“It’s going in the basement.”

After recording his first ever hat trick as a professional last night, Danish midfielder Jens Stage joked that he had no space to place his “man-of-the-match” honors. 

Twenty-seven-year-old Danish midfielder Jens Stage had never scored three goals in a single match as a professional before SV Werder Bremen’s spectacular comeback win over TSG 1899 Hoffenheim yesterday. 

Stage did manage a brace in the Danish Super Liga some three years ago and, interestingly enough, managed to find the back of the net for FC Copenhagen 21 times in 111 appearances across all competitions.

The back of the net in the Bundesliga has nevertheless eluded the once-capped Danish international. Prior to yesterday’s match, Stage had only scored six goals in 66 German top flight appearances. 

Stage scored a total of three Bundesliga goals in the entirety of the 2021/22 and 2023/24 seasons. 

Given yesterday’s “match-ball” in honor of his performance yesterday, the Dane didn’t appear in much of a mood to bask in the limelight. 

“This never happened in the pros before,” Stage admitted in the mixed zone, “I’d rather applaud the team. My wife won’t let me put [the match-ball] anywhere. It’s going in the basement.”