Gabriel Somi (born 24 August 1991) is footballer who played most recently for AFC Eskilstuna and for the Syria national football team as a left back.
Born in Sweden, he represents Syria at international level.
Club career
Örebro Syrianska
Born in Örebro, Sweden, Somi began his career at IFK Kumla before joining Örebro Syrianska in 2009. Somi spent two years at Örebro Syrianska, making 67 appearances and scoring 5 times before joining Syrianska FC.
Syrianska FC
On 15 February 2012, Somi moved to a bigger challenge when he joined Allsvenskan side Syrianska.
Somi made his Syrianska FC debut, where he started the whole game, in a 2–1 win over IFK Göteborg in the opening game of the season. Since making his debut, Somi quickly received a handful of first team appearances. However, he soon lost his first team place to Rabi Elia and was demoted to the substitute bench as a result. Around July, Somi soon regained his first team for the side, though he appeared in and out of the starting eleven. However, he suffered an injury and was substituted in the 22nd minute, in a 5–1 loss against BK Häcken on 6 October 2012. Despite this, Somi went on to make 18 appearances in all competitions at the end of the 2012 season.
In the 2013 season, Somi made his first appearance of the season, where he started before coming off at half–time, in a 1–0 win over Djurgården on 27 April 2013. However, his first team opportunities at the club became limited, leading him to be placed on the substitute bench. Despite this, he ended making 12 appearances in all competitions.
In the 2014 season, Somi later regained his first team place at the club, playing in the left–back position throughout the season. During a 3–1 win over Östersunds FK on 25 April 2014, Somi then won a penalty after being fouled in the box, leading Nikola Grubješić successfully convert the penalty to score the opener. After serving a one match suspension, he scored on his return on 14 September 2014, in a 3–1 win over Östers IF. Although the club were relegated to Superettan, Somi ended the season, making a total of 29 appearances in all competitions. At the end of the 2014 season, Somi began attracting interests from the club.
Despite the speculation, Somi remained at Syrianska for the 2015 season. At the start of the 2015 season, Somi continued to regain his first team place in the left–back position at the club. He then scored his first goal of the season, in a 3–0 win over GAIS on 3 June 2015. He then captained side on four occasions later in the season. He finished the season, making a total of 28 appearances and scoring once in all competitions. At the end of the 2015 season, the club said they would be interested in offering Somi a new contract, though Somi, himself, said he yet received the offer.
Östersunds FK
After his contract at Syrianska FC came to an end, Somi joined newly–promoted Allsvenskan side Östersunds FK on 18 November 2015.
Somi made his Östersunds FK debut, where he started and played 58 minutes before coming off, due to injury, in a 1–1 draw against Hammarby on 4 April 2016. After returning from injury that saw him miss one match, Somi was featured in and out of the first team for the side. However, he soon lost his first team places and resulted in him on the substitute bench. At the end of the 2016 season, he went on to make 19 appearances in all competitions. Although he received a lack of first team football in the 2016 season, Somi stated that he would not be leaving the club.