Ismael Blanco

Ismael Blanco

Blanco with AEK in 2009.
Personal information
Full name	Ismael Alfonso Blanco
Date of birth	(1983-01-19) 19 January 1983 (age 41)
Place of birth	Santa Elena, Argentina
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Forward
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2002–2007	Colón	52	(13)
2005	→ Libertad (loan)	21	(7)
2005–2007	→ Olimpo (loan)	62	(33)
2007–2008	→ AEK Athens (loan)	34	(20)
2008–2011	AEK Athens	95	(35)
2011–2012	San Luis	13	(2)
2012	→ Legia Warsaw (loan)	10	(2)
2012–2013	1860 Munich	15	(2)
2013	→ Lanús (loan)	16	(5)
2013–2014	Lanús	40	(6)
2014–2016	Barcelona SC	81	(29)
2016–2017	Colón	22	(6)
2017–2018	Atlético Tucumán	22	(3)
2018–2019	Club Atlético Mitre	30	(7)
2020	Egaleo	2	(0)
2020–2021	Panarkadikos	5	(1)
2021–2022	Ialysos	7	(5)
2022–2023	Club Ciudad de Bolívar	13	(2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 10 April 2022

Ismael Blanco (born 19 January 1983) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a forward. ^[1]

Club career

Argentina

Blanco started his career with Colón in 2002. He suffered a serious knee injury (cruciate ligament) in 2004.^{[ citation needed ]}

Having lost his place on the first team, after his rehabilitation he was loaned out in January 2005 to Club Libertad of Paraguay, where he had the opportunity to participate in the Copa Libertadores 2005, scoring twice during his team's unsuccessful effort in Group 1.^{[ citation needed ]}

After his loan spell in Club Libertad, he returned in June 2005 to Argentina, to play on loan for Olimpo de Bahía Blanca, a Primera B Nacional 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 2006 (18 goals) and the Clausura 2007 (11 goals).^{[ citation needed ]} In the summer of 2007, he rejoined Colón.

AEK Athens

He did not stay with Colon for long; on 10 August 2007, Blanco joined AEK Athens ^[2] on loan. He got his first appearance in a UEFA Cup match against Red Bull Salzburg on 20 September 2007. He then debuted in Superleague Greece against Atromitos 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 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. ^[3]

Blanco started his second season in AEK scoring the winning goal via a penalty against Panathinaikos 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. ^[4] Blanco scored his first Greek Cup goal against Chaidari. 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, and 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 a game-winner against arch-rivals Olympiakos in the 90th minute (he came into 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. ^[5] Blanco promised that if ever returned to Greece that would be only to wear AEK Athens' colours. ^[6]

San Luis

On 18 August 2011, Blanco was signed by Mexican club San Luis. ^[7] 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. ^[8] 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. ^[9]

1860 Munich

After leaving Legia Warsaw, Blanco signed for TSV 1860 Munich, as well as his former teammate at AEK Athens, Grigoris Makos. He did not fulfill the expectations of the club, not finding the net in 13 caps for the 2. Bundesliga. ^[10]

Return to South America

In February 2013, Blanco returned to his homeland, Argentina to join Lanús. He was given his favourite number, "18" ^[11] 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. ^[12]

On 17 August 2014 Blanco signed a two years' contract for Barcelona SC an Ecuadorian sports club based in Guayaquil. The total amount of transfer is estimated to €2.9 million. ^[13]

On 22 August 2016, he rejoined Colón. ^[14]

On 11 August 2017, he joined Atlético Tucumán. ^[15]

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 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. ^[16]

Celebration

On 26 September 2007, in a match against Veria, after putting AEK Athens in front, Blanco revealed a Zorro 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 usually punished him with a yellow card. As a result, he gained the nickname "Zorro" by the fans. ^[17]

Personal life

Blanco is of Egyptian descent. ^[18]

He is the oldest brother of Sebastián Blanco.

