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Gabriele Gori (beach soccer)

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Gabriele Gori
Gori in 2017.
Personal information
Date of birth (1987-10-12) 12 October 1987 (age 37)
Place of birth Viareggio, Italy
Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position(s) Forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2006–2007 Pisa (football)
2008 Lucchese (football)
2010–2020 Viareggio[1] 90 (204)
2021–2022 Catania
2023 Pisa BS
2024– Viareggio
International career‡
2010– Italy 193 (340)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 11 September 2022

Gabriele Gori (born 10 October 1987) is an Italian beach soccer player who plays as a forward.

Known for his agility in scoring many audacious bicycle kicks, he is one of the most prolific goalscorers of all time in the sport, having amassed over 800 as of 2022,[2] including winning the top scorer award at the 2017 and 2019 editions of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, and becoming the all-time top scorer of the Italy national team. He is recognised as being one the world's best players.

Career

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International

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Gori originally played association football professionally, reaching as high as Serie C including two clubs between 2006 and 2008.[3] However, injuries prevented his football career from advancing further.[4]

In 2010, Gori was invited by a friend to play beach soccer at a memorial event with the team of his hometown, Viareggio.[3][4][5] Gori was sceptical about the sport and only accepted the invitation because of his friend's passion.[5] Despite his reservations, the event went well for Gori and he was invited to continue to play with Viareggio.[4][5] That summer, the then Italy coach, Massimiliano Esposito, having seen Gori play during the Italian League, called him up for his debut in the national team at the 2010 Euro Beach Soccer League (EBSL) Superfinal in Lisbon, aged 22.[3]

Gori at the 2017 Persian Beach Soccer Cup.

Gori recovered from knee surgery in time to be included in the Italian team for the 2011 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup on home sand in Ravenna,[3] but suffered at the tournament with a fever.[6] At his next World Cup appearance in 2015, he scored his 100th goal for Italy during the semi-final defeat to Tahiti,[7] ending the tournament as its joint second top scorer.[8] Later that summer, he scored four of Italy's five goals in the gold medal match of the Mediterranean Beach Games versus Egypt,[3][9] securing Italy's first major honour for ten years.[10] After earning his 100th cap for Italy in September 2016,[11] Gori was then voted as one of the three best players in the world at that year's annual season-ending Beach Soccer Stars awards ceremony[12] and also won the Pallone Azzurro (Blue Ball) award for best Italian player of the year bestowed by the Italian Football Federation.[13] His biggest individual accolade came six months later at the 2017 World Cup, where he won the Golden Boot (top scorer) with 17 goals,[14] and his 12 goals during the 2018 EBSL season helped Italy secure their first European crown in 13 years, the biggest title of Gori's career.[10]

Gori began 2019 by registering his 200th goal for Gli Azzurri[15] in what was his most prolific ever start to a season,[16] during which he overtook Paolo Palmacci to become Italy's all-time top goalscorer.[5] But his season then took a set-back as he missed out on winning Italy's second gold medal at the Mediterranean Beach Games due to injury.[17] However, he returned to end the year with a silver medal at the 2019 World Cup, and won the Golden Boot once again (despite playing with an injured foot),[18] the first player to win consecutive top scorer awards at the World Cup since Madjer in 2005 and 2006.[19] He was also named as one of the tournament's top ten best players, out of the 192 participants.[20] Gori was also once again named one of the world's best three players and named amongst the world dream team for 2019 at the Beach Soccer Stars awards.[12]

Gori at the 2019 World Cup qualifiers.

After the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on sport, Gori made scathing criticisms of the lack of support for beach soccer from the Italian Football Federation.[21]

He scored his 300th goal for Italy in a 12–0 victory versus Denmark during an ultimately unsuccessful World Cup qualifying campaign in June 2021.[22] Gori's final match of the 2022 season was marred by him receiving a red card after just four minutes of the EBSL encounter versus Spain.[23] He then suffered a "serious"[2][24] cruciate injury[25] and did not return to fitness until July 2023;[26][27] his recovery was described as being "slow" by October,[25] and he was subsequently left out of Italy's 18-man shortlist for the 2024 World Cup.[28]

Club

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Domestically, Gori began playing for Viareggio in 2010,[1] appearing alongside childhood friends and fellow national team players Andrea Carpita, Dario Ramacciotti, Simone Marinai, Matteo Marrucci and Michele di Palma.[3][29] His personal highlight came in the 2016 season when the team won the treble of the Euro Winners Cup (EWC), Coppa Italia and the Italian League;[3] in 2018, he overtook Paolo Palmacci to become the all-time leading goalscorer of the latter, with over 300.[30] It was also playing for Viareggio in 2019 when he scored his most memorable goal in beach soccer, a trademark overhead kick attempt converted from inside his own half which sealed an extra-time victory over Catania in a league match; the goal went notably viral,[4][31][32][33] with Sky Sport Italia describing it as "driving commentators, the public, and the web crazy."[34] Enrico Pace of Lucca in Diretta assessed the goal as, "sci-fi... that will remain in the history of beach soccer."[16]

