Sebastián Abreu facts for kids
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Abreu with Aucas in 2015
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||
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| Full name | Washington Sebastián Abreu Gallo | ||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 17 October 1976 | ||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Minas, Uruguay | ||||||||||||
| Height | 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) | ||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||
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Current team
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Tijuana (head coach) | ||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||
| Olimpia de Minas | |||||||||||||
| Nacional de Minas | |||||||||||||
| 1993–1995 | Defensor | ||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||
| 1995–1996 | Defensor | 34 | (15) | ||||||||||
| 1996–1998 | San Lorenzo | 43 | (26) | ||||||||||
| 1998–2004 | Deportivo La Coruña | 15 | (3) | ||||||||||
| 1998 | → Grêmio (loan) | 7 | (1) | ||||||||||
| 1999–2000 | → Tecos (loan) | 33 | (27) | ||||||||||
| 2000–2001 | → San Lorenzo (loan) | 25 | (10) | ||||||||||
| 2001 | → Nacional (loan) | 18 | (16) | ||||||||||
| 2002–2003 | → Cruz Azul (loan) | 39 | (34) | ||||||||||
| 2003 | → América (loan) | 16 | (3) | ||||||||||
| 2004 | → Tecos (loan) | 17 | (5) | ||||||||||
| 2004–2005 | Nacional | 31 | (16) | ||||||||||
| 2005–2006 | Dorados de Sinaloa | 34 | (22) | ||||||||||
| 2006 | Monterrey | 16 | (7) | ||||||||||
| 2007 | San Luis | 14 | (6) | ||||||||||
| 2007–2008 | UANL | 15 | (7) | ||||||||||
| 2008 | → River Plate (loan) | 17 | (2) | ||||||||||
| 2008 | Beitar Jerusalem | 0 | (0) | ||||||||||
| 2008–2009 | River Plate | 0 | (0) | ||||||||||
| 2009 | → Real Sociedad (loan) | 18 | (11) | ||||||||||
| 2009–2010 | Aris | 8 | (3) | ||||||||||
| 2010–2012 | Botafogo | 93 | (55) | ||||||||||
| 2012 | → Figueirense (loan) | 5 | (0) | ||||||||||
| 2013–2015 | Nacional | 18 | (5) | ||||||||||
| 2013–2014 | → Rosario Central (loan) | 38 | (8) | ||||||||||
| 2015 | → Aucas (loan) | 10 | (4) | ||||||||||
| 2016 | Sol de América | 10 | (2) | ||||||||||
| 2016 | Santa Tecla | 21 | (13) | ||||||||||
| 2017 | Bangu | 10 | (3) | ||||||||||
| 2017 | Central Español | 8 | (6) | ||||||||||
| 2017 | Puerto Montt | 13 | (11) | ||||||||||
| 2018 | Audax Italiano | 10 | (0) | ||||||||||
| 2018 | Magallanes | 9 | (3) | ||||||||||
| 2019 | Rio Branco | 8 | (6) | ||||||||||
| 2019–2020 | Boston River | 33 | (4) | ||||||||||
| 2021 | Athletic-MG | 4 | (0) | ||||||||||
| 2021 | Sud América | 4 | (0) | ||||||||||
| 2021 | Olimpia de Minas | 6 | (4) | ||||||||||
| Total | 700 | (338) | |||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||
| 1996–2012 | Uruguay | 70 | (26) | ||||||||||
| Managerial career | |||||||||||||
| 2019 | Santa Tecla (caretaker) | ||||||||||||
| 2020 | Boston River (player–coach) | ||||||||||||
| 2022 | Always Ready | ||||||||||||
| 2022 | Paysandú | ||||||||||||
| 2023 | Universidad César Vallejo | ||||||||||||
| 2024–2025 | Dorados | ||||||||||||
| 2025– | Tijuana | ||||||||||||
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Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||
Washington Sebastián Abreu Gallo (born 17 October 1976) is a famous Uruguayan football player and manager. People often call him El Loco (The Madman). He played as a striker, which means he was a goal scorer. Currently, he is the head coach for the Mexican football club Tijuana.
Sebastián Abreu is known for a special record. He played for 32 different football clubs in 11 different countries! This happened during his long career, which lasted 26 years. He also played for the Uruguay national team 70 times. He was part of the team in the FIFA World Cup in 2002 and 2010. He also played in the Copa América tournament in 1997, 2007, and 2011. His team won the Copa América in 2011.
Contents
Playing Career Highlights
Starting Out in Football
Sebastián Abreu was born in Minas, Uruguay. He started his football journey playing for many clubs across the Americas. These countries included Uruguay, Argentina, Mexico, and Brazil. He also had a short time playing in Spain for Deportivo de La Coruña. However, he was often loaned out to other teams during his contract there.
In January 1998, he played his only season in La Liga, Spain's top league. He scored a goal for Deportivo La Coruña in a 3–1 win against Barcelona.
