Hoppe and belief as Schalke rise

Matthew Hoppe's historic hat-trick in Schalke's 4-0 win over Hoffenheim last weekend has restored some hope in the North Rhine-Westphalian city, 30 games and almost a full calendar year since the last three Bundesliga points were celebrated.

"We've been through a very difficult period and now we have a new-found confidence that can help us turn this win into some momentum," Hoppe told the Schalke website. "I hope that we can maintain that self-belief and pick up some more wins to help us stay up."

Watch: Hoppe - Schalke's new hope

The first Bundesliga hat-trick by an American is a good source of that belief, which the Royal Blues will take with them into their trip to Eintracht Frankfurt this Sunday. And the 19-year-old's heroics were only a taste of what could come from the Californian teenager, according to his coach Christian Gross.

"He has both feet on the ground," said the Swiss coach, who is plotting an even more attack-minded approach moulded around the US forward. "He wants to continue to work on his game and continue to score goals.

"He has a really great attitude towards his career. He's an attack-minded, positive man and that's a great foundation. I expect him to score more goals."

Positivity is just what Schalke need plenty of after enduring a 359-day winless streak, and given the way Hoppe took his chances against Hoffenheim - starting with an audacious chip past the experienced Oliver Baumann for his first - this is certainly not in short supply when it comes to the American teenager.

"The first was the easier of the three because I just instinctively chipped the ball over the goalkeeper," he said. "I go for chips every now and again in training, so I've got the confidence to try it in a game.

"I'm over the moon, more than anything because we got the win."

It was only the first step along what Gross warns will be a "bumpy road" to safety, with "setbacks sure to come", but it was an important one which lifted Schalke off the foot of the Bundesliga and to within four points of the relegation play-off berth.

Watch: Hoppe on cloud nine after his hat-trick heroics

"The win over Hoffenheim was worth its weight in gold," Gross said. "It's given us the motivation to believe that we can make it."

Not only has Hoppe, who became Schalke's top-scorer for the season in just 21 minutes, got his teammates and coach believing again that they can stay up, but the fans too have had their faith restored by a young American who was just a handful of months old when the club went to within seconds of winning the Bundesliga title amidst unrivalled emotional scenes in 2001.

"When I was driving past the stadium at the weekend, I could see fireworks and the joy among the fans," said former Schalke coach Peter Neururer to Sky. "Now the fans can dream not only that they can stay up, but they can even avoid the play-off."

Thanks to Hoppe, hope has returned to Gelsenkirchen.