| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | James Gabriel[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1940-10-10)10 October 1940 | ||
| Place of birth | Dundee, Scotland | ||
| Date of death | 10 July 2021(2021-07-10) (aged 80) | ||
| Place of death | Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. | ||
| Position | Defensive midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Tyneside Boys Club | |||
| Dundee North End | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1957–1960 | Dundee | 55 | (0) |
| 1960–1967 | Everton | 256 | (33) |
| 1967–1972 | Southampton | 191 | (25[2]) |
| 1972–1974 | AFC Bournemouth | 53 | (4) |
| 1973 | →Swindon Town (loan) | 6 | (0) |
| 1974 | Brentford | 9 | (0) |
| 1974–1979 | Seattle Sounders | 53 | (7) |
| 1981–1982 | San Jose Earthquakes (indoor) | 7 | (0) |
| Total | 630 | (69) | |
| International career | |||
| 1959–1964 | Scotland U23 | 6 | (0) |
| 1960[3] | SFL trial v SFA | 1 | (0) |
| 1960–1963 | Scotland | 2 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1977–1979 | Seattle Sounders | ||
| 1980 | Phoenix Fire | ||
| 1980–1982 | San Jose Earthquakes | ||
| 1985–1988 | Seattle Storm | ||
| 1990 | Everton (caretaker) | ||
| 1993–1994 | Everton (caretaker) | ||
| 1997–2005 | Seattle Sounders (assistant) | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
James Gabriel (10 October 1940 – 10 July 2021) was a Scottishfootballdefensive midfielder anddefender who earned twocaps with theScotland national football team. Chiefly associated with English clubsEverton andSouthampton, Gabriel played extensively in Scotland and England before ending his career with theSeattle Sounders of theNorth American Soccer League. He then became a coach in both England and the United States.
Jimmy Gabriel first came to the attention ofDundee when he played at right-half for the Scotland under-15 schoolboys in an international atDens Park. His talent shone through and Dundee managerWillie Thornton snapped him up after the game, despite interest from several other top clubs.
He was initially loaned out to Dundee North End Juniors, but was recalled to Dens Park a year later. He made his debut for Dundee as a 17-year-old on 13 August 1958 in a 2–1Scottish League Cup victory overMotherwell.
He was to remain a first team regular at Dundee, going on to make 67 appearances. In March 1960,Bob Shankly had taken over as manager at Dundee and, although he wanted to keep Gabriel, was unable to refuse the offer of £27,000 fromEverton's manager,Johnny Carey. This made Jimmy the most expensive player to leave Scotland.
Gabriel joined Everton after three years atDundee in March 1960. Although it took him some time to settle into the pace of the English game, there was a steely determination about the young Scot that was to stand him in good stead. Gabriel became a strong influence in the Everton side as a powerful right-half whose preference for a defensive role made him a useful partner in the midfield for the more attackingBrian Harris on the left.
He played 304 games for Everton, scoring 37 goals and won two Scottish caps. At Everton he won theFirst Division title in 1962-63 and theFA Cup in 1966.[4]
By 1967, he was being challenged for his place in the side byAlan Ball and the emergingHoward Kendall.Southampton's managerTed Bates tried to sign him initially in March 1967 but Gabriel was reluctant to move South. Eventually, when it was clear that Kendall was to be first-choice, Gabriel agreed to sign for the Saints in July, joining them for a fee of £42,500.
At Southampton, Gabriel was a vital part of the defence alongsideJohn McGrath andDenis Hollywood and helped Saints avoid relegation several times. He was a tough defender but had skill to match. He was occasionally drafted in as an emergency striker with some degree of success.
He played a total of 224 matches for the Saints, scoring 27 goals, and was a firm crowd favourite.
He leftThe Dell at the end of the 1971–72 season to joinAFC Bournemouth.
He also spent a short period on loan atSwindon Town before finishing his UK playing career atBrentford.
In 1974 Gabriel moved to the United States where he joined theSeattle Sounders of theNASL as a player/assistant coach. That season he anchored the Sounders defence and earned second team NASLAll Star recognition. In 1976 the Sounders moved to the newly builtKingdome where he scored the first goal in the stadium's history. The goal, a fabulous header off a cross fromTommy Jenkins, his former Southampton teammate, came againstPelé and theNew York Cosmos. In 1977, Gabriel replacedJohn Best as head coach of the Sounders. Even as a coach, he continued to suit up to play, seeing time in two games in 1977 and one in 1979.
Gabriel earned twocaps withScotland and six more with theScotland under-23 team.[5]
Prior to becoming head coach of the Sounders, Gabriel had acted as an assistant coach and head of the Sounders' reserve team program. When he became head coach he had several Sounder legends includingMike England,Geoff Hurst andBobby Moore on his team. Under his guidance, Seattle made it to the championship game only to fall to the hatedNew York Cosmos. He was unable to replicate his first year success and in 1980, the Sounders replaced him withAlan Hinton.
In 1980 he was contracted to coach ASL expansion team thePhoenix Fire, but the team folded in pre-season.[6]
Gabriel then went on to coachGeorge Best and theSan Jose Earthquakes (NASL) from 1980 to 1982 for one outdoor season and twoindoor seasons. During the 1981–82 indoor season he appeared in a handful of indoor matches for San Jose.
On returning to Britain in 1986, he spent four years as coach of Bournemouth, before going back to Goodison Park in 1990, where he became assistant toColin Harvey at Everton.
He was briefly caretaker manager of Everton for one game in November 1990 and for seven games between December 1993 and January 1994. According toYahoo! Sports Gabriel's points per game average of 0.14 from his seven games makes him statistically the least successful manager of the Premier League era with one point from a possible 21 gained.[7]
He continued coaching Everton's reserves until 1997.
Gabriel returned toSeattle in 1997[8] where he became an assistant toDean Wurzberger, who played for Gabriel on the Sounders reserve teams in the 1970s, on theWashington Huskies men's and women's teams. Both teams won the 2000Pac-10 championships. In addition to other players, Jimmy coachedHope Solo. Gabriel was also the coaching director of the Lake Washington Youth Soccer Association and worked in certifying coaches for the State Association. Jimmy provided radio commentary for the Seattle Sounders. He and his wife, Pat, resided inKirkland, Washington.[8]
Gabriel also served several years as an assistant coach with the Sounders. On 2 October 2005, the Sounders defeated theRichmond Kickers to take the USSecond Division championship. On this high note, Gabriel retired from the Sounders.[9]
On 29 March 2009, Gabriel was honoured by the newSeattle Sounders FC MLS club with the "Golden Scarf" award for his services to soccer in Seattle. He received the scarf at a ceremony on the pitch before the Sounders' second game, versusReal Salt Lake.[citation needed]
Gabriel suffered fromAlzheimer's disease in the later years of his life.[10] He died on 10 July 2021 inPhoenix, Arizona, aged 80.[11]
Everton
Seattle Sounders[14]