Gabriel Francisco García de la Torre (born 10 February 1979), known as Gabri, is a Spanish retired

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

, currently

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

CE Sabadell FC Centre d'Esports Sabadell Futbol Club, S.A.D. () is a Spanish football team based in Sabadell, a city in the province of Barcelona in the autonomous community of Catalonia. Founded in 1903, it plays in Segunda División RFEF – Group 2, holdin ...

. Mainly a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

who could play in the right or the middle, he could also appear as an attacking

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

. He spent seven years of his professional career with

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

(13 counting youth teams), winning four major titles but almost exclusively as a backup. He also played four seasons with

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Gree ...

. Gabri represented

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Euro 2004 The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football competition contested by the men's national teams of UEFA member associations. The ...

Club career

Barcelona

Born in

Sallent de Llobregat Sallent () is a municipality in the comarca of Bages, Province of Barcelona, in the Autonomous Community of Catalonia, Spain. The river Llobregat The Llobregat () is the second longest river in Catalonia, Spain, after the Ter. It flows int ...

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the nort ...

, Gabri started his professional career at

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Found ...

's reserves, where he made his first appearances in the 1997–98 season whilst they competed in the Segunda División B. He scored four goals in 28 games ''en route'' to promotion, including once in a 5–0 home win against Real Madrid Castilla in the playoffs. 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 The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...

championships, one Supercopa de España and the 2005–06 UEFA Champions League), would feature less significantly; he was also severely injured during the 2004–05 season, after a 4–1 home victory over

Real Zaragoza Real Zaragoza, S.A.D. (), commonly referred to as Zaragoza, is a football club based in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, that currently competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish league system. Zaragoza holds its home games at L ...

Ajax

Gabri's contract at Barcelona was not renewed, and he joined

AFC Ajax Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax (), also known as AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam, or simply Ajax, is a Dutch professional football club based in Amsterdam, that plays in the , the top tier in Dutch football. Historically, Ajax (named after the l ...

on a free transfer on 6 June 2006, alongside former teammate Roger García. There, he immediately won the Johan Cruyff Shield in a 3–1 defeat of

PSV Eindhoven Philips Sport Vereniging (; en, Philips Sports Association ), abbreviated as PSV and internationally known as PSV Eindhoven (), is a Dutch sports club from Eindhoven, Netherlands. It is best known for its professional football department, w ...

in August, and was also a key element in a side that lost the

lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...

the

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is c ...

on the last matchday, to the same opposition. In May 2007, Gabri won the KNVB Cup on penalties against

AZ Alkmaar Alkmaar Zaanstreek (), better known as AZ Alkmaar or simply AZ (), is a Dutch professional football club from Alkmaar and the Zaan district. The club plays in the Eredivisie, the highest professional football league in the Netherlands, and host ...

, in a match where he received a

red card A red card is a type of penalty card that is shown in many sports after a rules infraction. Red card may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''Red Card'' (album), 1976 release by Streetwalkers * Red card, suit (cards) of hearts or d ...

in the 79th minute. In August, Ajax successfully defended their Supercup title by beating PSV again, with him as the only goalscorer in the match.

Later years

On 27 May 2010, after a last poor individual

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and ...

with Ajax – only 13 matches, even though the

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

side finished in second place – the 31-year-old Gabri signed for Qatar Stars League club

Umm-Salal Sports Club Umm Salal Sport Club ( ar, نادي أم صلال الرياضي) is a Qatari professional football club based in Umm Salal, that competes in the Qatar Stars League, the highest tier of Qatari football. It used to be known as Al-Tadamun Sport ...

. On 4 July of the following year he moved countries again, joining

FC Sion Football Club de Sion, commonly known as simply FC Sion or Sion, is a Swiss football team from the city of Sion. The club was founded in 1909, and play their home matches at the Stade Tourbillon. They have won the Swiss Super League twice, and ...

in Switzerland. On 25 July 2012, having taken almost no part in the Super League

campaign Campaign or The Campaign may refer to: Types of campaigns * Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beets are harvested and processed *Advertising campaign, a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme * Bl ...

