Davie Selke

Davie Selke

Selke in 2016
Personal information
Date of birth (1995-01-20) 20 January 1995
Place of birth Schorndorf, Germany
Height 1.92 m (6 ft 3 12 in)
Playing position Striker
Club information
Current team
RB Leipzig
Number 27
Youth career
Stuttgarter Kickers
VfB Stuttgart
0000–2009 Normannia Gmünd
2009–2012 1899 Hoffenheim
2013 Werder Bremen
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–2015 Werder Bremen 33 (9)
2015– RB Leipzig 34 (12)
National team
2011 Germany U16 1 (0)
2011 Germany U17 5 (2)
2012 Germany U18 7 (4)
2013–2015 Germany U19 13 (11)
2014– Germany U20 32 (23)
2015– Germany U21 9 (7)
2016 Germany Olympic 5 (2)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23 October 2016.

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 10 November 2016

Davie Selke (born 20 January 1995) is a German footballer who plays as a striker for RB Leipzig. He currently holds the record for being the most expensive 2. Liga signing of all time.

Club career

Werder Bremen

Bundesliga breakthrough

Having spent the majority of his youth years at Hoffenheim, Selke signed for Werder Bremen in 2013 for €50,000.[1][2] While spending most of the 2013–2014 season playing for the reserves in the fourth-tier Regionalliga Nord, he made his first-team debut for the club on 3 November 2013, coming on as a second half substitute for Clemens Fritz in a 3–2 Bundesliga victory over Hannover.[1][3] The following month, Selke exchanged blows with Fritz during a training session, with the pair having to be separated by teammates.[4] He ended the season having scored 9 goals in 24 appearances for the reserves and remaining goalless in three first-team appearances for Die Grün-Weißen.[1]

Selke playing for Werder in 2013.

At the start of the 2014–15 campaign, Selke signed a new four-year deal with Bremen, tying him to the club until 2018.[5] He scored his first goal on 20 September 2014, netting in a 4–2 Bundesliga loss against FC Augsburg.[6] A late flurry of four goals and four assists in nine games from Selke helped Bremen to a tenth-placed finish in the league, thus securing their status in the Bundesliga for another season.[7]

Departure

Despite having signed a contract extension with Bremen just six months prior, Selke announced on 1 April 2015 that he would be joining 2. Liga side RB Leipzig at the end of the season.[8] The €8m fee Leipzig paid for Selke made him the most expensive 2.Liga signing in the history of the competition.[8] With Selke having been courted throughout the season by a host of European clubs, included in which were Real Madrid, Selke's decision to drop a division was seen as one of financial motive, especially given that Leipzig are owned by energy drink company Red Bull whom many feel are threatening the organic structure of German football.[9] Following the announcement of his departure, Selke was consistently jeered by parts of the Werder Bremen fans during the remaining matches of the season.[10] When asked about his impending move and the jeers, Selke responded by saying:

"Of course the whistles didn't just go in one ear and out of the other, I've seen how much the Werder fans can support this club and then you hear these whistles, but I'm mentally strong and can deal with the situation well...Leipzig have big objectives. Not only do they want to be promoted to the Bundesliga but they also want to establish themselves in the top half of the table in the near future. I want to be part of this project."[10]

RB Leipzig

Debut season and promotion to the Bundesliga

Selke made his debut for RB Leipzig on 25 July 2015 against FSV Frankfurt and scored his first goal for the club the following week, netting in a 2–2 draw with Greuther Fürth.[11] On 21 November, Selke netted the only goal in a 1–0 win over Arminia Bielefeld which saw Leipzig climb to the summit of 2.Liga.[12] On 8 May, Die roten Bullen secured promotion with a match to spare after beating Karlsruher 2–0. It was the first time in the club's short history that they had been promoted to the Bundesliga.[13] During the post match celebrations, Leipzig manager Ralf Rangnick pulled his hamstring after being chased by Selke with a glass of beer.[14]

International career

Though born in Schorndorf, Germany, Selke is eligible to represent both Ethiopia, the birthplace of his father, and the Czech Republic, the birthplace of his mother. He and his international teammate Gedion Zelalem had in the past been approached by the Ethiopian Football Association to represent the African nation but both players elected to remain within the German camp.[1][15]

