Mainz celebrate "unstoppable" Onisiwo
Eight seasons into his Bundesliga career, FSV Mainz 05's "quiet striker" has his first hat trick. Afterwards, the squad's captain and the club sporting director lavished praise on just the seventh Austrian international to complete this feat in Germany's top footballing flight; not to mention the first ÖFB attacker to do it in ten years.
The "Karim Onisiwo Renaissance" continues. Thanks to a hat trick and a fine in Saturday's 5-2 win over Bochum, Mainz's Austrian striker has now amassed 10 scorer points in the current campaign. The 20-times capped international has now equaled his highest goal total ever whilst playing for the Rheinhessen. He also netted seven during the 2018/19 season.
The 30-year-old's - known by most Bundesliga watchers as Mainz's "quiet striker" - kept it appropriately modeste when discussing his late-career form surge. Onisiwo didn't comment on his magnificent solo run in the lead up to Silvan Widmer's 2-0, his sharp chip goal over VfL keeper Manuel Riemann, or his two screaming goals to complete the hat trick in the second half.
"I'm pleased to have finally scored a hat trick," Onisiwo told the Sky mics afterwards, "Overall, the team really put in a good performance. We hadn't won in a while, so that makes it all the more nicer."
Captain Silvan Widmer and FSV sporting director Martin Schmidt didn't see the need for modeste niceties. Schmidt called his star player "unstoppable" and emphasized that the veteran "pushed everyone else along." Widmer went into greater depth.
"Outstanding. Fantastic. He was unbelievably lively today," Widmer told his interviewer, "If you have to defend against Karim in top form, you can prepare for an uncomfortable afternoon."
Onisiwo is the first Austrian to collect a hat trick in Germany's top footballing flight since Marko Arnautovic accomplished the feat for Bremen in December 2012. With 29 top flight goals for Mainz, Onisiwo is now tied for the most tallies scored by a Mainz player in the Bundesliga with Yunus Malli.