Washington Sebastián Abreu Gallo (born 17 October 1976 in Minas) is an Uruguayan football striker.

Nicknamed "El Loco" (The mad man), he currently plays for Aris Thessaloniki.

[edit] Club career

A prolific goal scorer, Abreu played in numerous clubs throughout the Americas (Uruguay, Argentina, Mexico and Brazil), also having an unsuccessful stint with Spain's Deportivo de La Coruña, which loaned him several times for the duration of his contract.^[2]In his sole season, which started in January 1998, having been signed from San Lorenzo de Almagro, Abreu managed to score for the Galicians in a 3-1 home win against FC Barcelona, on January 25.

After having joined Mexico's UANL Tigres in 2007, he was able to rescind his contract with them in order to join Club Atlético River Plate. The Mexican FA stalled on recognizing the transfer because of an imposed moratorium between the sides. With Tigres, Abreu became the only foreigner to score in the Clasico Regio (Tigres vs. Club de Fútbol Monterrey, which he represented the previous year) against each team.

In the summer of 2008, after a long and exhausting negotiations, Abreu signed a contract with Israeli League champions Beitar Jerusalem FC.^[3]He played in the qualifying round for the UEFA Champions League, but his team was quickly eliminated. Also, Abreu could not play in the domestic front, due to lack of payment by the club.

After rescinding his contract with Beitar, Abreu re-signed with River Plate in September 2008, with a contract lasting until June 2009. Due to a late signing, he was not able to play for River in the local championship, only in the Southamerican Cup. The next year, he was eligible for both the domestic and Libertadores Cup fronts.

In January 2009, Abreu returned to Spain after a ten-year absence, joining second level side Real Sociedad (on loan from River), which had lost habitual first-choice Iñigo Díaz de Cerio for the season, due to a serious leg injury. On March 14, he netted a hat-trick in a 3-1 win at Xerez CD, the league's then leaders. His club ultimately failed in returning to the topflight.

On 13 June 2009, Greek club Aris Thessaloniki F.C. signed Abreu from River Plate.^[4]

[edit] International career

An Uruguayan international since July 17, 1996 (China 1 - Uruguay 1), Abreu played for the national side at the 2002 FIFA World Cup (two matches) and the 1997 and 2007 Copa América tournaments, netting twice in the latter.

As of November 2009, Abreu stood only three goals short of Uruguayan all-time goalscoring record, held by Héctor Scarone for 78 years.

[edit] Titles

Season	Club	Title
Clausura 2001	Nacional	Uruguayan League
Uruguayo 2001	Nacional	Uruguayan League
Apertura 2003	Nacional	Uruguayan League
Apertura 2004	Nacional	Uruguayan League
Uruguayo 2005	Nacional	Uruguayan League
Clausura 2008	River Plate	Argentine League

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official site
• National team data (Spanish)
• Argentine League statistics (Spanish)
• Stats at Liga de Fútbol Profesional (Spanish)
• BDFutbol profile

v • d • e Uruguay squad – 1997 Copa América 1 Siboldi • 2 Peña • 3 Moas • 4 Ramos • 5 de los Santos • 6 Gómez • 7 Abeijón • 8 Saralegui • 9 L.Romero • 10 Recoba • 11 Delgado • 12 Romay • 14 M.Romero • 15 Silva • 16 Lujambio • 17 Martínez • 18 Da Silva • 19 Silvera • 20 Fleurquin • 21 Hernández • 22 Abreu • Coach: Ahuntchaín

v • d • e Uruguay squad – 2002 FIFA World Cup 1 Carini • 2 Méndez • 3 Lembo • 4 Montero • 5 García • 6 Rodríguez • 7 Guigou • 8 Varela • 9 Silva • 10 O'Neill • 11 Magallanes • 12 Munúa • 13 Abreu • 14 Sorondo • 15 Olivera • 16 Romero • 17 Regueiro • 18 Morales • 19 Bizera • 20 Recoba • 21 Forlán • 22 De los Santos • 23 Elduayen • Coach: Púa

v • d • e Uruguay squad – 2007 Copa América Fourth Place 1 Carini • 2 Lugano • 3 Godín • 4 Fucile • 5 García • 6 D. Rodríguez • 7 C. Rodríguez • 8 Gargano • 9 Vargas • 10 Recoba • 11 Estoyanoff • 12 Castillo • 13 Abreu • 14 Diogo • 15 Pérez • 16 Pereira • 17 Valdez • 18 Canobbio • 19 Scotti • 20 González • 21 Forlán • 22 Sánchez • Coach: Tabárez