Benjamin Šeško Explained

Benjamin Šeško
Birth Date:2003 5, df=yes
Birth Place:Radeče, Slovenia
Height:1.95 m[1]
Currentclub:RB Leipzig
Clubnumber:30
Position:Forward
Youthyears1:2010–2013
Youthclubs1:Radeče
Youthyears2:2013–2014
Youthclubs2:Rudar Trbovlje
Youthyears3:2014–2016
Youthclubs3:Radeče
Youthyears4:2016–2018
Youthclubs4:Krško
Youthyears5:2018–2019
Youthclubs5:Domžale
Years1:2019–2023
Clubs1:Red Bull Salzburg
Caps1:55
Goals1:21
Years2:2019–2021
Clubs2:FC Liefering (loan)
Caps2:44
Goals2:22
Years3:2023–
Clubs3:RB Leipzig
Caps3:31
Goals3:14
Nationalyears1:2017–2018
Nationalteam1:Slovenia U15
Nationalcaps1:6
Nationalgoals1:4
Nationalyears2:2018
Nationalteam2:Slovenia U16
Nationalcaps2:4
Nationalgoals2:4
Nationalyears3:2018–2019
Nationalteam3:Slovenia U17
Nationalcaps3:14
Nationalgoals3:5
Nationalyears4:2020
Nationalteam4:Slovenia U19
Nationalcaps4:1
Nationalgoals4:0
Nationalyears5:2021–
Nationalteam5:Slovenia
Nationalcaps5:33
Nationalgoals5:11
Club-Update:16:35, 18 May 2024 (UTC)
Nationalteam-Update:11:17, 2 July 2024 (UTC)

Benjamin Šeško (in Slovenian pronounced as /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 Radeče when he was in the first grade.[2] [3] He then spent one year with Rudar Trbovlje in the under-11 selection,[2] [4] before returning to Radeče.[2] In 2016 he transferred to Krško, where he played for the under-15s and under-17s.[5] In the 2017–18 season, he scored 59 goals in 23 matches for the under-15s.[5] In 2018, Šeško joined Domžale, where he stayed for one season.[5]

Red Bull Salzburg

At the age of 16, on 3 June 2019, Šeško signed a three-year professional contract with Red Bull Salzburg.[6] He debuted with Red Bull Salzburg in a 3–0 Austrian Football Bundesliga win over TSV Hartberg on 30 January 2021.[7]

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.[8] He scored most of his goals in the final part of the season, scoring 13 goals in the last 7 rounds.[9]

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.[10] [11]

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.[12] [13] 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.[14] 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.[15]

In June 2024, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United and AC Milan all pursued Šeško,[16] but he decided to stay with RB Leipzig, extending his existing contract by another year until 2029.[17] [18]

International career

Eligible for Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina (due to his mother hailing from Doboj),[19] 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.[20]

In May 2021, Šeško was called up by the senior team manager Matjaž Kek for a pair of friendlies in June 2021.[21] 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.[22] 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.[23]

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,[24] 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,[25] [26] and was nominated as one of the best goals of the matchday by UEFA.[27]

Šeško was Slovenia's top scorer in the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifiers, netting five goals from nine appearances in Group H[28] as Slovenia qualified for its first European Championship since 2000.[29]

Career statistics

Club

[30] [31]

Club!rowspan="2"
SeasonLeagueNational cupContinentalOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
FC Liefering (loan)2019–20Austrian 2. Liga151151
2020–21Austrian 2. Liga29212921
Total44224422
Red Bull Salzburg2020–21Austrian Bundesliga10000010
2021–22Austrian Bundesliga24555813711
2022–23Austrian Bundesliga301642704118
Total5521971517929
RB Leipzig2023–24Bundesliga31142282104218
2024–25Bundesliga00110011
Total31143382104319
Career total1305712102331016670

International

[32]

Appearances and goals by national team and year!National team!!Year!!Apps!!Goals
Slovenia202171
2022104
202395
202471
Total3311

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.DateVenueCapOpponentScoreResultCompetition
18 October 2021National Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta64–0 4–02022 FIFA World Cup qualification
212 June 2022Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia132–2 2–22022–23 UEFA Nations League B
324 September 2022Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia142–1 2–12022–23 UEFA Nations League B
427 September 2022Friends Arena, Solna, Sweden151–0 1–12022–23 UEFA Nations League B
517 November 2022Cluj Arena, Cluj-Napoca, Romania161–0 2–1Friendly
626 March 2023Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia191–0 2–0UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying
77 September 2023Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia223–1 4–2UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying
814 October 2023Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, Sloveniaalign=center rowspan=2231–0 align=center rowspan=23–0UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying
9 2–0
1020 November 2023Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia261–02–1UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying
1121 March 2024National Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta272–22–2Friendly

Honours

Red Bull Salzburg

2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23[30]

2021–22[30]

RB Leipzig

2023[33]

Individual

2022[34]

