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24-year-old German defensive midfielder Julian Koch scored one of the fastest goals to ever have been recorded – 5 seconds after kick-off – in a friendly match between German second division side FC St Pauli and Swiss second division side FC Winterthur. Koch, a former Borussia Dortmund youth player, is on loan to the German 2nd division side from Mainz.
Immediately as the Swiss outfit got the game underway, Koch stole the ball and ran a couple of yards before unleashing an audacious long-range effort from inside the centre circle. The goalkeeper had no inkling of how quickly he would be called into action, and was grossly out of position as the strike sailed in over his head and into goal.
However, the goal is a controversial one because Koch can be seen in the video of the goal to have encroached the centre circle before the kick-off, an offence which the officials failed to spot. During kick-off, all defending players are required to stand outside the midfield circle.
One of the fastest goals ever registered in football
As for fastest goals recorded in top tiers of domestic football, Valladolid’s Joseba Llorente is credited with La Liga’s fastest goal on 7.22 seconds, New York Red Bull’s Tim Cahill with the fastest in MLS on 8 seconds, Bayer Leverkusen’s Karim Bellarabi the fastest in the Bundesliga on 9 seconds and Tottenham Hotspur’s Ledley King the fastest in the Premier League on 9.9 seconds.
Records concerning the fastest goals in lower division matches and friendly matches are disputed for a number of reasons like lack of evidence and varying pitch size, but Julian Koch’s goal is surely one of the quickest to have ever been scored in football at any level or on a pitch of any size.
FC St. Pauli are currently languishing at 17th place in Bundesliga 2, and will be hoping their defensive midfielder can provide similar bursts of inspiration in the league season which resumes after the winter break. Koch is currently looking to reignite his career at St. Pauli, having represented his country at numerous age groups up to the Under-21 level.
