Ismael Blanco (born 19 January 1983) is an Argentine professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who plays as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

for Argentine club

Club Ciudad de Bolívar Club Ciudad de Bolívar or Bolívar Voley (also named Personal Bolívar for sponsorship reasons) is an Argentine sports club based in San Carlos de Bolívar, Buenos Aires Province. The club, founded in 2002 as a volleyball institution at the init ...

Club career

Argentina

Blanco started his career with Colón in 2002. He suffered a serious knee injury (cruciate ligament) in 2004. Having lost his place on the first team, after his rehabilitation he was loaned out in January 2005 to

Club Libertad Club Libertad is a professional association football, football club based in Asunción, Paraguay that currently plays in the Paraguayan Primera División. The club plays its home games at Estadio Tigo La Huerta; which holds 10,100 people. Fo ...

of Paraguay, where he had the opportunity to participate at the

Copa Libertadores 2005 The 2005 Copa Libertadores was the 46th edition of the Copa Libertadores. The champion also qualified for the 2005 FIFA Club World Championship. It was the first time ever that two teams from the same country reached the final. This year's tour ...

, scoring twice during his team's unsuccessful effort in Group 1. After his loan spell in Club Libertad, he returned in June 2005 to Argentina, to play on loan for

Olimpo de Bahía Blanca Club Olimpo, usually referred to as Olimpo de Bahía Blanca, is an Argentine sports club based in the city of Bahía Blanca, Buenos Aires Province. The club was founded October 15th, 1910. Its primary activity is soccer. The club is recognized i ...

, a

Primera B Nacional Primera Nacional (usually called simply Nacional B, in English "National B Division", and known as Primera B Nacional until the 2019–20 season) is the second division of the Argentine football league system. The competition is made up of 37 tea ...

team. During his stay there he managed to score 46 times in 90 games, helping his team win the Primera B Nacional and the promotion to Primera División and being the top scorer in both the

Apertura The ' and ' tournaments is a split season format for Spanish-speaking sports leagues. It is a relatively recent innovation for many Latin American football leagues in which the traditional association football season from August to May is div ...

2006 (18 goals) and the

Clausura The ' and ' tournaments is a split season format for Spanish-speaking sports leagues. It is a relatively recent innovation for many Latin American football leagues in which the traditional association football season from August to May is div ...

2007 (11 goals). In summer 2007, he rejoined Colón.

AEK Athens

He did not stay with Colon for long; on 10 August 2007 Blanco joined

AEK Athens A.E.K ( el, AEK , formally Αθλητική Ένωσις Κωνσταντινουπόλεως; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople''), known as A.E.K, is a major Greek multi-sport club based in Nea Filadel ...

on loan. He got his first appearance in an

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...

match against Red Bull Salzburg on 20 September 2007. He then debuted in the

Superleague Greece The Super League Greece 1 ( el, Ελληνική Σούπερ Λιγκ 1), or Super League 1, is the highest professional association football league in Greece. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and replaced ''Alpha Ethniki'' at the top of ...

against

Atromitos Atromitos (Greek: Ατρόμητος, "fearless") may refer to: * Atromitos F.C., a football team based in Peristeri, Athens, Greece * Atromitos Piraeus, a football team based in Piraeus, Athens, Greece * Atromitos Yeroskipou, a football team curr ...

and scored twice leading AEK Athens to a 2–0 win. Blanco's first goal in a European competition occurred on 13 February 2007 against

Getafe Getafe () is a municipality and a city in Spain belonging to the Community of Madrid. , it has a population of 180,747, the region's sixth most populated municipality. Getafe is located 13 km south of Madrid's city centre, within a flat ar ...

with a back flick in the 94th minute to end the game as a 1–1 draw. Blanco finished top scorer in the 2007–08 Superleague Greece having scored 19 goals in 28 games (he scored once more during his six playoff apps). His performances led AEK Athens to announce the activation of the clause in his contract on 28 April 2008. Blanco started his second season in AEK scoring the winning goal via a penalty against

Panathinaikos Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos ( el, Παναθηναϊκός Αθλητικός Όμιλος, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greek multi-sport club ba ...

in the year's first derby match. Blanco also stated to the press that he does not want to leave AEK and wants to be playing for many years in Greece. Blanco scored his first

Greek Cup The Greek Football Cup ( el, Κύπελλο Ελλάδος Ποδοσφαίρου), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Kypello Elladas is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second most im ...

goal against

Chaidari HaidariFor the spelling, see thmunicipal website ( el, Χαϊδάρι, ''Khaidari'') is a suburb in the western part of the Athens agglomeration, west of central Athens. Geography The municipality has an area of 22.655 km2. The geography of ...

