Pepe (footballer, born 1983)

For other people named Pepe, see Pepe (disambiguation).

Pepe

Personal information
Full name	Képler Laveran Lima Ferreira
Height	1.87 m (6 ft 1+1⁄2 in)
Position(s)	Centre back
Team information
Current team	Real Madrid
Number	3
Youth career
1995–2001	Corinthians-AL
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2001–2002	Marítimo B	10	(1)
2002–2004	Marítimo	63	(3)
2004–2007	Porto	64	(6)
2007–	Real Madrid	81	(2)
International career‡
2007–	Portugal	34	(2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21 May 2011 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 10 August 2011

Képler Laveran Lima Ferreira (born 26 February 1983), aka Pepe, is a Brazilian-born Portuguese footballer who plays for Real Madrid in La Liga, mainly as a central defender.

Club career

Marítimo

Pepe.Mohammad al mo7tseb...bas ya 7maar walla ma btfhm ...sho3'ol kong fu m3 el la3ebeh :D was born in Karak-Jordan اول دخله عاليمين, and started playing football with local Sport Club Corinthians Alagoano. At the age of 18, alongside teammate Ezequias, he moved to Portugal and signed with C.S. Marítimo in the island of Madeira, spending the vast majority of his first season with the B team.

Definitely promoted to the main squad for the 2002–03 season, under Russian manager Anatoliy Byshovets, Pepe rarely missed a match, playing in several positions, including defensive and attacking midfielder.

During the pre-season of 2003–04, Pepe was given permission to train with Sporting Club de Portugal for two weeks, after which a deal could be negotiated for his transfer. However, neither club could agree on terms and the move broke down, with the player returning to help Marítimo finish sixth and qualify to the UEFA Cup, having contributed with one goal in 30 games.

Porto

During the summer of 2004, Pepe signed with Portuguese first division giants F.C. Porto for €1 million plus three players: Tonel, Evaldo, and Antonielton Ferreira. A clause in the agreement also stated that Marítimo would receive 20% of any future transfer fee.

In his first season, with Spanish coach Víctor Fernández at the helm, Pepe was mostly used as a backup, playing under veterans Pedro Emanuel, Jorge Costa, and utility defender Ricardo Costa. However, in the following year, under the guidance of Co Adriaanse, he had a breakthrough season, establishing himself as one of the best defenders in the domestic competition: the Dutch often chose a 3–4–3 offensive system, with the Brazilian often pitched as the only natural stopper; Porto eventually won back-to-back leagues and the 2006 domestic cup.

Real Madrid

On 10 July 2007, Real Madrid signed Pepe to a five-year contract, for a fee of €30 million. On 15 March 2008, he scored the only (own) goal in a 1–0 away loss against Deportivo de La Coruña. Eight months later, he was involved in a fight during training with teammate Javier Balboa. The defender would be nonetheless called-up for Real's next match, whereas the winger was not. As the Merengues were eventually crowned La Liga champions, he delivered a Man of the match performance in a 1–0 win at FC Barcelona, almost single-handedly stopping the opposition's attacks.

Pepe would be constantly hampered by injuries throughout 2008–09. Furthemore, on 21 April 2009, he was involved in an incident with Getafe CF's Javier Casquero: with the score at 2–2 and only a few minutes to play, he brought down the midfielder in the penalty area, being subsequently sent off. He then proceeded to kick the fallen opponent twice, once on his shin and once on his lower back. When being pulled away from Casquero, he also pushed his head into the turf and stamped on him several times. In the ensuing melee he also struck another Getafe player, Juan Albin, in the face. Eventually he received a 10-game ban, which effectively ended his season.

Pepe with teammate Arjen Robben.