2021, 2022,[34] 2023[35]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Benjamin Šeško . de. RB Leipzig . 6 March 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240306192759/https://rbleipzig.com/profis/team/benjamin-sesko/. 6 March 2024. live.
  2. Web site: Šašek . Nina . Kdo je mladi nogometni biser, ki je povzročil manijo v Radečah? . 24ur.com . 29 September 2022 . sl . 29 September 2022.
  3. Web site: Nogometaš Benjamin Šeško iz Radeč debitiral pri rdečih bikih . Posavski obzornik . 8 June 2021 . sl . 6 February 2021.
  4. Web site: Ko se pridno treniranje spremeni v velik, a preprosto zaslužen uspeh . Sr(e)čno Trbovlje . 29 July 2022 . sl . 19 June 2013.
  5. Web site: Benjamin Šeško – Statistika vseh odigranih tekem . nzs.si . . 8 June 2021 . sl.
  6. Web site: Slowenischer Youngster wechselt zu den Roten Bullen. Red Bull Salzburg. 8 June 2021. de. 9 May 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210509073852/https://www.redbullsalzburg.at/de/fc-red-bull-salzburg/news/saison_2018_19/slowenischer-youngster-wechselt-zu-den-roten-bullen.html. dead.
  7. Web site: Hartberg vs. Salzburg – 30 January 2021 – Soccerway. soccerway.com. 8 June 2021.
  8. Web site: Players – 2. Liga – Austria – Soccerway . soccerway.com . 8 June 2021.
  9. Web site: Gruden . Toni . Šeško in Mlakar prva strelca, Iličić pa najpodajalec Kekovih izbrancev . . 8 June 2021 . sl . 1 June 2021.
  10. Web site: Benjamin Šeško to join RB Leipzig in 2023! . 9 August 2022. 9 August 2022. RB Leipzig. en.
  11. Web site: URADNO: Benjamin Šeško pozira v novem klubu, mega prestop v Leipzig je končno pod streho . Nogomania . 9 August 2022 . sl . 9 August 2022.
  12. Web site: Xavi-Gala und Sesko-Doppelpack! RB Leipzig jubelt bei Union Berlin . Bundesliga . de . 3 September 2023. 3 September 2023.
  13. Web site: Union Berlin finally loses at home after 24 Bundesliga games as Leipzig wins 3–0 . Yahoo! Sports. 3 September 2023. 3 September 2023.
  14. Web site: Leipzig s tremi goli do treh točk, Kampl podal za 2:1, Šeško postavil izid tekme . . 19 September 2023 . sl . 19 September 2023.
  15. Web site: Rekord: Benjamin Šeško je postal najmlajši igralec v zgodovini Bundeslige, ki je zadel na sedmih tekmah zapored! . Nogomania . 18 May 2024 . sl . 18 May 2024.
  16. Web site: Andrews. Connor. Benjamin Sesko snubs Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United to stay in Germany . Talksport. 12 June 2024 . 11 June 2024.
  17. Web site: Benjamin Sesko signs contract extension! . RB Leipzig . 12 June 2024. 12 June 2024.
  18. Web site: Lisjak . Mitja . Šeško podaljšal pogodbo z Leipzigom do leta 2029 . . 12 June 2024 . sl . 12 June 2024.
  19. Web site: Kadić. Edin. 1 February 2021. Slovenci strahuju da će im BiH ukrasti 'wunderkinda'. live. 1 August 2021. Sportske.ba. bs-BA. https://web.archive.org/web/20210801214222/https://sportske.ba/slovenci-strahuju-da-ce-im-bih-ukrasti-wunderkinda/ . 1 August 2021.
  20. Web site: Mladinci slavili v Avstriji . nzs.si . . 8 June 2021 . sl . 4 September 2020.
  21. Web site: Slovenija z udeležencem Eura 2020, Kek objavil seznam. nzs.si. Football Association of Slovenia. 19 May 2021. 8 June 2021. sl.
  22. Web site: Benjamin Šeško je krepko popravil slovenski rekord. 1 June 2021. Sportklub. 8 June 2021. sl. Rok. Viškovič.
  23. Web site: Šeško med najmlajšimi reprezentančnimi strelci tudi v Evropi . Slovenski nogometni portal . 19 October 2021 . sl-SI . 12 October 2021.
  24. Web site: Slovenia – Norway 2:1 (Nations League B 2022/2023, Group 4) . WorldFootball.net . 28 September 2022 . en.
  25. Web site: Soccer-Slovenia's Sesko scores wonder goal as Sweden are relegated . . 28 September 2022 . en . 27 September 2022.
  26. Web site: International football reaction – Scotland promoted . . 28 September 2022 . 28 September 2022.
  27. Web site: Svet se klanja noremu golu slovenskega čudežnega dečka . . 28 September 2022 . sl . 27 September 2022.
  28. Web site: Benjamin Šeško » EURO Qualifiers 2023/2024 . worldfootball.net . 21 November 2023 . en.
  29. Web site: Slovenia qualify for Euro 2024 after victory over Kazakhstan. 20 November 2023. Reuters. 21 November 2023.
  30. Web site: Slovenia – B. Šeško . Soccerway . 18 August 2024.
  31. Web site: Benjamin Šeško. WorldFootball.net. 18 August 2024.
  32. Web site: Benjamin Šeško, international football player. eu-football.info . 2 July 2024.
  33. Web site: Lisjak . Mitja . Olmo s hat-trickom pokvaril veliki debi Kana pri Bayernu . . 12 August 2023 . sl . 12 August 2023.
  34. Web site: To. G.. Benjamin Šeško najboljši nogometaš Slovenije. . 3 January 2023 . sl . 3 January 2023.
  35. Web site: Kocka je padla! Znan je najboljši slovenski nogometaš leta 2023, laskavi naziv je pripadel ... . Ekipa24. 3 January 2024 . sl . 3 January 2024.