Washington Sebastián Abreu Gallo (Spanish pronunciation:[seβasˈtjanaˈβɾew]; born 17 October 1976), nicknamed El Loco (The Madman), is a Uruguayan footballmanager and former striker. He is the head coach of Mexican club Sinaloa.
Abreu is best known for his record of appearing for 32 teams in 11 countries during his professional career.[3][4][5][6] He initially retired in 2021 after a four-month stint with Sud América,[7] but later that same year came out of retirement with Olimpia de Minas.[8]
Born in Minas, Lavalleja Department,[1] Abreu played in numerous clubs throughout the Americas (Uruguay, Argentina, Mexico and Brazil). He also had an unsuccessful stint with Spain's Deportivo de La Coruña, which loaned him several times for the duration of his contract.[9]
After having joined Mexico's UANL in 2007, Abreu was able to rescind his contract with them in order to join River Plate – the Mexican Football Federation stalled on recognising the transfer because of an imposed moratorium between the clubs. He became the only foreigner to score in the Clásico Regiomontano (Tigres vs. Monterrey, which he represented the previous year) against each team.[11]
In the middle of 2008, after exhausting negotiations, Abreu signed a deal with Israeli League champions Beitar Jerusalem.[12] He appeared in the qualifying rounds of the UEFA Champions League, but his team was quickly eliminated. Additionally, he could not play in the domestic front due to lack of payment.
Abreu re-signed with River Plate in September 2008 after terminating his link with Beitar, with a deal lasting until June 2009. Due to being a late addition, he was not able to play for the side in the Primera División, only featuring in the Copa Sudamericana. The next year, he was eligible for both the domestic and Copa Libertadores fronts.
On 14 March 2009, he scored a hat-trick in a 3–1 away win against league leaders Xerez.[14] His team, however, ultimately failed in returning to the top flight.
Botafogo
On 13 June 2009, Aris in Greece signed Abreu from River Plate.[15] However, in January of the following year, the 33-year-old changed club and country again, agreeing on a two-year contract with Brazil's Botafogo.[16]
Abreu scored the second goal in the 2–1 victory over Flamengo on 18 April 2010, which gave the team the Campeonato Carioca title.[17] In July, he had his link extended until 31 December 2012 with a release clause of US$11.3 million, with the player declaring he had previously held talks with Universidad de Chile and Trabzonspor of Turkey.[18]
On 6 February 2011, Abreu was involved in a dramatic match against Fluminense: his team won a penalty kick as they were losing 2–1, and he shot it in Panenka-style, with Diego Cavalieri saving the shot by simply standing still. Another penalty was awarded just five minutes later, and he shot it in the same fashion, this time into the right-hand corner of the goal, as the goalkeeper dived the other way; a few minutes later, Botafogo scored again and won the game.[19]
From January 2013 to December 2015, Abreu was under contract to Nacional, also being loaned to Rosario Central and Aucas during this timeframe. On 28 December 2015, Paraguayan newspaper D10 reported that he had met in Uruguay with Sol de América chairman Miguel Figueredo.[21] He had already received a more lucrative offer from Mexico, but declined in order to be closer to his country,[22] and was officially confirmed on 6 January 2016.[23][24][25]
Bangu
On 12 November 2016, 40-year-old Abreu joined Brazil's Bangu from Santa Tecla, with the deal being made effective the following January.[26] After ten appearances in the Rio de Janeiro State League, he left.[27]
Abreu returned to Brazil in December 2018 at age 42, agreeing to a contract at Série D's Rio Branco.[30] He returned to his homeland the following July, signing with Boston River[31] and making his Primera División debut in a 0–0 draw against River Plate where he donned jersey number 113.[32]
On 30 March 2021, Abreu joined newly promoted Uruguayan top-tier club Sud América.[36] On 10 June, he announced his decision to retire from professional football, and it was reported on news the game against Liverpool the following day would be his last.[37]
Abreu's hometown side Olimpia de Minas announced on 29 August 2021 that he would briefly come out of retirement to play for them in the local Campeonato Minuano.[8] He finished as champion of the +40 category tournament of ADIC (Asociación Deportiva de Integración Colegial), and also top scorer with 17 goals in 11 matches for the amateur (college) team Colegio Jesús María 2019, being the second championship won in the year after the Apertura, where he also ranked first in the scoring charts.[38]
On 27 May 2010, Abreu stood only five goals short of Uruguayan all-time goalscoring record, held by Héctor Scarone for 79 years.[41] He was selected for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, where he appeared three times as a substitute; in the quarter-finals against Ghana he scored the decisive penalty shootout attempt (1–1 after 120 minutes), a Panenka to send his team to the semi-finals for the first time in 40 years.[42][43]
Coaching career
On 26 April 2019, Abreu was announced as the interim manager of Santa Tecla on an initial one-and-a-half month spell, with the parties holding the option open of keeping him as a player-coach or just as a player afterwards.[44] He won the Copa El Salvador four days later, defeating Audaz 1–0 in the final.[45]
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