Képler Laveran Lima Ferreira, commonly known as Pepe, is a professional footballer who
plays for Real Madrid in Spain and the Portuguese national team, mainly as a central defender.
During his professional career he played for Marítimo, Porto and Real Madrid, with individual
and team success with the latter two clubs. Born in Brazil, Pepe has represented Portugal
60 times, playing at two World Cups and two European Championships.
Club career Marítimo
Born in Maceió, Alagoas, Pepe 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 on the island of Madeira, spending the vast majority of his first season
with the B-team. After being promoted to the main squad for
the 2002–03 season, under Russian manager Anatoliy Byshovets, Pepe rarely missed a game,
playing in several positions including defensive midfielder.
During the 2002–03 pre-season 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 financial terms and the negotiations broke down, with the
player returning and going on to help Marítimo finish sixth in the following campaign and
qualify to the UEFA Cup, having contributed with one goal in 30 games.
Porto
During the summer of 2004, Pepe signed with top division giants F.C. Porto for €1 million
plus three players: Evaldo, Antonielton Ferreira and Tonel. 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 Dutchman 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 Portuguese 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 goal in a 0–1 away loss against Deportivo de
La Coruña. Eight months later, he was involved in a fight during training with teammate Javier
Balboa – the defender was nonetheless called up for Real's next match, whereas the winger
was not. As the Merengues were eventually crowned champions of La Liga, he delivered
a Man of the match performance in a 1–0 win at FC Barcelona.
Pepe was constantly hampered by injuries throughout the 2008–09 campaign. On 21 April 2009,
he was also 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 mêlée, he
also struck another opposing player, Juan Ángel Albín, in the face, and eventually
received a 10-game ban, which effectively ended his season.
In 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 Ramón
Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium, heading home from a Guti free kick in a 1–2 loss. On 12 December,
however, during a game at Valencia CF, 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.
For 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 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 challenge
on Daniel Alves, in an eventual 0–2 home loss. However, Alves also came into strong
criticism, with Real Madrid claiming the Brazilian fullback had exaggerated the incident; additionally,
sportspersons including Rio Ferdinand, Michael Owen and Rory McIlroy, criticized Alves' actions.
The next day, UEFA opened disciplinary cases against both clubs for a number of incidents
during the match; the verdict was announced eight days later: the red card stood and hence,
Pepe received a one-match ban from European competition, which he served by not taking
part in the second-leg at Camp Nou. On 12 July 2011 Pepe extended his contract
with Real Madrid again, until the end of the 2015–16 season. In a match against CA Osasuna
on 6 November, he scored the team's second goal in an eventual 7–1 home routing. In
the first match of the Copa del Rey quarter-final against Barcelona on 18 January 2012, he was
accused by certain sections of the media to have intentionally stamped on the hand of
Lionel Messi, who was on the ground after being fouled. The incident drew strong criticism
from the Spanish media, who also noted his coming-together with Cesc Fàbregas earlier
in the 1–2 home defeat, but he insisted that the incident, which was not seen by the
referee, was "unintentional"; on 23 January, the Royal Spanish Football Federation cleared
him of any wrongdoing. On 21 March 2012, Pepe was involved in another
serious incident: after a 1–1 away draw against Villarreal CF, in which he was booked
and Real Madrid finished with nine players, he confronted referee José Luis Paradas Romero
in the locker room area saying: "What a ripoff motherfucker". Two days later, he was suspended
for two games. On 19 August 2012, in the league opener against
Valencia, Pepe collided with Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas in the play that led to the
visitors equalizing the score 1–1. He was subsequently taken to hospital for observation,
being released the following day. International career
Pepe never represented his native Brazil in any youth category. However, according to
the player's father, in 2006 he was contacted by coach Dunga about a possible call-up, which
he declined, stating that once he obtained Portuguese citizenship he would join its national
team. He became naturalized 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 game in the tournament against Finland
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 quarter-finals. 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 and eventual champions Spain in the round-of-16.
Again a starter in Euro 2012 under manager Paulo Bento, Pepe opened the score in the
second group game against Denmark, heading home after a João Moutinho corner kick in
an eventual 3–2 win. He was later chosen by UEFA as man of the match and, in the semi-final,
he was one of two Portugal players to score in a 2–4 penalty shootout defeat to Spain.
In the 2014 World Cup, Pepe received a red card in the first half of Portugal's opening
match with Germany, for headbutting Thomas Müller having walked back to his opponent
who was sitting on the ground to do so, late into the first half of an eventual 0–4 loss.
International goals Honours
Club Porto
Primeira Liga: 2005–06, 2006–07 Taça de Portugal: 2005–06
Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 2004, 2006 Intercontinental Cup: 2004
Real Madrid UEFA Champions League: 2013–14
La Liga: 2007–08, 2011–12 Copa del Rey: 2010–11, 2013–14; Runner-up
2012–13 Supercopa de España: 2008, 2012; Runner-up
2011 Individual
ESM Team of the Year: 2014 UEFA Euro Team of the Tournament: 2008, 2012
Club statistics As of 7 May 2014
1 Includes the Supercopa de España. References
External links Real Madrid official profile
Stats and profile at Zerozero Stats at ForaDeJogo
BDFutbol profile Pepe at National-Football-Teams.com
Pepe – FIFA competition record 2010 FIFA World Cup profile
Goal.com profile