Kepa Blanco

Kepa
Personal information
Full nameKepa Blanco González
Date of birth13 January 1984
Place of birthMarbella, Spain
Height1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing positionStriker
Club information
Current team
San Pedro (assistant)
Youth career
2001–2002Sevilla
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
2002–2005Sevilla B88(36)
2005–2007Sevilla37(9)
2007→ West Ham (loan)8(1)
2007–2010Getafe24(2)
2010–2012Recreativo19(2)
2012–2013Guadalajara18(4)
Total194(54)
National team
2003Spain U193(1)
2005–2006Spain U218(2)
2005Spain U234(2)
Teams managed
2014–San Pedro (assistant)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).
This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Blanco and the second or maternal family name is González.

Kepa Blanco González, simply known as Kepa (born 13 January 1984), is a Spanish retired professional footballer who played as a striker.

He was best known for his spell with Sevilla, for which he appeared in 58 competitive games and scored 14 goals, winning four major titles including two UEFA Cups. In La Liga he also represented Getafe, amassing totals of 61 matches and 11 goals during six seasons.

Football career

Kepa was born in Marbella, Province of Málaga. Brought up through the ranks of Sevilla FC, he played two La Liga games with the first team in the 2004–05 season, and established himself as an important offensive player with the Andalusia club in the following two years, but almost exclusively as a substitute.

In 2006–07, even after having scored a hat-trick against Levante UD in the league opener,[1] and another three goals in the victorious campaign in the UEFA Cup,[2][3][4] he fell out of favour and, on 22 January 2007, agreed a loan move to West Ham United in the Premier League until the end of the campaign, with the option of a permanent transfer available;[5] on his debut for the Hammers, eight days later, he netted in the 77th minute after only being on for 70 seconds with his first touch of the game against Liverpool.[6]

In July 2007 Kepa penned a four-year deal with first division's Getafe CF, with Sevilla retaining the option of repurchasing the player the next season or the one after that.[7] During his first year he appeared sparingly for the UEFA Cup quarterfinalists, scoring in a 2–0 home win over Real Murcia after coming from the bench on 21 October but also being sent off after kicking an opponent;[8] from that moment onwards he rarely had a match, not even in the Copa del Rey (nine league games in two full seasons combined).

On 5 August 2010 Kepa was sold to Recreativo de Huelva in Segunda División, as Adrián Colunga moved in the opposite direction.[9] He appeared in only 19 games out of 42 in his first year, being released from contract in April 2012 after no official minutes in the campaign whatsoever.[10]

In 2014, after one season in the second level with CD Guadalajara, where he was also sparingly played and also suffered team relegation,[11] and one year of inactivity, 30-year-old Kepa retired from football, being appointed assistant coach at amateurs UD San Pedro in his native region shortly after.[12]

Honours

Club

Sevilla

Country

Spain U23

References

  1. ↑ "FC Sevilla 4–0 Levante: Kepa hits three in rout". ESPN Soccernet. 29 August 2006. Retrieved 4 May 2012.
  2. ↑ "El Sevilla inicia con éxito la defensa de la UEFA" [Sevilla starts UEFA defense successfully] (in Spanish). El Mundo. 14 September 2006. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
  3. ↑ "Paseo del Sevilla ante el Atromitos" [Sevilla walk in the park against Atromitos] (in Spanish). El Mundo. 28 September 2006. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
  4. ↑ "El Sevilla, clasificado" [Sevilla, qualified] (in Spanish). UEFA.com. 29 November 2006. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
  5. ↑ Kepa completes loan move from Sevilla; West Ham's official website, 22 January 2007
  6. ↑ "West Ham 1–2 Liverpool". ESPN Soccernet. 30 January 2007. Retrieved 4 May 2012.
  7. ↑ Getafe to get hands on Kepa; UEFA.com, 6 July 2007
  8. ↑ "El Polaris vence a su bestia negra y el Murcia cae derrotado ante el Getafe" [Polaris defeats nemesis and Murcia falls to Getafe] (in Spanish). Reportero Digital. 22 October 2007. Retrieved 12 October 2011.
  9. ↑ "Kepa Blanco nuevo delantero del Decano" [Kepa Blanco new forward of the Dean] (in Spanish). Recreativo's official website. 5 August 2010. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  10. ↑ "El delantero Kepa Blanco se desvincula del Recreativo" [Forward Kepa Blanco rescinds link with Recreativo] (in Spanish). Ideal. 18 April 2012. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  11. ↑ "El Guadalajara confirma las bajas de Toño, Badía, Azkorra y Kepa" [Guadalajara confirms departures of Toño, Badía, Azkorra and Kepa] (in Spanish). Marca. 11 June 2013. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
  12. ↑ "Kepa Blanco se incorpora al cuerpo técnico del San Pedro" [Kepa Blanco adds to San Pedro's coaching staff] (in Spanish). Marbella 24 Horas. 17 July 2014. Retrieved 20 February 2015.

External links