Some may consider him mad, but wild-haired Uruguay striker Sebastian Abreu believes he is touched by magic.
The 33-year-old nomad, a veteran of 17 clubs in seven different countries, scored the decisive penalty in Uruguay’s World Cup quarterfinal victory against Ghana and now may be heading for a starting role in Tuesday’s semifinal against Holland.
His cerebral approach to the game was illustrated in the quarterfinal win over Ghana when he scored the crucial penalty in the shoot-out. Knowing that if he scored he would send Uruguay to the semifinals for the first time since 1970, Abreu jogged up to the ball and dinked it straight down the middle as Ghana goalkeeper Richard Kingson dived to his right, and out of the ball’s path. “I had no idea he would do that,” admitted Kingson.
Abreu insists he knew exactly what the Ghana goalkeeper would do. “Knowing that this penalty was worth qualification for the semifinals, I was sure that he wouldn’t stand still,” said Abreu.
It was the kind of psychological analysis that his teammates have come to expect from the forward, although they usually use a three-letter word to describe him — mad. “We’re used to his crazy things. But he’s as mad as he is intelligent,” said Uruguay captain Diego Lugano.
For Abreu it’s a matter of keeping your head while others around you are losing theirs. “It’s always helped me to expect a mistake, even from one of my team-mates,” he said.
He arrived at the World Cup with the best career scoring record. His 305 goals, including 26 for his country, made him the most prolific of the 736 players who came to SA. — AFP