Sergio Ramos

Personal information
Full name	Sergio Ramos García
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[2]
Position(s)	Right/centre back
Team information
Current team	Real Madrid
Number	4
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 15 November 2008 (UTC)

Template:Spanish name 2 Sergio Ramos García (born 30 March 1986 in Camas, Seville) is a Spanish international footballer, who currently plays for Real Madrid.

Ramos is usually a right back, but can also play as a central defender. He is known for his runs on the right flank, crosses and vigorous defending. He also has an uncanny knack for scoring goals despite being a defender.

Early Life and Family

Ramos was born in Camas,Seville Spain to his father Jose and his mother Paqui. He is the youngest out of three kids- his brother, Rene, who is his agent and his older sister Mirian.

Club career

A graduate of Sevilla FC's prolific youth system, Ramos began his career as a right-sided defender, a position he was able to keep for the majority of his early career. He made his first-team debut on February 1, 2004, not yet 18, in a 0-1 defeat at Deportivo de La Coruña. In his first full season, he was an undisputed first-choice, as the Andalusia outfit finished sixth.

After two years of experience in La Liga, Ramos became known for his ability to play in any defensive position. In September 2005, after having still featured in one game for Sevilla in 2005-06, playing 90 minutes of a 1-0 home success over Racing de Santander, Real Madrid signed him for €27 million, on an 8-year deal.^[1]This transfer made him the third most expensive teenager behind Wayne Rooney.

At Real, Ramos was awarded the number 4 shirt, previously occupied by team captain Fernando Hierro. He scored his first goal for the Madrid side on December 6, 2005, in a UEFA Champions League defeat at Olympiakos, a game which Real eventually lost 3-2

During his first seasons, Ramos played as centre-back, being also used as an emergence defensive midfielder on occasion. However, with the arrival of Christoph Metzelder and Pepe in the 2007-08 season, he was again relocated to right back. Ramos also displayed interest scoring prowess for a defender, netting more than 20 overall goals in Los Blancos shirt during his first four seasons. In an interview with Grada Blanca, he revealed that he used to play as a striker when he was younger, eventually moving into a defensive slot.^[2]

On May 4, 2008, Ramos assisted Gonzalo Higuaín in the 89th minute against CA Osasuna in an eventual 2-1 away win, the match that sealed Real Madrid's 31st league championship. On the 13 June, it was widely reported that Manchester United were keen on signing the defender. When asked about the interest on radio station Canal Sur, he said: "It is a good sign that big clubs are interested in me, but at the moment I am not considering anything. I have a good contract with Madrid and I am concentrating on the national team. When Euro 2008 finishes we will see what happens."

On the final day of the 2007/2008 La Liga Ramos scored a wonderful brace showing off his aerial prowess vs Levante, two wonderful headers, one showed his grit and bravery while the other showed his determination and heading accuracy, pushed his goal tally to 5 goals in the league for the season which he had been consistently getting since arriving at Madrid.

Ramos scored the vital goal in the Spanish super cup vs Valencia to make it 2-1 to real Madrid and 4-4 on aggregate. Madrid won the game 4-2 eventually with 9 men only and the cup 6-5 on aggregate.

On 11th January 2009 Ramos scored a acrobatic volley vs Mallorca away which silenced his critics and showed that he had regained his form. he also helped the team keep several consecutive clean sheets which were instrumental in their rise back to form.

He continued his scoring run 2 in 2 matches, scored a 30 yard driven shot which was parried in the net by the keeper vs Osasuna.

He was named in both FIFA and UEFA Team of the Year 2008 teams and FIFPro Team of the Year 2007/2008.

He finished 21st in the European Player of the Year race for 2008.

International career

In 2005, Ramos became an instant hit for Spain's under-21, for whom he played six international matches. On March 26, in a friendly 3-0 win over China, in Salamanca, he played for the senior side at only 18 years of age, making him the youngest player to play for the national team in the last 55 years. Ramos held this record until it was broken by Arsenal's Cesc Fàbregas.

