Akpoguma scores Bundesliga’s 1000th own goal as Hoffenheim lose 0-3 at Hamburg

Former Germany U-20 Captain, Kevin Akpoguma scored a spectacular own goal yesterday to set the tone for his club, Hoffenheim’s 0-3 loss at Hamburg in the Bundesliga.

Akpoguma has been in the news recently following Super Eagles’ Coach, Gernot Rohr’s reported bid to lure him to play for Nigeria. But yesterday’s performance did not do any good to his famed calmness at the heart of Hoffenheim’s defence.

Two other strikes from Filip Kostic and Gideon Jung ensured Hamburg got all three points at home to move the Bundesliga’s only ever-present club out of the relegation play-off place.

Hoffenheim were not at their best going forward and although they got into promising positions behind the home defence on a few occasions, the final ball inevitably let them down. As such, Julian Nagelsmann’s side failed to score for the first time this season as they slipped to their third Bundesliga defeat this season.

Akpoguma’s goal was the 1,000th own goal in Bundesliga history, coming just after an earlier own goal by Schalke’s Benjamin Stambouli in the 4-4 draw with Borussia Dortmund.

Akpoguma, who recently told a German radio station that he was not interested in playing for the Super Eagles, was yesterday reported by a local website as denying the reports.Akpoguma was born in Germany but his father is a Nigerian, making him eligible to play for both countries.

He has already played for Germany at the youth level, but is still eligible to feature for the Super Eagles since he has not played in any competitive game for the world champions.

In the radio interview, Akpoguma said: “I feel honoured, of course, but I am German. I was born here, so I should play for Germany too.”

The rebuttal by the website claims that Akpoguma’s statement did not mean he was not interested in playing for the Super Eagles.