Benjamin Šeško
![]() Šeško with Red Bull Salzburg in 2023 | |||
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Date of birth | 31 May 2003 | ||
Place of birth | Radeče, Slovenia[1] | ||
Height | 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)[2] | ||
Position(s) | Forward | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | RB Leipzig | ||
Number | 30 | ||
Youth career | |||
2010–2013 | Radeče | ||
2013–2014 | Rudar Trbovlje | ||
2014–2016 | Radeče | ||
2016–2018 |
Krško | ||
2018–2019 | Domžale | ||
2019–2020 | Red Bull Salzburg | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2019–2023 | Red Bull Salzburg | 55 | (21) |
2019–2021 | → FC Liefering (loan) | 44 | (22) |
2023– | RB Leipzig | 27 | (10) |
International career‡ | |||
2017–2018 | Slovenia U15 | 6 | (4) |
2018 | Slovenia U16 | 4 | (4) |
2018–2019 | Slovenia U17 | 14 | (5) |
2020 | Slovenia U19 | 1 | (0) |
2021– | Slovenia | 28 | (11) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15:29, 20 April 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 13:10, 27 March 2024 (UTC) |
Benjamin Šeško (pronounced [ˈbeːnjamin ˈʃɛːʃkɔ], born 31 May 2003) is a Slovenian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Bundesliga club RB Leipzig and the Slovenia national team.
Šeško joined Red Bull Salzburg aged 16 in 2019 from Domžale. He was loaned to the Salzburg's reserve team FC Liefering for two seasons, where he scored 22 goals in 44 games in the second tier of Austrian football. He made his first-team debut for Red Bull Salzburg in January 2021 and went on to win three Austrian Bundesliga titles and one Austrian Cup.
Šeško represented Slovenia at youth international level from under-15 to under-19, before becoming the youngest player to appear for the senior national team in June 2021 when he made his debut aged 18 years and 1 day. He scored his first goal for the national team in October 2021, which made him Slovenia's youngest ever goalscorer.
Club career
Early career
Šeško began his career at his hometown club
Red Bull Salzburg
At the age of 16, on 3 June 2019, Šeško signed a three-year professional contract with Red Bull Salzburg.[7] He debuted with Red Bull Salzburg in a 3–0 Austrian Football Bundesliga win over TSV Hartberg on 30 January 2021.[8]
Loan to FC Liefering
Immediately after signing with Red Bull Salzburg, he was moved to their farm club FC Liefering, competing in the Austrian Second League. In the 2020–21 season, he scored 21 goals in 29 appearances and became the league's second-best goalscorer.[9] He scored most of his goals in the final part of the season, scoring 13 goals in the last 7 rounds.[10]
RB Leipzig
On 9 August 2022, RB Leipzig announced that Šeško would join them on 1 July 2023, on a five-year contract until 2028, for a reported transfer fee of around €24 million.[11][12]
On 3 September 2023, Šeško scored his first goals for RB Leipzig by netting a brace in a 3–0 away win over Union Berlin, which ended their 24-match streak without loss at home.[13][14] On 19 September, he scored his first UEFA Champions League goal (excluding qualifying rounds) as RB Leipzig defeated Young Boys 3–1 away from home in the matchday 1 of the 2023–24 edition.[15]
International career
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0e/Sweden-Slovenia_Nations_League_2022-09-27_49.jpg/218px-Sweden-Slovenia_Nations_League_2022-09-27_49.jpg)
Eligible for Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina (due to his mother hailing from Doboj),[16] Šeško opted for the former, having represented the country at the under-15, under-16, under-17, and under-19 levels. He made his under-19 debut in a friendly game against Austria in September 2020.[17]
In May 2021, Šeško was called up by the senior team manager Matjaž Kek for a pair of friendlies in June 2021.[18] He debuted for Slovenia in a 1–1 friendly tie with North Macedonia on 1 June 2021. At the time he was 18 years and 1 day old and became the youngest debutant in the national team, surpassing the previous record set by Petar Stojanović seven years earlier.[19] On 8 October 2021, Šeško scored his first goal for Slovenia in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Malta, becoming Slovenia's youngest ever goalscorer at the age of 18 years, 4 months and 8 days.[20]
"I have no doubt whatsoever that Šeško will surpass me. I look at my record like it's gone. It's the past. He will definitely correct those numbers."
Slovenia's all-time top goalscorer Zlatko Zahovič (35 goals) in September 2022 about the then 19-year-old Šeško, who at the time scored four national team goals.[21]
During the
Šeško was Slovenia's top scorer in the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifiers, netting five goals from nine appearances in Group H[26] as Slovenia qualified for its first European Championship since 2000.[27]
Career statistics
Club
Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
FC Liefering (loan) | 2019–20 | Austrian 2. Liga
|
15 | 1 | — | — | — | 15 | 1 | |||
2020–21 | Austrian 2. Liga | 29 | 21 | — | — | — | 29 | 21 | ||||
Total | 44 | 22 | — | — | — | 44 | 22 | |||||
Red Bull Salzburg | 2020–21 | Austrian Bundesliga
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |
2021–22 | Austrian Bundesliga | 24 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 8[b] | 1 | — | 37 | 11 | ||
2022–23 | Austrian Bundesliga | 30 | 16 | 4 | 2 | 7[c] | 0 | — | 41 | 18 | ||
Total | 55 | 21 | 9 | 7 | 15 | 1 | — | 79 | 29 | |||
RB Leipzig | 2023–24 | Bundesliga | 27 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 8[b] | 2 | 1[d] | 0 | 38 | 14 |
Career total | 126 | 53 | 11 | 9 | 23 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 161 | 65 |
- ^ Includes Austrian Cup, DFB-Pokal
- ^ a b Appearances in UEFA Champions League
- ^ Six appearances in UEFA Champions League, one appearance in UEFA Europa League
- ^ Appearance in DFL-Supercup
International
- As of match played 26 March 2024[29]
National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
Slovenia | 2021 | 7 | 1 |
2022 | 10 | 4 | |
2023 | 9 | 5 | |
2024 | 2 | 1 | |
Total | 28 | 11 |
- Scores and results list Slovenia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Šeško goal.
