Daniel "Dani" Abalo Paulos (; born 29 September 1987) is a Spanish former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a

right winger A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. He began his career at

Celta Celta is Galician, Portuguese and Spanish for the Celts. It may also refer to: * Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults (CELTA), an English teaching certificate * Celta (train), an international train service connecting Vigo and Port ...

, playing almost exclusively in the

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commercially known as LaLiga SmartBank for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spanish football league system. Administrated by the Lig ...

, and won the Bulgarian league title twice with Ludogorets.

Club career

Celta

Born in

Vilagarcía de Arousa Vilagarcía de Arousa is a Municipalities of Spain, Spanish municipality in the Province of Pontevedra, Galicia (Spain), Galicia. As of 2014 it has a population of 37,712, being ninth largest town in Galicia. History The present site of Vilaga ...

Province of Pontevedra Pontevedra is a province of Spain along the country's Atlantic coast in southwestern Europe. The province forms the southwestern part of the autonomous community of Galicia. It is bordered by the provinces of A Coruña, Lugo, and Ourense, th ...

, Abalo joined local

RC Celta de Vigo Real Club Celta de Vigo (; ), commonly known as Celta de Vigo or simply Celta, is a Spanish professional football club based in Vigo, Galicia, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spanish football. Nicknamed ''Os Celestes'' (The Sky Blues), ...

for his last year as a junior, then proceeded to make his senior debuts with

the B team The B Team is a global nonprofit initiative co-founded by Sir Richard Branson and Jochen Zeitz. It advocates for business practices that are more centered on humanity and the climate. History In 2013, a group of leaders came together following ...

in the

Segunda División B Segunda División B ( en, Second Division B) was the third tier of the Spanish football league system containing 102 teams divided into five groups, until it was replaced by the new structure in 2021. It was administered by the Royal Spanish Foot ...

. On 3 December 2006 he made his first competitive appearance with the main squad, coming in as a late substitute in a 2–2

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men's ...

away draw against

RCD Mallorca Real Club Deportivo Mallorca, S.A.D. (, ca, Reial Club Deportiu Mallorca , ''Royal Sporting Club Mallorca''), commonly known as Real Mallorca or just Mallorca is a Spanish professional football club based in Palma on the island of Majorca in ...

; in late July 2009 he extended his contract with the

Galicians Galicians ( gl, galegos, es, gallegos, link=no) are a Celtic-Romance ethnic group from Spain that is closely related to the Portuguese people and has its historic homeland is Galicia, in the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula. Two Romance l ...

until 2013, with a buyout clause of

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists o ...

10 million. From 2008 to 2011, with Celta in the

, Abalo was an important first-team element. However, in the 2011–12 season, as the club returned to the top flight after an absence of five years, he contributed only four games and 67 minutes, being subsequently loaned in quick succession to

Gimnàstic de Tarragona Club Gimnàstic de Tarragona, commonly known as Gimnàstic Tarragona or sometimes just Nàstic, is a Spanish sports club based in Tarragona, in the autonomous community of Catalonia. Its football team plays in Primera División RFEF – Group 2. ...

and

S.C. Beira-Mar Sport Clube Beira-Mar () is a Portuguese sports club based in Aveiro, Portugal. Its football team currently plays in the Campeonato de Portugal, the fourth national level, having gained promotion by winning the Aveiro FA First Division 2018/19 ...

(the latter in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

Ludogorets

On 26 June 2013,

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

n champions PFC Ludogorets Razgrad announced they were set to sign Abalo after he became a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

shortly after. The transfer was completed the following day after he passed his medical, and the player agreed to a two-year contract, being given the number 17 shirt. Abalo played his first game with his new team on 17 July 2013, featuring in a 2–1 away defeat against

ŠK Slovan Bratislava ŠK Slovan Bratislava (, "Bratislava Slav") is a football club based in Bratislava, Slovakia, that plays in the Slovak Super Liga. Founded as 1. ČsŠK Bratislava in 1919, the club changed its name to Slovan Bratislava in 1953. Slovan is the mo ...

in the

second qualifying round The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds eac ...

of the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

. He made his

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

debut three days later in the 1–0 loss at FC Lyubimets 2007; in the second leg against Slovan on the 24th, he scored twice for a 3–0 win at

Ludogorets Arena Huvepharma Arena ( bg, Хювефарма Арена) is a multi-purpose stadium in Razgrad, Bulgaria. It is used for football matches and is the home ground of the local football club Ludogorets Razgrad. The stadium has a seating capacity of ...

and the subsequent qualification. Abalo made his debut in the Champions League group phase on 16 September 2014, grabbing a 1–1 equaliser away against

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

in the 90th minute, but in an eventual 2–1 defeat. He repeated the feat in the second match between the two sides, a 2–2 draw. Having won the league title in both of his seasons, Abalo left Ludogorets in May 2015 with the intention of returning to Spain or moving to England.

Later career

On 24 July 2015, Abalo signed a two-year contract at Turkish

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), officially known as Spor Toto Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional league for association football clubs. It is the top-flight of the Turkish football league system and is run by the ...

club

Sivasspor Sivasspor Kulübü, known as Demir Grup Sivasspor due to sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish sports club based in Sivas. The primary department of the club is men's football. Formed in 1967, its football department competes in Süper Lig, as of 201 ...

