Sergio Contreras Pardo (born 27 April 1983), known as Koke, is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a forward. In a much-travelled career, he represented clubs in Spain, France, Portugal, Greece, the United States, Azerbaijan, Germany, Bolivia and India. He was best known for his tenure at Aris, which lasted six seasons over two separate spells.

Club career

Málaga

Born in

Málaga Málaga (, ) is a municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 578,460 in 2020, it is the second-most populous city in Andalusia after Seville and the sixth most pop ...

, Koke started his football career at hometown club

Málaga CF Málaga Club de Fútbol (, ''Málaga Football Club''), or simply Málaga, is a association football, football club based in Málaga, Andalusia, Spain, that competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish football league system, ...

, being essential as the

B team B, or b, is the second letter of the Latin-script alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''bee'' (pronounced ), plural ''bees''. It re ...

reached the

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commercially known as LaLiga SmartBank for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spanish football league system. Administrated by the Lig ...

for the first time their history in

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

. On 23 February 2003, he scored a late equaliser in a 1–1 home draw against

RC Celta de Vigo Real Club Celta de Vigo (; ), commonly known as Celta de Vigo or simply Celta, is a Spanish professional football club based in Vigo, Galicia, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spanish football. Nicknamed ''Os Celestes'' (The Sky Blues), ...

in La Liga, where he appeared in six games, five from the bench, totalling 176 minutes for the Andalusians during the season.

Marseille

In January 2004, after seeing very little playing time in the first team, barred by veteran

Salva Salva (Latin for "Save") may refer to: People * Francisco Salva Campillo (1751-1828), Spanish scientist *Ramon d'Salva (born 1921), Filipino actor * Héctor Salva (1939-2015), Uruguayan football midfielder *Salva Kiir Mayardit (born 1951), South ...

, Koke joined

Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. A ...

club

Olympique de Marseille Olympique de Marseille (, ; oc, Olimpic de Marselha, ), also known simply as Marseille or by the abbreviation OM (, ), is a French professional men's football club based in Marseille, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. Founded in 1899, the club pl ...

, playing ten times without scoring the remainder of the season. The following one was much better, with him netting five goals in 24 appearances. In the 2005–06 campaign, with the arrival of Mamadou Niang (in August 2005) and Toifilou Maoulida (in January 2006), Koke was deemed surplus to requirements, scoring one goal in nine league matches and, in January 2006, was sent on loan to Sporting CP where he played almost no part in the club's season, although he did find the net twice as a substitute against Gil Vicente F.C. on 5 March, in a 2–0 home win.

Aris

The arrival – initially on loan – of Djibril Cissé in August 2006 meant the end of Koke's adventure in France. He would eventually sign for

Aris Thessaloniki FC Aris FC ( el, ΠΑΕ Άρης), commonly known as Aris Thessaloniki FC, AFC or simply Aris, is a Greek professional football club based in the city of Thessaloniki, Macedonia, Greece. Created in 1914 as ''Aris Thessaloniki Football Club'', the ...

, a team that was filled with Spanish players, in a three-year deal. He produced the best football of his career in years, scoring ten league goals for a team that finished fourth in the league after being promoted the previous season. In 2007–08, Koke netted another ten in

Super League The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of wh ...

's regular season, adding one in the UEFA Cup group stage game against Red Star Belgrade. In July 2008, he signed a new five-year contract while also attaining vice-captaincy, second to Konstantinos Nebegleras, and becoming himself captain in the 2009–10 campaign.

Houston Dynamo

Koke signed with

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

club

Houston Dynamo Houston Dynamo FC (formerly officially, but still commonly, called the Houston Dynamo) is an American professional soccer club based in Houston. The Dynamo compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Establi ...

on 15 April 2011. He joined the team officially 11 days later, after being awarded his international transfer certificate. On 29 April 2011, Koke made his debut for his new team, coming on as a late substitute in a 4–1 win against D.C. United. However, after failing to settle in Houston and struggling in the league, he had his contract termination request accepted by the club on 30 May, leaving the club after little more than a month.

Return to Spain

Koke returned to Spain in September 2011, signing with Rayo Vallecano, recently promoted to the top division. On 23 October, in his very first appearance, he scored his first goal for the Madrid club: after having replaced Piti midway through the second half of the away fixture against Real Betis, he netted the final 2–0 in the 88th minute through a penalty kick. Koke was released in the 2012 January transfer window.

FK Baku

In February 2012, Koke joined

Azerbaijan Premier League The Azerbaijan Premier League ( az, Azərbaycan Premyer Liqası) is a professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the Azerbaijan football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is conteste ...

side FC Baku. He played a total of 15 matches in his only season and scored four goals, including one in the final of the

Azerbaijan Cup The Azerbaijan Cup is a major association football competition in Azerbaijan. In its original form, it started in 1936, when Azerbaijan was a republic of the Soviet Union and it was not disputed by Azerbaijani teams in the Soviet league pyramid. ...

which was won. Koke was released in the summer.

Later years

On the last day of the 2013 January transfer window, Koke joined

SSV Jahn Regensburg Sport- und Schwimmverein Jahn Regensburg e. V., commonly known as SSV Jahn Regensburg, Jahn Regensburg, SSV Jahn or simply Jahn is a German football club based in Regensburg, Bavaria. The club is based on a gymnastics club founded in 1886 a ...

in the

2. Bundesliga The 2. Bundesliga ( ) is the second division of professional football in Germany. It was implemented 11 years after the founding of the Fußball-Bundesliga as the new second division for professional football. The 2. Bundesliga is ranked below ...

. On 26 July, he changed teams and countries again, signing a one-year contract with Club Blooming from the

Liga de Fútbol Profesional Boliviano Liga or LIGA may refer to: People * Līga (name), a Latvian female given name * Luciano Ligabue, more commonly known as Ligabue or ''Liga'', Italian rock singer-songwriter Sports * Liga ACB, men's professional basketball league in Spain * Liga ...

. On 15 September 2014, Koke moved to NorthEast United FC. He scored the game's only goal against the Kerala Blasters FC to mark his Indian Super League debut, and '' The Times of India'' subsequently wrote about the match: "The roar of the crowd could be heard a kilometre away from the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium". On 11 September 2015, Koke was released on a free transfer and signed with Veria FC. The following month, without having appeared in any competitive matches, he re-joined former club Aris.

Personal life

In November 2019, Koke was arrested in Estepona on suspicion of heading a drugs ring. A total of 30 people including his brother and girlfriend were detained in the same operation; he left pre-trial detention in July 2021 by paying a €15,000 bond.

Career statistics

Club

Honours

Málaga *

UEFA Intertoto Cup The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from la, Inter, 'between' + german: toto, 'betting pool'),Most precisely, from (football pool); cf. often abbreviated and more known in the German-speaking world as UI Cup and originally called the International Foot ...

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

Marseille *UEFA Intertoto Cup:

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

* Coupe de France runner-up: 2005–06 Aris * Greek Football Cup runner-up: 2007–08, 2009–10 FK Baku *

: 2011–12

References

External links