, Gabri changed teams but stayed in the country, agreeing to a contract at

FC Lausanne-Sport FC Lausanne–Sport (also referred to as LS) is a Swiss football club based in Lausanne in the canton of Vaud. Founded in 1896, Lausanne Sport played in the Swiss Super League in their most recent 2021-22 season, the highest tier of football i ...

. He retired two years later at the age of 35, and immediately returned to Barcelona as assistant to their reserves.

Coaching

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. On 25 October 2017, he was appointed manager at Sion and, in December of the following year, he signed with

FC Andorra Futbol Club Andorra is a professional football club based in Andorra la Vella, Andorra, that currently competes in Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish league system. The club was founded in 1942 and currently plays its home fixtu ...

in the same capacity. On 24 February 2020, after three consecutive losses and seven matches without a win, he was dismissed. Remaining in the third tier, Gabri managed

UE Olot Unió Esportiva Olot, S.A.D. is a Spanish football team based in Olot, in the autonomous community of Catalonia. Founded in 1921, it plays in Segunda Federación RFEF – Group 3, holding home games at '' Estadi Municipal d'Olot'', with a capac ...

from January to April 2021, leaving by mutual consent. On 1 June that year, he signed for

Lleida Esportiu Club Lleida Esportiu is a Spanish football team based in Lleida, in the autonomous community of Catalonia. Founded in July 2011 it plays in Segunda División RFEF – Group 3, holding home games at Camp d'Esports, with a capacity of 13,500 seat ...

for the next three seasons. Gabri replaced

Pedro Munitis Pedro Munitis Álvarez (born 19 June 1975) is a Spanish retired footballer who played mainly as a forward, currently a manager. He was one of the shortest players in La Liga, and was best known for his fighting spirit. His professional career ...

at the helm of

in the

Primera Federación The Primera Federación, formerly known as Primera División RFEF, is the third tier of the Spanish football league system beginning with the 2021–22 season. It is administered by the Royal Spanish Football Federation. It is below the top t ...

in July 2022.

International career

Gabri was a key element in

's squad at the

1999 FIFA World Youth Championship The 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship took place in Nigeria between 3 and 24 April 1999. This was the 12th edition of the tournament. Qualification The following 24 teams qualified for the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship. :1.Teams that ...

, scoring three goals to become World Champion of the category. He was also a member of the

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...

at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

in Sydney. After making his full debut on 30 April 2003 in a friendly with

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...

, Gabri went on to represent the nation at

UEFA Euro 2004 The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football competition contested by the men's national teams of UEFA member associations. The ...

in Portugal, not leaving the bench in an eventual group-stage exit.

Managerial statistics

Honours

Barcelona *

: 2004–05, 2005–06 * Supercopa de España: 2005 *

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...

: 2005–06 Ajax * KNVB Cup: 2006–07, 2009–10 * Johan Cruyff Shield: 2006, 2007 Spain U20 *

FIFA World Youth Championship The FIFA U-20 World Cup is the biennial football world championship tournament for FIFA members’ men's national teams with players under the age of 20. The competition has been staged every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1977 wh ...

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

Spain U23 * Summer Olympics silver medal:

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

References

External links

* *
Stats at Voetbal International
* *
Spain stats at Eu-Football
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gabri 1979 births Living people People from Bages Sportspeople from the Province of Barcelona Spanish footballers Footballers from Catalonia Association football midfielders Association football utility players La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players FC Barcelona Atlètic players FC Barcelona players Eredivisie players AFC Ajax players Qatar Stars League players Umm Salal SC players Swiss Super League players FC Sion players FC Lausanne-Sport players UEFA Champions League winning players Spain youth international footballers Spain under-21 international footballers Spain under-23 international footballers Spain international footballers UEFA Euro 2004 players Olympic footballers of Spain Footballers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for Spain Olympic medalists in football Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Catalonia international footballers Spanish expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in the Netherlands Expatriate footballers in Qatar Expatriate footballers in Switzerland Spanish expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Qatar Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland Spanish football managers Swiss Super League managers FC Sion managers Segunda División B managers Primera Federación managers Segunda Federación managers FC Andorra managers UE Olot managers Lleida Esportiu managers CE Sabadell FC managers Spanish expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Switzerland Expatriate football managers in Andorra Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Andorra FC Barcelona non-playing staff