Reuben Gabriel
Personal information
Full name Reuben Shalu Gabriel
Date of birth (1990-09-25) 25 September 1990 (age 33)
Place of birth Kaduna, Nigeria
Height 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)
Position(s) Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Al sahel
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2009 Kaduna United 75 (2)
2009–2010 Enyimba International 44 (1)
2011–2013 Kano Pillars 67 (1)
2013–2014 Kilmarnock 3 (0)
2014 Waasland-Beveren 5 (3)
2014–2016 Boavista Porto 36 (1)
2016 AS Trenčín 11 (1)
2017–2019 KuPS 38 (7)
2019 Najran 12 (4)
2019–2020 Abha 16 (1)
2020–2021 Al-Fayha 35 (2)
2021 Al-Ain 0 (0)
International career‡
2010–2014 Nigeria 12 (0)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Nigeria
Africa Cup of Nations
Winner 2013 South Africa
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 25 November 2018
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 30 June 2014

Reuben Shalu Gabriel (born 25 September 1990) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder.

Club career

Nigeria

Gabriel was born in Kaduna. In his country he played for Kaduna United FC, Enyimba International F.C. and Kano Pillars FC.[1]

In October 2012, Gabriel was named both the Player of the Year and the National Team Player of the Year at the 2012 League Bloggers Awards (LBA), held in Lagos.[2]

Kilmarnock

On 2 April 2013, Gabriel joined Scottish Premier League side Kilmarnock as a free agent, signing a three-year contract.[3][4][5][6] He made his debut for his new team on 29 November, in a Scottish Cup tie against Dundee United where he conceded a penalty in a 2–5 away defeat.[7]

In November 2013, Reuben demanded to leave Kilmarnock in the January 2014 window.[8] He was released in January, after the club accepted his request.[9]

Waasland-Beveren

In January 2014, Reuben went on trial with Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League.[10] However, nothing came of it, and he joined Belgian Pro League side Waasland-Beveren on a one-and-a-half-year contract late in the month.[11]

Al-Ain

On 3 September 2021, Gabriel joined Al-Ain.[12]

International career

Gabriel made his debut for Nigeria in March 2010, in a 5–2 win against the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Previously, he was a member of the national B-team that won the 2010 WAFU Nations Cup.

Reuben scored his first international on 9 June 2012, netting the opener in an eventual 1–1 away draw against Malawi for the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.[13] He was called to the 23-man squad for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations,[14] being an unused player as the Super Eagles won the tournament in South Africa.

Reuben was also selected to the 2014 World Cup by coach Stephen Keshi.[15] He made his debut in the tournament on 30 June, replacing injured Ogenyi Onazi in the 59th minute of an eventual 0–2 loss to France for the round-of-16.[16]

References

  1. ^ New players at the Nigeria national football team; West African Football, 16 January 2012
  2. ^ "Gabriel wins LBA Player of the Year". Kick Off. 29 October 2012. Archived from the original on 28 October 2014. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
  3. ^ Signing of Reuben Gabriel completed Archived 6 April 2013 at the Wayback Machine; Kilmarnock FC, 2 April 2013
  4. ^ "Kilmarnock sign Nigeria midfielder Reuben Gabriel". BBC Sport. 2 April 2013. Archived from the original on 5 April 2013. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
  5. ^ "Midfielder Reuben Gabriel set to make debut for Kilmarnock". Goal. 2 April 2013. Archived from the original on 6 April 2013. Retrieved 11 April 2013.
  6. ^ "Midfielder Kilmarnock sign Gabriel Reuben and Papa Idris on three-year deals". STV News. 2 April 2013. Archived from the original on 7 April 2013. Retrieved 11 April 2013.
  7. ^ "Dundee United 5–2 Kilmarnock". BBC Sport. 29 November 2013. Archived from the original on 29 November 2013. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
  8. ^ "Nigeria's Gabriel Reuben demands to leave Kilmarnock". BBC Sport. 27 November 2013. Archived from the original on 30 November 2013. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
  9. ^ "Nigerian Gabriel Reuben released by Kilmarnock". BBC Sport. 2 January 2014. Archived from the original on 4 January 2014. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  10. ^ "Super Eagles midfielder Reuben Gabriel begins trials with Tottenham Hotspurs". Nigeria Watch. 18 January 2014. Archived from the original on 19 February 2014. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  11. ^ "Waasland-Beveren sign Nigeria midfielder Reuben Gabriel". BBC Sport. 23 January 2014. Archived from the original on 23 January 2014. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  12. ^ "#روبن".
  13. ^ Reuben targets NPL title with Pillars Archived 25 December 2015 at the Wayback Machine; MTN Football, 19 June 2012
  14. ^ Okeleji, Oluwashina (10 January 2013). "Nations Cup 2013: Nigeria pick six locally-based players". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 13 January 2013. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
  15. ^ "Nigeria World Cup 2014 squad". The Daily Telegraph. 2 June 2014. Archived from the original on 2 June 2014. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
  16. ^ "France sink Super Eagles". FIFA. 30 June 2014. Archived from the original on 30 June 2014. Retrieved 30 June 2014.

External links

Nigeria squads
Categories