 Abascal as manager ofSpartak Moscow in 2022 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Guillermo Abascal Pérez | ||
| Date of birth | (1989-04-13)13 April 1989 (age 35) | ||
| Place of birth | Seville, Spain | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Heliópolis | |||
| 2001–2004 | Barcelona | ||
| 2004–2008 | Sevilla | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2009–2010 | Abre | 2 | (0) |
| 2010–2011 | Aboño | 0 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2016–2017 | Sevilla (youth) | ||
| 2017–2018 | Chiasso | ||
| 2018 | Lugano | ||
| 2020 | Ascoli (caretaker) | ||
| 2020 | Ascoli | ||
| 2021 | Volos | ||
| 2022 | Basel | ||
| 2022–2024 | Spartak Moscow | ||
| 2024 | Granada | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Guillermo "Guille"Abascal Pérez (born 13 April 1989) is a Spanish professionalfootballmanager and former player.
Having ended his professional career at 19 after being on the books ofBarcelona andSevilla, he began managing aged 28 withChiasso in theSwiss Challenge League, and leadingLugano andBasel in theSwiss Super League. He also managedAscoli inSerie B,Volos in theSuper League Greece andSpartak Moscow in theRussian Premier League.
Born inSeville,Andalusia, Abascal joinedFC Barcelona'sLa Masia in 2001, from hometown amateurs AD Heliópolis CF.[1] He left the club in 2004, and finished his formation withSevilla FC.[2]
Abascal retired from professional football at the age of 18, and started studying at thePablo de Olavide University in his hometown,[3] while still representing amateurs UDE Abre and CD Aboño. He also spent a year at theUniversity of Algarve, and returned to Sevilla in 2013 as a youthfitness coach.[citation needed] His first managerial experience came in 2016, when he took over Sevilla'sInfantil B squad.[4]
On 12 June 2017, Abascal moved abroad, being appointed manager ofSwiss Challenge League sideFC Chiasso.[5] He made his professional debut ten days later in a 2–2 draw atServette FC on the opening day of theseason.[6]
Abascal was sacked on 4 April 2018, after suffering six defeats in his last eight matches.[7]
On 10 April 2018, Abascal was named at the helm ofTicino neighboursFC Lugano in theSwiss Super League until the end ofthe season;[8] he drew 1–1 at home toFC Thun in his first top-flight game.[9] From being placed ninth and threatened with relegation, he led the club to eighth position, three points shy of the European qualification places.[citation needed]
In July 2019, Abascal was hired as manager for thePrimavera (under-19) squad of Italian clubAscoli Calcio 1898 FC.[10] The following 27 January,Paolo Zanetti was dismissed as the head coach of the senior squad, and Abascal was appointed as caretaker manager.[11]
Abascal won 3–0 inSerie B in his only game away toU.S. Livorno 1915 on 1 February 2020.[12] The next day,Roberto Stellone was hired and Abascal returned to his previous role; he came back to the first team on 16 April, after Stellone was dismissed.[13]
Following two defeats in two games in charge by the time the league season was resumed after theCOVID-19 forced break, Abascal was dismissed on 22 June 2020.[14]
In June 2021, Abascal was appointed atSuper League Greece clubVolos FC.[15] He won four of his first five games, but was dismissed in December after six consecutive defeats.[16]
Abascal came back to Switzerland's top flight atFC Basel on 21 February 2022, following the termination ofPatrick Rahmen's contract.[17] Despite coming second toFC Zürich in his interim spell, he was replaced by club iconAlexander Frei in May.[18]
On 10 June 2022, Abascal signed withRussian Premier League clubFC Spartak Moscow.[19] He beat eight other candidates to the two-year contract. The currentRussian Cup holders were due to play in theUEFA Europa League but were barred due to theFIFA andUEFA response to theRussian invasion of Ukraine.[20]
Abascal's debut occurred on 9 July 2022, in a4–0 Super Cup loss toFC Zenit Saint Petersburg. His firstRussian Premier League game was a 1–1 away draw againstFC Akhmat Grozny on 16 July.[21] Abascal won his first match next week, on 23 July, in a 1–4 victory overFC Krasnodar. Spartak won their next three games and took the league lead after five games played on 14 August 2022.[22] By the season's winter break in November, Spartak was second in the league table. By the end of the season, however, they finished third.
Under his leadership, Spartak began the 2023–24 season by winning five matches out of five, making it the most successful season start in the club's history. Abascal was dismissed by Spartak on 14 April 2024.[23]
On 19 June 2024, Abascal was appointed manager ofGranada CF in his home country'sSegunda División, after agreeing to a one-year contract.[24] He was sacked on 20 September, after one win in six matches.[25]
| Team | Nat. | From | To | Record | Ref. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | Win % | |||||
| Chiasso |  | July 2017 | April 2018 | 28 | 8 | 6 | 14 | 028.57 | |
| Lugano | | April 2018 | October 2018 | 19 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 036.84 | |
| Ascoli |  | January 2020 | February 2020 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 | |
| Ascoli | | April 2020 | June 2020 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 000.00 | |
| Volos |  | July 2021 | November 2021 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 036.36 | |
| Basel | | February 2022 | June 2022 | 16 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 031.25 | |
| Spartak Moscow |  | June 2022 | Present | 71 | 35 | 15 | 21 | 049.30 | |
| Granada CF |  | 19 June 2024 | 20 September 2024 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 016.67 | |
| Total | 154 | 61 | 38 | 55 | 039.61 | — | |||
On April 11, 2023, Abascal married Alejandra de Agora, the wedding took place in Moscow. In May, the couple had a son, Guillermo Nicolai.[26][27]