Benjamin Kibebe
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | August 13, 1981 | ||
| Place of birth | Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | ||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Playing position | Defender | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Rågsveds IF | |||
| IF Brommapojkarna | |||
| Hammarby IF | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1999–2004 | AIK | 80 | (2) |
| 2005–2006 | Tromsø | 46 | (4) |
| 2007–2008 | Aalesunds FK | 35 | (2) |
| 2008–2010 | FC Nordsjælland[1] | 56 | (1) |
| 2010–2012 | FC Luzern | 12 | (1) |
| 2012–2013 | FC Midtjylland | 9 | (0) |
| National team | |||
| 2001 | Sweden | 1 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 26 March 2013. † Appearances (Goals). | |||
Benjamin Kibebe (born August 13, 1981 in Addis Ababa[2]) is an Ethiopian-born Swedish footballer.
Career
Early career
Kibebe was born in Addis Ababa and moved to Sweden as a child. He began his career with local side Hammarby IF but in 1999 moved to their bitter rivals AIK. He has said that the only reason he crossed the divide is that AIK offered him a professional contract and Hammarby didn't.
Norway
He spent 5 seasons with AIK and in 2005 moved to Norway to play in the Tippeligaen for Tromsø IL, the northernmost top-level football club in the world. Due to this Kibebe said that the team had to travel to most matches via plane. Kibebe had a successful year living in Tromsø as he played in the UEFA Cup. The club beat Danish club Esbjerg fB in the qualifying round then Turkish club Galatasaray S.K. in the First Round to qualified to the group stages. The team were drawn in Group E alongside AS Roma, RC Strasbourg, FC Basel and Red Star Belgrade.
At the end of the 2006 season Kibebe left Tromsø I.K. for Aalesunds FK who had just been promoted from the Adeccoligaen at the end of the 2006 season after finishing as runners up.
Denmark
After a successful time at Aalesunds FK he was sold to Danish team FC Nordsjælland. In Denmark he quickly made a good name for himself where he was a strong contributor to helping the team win the Danish Cup 2010 for the first time in the clubs history. Kibebe is noted for 21 games in the UEFA cup and scored the first goal of the FC Nordsjælland's UEFA Cup contest against the Scottish club Queen of the South F.C. from Dumfries.[3]
Switzerland
On 5 May 2010, the day after FC Nordsjælland's Danish Cup victory he was bought by the Swiss Club FC Luzern. Kibebe signed a three year contract.[4]
International career
Kibebe has played one match for the Swedish national team, as well as seven age-based international matches.[5]
External links
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixb1YaUy1bc
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WobRQpON1w
- http://www.ethiosports.com/2010/11/01/q-a-benjamin-%E2%80%9Cbenyam%E2%80%9D-kibebe-of-fc-luzern-switzerland/
- FCL buys a Swedish defender (English)
References
- ↑ Benjamin Kibebe at Danmarks Radio (Danish)
- ↑ Profile at Playerhistory.com
- ↑ "Club History" on the official Queen of the South website
- ↑ FC Luzern verpflichtet schwedischen Innenverteidiger
- ↑ Benjamin Kibebe at National-Football-Teams.com