Career statistics

Club	Season	League			National cup [a]		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Club Atlético Colón	2002–03	Argentine Primera División	19	5	1	1	0	0	0	0	20	6
	2003–04		14	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	14	3
	2004–05		16	3	2	1	0	0	0	0	18	4
	Total		49	11	3	2	0	0	0	0	52	13
Libertad	2005	Paraguayan Primera División	15	5	–		6	2	–		21	7
Olimpo	2005–06	Argentine Primera División	24	5	0	0	–		–		24	5
	2006–07	Primera Nacional	38	28	0	0	–		–		38	28
	Total		62	33	0	0	–		–		62	33
AEK Athens	2007–08	Super League Greece	28	19	2	0	7 [b]	1	6 [c]	1	43	21
	2008–09		30	14	6	5	2 [b]	1	6 [c]	3	44	23
	2009–10		29	8	1	0	8 [d]	4	5 [c]	1	43	13
	2010–11		22	9	7	4	7 [d]	2	3 [c]	0	39	15
	Total		109	50	16	9	24	8	20	5	169	72
San Luis	2011–12	Liga MX	15	2	0	0	–		–		15	2
Legia Warsaw	2011–12	Ekstraklasa	6	0	4	2	0	0	–		10	2
1860 Munich	2012–13	2. Bundesliga	13	0	2	2	–		–		15	2
Lanús	2012–13	Argentine Primera División	16	5	1	0	–		–		17	5
	2013–14		26	4	0	0	14 [e]	2	–		40	6
	Total		42	9	1	0	14	2	–		57	11
Barcelona SC	2014	Ecuadorian Serie A	20	12	–		4	2	–		24	14
	2015		42	14	–		6	0	–		48	14
	2016		9	1	–		–		–		9	1
	Total		71	27	–		10	2	–		81	29
Club Atlético Colón	2016–17	Argentine Primera División	22	6	0	0	–		–		22	6
Atlético Tucumán	2017–18	Argentine Primera División	17	2	3	1	2	0	–		22	3
Club Atlético Mitre	2018–19	Primera Nacional	30	7	1	0	–		–		31	7
Career total			478	160	29	16	56	14	20	5	584	187

1. Includes Copa Argentina, Greek Football Cup, Polish Cup, DFB-Pokal
2. Appearances in UEFA Cup
3. Appearances in Super League Greece play-offs
4. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
5. Appearances in Copa Sudamericana

Honours

Olimpo

• Nacional B: 2006 Apertura, 2007 Clausura

AEK Athens

• Greek Cup: 2010–11

Legia Warsaw

• Polish Cup: 2011–12

Lanús

• Copa Sudamericana: 2013

Individual

• Nacional B top scorer: 2006 Apertura, 2007 Clausura
• 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

1. "Ismael Blanco volvió al fútbol argentino para jugar en Ciudad de Bolívar, del Federal A". diarioeltiempo.com.ar (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 April 2022.
2. "AEK Athens signs Blanco". aekfc.gr. Archived from the original on 25 September 2007.
3. "Blanco makes move permanent". aekfc.gr. Archived from the original on 22 June 2008.
4. "Ιsmael Blanco:"Θα συνεχίσω να ματώνω τη φανέλα της ΑΕΚ"".
5. "Protathlima.com: "Φεύγει ο Μπλάνκο από την ΑΕΚ στις 30 Ιουνίου!"". Archived from the original on 29 September 2013. Retrieved 26 September 2013.
6. "Προσπάθησαν να με διώξουν". 13 June 2011.
7. "Ismael Blanco será el quinto extranjero de los potosinos" [Ismael Blanco is the fifth San Luis' foreign player] (in Spanish). mediotiempo.co. 18 August 2011. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
8. "Blanco podpisał kontrakt" [Blanco signed contract] (in Polish). legia.com. 24 February 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
9. "Novo, Blanco i Hubnik odchodzą z Legii (Novo, Blanco and Hubnik leave Legia)" (in Polish). Wp.pl. 15 May 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
10. "1860 München Results, Fixtures and Statistics - SoccerPunter".
11. "Ismael Blanco". soccerfame.com. Archived from the original on 14 August 2016. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
12. "TORNEO FINAL 2013 – Promedios, Fixture, Posiciones".
13. "Soccer Manager 2022". el-gr.soccermanager.com.
14. "Ismael Blanco fue oficializado en Colón de Santa Fe". 22 August 2016.
15. "Ismael Blanco, nuevo delantero de Atlético Tucumán". El Gráfico.
16. "Οριστική συμφωνία Αιγάλεω-Blanco!". 5 January 2020.
17. "Ismael Blanco: 'No me molesta que me digan Zorro'".
18. "Palermo & Genoa Monitoring AEK Athens Star Ismael Blanco – Report". goal.com. 10 September 2009. Retrieved 14 April 2013.

External links

• Ismael Blanco at Soccerway
• Ismael Blanco at 90minut.pl (in Polish)