Theodor Gebre Selassie facts for kids
Gebre Selassie in 2012
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 24 December 1986 | ||
| Place of birth | Třebíč, Czechoslovakia | ||
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Right-back, wing-back | ||
| Team information | |||
|
Current team
|
Slovan Liberec (sporting director) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1992–1998 | Velké Meziříčí | ||
| 1998–2005 | Vysočina Jihlava | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2005–2007 | Vysočina Jihlava | 18 | (2) |
| 2005–2006 | → Velké Meziříčí (loan) | 8 | (0) |
| 2007–2008 | Slavia Prague | 11 | (0) |
| 2008–2012 | Slovan Liberec | 97 | (8) |
| 2012–2021 | Werder Bremen | 271 | (23) |
| 2021–2023 | Slovan Liberec | 46 | (1) |
| Total | 451 | (34) | |
| International career | |||
| 2007–2008 | Czech Republic U21 | 6 | (0) |
| 2011–2019 | Czech Republic | 54 | (3) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Theodor Gebre Selassie is a former professional footballer from the Czech Republic. He was born on December 24, 1986. He mostly played as a right-back or wing-back.
Gebre Selassie played for the Czech national team 54 times and scored three goals. He was the first player of African descent to play for the country.
He won the Czech First League with Slavia Prague in 2008. Four years later, he won it again with Slovan Liberec. After that, he joined Werder Bremen in Germany. He played for Werder Bremen for nine years, appearing in 271 league games and scoring 23 goals.
Gebre Selassie also played for the Czech Republic in major tournaments. These included UEFA Euro 2012 and UEFA Euro 2016.
Contents
About Theodor Gebre Selassie's Life
Theodor Gebre Selassie was born in 1986 in Třebíč, which was then part of Czechoslovakia. His father, Chamola, is from Ethiopia. He came to the country as a doctor during the time of communism.
His mother, Jana, is Czech and works as a schoolteacher. Theodor has a younger sister named Anna. She is also an athlete and plays for the Czech Republic women's national handball team.
Gebre Selassie's Football Journey
Starting His Career in the Czech Republic
Gebre Selassie started playing football in 1992. He grew up playing in the youth teams in the Czech Republic. For six years, he was part of the junior team at Velké Meziříčí.
Later, he moved to Vysočina Jihlava. He played for their youth team from 1998 to 2005. Education was very important to his family. Because of this, Gebre Selassie almost stopped playing football to focus on university. However, he decided to continue playing and joined Velké Meziříčí's senior team in 2005.
He then had a short time with Slavia Prague in the 2007–08 season. During this time, he helped them win the Czech First League title. After that, he played for Slovan Liberec. He won the league title with them again in the 2011–12 season.
Playing for Werder Bremen in Germany
After playing well in all four of the Czech Republic's matches at UEFA Euro 2012, Gebre Selassie moved to Germany. He signed a four-year contract with Werder Bremen on June 22, 2012. Werder Bremen is a team in the German Bundesliga, which is the top football league in Germany.
On August 24, 2012, he scored a goal in Bremen's first game of the season. It was an equalizer against Borussia Dortmund, but Bremen still lost 1–2. That season, he started 24 games, and that goal was his only one.
In the 2013–14 season, Gebre Selassie started 18 games. He came on as a substitute 11 times. He scored his only two goals of that season in the last three matches. He missed the first eight games of the 2014–15 season because of an ankle injury. After his first game as a substitute, he started the last 25 matches of the season. On February 18, 2015, Gebre Selassie signed a new contract with Werder Bremen. This kept him at the club until the 2017–18 season. He scored three goals that season.
Gebre Selassie was a regular player at right-back during the 2015–16 season. He started 33 games in the Bundesliga. He also played every minute in all five of the club's DFB-Pokal (German Cup) games. On November 8, he got a concussion after a collision during a match against Augsburg. This made him miss the next game. He scored his only goal of the season on March 5 against Hannover 96. He also helped set up another goal in their 4–1 win.
