Gabri (footballer, born 1979)

Gabriel Francisco García de la Torre (born 10 February 1979), known as Gabri, is a Spanish retired footballer, and a manager, who is currently in charge of UE Olot. Mainly a midfielder who could play in the right or the middle, he could also appear as an attacking right back, tackling and passing skills being his main assets.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is García and the second or maternal family name is De la Torre.
Gabri
Gabri in 2006
Personal information
Full name Gabriel Francisco García de la Torre
Date of birth (1979-02-10) 10 February 1979
Place of birth Sallent, Spain
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Olot (manager)
Youth career
1985–1991 Sallent
1991–1993 Sabadell
1993–1997 Barcelona
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1997–2000 Barcelona B 67 (9)
1999–2006 Barcelona 129 (7)
2006–2010 Ajax 86 (7)
2010–2011 Umm-Salal 13 (3)
2011 Sion II 2 (1)
2011 Sion 5 (0)
2012–2014 Lausanne-Sport 28 (1)
Total 330 (28)
National team
1994–1995 Spain U16 8 (2)
1996–1998 Spain U18 10 (1)
1999 Spain U20 7 (3)
1999–2001 Spain U21 17 (0)
2000 Spain U23 6 (3)
2003–2004 Spain 3 (0)
2000–2006 Catalonia 4 (0)
Teams managed
2014–2015 Barcelona B (assistant)
2015–2017 Barcelona (youth)
2017–2018 Sion
2018–2020 FC Andorra
2021– Olot
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

He spent seven years of his professional career with Barcelona (13 counting youth teams), winning four major titles but appearing almost exclusively as a backup. He also played four seasons with Ajax.

Gabri represented Spain at Euro 2004.

Club career

Barcelona

Born in Sallent de Llobregat, Barcelona, Catalonia, Gabri started his professional career at FC Barcelona's reserves, where he made his first appearances in the 1997–98 season whilst they competed in Segunda División B. He scored four goals in 28 games, en route to promotion.

Gabri was promoted to the main squad for the 1999–2000 campaign, and in the following four years he was a regular but, subsequently and during the team's conquests in 2005–06 (for an eventual total of two La Liga championships, one Spanish Supercup and 2005–06's UEFA Champions League), would feature less significantly; he was also severely injured during the 2004–05 season, after a 4–1 home win against Real Zaragoza.[1]

Ajax

Gabri's contract at Barcelona was not renewed,[2] and he joined AFC Ajax on a free transfer on 6 June 2006,[3] alongside former teammate Roger García. There, he immediately won the Dutch Supercup in a 3–1 win over PSV Eindhoven in August,[4] and was also a key element in a side that lost the 2007 Eredivisie on the last matchday, to precisely that opposition.

In May 2007, Gabri won the Dutch Cup on penalties against AZ Alkmaar, in a match where he received a red card in the 79th minute.[5] In August, Ajax successfully defended their Supercup title by beating PSV again, with him as the only goalscorer in the match.[6]

Later years

On 27 May 2010, after a last poor individual season with Ajax – only 13 matches, even though the Amsterdam side finished in second place – 31-year-old Gabri signed with Qatar Stars League club Umm-Salal Sports Club.[7] On 4 July of the following year he moved countries again, joining FC Sion in Switzerland.[8]

On 25 July 2012, after having taken almost no part in the Super League campaign, Gabri changed teams but stayed in the country, signing a contract with FC Lausanne-Sport.[9] He retired two years later at the age of 35, and immediately returned to Barcelona as assistant to their reserves.[10]

In July 2015, as part of a reshuffle by incoming director José Segura, Gabri changed roles within the club, becoming the coach of the Juvenil A youth team.[11] On 25 October 2017 he was appointed manager at Sion[12] and, in December of the following year, he signed with FC Andorra in the same capacity.[13] On 24 February 2020, after three consecutive losses and seven matches without a win, he was dismissed.[14]

International career

Gabri was a key element in Spain's squad at the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship, scoring three goals to become World Champion of the category.[15] He was also a member of the national team at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.

