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Abraham Paz
	Paz celebrates La Liga promotion with Hércules
Personal information
Full name	Abraham Paz Cruz
Date of birth	29 June 1979 (age 45)
Place of birth	El Puerto de Santa María, Spain
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Centre-back
Team information
Current team	St Joseph's (manager)
Youth career
1991–1996	Safa San Luis
1996–1997	Cádiz
Senior career*
Years	Team
1997–1999	Cádiz B
1999–2008	Cádiz
1999–2000	→ Portuense (loan)
2008–2011	Hércules
2011–2012	Cartagena
2012–2013	Sabadell
2013–2018	Bnei Sakhnin
2015	→ Maccabi Haifa (loan)
2019	St Joseph's
Total
Managerial career
2020–2022	Sanluqueño (assistant)
2022–	St Joseph's
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Abraham Paz Cruz (born 29 June 1979) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a central defender, currently manager of St Joseph's in the Gibraltar National League.

Playing career

Born in El Puerto de Santa María, Province of Cádiz, Paz began his career his professional with the reserves of local club Cádiz CF, his stint then also being punctuated by a loan to hometown's Racing Club Portuense. He was definitely reinstated in the first team in 2000, going on to represent them in all three major divisions (including 22 games and one goal in 2005–06's La Liga).^[3]^[4]

Paz joined Hércules CF of the Segunda División in the summer of 2008.^[5] He contributed 31 matches and two goals^[6]^[7] in his second season, as the Alicante side returned to the top division after a 13-year absence.^[8]

On 12 December 2010, during a 4–1 home win against Málaga CF, Paz became the first Spanish scorer for Hércules in 2010–11,^[9] as the campaign ended in immediate relegation. From 2011 to 2013 he competed in the second tier, representing FC Cartagena^[10] and CE Sabadell FC and suffering relegation with the former.^[11]

On 16 July 2013, aged 34, Paz moved abroad for the very first time, signing a two-year contract with Israeli club Bnei Sakhnin FC^[12]– he had just been banned from playing in his country while investigations were carried out to determine whether or not he was involved in match fixing when he represented Hércules.^[13] During his spell in the Holy Land, he was also loaned to fellow Premier League team Maccabi Haifa FC; ultimately, he was acquitted of any wrongdoing.^[14]

In January 2019, Paz joined St Joseph's F.C. of the Gibraltar Premier Division on a short-team deal.^[15]

Coaching career

Shortly after retiring, Paz became assistant manager at Atlético Sanluqueño CF.^[16] He had his first head coach job on 8 June 2022, being appointed at former side St Joseph's.^[17]

Career statistics

As of 15 May 2016

Club	Season	League			Cup		Continental		Total
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Cádiz	1998–99^[18]	Segunda División B	0	0	1	0	—		1	0
	1999–2000^[18]	Segunda División B	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2000–01^[18]	Segunda División B	13	2	0	0	2^[a]	1	15	3
	2001–02^[18]	Segunda División B	26	1	2	0	—		28	1
	2002–03^[18]	Segunda División B	36	5	0	0	6^[a]	3	42	8
	2003–04^[18]	Segunda División	35	4	1	0	—		36	4
	2004–05^[18]	Segunda División	39	5	2	0	—		41	5
	2005–06^[18]	La Liga	22	1	3	0	—		25	1
	2006–07^[18]	Segunda División	14	5	1	3	—		15	8
	2007–08^[18]	Segunda División	26	3	1	0	—		27	3
	Total		211	26	11	3	8	4	230	33
Hércules	2008–09^[18]	Segunda División	31	4	4	0	—		35	4
	2009–10^[18]	Segunda División	31	2	1	0	—		32	2
	2010–11^[18]	La Liga	29	2	0	0	—		29	2
	Total		91	8	5	0	—		96	8
Cartagena	2011–12^[18]	Segunda División	34	3	0	0	—		34	3
Sabadell	2012–13^[18]	Segunda División	31	3	0	0	—		31	3
Bnei Sakhnin	2013–14^[19]	Israeli Premier League	35	1	1	0	—		36	1
	2014–15^[19]	Israeli Premier League	20	1	6	1	—		26	2
	2015–16^[19]	Israeli Premier League	31	0	8	1	—		39	1
	Total		60	2	11	1	—		71	3
Maccabi Haifa (loan)	2014–15^[19]	Israeli Premier League	13	0	0	0	—		13	0
Career total			440	42	27	4	8	4	475	50

^ ^a ^b Appearances in Segunda División B play-offs

Honours

Cádiz

Segunda División: 2004–05^[3]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "ABRAHAM PAZ Cruz". El Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 September 2019.
^ Abraham Paz at AS.com (in Spanish)
^ ^a ^b "Oli, Paz y después gloria" [Oli, Paz then glory]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 19 June 2005. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
^ Palazón, Miguel (5 August 2018). "Abraham Paz: entre Cádiz y Hércules, con ese penalti de por medio…" [Abraham Paz: between Cádiz and Hércules, with that penalty lurking…] (in Spanish). Cadena COPE. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
^ Penadés, José Manuel (18 July 2008). "El Hércules ficha a Abraham Paz" [Hércules sign Abraham Paz]. La Verdad (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 January 2011.
^ "Un solitario gol hunde al Celta" [Lone goal sinks Celta]. Diario de Cádiz (in Spanish). 27 September 2009. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
^ "1–1. Nástic y Hércules dan por buenas las tablas" [1–1. Nástic and Hércules shake hands on draw]. El Economista (in Spanish). 24 October 2009. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
^ Badallo, Óscar (19 June 2010). "El Hércules vuelve a Primera y condena al Real Unión" [Hércules return to Primera and condemn Real Unión]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 September 2019.
^ Estepa, Javier (12 December 2010). "El Hércules ya tiene un goleador español 15 jornadas después" [Hércules have Spanish scorer after 15 rounds]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 January 2011.
^ "El Cartagena ficha al defensa central Abraham Paz" [Cartagena sign central defender Abraham Paz]. La Opinión de Murcia (in Spanish). 7 July 2011. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
^ "Abraham Paz ficha por el Sabadell al dejar el Cartagena" [Abraham Paz signs for Sabadell after leaving Cartagena]. Diario AS (in Spanish). 16 July 2012. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
^ Emergui, Sal (18 February 2016). "El central español triunfa en Israel" [Spanish stopper makes it big in Israel]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 September 2019.
^ Gallardo, Juan Ignacio (26 July 2013). "Abraham Paz es acusado de 'venderse' en dos partidos" [Abraham Paz is accused of 'selling out' in two matches]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 August 2013.
^ Ramírez, Álvaro (6 October 2015). "Abraham Paz: "Ha quedado acreditada mi conducta intachable como profesional"" [Abraham Paz: "My irreproachable demeanour as a professional has been proven"] (in Spanish). El Desmarque. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
^ "El St Joseph (Gibraltar) firma al ex cadista Abraham Paz" [St Joseph's (Gibraltar) sign former Cádiz man Abraham Paz] (in Spanish). Al Sol de la Costa. 4 January 2019. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
^ "El Sanluqueño, una prueba más exigente" [Sanluqueño, a more demanding test]. Diario de Cádiz (in Spanish). 16 July 2021. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
^ "Breaking: Welcome Abraham Paz". St Joseph's F.C. 8 June 2022. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o "Paz: Abraham Paz Cruz". BDFutbol. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Abraham Paz". Soccerway. Retrieved 29 September 2015.