The new year starts spectacularly with the goal of the month. Heidenheim’s Marvin Pieringer clearly wins the vote in January 2026 with an overhead kick in the Bundesliga game against 1. FC Köln with around 35 percent of the vote. Second and third place goes to Harry Kane’s flick into the top corner (25 percent) and Andrej Kramaric’s buttery lob (17 percent).
At first glance, this looks unusual for an overhead kick. Because Pieringer hardly takes off during his beautiful action in the Cologne penalty area. While many overhead kick goals in the goal of the month are impressive due to their dynamism and athleticism, the Heidenheim striker almost looks as if he scored the goal while lying down.
The cross comes from teammate Jan Schöppner from the right wing in front of the near post. Pieringer is actually standing there covered by Cologne’s Eric Martel, but he falls backwards past him and catches the ball perfectly with his right foot. Marvin Schwäbe in the FC goal is caught cold. You might think he actually has to hold it, but the Billy Goats goalkeeper is probably just too surprised by Pieringer’s thing.
The unusual path of a “late starter”
Marvin Pieringe’s path to becoming a professional footballer was unusual for today’s times. Unlike most Bundesliga players, he never played in a professional club’s youth training center (NLZ) as a youth. Out of ties to his homeland, he remained loyal to his club, SSV Reutlingen 05, for a long time and, in his own words, became a “late starter”. It wasn’t until 2018 in the U-19 that a certain Julian Schuster noticed him and brought him into the second team at SC Freiburg. After stints at the Würzburger Kickers, SC Paderborn and Schalke 04, he finally ended up in Heidenheim.
Here he became the top scorer for coach Frank Schmidt’s team in his first season. With his seven goals and five assists, the striker was not quite as successful as his predecessor, Niklas Beste, who moved to Freiburg, but Pieringer played a key role in Heidenheim’s relegation in the 24/25 season.
The second TdM for Heidenheim
After Nikla’s best “almost impossible” free kick goal in August 2023, Pieringer’s “flat overhead kick” is now the second goal of the month for 1. FC Heidenheim. In the overhead kick category, this hit brings the total to 84.
Source: Red/Markus Wessel