After making his full debut on 30 April 2003 in a friendly match with Ecuador,[16] Gabri went on to represent the nation during UEFA Euro 2004 in Portugal,[17][18] not leaving the bench in an eventual group stage exit.

Managerial statistics
As of 31 January 2021
Managerial record by team and tenure
Team Nat From To Record Ref
G W D L GF GA GD Win %
Sion 25 October 2017 5 February 2018 8 1 1 6 12 22 −10 012.50 [19]
FC Andorra 30 December 2018 25 February 2020 46 24 15 7 69 38 +31 052.17 [20]
Olot 26 January 2021 Present 1 0 0 1 0 2 −2 000.00 [21]
Total 55 25 16 14 81 62 +19 045.45 —

Honours

Club

Barcelona

Ajax

International

Spain U20

Spain U23

References
  1. Injured Gabri faces six months out; CNN, 24 September 2004
  2. Gabri bids Barça goodbye; UEFA, 29 May 2006
  3. Gabri joins Ten Cate at Ajax; UEFA, 6 June 2006
  4. "Ajax meer klar voor competitie dan PSV" [Ajax readier to start competing than PSV] (in Dutch). Voetbal International. 13 August 2006. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  5. "Ajax wint bekerfinale van AZ na strafschoppen" [Ajax win cup final against AZ in a shootout] (in Dutch). de Volkskrant. 6 May 2007. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  6. Gabri clinches Super Cup for Ajax; UEFA, 11 August 2007
  7. Gabri naar Umm-Salal (Gabri to Umm-Salal); AFC Ajax, 26 May 2010 (in Dutch)
  8. Transfernews: Gabri offenbar zu Sion (Transfer news: Gabri confirmed in Sion); Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen, 4 July 2011 (in German)
  9. Gabri et Tafer signent à Lausanne (Gabri and Tafer sign with Lausanne); Le Matin, 25 July 2012 (in French)
  10. Gabri, íntimo de Luis Suárez, regresa al Barça para integrarse en el staff del filial (Gabri, close to Luis Suárez, returns to Barça to join reserves' staff); Mundo Deportivo, 30 June 2014 (in Spanish)
  11. Gabri dirigirá el Juvenil A del Barça (Gabri will lead the A-Youth of Barça); Mundo Deportivo, 22 July 2015 (in Spanish)
  12. Le FC Sion officialise l'arrivée de Gabri sur le banc (FC Sion make the arrival of Gabri public); Swiss Football League, 25 October 2017 (in French)
  13. Primer entrenament de Gabri i Jorquera (First training of Gabri and Jorquera); El Periódico de Catalunya, 29 December 2018 (in Catalan)
  14. "El Andorra de Piqué destituye a Gabri como entrenador" [Piqué's Andorra dismiss Gabri as manager] (in Spanish). Marca. 25 February 2020. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  15. "Qué fue de los campeones del mundo sub20" [What happened to the under-20 world champions] (in Spanish). Marca. 17 April 2009. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
  16. España, de visitante en casa, golea a una ingenua Ecuador (Spain, playing away at home, rout naïve Ecuador); Mundo Deportivo, 1 May 2003 (in Spanish)
  17. Examen para un Gabri titular (Test for starting Gabri); Mundo Deportivo, 31 March 2004 (in Spanish)
  18. "Sáez selects Spain squad". UEFA. 20 May 2004. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
  19. "FC Sion: Matches". Soccerway. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  20. "FC Andorra" (in Spanish). Resultados Fútbol. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
    "Gabri: Gabriel Francisco Garcia de la Torre: Matches 2019–20". BDFutbol. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  21. "Gabri: Gabriel Francisco Garcia de la Torre: Matches 2020–21". BDFutbol. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
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