Reuben Gabriel

Reuben Gabriel
Personal information
Full name	Reuben Shalu Gabriel
Date of birth	25 September 1990 (age 34)
Place of birth	Kaduna, Nigeria
Height	1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)
Position(s)	Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team	Shabab Sahel
Number	20
Senior career*
Years	Team
2007–2009	Kaduna United
2009–2010	Enyimba International
2011–2013	Kano Pillars
2013–2014	Kilmarnock
2014	Waasland-Beveren
2014–2016	Boavista Porto
2016	AS Trenčín
2017–2019	KuPS
2019	Najran
2019–2020	Abha
2020–2021	Al-Fayha
2021	Al-Ain
2024-	Shabab Sahel
International career‡
2010–2014	Nigeria
Medal record
Men's football
Representing Nigeria
Africa Cup of Nations
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 25 November 2018; ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 30 June 2014

Reuben Shalu Gabriel MON (born 25 September 1990) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Shabab Sahel.

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 2–5 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]

Al-Ain

On 3 September 2021, Gabriel joined Al-Ain.^[12]

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.^[13] He was called to the 23-man squad for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations,^[14] 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.^[15] 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.^[16]

Honours

Orders

Member of the Order of the Niger^[17]

Individual

Veikkausliiga Player of the Month: September 2017^[18]

References

^ New players at the Nigeria national football team; West African Football, 16 January 2012
^ "Gabriel wins LBA Player of the Year". Kick Off. 29 October 2012. Archived from the original on 28 October 2014. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
^ Signing of Reuben Gabriel completed Archived 6 April 2013 at the Wayback Machine; Kilmarnock FC, 2 April 2013
^ "Kilmarnock sign Nigeria midfielder Reuben Gabriel". BBC Sport. 2 April 2013. Archived from the original on 5 April 2013. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
^ "Midfielder Reuben Gabriel set to make debut for Kilmarnock". Goal. 2 April 2013. Archived from the original on 6 April 2013. Retrieved 11 April 2013.
^ "Midfielder Kilmarnock sign Gabriel Reuben and Papa Idris on three-year deals". STV News. 2 April 2013. Archived from the original on 7 April 2013. Retrieved 11 April 2013.
^ "Dundee United 5–2 Kilmarnock". BBC Sport. 29 November 2013. Archived from the original on 29 November 2013. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
^ "Nigeria's Gabriel Reuben demands to leave Kilmarnock". BBC Sport. 27 November 2013. Archived from the original on 30 November 2013. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
^ "Nigerian Gabriel Reuben released by Kilmarnock". BBC Sport. 2 January 2014. Archived from the original on 4 January 2014. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
^ "Super Eagles midfielder Reuben Gabriel begins trials with Tottenham Hotspurs". Nigeria Watch. 18 January 2014. Archived from the original on 19 February 2014. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
^ "Waasland-Beveren sign Nigeria midfielder Reuben Gabriel". BBC Sport. 23 January 2014. Archived from the original on 23 January 2014. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
^ "#روبن".
^ Reuben targets NPL title with Pillars Archived 25 December 2015 at the Wayback Machine; MTN Football, 19 June 2012
^ Okeleji, Oluwashina (10 January 2013). "Nations Cup 2013: Nigeria pick six locally-based players". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 13 January 2013. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
^ "Nigeria World Cup 2014 squad". The Daily Telegraph. 2 June 2014. Archived from the original on 2 June 2014. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
^ "France sink Super Eagles". FIFA. 30 June 2014. Archived from the original on 30 June 2014. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
^ Okeleji, Oluwashina (13 February 2013). "Presidential reward for Super Eagles". Sport. BBC. Lagos. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
^ Ruben Gabriel Veikkausliigan kuukauden pelaaja, JPY, 11 October 2017

External links

Reuben Gabriel at ForaDeJogo (archived)
Reuben Gabriel at National-Football-Teams.com
Reuben Gabriel – FIFA competition record (archived)
Reuben Gabriel at Soccerway

[1] New players at the Nigeria national football team; West African Football, 16 January 2012

[2] "Gabriel wins LBA Player of the Year". Kick Off. 29 October 2012. Archived from the original on 28 October 2014. Retrieved 29 October 2012.

[3] Signing of Reuben Gabriel completed Archived 6 April 2013 at the Wayback Machine; Kilmarnock FC, 2 April 2013

[4] "Kilmarnock sign Nigeria midfielder Reuben Gabriel". BBC Sport. 2 April 2013. Archived from the original on 5 April 2013. Retrieved 2 April 2013.

[5] "Midfielder Reuben Gabriel set to make debut for Kilmarnock". Goal. 2 April 2013. Archived from the original on 6 April 2013. Retrieved 11 April 2013.

[6] "Midfielder Kilmarnock sign Gabriel Reuben and Papa Idris on three-year deals". STV News. 2 April 2013. Archived from the original on 7 April 2013. Retrieved 11 April 2013.

[7] "Dundee United 5–2 Kilmarnock". BBC Sport. 29 November 2013. Archived from the original on 29 November 2013. Retrieved 30 November 2013.

[8] "Nigeria's Gabriel Reuben demands to leave Kilmarnock". BBC Sport. 27 November 2013. Archived from the original on 30 November 2013. Retrieved 30 November 2013.

[9] "Nigerian Gabriel Reuben released by Kilmarnock". BBC Sport. 2 January 2014. Archived from the original on 4 January 2014. Retrieved 2 January 2014.

[10] "Super Eagles midfielder Reuben Gabriel begins trials with Tottenham Hotspurs". Nigeria Watch. 18 January 2014. Archived from the original on 19 February 2014. Retrieved 31 January 2014.

[11] "Waasland-Beveren sign Nigeria midfielder Reuben Gabriel". BBC Sport. 23 January 2014. Archived from the original on 23 January 2014. Retrieved 23 January 2014.

[12] "#روبن".

[13] Reuben targets NPL title with Pillars Archived 25 December 2015 at the Wayback Machine; MTN Football, 19 June 2012

[14] Okeleji, Oluwashina (10 January 2013). "Nations Cup 2013: Nigeria pick six locally-based players". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 13 January 2013. Retrieved 10 January 2013.

[15] "Nigeria World Cup 2014 squad". The Daily Telegraph. 2 June 2014. Archived from the original on 2 June 2014. Retrieved 30 June 2014.

[16] "France sink Super Eagles". FIFA. 30 June 2014. Archived from the original on 30 June 2014. Retrieved 30 June 2014.

[17] Okeleji, Oluwashina (13 February 2013). "Presidential reward for Super Eagles". Sport. BBC. Lagos. Retrieved 19 March 2024.

[18] Ruben Gabriel Veikkausliigan kuukauden pelaaja, JPY, 11 October 2017

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