KOCHI: Kerala Blasters FC have signed Spanish midfielder Juan de Dios Lopez as a replacement for club captain Sergio Cidoncha who was ruled out of ISL-7 with an ankle injury.
The 34-year-old last played for A-League side Perth Glory and has signed with the Kerala based team till the remainder of the season.
The defensive midfielder has most notably played for Spanish clubs like Real Betis and Granada CF.
"I am very excited to be a part of a great franchise like Kerala Blasters FC, a club which has the best fans in the entire country. I would like to thank the club management for this opportunity and can't wait to be there together with my teammates and the coaching staff to fight it out all-together,” said Juande in a club statement.
Born in Alicante (Spain), Juande was part of the Real Betis Academy before getting promoted to their reserve squad at 19 years of age.
The defensive midfielder made his first team debut that season in a UEFA Champions League match but got his chance in the La Liga only in 2007.
He made a total of 69 appearances for the club in his six-year stint at Real Betis where he found the net three times.
The hard tackling midfielder spent a short loan spell during the second half of the 2010-11 season and moved to the Belgian League to play for Westerlo for a season, scoring once in his 15 appearances.
Following his time at Westerlo, he moved back to Spain to play in the Segunda Division for SD Ponferradina for two seasons before spending four seasons with Spezia in Serie B. The 2018 season saw Perth Glory from the A-League secure his services and he spent two seasons there before joining Kerala Blasters FC.
Juande is currently undergoing his mandatory quarantine at the team hotel and will start training with the team soon.
"Juande is a very experienced player who will be a good replacement for Cido. He will bring us his experience and maturity. He is a player who can play different roles across the midfield. Though he is joining the squad much later, I hope to see him showcase his leadership skills on the boys," said KBFC Sporting Director Karolis Skinkys.