In 2014, he helped Germany win the UEFA European Under-19 Championship. He netted six goals throughout the tournament which earned him the Golden Boot award.[9] His goalscoring tally equaled the tournament record, jointly held by Borko Veselinović and Álvaro Morata.[16] Selke was also named as the tournament's Golden Player.[16]

On 16 July 2016, Selke was named in Horst Hrubesch's 18-man squad for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.[17] He scored his first goal at the tournament on 7 August, netting Germany's second in a 3–3 draw with South Korea.[18] Germany ultimately went on to win the Silver Medal, losing to Brazil in the final.[19]

Style of play

Former Germany striker Klaus Fischer described Selke as being a "young Miroslav Klose", comparing his stature and strength in the air with that of Germany's all-time record goalscorer.[20] Selke himself, however, cites former Bayern Munich striker Mario Gómez as being his idol.[21]

Career statistics

Club performance

As of 23 October 2016[22]
Club performance League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Germany League DFB-Pokal Europe Total
2013–14Werder BremenBundesliga 30000030
2014–15 30931003310
Total 33931003610
2015–16RB Leipzig2. Bundesliga 301020003210
2016–17Bundesliga 42000042
Total 341220003612
Career total 672151007222

Honours

International

Germany U19
Germany

Individual

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Robey, Will (13 September 2014). "Everything you need to know about... Davie Selke". Four Four Two. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  2. Yokhin, Michael (23 December 2014). "Werder Bremen's Davie Selke could become Germany's future No. 9". ESPN. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  3. "Garcia sorgt für das Bremer Happy-End". kicker Online (in German). Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  4. "Trainings-Rangelei bei Werder!". Bild (in German). 16 December 2013. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  5. "Werder Bremen starlet Davie Selke pens new deal until 2018". ESPN. 18 September 2014. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  6. "Werner ist Werders Schreckgespenst" (in German). kicker.de. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  7. Potter, Steffan (21 March 2015). "UEFA.com's weekly wonderkid: Davie Selke". UEFA. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  8. 1 2 Whitney, Clark (2 April 2015). "Davie Selke Transfer Confirms Leipzig Have Become the Next Hoffenheim". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  9. 1 2 Jiang, Allan (26 May 2015). "Can Davie Selke Shrug Off Judas Perceptions With RB Leipzig?". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  10. 1 2 "Davie Selke affected by Werder Bremen fan boos". ESPN. 8 April 2015. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  11. "Forsberg bestraft Fürther Chancenverwertung" (in German). kicker.de. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  12. "Selke strike takes Leipzig top". Bundesliga. 21 November 2015. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
  13. "Leipzig down Karlsruhe to secure promotion". Bundesliga. 8 May 2016. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
  14. Corless, Liam (8 May 2016). "Leipzig boss pulls hamstring after striker chases him with beer during Bundesliga promotion celebrations". Mirror (in German). Retrieved 9 May 2016.
  15. Balczuweit, Markus (30 July 2014). "Werder-Bubi lässt Deutschland träumen". Bild (in German). Retrieved 9 November 2016.
  16. 1 2 3 "2014: Davie Selke". UEFA. 1 September 2014. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
  17. Wildhagen, Niklas (15 July 2016). "Hrubesch names his squad for Rio". Bundesliga Fanatic. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  18. Dietze, Michael (7 August 2016. "Germany and South Korea fight to 3-3 draw in Group C clash". NBC. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  19. "Neymar's golden penalty sees Brazil to victory". FIFA. 21 August 2016. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  20. Stockhofe, Lukas (4 July 2015). "Sturmlegende Klaus Fischer: "Selke ist der junge Klose"". Goal Germany (in German). Retrieved 9 May 2016.
  21. Bothmann, Claudia (29 July 2015). "So tickt unser Bubi-Ballermann Selke". Bild (in German). Retrieved 9 May 2016.
  22. "Davie Selke" (in German). weltfussball.de. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Davie Selke.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/15/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.