When a player scores three goals in three minutes for his team and still doesn’t get a start in the next game, then he might come to think that it is time to seek out first-team opportunities elsewhere.
That is how Florian Kamberi, the Swiss striker who scored on his Hibernian debut in Wednesday night’s win over Motherwell, ended up at Easter Road.
Granted, his goal-a-minute hat-trick came against Swiss Fifth Division side CS Romontois, and were the final three goals in a 10-0 rout, but even still, it surely wasn’t expecting too much for him to be given a chance to make his mark on the Grasshoppers Club Zurich first-team on a more regular basis.
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As it has turned out, he has arrived in Scotland on a loan deal until the end of the season, during which time he hopes to make his name and make his mark on the British game. His experience on the sidelines at his parent club, serious injury and of a previous loan spell that turned sour, has only made him more determined to make the most of the opportunity.
“I didn’t play a lot,” Kamberi said. “I went on loan to Karlsruhe and it was a difficult situation because the team was not in good spirits. We had four coaches and lost many games so it was difficult for a striker to score.
“Then I got a knee injury and was out for four months and it was then even more difficult for me because the team was still losing and I was out injured.
“Then I came back to Grasshoppers because they told me ‘we need you’ and stuff like that, so I was very motivated, but when I came back from the first day I was not given a chance. I played one game, in the cup, like your Scottish Cup and I scored three goals in three minutes and everybody thought ‘now they have to give you a chance’ but it was not like that. I trained hard every day but I did not get a chance.
“It was not easy months for me but I know that hard work always pays off and now I have the opportunity with Hibs.”
Kamberi comes from humble beginnings, but the hard work and sacrifice of his father, Pashk, to provide the opportunities to his son he never had, gives the amiable 22-year-old his drive and determination.
After leaving Kosovo some 30 years ago to seek out a better life in Switzerland, he did whatever it took to set out his sons on the best path possible, and Florian is not about to forget it.
“It was not easy [for him] to come to a new country where you don’t speak the language,” he said. “It was very hard for him. I have to say a big thank you to my parents and my brother, but especially to my father who came to all my games when I was a child and now supports me and calls me every day. He probably called me five times [after the Motherwell game] and will wonder why I have not already answered.
“He is my idol, my father. He did not have opportunities. He has not had an easy life but everything he does has always been for me and for my brother.”
It is a case of so far, so good for Kamberi since arriving on these shores. His debut goal was almost as impressive in terms of its composure as his overall performance was in terms of its industry, with the attacker proving a handful with his willingness to run the channels and harass defenders.
“Of course, it was a perfect start,” he said. “For me, the most important thing was that we won as a team, but it was extra special for me that I scored my first goal. It was a fantastic night for me.”
He didn’t have it all his own way on the night, with Motherwell’s no-nonsense defenders leaving their mark on him in more ways than one.
“I learned that Scottish football is hard!” he laughed. “You get tackled many times, not like in Switzerland. But I knew that because I watch the games on television and I like English football so, I know what is going on here. That suits my style.”
The next test for Kamberi will be a visit to Ibrox to take on Rangers tomorrow afternoon, but the prospect of walking out in front of 50,000 fans is not one that is likely to faze the confident striker.
“These are the games that you want to play in,” he said. “These are the reason we play. There is no pressure. It was very important that we beat Motherwell but now that we have those three points, we are more confident and it will be easy to just go there and play our football. We know we can beat them so there is no pressure on us.
“I love to play in an atmosphere like that. In Zurich, at Grasshoppers, we play in front of 4000 people so even the atmosphere on Wednesday for me was very, very crazy. I had a big atmosphere when I played against Stuttgart last season, when we played in front of 58,000, and I am a player who likes to play in front of many people. As an away team, to go there and show them all what kind of club we are, I like that.
“So I am very excited and looking forward to that game.”