“Olimpija Ljubljana midfielder Saar Fadida scored a hat-trick in the Slovenian league against NK Rogaska at the end of July. Three days later he was on the bench for the whole game when they played Ludogorets in a Champions League qualifier. Are there any other examples of players who were fit but didn’t start the next official match after scoring a hat-trick?” tweets Alex Shwartser.
In context, Fadida’s omission isn’t quite as heartless as it sounds. Technically he wasn’t dropped at all. Having come on as a first-half substitute, Fadida scored on the stroke of half-time and added two late goals in a 5-0 win over Rogaska. For the crucial Champions League qualifier, the Ljubljana manager João Henriques returned to the XI that played the first leg. They went through so all’s well that ends well, though Fadida’s internal monologue would have been an interesting red-button feature.
