Who is Arthur Theate, Eintracht Frankfurt's new Belgium international defender?
He idolises Spain's World Cup and Euro-winning centre-backs Sergio Ramos and Carles Puyol, and has played with RB Leipzig's Löis Openda for Belgium at youth and senior level having been unemployed in 2020 - bundesliga.com details the incredible rise of Eintracht Frankfurt's new defender Arthur Theate.
Statistics correct as of 16 August 2024
Arthur Theate
Age: 24 (born 25 May, 2000)
Club: Eintracht Frankfurt
Position: Centre-back/left-back
Nationality: Belgian (18 caps/0 goals)
Key stats and facts
The main statistic you need to know about Theate is that just four years ago even he feared his career might be over before it had really started.
"It was a bit rock and roll during my early years, as I played for Genk, Standard Liege, Genk and Standard again. When I was 20, I was kicked out and found myself without a club, unemployed," he explained. "That was at the end of the 2019-20 season, just after the start of the COVID crisis. I started looking for a 'real' job because I had to earn money to live. But I was lucky enough to get a one-week trial at KV Oostende, where I eventually signed my first professional contract."
The trial at Ostend only happened because his agent told the club that, yes, of course, Theate could also play centre-back. Up to that point, he had never played the position in his life having started out as a striker, becoming a left-winger at 13, and then spending the rest of his youth career at left-back.
Ostende - and Belgian football - soon realised what a bargain they had. After a hugely successful season, Theate joined Serie A side Bologna on loan for the 2021/22 season. He played in 31 ltalian top-flight matches in the 2022/23 campaign prompting Bologna to take up their purchase option on him…before immediately acceptinga follow-up offer from Rennes.
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Having made his senior international debut for Belgium in November 2021, he was part of Roberto Martinez's squad for the 2022 World Cup, and was also selected by Domenico Tedesco for Euro 2024 after a second successive solid season in France where he also gained European experience.
"I can't promise to be perfect. No player can. But I think we promise to give our best and our all every game," said Theate, explaining what Frankfurt fans can expect from him. "For me, if you leave the pitch and you're not tired, there's something wrong, because those people [the fans] make sacrifices."
Plays a bit like: Lucas Hernández
There are a number of similarities between Theate and the former Bayern Munich man: left-footed, versatile and combative. In three appearances at Euro 2024, he showed his qualities, racking up an average of 3.5 possession recoveries per game and tallying a healthy 88 per cent pass completion ratio.
He is not the biggest central defender at 6'0" tall, but combines controlled aggression with natural ability to handle bigger opponents. "I grew taller very late indeed, around the age of 15-16. And before that age, I was really small. So I had to compensate with better timing, a quality I've managed to keep," he explained.
Like Hernández, who is now at Paris Saint-Germain, Theate does not offer too much going forward: he scored eight goals and provided a single assist in 82 competitive games for Rennes. But - as he said himself, and like Hernández and his idols Carles Puyol and Sergio Ramos - he will give 100 per cent, and accept nothing else from himself or his teammates.
"What we produced today was scandalous," Theate said after Rennes' 3-1 defeat at Toulouse in April, their fourth successive Ligue 1 loss. "It was a catastrophe in terms of our play and our desire, from the start to the end. There was nothing anywhere. That's all I have to say, I'm really sorry. We have just one thing to do: apologise to our fans."
Did you know?
Theate played with RB Leipzig forward Loïs Openda for Belgium's international youth teams where he also featured alongside cyclist Remco Evenepoel, who won Olympic gold in both the men's road race and time trial at Paris 2024.
"He was a technical player with a good left foot, but he wasn't very fast," said Theate, who roomed with Evenepoel at U16 level. "His strong points? His positioning and his intelligence. He was also very strong mentally, never giving up from the first minute to the last. In the end, he kept the same qualities on the bike."
What they're saying…
"It was hugely positive for me, even if I didn't play a single minute. A World Cup is the experience of a lifetime. In 2014 and 2018, I went out into the street to celebrate with my friends when Belgium won." Theate on being part of the Red Devils' 2022 World Cup squad
"He's a player with a lot of character. He likes challenges, he's good in terms of his aggression and intensity." Former Belgium coach Roberto Martínez after Theate's senior international debut
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