The Togo-Nigerian talent who scored the fastest hat-trick in UEFA club games

Gent forward Gift Orban netted three in 205 seconds recently to spark interest among scouts from Europe's biggest clubs.

The Ghelmaco Arena, home ground of KAA Gent, was unusually abuzz last Thursday night for the Europa Conference League encounter against West Ham United. Among those who had flocked to the 20,000-capacity venue in East Flanders in Belgium were the passionate Gent faithful – including club owner Ivan de Witte, a pork butcher’s son who founded a successful consulting business and bought a club sinking in debt despite his wife’s objections – a sprinkling of Hammers’ fans and, to go by the commentators note, “scouts from top European clubs, which has become a common sight in recent times.”

It is passé for scouts to wander around lower leagues of Europe to discover unspotted talents. But this match, they had come to watch Gift Orban, a 20-year-old Nigerian forward who became an overnight sensation the week before, when he netted the fastest hat-trick in UEFA club competition, scoring three in merely 205 seconds against Istanbul Basaksehir in Turkey. It’s an elite list that he helms now, a top-10 that among others includes Mohamed Salah, Raheem Sterling, Cristiano Ronaldo and Robert Lewandowski.

The world has gluttonously devoured the hat-trick reel — those were three goals of utter fury and intelligence. The first was a left-footed strike from inside the box, where he traps the ball veering away from him at pace with his left foot and uncoils the same foot again for a thunderous shot on the rise to the far post, past the onrushing goalkeeper, sliding defender and another one searing to the post to head the ball away. The first touch was sumptuous, as was his anticipation for the through ball and the judgement.

The second was spectacular. First he produces a delightful flick to teammate Hyunseok Hong, who speeds away, but eventually loses the ball close to the edge of the box. But Gift rams in and unloads a scorching drive with his right foot to the top corner, past a melee of orange Istanbul shirts. A pair of defenders tried to close him down, but he was too fast and powerful. The third was almost a copy of the first.

In those 205 frantic seconds, Gift managed to lay off two passes as well and had a grass-cutter saved by the studs of the goalkeeper. The hat-trick could have been quicker, had he not unleashed his full repertoire of celebrations. The sliding one, two-tap dance steps near the corner flag, and an on-a-bended-knee kiss towards the heavens. In just three months and a dozen appearances, he has already become a crowd-puller.

Out of Africa

His journey to that 205-second fame is even more fascinating. For years, he was playing in the lower leagues in Togo, where his mother is from. But lack of opportunities forced him to Nigeria — a last-ditch attempt, which if unrewarded, he would have joined the police— the country of his father to join Bison FC. The turning point came the year before when Norwegian club Stabaek’s sporting Torgeir Bjarmann made his annual trip to Nigeria to attend an amateur tournament.

Each player was offered nine games to show their talent, but Gift was so good that after two games, Bjarmann was convinced that he should be taken to Europe. He could only fix a loan deal, but Gift was in Europe, and just 15 months on, he notched up a record that has shot him to worldwide fame and made scouts scamper for tickets for a nondescript, sparsely-attended Conference Game.

During his time at Stabaek, Gift catalysed the club’s promotion to the top tier, ending up as the league’s top scorer with 16 goals in 19 matches, besides seven assists, despite joining midway through the season.

Those at Ghelmaco Arena did not see a goal, but saw him spinning and sprinting past defenders, selflessly setting up teammates, latching onto second balls, making space for others and pressing rigorously when his team lost the ball. Gift would have scored, but a stinging volley of his crashed onto the post. In Gent manager Hein Vanhaezebrouck’s analysis, he has the gifts of a classical poacher and modern-day forward, and he often tells teammates to get ready for a life without him in the future. “I hope he stays here, but he is too good a talent to be here,” he says.

Those few goal combo reels are too fleeting but suggestive of the immense skills that the top clubs in Europe could harness. As proficient as he is with both feet, Gift is deceptive with his head too. Though just 5 feet 8 inches, he could leap high in the air — 25.3 percent of his attempts on goal in Norway were using his head, scoring five times from 16 attempts. He brings colour too — the dreadlocks, the dance moves and somersaults.

But as talented and driven as he is, there is no guarantee that he would in the bigger arenas of Europe. Competition, pressure of expectation, injuries, systems and tactics could all play a role in his blossoming. There are more cautionary tales of those of unfulfilled renown than stories of success in the game. But there is something deeply fascinating about a raw young talent from a non-academy background taking the world by storm. And whether he blooms or busts, the narrative of Gift is spinning away.