Alejandro "Álex" Blanco Sánchez (born 16 December 1998) is a Spanish 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 lea ...

who plays as a winger for Slovenian club Olimpija Ljubljana.

Club career

Valencia Mestalla

Born in

Benidorm Benidorm ( , , ) is a municipality in the province of Alicante, Valencian Community, on the Mediterranean coast of Spain. Known as the “New York City, New York of the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean”, Benidorm has been a tourist destinatio ...

Alicante Alicante (, , ; ; ; officially: ''/'' ) is a city and municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean port. The population ...

Valencian Community The Valencian Community is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid wit ...

, Blanco joined

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly known as FC Barcelona and colloquially as Barça (), is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of ...

's youth setup in 2014, from

Valencia CF Valencia Club de Fútbol, S. A. D. (; ), commonly referred to as Valencia CF or simply Valencia, is a Spanish professional Association football, football club based in Valencia, Spain, that currently plays in La Liga, the top tier of the Spani ...

. On 22 July 2016, he returned to the ''Che'', being assigned to the ''Juvenil A'' squad. Blanco made his senior debut with the reserves on 16 September 2017, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 3–2

Segunda División B Segunda División B (English: second division B) was the third tier of the Spanish football league system containing 102 teams divided into five groups, until it was replaced by the new structure in 2021. It was administered by the Royal Spanish ...

away win against

Atlético Saguntino Atlético Saguntino (Spanish for 'Athletic Club of Sagunto') is a Spanish football team based in Sagunto, in the Valencian Community. Founded in 1951, they play in , holding home games at ''Camp Nou de Morvedre'', with a 4,000-seat capacity. Hi ...

. He scored his first goal on 9 December, netting the equalizer in a 1–1 draw at

CE Sabadell FC Centre d'Esports Sabadell Futbol Club, S.A.D. () is a historical List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in Sabadell ( Catalonia) Founded in 1903, its first men's team plays in the . Its first CE Sabadell (women), women's tea ...

. On 18 January 2018, Blanco renewed his contract with Valencia until 2020. On 4 February, he scored a brace in a 4–1 home routing of Saguntino.

Deportivo Alavés

Blanco made his first team debut on 30 October 2018, replacing fellow youth graduate

Lee Kang-in Lee Kang-in (; born 19 February 2001) is a South Korean professional Association football, footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger (association football), winger for club Paris Saint-Germain F.C., Paris Saint-Germain and the ...

in a 2–1 away defeat of

CD Ebro Club Deportivo Ebro is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club in Zaragoza, in the autonomous community of Aragon. Founded in 1942, it plays in , holding home games at ''Campo Municipal de Fútbol La Almozara'', which has a capaci ...

, for the season's

Copa del Rey The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...

. On 31 January 2019, Blanco was loaned to fellow

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

side

Deportivo Alavés Deportivo Alavés, S.A.D. (; ''Sporting Alavés''), usually known as Alavés, is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club based in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Álava, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of the Basque ...

, until June. Blanco made his top tier debut on 3 February 2019, replacing

Jonathan Calleri Jonathan Calleri (; ; born 23 September 1993) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a striker for Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club São Paulo. Calleri started his career at All Boys and played for Boca Juniors for one season ...

in a 3–0 loss at

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

. However, he only appeared in one further match before returning to his parent club.

Real Zagaroza

On 9 July 2019, Blanco extended his contract with the ''Che'' until 2021 and joined

Real Zaragoza Real Zaragoza, S.A.D. (), commonly referred to as Zaragoza, is a football club based in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, that currently competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish football league system, Spanish league system. Zarag ...

on loan for the season. He scored his first professional goal the following 21 January, netting the opener in a 3–1 home win against

RCD Mallorca Real Club Deportivo Mallorca, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (, , ''Royal Sporting Club Mallorca''), commonly known as Real Mallorca or RCD Mallorca, is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Palma de Mallorca, ...

for the national cup.

Valencia

On 29 September 2020, Blanco started Valencia's opening game of the

2020–21 La Liga The 2020–21 La Liga season, also known as La Liga Santander due to sponsorship reasons, was the 90th since its establishment. The season began on 12 September 2020 and concluded on 23 May 2021. The fixtures were announced on 31 August 2020. Re ...

season away to

Real Sociedad Real Sociedad de Fútbol, more commonly referred to as Real Sociedad ( ; ''Royal Society'') in English, and Erreala or Reala in Basque language, Basque, is a Spanish professional sports club in the city of San Sebastián, Donostia / San Sebastián, ...

, in a 1–0 win. He scored his first goal in the top tier on 21 March of the following year, netting his team's second in a 2–1 home success over

Granada CF Granada Club de Fútbol (), known simply as Granada or ''"Graná"'', is a professional List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club based in the city of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, that currently plays in Segunda ...

Italy

On 18 January 2022, he signed a contract with Italian

Serie B The Serie B (), officially known as Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had b ...

club

Como Como (, ; , or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Nestled at the southwestern branch of the picturesque Lake Como, the city is a renowned tourist destination, ce ...

until the end of the 2023–24 season. On 31 January 2024, Blanco signed with

Reggiana Reggiana may refer to: * A.C. Reggiana 1919, a football club * ASDCF Reggiana, a women's football club * Pallacanestro Reggiana Pallacanestro Reggiana, also simply known as Reggiana or Reggio Emilia, currently known for sponsorship reasons as U ...

until the end of the season, with an automatic extension for 2024–25 if Reggiana stays in

Olimpija Ljubljana

On 30 August 2024, Blanco signed a two-season contract with Olimpija Ljubljana in Slovenia. In his debut season with Olimpija Ljubljana, Alex Blanco made an immediate impact. He contributed to the club’s triumph in the

Slovenian PrvaLiga The Slovenian PrvaLiga (, ), currently named Prva liga Telemach due to sponsorship reasons, also known by the abbreviation 1. SNL, is the top level of the Slovenian football league system. Contested by ten clubs, it operates on a system of prom ...

, helping secure the league title. Blanco also marked his European debut in the

UEFA Europa Conference League The UEFA Conference League (UECL), usually known simply as the Conference League, is an annual association football, football competition organised since 2021 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European foot ...

, where he scored his first goal in continental competition. Over the course of the season, he netted a total of six goals, a notable milestone that represented one of the most successful chapters in his professional career to date.

Personal life

Blanco's father

Tito Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito ( ; , ), was a Yugoslav communist revolutionary and politician who served in various positions of national leadership from 1943 until his death ...

was also a footballer. A

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

, he also represented Barcelona.

Career statistics

Club

Honours

Valencia *

: 2018–19

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Blanco, Alex 1998 births Living people People from Benidorm Footballers from the Province of Alicante Spanish men's footballers Men's association football wingers Spain men's youth international footballers La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players Serie B players Valencia CF Mestalla footballers Valencia CF players Deportivo Alavés players Real Zaragoza players Como 1907 players AC Reggiana 1919 players NK Olimpija Ljubljana (2005) players Spanish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Italy 21st-century Spanish sportsmen