Gabriel Alejandro Cichero Konarek (born 25 April 1984) is a Venezuelan former professional who played as a

centre-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 ...

left 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 ...

Personal life

He is the son of Mauro Cichero who was a professional football player and represented Venezuela in the 1980 Olympics. His brothers,

Alejandro Alejandro is the Spanish form of the name Alexander. Alejandro has multiple variations in different languages, including Aleksander (Czech, Polish), Alexandre ( French), Alexandros (Greek), Alsander (Irish), Alessandro (Italian), Aleksandr (Rus ...

and Mauro, are also professional football players.

Club career

Cichero began his professional career with

Uruguayan Primera División The Liga Profesional de Primera División (American Spanish , en, First Division Professional League, local: , ''First Division''), named "Torneo Uruguayo Copa Coca-Cola" for sponsorship reasons, is the highest professional Association football, ...

side

Montevideo Wanderers Montevideo Wanderers Fútbol Club, usually known simply as Wanderers, is a Uruguayan professional football club based in Montevideo. The club are currently members of the Primera División and play at the Estadio Viera. Beside football, the cl ...

, appearing in 35 matches and scoring 1 goal. During January 2006 transfer window he was loaned to

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...

side

U.S. Lecce Unione Sportiva Lecce, commonly referred to as Lecce (), is an Italian football club based in Lecce, Apulia. The club play in Serie A in the 2022–23 season, the top level of the Italian football pyramid, having been promoted from Serie B. ...

for the remainder of the season. He then returned to Uruguay and in 2007 was transferred to

Vihren Sandanski OFC Vihren ( bg, ОФК Вихрен) is a Bulgarian football club from the town of Sandanski, currently playing in the Third Amateur Football League (Bulgaria), South-West Third League. Sandanski's home ground is the Sandanski Stadium in Sandan ...

, in the Bulgarian championship. Following his stay in Bulgaria Cichero returned to his native Venezuela and signed with

Deportivo Italia Petare Fútbol Club (until summer 2010 called Deportivo Italia Fútbol Club and known as Deportivo Petare Fútbol Club until summer 2015) is a Venezuelan football club based in Caracas. Formed in 1948 as "Deportivo Italia F.C.", the club after ...

. Cichero was loaned out to

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The club was established in October 1994 and be ...

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

on 11 July 2008 in a deal that was to end in December 2008, but had an option to be extended into 2009. Numerous blunders in the handful of key late-season games he played meant that the loan was never extended and Cichero was not offered a contract. After being released by New York, he was loaned out to

Caracas FC Caracas Fútbol Club is a Venezuelan football team based in Caracas. The club has won twelve First Division titles making it the most successful in Venezuelan football history. They are nicknamed ''Los Rojos del Ávila'', or the "Reds from Áv ...

for the 2009 season. Cichero joined

Newell's Old Boys Club Atlético Newell's Old Boys () is an Argentine sports club based in Rosario, Santa Fe. The club was founded on 3 November 1903, and is named after Isaac Newell of the English county of Kent, one of the pioneers of Argentine football. A ...

on loan for the

2010–11 Argentine Primera División season The 2010–11 Primera División season was the 120th season of top-flight professional football in Argentina. A total of 20 teams competed in two championships —the Apertura and Clausura— over the course of the season, which started ...

. He played 23 matches and scored once. On 4 August 2011, it was confirmed his transfer to French side

RC Lens Racing Club de Lens (, commonly referred to as RC Lens or simply Lens) is a French professional football club based in the northern city of Lens in the Pas-de-Calais department. Its nickname, ''les sang et or'' (''the blood and gold''), come ...

