Theodor Gebre Selassie

Theodor Gebre Selassie (born 24 December 1986) is a Czech professional footballer who plays for Czech club Slovan Liberec, either as a right-back or as wing-back. He earned 54 caps and scored three goals with the Czech national team.

Having won the Czech First League with Slavia Prague 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 and UEFA Euro 2016.

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 Velke Mezirici junior squad. He subsequently moved to Vysocina Jihlava, 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 Velke Mezirici's senior side in 2005.

Gebre Selassie subsequently had a brief stint with Slavia Prague in the 2007–08 season, during which he won the Czech First League 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 UEFA Euro 2012, Gebre Selassie was signed by Werder Bremen of the German Bundesliga 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. 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 i

This page also has a version in other languages :  Теодор Гебре Селассие (russian)