
During their celebrations they lifted a shirt bearing the name of Baldock.
“It was a very special day and match for us. Our thoughts are with George,” Pavlidis said.
“We are professionals and had to play the match. We gave our soul for him tonight. Today is not a day to talk about football. He was part of our team. We will miss him very much.
“Also to wish strength to his family and not talk about football. The whole day was numb. We won tonight and don’t want to celebrate. There are just no words.”
Baldock, who was of Greek ancestry, was capped 12 times for the country, his last appearance coming in March.
Greece manager Ivan Jovanovic praised his team’s spirit, saying they had been inspired to play in Baldock’s memory.
“At such moments football comes second,” he said. “The time he was with the team he made his mark and that was visible in the way the players played today.”
(Reporting by Martyn Herman, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
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