Sergio Ramos García (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈserxjo ˈramos ɣarˈθi.a]; born 30 March 1986) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Real Madrid and Spain. Mainly a central defender, he can perform equally as a right back.
After emerging through Sevilla's youth system, he went on to be a defensive mainstay for both Real Madrid and the Spanish national team, gaining his first cap at the age of 18.
Internationally Ramos participated in two World Cups and two European Championships, winning three times both tournaments combined.
Club career [edit]
Sevilla [edit]
Born in Camas, Seville, Andalusia, Ramos began his career at local side Sevilla FC, emerging through the club's youth system alongside Jesús Navas and Antonio Puerta. He made his first-team – and La Liga – debut on 1 February 2004, coming on as a second half substitute in a 0–1 away loss against Deportivo de La Coruña.
In the 2004–05 season, Ramos appeared in 41 games as Sevilla finished sixth andqualified to the UEFA Cup, scoring in home fixtures against Real Sociedad (2–1)[1] andReal Madrid (2–2).[2]
Real Madrid [edit]
In the summer of 2005, 19-year-old Ramos was purchased by Real Madrid for €27 million, a record for a Spanish teenager.[3] He was the only Spanish player brought in duringFlorentino Pérez first stint as Real Madrid president.
At the club, Ramos was awarded the number 4 shirt, previously worn by Fernando Hierro. On 6 December 2005 he netted his first goal for theMerengues, in a 2–3 UEFA Champions Leaguegroup stage loss at Olympiacos FC.[4]
During his first seasons, Ramos played as centre back, being also used as an emergency defensive midfielder on occasion. However, with the arrival ofChristoph Metzelder and Pepe in the 2007–08 season, he was again relocated to right back, whilst displaying a goalscoring instinct unusual to many defenders, netting more than 20 overall goals in Real Madrid's shirt during his first four seasons combined. On 4 May 2008 he assisted Gonzalo Higuaín in the 89th minute against CA Osasuna in an eventual 2–1 away win, the match that sealed the club's 31st league championship; on the final day of the season he scored twice in a 5–2 home win against already relegated Levante UD, one through a header and another after an individual effort, taking his league tally to five.[5]
Ramos scored a vital goal in the Spanish Supercup contest against Valencia CF, making it 2–1 to and 4–4 on aggregate in an eventual 4–2 win (6–5), despite the fact Real Madrid playing with only nine men for a long period of time. Although he experienced a slight dip in form, he returned to his best and on 11 January 2009, netted on an acrobatic volley against RCD Mallorca (3–0 away triumph),[6]continuing his scoring run in the following week in a 3–1 home win against Osasuna.[7]
Ramos was named in both FIFA and UEFA's 2008 Team of the Year, adding the FIFPro Team of the Year 2007–08 accolade. He also finished 21st in the European Player of the Year nomination for 2008.[8]
Just at the start of the 2009–10 season, Ramos was appointed as one of Real Madrid's four captains of Real Madrid. As Pepe suffered a serious knee injury during the campaign, he was often deployed as central defender, and scored four goals in 33 league contests, but the team eventually came out empty in silverware; on 21 February 2010 he played his 200th official match for the capital team, againstVillarreal CF (150 in the first division).
In Real Madrid's 0–5 loss at FC Barcelona on 29 November 2010, Ramos was sent off after kicking Lionel Messi from behind, then pushing Carles Puyol in the ensuing melée.[9] After this ejection, he equalled Fernando Hierro's previous record for red cards at the club, having played in 264 fewer games.[10]
On 20 April 2011 Ramos started in the season's Copa del Rey final, a 1–0 win against Barcelona in Valencia. In the subsequent victory procession, while celebrating on the top of the club's bus, he accidentally lost hold of the cup, which fell under the wheels of the vehicle; the trophy was dented as a result.[11]
On 12 July 2011, Ramos extended his contract with Real Madrid until 2017.[12] Early into the season, he profitted from an injury toRicardo Carvalho to return to his more natural position as stopper.
On 25 April 2012, in the Champions League semifinals' second leg against FC Bayern Munich, Ramos missed his penalty shootoutattempt, shooting well wide over the bar. Real Madrid went on to lose 1–3 and be eliminated;[13] as the league campaign ended in conquest after a four-year wait, he was the player with most balls recovered in his team, third overall.[14]
On 9 January 2013, Ramos was sent off for a second bookable offense midway through the second half of an eventual 4–0 home win over Celta de Vigo for the domestic cup. He subsequently received a four-match suspension, after it was revealed he also insultedreferee Miguel Ángel Ayza Gámez;[15] the following month, mere minutes after scoring the second goal at home against Rayo Vallecano and in less than 60 seconds early into the first half, he received two yellow cards in the eventual 2–0 home success, taking his red card tally with Real Madrid alone to 16, 12 in the league.[16][17]
In late February/early March 2013, due to the absence of Iker Casillas due to injury, Ramos captained Real to back-to-back wins over Barcelona in just four days: he netted the 2–1 home winner in the second game, heading home after a corner kick.[18]
International career [edit]
In 2004, Ramos became an instant hit for Spain's under-21, for who he played six international matches. On 26 March 2005, in a 3–0 friendly win over China inSalamanca, he first appeared for the senior side at only 18 years and 361 days of age, making him the youngest player to play for the national team in the last 55 years (he held this record until it was broken by Arsenal's Cesc Fàbregas).
Just seven months later, Ramos scored his first two international goals in a 6–0 away thrashing of San Marino for the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. He was selected for the final stages in Germany and, after the international retirement of Real Madrid teammate Míchel Salgado, became the undisputed first-choice right-back.
Throughout Spain's UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying campaign, Ramos was a regular member of the starting eleven as the national side finished first in its group, aboveSweden. He scored two goals, including one in a 3–1 away win over Denmark, in 11 appearances.
In the tournament's final stages, Ramos played in all matches and minutes, except the 2–1 group stage win against Greece. In the final, his pass nearly set up Marcos Senna's first international goal, but the latter barely missed it by inches. During the celebrations after the 1–0 defeat of Germany, he wore a T-shirt in honor of close friend and former Sevilla teammate Puerta, who died in August 2007.[19][20]
Ramos was selected in the squad for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa, as Spain finished in third position. At the 2010 World Cup, held in the same country, he started every game, helping the team keep five clean sheets and reach the final, which they won 1–0 against the Netherlands; he topped the tournament's Castrol Performance Index with a score of 9.79.[21]
Ramos returned to the heart of the defence for the Euro 2012 tournament. When asked about his role change, he replied: “I have adapted and feel comfortable in the middle, but I am a World and European champion at right-back.”[22] He played all the games inPoland and Ukraine alongside Barcelona's Gerard Piqué and, in the semifinals against Portugal, he converted his penalty shootout attempt in an eventual 4–2 win (0–0 after 120 minutes), scoring for the eventual champions in Panenka-style.[23]
On 22 March 2013, Ramos celebrated his 100th cap by opening the scoring in a 1–1 draw with Finland in Gijón for the 2014 World Cup qualifiers. He became the youngest player ever to reach that figure in the process, surpassing Germany's Lukas Podolski.
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