‘I just started crying’ – Cofi Messi and Caernarfon’s emotional gesture to 20-year-old

Some football shirts carry a little more weight than others. At Caernarfon Town, the No.10 shirt is one of them.

For 15 years, it belonged to Darren Thomas, a player who became synonymous with the Cofi shirt, a club legend and, for one young Caernarfon footballer, an idol.

Now, following Thomas’ departure from The Oval this summer, the shirt has been passed on to Osian Evans. And the significance of that gesture has not been lost on the 20-year-old.

From Porthmadog to the Cymru Premier

Evans has signed a new contract with Caernarfon after making a remarkable leap into the Cymru Premier this season, having spent last campaign on loan with Porthmadog and helping them secure promotion to the Cymru North.

Rather than taking the conventional route through the second tier, Evans has gone straight into the first-team picture with the Cofis.

He has started all six of their Cymru Premier matches so far, scoring against Trefelin and The New Saints and providing an assist in the victory over Holywell Town.

He was also entrusted with a starting role in Caernarfon’s UEFA Conference League qualifying campaign – another sign of the faith being placed in a player who is rapidly becoming an integral part of the side.

But his new contract means something far greater to Evans than simply securing his immediate future.

It means carrying on at his hometown club.

And carrying the shirt of the man he grew up watching.

“It was an easy decision. One that I didn’t need to think twice about,” Evans said.

“Paul and Pat said the club wanted to give me a new contract. I didn’t need to think twice. It was just straightforward what we wanted; we all agreed.

“I’m glad they have put belief in me to carry on at the club.”

‘I just want to make people proud’

Evans has been around the Cymru Premier picture before.

He made his league debut for Caernarfon during the 2022/23 campaign and made 11 appearances the following season.

But those opportunities were largely about getting a taste of senior football, minutes here, a substitute appearance there.

This feels different. Evans has no shortage of ambition either.

“I just want to play football, enjoy it fully and just represent Caernarfon and the shirt, and push as hard as I can,” he said.

“I’d like to get double-digit goals, that’d be a bonus for me. That’s what I really want, just to score goals for Caernarfon, and make people proud and put a smile on people’s faces, because I’m representing my hometown, which is a big thing for me.

“I’d love to win the Welsh Cup again, and try to finish in the top three or even top two in the league, because I know we have the squad to do it.”

But it is the No.10 that makes this story different.

‘I just started crying’

Evans has watched Thomas since he was a small child. He describes him as his footballing idol, alongside Danny Gossett, another figure who has played an important role in his development.

So when Thomas called him, Evans knew immediately that the conversation was about something significant.

“Since I’ve been a small child, I’ve been watching Darren Thomas,” he said.

“If I had to choose my idol in football, I’d pick Darren. He and Danny Gossett have been the ones looking after me since the beginning.

“Big shout out to them, they’ve always had my back. Every time my head was down, they’ve always lifted it back up.

“I’ve been learning a lot from them; they’ve been talking to me a lot behind the scenes.”

And Evans remembers vividly watching Thomas lift the Welsh Cup earlier this summer.

“Seeing them two lift the cup, I just got goosebumps and started tearing up,” he said.

“It was unreal. I was dying to be up there with them.”

Now, he has the chance to write his own chapter in Caernarfon’s No.10 shirt.

The most remarkable part is that it was Thomas himself who asked him to take it.

“Darren called me to say, ‘I want to pass the number 10 shirt on to you. I think you’re good enough to have it, that you’re young enough, and that you’re a local lad. I want to pass this on to you.’

“I was speechless.

“No word of a lie, I just started crying because I’ve watched Daz since I was young, watching him with the number 10 on his back.”

A shirt with a huge weight on its shoulders

It was not a decision Evans took lightly. He knew exactly what the shirt represented.

“I had to think a lot about it because it’s a big pressure,” he admitted.

“But speaking with a couple of friends and family, they’ve all been behind me. Sion Bradley, Gossett, they’ve all been behind me.

“Speaking to everyone, they were like, ‘Go for it. We know it’s big pressure, just go for it.’

“I don’t want anyone to forget who Darren Thomas is because he’s made it a legendary number.”

For Evans, the significance goes beyond football.

“No one will understand how big that number is to Caernarfon Town,” he said.

And perhaps more poignantly, no one will quite understand what Thomas meant to him personally.

The Cofi Messi was like a ‘father figure to me’

“No one will understand how much Darren meant to me at this club,” Evans added.

“He has always had my back. He was like a father figure to me at this club.

“I don’t think anyone will ever be as lucky as me to have Daz by their side. Always watching out for me, even though I was a young lad. He always made sure I was alright.

“It’s all down to Daz for giving me the belief to take his iconic number.

“I’m really happy and I hope I can please Daz.”

Thomas’ 15-year association with Caernarfon may have come to an end this summer. But the No.10 has not simply been handed to the next player in the squad.

It has been entrusted to a local lad who grew up watching the man who wore it before him and who, now, has been told by his childhood hero that he is ready to carry it.