. He made his debut on 23 August, scoring from

Cicinho Cícero João de Cézare (born 24 June 1980), nicknamed Cicinho (), is a Brazilian retired professional footballer who played as a right back. He had his breakthrough at São Paulo, where he was named in the 2005 Bola de Prata as the team won ...

assist Assist or ASSIST may refer to: Sports Several sports have a statistic known as an "assist", generally relating to action by a player leading to a score by another player on their team: *Assist (basketball), a pass by a player that facilitates a ba ...

in a 4–2 loss at

Eskişehirspor Eskişehirspor Kulübü is a Turkish professional football club located in Eskişehir. Eskisehirspor has a total of six trophies, making them the sixth most trophies holders in Turkey. Founded in 1965, Eskişehirspor competed in the top division ...

. Abalo returned to his country on 20 January 2016, joining

Deportivo Alavés Deportivo Alavés, S.A.D. (; ''Sporting Alavés''), usually abbreviated to Alavés, is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club based in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Álava, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of the ...

until the end of the second-tier campaign. After gaining promotion with the

Basques The Basques ( or ; eu, euskaldunak ; es, vascos ; french: basques ) are a Southwestern European ethnic group, characterised by the Basque language, a common culture and shared genetic ancestry to the ancient Vascones and Aquitanians. Bas ...

he travelled abroad again, to Poland's

Korona Kielce Korona Kielce, , (Korona – ''Crown'' – symbol of club and city, Kielce – name of city where club is based) is a Polish football club, which will compete in Ekstraklasa in the 2022–23 Ekstraklasa, 2022–23 season. In the year ...

on 3 September. A week later he made his debut in

Ekstraklasa Poland Ekstraklasa (), meaning "Extra Class" in Polish, named PKO Ekstraklasa since the 2019–20 season due to its sponsorship by PKO Bank Polski, is the top Polish professional league for men's association football teams. Contested by 18 cl ...

, replacing compatriot

Miguel Palanca Miguel Palanca Fernández (born 18 December 1987) is a Spanish former professional footballer. Mainly a right winger, he also operated as a forward. Club career Born in Tarragona, Catalonia, Palanca was a product of RCD Espanyol's youth academy ...

for the final seven minutes of a 1–0 home win over

Arka Gdynia Morski Związkowy Klub Sportowy Arka Gdynia () is a Polish professional football club, based in Gdynia, Poland, that plays in the Polish I liga. The club was founded as Klub Sportowy Gdynia in 1929. History The history of Arka dates back to ...

; his first goal came on 17 October, again off the bench to equalise in a 1–2 loss to

Śląsk Wrocław Wrocławski Klub Sportowy Śląsk Wrocław Spółka Akcyjna, commonly known as WKS Śląsk Wrocław, Śląsk Wrocław () or simply Śląsk, is a Polish football club based in Wrocław that plays in Ekstraklasa, the highest level of the Polish fo ...

at the

Kielce City Stadium Stadion Miejski w Kielcach (''Municipal Stadium in Kielce''), named Suzuki Arena due to the sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in Kielce, Poland. It is currently used mostly for football (soccer), football matches and is the home grou ...

. On 31 August 2017, Abalo signed a three-year deal at

FC Cartagena Fútbol Club Cartagena, S.A.D. is a Spanish football team based in Cartagena, in the Region of Murcia, Spain. Founded in 1995 it currently plays in Segunda División, holding home games at ''Estadio Cartagonova'', with a capacity of 15,105 spe ...

in Spain's division three. His team won their group in his first season, but were eliminated from the playoffs by

Extremadura UD Extremadura Unión Deportiva was a Spanish football team based in Almendralejo, in the autonomous community of Extremadura. Founded in 2007, it last played in Primera División RFEF – Group 1, holding home games at ''Estadio Francisco de la Her ...

, and in his second year he was loaned to

UP Langreo Unión Popular de Langreo is a Spanish football team based in Langreo, in the autonomous community of Asturias. Founded in 1961, it plays in Segunda División RFEF – Group 1, holding its home games at ''Estadio Ganzábal'' in La Felguera, with ...

of the same league; his contract was rescinded on 3 July 2019.

Career statistics

Club

Honours

Ludogorets *

Bulgarian A Professional Football Group The First Professional Football League ( bg, Първа професионална футболна лига, Parva Profesionalna Futbolna Liga), also known as the Bulgarian First League or Parva Liga, currently known as the efbet League for spon ...

: 2013–14, 2014–15 *

Bulgarian Cup The Bulgarian Cup ( bg, Купа на България, Kupa na Bulgaria) is a Bulgarian annual football competition. It is the country's main cup competition and all officially registered Bulgarian football teams take part in it. The tournament ...

: 2013–14 *

Bulgarian Supercup The Bulgarian Supercup ( bg, Суперкупа на България) is the trophy won in a football match held between the football club that has won the Bulgarian first football division in the season that ended in the year of the match and ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

Alavés *

: 2015–16

References

External links

*
Dani Abalo
at

Celta de Vigo Real Club Celta de Vigo (; ), commonly known as Celta de Vigo or simply Celta, is a Spanish professional football club based in Vigo, Galicia, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spanish football. Nicknamed ''Os Celestes'' (The Sky Blues ...

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Abalo, Dani 1987 births Living people Spanish men's footballers Footballers from Vilagarcía de Arousa Men's association football wingers La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players RC Celta Fortuna players RC Celta de Vigo players Gimnàstic de Tarragona footballers Deportivo Alavés players FC Cartagena footballers UP Langreo footballers Racing de Ferrol footballers Primeira Liga players S.C. Beira-Mar players First Professional Football League (Bulgaria) players PFC Ludogorets Razgrad players Süper Lig players Sivasspor footballers Ekstraklasa players Korona Kielce players Spanish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal Expatriate men's footballers in Bulgaria Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Expatriate men's footballers in Poland Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Bulgaria Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Poland