No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 8 October 2021 | National Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta | 6 | ![]() |
4–0 | 4–0 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
2 | 12 June 2022 | Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia | 13 | ![]() |
2–2 | 2–2 | 2022–23 UEFA Nations League B |
3 | 24 September 2022 | Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia | 14 | ![]() |
2–1 | 2–1 | 2022–23 UEFA Nations League B |
4 | 27 September 2022 | Solna , Sweden |
15 | ![]() |
1–0 | 1–1 | 2022–23 UEFA Nations League B |
5 | 17 November 2022 | Cluj Arena, Cluj-Napoca, Romania | 16 | ![]() |
1–0 | 2–1 | Friendly |
6 | 26 March 2023 | Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia | 19 | ![]() |
1–0 | 2–0 | UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying |
7 | 7 September 2023 | Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia | 22 | ![]() |
3–1 | 4–2 | UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying |
8 | 14 October 2023 | Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia | 23 | ![]() |
1–0 | 3–0 | UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying |
9 | 2–0 | ||||||
10 | 20 November 2023 | Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia | 26 | ![]() |
1–0 | 2–1 | UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying |
11 | 21 March 2024 | National Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta | 27 | ![]() |
2–2 | 2–2 | Friendly |
Honours
Red Bull Salzburg
RB Leipzig
Individual
- Slovenian Footballer of the Year: 2022[31]
- Slovenian Youth Footballer of the Year: 2021, 2022,[31] 2023[32]
References
- ^ a b c d "Slovenia – B. Šeško". Soccerway. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
- ^ "Benjamin Šeško" (in German). RB Leipzig. Archived from the original on 6 March 2024. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
- ^ a b c Šašek, Nina (29 September 2022). "Kdo je mladi nogometni biser, ki je povzročil manijo v Radečah?". 24ur.com (in Slovenian). Retrieved 29 September 2022.
- ^ "Nogometaš Benjamin Šeško iz Radeč debitiral pri rdečih bikih". Posavski obzornik (in Slovenian). 6 February 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
- ^ "Ko se pridno treniranje spremeni v velik, a preprosto zaslužen uspeh". Sr(e)čno Trbovlje (in Slovenian). 19 June 2013. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
- ^ a b c "Benjamin Šeško – Statistika vseh odigranih tekem". nzs.si (in Slovenian). Football Association of Slovenia. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
- ^ "Slowenischer Youngster wechselt zu den Roten Bullen" (in German). Red Bull Salzburg. Archived from the original on 9 May 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
- ^ "Hartberg vs. Salzburg – 30 January 2021 – Soccerway". soccerway.com. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
- ^ "Players – 2. Liga – Austria – Soccerway". soccerway.com. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
- RTV Slovenija. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
- ^ "Benjamin Šeško to join RB Leipzig in 2023!". rbleipzig.com. RB Leipzig. 9 August 2022. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
- ^ "URADNO: Benjamin Šeško pozira v novem klubu, mega prestop v Leipzig je končno pod streho" (in Slovenian). Nogomania. 9 August 2022. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
- ^ "Xavi-Gala und Sesko-Doppelpack! RB Leipzig jubelt bei Union Berlin" (in German). Bundesliga. 3 September 2023. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
- ^ "Union Berlin finally loses at home after 24 Bundesliga games as Leipzig wins 3–0". Yahoo! Sports. 3 September 2023. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
- RTV Slovenija. 19 September 2023. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
- ^ Kadić, Edin (1 February 2021). "Slovenci strahuju da će im BiH ukrasti 'wunderkinda'". Sportske.ba (in Bosnian). Archived from the original on 1 August 2021. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
- ^ "Mladinci slavili v Avstriji". nzs.si (in Slovenian). Football Association of Slovenia. 4 September 2020. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
- ^ "Slovenija z udeležencem Eura 2020, Kek objavil seznam". nzs.si (in Slovenian). Football Association of Slovenia. 19 May 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
- Sportklub. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
- ^ "Šeško med najmlajšimi reprezentančnimi strelci tudi v Evropi". Slovenski nogometni portal (in Slovenian). 12 October 2021. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
- Sportklub. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
- ^ "Slovenia – Norway 2:1 (Nations League B 2022/2023, Group 4)". WorldFootball.net. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
- ^ "Soccer-Slovenia's Sesko scores wonder goal as Sweden are relegated". Reuters. 27 September 2022. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
- ^ "International football reaction – Scotland promoted". BBC Sport. 28 September 2022. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
- ^ "Svet se klanja noremu golu slovenskega čudežnega dečka" (in Slovenian). Siol. 27 September 2022. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
- ^ "Benjamin Šeško » EURO Qualifiers 2023/2024". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
- ^ "Slovenia qualify for Euro 2024 after victory over Kazakhstan". Reuters. 20 November 2023. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
- ^ "Benjamin Šeško". WorldFootball.net. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
- ^ "Benjamin Šeško, international football player". eu-football.info. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
- RTV Slovenija. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
- ^ RTV Slovenija. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
- ^ "Kocka je padla! Znan je najboljši slovenski nogometaš leta 2023, laskavi naziv je pripadel ..." Ekipa24 (in Slovenian). 3 January 2024. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Benjamin Šeško at NZS (in Slovene)
- Benjamin Šeško – UEFA competition record (archive)