Gabriel Enzo Ferrari (born September 1, 1988) is an American former soccer player.
Biography
Ferrari was born in New York City to a Brazilian mother and Italian American father. He is fluent in English, Portuguese, Spanish, and Italian.
Club career
Early career
Ferrari started with Blau Weiss Gottschee where he won four New York State Championships. Ferrari played high school soccer at
Saint Benedict's Preparatory School
St. Benedict's Preparatory School is a Catholic college preparatory school in Newark, New Jersey run by the Benedictines.
The school serves boys and girls in kindergarten through twelfth grade on a urban campus. The school has been accredit ...
in
Newark, New Jersey
Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.Major League Soccer club MetroStars, now known as the
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 ...
. Gabriel was the captain of the MetroStars side that captured the U-16 North American Championship. He verbally committed to play college soccer at the
University of Connecticut
The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from H ...
, but elected to sign a professional contract with
Sampdoria
Unione Calcio Sampdoria, commonly referred to as Sampdoria (), is an Italian professional football club based in Genoa.
The club was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the 1890s, ...
instead.
Italy
Ferrari signed with
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 Cop ...
club
Sampdoria
Unione Calcio Sampdoria, commonly referred to as Sampdoria (), is an Italian professional football club based in Genoa.
The club was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the 1890s, ...
on January 17, 2007, in a deal that kept him in Italy until 2010. Gabriel made his Sampdoria debut on February 1 in a
Coppa Italia
The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since.
History
The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...
match against
Inter Milan
Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter is ...
, coming on as a substitute. He did not make any appearances in
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 Cop ...
, the Italian top flight. In July 2008, Sampdoria announced that they loaned Ferrari out to
Lega Pro Prima Divisione
Lega Pro Prima Divisione was the third highest football league in Italy. It consisted of 33 teams, divided geographically into two divisions of 16 and 17 teams for group A and B respectively. Until 2008 it was known as Serie C1.
Before the 1978 ...
side
Perugia
Perugia (, , ; lat, Perusia) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber, and of the province of Perugia.
The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and pa ...
. He moved on loan to
Serie C
The Serie C () is the third-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie B and Serie A. The Lega Italiana Calcio Professionistico (Lega Pro) is the governing body that runs the Serie C.
The unification of the Lega Pro ...
side Foggia for the 2009–10 season. On February 1, 2010. he moved to
Ternana Calcio
Ternana Calcio, commonly referred to as Ternana, is an Italian football club based in Terni, Umbria.
The club was founded in 1925 and refounded in 1993. In its history, Ternana has twice played in Serie A (in the 1972–73 and 1974–75 seas ...
AC Bellinzona
AC Bellinzona is a Swiss football club based in Bellinzona. It was founded in 1904, and won the Swiss Super League in 1948. After being folded in 2013 declaring bankruptcy, the team played the Ticino Group of 2.Liga, the sixth tier of the Swi ...
announced they had signed Ferrari on a permanent transfer. He then went on loan with FC Wohlen in the Swiss Challenge League.
United States
Prior to the start of the 2011 Major League Soccer season Ferrari went on trial with
Chicago Fire SC
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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. After impressing during his trial stint, the club signed Ferrari on 24 March 2011. He made his Fire debut on June 18, coming on as a substitute in the 1–1 draw at the
New England Revolution
The New England Revolution is an American professional soccer club based in the Greater Boston area that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), in the Eastern Conference of the league. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having compe ...
.
Ferrari was released by Chicago on December 7,2011.
International career
Ferrari holds American, Brazilian, and Italian citizenship. His triple citizenship, primarily that with Italy, sparked a debate over which senior international team he might attempt to play for, as fears arose that Ferrari might play for Italy instead of his native United States, like
Giuseppe Rossi
Giuseppe Rossi (; born 1 February 1987) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward. Born in the United States, Rossi spent most of his career in Europe with Villarreal and Fiorentina, in addition to spells with other clubs in England, I ...
. Gabriel quickly dismissed the speculation, saying:
"I'm a New Yorker. I grew up in the US and that is the country I would like to play for if I get the chance."
Ferrari scored the game-winning goal in his international debut with the US under-20 team in a 2–1 victory over the full Haitian national team on March 28 in
Frisco, Texas
Frisco is a city in Collin and Denton counties in the U.S. state of Texas. It is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and about from both Dallas Love Field and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. Its population was 200,509 at the 2 ...
. Ferrari was named to the 21-player squad who represented the United States at the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup.
In May 2008, Ferrari was named to the 22-player squad to represent the United States at the
2008 Toulon Tournament
The 2008 Toulon Tournament was the 36th edition of the Toulon Tournament, and was held from 20 May to 29 May 2008. Tournament finished with the final between Italy and Chile at Stade Mayol in Toulon as Italy had the title after the final score of ...