The former president of Santa Tecla recalled Sebatián Abreu’s passage through the club, how he helped the institution and the difficulties he went through
In 2016, El Salvador experienced one of the most violent years in its history, however, in Holy button, one of its cities, the joy to have Sebastián Abreu among the ranks of the local soccer team was capital. They did not believe they had the iconic penalty collector a la ‘Panenka’ in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
Nevertheless, the M13, one of the most violent gangs in the country, did not agree with the arrival of the ‘Loco’. With threats, they sought to prevent the Uruguayan forward from carrying the number that gave the gang its name.
“There is a gang problem here and since he used the number 13, there is a gang that uses that number and name ‘Gang 13’. They threatened him, they spoke to him to tell him that ’13’ was sacred. He called me and told me that they threatened him, ”Guillermo Figueroa, former president of Santa Tecla, shared with ESPN Digital.
“We spoke with two or three Uruguayans who stayed in El Salvador and I said, look Sebastián, like every country there are ugly and bad places, if you expose yourself you can get to those places, the country has problems, but you can live and work. That was difficult, but he honored the contract and he came. From here he fell in love, ”he recalled.
Abreu arrived, for the first time, in 2016 in El Salvador. He lived that moment alone as a player and was in charge of giving the team the local tournament championship, in addition to being the top scorer. His arrival marked a before and after in the history of the club.
“Soccer in El Salvador is missing a lot and details like fruit, having hot water in the changing rooms, because there was only cold water, and they were small things that change the idea of professionalism. He left things that helped us grow as an institution, he left school with the children because he has the facility of being loved, “he added.
“We did not bear fruit all the time. We started having breakfast with Sebastián and he told us that it was important that breakfast and lunch take place at the club to keep track of the boys. We didn’t give it because of infrastructure and economy, but we set up everything and that started with Sebastián. There were malnourished youngsters and we brought in a nutritionist recommended by Sebastián. It was a before and after, ”said Figueroa.
From player to coach
Abreu left Santa Tecla the same 2016 as champion, but returned three years later to be the team’s coach, the first adventure in front of a bench in his career. This was a situation that El Salvador had never imagined.
“Sebastián finds out that our technician is leaving. He calls me and tells me that it is time to debut as a coach. As a player he could not because registrations were closed and we could not register him. I told him the door was open. It was from one day to the next. We didn’t even touch it because he wanted to be a coach ”, shared Figueroa.
“He took the game out to go to the final and we went to the final and he won it. He trained with the players, directed and said what had to be done and trained with the youngsters. He said that Óscar Washington Tabárez told him that he did not see well that he was as a player and coach, but he couldn’t leave the field (laughs) ”.
Despite being a technician, the ‘Loco’ got into the field with the players for practices and on one occasion, a youth wanted to make a ‘tunnel’, a situation that Abreu reprimanded for his age, since he taught them to respect older players.
“A young man we had wanted to tunnel him in a training session and he stopped them and told them, they have to respect the elders. Before, respect was imposed on them with blows or a kick. That is not my way, but respect for my age, you have to learn from me, not wanting to make me look bad. There he put his respect. There were strong plays, but never with bad blood ”, he concluded.
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