In 2020, it was announced Gori was leaving Viareggio after 10 years,[35] having played approximately 150 matches and scoring 350 goals for the club in all competitions.[1] He joined Catania[36] on a three-year contract.[37] His link-up with fellow national team striker Emmanuele Zurlo at the club was described "as if a Serie A club could deploy Immobile and Insigne up front."[38] In 2023, he signed a two-year deal with Pisa,[2][24] but returned to Viareggio in 2024.[39]

He has also had brief stints at the EWC and other international club events for the likes of Braga of Portugal, Artur Music of Ukraine, Boca Gdańsk of Poland and FC City of Russia.

Style of play

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Gori is known for being a lethal goal poacher, possessing exceptional technique in executing goals. He is particularly famed for his ability in performing successful bicycle kicks, so much so that he is nicknamed in Italian, "il re delle rovesciate" (English: the king of bicycle kicks).[3][5] He is also nicknamed, "Tin-Tin".[4][5]

He studied and modelled his play style off of his beach soccer idol, Amarelle, also known for his acrobatics and overhead kicks.[3][5]

Personal life

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Gori is an estate agent and runs his own business in his hometown (as of 2019).[3][5] He was formerly a quantity surveyor.[3] At the beginning of his beach soccer career, his father believed he was making a mistake dedicating so much time to the sport.[3] He claims to cope well with balancing work and his beach soccer career but that it has got increasingly difficult.[5] Gori has also fathered a son, Cristian (born December 2017).[29] He supports Juventus.[3]

Statistics

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Honours

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As of 2023.

