The phase may not be the best, but Gabigol, Gabi or Gabriel Barbosa, never tires of breaking records. Facing Racing in the group stage, he became the highest-scoring Brazilian player in the Libertadores, surpassing the five-time world champion, Luizão.
Index
Gabigol and the Copa Libertadores
The love affair between Gabriel Barbosa and the Copa Libertadores has been going on for some time.
The striker, known for being an extremely decisive player, has had several memorable performances in the competition’s history.
His debut in the competition was on March 1, 2018. At the time, Gabi was playing for Santos, and on that date his former team was defeated 2-0 by Real Garcilaso, away from home.
Gabigol would score his first goal in the competition on April 25, 2018, in the same competition, by scoring one of the goals for Peixe in the 2-0 triumph over Estudiantes de la Plata.
The first goal was his trademark, carrying the ball at speed down the right and finishing with his left foot past the goalkeeper. However, this would only be a taste of what was to come.
In that edition, Santos was prematurely eliminated in the round of 16 due to the alleged irregular lineup of Carlos Sanchez, which still generates controversy to this day, and Gabriel scored only that one goal.
However, the year 2019 would come, along with his move to Flamengo and the start of his winning saga in the competition.
In the very first game, against San José, Gabriel scored his first goal for Flamengo in the Libertadores on March 5, 2019, and so it continued.
The magical team led by Jorge Jesus reached the final, being one of the most spectacular in the history of the Libertadores. Flamengo was losing 1-0 until the 90+3′, when Gabriel equalized the game and just 2 minutes later scored the winning goal, giving Flamengo a title that hadn’t come since 1981, with Zico and his teammates.
Incredibly, he scored 9 goals in that edition, hitting the net in all elimination phases of the competition, highlighting his reputation as a decisive player.
In 2020, a Libertadores to forget. Flamengo was eliminated by Racing, in the round of 16, and Gabigol scored 2 goals.
In 2021, another stellar performance. The Flamengo center-forward scored an incredible 11 goals in the competition, leading Flamengo to another Libertadores final.
Despite his absolutely historic performance, Flamengo was defeated in extra time by Palmeiras, who became three-time Libertadores champions, winning two consecutive titles.
Gabriel, in fact, scored the tying goal in that game, but Deyverson, the popular Deyvinho, scored in extra time and gave the trophy to Palestra.
Gabigol, despite being very sad with the title loss, even declared on the Podepah Podcast that he was absolutely certain that Flamengo would reach the Libertadores final again, and this time they would be champions.
The striker fulfilled his prediction. In 2022, Flamengo reached their third final in 4 years. Gabriel Barbosa scored 6 goals in the tournament, and his appetite for goals in finals did not diminish.
The Rio de Janeiro team faced Athletico Paranaense. The Furacão team reached their second final of the biggest continental tournament in America and, led by the legendary Luiz Felipe Scolari, were eager for their first title in their history.
However, Flamengo counted on Gabriel, who completed the cross at 45+3′ and gave the club their third championship.
Gabigol’s relationship with the Libertadores is absurd not only because of the quantity of goals, an impressive tally of 30, but also because the athlete has scored in every final he has played in. He has scored 4 goals in 3 finals, a historic achievement to say the least.
Brazilian Top Scorers of Libertadores
As the aforementioned, Gabriel has surpassed the legend Luizão, who has 29 goals, to become the Brazilian top scorer in the competition.
In addition to Luizão, Gabriel had already surpassed other Brazilian football stars. Let’s take a look at the list:
- Gabigol – 30 goals
- Luizão – 29 goals
- Fred, Palhinha – 25 goals
- Célio Taveira – 22 goals
- Jairzinho – 21 goals
- Guilherme, Ricardo Oliveira, Bruno Henrique – 19 goals
- Rony, Marcelinho Carioca, Sérgio João, Tita – 18 goals
- Robinho – 17 goals
- Pelé, Jardel, Zico – 16 goals
- Alex, Leandro Damião – 15 goals
Total topscorers of Libertadores
It’s no secret that Brazilian teams did not give the necessary importance to the Libertadores in the early years of the competition. This was due to the complicated logistics, manipulation of referees and results, as well as violence practiced by teams against Brazilian clubs.
Therefore, Brazilian players still appear far behind other South American stars. Check out the list:
- Alberto Spencer – 54 goals
- Fernando Morena e Pedro Rocha – 37 goals
- Daniel Onega – 31 goals
- Julio Morales, Gabigol – 30 goals
- Antony de Ávila, Juan Carlos Sarnari, Luizão, Luis Artime – 29 goals
Alberto Spencer, the Ecuadorian idol and multi-champion of the Libertadores with Peñarol, has an incredible record of 54 goals.
Will Gabriel be able to reach these numbers? Remembering that Gabigol is only 26 years old.
What is your opinion?
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Written by Vitor F L Miller.
