Fastest European Cup hat trick
Gift Orban from KAA Gent made football history. The 20-year-old striker scored the fastest hat-trick in UEFA club competition history as Belgium beat Basaksehir 4-1 in the Conference League on Wednesday. Orban secured three goalscoring entries between the 31st and 34th minutes. The striker scored his club’s only goal in the first leg (1-1) and now helped them into the quarter-finals.
The previous record holder was Mohamed Salah, whose record only lasted around half a year. The Egyptian struck three times in six minutes as Liverpool beat Glasgow Rangers 7-1 in the Champions League group stage. Patson Daka, meanwhile, holds the record for the fastest Europa League hat-trick in nine minutes in the 4-3 win over Spartak Moscow in October 2021. Orban, meanwhile, has not only secured himself an entry in the football history books, he is also considered one of the most exciting talents in Belgium. The right-footed player moved to Gent from Norwegian second division club Stabæk Fotball in January for €3.3m and has since scored twelve goals in nine appearances in all competitions.
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Immediately after his move, Orban showed that he is a special player. “Although he came from the Norwegian second division, he immediately started giving instructions to the Gent midfielders on how he needed the ball,” says Bart Tamsyn, Area Manager Belgium at Transfermarkt. “And he sees himself destined for much more. After scoring four goals in the league against Zulte Waregem (6-2) on Sunday – the first time a Genter has scored four times in a competitive match since 1958 – he was unimpressed by his own performance and said it made a difference change nothing for him.”
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Tamsyn points out that the four-pointer in the league and the hat-trick in the Conference League underline Orban’s skills: against Zulte Waregem the youngster scored one goal with a weak left foot and three with a strong right. He scored once from outside and once from inside the penalty area and from a free kick. Against Basaksehir he managed, among other things, a remarkable goal from a distance. Despite all the positive aspects, Tamsyn says that Orban still has room for improvement: “You can tell that he still has a hard time playing consistently for the full 90 minutes. He also needs to improve his header game. The coaches also want him to engage more with his team-mates and celebrate his goals in a group and not alone.”
Nonetheless, it seems Ghent has discovered another talent. A talent that almost didn’t appear as the transfer threatened to fall through when Stabæk demanded a fee of €3.3m. However, Gent sold Ibrahim Salah to Stade Rennes for €3m – the transfer fee can go up to €6.5m due to bonuses – opening the door for the Orban signing. After less than three months, this deal seems to be a bargain, the offensive power has hit Belgium immediately and it can be assumed that the current market value of one million euros will be significantly increased in the update of the Jupiler Pro League next Wednesday.
3 minutes & 25 seconds
Gift Orban has scored the fastest hat-trick in UEFA club competitions @KAAGent || #UECL pic.twitter.com/oWJVllmV2a
— UEFA Europa Conference League (@europacnfleague) March 15, 2023
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