Werder Bremen lost their first five matches of the 2016–17 season. This included a surprise loss in the DFB-Pokal. Gebre Selassie scored a winning goal in stoppage time against Wolfsburg. This gave the club their first points of the season in a 2–1 victory. During that season, he played in 30 league games and scored 5 goals.
In July 2017, Gebre Selassie extended his contract with Werder Bremen again. In February 2019, he played his 200th Bundesliga game for the club. In May 2021, after the 2020–21 season, Werder Bremen was moved down to a lower league. The club announced that Gebre Selassie's contract would not be extended.
Returning to Slovan Liberec
In June 2021, Gebre Selassie went back to his old club, Slovan Liberec. In June 2023, after the 2022–23 season, he announced that he was retiring from playing football.
On April 4, 2024, Gebre Selassie became the new sporting director for Slovan Liberec. This means he now helps manage the club's sports activities.
Playing for His Country
In May 2011, Gebre Selassie was called up to play for the Czech Republic national football team for the first time. On June 4, he made history. He became the first player of African descent to play for the country. He came on as a substitute in a game against Peru in Japan.
Gebre Selassie was chosen for the Czech squad for UEFA Euro 2012. He played in all four of the Czech Republic's games. The team won their group but then lost to Portugal in the quarter-finals. He scored his first goal for the national team on October 12, 2012. It was in a 2014 World Cup qualifier against Malta. The Czech Republic won that game 3–1.
On June 5, 2016, in a warm-up game for UEFA Euro 2016, Gebre Selassie was sent off. He received two yellow cards in a 1–2 loss to South Korea. In May 2019, Gebre Selassie announced that he was retiring from playing for the national team.
Career Statistics
Club Appearances and Goals
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Slavia Prague | 2007–08 | Czech First League | 9 | 0 | — | — | — | 9 | 0 | |||
| 2008–09 | 2 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | ||
| Slovan Liberec | 2008–09 | Czech First League | 21 | 1 | — | — | — | 21 | 1 | |||
| 2009–10 | 17 | 2 | — | 4 | 0 | — | 21 | 2 | ||||
| 2010–11 | 29 | 0 | — | — | — | 29 | 0 | |||||
| 2011–12 | 30 | 5 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 34 | 5 | ||||
| Total | 97 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 105 | 8 | ||
| Werder Bremen | 2012–13 | Bundesliga | 27 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 28 | 1 | ||
| 2013–14 | 29 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 30 | 2 | ||||
| 2014–15 | 26 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 28 | 3 | ||||
| 2015–16 | 33 | 1 | 5 | 0 | — | — | 38 | 1 | ||||
| 2016–17 | 30 | 5 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 31 | 5 | ||||
| 2017–18 | 32 | 3 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 36 | 3 | ||||
| 2018–19 | 32 | 3 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 36 | 3 | ||||
| 2019–20 | 28 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 32 | 2 | |||
| 2020–21 | 34 | 3 | 5 | 1 | — | – | 39 | 4 | ||||
| Total | 271 | 23 | 25 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 298 | 24 | ||
| Slovan Liberec | 2021–22 | Czech First League | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 30 | 0 | ||
| 2022–23 | 16 | 1 | 3 | 2 | — | — | 19 | 3 | ||||
| Total | 46 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 49 | 3 | ||
| Career total | 425 | 32 | 32 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 464 | 35 | ||
International Appearances and Goals
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Czech Republic | 2011 | 7 | 0 |
| 2012 | 12 | 1 | |
| 2013 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2014 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2015 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2017 | 6 | 2 | |
| 2018 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 54 | 3 | |
- Scores and results list the Czech Republic's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Gebre Selassie goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 October 2012 | Stadion města Plzně, Plzeň, Czech Republic |  Malta |
1–0 | 3–1 | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 2 | 26 March 2017 | San Marino Stadium, Serravalle, San Marino |  San Marino |
4–0 | 6–0 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 3 | 10 June 2017 | Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway |  Norway |
1–0 | 1–1 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Awards and Achievements
Slavia Prague
- Czech First League: 2007–08
Slovan Liberec
- Czech First League: 2011–12
Czech Republic
- China Cup bronze: 2018
See also
In Spanish: Theodor Gebre Selassie para niños
