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 lea ...

, currently

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

of CE Atlètic Lleida. Mainly a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

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 player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

. He spent seven years of his professional career with

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of 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 c ...

(13 counting youth teams), winning four major titles but almost exclusively as a backup, totalling 194 games and 13 goals. 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), ''Ajax'' (play), by the an ...

. Gabri represented

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

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. Th ...

. He later managed in the Spanish lower divisions.

Playing career

Club

Barcelona

Born in

Sallent de Llobregat Sallent de Llobregat () or Sallent is a municipality in the comarca of Bages, Province of Barcelona, in the Autonomous Community of Catalonia, Spain. The river Llobregat divides the municipality into two halves. Its main resources are mining an ...

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

, Gabri started his professional career at

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

's reserves, where he made his first appearances in the 1997–98 season whilst they competed in the

Segunda División B Segunda División B (English: second division B) was the third tier of the Spanish football league system containing 102 teams divided into five groups, until it was replaced by the new structure in 2021. It was administered by the Royal Spanish ...

. He scored four goals in 28 games ''en route'' to promotion, including once in a 5–0 home win against

Real Madrid Castilla Real Madrid Castilla Club de Fútbol is a Spanish football team that plays in . It is Real Madrid's reserve team. They play their home games at the Alfredo Di Stéfano Stadium with a capacity of 6,000 seats. Reserve teams in Spain play in the ...

in the playoffs. Gabri was promoted to the main squad for the 1999–2000 campaign, making his debut on 8 August in the first leg of the

Supercopa de España The Supercopa de España, also known as the Spanish Super Cup, is a super cup tournament in Football in Spain, Spanish football. Founded in 1982 Supercopa de España, 1982 as a two-team competition, the current version has been contested since 2 ...

as a 77th-minute substitute for

Phillip Cocu Phillip John-William Cocu (born 29 October 1970) is a Dutch professional football manager and former midfielder who was most recently the manager of Vitesse. Cocu was born in Eindhoven but raised in Zevenaar, playing youth football for local cl ...

in the 1–0 loss at

Valencia CF Valencia Club de Fútbol, S. A. D. (; ), commonly referred to as Valencia CF or simply Valencia, is a Spanish professional Association football, football club based in Valencia, Spain, that currently plays in La Liga, the top tier of the Spani ...

(4–3 aggregate defeat). Two weeks later, on his

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

bow, he came off the bench in a 2–0 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 football league system, Spanish league system. Zarag ...

at the

Camp Nou Camp Nou (), meaning ''New Field'' and often referred to in English as the Nou Camp, is a stadium in Barcelona and the home of La Liga club FC Barcelona since its opening in 1957. It is currently undergoing renovation, and with a planned increa ...

in the season opener. On 27 October, he played a full match for the first time and scored his first goal in a 5–0 home defeat of

AIK Fotboll AIK Fotboll (), more commonly known simply as AIK (), an abbreviation for Allmänna Idrottsklubben (meaning ''the public'' or ''general sports club''), and internationally known as AIK Stockholm, is a Swedish professional football club from Stoc ...

in the first group stage of the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

; he totalled a career-best six goals in this first season, including three more against

Hertha BSC Hertha, Berliner Sport-Club e. V., commonly known as Hertha BSC () or Hertha Berlin, is a German professional football club based in Berlin. Hertha BSC plays in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of German football league system, German footbal ...

and

AC Sparta Prague Athletic Club Sparta Praha (), commonly known as Sparta Prague and Sparta Praha, is a professional association football, football club based in Prague. It is the most successful club in the Czech Republic and one of the most successful in cen ...

in the next part of the competition. Over the next three years, Gabri was a regular. He featured less in the 2004–05 and 2005–06 seasons in which he won his only Barcelona honours under

Frank Rijkaard Franklin Edmundo Rijkaard (; born 30 September 1962) is a Dutch former footballer and former manager who played as a defensive midfielder. Regarded as one of the greatest midfielders in footballing history, Rijkaard was described by British broa ...

(two leagues, one Supercup and the

2005–06 UEFA Champions League The 2005–06 UEFA Champions League was the 51st season of UEFA's premier European club Association football, football tournament, the UEFA Champions League and the 14th since it was rebranded from the European Cup in 1992. 74 teams from 50 footb ...

