Gabriel Enrique Gómez Girón (born 29 May 1984) is a Panamanian former professional

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 le ...

who played as a

defensive 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 ...

. His own notwithstanding, he played professionally in six countries in a 19-year career, mainly Colombia and Portugal. Gómez was

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

's all-time record

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

holder, appearing in 148 internationals and representing the nation in seven Gold Cup tournaments and the

2018 World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded the hosting righ ...

Club career

In his early career,

Panama City Panama City ( es, Ciudad de Panamá, links=no; ), also known as Panama (or Panamá in Spanish), is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has an urban population of 880,691, with over 1.5 million in its metropolitan area. The city is locat ...

-born Gómez – nicknamed ''Gavilán'' (Hawk)– rarely settled with a club, playing in both his country and

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

. In 2007, he moved to Portugal and signed for

C.F. Os Belenenses Clube de Futebol Os Belenenses, commonly known as Os Belenenses (), is a Portuguese sports club best known for its football team. Founded in 1919, it is one of the oldest Portuguese sports clubs. It is based in the 25,000-seat Estádio do Rest ...

initially on a one-year loan, from

Independiente Santa Fe Club Independiente Santa Fe, known simply as Santa Fe, is a Colombian professional football team based in Bogotá, that currently plays in the Categoría Primera A. They play their home games at the El Campín stadium. Santa Fe is one of the th ...

whom he had joined in December 2005. Gómez made his

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (; English: Premier League, also written as Liga Portugal 1), also known as Liga Portugal Bwin for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga Portugal, ...

debut on 20 August 2007 in a 1–1 draw at

Associação Naval 1º de Maio Associação Naval 1º de Maio or Associação Naval 1893, commonly known as Naval, is a Portuguese football club based in Figueira da Foz, Coimbra District. Founded on 1 May 1893, it plays in the Division of Honour in the Coimbra Football Associ ...

, being relatively used during his three-year stint as the

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

side were eventually relegated at the end of the 2009–10 season. In the last minutes of the following summer

transfer window A transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club can transfer players from other playing staff into their playing staff. Such a transfer is completed by registering the player into the new club through FIFA. "Transfer win ...

, he moved to

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

and signed with

Ermis Aradippou FC Ermis Aradippou () is a Cypriot professional football club based in Aradippou, a settlement on the outskirts of the city of Larnaca. The club was formed in 1958, and currently plays in the Cypriot Second Division. Ermis' greatest success came ...

, reuniting with former Belenenses teammate Wender. In August 2011, after a spell back in Colombia with

La Equidad Club Deportivo La Equidad Seguros, also known as La Equidad, is a professional Colombian football team based in Bogotá, that currently plays in the Categoría Primera A. They play their home games at the Metropolitano de Techo stadium. History ...

alongside countrymen

Gabriel Torres Gabriel Arturo Torres Tejada (born 31 October 1988) is a Panamanian professional footballer who plays for Deportes Antofagasta and the Panama national team. Career Club He was widely regarded as the top prospect from Panama and in 2007 he t ...

and

Román Torres Román Aureliano Torres Morcillo (; born 20 March 1986) is a Panamanian professional footballer who plays as a defender for the Dallas Sidekicks in the Major Arena Soccer League, and the Panama national team. He represented the Panama nat ...

, Gómez teamed up with compatriot

Blas Pérez Blas Antonio Pérez Ortega (born 13 March 1981) is a Panamanian footballer who plays as a forward for the Dallas Sidekicks in the Major Arena Soccer League. Club career Pérez began his career in his native Panama with Panamá Viejo. He made ...

at Mexican

Ascenso MX Ascenso MX was the second tier of professional football in Mexico of the Mexican football league system. The champion of the competition was promoted to Liga MX (top-flight tier). The bottom team was relegated to Liga Premier (the third tier). ...

side

Indios de Ciudad Juárez Club de Fútbol Indios de Ciudad Juárez, commonly referred as Indios de Ciudad Juárez or simply Indios, was a Mexican football club. Founded in 2005 when CF Pachuca moved its Pachuca Juniors to Ciudad Juárez, it was promoted to the Primera Div ...

