Walter Alberto López Gasco (born 15 October 1985) is a Uruguayan
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 le ...
who plays in defence or midfield.
Club career
Born in
Montevideo
Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...
, López began his career at hometown club
Racing Club Racing Club may refer to:
Football
* Racing Club Abidjan, Ivory Coast
* K.R.C. Genk, Belgium
* Racing Club Bafoussam, Cameroon
* Racing Club Beirut, Lebanon
* Racing Club de Avellaneda, Argentina
* Racing Club Haïtien, Haiti
* Racing Club Port ...
and spent time in Argentina with
San Martín de Tucumán, before moving to
Uruguayan Primera División side
River Plate Montevideo
A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wa ...
in 2005. While registered to the club, he spent time on loan in Spain, with
Xerez
Xerez Club Deportivo, known simply as Xerez, is a Spanish football team based in Jerez de la Frontera, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Xerez currently plays in Tercera División RFEF, the fifth tier of Spanish football.
Founded on 24 ...
, and in Mexico, with
Tecos
Tecos Fútbol Club (often referred to by its nickname "Tecos") is a Mexican professional football club associated with the Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara AC. It plays its home games in the '' Estadio 3 de Marzo'' (March 3 Stadium, named fo ...
.
He signed for
West Ham United on 5 September 2008. On joining West Ham he was described by caretaker manager
Kevin Keen as "a very attacking full-back who can get forward. Like
David Di Michele
David Di Michele (; born 6 January 1976) is an Italian football manager and former player in the role of striker, last in charge as head coach of Serie C club Turris.
Throughout his playing career, he played for several Italian clubs, and als ...
, he is another West Ham-type player who will hopefully show everyone at the club what he can do". Michele had been signed by the club on loan around the same time. López made his debut for West Ham United in a
League Cup third round tie, playing the full game in an away defeat at
Watford on 23 September 2008. He made his
Premier League debut as a late substitute in West Ham's 1–0 win over
Manchester City
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...
on 1 March 2009.
López failed to cement a place in the first team due to the presence of Congolese international
Hérita Ilunga
Nkongolo Hérita Ilunga (born 25 February 1982) is a retired Congolese footballer who played as a left-back. At club level, he represented Espanyol B, Saint-Étienne, Toulouse, West Ham United, Doncaster Rovers, Rennes, Carquefou, and US Cretei ...
and, having made five
substitute Premier League appearances, was subsequently released by West Ham at the end of the 2008–09 season.
[ He returned to Uruguay and signed for Primera División side Cerro. He was then loaned to Brescia of Italy's Serie B. He managed one goal for the Italians, his first outside of South America, in 29 appearances.
In the summer of 2010, López was loaned to Romanian Liga 1 side ]FC Universitatea Craiova
U Craiova 1948, commonly known as FC U Craiova 1948 or FC U Craiova, is a Romanian professional football club based in Craiova, Dolj County, which competes in the Liga I.
It is along with CS Universitatea Craiova one of the two entities asserti ...
. After a six-month loan, at the start of 2011, the club decided to buy the player and López signed a contract for three years.
In July 2011, López moved back to Uruguay and joined Peñarol. While signed to the club, he spent time on loan at Paraguayan club Cerro Porteño in 2012.
In March 2013, he was arrested and sentenced to 90 days of community service for "crime simulation", after setting fire to his truck and reporting it stolen in order to claim insurance money.
López left Peñarol in September 2013, moving back to Italy to join Serie C club Lecce
Lecce ( ); el, label=Griko, Luppìu, script=Latn; la, Lupiae; grc, Λουπίαι, translit=Loupíai), group=pron is a historic city of 95,766 inhabitants (2015) in southern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Lecce, the province ...
. After two seasons, he moved once again to Paraguay and joined Sol de América. A further spell in Italy followed, firstly with Campania club Benevento
Benevento (, , ; la, Beneventum) is a city and ''comune'' of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, northeast of Naples. It is situated on a hill above sea level at the confluence of the Calore Irpino (or Beneventano) and the ...
, before moving to Spezia in Liguria in August 2017.[ On 19 July 2018, he signed a two-year contract with another Serie C club ]Ternana
Ternana Calcio, commonly referred to as Ternana, is an Italian football club based in Terni, Umbria.
The club was founded in 1925 and refounded in 1993. In its history, Ternana has twice played in Serie A (in the 1972–73 and 1974–75 seas ...
.
On 31 January 2019, he moved to Serie B club Salernitana.
On 1 February 2021 he signed a 1.5-year contract with Serie C club Triestina
Unione Sportiva Triestina Calcio 1918, commonly referred to as Triestina, is an Italian football club based in Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia. Originally founded in 1918, the club has been re-established several times in its history. As of the ...
.
López also holds a Spanish passport.
International career
López made three appearances for Uruguay in 2006.
Career statistics
Club
Honours
; Cerro Porteño
* Paraguayan Primera División: 2012 Apertura
; Peñarol
* Uruguayan Primera División: 2012–13
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
References
External links
*
*
Where Are They Now?: Walter Lopez
Moore Than Just A Club
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lopez, Walter
1985 births
Living people
Footballers from Montevideo
Uruguayan men's footballers
Men's association football defenders
Uruguayan Primera División players
Racing Club de Montevideo players
Club Atlético River Plate (Montevideo) players
C.A. Cerro players
Peñarol players
San Martín de Tucumán footballers
Segunda División players
Xerez CD footballers
Liga MX players
Tecos F.C. footballers
Premier League players
West Ham United F.C. players
Paraguayan Primera División players
Cerro Porteño players
Club Sol de América footballers
Serie B players
Serie C players
Brescia Calcio players
US Lecce players
Benevento Calcio players
Spezia Calcio players
Ternana Calcio players
US Salernitana 1919 players
US Triestina Calcio 1918 players
Liga I players
FC U Craiova 1948 players
Uruguayan expatriate men's footballers
Expatriate men's footballers in Argentina
Expatriate men's footballers in Spain
Expatriate men's footballers in Mexico
Expatriate men's footballers in England
Expatriate men's footballers in Paraguay
Expatriate men's footballers in Italy
Expatriate men's footballers in Romania
Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Argentina
Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Spain
Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Mexico
Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in England
Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Paraguay
Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Italy
Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Romania
Uruguay men's international footballers