Florian Grillitsch was able to answer the question about the distance in a matter of seconds. “55.6 meters,” said the TSG Hoffenheim midfielder proudly. From this distance, and even from his own half, he made it 2-0 with an artificial shot in the 3-1 win at 1. FC Köln on Saturday. “You might score a goal like that once in your life. I don’t think I’ve even been able to do that in training so far,” said the Austrian with a laugh.
According to his own statement, his coach Pellegrino Matarazzo already knew what was happening when the ball came to Grillitsch from Cologne keeper Marvin Schwäbe, who had rushed far out of the goal to clear it. “I knew he was going in before he hit the ball,” assured Matarazzo: “I knew he was capable of scoring a goal like that. He has incredibly good technique. That’s why I’m happy that the ball rolled to Flo Grillitsch.”
The 28-year-old, on the other hand, didn’t seem to quite believe what he had achieved even after the final whistle. “That’s extraordinary,” he said: “And it will definitely be remembered.” Especially since he doesn’t score “that many goals.” That on Saturday was only the seventh in his 182nd Bundesliga game, the last one he achieved almost three years ago.
“I decided intuitively”
On Saturday “everything happened very quickly. I decided intuitively,” said Grillitsch: “I knew he was coming well, he had a good trajectory. But I was worried that the defender would still get there. Or that it’s a little too short and stops.”
In addition to the long-range goal, there was another curiosity in Cologne. The reasoning on the scoreboard, according to video evidence, caused astonishment. After a handball by Hoffenheim’s Wout Weghorst in the penalty area was examined in the Cologne video center, it was finally announced on the stadium screen that the penalty would not be awarded because the handball had taken place outside the penalty area.
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“I think it was more of a graphical error. It was clearly within,” said Thomas Kessler, head of the licensed player department in Cologne. In a conversation after the game, Germany’s World Cup referee Daniel Siebert explained to him that he “didn’t see any increase in body surface area. The information probably came from the cellar (from the video referee) that it was a support hand.” Cologne captain Florian Kainz, who shot the ball, only answered: “Difficult.” when asked whether it was still possible to see through it.
