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Benjamin Šeško

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Benjamin Šeško
Šeško with Red Bull Salzburg in 2023
Personal information
Date of birth (2003-05-31) 31 May 2003 (age 21)[1]
Place of birth Radeče, Slovenia[2]
Height 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)[3]
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
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019–2023 Red Bull Salzburg 55 (21)
2019–2021 → FC Liefering (loan) 44 (22)
2023– RB Leipzig 41 (17)
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 37 (15)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19:24, 9 November 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 16:43, 13 October 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, before becoming the youngest player to appear for the senior national team in 2021, aged 18, and scored his first goal for the national team in October 2021, making him Slovenia's youngest ever goalscorer.

Club career

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Early career

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Šeško began his career at his hometown club Radeče when he was in the first grade.[4][5] He then spent one year with Rudar Trbovlje in the under-11 selection,[4][6] before returning to Radeče.[4] In 2016 he transferred to Krško, where he played for the under-15s and under-17s.[7] In the 2017–18 season, he scored 59 goals in 23 matches for the under-15s.[7] In 2018, Šeško joined Domžale, where he stayed for one season.[7]

Red Bull Salzburg

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At the age of 16, on 3 June 2019, Šeško signed a three-year professional contract with Red Bull Salzburg.[8] He debuted with Red Bull Salzburg in a 3–0 Austrian Football Bundesliga win over TSV Hartberg on 30 January 2021.[9]

Loan to FC Liefering

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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.[10] He scored most of his goals in the final part of the season, scoring 13 goals in the last 7 rounds.[11]

RB Leipzig

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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.[12][13]

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.[14][15] 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.[16] Šeško finished his first season with 18 goals across all competitions, and also became the youngest ever player to score in seven consecutive Bundesliga games at 20 years and 353 days.[17]

In June 2024, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United and AC Milan all pursued Šeško,[18] but he decided to stay with RB Leipzig, extending his existing contract by another year until 2029.[19][20]

International career

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Šeško (number 11) with Slovenia in 2022

Eligible for Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina (due to his mother hailing from Doboj),[21] 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.[22]

In May 2021, Šeško was called up by the senior team manager Matjaž Kek for a pair of friendlies in June 2021.[23] 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.[24] 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.[25]

"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.[26]

During the 2022–23 UEFA Nations League B campaign, Šeško helped Slovenia avoid relegation to League C with two decisive goals. He provided an assist and scored the winning goal in a 2–1 victory over Norway on 24 September 2022,[27] and also scored in a 1–1 draw against Sweden three days later. The goal against Sweden was described as a "wonder goal" by the media,[28][29] and was nominated as one of the best goals of the matchday by UEFA.[30]

Šeško was Slovenia's top scorer in the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifiers, netting five goals from nine appearances in Group H[31] as Slovenia qualified for its first European Championship since 2000.[32] He was later named in the squad for the final tournament, where he played in all four Slovenia's matches.[33] The team advanced to the knockout stages for the first time and was eliminated by Portugal in the round of 16 on penalties.[34]

On 9 September 2024, Šeško scored his first international hat-trick in a 3–0 victory over Kazakhstan in the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League B.[35]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of match played 9 November 2024[2][36]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
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 31 14 2 2 8[b] 2 1[d] 0 42 18
2024–25 Bundesliga 10 3 1 1 4[b] 3 — 15 7
Total 41 17 3 3 12 5 1 0 57 25
Career total 140 60 12 10 27 6 1 0 180 76
  1. ^ Includes Austrian Cup, DFB-Pokal
  2. ^ a b c Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  3. ^ Six appearances in UEFA Champions League, one appearance in UEFA Europa League
  4. ^ Appearance in DFL-Supercup

International

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As of match played 13 October 2024[37]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Slovenia 2021 7 1
2022 10 4
2023 9 5
2024 11 5
Total 37 15
Scores and results list Slovenia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Šeško goal.
List of international goals scored by Benjamin Šeško
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
1 8 October 2021 National Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta 6  Malta 4–0 4–0 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
2 12 June 2022 Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia 13  Serbia 2–2 2–2 2022–23 UEFA Nations League B
3 24 September 2022 Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia 14  Norway 2–1 2–1 2022–23 UEFA Nations League B
4 27 September 2022 Friends Arena, Solna, Sweden 15  Sweden 1–0 1–1 2022–23 UEFA Nations League B
5 17 November 2022 Cluj Arena, Cluj-Napoca, Romania 16  Romania 1–0 2–1 Friendly
6 26 March 2023 Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia 19  San Marino 1–0 2–0 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying
7 7 September 2023 Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia 22  Northern Ireland 3–1 4–2 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying
8 14 October 2023 Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia 23  Finland 1–0 3–0 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying
9 2–0
10 20 November 2023 Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia 26  Kazakhstan 1–0 2–1 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying
11 21 March 2024 National Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta 27  Malta 2–2 2–2 Friendly
12 6 September 2024 Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia 34  Austria 1–0 1–1 2024–25 UEFA Nations League B
13 9 September 2024 Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia 35  Kazakhstan 1–0 3–0 2024–25 UEFA Nations League B
14 2–0
15 3–0

