Diego Abreu

Diego Fernando Abreu Firenze (born 27 August 2003) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for Botafogo, on loan from Defensor Sporting. Born in Mexico, he has represented both Mexico and Uruguay at youth international level.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Abreu and the second or maternal family name is Firenze.
Diego Abreu
Personal information
Full name Diego Fernando Abreu Firenze[1]
Date of birth (2003-08-27) 27 August 2003
Place of birth Mexico City, Mexico[1]
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[1]
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 Botafogo
(on loan from Defensor Sporting)
Youth career
0000 Rincón del Carrasco
0000 Carrasco Polo
0000 Defensor Sporting
2023– → Botafogo (youth loan)
International career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019 Mexico U17 3 (4)
2020 Mexico U18 1 (0)
2021 Mexico U20 2 (1)
2021– Uruguay U20 3 (2)

Early life

Abreu was born in Mexico City, Mexico, to former Uruguayan international footballer Sebastián Abreu and Paola Firenze.[2] He has one older sister, Valentina, and two younger brothers, Facundo and Franco. As a child, he lived in Mexico, Argentina, Spain, Greece, Uruguay, and Brazil, following his father's footballing career as he moved to different clubs.[3] Following his father's move to Nacional, Diego's family decided he would stay in Uruguay from 2014 onwards, though he visited his father occasionally as he continued his career abroad.[3] Abreu holds a Mexican passport via jus soli, along with a Uruguayan passport and an Italian passport, as his mother is of Italian descent.[4]

Club career

Early career

Abreu first started playing football at the request of his father, though he stated in an interview with ESPN Deportes that he "only went [in order] to drink Gatorade at halftime".[3] While living in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, he played futsal, before returning to Uruguay to play organized football at the youth level.[3] He initially played for Rincón del Carrasco in the Canelones Department of Uruguay, but after not being selected to play very often, he moved to Carrasco Polo in Montevideo.[3]

Defensor Sporting

He joined Defensor Sporting in his last year of baby fútbol and recalled in another interview with ESPN Deportes that his first major involvement with the club was in a youth tournament in Brazil, where he missed a penalty against Internacional; chipping a Panenka shot that did not even reach the goal.[3][5] He continued to progress through the academy and made his unofficial debut in a 2–1 friendly loss against Argentinian opposition Vélez Sarsfield on 14 January 2023.[6] A few days later, on 17 January, he scored his first goal for the club, the consolation in another 2–1 loss, this time to Montevideo Wanderers of Uruguay.[2]

Loan to Botafogo

On 31 March 2023, it was announced that Abreu would join Brazilian side Botafogo, where his father had also played, on a season-long loan deal.[7] On signing, he recalled that he had watched Botafogo games live as a child, during his father's spell with the club.[7]

International career

Eligible to represent Italy, Mexico, and Uruguay, Abreu represented Mexico from under-17 to under-20 level.[1][2] In February 2021, he stated that he had not yet decided who he wanted to play for, also expressing his desire to represent Uruguay at international level.[8] He received his first call-up to the Uruguay under-20 side for a training camp in September of the same year, before featuring for Mexico's under-20s in two friendlies against France and England in October, scoring against the former.[1][9]

In December 2021, he was called up to the Uruguay under-20 side again by coach Gustavo Ferreyra and scored in a friendly against Chile in a 1–1 friendly draw.[8] He played in a second friendly game against Colombia but suffered a cruciate ligament injury in the game, which required surgery in February 2022, before he returned in September of the same year.[10] In December 2022, he scored another goal against Chile at under-20 level in a 2–0 win.[10]

References
  1. Diego Abreu at WorldFootball.net
  2. Sobrero, Alberto (18 January 2023). "Diego Abreu: qué no le gusta de ser el hijo del Loco, sus "grandes sueños" y si jugaría en Peñarol" [Diego Abreu: what he doesn't like about being the son of El Loco, his "big dreams" and if he would play for Peñarol]. elpais.com.uy (in Spanish). Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  3. Gama, Pablo (29 December 2022). "Las particularidades de la carrera de Diego Abreu: su infancia en seis países, su interés tardío hacia el fútbol y sus referentes" [The particularities of Diego Abreu's career: his childhood in six countries, his late interest in soccer and his references]. espndeportes.espn.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  4. PRZdesign. "Diego Abreu". GBG Football Agency. Retrieved 2023-09-11.
  5. Gama, Pablo (29 December 2022). "El día en que Diego Abreu quiso emular a su padre picando un penal y tuvo un insólito resultado" [The day that Diego Abreu wanted to emulate his father by taking a penalty and had an unusual result]. espndeportes.espn.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  6. "La emoción del Loco Abreu tras el debut de su hijo Diego en Defensor: "Para vos es doble el esfuerzo"" [The emotion of Loco Abreu after the debut of his son Diego in Defensor: "For you the effort is double"]. elpais.com.uy (in Spanish). 15 January 2023. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  7. "Botafogo anuncia fichaje de Diego Abreu, jugador mexicano de nacimiento" [Botafogo announces the signing of Diego Abreu, a Mexican-born player]. mediotiempo.com (in Spanish). 31 March 2023. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  8. Gama, Pablo (29 December 2022). "Diego Abreu, el hijo del Loco que sueña con jugar el Sudamericano Sub-20, en exclusiva con ESPN" [Diego Abreu, the son of El Loco who dreams of playing in the South American U-20, exclusively with ESPN]. espn.com.mx (in Spanish). Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  9. Diego Abreu at Soccerway
  10. "Diego Abreu: "Este gol lo esperé diez meses"" [Diego Abreu: "I waited ten months for this goal"]. espndeportes.espn.com (in Spanish). 17 December 2022. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
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