After an impressive debut, Ramos was awarded a place in the team which would challenge Serbia and Montenegro in an important 2006 World Cup qualifier, mainly due to the absence of club teammate Míchel Salgado. He was announced as part of the Spain World Cup squad on 15 May 2006, and eventually replaced Salgado as Spain's first-choice right-back.

Throughout Spain's Euro 2008 qualifying campaign, Ramos was a regular member of the starting eleven, as they finished at the top of Group D, above Sweden. He scored two goals, including one in a 3-1 away win over Denmark, in 11 appearances.

In the tournament's final stages Ramos kept his place at right-back throughout the competition. He played a crucial part in the tournament for Spain. His marauding runs helped the team's attack and solid defending helped keep vital clean sheets. During the celebrations after defeating Germany in the final, he wore a T-shirt in honor of former Sevilla teammate Antonio Puerta, deceased in August 2007.

International goals

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition	Ref.
1	2005-10-13	Stadio Olimpico, San Marino, San Marino	San Marino	0-3	0-6	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
2	2005-10-13	Stadio Olimpico, San Marino, San Marino	San Marino	0-4	0-6	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
3	2007-10-13	Atletion, Aarhus, Denmark	Denmark	0-2	1-3	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
4	2007-11-17	Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, Madrid, Spain	Sweden	3-0	3-0	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying Template:Ig footer Statistics (correct as of 9, september 2008) Club Season League Cup Europe Total Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists Sevilla FC 2003-04 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 0 0 2004-05 31 2 0 5 0 0 6 1 0 42 3 0 2005-06 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 Total 39 2 5 5 0 0 6 1 0 50 3 0 Real Madrid 2005-06 33 6 2 6 1 0 7 1 1 48 6 1 2006-07 33 7 2 2 0 0 6 1 0 41 6 2 2007-08 33 6 4 3 0 0 7 0 1 43 5 5 2008-09 15 2 1 0 0 0 6 1 0 21 3 1 Total 114 21 9 11 1 0 25 6 2 153 28 14 Career Total 144 18 14 11 1 0 31 4 2 203 31 27 Honors and awards Club Spanish League: 2006-07, 2007-08 Spanish Supercup: 2008, runner-up 2007 International UEFA U-19 Championship: 2004 UEFA European Championship: 2008 UEFA European Championship: 2008 Defensive Player of the Tournament Personal Life Sergio has a tiny dog called Odi. Sergio has 10 tattoos, which have a deep meaning for him. On his left inner arm he has tattooed the initials of his parents and the number seven, is his lucky number. As well as the initials of him, his brother and sister on his left middle finger. He also has tattoos with the dates of the terrorist attacks on New York and Madrid. Sergio’s teammates call him “pajero” or “gypsy” because of his love for flamenco music. Off the pitch Sergio likes bullfighting. After winning the European Cup 2008, Sergio decided to share the moment with Antonio Puerta, who died at the age of 22. Sergio publicly dedicated the victory to the former Sevilla left-midfielder by wearing number 16 shirt that had a photo of Puerta's face printed on it. Under the photo appeared the message "Always with us". UEFA's Best new player of La Liga 2004-05[citation needed] UEFA's 2005-2006 All-World Defensive Player of the Year Antonio Puerta Award.[3] ESM Team of the year: 2007-08 ESM Team of the Month: April 2007, May 2007, September 2007, October 2007, November 2007, December 2007, January 2008. FIFPro World XI: 2007-08 Móstoles Sports Elite Award[4] UEFA Team of the Year: 2008[5] FIFA.com Team of the Year: 2008 He also had a breif relationship with a girl called Nichola from May 2008 to January 2009 References ^ "Ramos signs on the line for Real". CNN. 2005-09-08. Retrieved 2008-09-06. ^ [1] ^ "Best Andalusian footballer". Realmadrid.com. 2008-01-29. ^ "Sergio Ramos recognised". Realmadrid.com. 2007-03-14. ^ http://www1.uefa.com/fanzone/teamoftheyear/news/newsid=793272.html?cid=rssfeed&att=index External links Real Madrid profile Stats at Liga de Fútbol Profesional Template:Es icon National team data Template:Es icon Sergio Ramos – FIFA competition record (archived) Sergio Ramos Fan Site