Reuben Gabriel

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

Reuben Gabriel
Personal information
Full name Reuben Shalu Gabriel
Date of birth (1990-09-25) 25 September 1990
Place of birth Kaduna, Nigeria
Height 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)
Position(s) Defensive midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Al-Fayha
Number 42
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2009 Kaduna United
2009–2010 Enyimba International
2011–2013 Kano Pillars
2013–2014 Kilmarnock 2 (0)
2014 Waasland-Beveren 5 (0)
2014–2016 Boavista Porto 36 (1)
2016 AS Trenčín 11 (1)
2017–2019 KuPS 38 (7)
2019 Najran
2019–2020 Abha 16 (1)
2020– Al-Fayha
National team‡
2010– Nigeria 12 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 25 November 2018
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 30 June 2014

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]

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.[12] He was called to the 23-man squad for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations,[13] 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.[14] 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.[15]

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. Reuben targets NPL title with Pillars Archived 25 December 2015 at the Wayback Machine; MTN Football, 19 June 2012
  13. 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.
  14. "Nigeria World Cup 2014 squad". The Daily Telegraph. 2 June 2014. Archived from the original on 2 June 2014. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
  15. "France sink Super Eagles". FIFA. 30 June 2014. Archived from the original on 30 June 2014. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
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