Abreu vows to carry on with cool attitude

Uruguay's penalty shoot-out hero Sebastian Abreu will continue taking the same laid-back approach to spot-kicks he showed in netting the winning kick in their World Cup quarter-final victory over Ghana.

The Botafogo striker audaciously chipped the ball straight down the centre to hand the South American's a 4-2 shoot-out win after their game at Soccer City ended 1-1 after extra-time.

It handed Oscar Tabarez's team a place in the last four for the first time in 40 years and Abreu said: "For me, this is the best way to score a goal, because I always take my penalties in this way.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"I am always one of the five kickers for Uruguay and I will continue to take my kicks in this way."

However, the 33-year-old was adamant the moment was not the best of his career.

"No, I don't think this is the best moment of my career," he said. "That moment is definitely 18 November 2009 when I scored the goal that helped us qualify for this World Cup.

"That was the most important moment for me. But I am also very proud and very happy (now) that the entire country is supporting us."

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

That goal came against Costa Rica during their play-off in Montevideo which enabled La Celeste to edge out their opponents 2-1 over the two legs.

Uruguay were a football superpower during the first half of the 1900s when they were twice crowned world champions, won several Copa America titles and two Olympic titles.

But Abreu brushed aside any comparisons between the different eras, saying: "You can't compare this Uruguay team with the ones from the Thirties and Fifties, because this Uruguay team plays a different style compared to those.

"In saying this, I would also like to add that those players for me are real legends."

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Next up for the South Americans are Holland in the last four tomorrow and Abreu admits they have been studying hard to find out more about their opponents.

"Looking at Holland, we have watched a lot of videos on their team because we don't know too much about them," he said.

"Holland and Uruguay play very similar football, but they have very good potential in their attack with very clever players like (Wesley) Sneijder and (Arjen) Robben."

He added: "Tabarez has been talking to us about Robben and how to stop a player like him from going forward."

Related topics: