Early Life
Ydnekatchew was born in Jimma to father Negadras Tessema Ehete and mother Mulatwa Gebreselassie. Ydnekatchew's father was serving his fifth year of exile from the country for being the Minister of Telegraph and Posts of the deposed Iyasu V of Ethiopia.
This never really affected the relationship between Ydnekatchew and Emperor Haile Selassie,the two are seen in many shots where Ydnekatchew humbly accepted another trophy from the emperor. At age four, Ydnekatchew was sent to Teferi Mekonnen School, where he would receive most of his education. At school, the young Ydnekatchew played many sports but mastered football. At age 8 he was even made captain of his school team. In his teens, he also practiced cycling, short distance running and boxing, but he always seemed destined for football, which led him to being recruited by a member of the Arada FC (now Saint-George SA).
The young Ydnekatchew took French, English and Italian classes and was fluent in all those languages besides Amharic.
Read more about this topic: Ydnekatchew Tessema
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“... goodness is of a modest nature, easily discouraged, and when much elbowed in early life by unabashed vices, is apt to retire into extreme privacy, so that it is more easily believed in by those who construct a selfish old gentleman theoretically, than by those who form the narrower judgments based on his personal acquaintance.”
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