Hat tricks are often talked about in football because in many countries it is enough for a player to score three goals in a game. In Germany they take it more precisely, which is why the technical term “flawless hat trick” was introduced, but it can only rarely be used. This is only the case if a player scores three goals in one half. In addition, with very precise interpretation, no colleague or opponent is allowed to score a goal in between.
Alexis Claude-Maurice from FC Augsburg recently scored three goals in pretty quick succession, but didn’t manage a hat trick and certainly not a flawless one. Nevertheless, the little Frenchman with the strong right foot is currently the most noticeable kicker at Bundesliga club FC Augsburg. And with a little good will, Claude-Maurice could at least create his own interpretation of a hat trick this Saturday if he also scores the decisive goal at VfL Wolfsburg – that would be in the third game in a row.
Last Tuesday it was similar to what happened on Saturday. Claude-Maurice also felt like a match winner in the cup game against FC Schalke 04. Although he only contributed the first goal to the 3-0 win with a touchdown from the edge of the penalty area and benefited from an unevenness in the grass, the other two goals only came in the final minutes. Three days earlier he had even scored both goals in the 2-1 league win against Borussia Dortmund, which was considered a so-called double (not to be confused with the double).
At OGC Nice, Claude-Maurice played inconsistently, the French first division club let his contract expire – then FCA took action
In both games, Claude-Maurice received his first personal congratulations from coach Jess Thorup during the second half when he was substituted. After the game against Dortmund, the Dane even deviated from his line and, for once, highlighted a single player: “The way he performed, the way he played with and without the ball, was outstanding,” Thorup praised the 26th year-old after his starting eleven debut and even described him as the new “X-factor” of his team.
In fact, Claude-Maurice has turned out to be a difference player at FC Augsburg so far. In his four professional appearances for FCA, he has a total of four goals and one assist. The remarkable rate comes as a bit of a surprise to the slight offensive player from the eastern suburbs of Paris: “I don’t actually see myself as a goalscorer,” says Claude-Maurice, “I’m an offensive player. I can play as a striker, but I’m mainly a midfielder.”
It’s not just his variability that brings new elements to Thorup’s team. Fast and agile, Claude-Maurice usually moves as a hanging leader or as a “nine and a half”, as sports director Marinko Jurendic puts it. In the intermediate world of midfield and attack, Claude-Maurice benefits from being an easy asset and being only 1.74 meters tall, being able to evade the attack of the opposing defense more easily. He also has fine technique. Above all, Thorup describes the “quick feet” and “great qualities in small spaces” as advantages of his summer signing, who only joined FCA on a free transfer on the last day of the transfer period at the end of August and signed a contract until 2027.
At OGC Nice they had previously let his contract expire. His previous employer no longer had any use for France’s former U21 international. The fact that Claude-Maurice was no longer needed in Nice is surprising given previous impressions in Augsburg. According to their own statements, they had already established their first loose ties at FCA in April, but things only became really concrete in the summer. Claude-Maurice, the story goes, waited patiently despite other offers. Only after almost all other arrivals and departures had been determined did the Augsburg team seize their chance. This also opened up because Claude-Maurice had played inconsistently in Nice, which was also due to injuries.
Five years earlier they had brought him to the Côte d’Azur from FC Lorient as a big promise for around 13 million euros. But he never scored more than five goals in competitive games there and on a temporary loan to RC Lens in a single season. His quota so far in Augsburg is all the more astonishing, especially since Claude-Maurice hadn’t played for four and a half months before his first appearance for FCA.
The Augsburgers don’t expect their entry to continue to stand out as it did twice in a row. But of course they wouldn’t mind if Alexis Claude-Maurice managed his very own interpretation of a hat trick in Wolfsburg.
