This year in Thessaloniki there are many children counting the stars. Bright children and the same. Children dreaming of a magical football future. Konstantinas, Coulierakis, Kutsias and finally Tzimas…

The 17-year-old striker, who on Sunday night felt the intensity, pulse and apotheosis of Tumba, and on Monday morning he shouldered a bag of books and ran to catch the school bell.

On a day when the stands of all Greek stadiums were hung with sad banners full of messages about the tragedy of Tempe, his innocent smile when he scored a goal was a glimmer of hope and hope for the future. Not only his sport, but also the youth he represents and strives for something better in this country.

77-year-old Giorgos Kudas did not hide this. He jumped off the couch with joy and pride. “I, 17 years and 4 months old, scored my first goal after 4 months of starting. This player broke Koda’s record, and shouldn’t I be proud of that?” said “Alexander the Great” of Greek football.

At 17 years and two months, Stefanos became PAOK’s youngest goalscorer and if anyone sees it from a different perspective, it might be too late. You see, he was only seven years old when his father Dimitris took him from Alexander the Great of Kalamaria and dressed him in the black and white dress of the “Two-Headed One”.

A little boy entered the academy and in these clothes he slept and woke up. Not only to feel more and more one with the team, but also to compete with his two-year older brother Panagiotis, who studied at Ari’s academy. A family divided between two “enemies” but who taught their children from a very early age how to be united and that sport is a competition, not a war.

Year after year, Stefanos was promoted to smaller PAOK teams. It wasn’t just his contact with the networks. These were the elements he got in his game, the elements that hinted at a full-fledged striker. His physical qualities, his strength, his technique developed day by day. Results; In last year’s U-17 championship he scored 16 goals in 17 matches! This season he has scored four goals for the U-19s, four goals for PAOK B in the tough Super League 2 and against Ionikos within minutes of kick-off. He also scored for the first team.

Stefanos, a 2nd high school student at Aristotle College, combines reading and training in a championship setting. He is looking for the perfect school to study as he wants to combine studies and football. He hasn’t decided yet, as the fact that he’s an 18-year-old student gives him a lot of options.

He is another PAOK child who wants to combine knowledge and sport, because not a few, not many, the 11th team of football players from the B team who came from the Dikefalos Academy graduated from the university!

Will he catch up? Scouts representing major European clubs have already “traveled” him and are constantly watching him.

Whatever happens, whatever the player, his family and PAOK decide on his future, his historical purpose will be symbolic in this gray environment that has engulfed the souls of all of us. His childish, clumsy yet slightly mischievous smile will remind us that optimism can blossom through sadness. His celebration, justification of efforts. His struggle, the will of our youth for a better country. Stefanos is the kid that every parent and every coach would love to have. He is the child who shows the way to the country we all want.