Montevideo (AFP)
The diagonal of the "Crazy" is Latin America crossed right through, in addition to incursions on other continents, for a staggering total of 31 clubs, sworn Guinness Book world record: the "Loco" Sebastian Abreu retired from sports at 44 years old.
"I have a weird, beautiful feeling," said the Uruguayan striker after his last 26-year career match.
He entered in the 75th minute, while his South America team already lost 5-0 against Liverpool, in Montevideo, on behalf of the 5th day of the opening tournament of the Uruguayan championship.
He wore a captain's armband bearing the dates of June 4, 1995 and June 11, 2021, in reference to his beginnings in professional football, with the Uruguayan club Defensor Racing, and therefore his final appearance on the field.
"This is where I'm going to realize, when I'm on my way home," Abreu told ESPN.
"Knowing that there is no more to schedule the weekend based on Monday's practice or depending on the next game. Start looking back and the melancholy moments will come," he said in response to a question about how he imagined the next few hours.
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"The day has arrived, I'm quitting," Abreu had already announced Thursday to the local press, after a 26-year career in more than ten countries.
"This Friday, + El Loco + Washington Sebastián Abreu is retiring from professional football and the IASA (Institución Atlética Sud América) is proud to accompany him to close this great story. A huge THANK YOU for him, on behalf of all Uruguayan football" , had tweeted his 31st and last club.
- Idol of Botafogo -
Abreu will stop playing but he has already planned to continue his coaching career, which began as a player-coach in El Salvador, with Santa Tecla, and in Uruguay, with Boston River.
The 31 clubs whose jersey Abreu wore, duly registered by the Guinness Book of Records (he had broken this record in 2018 with his 26th club), are mostly South American, starting with the Defensor Sporting, the Nacional, the Central Español, Boston River and South America, in Uruguay.
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There are also three Argentine clubs - San Lorenzo, River Plate and Rosario Central - and six Brazilian clubs - Gremio de Porto Alegre, Botafogo (of which he remains an idol), Figueirense, Bangu, Rio Branco and the Athletic Club - but also two Spanish clubs, Deportivo La Coruna and Real Sociedad.
The travels of Abreu the globetrotter also took him to Mexico: he played for the Tecos de Guadalajara, Cruz Azul, América, the Dorados de Sinaola (the club briefly coached by Diego Maradona, and where he played with Pep Guardiola), San Luis, Monterrey and even the Monterrey Tigers, the new club of Frenchman Florian Thauvin.
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Finally, for good measure and to complete his footballing culture, Abreu defended the colors of Beitar Jerusalem (Israel), Aris Salonika (Greece), Aucas (Ecuador), Sol de América (Paraguay), Santa Tecla (Salvador), and in Chile from Deportes Puerto Montt, Audax Italiano and Deportes Magallanes.
This career is all the more exceptional as he has sometimes made several trips to the same club, including five at Nacional, his Uruguayan club at heart.
- Panenka against Ghana -
Abreu also won the Copa América in 2011, in Argentina, with the national team (70 caps, 26 goals), where he faced stiff competition with Diego Forlan, Edinson Cavani and Luis Suarez.
He also participated in the epic of Celeste who reached the semi-finals of the 2010 World Cup, notably scoring the winning goal in the quarter-finals against Ghana (1-1 ap, 4-2 tab) , a panenka.
"By what adjective did we qualify Zidane's penalty? Crazy? No, magical. And Abreu, no?", He then commented, bravado, to register in the lineage of Zinédine Zidane and his successful panenka in the final of the World Cup-2006.
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Abreu was used to taking penalties from a prickly bullet, the kind of daring move that soon earned him his nickname "Loco".
Also due to his humor, and his quirks - he always wore his favorite number, 13, and requires the same number for his seat on the plane or his hotel room.
Number 13 and 31 clubs.
It's crazy.
© 2021 AFP