). On 23 September 2004 he suffered a severe

anterior cruciate ligament injury An anterior cruciate ligament injury occurs when the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is either stretched, partially torn, or completely torn. The most common injury is a complete tear. Symptoms include pain, an audible cracking sound during in ...

with a prognosis of six months in a 4–1 home win over Zaragoza. While he did not even make the bench for the 2006 Champions League final which his team won against

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

, he scored to open a 3–1 home victory against

SV Werder Bremen Sportverein Werder Bremen von 1899 e. V. (), commonly known as Werder Bremen, Werder or simply Bremen, is a German professional sports club based in Bremen. Founded on 4 February 1899, Werder are best known for their professional association foo ...

in the

group phase A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic iden ...

on 22 November. In his final appearance for the club on 13 May 2006, he was

sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...

in added time for arguing with the

assistant referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other title ...

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 commonly Ajax, is a Dutch professional Association football, football Football team, club based in Amsterdam, that plays in the , the top tier in Dutch football. ...

on a free transfer on 6 June 2006, alongside former teammate Roger García. There, he immediately won the

Johan Cruyff Shield The Johan Cruyff Shield (, ) is a football trophy in the Netherlands named after Dutch footballer Johan Cruyff, also often referred to as the Dutch Super Cup. The winner is decided in one match only, played by the winner of the national footbal ...

in a 3–1 defeat of

PSV Eindhoven Philips Sport Vereniging (; ), abbreviated as PSV and internationally known as PSV Eindhoven (), is a Dutch sports club from Eindhoven, Netherlands. It is best known for its professional association football, football department, which has pla ...

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

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; "Honour Division" or "Premier Division") is a professional association football league in the Netherlands and the highest level of the Dutch football league system. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start o ...

on the last matchday, to the same opposition. In May 2007, Gabri won the

KNVB Cup The KNVB Beker (; ), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organised by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Outside the N ...

on penalties against

AZ Alkmaar Alkmaar Zaanstreek (), better known internationally as AZ Alkmaar, or simply and most commonly as AZ () in the Netherlands, is a Dutch professional Association football, football club from Alkmaar and the Zaan#The Zaan district, Zaan district. ...

, in a match where he received a red card 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 career

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 axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

with Ajax – only 13 matches, even though the

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

side finished in second place – the 31-year-old Gabri signed for

Qatar Stars League The Qatar Stars League (; abbreviated as QSL), known as Ooredoo Stars League for sponsorship reasons, is the top level football league in Qatar football league system. Contested by 12 teams, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation wi ...

club

Umm-Salal Sports Club Umm Salal Sport Club () is a Qatari professional association football, football club based in Umm Salal, that competes in the Qatar Stars League, the highest tier of Football in Qatar, Qatari football. Previously called Al-Tadamun Sport Club, Umm ...

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

FC Sion Football Club Sion, commonly known as simply FC Sion or Sion, is a Swiss Association football, football club from the city of Sion, Switzerland, Sion. The club was founded in 1909 and play their home matches at the Stade Tourbillon. They have wo ...

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

Super League Super League (also known as the Betfred Super League for sponsorship reasons, and legally Super League Europe Ltd.) is a professional rugby league competition, and the highest level of the British rugby league system, which consists of twelve t ...

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

FC Lausanne-Sport Football Club Lausanne-Sport is a Swiss Association football, football club based in Lausanne in the canton of Vaud. Founded in 1896, Lausanne Sport compete in the top-tier Swiss Super League after being promoted in the 2022–23 Swiss Challeng ...

International

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 tha ...

, 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, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

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

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

, 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 association football, football competition contested by the List of men's national associatio ...

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

Coaching career

Gabri retired from playing at the age of 35, and immediately returned to Barcelona as assistant to their reserves. In July 2015, as part of a reshuffle by incoming director José Segura, he changed roles within the club, becoming the coach of the '' Juvenil A''. On 24 October 2017, Gabri was appointed manager at Sion until June 2019, succeeding

Paolo Tramezzani Paolo Tramezzani (born 30 July 1970) is an Italian Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former Association football player, player, who played as a Defender (association football), defender. He is the head co ...

. His debut in senior management came five days later in a 5–1 defeat at

BSC Young Boys Berner Sport Club Young Boys (YB by short abbreviation, ) is a Swiss professional sports club based in Bern, Switzerland. Its first team has won 17 Swiss league championships and eight Swiss Cups. YB is one of the most successful Swiss footbal ...