Time with River Plate
After playing for UANL in Mexico in 2007, Abreu joined River Plate in Argentina. He was the only foreign player to score in the Clásico Regiomontano. This is a big rivalry match between Tigres and Monterrey.
In 2008, Abreu signed with Beitar Jerusalem, a team in Israel. He played in the qualifying games for the UEFA Champions League. However, his team was quickly knocked out. He also had problems playing in domestic games because of payment issues. He later returned to River Plate in September 2008.
Playing for Real Sociedad
In early 2009, Abreu went back to Spain. He was loaned to Segunda División team Real Sociedad. This team needed a striker because their main player had a serious leg injury.
On 14 March 2009, he scored three goals in one game, which is called a hat-trick. This helped his team win 3–1 against Xerez. Even with his goals, Real Sociedad did not manage to get promoted to the top league that season.
Success with Botafogo
In January 2010, Abreu moved to Brazil and joined Botafogo. He signed a two-year contract with them.
On 18 April 2010, Abreu scored a goal that helped Botafogo win the Campeonato Carioca title. They beat Flamengo 2–1. His contract was extended until the end of 2012.
Abreu was known for his unique way of taking penalty kicks. He would sometimes use the "Panenka" style. This is where the player gently chips the ball into the middle of the goal. On 6 February 2011, he tried this against Fluminense. The goalkeeper saved it by standing still. But just five minutes later, he got another penalty. He tried the Panenka again, and this time it worked! Botafogo went on to win the game.
In July 2012, Abreu was loaned to Figueirense. However, his contract ended in November 2012.
Later Years and Retirement
From 2013 to 2015, Abreu played for Nacional in Uruguay. He was also loaned to other teams like Rosario Central and Aucas. In 2016, he joined Sol de América in Paraguay. He chose this team to be closer to his home country.
In November 2016, at 40 years old, Abreu joined Bangu in Brazil. He played ten games for them before leaving.
On 4 April 2017, Abreu signed with Central Español in Uruguay. Later that year, he joined Audax Italiano in Chile. This move was special because it meant he had played for 26 professional clubs. This set a new world record!
In December 2018, Abreu returned to Brazil to play for Rio Branco. In July 2019, he went back to Uruguay and signed with Boston River. He even wore jersey number 113 in one game!
In February 2021, Abreu signed with Athletic Club in Brazil. He left the team in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On 30 March 2021, Abreu joined Sud América in Uruguay. On 10 June, he announced that he was retiring from professional football. His last game was against Liverpool the next day.
However, Abreu briefly came out of retirement in August 2021 to play for his hometown team, Olimpia de Minas. He even won a local tournament and was the top scorer!
International Career
Sebastián Abreu played for Uruguay in the 2002 FIFA World Cup. He also played in the Copa América in 1997, 2007, and 2011. He scored two goals in the 2011 tournament. He first played for Uruguay on 17 July 1996, in a friendly game against China. He played a total of 70 games for his country.
In the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, Abreu played three times as a substitute. In the quarter-finals against Ghana, the game went to a penalty shootout. Abreu scored the winning penalty using a "Panenka" style kick. This sent Uruguay to the semi-finals for the first time in 40 years!
Coaching Career
After his playing career, Sebastián Abreu started coaching.
- In April 2019, he became the interim manager for Santa Tecla in El Salvador. He won the Copa El Salvador with them just four days later.
- In December 2019, he became a player-coach for Boston River in Uruguay. He left the club in November 2020.
- In January 2022, Abreu was named manager of Always Ready in Bolivia. He left the team in March 2022.
- In May 2022, he was appointed manager at Paysandú in Uruguay.
- In May 2024, Abreu became the head coach of Dorados in Mexico.
- In April 2025, Tijuana announced Abreu as their new head coach.
Personal Life
Sebastián Abreu has a son named Diego. Diego has also played football for the Mexico under-16 team.
From October 2019 to August 2020, Sebastián Abreu hosted a TV show in Uruguay called Trato Hecho. This show is the Uruguayan version of Deal or No Deal.
Honours
Player
San Lorenzo
- Argentine Primera División: 2001 Clausura
Nacional
- Uruguayan Primera División: 2001, 2003 Apertura, 2004 Apertura, 2005
River Plate
- Argentine Primera División: 2008 Clausura
Botafogo
- Campeonato Carioca: 2010
- Taça Guanabara: 2010
- Taça Rio: 2010, 2012
Santa Tecla
- Salvadoran Primera División: 2016 Apertura
Uruguay
- Copa América: 2011
Individual
- Mexican Primera División Golden Boot: Verano 2000, Verano 2002, Apertura 2005, Clausura 2006
Manager
Santa Tecla
- Copa El Salvador: 2018–19
Images for kids
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Abreu with Aucas in 2015
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Abreu training with Uruguay in 2011
See also
In Spanish: Sebastián Abreu para niños
