36.65 kmph. That’s the all-time speed record in the Bundesliga.
And it belongs to 21-year-old Borussia Dortmund forward Karim Adeyemi.
The German signed for Dortmund from RB Salzburg over the summer and has scored five goals for his new club, including one in last night’s Champions League game against Chelsea.
His latest goal for the German club was perhaps the best one yet. With a sensational 70-yard run from one goal to another, the youngster flew across the pitch, turning his after-burners on and leaving players wearing blue in the dust.
All of his speed was in full display as Adeyemi brushed off Chelsea’s blockbuster signing Enzo Fernandez, the only one in his path, and then rounded off the keeper to score into the empty net.
It all started from a Chelsea corner in the second half. Felix’s header went across goal and was cleared but only partly, falling to another Dortmund player in the box, who did a slightly better job of defending, booting the ball in the air and outside the danger area.
The ball fell to Adeyemi, who picked the ball out of the sky with this first touch, took it in his stride and, with no support from other attackers then, ran straight towards the Chelsea goal.
Enzo Fernandez was the only player in his path, with Thiago Silva retreating but not quickly enough to help out.
A record signing at the London club should be expected to deal with one-on-ones at this level. But that was not the case this time, as Adeyemi burned him on pure pace.
He then went around keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga to score into the empty net. A wonder goal indeed. Take a look at it for yourself and decide.
This was, to put it politely, not the best defensive effort. Enzo should have stopped him, either by putting in a good tackle or by other means. But BT Sport pundit and former Chelsea player Joe Cole also blamed another high-profile winter signing, Mudryk.
There needs to be a bit of blame on Mudryk
When you are an attacking player, you are thinking to yourself ‘right, I can score a goal here if the ball drops [on the edge of the area]’.
As soon as you realise that the ball [has been cleared], right, switch on defensively. He just lets [Adeyemi] run off him.
I feel like quick players can lose concentration because they feel that their pace can get them away with it.
But let this not take any shine away from a glorious goal by Karim. The skill and speed on display was eye-catching and will surely put him on the radar of many clubs across the globe.
Speaking to Nico Cantor of CBS Sports after the match, the forward revealed the secret to his trailblazing speed.
He attributed his pace to African food and his father’s genes. Adeyemi was born in Germany to a Nigerian father and a Romanian mother.
While his genes are something that one cannot acquire or replicate, the food aspect is more achievable, and that is exactly what the interviewer asked in the follow-up question.
Adeyemi’s answer to “What’s the African food called?” was Fufu, a Nigerian dish.
Fufu, also called akpu, is a popular food made from fresh or fermented cassava. Cassava is a type of flour made from the roots of a tropical plant.
Taste-wise, it can be loosely compared to sweet, or even regular, potatoes.
Don’t think other speedsters will like their secret weapon being talked about out in the open, but hey, for all the aspiring runners out there, Fufu is the key to getting more kph in your legs.
