Reuben Gabriel
Nigerian footballer (born 1990)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Reuben Shalu Gabriel MON (born 25 September 1990) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder.
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Reuben Shalu Gabriel | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 25 September 1990 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Kaduna, Nigeria | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Defensive midfielder | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2007–2009 | Kaduna United | 75 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 2009–2010 | Enyimba International | 44 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2011–2013 | Kano Pillars | 67 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2013–2014 | Kilmarnock | 3 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2014 | Waasland-Beveren | 5 | (3) | ||||||||||||||
| 2014–2016 | Boavista Porto | 36 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2016 | AS Trenčín | 11 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2017–2019 | KuPS | 38 | (7) | ||||||||||||||
| 2019 | Najran | 12 | (4) | ||||||||||||||
| 2019–2020 | Abha | 16 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2020–2021 | Al-Fayha | 35 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 2021 | Al-Ain | 0 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2024-2025 | Shabab Sahel | 22 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
| 2010–2014 | Nigeria | 12 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 25 November 2018 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 30 June 2014 | |||||||||||||||||
Club career
Nigeria
Gabriel was born in Kaduna. In his country he played for Kaduna United FC, Enyimba International F.C. and Kano Pillars FC.[1]
In October 2012, Gabriel was named both the Player of the Year and the National Team Player of the Year at the 2012 League Bloggers Awards (LBA), held in Lagos.[2]
Kilmarnock
On 2 April 2013, Gabriel joined Scottish Premier League side Kilmarnock as a free agent, signing a three-year contract.[3][4][5][6] He made his debut for his new team on 29 November, in a Scottish Cup tie against Dundee United where he conceded a penalty in a 5–2 away defeat.[7]
In November 2013, Reuben demanded to leave Kilmarnock in the January 2014 window.[8] He was released in January, after the club accepted his request.[9]
Waasland-Beveren
In January 2014, Reuben went on trial with Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League.[10] However, nothing came of it, and he joined Belgian Pro League side Waasland-Beveren on a one-and-a-half-year contract late in the month.[11]
Gabriel was Veikkausliiga Player of the Month in September 2017.[12]
Al-Ain
International career
Gabriel made his debut for Nigeria in March 2010, in a 5–2 win against the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Previously, he was a member of the national B-team that won the 2010 WAFU Nations Cup.
Reuben scored his first international on 9 June 2012, netting the opener in an eventual 1–1 away draw against Malawi for the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.[14] He was called to the 23-man squad for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations,[15] being an unused player as the Super Eagles won the tournament in South Africa.
Reuben was also selected to the 2014 World Cup by coach Stephen Keshi.[16] He made his debut in the tournament on 30 June, replacing injured Ogenyi Onazi in the 59th minute of an eventual 0–2 loss to France for the round-of-16.[17]
Honours
Orders
Member of the Order of the Niger[18]
