Beyond the Stats: Gabriel Ababio, The MLS next player taking ScoutR by storm.

Gabriel Ababio, a midfielder playing in the MLS Next U13 league, has taken ScoutR by storm, at one point topping the ScoutR ability leaderboards. Let’s take a closer look at why Gabe is garnering so much attention.

Ababio’s strength is a shining quality of his. Not only is he physical off the ball, barging into challenges and brushing players aside with ease, but he also demonstrates strength on the ball. Gabriel’s first upload was a highlight showcase of him in a range of different scenarios, including strong tackles, clever interceptions, and excellent chance creation. It was his strength that caught our eye. The MLS Next leagues are known to be very competitive and extremely physical, yet Gabe appears to be much stronger than any opponent he faces.

Awareness is another huge part of his game. He knows when to use his strength in different scenarios, including making big tackles in the middle of the park and executing high presses to win the ball back. Adding to this is his knowledge of the players around him. When Gabe wins the ball back, he seems to know exactly where his next pass is going to go, demonstrating some excellent through balls to create glorious chances for his team.

Opening up the park: In some clips, Ababio shows awareness by not hesitating to take a turn in midfield and open the game up, taking players out of the game on multiple occasions. In one of the clips in the highlight reel below, you can see Ababio receive the ball in midfield and play a lovely threaded pass to the left winger, perfectly demonstrating what we’ve mentioned above.

We reached out to Gabe to ask him a few questions. Playing since the age of 3, he says he loves tackling and scoring but made a point to say he loves big tackles to keep his team in the game. His ambition is to become one of the best in the world, training every day and working to get his name out there to meet his goal. He looks up to Kobbie Mainoo and Jude Bellingham, saying he loves the way the English duo play and distribute the ball. It is quite clear in the clips that Gabriel is certainly taking a leaf out of their book.

I am sure we’re going to hear a lot more about Gabriel Ababio…

If you want to see more of Gabe, check out his profile on ScoutR. To find out more about ScoutR or download our app, here are our links. www.scoutersports.com/links