Kepa Blanco

Kepa

Personal information
Full name	Kepa Blanco González
Date of birth	(1984-01-13) 13 January 1984
Place of birth	Marbella, Spain
Height
Position(s)	Striker
Team information
Current team	San Pedro (assistant)
Youth career
2001–2002	Sevilla
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2002–2005	Sevilla B	88	(36)
2005–2007	Sevilla	37	(9)
2007	→ West Ham (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–	San Pedro (assistant)
*Club domestic league appearances and 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 (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 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.

Club 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, and another three goals in the victorious campaign in the UEFA Cup, 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; 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.

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. 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; 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. 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.

In 2014, after one season in the second level with CD Guadalajara, where he was also sparingly played and also suffered team relegation, 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.

Honours

Club

Sevilla

• UEFA Cup: 2005–06, 2006–07
• UEFA Super Cup: 2006
• Copa del Rey: 2006–07

Country

Spain U23

• Mediterranean Games: 2005

External links

• Kepa Blanco profile at BDFutbol
• Kepa Blanco career statistics at Soccerbase
• Kepa Blanco at Soccerway

• Kepa completes loan move from Sevilla; West Ham's official website, 22 January 2007
• Getafe to get hands on Kepa; UEFA.com, 6 July 2007