The following is a selection, not an exhaustive list, of the major honours Gori has achieved:[1][3]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Rosa 2019. Viareggio Beach Soccer. 2019.
  2. ^ a b c "Grandi manovre in casa Pisa. Gabriele Gori, l'innesto che fa sognare i tifosi". Lega Nazionale Dilettanti (in Italian). 3 March 2023. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n “Nothing beats winning everything with childhood friends at Viareggio, the club of our hearts”. Beach Soccer Worldwide. 18 June 2019.
  4. ^ a b c d e Antonelli, Michele (9 April 2010). "Gori, segreti e allenamento del mago delle rovesciate: "La mia più bella è stata..."". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Gori, geometra del gol: "Beach soccer? 10 anni fa non lo conoscevo". Ora trascina l'Italia. Sky Sport Italia. 26 November 2019. (in Italian)
  6. ^ "Paolo Palmacci: Můj recept na góly? Trénink a hlad po vítězství". Beach Soccer Czech (in Czech). 22 May 2012. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  7. ^ "Gori fa 100 in azzurro ma il sogno Mondiale si infrange ai rigori. In finale ci va Tahiti". Versiliatoday.it (in Italian). 19 July 2015. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  8. ^ FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Portugal 2015 Players - Top goals. FIFA. 2015.
  9. ^ "Italy claim Gold in front of home crowd". beachsoccer.com. 6 September 2015. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  10. ^ a b Il bomber Gori si racconta a VivoAzzurro: “Dopo il titolo Europeo ora voglio il Pallone d’Oro”. Italian Football Federation. 18 September 2019.
  11. ^ a b "La Nazionale Italiana di Beach Soccer" (PDF). Viareggio Beach Soccer (in Italian). 16 May 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  12. ^ a b Beach Soccer Stars: Gabriele Gori tra i cinque top players al Mondo, Josep Jr miglior giovane talento. Lega Nazionale Dilettanti. 10 November 2019.
  13. ^ Gabriele Gori ha vinto il Pallone azzurro 2016.. Viareggio Beach Soccer. 1 January 2017.
  14. ^ Brazil crowned world champions in The Bahamas. Beach Soccer Worldwide. 7 May 2019.
  15. ^ "Beach Soccer, Gori supera 200 gol con la maglia azzurra". SerchioInDiretta (in Italian). 17 April 2019. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  16. ^ a b Pace, Enrico (17 July 2019). "Beach Soccer, la rovesciata di Gori fa il giro del mondo: "È il mio gol più bello" - Luccaindiretta". Lucca in Diretta (in Italian). Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  17. ^ "Gabriele Gori ko per infortunio Per lui niente Nazionale". Il Tirreno. 28 August 2019. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
  18. ^ Tanteri, Claudio (26 January 2022). "Beach Soccer, Gori lascia Viareggio: "Dieci anni indimenticabili" - Luccaindiretta". Lucca In Diretta (in Italian). Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  19. ^ "Portugal and Europe dominant once more". FIFA.com. 4 December 2019. Archived from the original on 5 December 2019. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  20. ^ "Golden Ball shortlist and digital success highlighted at closing press conference". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 30 November 2019. Archived from the original on 1 December 2019. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  21. ^ Гори: "Пляжный футбол в Италии — огромный блеф" (in Russian). Beach Soccer Russia. 23 January 2021. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  22. ^ "Beach soccer, Gabriele Gori nella storia: segna alla Danimarca e centra i 300 gol in azzurro". la Repubblica (in Italian). 22 June 2021. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  23. ^ "Europeo. All'Italbeach femminile non riesce l'impresa: alla Spagna il titolo europeo. Terzo posto per la maschile". Italian Football Federation (in Italian). 11 September 2022. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  24. ^ a b "Colpaccio nerazzurro Preso il bomber Gori". La Nazione (in Italian). 26 February 2023. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  25. ^ a b Costanzo, Claudio (14 October 2023). "Il catanzarese Emmanuele Zurlo: "2023 un anno incredibile. Con il Beach Soccer amore a prima vista"". Gazzetta del Sud (in Italian). Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  26. ^ "Il grande ritorno al gol di Gabriele Gori col Pisa Dopo il lungo infortunio 'TinTin' ha calato il poker". Quotidiano Nazionale (in Italian). 18 July 2023. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
  27. ^ "Pisa Beach Soccer battuto dal Viareggio alla ripresa del campionato". CASCINA notizie (in Italian). 12 July 2023. Retrieved 19 January 2024. Unica nota positiva della giornata il rientro in caso di Gabriele Gori il cui brutto infortunio è ormai alle spalle.
  28. ^ "Direzione Mondiale, giovedì i campioni d'Europa incontrano Gravina in FIGC prima della partenza per Dubai". Italian Football Federation (in Italian). 17 January 2024. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  29. ^ a b Beach soccer, è Gori-mania. Il geometra che fa impazzire con la maglia azzurra. La Nazione Viareggio. 30 November 2019.
  30. ^ "Paolo Palmacci, Gianni Fruzzetti e Giuseppe Platania, Legends della Serie A Beach Soccer FIGC-LND". Lega Nazionale Dilettanti (in Italian). 26 October 2023. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  31. ^ "Beach soccer, l'incredibile rovesciata da 25 metri di Gabriele Gori". la Repubblica (in Italian). 16 July 2019. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  32. ^ "Il gol pazzesco di Gabriele Gori. E il Beach Soccer LND fa impazzire il mondo". Lega Nazionale Dilettanti (in Italian). 19 July 2019. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  33. ^ "El chilenón de fútbol playa desde 20 metros que no conseguirías imitar ni en 100 intentos". Marca (in Spanish). 16 July 2019. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  34. ^ "Gol in rovesciata da 20 metri: il video della prodezza di Gori nel beach soccer". Sky Sport (Italy) (in Italian). 20 July 2019. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  35. ^ Beach Soccer, Gori e Ramacciotti salutano Viareggio e passano al Napoli. Lucca in Diretta. 24 January 2020.
  36. ^ Gori raggiunge Zurlo a Catania, l'attacco azzurro all'ombra dell'Etna (in Italian). Lega Nazionale Dilettanti. 4 June 2021. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  37. ^ Габриэле Гори подписал трёхлетний контракт с "Катанией" (in Russian). BS Russia. 30 May 2021. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  38. ^ "Gori raggiunge Zurlo a Catania, l'attacco azzurro all'ombra dell'Etna". Lega Nazionale Dilettanti (in Italian). 4 June 2021. Retrieved 30 January 2024. as if a Serie A club could deploy Immobile and Insigne up front
  39. ^ "Serie A Beach Soccer. Un grande ritorno per la Farmaè Viareggio BS". Tuttocampo.it (in Italian). 9 May 2024. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
  40. ^ "Calendari > Nazionale Beach Soccer Dal 01/01/2022 Al 31/12/2022". Italian Football Federation. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  41. ^ Caffè Lo Re Catania, terza Coppa Italia di fila. Lega Nazionale Dilettanti. 1 August 2021. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  42. ^ Catania alza la Supercoppa 2021 e diventa la squadra più titolata in Italia. Lega Nazionale Dilettanti. 11 July 2021. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  43. ^ Supercoppa 2022: è ancora Catania Beach Soccer. Lega Nazionale Dilettanti. 2 June 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  44. ^ Serie AON: Pisa Campione d’Italia per il secondo anno di fila. Lega Nazionale Dilettanti. 7 August 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  45. ^ Coppa Italia AON: Pisa alza al cielo il trofeo per la prima volta nella sua storia. Lega Nazionale Dilettanti. 24 July 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
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