, in a one-year loan with a buy option for two more years. In 2012, Cichero joined Ligue 2 outfit

FC Nantes Football Club de Nantes (; Gallo: ''Naunnt''), commonly referred to as FC Nantes or simply Nantes (), is a French professional football club based in Nantes in Pays de la Loire. The club was founded on 21 April 1943, during World War II, a ...

on a season-long loan deal with an option to make it permanent. Nantes ended the 2012–13 season promoted back to the

Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. A ...

and then he signed a permanent deal with the French top-flight team. However, he failed to find a regular first team place in the 2013–14 season and moved to Swiss side

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 ...

on 27 January 2014. He was loaned out to

Mineros de Guayana Asociación Civil Club Deportivo Mineros de Guayana, known as Mineros de Guayana or simply Mineros, is a professional football club based in Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela. History The Colegio Loyola Gumilla's field, located in Puerto Ordaz, was us ...

on 8 July 2014.

Indian Super League

On 10 August 2017, it was announced that he had been signed by

Indian Super League The Indian Super League (ISL) is an Indian professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the Indian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Organised by the All India Football Federat ...

club

Delhi Dynamos FC Odisha Football Club () is an Indian professional football club based in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, that competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football. Prior to the inaugural Indian Super League season, the club was founded ...

for 2017–18 season. He played 15 matches for the Delhi-based side, which finished 8th in the league table.

International career

Gabriel Cichero has 61 caps for the Venezuela national team, and has scored four goals including the winner against

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

in the

2011 Copa América The 2011 Campeonato Sudamericano Copa América, better known as the 2011 Copa América or the Copa América 2011 Argentina, was the 43rd edition of the Copa América, the main international football tournament for national teams in South Americ ...

quarterfinal.

Career statistics

:''Scores and results list Venezuela's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Cichero goal.'' , + List of international goals scored by Gabriel Cichero , - , style="text-align:center", 1 , , 30 April 2008 , , Alfonso López,

Bucaramanga Bucaramanga () is the capital and largest city of the department of Santander, Colombia. Bucaramanga has the fifth-largest economy by GDP in Colombia, has the lowest unemployment rate and has the ninth-largest population in the country, with 68 ...

, Colombia , , , , style="text-align:center", 1–1 , , style="text-align:center", 2–5 , , Friendly , - , style="text-align:center", 2 , , 17 July 2011 , , Bicentenario,

San Juan, Argentina San Juan () is the capital and largest city of the Argentine province of San Juan in the Cuyo region, located in the Tulúm Valley, west of the San Juan River, at above mean sea level, with a population of around 112,000 as per the (over ...

, , , , style="text-align:center", 2–1 , , style="text-align:center", 2–1 , ,

, - , style="text-align:center", – , , 9 September 2014 , ,

International Stadium Yokohama , also known as , is a multi-purpose stadium in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, which opened in March 1998. It is the home stadium of Yokohama F. Marinos of the J1 League. International Stadium Yokohama had the highest seating capac ...

, Japan , , , , style="text-align:center", 2–2 , , style="text-align:center", 0–3 CON, , Friendly , - , style="text-align:center", 3 , , 27 March 2015 , , Catherine Hall Sports Complex,

Montego Bay Montego Bay is the capital of the Parishes of Jamaica, parish of Saint James Parish, Jamaica, St. James in Jamaica. The city is the fourth-largest urban area in the country by population, after Kingston, Jamaica, Kingston, Spanish Town, and Por ...

, Jamaica , , , , style="text-align:center", 1–0 , , style="text-align:center", 1–2 , , Friendly

Honours

New York Red Bulls *

Western Conference Championship:

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

Caracas *

Venezuelan Primera División The Primera División (; en, First Division), or Liga Venezolana (; en, Venezuelan League) is the top-flight professional football league of Venezuela. It was created in 1921 and turned professional in 1957. It is organized by the Federación V ...

: 2009–10 *

Copa Venezuela The Copa Venezuela ( en, Venezuela Cup) is the national cup football competition of Venezuela. Organized by the Venezuelan Football Federation, it is contested in the second half of the season by the teams in the Primera División and Segunda Di ...

: 2009 Nantes *In the

2012–13 Ligue 2 The 2012–13 Ligue 2 season was the 74th season since its establishment. The league schedule was announced in April 2012 and the fixtures were determined on 30 May. The season began on 27 July and ended on 24 May 2013. The winter break was in e ...

team of the season

References

External links