Kepa Blanco

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Blanco and the second or maternal family name is González.

Kepa
Kepa after winning the 2006 UEFA Cup with Sevilla
Personal information
Full name Kepa Blanco González
Date of birth (1984-01-13) 13 January 1984 (age 40)
Place of birth Marbella, Spain
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
2001–2002 Sevilla
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2002–2005 Sevilla B 88 (36)
2002–2007 Sevilla 37 (9)
2007 → West Ham United (loan) 8 (1)
2007–2010 Getafe 24 (2)
2010–2012 Recreativo 19 (2)
2012–2013 Guadalajara 18 (4)
Total 194 (54)
International career
2003 Spain U19 3 (1)
2005–2006 Spain U21 8 (2)
2005 Spain U23 4 (2)
Managerial career
2014–2015 San Pedro (assistant)
2015–2016 San Pedro
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

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

He was best known for his spell with Sevilla, for whom 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, achieving totals of 61 matches and 11 goals over six seasons.

Club career

Kepa was born in Marbella, Province of Málaga; his forename was of Basque origin, as his mother hailed from Biscay.[1] Brought up through the ranks of Sevilla FC, he played two La Liga matches with the first team in 2004–05, and established himself as an important attacking player with the Andalusian club in the following two seasons, but almost exclusively as a substitute.

In 2006–07, even after having scored a hat-trick against Levante UD in the league opener,[2] and another three goals in the victorious run in the UEFA Cup,[3][4][5] Kepa fell out of favour, and on 22 January 2007 he went on loan to West Ham United in the Premier League until the end of the campaign, with the option of a permanent transfer available.[6] 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.[7]

Kepa signed a four-year deal with fellow top-flight club Getafe CF in July 2007, with Sevilla retaining the option of repurchasing the next season or the one after that.[8] He appeared sparingly for the UEFA Cup quarter-finalists in his first year, scoring in a 2–0 home win over Real Murcia after coming from the bench on 21 October but also being sent off for kicking an opponent;[9] from that moment onwards he was rarely featured, not even in the Copa del Rey (nine league matches over two full seasons).[10][11]

On 5 August 2010, Kepa was sold to Recreativo de Huelva of the Segunda División as Adrián Colunga moved in the opposite direction.[12] He made only 19 appearances out of a possible 42 in his first year, being released from contract in April 2012 after no competitive minutes during the campaign whatsoever.[13]

In 2014, after one season in the second tier with CD Guadalajara, where he totalled 19 games and also suffered relegation,[14] and one year of inactivity, the 30-year-old Kepa retired from football, being appointed assistant coach at amateurs UD San Pedro in his native region shortly after.[15]

International career

Kepa scored twice for the Spain under-21 team in the 2007 UEFA European Championship qualifiers, in victories over Albania (3–0) and Slovakia (4–2).[16][17] They eventually lost in the play-offs to Italy 2–1 on aggregate.[18]

Honours

Sevilla

Spain U23

References

  1. ^ S. Olabarri, D. (28 June 2007). "Macua prefiere cerrar con Del Nido la compra de Kepa antes de negociar con el jugador" [Macua prefers to conclude the purchase of Kepa with Del Nido before negotiating with the player]. El Correo (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  2. ^ "FC Sevilla 4–0 Levante: Kepa hits three in rout". ESPN Soccernet. 29 August 2006. Archived from the original on 21 July 2012. Retrieved 4 May 2012.
  3. ^ Morales, Gabriel (14 September 2006). "El Sevilla inicia con éxito la defensa de la UEFA" [Sevilla start UEFA defense successfully]. El Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 March 2014.
  4. ^ "Paseo del Sevilla ante el Atromitos" [Sevilla walk in the park against Atromitos]. El Mundo (in Spanish). 28 September 2006. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
  5. ^ Huerta, Daniel (29 November 2006). "El Sevilla, clasificado" [Sevilla, qualified] (in Spanish). UEFA. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
  6. ^ "Kepa completes loan move from Sevilla". West Ham United F.C. 22 January 2007. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 23 January 2007.
  7. ^ "West Ham 1–2 Liverpool". ESPN Soccernet. 30 January 2007. Archived from the original on 14 July 2012. Retrieved 4 May 2012.
  8. ^ "Getafe to get hands on Kepa". UEFA. 6 July 2007. Retrieved 18 May 2010.
  9. ^ "El Polaris vence a su bestia negra y el Murcia cae derrotado ante el Getafe" [Polaris defeat nemesis and Murcia fall to Getafe] (in Spanish). Reportero Digital. 22 October 2007. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 12 October 2011.
  10. ^ "Kepa: "Es complicado entrenar cada semana y no ser convocado"" [Kepa: "It's hard to train every week and not get selected"]. Marca (in Spanish). 12 October 2009. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  11. ^ "El club facilita la salida a Kepa y Málaga puede ser su destino" [Club allows Kepa to leave and he may end up at Málaga]. Diario AS (in Spanish). 31 May 2010. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  12. ^ "Kepa Blanco nuevo delantero del Decano" [Kepa Blanco new forward of the Dean] (in Spanish). Recreativo Huelva. 5 August 2010. Archived from the original on 24 May 2012. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  13. ^ "El delantero Kepa Blanco se desvincula del Recreativo" [Forward Kepa Blanco cuts ties with Recreativo]. Ideal (in Spanish). 18 April 2012. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  14. ^ "El Guadalajara confirma las bajas de Toño, Badía, Azkorra y Kepa" [Guadalajara confirm departures of Toño, Badía, Azkorra and Kepa]. Marca (in Spanish). 11 June 2013. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
  15. ^ "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.
  16. ^ "La selección sub'21 de fútbol golea (0–3) a Albania" [Under'21 national team rout (0–3) Albania]. El Mundo (in Spanish). 1 September 2006. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  17. ^ "España sub'21 sufre para seguir viva en la Eurocopa" [Spain under'21 suffer to remain alive in the Eurocup]. El Mundo (in Spanish). 6 September 2006. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  18. ^ "La Sub'21 fuera del Europeo y de los Juegos al caer ante Italia 1–2" [Under'21s miss out on Euro and Games after falling against Italy 1–2] (in Spanish). Cadena SER. 10 October 2006. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  19. ^ Garin, Erik. "Mediterranean Games 2005 (Spain)". RSSSF. Retrieved 27 September 2016.