. He won once and lost six times in eight games as the team dropped from seventh to bottom tenth, before being replaced by Maurizio Jacobacci on 7 February. At the end of December 2018, Gabri signed with

FC Andorra Futbol Club Andorra is a professional football club based in Andorra la Vella, Andorra, that currently competes in , in the Spanish league system. The club was founded in 1942 and currently plays its home fixtures at Estadi Nacional. In spite ...

with former Barcelona teammate

Albert Jorquera Albert Jorquera Fortià (born 3 March 1979) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He spent the bulk of his career with Barcelona (ten years, including loans), during which time he was never more than second or ...

as his assistant, following

Gerard Piqué Gerard Piqué Bernabeu (born 2 February 1987) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He is considered to be one of the best defenders of his generation. Initially a talented student athlete at Barcelona's La ...

's acquisition of the

principality A principality (or sometimes princedom) is a type of monarchy, monarchical state or feudalism, feudal territory ruled by a prince or princess. It can be either a sovereign state or a constituent part of a larger political entity. The term "prin ...

-based club in Catalan regional football. They won the

Primera Catalana The Primera Catalana is the 7th tier of the Spanish football league system and the second highest league in the autonomous community of Catalonia. The league was formed in 1991 to replace Regional Preferent as the first level of Catalonia and was ...

in his first season, achieving a double promotion after buying the place of economically troubled

CF Reus Deportiu Club de Futbol Reus Deportiu, S.A.D. was a Spanish football team based in Reus, in the autonomous community of Catalonia. Founded in 1909, it last competed in the Segunda Division (while its B team competed in the Tercera Division) before ...

. 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 , holding home games at ''Estadi Municipal d'Olot'', with a capacity of 3,000 seats. History The histo ...

from January to April 2021, leaving by mutual consent. On 1 June that year, he signed for Lleida Esportiu for the next three seasons; he stayed for only one year in the

Segunda Federación Segunda Federación, previously called Segunda RFEF, also officially known as Segunda B, is the fourth tier of the Spanish football league system containing 90 teams divided into five groups. It is administered by the Royal Spanish Football Fede ...

, in which the side lost in the first round of the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

after a goalless draw with seeded

Sestao River Club Sestao River Club is a Spanish football team based in Sestao, in the autonomous community of Basque Country. Founded in 1996 it plays in , hosting home games at ''Estadio Las Llanas'', with a capacity of 8,905 seats. History ''Sestao River Club ...

. 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. His professional career was mainly associated with Racing de Santander – he also represented Real Madrid for two ...

at the helm of

CE Sabadell FC Centre d'Esports Sabadell Futbol Club, S.A.D. () is a historical List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in Sabadell ( Catalonia) Founded in 1903, its first men's team plays in the . Its first CE Sabadell (women), women's tea ...

Primera Federación The Primera Federación, officially the Primera Federación Versus e-Learning for sponsorship reasons (formerly known as Primera RFEF). is the third tier of the Spanish football league system beginning with the 2021–22 season. It is administe ...

in July 2022. The team had a sharp drop in budget and mostly relied on youth, with him fielding 27 players in 17 games, losing nine; he was dismissed on 19 December while lying two points inside the relegation zone. On 16 June 2023, Gabri was appointed manager at

Chinese Super League The Chinese Football Super League (), commonly known as the Chinese Super League or the CSL (), also known as the China Resources Beverage Chinese Football Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Ch ...

's Nantong Zhiyun F.C. for the remainder of the season. He resigned on 25 September, subsequently signing for

Guangxi Pingguo Haliao F.C. Guangxi Pingguo Football Club (; ) is a Chinese professional Association football, football club based in Pingguo, Guangxi, that competes in . Guangxi Pingguo plays its home matches at the Pingguo Stadium, located within Pingguo. Founded in 2018 ...

also in the country but in League One.

Managerial statistics

Honours

Barcelona *

: 2004–05, 2005–06 *

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

: 2005–06 Ajax *

: 2006–07, 2009–10 *

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

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 when i ...

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

Spain U23 *

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

silver medal:

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

References

External links

* *
Stats at Voetbal International
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gabri 1979 births Living people People from Bages Spanish men's footballers Footballers from the Province of Barcelona Men's association football midfielders Men's 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 men's youth international footballers Spain men's under-21 international footballers Spain men's under-23 international footballers Spain men's international footballers UEFA Euro 2004 players Olympic footballers for Spain Footballers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for Spain Olympic medalists in football Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Catalonia men's international footballers Spanish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands Expatriate men's footballers in Qatar Expatriate men's 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 Tercera Federación managers FC Andorra managers UE Olot managers Lleida CF managers CE Sabadell FC managers Chinese Super League managers China League One managers Nantong Zhiyun F.C. managers Guangxi Pingguo F.C. managers Spanish expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Switzerland Expatriate football managers in Andorra Expatriate football managers in China Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Andorra Spanish expatriate sportspeople in China FC Barcelona non-playing staff