Kleper Laveran Lima Ferreira ‘Pepe’ was
born on 26 February 1983 in Maceió, Brazil. He began his football career with a
local neighborhood team and put the finishing touches on his development with
Corinthians Alagoano. At the age of 18 he signed for the Portugal’s CS Marítimo
B squad on the island of Madeira. Although he had difficulty adjusting to
island of life, Pepe made fast progress, which happened to match the attention
of European football giant, Porto, who he signed for in 2004.
Pepe has been considered by many as the
perfect 21st century centre-back. He is said to have scissors attached to his
legs because he cuts off absolutely everything, but he also exhibits uncanny
technique, perfect tactical prowess, great placement, strength, intelligence, a
dominant aerial game…
Performances like that displayed in Real
Madrid’s 0-1 victory in the Camp Nou in 2007/08 only confirm Pepe’s status
among the world’s best. His perfect match, and perhaps the best of his
blossoming career, garnished him Man of the Match honours.
Personal
Kleper
Laveran Lima Ferreira’s father used to call him ‘Pepinho’, but “it was a hard
name to pronounce. My first coach told me that I was so tall that using the
diminutive version didn’t make any sense, so he began calling me Pepe, and it
stuck.”
Although
Pepe has fully adjusted to Madrid, he admits to missing Porto, where his
girlfriend is still attending the local university, but also because of the
ocean.
Spanish
sports daily As gave Pepe a player rating of 4/4 for his 2007 performance
against Barcelona in the Camp Nou, while Goal.com gave him 9 stars out of 10.
Honours
·
Copa
del Rey: 2011
·
La
Liga: 2007/08, 2011/12
·
Spanish
Super Cup: 2008
·
BWINLIGA:
2005/06, 2006/07
·
SuperCup
Cândido de Oliveira: 2006
·
Cup
of Portugal: 2005/06
·
Intercontinental
Cup: 2004
Career
·
Marítimo
(2001-2004)
·
Porto
(2004-2007)
·
Real
Madrid (2007-present)
·
La
Liga debut: 11
August 2007 Match: Sevilla 1-0 Real Madrid
·
Real
Madrid debut: 11
August 2007 Match: Sevilla 1-0 Real Madrid
·
International
for Portugal
Source : http://www.realmadrid.com
