During upheaval, soccer was his constant

By Justin A. Rice Globe Correspondent / October 5, 2008

After being separated from his younger brothers for eight years, Vladimir Greenfield knew only enough English to say, "Hi, how are you" when they were reunited two years ago.

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"I didn't say anything," 18-year-old Vladimir said recently. "I hugged them."

The three boys from Russia have been adopted by David and Nancy Greenfield of Pembroke. Their home on Silver Lake - with six rocking chairs on the porch and two minivans and an adjustable basketball hoop in the drive - is a far cry from the flat in the city of Kransnodar that Vladimir had been sharing with three other boys.

Socialized by soccer, the senior forward at Pembroke High School today blends in with his teammates, and not just because they're sporting mo hawks this season. But the Russian youth separates himself from others with finesse, speed, endurance, and goals.

Through eight games, Vladimir led the team with seven goals, even though his father says he plays "European, pass-the-ball-first soccer, not American, look-at-me soccer." He scored seven goals his first season as a sophomore and eight the following season before the team lost in the South Sectional finals to East Bridgewater.

"You don't have to talk to the kids to play the game," said Vladimir, who hopes to play Division 2 soccer while studying international business in college. "I knew some words: forward, soccer, the positions. I knew numbers. Formations, like 4-4-2."

He could handle numbers off the field, too. Except for geometry, in which he got an A, Vladimir took all his classes pass/fail two years ago. He slowly grasped English with the help of teammates and now carries a 2.8 GPA.

"It made what could've been a horrible arrival and transition easy," Nancy Greenfield said of soccer.

Pembroke coach George Stagno is amazed the teen doesn't act out. Stagno, who spent 28 years as an Air Force intelligence officer during the Cold War, knows just how rough a region Vlad comes from.

"The soccer field is where he expresses himself," Stagno said. "He's always positive and all that pent-up stuff is why he shines. . . . I don't think he has much of an outlet. There's a language barrier, number one, and he only has a couple friends."

"He could be more physical, more unsportsmanlike to get stuff out of his system. He's not. He puts it in the back of the net and that's his way of doing it."

One of nine children, Vladimir and his siblings were abandoned by their parents when the Russian economy collapsed in the late 1990s and they were dispersed among several orphanages.

Meanwhile, Nancy and David Greenfield married in 1995 and lived in Portland, Maine, before moving to Pembroke in 2001. Nancy wanted to adopt internationally, and David, whose great-grandfather was born in southern Russia, wanted to bring his family's lineage full circle. In 1998, the couple adopted Andrei and Ivan, now 13 and 14.

But they didn't learn of the other siblings until they had gained custody of the boys. "It was awful. The thought that there were other kids never crossed my mind," Nancy said.

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Over the next seven years, the Greenfields batted around the idea of looking for the brothers and sisters. "At some point, Andrei did say, 'I fear that one day I'm gonna ask why didn't they try to get my brothers and sisters' when we could," David said.

During that span, the boys' oldest brother, Pasha, stayed with the Greenfields for a summer while chaperoning a youth trip in 2000.

"We didn't want to send him back," Nancy said. "We asked if he wanted to come live here, and he said 'Yes, but not until my brother and sisters are OK.' "

By the time the Greenfields were able to make arrangements six years later, Pasha was too old to adopt and one sister was married. Vladimir had been enrolled in school to become a physical education teacher, but the decision to move to America was his to make alone.

Deliberating for a month, Vladimir decided that the freedoms and friendships he enjoyed while living on his own in Russia paled compared to the Greenfields' offer.

"I couldn't see myself being a gym teacher for my life," Vladimir said. "I thought 'What can I lose?' I wouldn't make it in Russia."

That he would be joining his younger brothers didn't make leaving Pasha any easier.

"I didn't really know them," Vladimir said. "But I knew Pasha well, so it was harder."

The adoption process required the Greenfields to make two trips to visit Vladimir, six weeks apart, before they could bring him home. During the second trip, their 28-day visas nearly expired while they waited for the adoption papers to be processed, but it gave the family a chance to bond and Andrei and Ivan a chance to see what their lives would have been like if they had stayed. The image of two teenagers playing pool and smoking cigarettes in the orphanage was branded into Andrei's mind.

"I wondered if I grew up there, if I'd be like that," the 13-year-old said. "I like to think of myself as Russian. I don't think we would have any connection if Vlad didn't come."

Vladimir spent his first month in the United States watching World Cup soccer while his new family clung to their Russian dictionaries. David subscribed to the Fox Soccer Channel and signed Vladimir up with a club team.

While nobody on the Pembroke team matches his passion for the sport, Vladimir said playing for the school has improved his game. The team plays every day, compared with two training sessions per week with his Russian team.

Away from the field, the transplanted teenager continues the process of assimilation.

He has decorated his bedroom with posters of soccer stars such as David Beckham, Ronaldinho, and Zeidan, along with his own awards, team photos, and a Russian flag over his bed.

He worked at Stop & Shop, once spent half his monthly allowance ($100) on samurai swords purchased on eBay, and says mowing the lawn is his least favorite chore.

"That's a big lawn," he said.

Taking stock of his life while relaxing in front of the TV or surfing the Web, Vladimir realizes life would be much different without soccer.

"Oh, my god," he says, displaying a mastery of the teen lexicon. "I don't know what I would do; I don't see myself without soccer. Everything would be harder."

© Copyright 2008 Globe Newspaper Company.