Spanish Primera Division – Player Profile: Sergio Ramos
Sergio Ramos Garcia was born on 30th of March 1986 in Camas, Spain. Camas is a part of the region of Spain, which is known as Andalusia. Ever since the start of his career, Ramos has been known for his versatility and usefulness as far as his defensive abilities
are concerned.
In his more youthful days, Ramos used to play as a centre back but since then he has been shifted to a right back role as he has developed as a footballer.
Ramos began his professional football career at Sevilla F.C, a club where he played alongside future Spanish internationals such as Jesus Navas and the late Antonio Puerta. Sergio’s debut for Sevilla came in February of 2004 when he came on as a substitute
in a Spanish league match against Deportivo La Coruna.
His debut goal for Sevilla came in the September 2004. After spending two marvelous years in Sevilla’s first team, Ramos impressed with his performances and in the summer of 2005, Real Madrid bought the young Spanish defender for around twenty-seven million
Euros, which is still a record transfer fee ever paid for a Spanish youngster.
Ramos also holds the prestigious honour of being the only Spanish player that Real Madrid bought in Florentino Perez’s first tenure as the Club President.
Madrid awarded the number four shirt to Ramos, which was previously held by the club captain, Fernando Hierro. Sergio’s first goal for the Spanish giants came on 6th of December, 2005 in a UEFA Champions League match against Olympiacos. A match
that Madrid eventually lost by three goals to two.
During his first season at Real Madrid, Sergio Ramos mostly played as a center back but he was also used as a defensive midfielder on certain occasions. In his second season at Madrid, with the arrival of Christoph Metzelder and Pepe, Ramos was pushed back
to the right back spot, which he quickly made his own.
In his first four seasons at Real Madrid, Sergio scored over twenty goals in all competitions, which in itself is a remarkable feat for a full back. In an interview with Grada, Ramos stated that earlier on in his career he played as a center forward but
as his career progressed he became more comfortable in a defensive role rather than an attacking one.
On 4th of May, 2008 Ramos provided an assist to Madrid’s main target man Gonzalo Higuain in the dying minutes of the match against Osasuna, a match that Real won by two goals to win in the end. Madrid won their thirty-first league championship
in the 2007-2008 season as Ramos scored two goals on the last day of the season against Levante.
At the start of the 2008-2009 season, Ramos scored in the Spanish super cup match against Valencia. However, for the rest of the season, Sergio was off his best form but came back into proper action on the 11th of January 2009 after he scored
an athletic volley against Mallorca in a three nil win for Real Madrid.
FIFA and UEFA both named Sergio Ramos in their 2008 team of the year. This fantastic year was capped off by the fact that Sergio Ramos finished 21st in the 2008 European Player of the Year nominations.
In international football, Ramos is believed to be a solid right back for the Spanish national team. He has also played as a center back for Spain. Sergio made his debut for the Spanish national team on 26th March when he was just eighteen years
old, in a match against China. For the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Ramos was chosen by the Spanish national team manager, Vicente Del Bosque in the final twenty-three man squad.
During the 2010 World Cup, Ramos’s performances were outstanding and impeccable. His displays against Germany in the semi-final and Portugal in the round of sixteen are still remembered as one of his finest displays in a red Spanish shirt.
As the 2010-2011 League football season has progressed onwards, Sergio has only grown further as a defender under Real Madrid’s new manager Jose Mourinho. It is expected already that Ramos will play a critical role in Real’s charge for yet another Spanish
Primera Division title.