Theodor Gebre Selassie (born 24 December 1986) is a Czech professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who plays for Czech club Slovan Liberec, either as a

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

or as wing-back. He earned 54 caps and scored three goals with the Czech national team. Having won the

Czech First League The Czech First League, known as the Fortuna liga for sponsorship reasons, is a Czech professional league for football clubs. At the top of the Czech football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Seasons typically r ...

with

Slavia Prague Sportovní klub Slavia Praha – fotbal (Sports Club Slavia Prague – Football, ), commonly known as Slavia Praha or Slavia Prague, is a Czech professional football club in Prague. Founded in 1892, they are the second most successful club in ...

in 2008 and Slovan Liberec four years later, he then signed for Bremen on a four-year contract. Gebre Selassie made his international debut for the Czech Republic in 2011, becoming their first player of African descent. He was selected in their squad for

UEFA Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th UEFA European Championship, European Championship for List of men's national association football teams#UEFA (Europe), men's ...

and

UEFA Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...

Personal life

Gebre Selassie was born in 1986 in

Třebíč Třebíč (; german: Trebitsch; yi, טרייביטש Treybitsh) is a town in the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 34,000 inhabitants. The beginnings of the town's history are connected with the establishment of a Benedictine ...

in former

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

. His father, Chamola, is

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

n and arrived in the country as a doctor during the communist period. His mother, Jana, is

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

and a schoolteacher. Gebre Selassie has a younger sister named

Anna Anna may refer to: People Surname and given name * Anna (name) Mononym * Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke * Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773) * Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th century) * Anna (Anisia) (fl. 1218 to 12 ...

, who plays for the

Czech Republic women's national handball team The Czech Republic women's national handball team is the national team of the Czech Republic. It takes part in international team handball competitions. The team participated in the 1995 World Women's Handball Championship, and also in 1997, in ...

Club career

Early career in the Czech Republic

Gebre Selassie began his football career in 1992, developing within the Czech youth system. For the next six years, he was a member of the

Velké Meziříčí Velké Meziříčí (; german: Groß Meseritsch) is a town in Žďár nad Sázavou District in the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 11,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre with the castle complex is well preserved and is p ...

junior squad. He subsequently moved to

Vysočina Jihlava Vysočina, meaning "highlands" in Czech, may refer to places in the Czech Republic: *Vysočina Region, a region * Vysočina (Chrudim District), a municipality in the Pardubice Region *Bohemian-Moravian Highlands or , a range of hills and low mounta ...

, where he played for the club's youth team between 1998 and 2005. As his family placed great importance on education, Gebre Selassie later almost abandoned football altogether to concentrate on a university degree. However, he eventually opted to join Velké Meziříčí's senior side in 2005. Gebre Selassie subsequently had a brief stint with

in the 2007–08 season, during which he won the

title. He then played for Slovan Liberec, where he again won the league title in the 2011–12 season.

Werder Bremen

After playing all four of the Czech Republic's matches at

, Gebre Selassie was signed by

Werder Bremen Sportverein Werder Bremen von 1899 e. V. (), commonly known as Werder Bremen (), Werder or simply Bremen, is a German professional sports club based in Bremen, Free Hanseatic City of Bremen. Founded on 4 February 1899, they are best known for the ...

of the German

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

on a four-year deal on 22 June. On 24 August 2012, he scored a goal in Bremen's first game of the season, heading an equaliser in a 1–2 away loss against reigning champions

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, commonly known as Borussia Dortmund (), BVB (), or simply Dortmund (), is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its men's professional fo ...

. Gebre Selassie made 24 starts that season, with the opening day goal being his only of the season. In the 2013–14 season, Gebre Selassie made only 18 starts, coming on as a substitute 11 times and scoring his only two goals of the season in the final three matches. He missed the first eight games of the 2014–15 season with an ankle injury. After coming on as a substitute in his first appearance of the season, he started the final 25 matches of the season under manager Viktor Skrypnyk, whose first match of the season after taking over for

Robin Dutt Robin Dutt (; born 24 January 1965) is a German football coach, executive and former player. He is the manager of Austrian club Wolfsberger AC. Early life Dutt was born and brought up in Germany, the son of a German mother and Indian Bengali ...

coincided with Gebre Selassie's first start. On 18 February 2015, Gebre Selassie signed a contract extension with Werder Bremen, keeping him at the

Weserstadion Weserstadion () is a multi-purpose stadium in Bremen, Germany. The Weserstadion is scenically situated on the north bank of the Weser River and is surrounded by lush green parks (the name 'Werder' is a regional German word for "river peninsula" ...

through the 2017–18 season. Gebre Selassie also scored three goals on the season. Gebre Selassie was a fixture in Skrypnyk's lineup at right back during the 2015–16 campaign, making 33 starts in the Bundesliga, as well as playing the full-time in all five of the club's

DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considered ...

fixtures during their run to the semi-finals. On 8 November, he picked up a concussion following a collision with goalkeeper Felix Wiedwald toward the end of a match at

Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ...