. He signed for the

Philadelphia Union The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in Chester, Pennsylvania. The Union compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the club began playing in 201 ...

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 21 December 2011, scoring his first league goal in the season opener against the

Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional men's soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The Timbers have played their home games at P ...

(3–1 away loss). Gómez returned to Colombia in December 2012, to play for

Atlético Junior Club Deportivo Popular Junior F.C. S.A. (), commonly known as Junior de Barranquilla, by its old name Atlético Junior, or simply as Junior, is a Colombian professional football team based in Barranquilla, that currently plays in the Categoría ...

. He continued changing clubs and countries in quick succession in the following years, representing

San Francisco F.C. San Francisco Fútbol Club is a professional football team located in La Chorrera, Panamá, that plays in Liga Panameña de Fútbol, the top Panamanian football league. It has been in the top flight of Panamanian football every year since 1988 ...

and

C.S. Herediano Club Sport Herediano (), commonly known as Herediano and nicknamed El Team, is a Costa Rican multisport club based in Heredia, Heredia province. Although they compete in a number of different sports, Herediano is mostly known for its association ...

International career

Gómez represented the Panamanian under-20 team at the

2003 FIFA World Youth Championship The 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship took place in United Arab Emirates between 27 November and 19 December 2003. U20 Brazil claimed their fourth title. The 2003 championship was the 14th contested. The tournament was originally planned to be ...

in the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

. He made his debut for the full side in a game against

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...

in the

2003 UNCAF Nations Cup The 2003 UNCAF Nations Cup was an association football tournament. It was held in two venues in Panama in February 2003, and was played in a Round-robin tournament, round robin tournament, each of the 6 teams playing each other once. Costa Rica ...

, and went on to play for his country on more than 140 occasions, including in 27

FIFA World Cup qualification The FIFA World Cup qualification is a competitive match that a national association football team takes in order to qualify for one of the available berths at the final tournament of the (men's) FIFA World Cup. Qualifying tournaments are hel ...

matches. Gómez was named in the 23-man squad for the

in Russia. He made his debut in the competition on 18 June at the age of 34 years and 20 days, playing the entire 3–0 defeat to

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

in the group stage; later that month, he announced his retirement from international play.

Personal life

Gómez married former model Ingrid González, sister of former international goalkeeper

Donaldo González Donaldo González Barañano (born 27 November 1971 in Santiago de Veraguas) is a retired Panamanian football goalkeeper. Club career González had a six-year spell in Honduras with Olimpia and Marathón, where he played alongside compatriot ...

, fathering two children.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Panama's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Gómez goal.''

Honours

Panama *

CONCACAF Gold Cup The CONCACAF Gold Cup ( es, Copa de Oro de la CONCACAF, french: Coupe D'or CONCACAF) is the main association football competition of the men's national football teams governed by CONCACAF, determining the continental champion of North Ameri ...

runner-up:

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

; third place:

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gomez, Gabriel 1984 births Living people Panamanian men's footballers Footballers from Panama City Men's association football midfielders Liga Panameña de Fútbol players San Francisco F.C. players Tauro F.C. players Sporting San Miguelito players Categoría Primera A players Envigado F.C. players Deportivo Pasto footballers Deportivo Pereira footballers Independiente Santa Fe footballers La Equidad footballers Atlético Junior footballers Deportes Tolima footballers Atlético Bucaramanga footballers Primeira Liga players C.F. Os Belenenses players Cypriot First Division players Ermis Aradippou FC players Indios de Ciudad Juárez footballers Major League Soccer players Philadelphia Union players Liga FPD players C.S. Herediano footballers C.S. Cartaginés players Panama men's international footballers 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Copa América Centenario players 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2018 FIFA World Cup players Panamanian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Colombia Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal Expatriate men's footballers in Cyprus Expatriate men's footballers in Mexico Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Expatriate men's footballers in Costa Rica Panamanian expatriate sportspeople in Colombia Panamanian expatriate sportspeople in Mexico Panamanian expatriate sportspeople in the United States FIFA Men's Century Club