Andrej Kramarić is perhaps one of the most underappreciated players in the Bundesliga and even at 33, the Croat just seems to be getting better. A hat-trick on opening day in Hoffenheim’s 3-2 win against newly-promoted Holstein Kiel, Kramarić has now scored back-to-back hat-tricks in the Bundesliga, the previous being against Bayern Munich on the final day of the 2023/24 season, to take his goal contributions to 15 in his last eight league games (10 goals and five assists).
With the departures of Maximilian Beier and Wout Weghorst, Kramarić has a new-look partnership this season with the arrival of Adam Hložek from Bayer Leverkusen, while Haris Tabaković – although not in the squad – also joins from Hertha Berlin.
But still, Kramarić plays with a certain aura about him. Opening the scoring from the spot with a cooly slotted finish, the Croat showcased his footballing IQ for his second of the afternoon. Not the quickest, the 33-year-old’s movement inside the penalty area is exceptional and the ability to make space was evident in his headed goal for TSG’s second. Kramarić then added a third after Timon Weiner could only parry Jacob Bruun Larsen shot into the Croatian forward’s path.
An €11m arrival from Leicester City in 2016, Kramarić now has 135 goals and 56 assists in 286 games across all competitions for Die Kraichgauer and the club’s 3-2 win on Saturday afternoon is also the Croat’s 100th Bundesliga win in Hoffenheim colours, becoming only the third player to do so after Oliver Baumann (122) and Sebastian Rudy (101). Not only that, per Opta, he is just the third player in Bundesliga history, after Gerd Müller and Klaus Fischer, to score three or more goals on opening day in two different seasons.