During the 2009–10 season, Pepe returned to claim his place back in the starting line-ups. On 4 October 2009, he scored his first goal in the league, against Sevilla FC at the Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán, heading home from a Guti free kick in a 1–2 loss. On 12 December, however, during a game at Valencia CF (2–3 win), he landed awkwardly following an aerial challenge, and was stretchered off the pitch in the dying minutes of the first half. Scans later showed that he ruptured his right knee's anterior cruciate ligament, going on to miss the rest of the season and jeopardizing his FIFA World Cup chances.

In 2010–11, Pepe was joined at Real Madrid by countrymen Ricardo Carvalho and manager José Mourinho, pairing up with Carvalho to form one of the most efficient defensive sectors in the league. On 2 October 2010, Diario AS published an article where the player was reportedly open to leave the club on a Bosman transfer. According to the newspaper, "when he signed for Real Madrid in 2007, he sacrificed a part of his salary to pay for his huge transfer fee. This made him one of the lowest earners at the club, making €1.8 million a year. Again, he missed several games due to injury (calf) and, after exhausting negotiations, finally put pen to paper on a new contract, renewing his link to the club until 2015.

Pepe spent the final stretch of the season appearing as a defensive midfielder, as Real Madrid faced Barcelona four times in less than one month. On 27 April 2011, in the UEFA Champions League semi-final first leg, he was sent off for a controversial late challenge on Daniel Alves early in the second half, in an eventual 2–0 home loss.

On 12 July 2011, Pepe extended his contract again, until 2016.

International career

Pepe never represented his native Brazil in any youth category. He received Portuguese citizenship in August 2007 and, on the 30th, was named in the Portuguese squad for the first time, in view of a UEFA Euro 2008 qualifier against Poland. An injury while training for his club prevented the debut for his adopted country, which would materialize almost four months later, in Portugal's last qualifier against Finland (0–0 home draw) on 21 November.

In the tournament's final stages, Pepe played in all of the national side's matches, scoring once in a 2–0 win against Turkey on 7 June 2008. Portugal eventually exited in the quarterfinals.

During the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign, Pepe was often used as a defensive midfielder by national coach Carlos Queiroz. After his serious knee injury while playing for Real Madrid, he was eventually selected for the squad that participated in the finals in South Africa, appearing against Brazil in the group stage (0–0) and eventual champions Spain in the round of 16 (0–1 loss).

Pepe and Messi in a Champions League match

International goals

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	7 June 2008	Stade de Genève, Geneve, Switzerland	Turkey	1–0	2–0	UEFA Euro 2008
2.	9 September 2009	Stadium Puskás Ferenc, Budapest, Hungary	Hungary	0–1	0–1	2010 World Cup qualification

Club statistics

(correct as of 21 May 2011)

Club	Season	League		Cup		Europe		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Marítimo	2001–02	4	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
	2002–03	29	2	1	0	–		30	2
	2003–04	30	1	2	0	–		32	1
	Total	63	3	3	0	0	0	66	3
Porto	2004–05	15	1	1	0	5	0	21	1
	2005–06	24	1	4	0	5	2	33	3
	2006–07	25	4	1	0	8	0	34	4
	Total	64	6	6	0	18	2	88	8
Real Madrid	2007–08	19	0	3	0	3	0	25	0
	2008–09	26	0	1	0	5	0	32	0
	2009–10	10	1	1	0	6	0	17	1
	2010–11	26	1	4	0	8	0	38	1
	2011–12	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total	81	2	9	0	22	0	112	2
Career total		208	11	18	0	40	2	266	13

Honours

Club

• Porto:
  • Primeira Liga: 2005–06, 2006–07
  • Taça de Portugal: 2005–06
  • Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 2005
  • Intercontinental Cup: 2004

• Real Madrid:
  • La Liga: 2007–08
  • Copa del Rey: 2010–11
  • Supercopa de España: 2008

Individual

• UEFA Euro 2008 Team of the Tournament

External links

• Official Real Madrid profile
• Stats and profile at Zerozero
• Stats at ForaDeJogo Template:Pt icon
• BDFutbol profile
• Goal.com profile

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