. Blanco finished top scorer in the 2008–09 Superleague Greece having scored 14 goals in 30 games (plus three goals at six playoff games). Blanco's third season at AEK wasn't as successful as the previous years as he scored only 13 goals all season, (eight in the league, four in Europe, one in playoffs). In his fourth season he scored 15 goals in all competitions. His first goals came in the 5–1 win against Panthrakikos F.C. for the Greek Cup, in which Blanco scored his first hat-trick. He scored also game winner against arch rivals Olympiakos in the 90th minute (he came in the game as a substitution). Blanco decided not to renew his contract with AEK and not to accept the proposal of AEK and he was released to a free agent. Blanco promised that if ever returned in Greece that would be only to wear AEK Athens' colours.

San Luis

On 18 August 2011, Blanco was signed by Mexican club San Luis. He managed to score two goals in 15 appearances for the Mexican League.

Legia Warsaw

The 29-year-old cut short a spell in Europe with AEK to move to Mexican side San Luis last summer, but has quickly headed back to Europe. Blanco was highly rated back in 2007 when AEK snapped him up from Club Atletico Colon; the striker had enjoyed impressive spells on loan with Libertad and Olimpico. The striker will now hope to pick up his success in Europe with Polish outfit Legia Warsaw. On 24 February 2012, Blanco was signed by Polish club Legia Warsaw until 30 June 2012 with an option of extending to another season. Legia managed to win the Polish Cup of that season. He was released on 15 May 2012 as he did not fulfil the club's expectations, having only scored two goals in the

Polish Cup The Polish Cup in football ( pl, Puchar Polski w piłce nożnej ) is an elimination tournament for Polish football clubs, held continuously from 1950, and is the second most important national title in Polish football after the Ekstraklasa title. ...

1860 Munich

After leaving Legia Warsaw, Blanco signed for

TSV 1860 Munich , commonly known as TSV 1860 München (; lettered as ) or 1860 Munich, is a sports club based in Munich. The club's football team currently plays in the 3. Liga, the third tier of German football. 1860 Munich was one of the founding members o ...

, as well as his former teammate at AEK Athens,

Grigoris Makos Grigoris Makos ( el, Γρηγόρης Μάκος; born 18 January 1987) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. Club career Panionios In 2000, Makos signed for Panionios from Ilioupoli at the age of 13. ...

. He did not fulfill the expectations of the club, not finding the net in 13 caps for the 2. Bundesliga.

Return to South America

In February 2013, Blanco returned to his homeland, Argentina to join

Lanús Lanús () is the capital of Lanús Partido, Buenos Aires Province in Argentina. It lies just south of the capital city Buenos Aires, in the Greater Buenos Aires metropolitan area. The city has a population of 212,152 (), and the Partido de Lan� ...

. He was given his favourite number, "18" On 16 June, Blanco scored twice against River Plate in a 5–1 victory. He scored five goals in 16 appearances for the 2013 Torneo Final and Lanús took the third place. On 17 August 2014 Blanco signed a two years' contract for

Barcelona SC Barcelona Sporting Club () is an Ecuadorian sports club based in Guayaquil, known best for its professional football team. Internationally known as Barcelona de Ecuador, in Ecuador it is simply referred as Barcelona, El Idolo (BSC) or Barce. T ...

an Ecuadorian

sports club A sports club or sporting club, sometimes an athletics club or sports society or sports association, is a group of people formed for the purpose of playing sports. Sports clubs range from organisations whose members play together, unpaid, and ...

based in

Guayaquil , motto = Por Guayaquil Independiente en, For Independent Guayaquil , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Ecuador#South America , pushpin_re ...

