By Simon Wright – Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88
It is almost a year on from Salomon Kalou’s first Bundesliga
hat-trick. On 6 November 2015, he was netting an impressive treble in Hertha
BSC’s 3-1 away victory against Hannover 96. That result took his side into the
top three in the table.
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| Salomon Kalou put aside his personal tragedies to score a hat-trick |
Lightning struck twice for the Ivorian and his team on
Friday evening. 364 days on from that three-goal display in the HDI-Arena,
Kalou (pictured) repeated the trick as the German capital side brushed aside Borussia Mönchengladbach
3-0 in the opening game of Matchday 10.
Once again, the result takes Hertha into the top three and
Pal Dardai’s men look even more resolute than they did last campaign which saw
them hold down a Champions League qualifying spot for the majority of the
season. Only a wretched run of seven games without a win at the end of
2015/2016 saw them fade to seventh in the final reckoning.
Kalou left the pitch to a standing ovation in the
Olympiastadion in the 87th minute and he is much-loved by Hertha
fans. It will go down as a touching moment after a traumatic few months for him
and his family.
Two personal
blows
Now 31, Kalou has been one of the game’s unsung forwards. He
hasn’t always been the most natural finisher but he works hard and has an
uncanny knack for coming up with crucial goals at vital moments. He is a former
Premier League title winner with Chelsea back in 2010 and also featured in the
club’s 2012 UEFA Champions League success over FC Bayern München.
That was his last game for the Londoners. A spell in France
with Lille OSC was unsuccessful but he has found his goalscoring touch at
Hertha BSC. Signing in August 2014, this is his third season with Berlin and he
ended as the club’s top goalscorer last term with 14 goals. This season bodied
well for player and club.
However, he suffered two tragic blows in the summer in a matter
of weeks. His father Antoine succumbed to a heart attack in early August. Only
a few weeks later, his aunt Fernande also passed away. It left Salomon
absolutely devastated.
He left his club after their early progress in the DFB-Cup
to spend time with his family, telling German newspaper Bild; “Of
course, I am unbelievably sad and feel empty. Football is a therapy for me at
the moment. It will take a while to get over this.”
A grief-stricken Kalou returned to Germany last month and
made his first appearance of the league campaign a fortnight ago in a 2-1
victory over 1. FC Köln. Now he has fittingly made his mark on the season with
his treble on Friday to maul Mönchengladbach. These were his first goals since
April so it was the perfect time to end the drought.
After the game, he spoke to the media, saying: “I
think it’s a good feeling to score three goals. It’s a relief with all the
difficult situations I’ve had to deal with. It was great to score the goals and
help the team win.”
I’m sure there were people who have departed Kalou’s life
recently who were looking down this evening on the Olympiastadion with a smile
on their face.
This performance means he will surely become a regular
fixture again in Dardai’s starting XI and rekindle a partnership with Vedad
Ibisevic that produced 24 league goals last season. The Ivorian’s treble means
they have nine goals already between them this term and are well on the way to
beat that tally as a result.
Borussia
concerns
This is the most difficult period of André Schubert’s reign
as coach of Borussia Mönchengladbach. The Bundesliga community knows well that ‘Die
Foals’ do not travel well. Defeat here means it is now just one win
away from home since 31 October 2015 and that was a 2-0 win on the final day of
last season against SV Darmstadt 98.
Schubert’s side have now also not scored in their last five
matches in league action, and have mustered just one point from a possible 15
on the road. Currently sitting 11th in the table, their hopes of
matching last season’s top-four finish are looking very slim at the moment.
They weren’t helped by another injury to Patrick Herrmann
and Christoph Kramer’s lack of discipline that saw the ball-winning midfielder
pick up two cheap yellow cards and collect a red card inside 40 minutes. Things
have gone pretty swimmingly for Schubert since he succeeded Lucien Favre last
September. Now, this is his biggest test to get his team out of this slump.
They are sliding out of the Champions League group stages
too after a disappointing 1-1 draw with Celtic three nights ago. Julian Korb
was dismissed in this match, so a lack of discipline is hurting Mönchengladbach
at the moment. The international break might come at just the right time for
them to try and regroup.
Friday night belonged to Salomon Kalou though as he put
aside his personal tragedies and did his talking on the pitch. He has scored
more goals in one night than what Hamburger SV have managed in nine matches!
That’s pretty impressive for this proven winner of the game.
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