, causing him to miss their next match against

Wolfsburg Wolfsburg (; Eastphalian: ''Wulfsborg'') is the fifth largest city in the German state of Lower Saxony, located on the river Aller. It lies about east of Hanover and west of Berlin. Wolfsburg is famous as the location of Volkswagen AG's he ...

. Gebre Selassie scored his only goal of the season on 5 March against Hannover 96, also tacking on an assist in the 4–1 victory. After Werder lost their first five matches of the 2016–17 season, including a first round upset in the DFB-Pokal to third tier Sportfreunde Lotte, resulting in the sacking of Skrypnyk, Gebre Selassie scored a stoppage time winner against Wolfsburg to give the club their first points of the season, after Lennart Thy had equalized five minutes prior in the 2–1 victory. During the season, he made 30 league appearances scoring 5 goals. In July 2017, Gebre Selassie extended his contract with Werder Bremen. In February 2019, he made his 200th Bundesliga appearance for the club. In May 2021, Werder Bremen announced that Selassie's contract would not be extended.

Slovan Liberec

In June 2021, Gebre Selassie joined Slovan Liberec again.

International career

In May 2011, Gebre Selassie received his first call-up to the

Czech Republic national football team The Czech Republic national football team ( cs, Česká fotbalová reprezentace), recognised by FIFA as Czechia, represents the Czech Republic in international football. The team is controlled by the Football Association of the Czech Republi ...

. On 4 June, he became the first player of African descent to play for the country, making his debut as a half-time substitute for Ondřej Kušnír in a goalless draw against

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

at the

Kirin Cup The is an association football tournament organised in Japan by the Kirin Brewery Company. The host, Japan, is a participant in every edition. The tournament was founded in 1978 then known as Japan Cup (International competition which nationa ...

Matsumotodaira Football Stadium The is a multi-use stadium in Matsumoto, Japan. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home ground of Matsumoto Yamaga FC. The stadium has a capacity of 20,396 spectators. Its nickname, Alwin, is a blend of the words "Alp ...

in Matsumoto, Japan. Gebre Selassie was later given the number 2 shirt in the Czech squad for UEFA Euro 2012. He was allegedly the target of racist chanting from Russia fans during the Czech Republic's match against Russia, which ended in a 4–1 victory for Russia. During the tournament, he received attention from some of Europe's most successful clubs. He started all four of the Czechs' games, as the side won its group before eventually losing to

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

in the quarter-finals. He scored his first senior international goal on 12 October 2012 in a 2014 World Cup qualifier against

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

, opening a 3–1 victory in Plzeň. On 5 June, in a warm-up game for

at the

Eden Arena Fortuna Arena (formerly known as Sinobo Stadium, Eden Aréna and Synot Tip Arena) is a football stadium, in Prague-Vršovice, Czech Republic. The stadium has a capacity of 19,370 people and it is the biggest and the most modern football stadiu ...

, Gebre Selassie was sent off for two bookings in a 1–2 loss to

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

. In May 2019, Gebre Selassie announced his retirement from the national team.

Career statistics

Club

International

:Source: :''Scores and results list the Czech Republic's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Gebre Selassie goal''.

Honours

Slavia Prague *

: 2007–08 Slovan Liberec * Czech First League: 2011–12 Czech Republic *

China Cup The China Cup International Football Championship () is an annual association football tournament organized in China by Wanda Sports Holdings. The Championship was inaugurated in 2017 as a single-elimination tournament A single-elimination ...

bronze:

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

References

External links

* * *
Theodor Gebre Sellasie stats and photos
at Vysocina official website {{DEFAULTSORT:Gebre Selassie, Theodor 1986 births Living people Sportspeople from Třebíč Association football fullbacks Czech people of Ethiopian descent Czech footballers Czech expatriate footballers Czech Republic under-21 international footballers Czech Republic international footballers Czech First League players Bundesliga players FC Slovan Liberec players FC Vysočina Jihlava players SK Slavia Prague players SV Werder Bremen players UEFA Euro 2012 players UEFA Euro 2016 players Palacký University Olomouc alumni Expatriate footballers in Germany Czech expatriate sportspeople in Germany