Tag: Santiago Gimenez

Gimenez completes 47-hour hat trick vs. Ajax

The Mexico international completed one of the strangest hat tricks you’ll ever see

Feyenoord striker Santiago Giménez completed one of the strangest hat tricks you’ll ever see on Wednesday, with his third goal against Ajax coming three days after his second.

Giménez netted a pair of goals on Sunday as the Eredivisie champions raced into a 3-0 lead at the Johan Cruyff Arena.

Ajax fans were not happy with their side’s insipid display, showing their displeasure by launching missiles, flares and fireworks onto the pitch. The game was suspended in the 56th minute, and eventually abandoned due to the unplayable conditions on the field.

The trouble continued outside the stadium in Amsterdam, as riot police charged at unruly fans.

After the mess on Sunday, the Eredivisie opted to resume the match on Wednesday behind closed doors at Johan Cruyff Arena. Just three minutes after the game restarted, Giménez scored his third of the game by putting home a rebound.

The Mexico international thus completed the rarely seen 47-hour hat trick.

After helping Feyenoord to a league title last season, Giménez has started the current campaign in red-hot form. The 22-year-old’s hat trick against Ajax took him to nine goals in just six league games. It also made him the first Feyenoord player to score a hat trick in an Eredivisie away game at Ajax.

As for Ajax, defeat continues a disastrous season. The Dutch power is currently 14th out of 18 teams in the league and recently fired technical director Sven Mislintat. There is plenty of speculation that head coach Maurice Steijn could be next.

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Gimenez wins Gold Cup for Mexico with legendary individual goal

El Tri badly needed a win, and their best young player provided exactly what was required

Mexico badly needed a lift, and its brightest young star provided exactly what was required with an individual moment of brilliance to win the Gold Cup on Sunday night.

It’s been a difficult spell for El Tri, which was bounced from the World Cup group stage, humiliated by its closest rival in a continental semifinal and ousted two coaches within a span of less than a year.

The pressure was fully on Mexico for the Gold Cup, with the U.S. taking a roster that could somewhat charitably be described as a B-squad.

In fact, the oft-anticipated final between Mexico and the USMNT didn’t even materialize after B.J. Callaghan’s squad fell to Panama on penalties in the semifinal.

That set the stage for Mexico and Panama to face off in Sunday’s final at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, which was filled with green-clad fans hoping to see their side overcome the Central American underdogs.

But despite a number of Mexico chances, the match was scoreless through 88 minutes. El Tri had the better of play, with a goal waved off due to an offside call and several outstanding saves from Panama goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera.

But interim Mexico boss Jaime Lozano introduced Santiago Giménez as a substitute in the 85th minute. Three minutes later, the 22-year-old produced a moment Mexico fans will always remember.

Giménez held off Panama’s Harold Cummings near midfield, spun the defender around and then raced clear on goal. With only Mosquera to beat, he scuffed a shot into the far corner to send the stadium into raptures.

“It’s the biggest moment of my career,” Giménez said in quotes published by the AP. “I just tried to get down the field quickly. We followed our principles throughout the game, and they worked perfectly. The result was great, because there were a lot of competitive teams in this tournament.”

Watch Gimenez’s Gold Cup winner

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Gimenez making Mexico World Cup snub look worse with every goal

The striker has gone on to have the most prolific debut European season ever for a Mexican

When Santiago Giménez was omitted from Mexico’s World Cup roster in November, it was questionable. Now, it just seems laughable.

Giménez was bypassed in favor of the barely-fit Raúl Jiménez, and forwards like Henry Martín and Rogelio Funes Mori who have been prolific in Liga MX and less so with El Tri.

Giménez at the time was only 21 and unproven at the international level. But he’d showed plenty of promise in Liga MX and had started to translate that form to his new side Feyenoord, where he’d scored six goals in 18 games.

Mexico would end up being eliminated at the World Cup group stage, picking up one point in two scoreless opening matches before a 2-1 win over Saudi Arabia in its finale proved too little, too late.

Meanwhile Giménez has gone on a goalscoring binge after his snub, proving on a weekly basis that Tata Martino made a grave mistake not taking him to Qatar.

Giménez has 12 goals in 17 league games since the turn of the year, including a current scoring streak of seven matches in a row.

Overall, Giménez has scored 22 times for Feyenoord this season, breaking the record for the most ever goals by a Mexico men’s international in their debut European season.

The 22-year-old looks likely to only stay at Feyenoord for one season, with some of Europe’s biggest clubs lining up for his signature (ironically his departure could open the door for USMNT forward Ricardo Pepi to replace him).

Giménez will undoubtedly be a major part of Mexico’s future, but El Tri fans are likely wondering what could have been if he were more involved in the recent past.

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