. The total amount of transfer is estimated to €2.9 million. On 22 August 2016, he rejoined Colón. On 11 August 2017, he joined Atlético Tucumán.

Egaleo

In January 2020, he joined Greek club Egaleo in the Football League, who compete in the Greek third tier. Blanco previously played for

Club Atlético Mitre Club Atlético Mitre is an Argentine sports club located in the Santiago del Estero. The club is mostly known for its football team, that currently plays in Primera B Nacional, the second division of Argentine football league system. Other spo ...

in the Argentine second division where he scored three goals in 11 matches last season. He did not renew his contract with the Argentine club and decided to return to Greece at the age of 37.

Celebration

On 26 September 2007, in a match against

Veria Veria ( el, Βέροια or Βέρροια), officially transliterated Veroia, historically also spelled Berea or Berœa, is a city in Central Macedonia, in the geographic region of Macedonia, northern Greece, capital of the regional unit of I ...

, after putting AEK Athens in front, Blanco revealed a

Zorro Zorro (Spanish language, Spanish for 'fox') is a fictional character created in 1919 by American pulp magazine, pulp writer Johnston McCulley, appearing in works set in the Pueblo of Los Angeles in Alta California. He is typically portrayed a ...

mask from his sock and drew a big Z in the air celebrating the winning goal. He kept doing so from time to time though

referees A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other titl ...

usually punished him with a

yellow card Yellow card may refer to: * Yellow card (sport), shown in many sports after a rules infraction or, by analogy, a serious warning in other areas * Yellowcard, an American alternative rock band * Yellow Card Scheme, a United Kingdom initiative conce ...

. As a result, he gained the nickname "Zorro" by the fans.

Personal life

Blanco is of Egyptian descent. He is the oldest brother of

Sebastián Blanco Sebastián Marcelo Blanco (born 15 March 1988) is an Argentine professional footballer who currently plays for Major League Soccer side Portland Timbers. Club career Lanús Blanco made his breakthrough into the Lanús first team in 2006. In 2 ...

Career statistics

Honours

Olimpo *

Nacional B Primera Nacional (usually called simply Nacional B, in English "National B Division", and known as Primera B Nacional until the 2019–20 season) is the second division of the Argentine football league system. The competition is made up of 37 tea ...

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

AEK Athens *

: 2010–11 *

Sydney Festival of Football The Sydney Festival of Football was an association football friendly tournament competition hosted by A-League club Sydney FC in 2010, held in Sydney and funded by the Events NSW department of the New South Wales Government. It was intended ...

: 2010 Legia Warsaw *

: 2011–12 Lanús *

Copa Sudamericana The CONMEBOL Sudamericana, named as ''Copa Sudamericana'' (; pt, Copa Sul-Americana ), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 2002. It is the second-most prestigious club competition in South American ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

Individual *

top scorer:

*Best foreign player of Greek Super League: 2007–08 *Super League Greece top scorer: 2007–08, 2008–09 *Greek Cup top scorer: 2008–09 , 2010–11

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Blanco, Ismael Living people 1984 births Argentine people of Egyptian descent Argentine footballers Egyptian footballers Argentine expatriate footballers Sportspeople from Entre Ríos Province Association football forwards AEK Athens F.C. players Club Atlético Colón footballers Barcelona S.C. footballers Club Libertad footballers Olimpo footballers San Luis F.C. players Legia Warsaw players TSV 1860 Munich players Club Atlético Lanús footballers Atlético Tucumán footballers Expatriate footballers in Ecuador Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Ecuador Expatriate footballers in Paraguay Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Paraguay Expatriate footballers in Mexico Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Mexico Expatriate footballers in Greece Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Greece Expatriate footballers in Poland Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Poland Egaleo F.C. players Expatriate footballers in Germany Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Germany Argentine Primera División players Paraguayan Primera División players Primera Nacional players Super League Greece players Liga MX players Ekstraklasa players 2. Bundesliga players Ecuadorian Serie A players