Honours

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Red Bull Salzburg

RB Leipzig

Individual

References

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  1. ^ "Benjamin Šeško | Slovenia | UEFA Nations League". UEFA.com. Archived from the original on 4 October 2024. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d "Slovenia – B. Šeško". Soccerway. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
  3. ^ "Benjamin Šeško" (in German). RB Leipzig. Archived from the original on 6 March 2024. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ "Nogometaš Benjamin Šeško iz Radeč debitiral pri rdečih bikih". Posavski obzornik (in Slovenian). 6 February 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  6. ^ "Ko se pridno treniranje spremeni v velik, a preprosto zaslužen uspeh". Sr(e)čno Trbovlje (in Slovenian). 19 June 2013. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  7. ^ a b c "Benjamin Šeško – Statistika vseh odigranih tekem". nzs.si (in Slovenian). Football Association of Slovenia. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  8. ^ "Slowenischer Youngster wechselt zu den Roten Bullen" (in German). Red Bull Salzburg. Archived from the original on 9 May 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  9. ^ "Hartberg vs. Salzburg – 30 January 2021 – Soccerway". soccerway.com. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  10. ^ "Players – 2. Liga – Austria – Soccerway". soccerway.com. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  11. ^ Gruden, Toni (1 June 2021). "Šeško in Mlakar prva strelca, Iličić pa najpodajalec Kekovih izbrancev" (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  12. ^ "Benjamin Šeško to join RB Leipzig in 2023!". RB Leipzig. 9 August 2022. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  13. ^ "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.
  14. ^ "Xavi-Gala und Sesko-Doppelpack! RB Leipzig jubelt bei Union Berlin" (in German). Bundesliga. 3 September 2023. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  15. ^ "Union Berlin finally loses at home after 24 Bundesliga games as Leipzig wins 3–0". Yahoo! Sports. 3 September 2023. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  16. ^ "Leipzig s tremi goli do treh točk, Kampl podal za 2:1, Šeško postavil izid tekme" (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija. 19 September 2023. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
  17. ^ "Rekord: Benjamin Šeško je postal najmlajši igralec v zgodovini Bundeslige, ki je zadel na sedmih tekmah zapored!" (in Slovenian). Nogomania. 18 May 2024. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
  18. ^ Andrews, Connor (11 June 2024). "Benjamin Sesko snubs Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United to stay in Germany". Talksport. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  19. ^ "Benjamin Sesko signs contract extension!". RB Leipzig. 12 June 2024. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  20. ^ Lisjak, Mitja (12 June 2024). "Šeško podaljšal pogodbo z Leipzigom do leta 2029" (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  21. ^ 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.
  22. ^ "Mladinci slavili v Avstriji". nzs.si (in Slovenian). Football Association of Slovenia. 4 September 2020. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  23. ^ "Slovenija z udeležencem Eura 2020, Kek objavil seznam". nzs.si (in Slovenian). Football Association of Slovenia. 19 May 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  24. ^ Viškovič, Rok (1 June 2021). "Benjamin Šeško je krepko popravil slovenski rekord" (in Slovenian). Sportklub. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  25. ^ "Šeško med najmlajšimi reprezentančnimi strelci tudi v Evropi". Slovenski nogometni portal (in Slovenian). 12 October 2021. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
  26. ^ Viškovič, Rok (28 September 2022). "Zlatko Zahović: Šeško me bo presegel, mojega rekorda ni več". Sportklub (in Slovenian). Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  27. ^ "Slovenia – Norway 2:1 (Nations League B 2022/2023, Group 4)". WorldFootball.net. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  28. ^ "Soccer-Slovenia's Sesko scores wonder goal as Sweden are relegated". Reuters. 27 September 2022. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  29. ^ "International football reaction – Scotland promoted". BBC Sport. 28 September 2022. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  30. ^ "Svet se klanja noremu golu slovenskega čudežnega dečka" (in Slovenian). Siol. 27 September 2022. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  31. ^ "Benjamin Šeško » EURO Qualifiers 2023/2024". WorldFootball.net. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
  32. ^ "Slovenia qualify for Euro 2024 after victory over Kazakhstan". Reuters. 20 November 2023. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
  33. ^ "Benjamin Šeško » EURO 2024 Germany". WorldFootball.net. 30 June 2024.
  34. ^ Cirman, Marko (2 July 2024). "Konec poti, ne potovanja" (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija. Retrieved 10 September 2024.
  35. ^ "Prvi Benijev hat-trick za reprezentanco, vsi so peli: "Šeško is on fire!"" (in Slovenian). Siol. 9 September 2024. Retrieved 10 September 2024.
  36. ^ "Benjamin Šeško". WorldFootball.net. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
  37. ^ "Benjamin Šeško, international football player". eu-football.info. Retrieved 13 October 2024.
  38. ^ Lisjak, Mitja (12 August 2023). "Olmo s hat-trickom pokvaril veliki debi Kana pri Bayernu" (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  39. ^ a b To. G. (3 January 2023). "Benjamin Šeško najboljši nogometaš Slovenije" (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  40. ^ "Kocka je padla! Znan je najboljši slovenski nogometaš leta 2023, laskavi naziv je pripadel ..." Ekipa24 (in Slovenian). 3 January 2024. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
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