Gabriel Obertan
 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | FC Lorient | ||
| Number | 10 | ||
| ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of January 5, 2008 | |||
Gabriel Obertan (born February 26, 1989 in Pantin, Paris, France) is a French footballer currently playing for FC Lorient, on loan FC Girondins de Bordeaux, in Ligue 1. He primarily plays as a striker, but can also play in the midfield and as a winger.
Early career
Gabriel began his career playing for his local club in Pantin before moving to a higher level joining Paris FC in 2002. After spending a year there, he did what most youths at Paris FC often do and joined Paris-Saint Germain. Following another year of training, he moved to the famed Clairefontaine academy in order to further his development. It was here where he was first spotted by Bordeaux scouts. After a year at Clairefontaine, he moved to Bordeaux to began training with them.
Bordeaux
After spending only a year in the reserves, in 2006, Gabriel agreed to his first professional contract, signing a three-year contract. He would be promoted to the senior squad for the 2006-07 season and given the number 26 shirt. He would make his professional debut in a league match on September 30, 2006, against Valenciennes, at the age of 17, coming on as a substitute playing 15 minutes. Valenciennes would win the match 0-2. He scored his first goal on April 22, 2007 against Saint-Étienne in a 2-0 victory scoring the goal during injury time to seal the win. He would make 17 total appearances that season, 16 of them as a substitute.
The following season, he would sign a contract extension[1] and his playing time would increase to 26 matches and 2 goals, though he would still be limited to mostly substitute appearances, due to the abundance of other strikers manager Laurent Blanc had in his arsenal. For the first half of the 2008-09 season, his play would again be limited, primarily due to the play of Argentine striker Fernando Cavenaghi and the emergence of Yoann Gourcuff, though when he did receive playing time, he continually impressed, scoring a brace in Bordeaux's 4-2 win over Guingamp in the Coupe de la Ligue. With Bordeaux contending for a title and Gabriel not likely to receive playing time, Blanc decided to loan him out to fellow Ligue 1 side FC Lorient for the rest of the season, where Blanc believes the player will receive more playing time.[2]
Transfer interest
Gabriel's play has garnered much attention from overseas clubs. English giants Chelsea have been scouting the young player since 2007. Even in the Scolari-era, they have kept their interest known with the Chelsea manager often sending fellow Brazilian Guy Hillion to France in order to watch the player.[3]Other clubs that have made their interest known include fellow English sides Manchester United[4] and Arsenal[5], Italian side Juventus[6], and Spanish giants Real Madrid.[7]
International career
Gabriel has been active with France on the youth level. He has received caps with the U-16s, U-17s, U-18s, and the U-19s. He is eligible to play for the under-21 squad, but hasn't been capped due to receiving little playing time at Bordeaux.