Almost a year to the day after Erling Haaland marked his Borussia Dortmund debut with a 23-minute hat-trick against Augsburg, another fresh-faced centre-forward hit the headlines with a stunning treble of his own on the banks of the Rhine.
Decked out in royal blue rather than yellow and black, 19-year-old Matthew Hoppe opened the scoring in Schalke’s Bundesliga clash against Hoffenheim with a gorgeous first-time lob – the sort of impudent, instinctive finish his BVB-based counterpart would have been proud of.
Ten minutes later, he raced onto an inch-perfect, through-ball, rounded Oliver Baumann and scored a second. The third was perhaps the best of the lot; ruthlessly dispatched with the outside of his right boot.
But while many young players dream of writing their names into the history books, Hoppe was thrilled to keep Schalke out of them.
A 4-0 thrashing of Hoffenheim was Die Konigsblauen’s first win in 30 league games – anything other than three points would have seen them draw level with Tasmania Berlin for the longest winless run ever in the Bundesliga.
Hoppe is no one-hit wonder either. The California-born teen also scored in each of his next two games, against Koln and Frankfurt.
And, according German legend and former USA coach Jurgen Klinsmann, Hoppe is the handsome hero at the heart of a fairytale story.
“Schalke has one of the best academy systems in Germany. It’s not a coincidence that a lot of top talents in Germany come off the Schalke production line,” Klinsmann told ESPN.
“And seeing him there today, scoring three goals in probably one of the most difficult moments in Schalke’s history, is just incredible.
“This is a fairytale story, you know? It should make the kid super proud, it should make the youth system in America super proud and it’s a big, big deal at Schalke.”
Klinnsmann’s gushing praise certainly won’t go unnoticed at his former employers, Tottenham Hotspur.
According to 90Min, Spurs are one of four Premier League giants, alongside Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United, who have been watching Hoppe like a hawk in recent weeks.
Unfortunately for the Schalke sensation, this ‘fairytale story’ looks set to end with distinctly, un-Disney-like ending. That hammering of Hoffenheim was little more than a false dawn.
Schalke are still bottom, nine points adrift of safety with The Miners stuck in a hole of their own making.
But don’t expect Hoppe to stick around to play in the Bundesliga.2 with the opportunity to follow in Klinsmann’s footsteps presenting itself.
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