With three goals in the opening 20 minutes of today’s 3-2 victory over Athletic Bilbao, Real Betis captain Joaquín became the oldest ever hat-trick scorer in LaLiga history.
Mexican internationals Andrés Guardado and Diego Lainez both got the start for Betis at the Benito Villamarín, but it was Joaquín — at the age of 38 years and 140 days — who stole the show with the first three-goal game of his glittering 21-year career.
It really is incredible — this is, after all, a man who rose to international prominence at the 2002 World Cup with Spain. He’s traditionally a winger known more for his ability to create (he recorded nine assists during the 2017-18 campaign) rather than score, but he now has six goals and two assists in 15 LaLiga appearances this season.
He hasn’t scored more goals in a single season since the 2003-04 campaign. But you certainly wouldn’t suspect that when watching today’s highlights — all three finishes that Joaquín provided were clinical.
Joaquín takes the record from Real Madrid legend Alfredo Di Stéfano, who scored a hat-trick at the age of 37 years and 255 days.
The oldest Premier League hat-trick scorer is Teddy Sheringham, who accomplished the feat at the age of 37 with Portsmouth. Over in Serie A, the oldest is Silvio Piola, who managed it at the age of 37 years and 51 days. The Bundesliga record was set by Claudio Pizarro at the age of 37.
Cristiano Ronaldo is the oldest to score a hat-trick at the World Cup, at the age of 33 years and 131 days, after accomplishing the feat against Spain at the 2018 tournament. At the age of 34, Brazil’s Cristiane is the oldest in the history of the Women’s World Cup — she scored three against Jamaica last summer.
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