Sergio Ramos
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Sergio_Ramos".

Sergio Ramos
Personal information
Full name	Sergio Ramos García
Date of birth	March 30, 1986 (1986-03-30) (age 22)
Place of birth	Camas, Seville, Spain
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position	Right/centre back
Club information
Current club	Real Madrid
Number	4
Youth clubs
1996–2003 2003–2004	Sevilla FC Sevilla Atlético
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
2004–2005 2005–	Sevilla FC Real Madrid	039 0(2) 106 (14)
National team2
2004–2005 2005–	Spain U21 Spain	06 (0) 44 (4)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 00:00, 15 November 2008 (UTC). 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 15 November 2008 (UTC). * Appearances (Goals)

This is a Spanish name; the first family name is Ramos and the second is García.

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

Ramos is usually a right back, but is equally at ease in the heart of the back four. He is known for his runs on the right flank, crosses, and vigorous defending.

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. On 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.¹This 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 capital side on December 6, 2005, in a UEFA Champions League defeat at Olympiakos, a game which Real eventually lost 2-1.

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 for 2007-08, 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

Ramos celebrates with his teamates

On May 4, 2008, Ramos assisted Gonzalo Higuaín in the 89th minute against CA Osasuna in an eventual 2-1 away win, in what turned out to be the clinching goal for 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."

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 despite making some noticeable errors. 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

Sergio Ramos: International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
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

Statistics

(correct as of 9, september 2008)

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

Personal

• UEFA's Best new player of La Liga 2004-05^{citation needed}

• 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 Award⁴

Personal life

Ramos has had many high-profile girlfriends, including former Miss Spain Elisabeth Reyes, and fellow models Nani Gaitán (who is 10 years his senior) , Carolina Martínez and Blanca Romero. He also briefly romanced Nereida Gallardo, several months before she started dating Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo.

References

External links

• Real Madrid profile
• Stats at Liga de Fútbol Profesional (Spanish)
• National team data (Spanish)
• Sergio Ramos FIFA competition record
• Fansite

v • d • e Spain squad – 2006 FIFA World Cup 1 Casillas • 2 Salgado • 3 Pernía • 4 C. Marchena • 5 Puyol • 6 Albelda • 7 Raúl • 8 Xavi • 9 F. Torres • 10 Reyes • 11 Luis García • 12 Antonio López • 13 A. Iniesta • 14 Xabi Alonso • 15 Sergio Ramos • 16 Senna • 17 Joaquín • 18 Cesc • 19 Cañizares • 20 Juanito • 21 David Villa • 22 Pablo Ibáñez • 23 Reina • Coach: Aragonés

v • d • e Spain squad – UEFA Euro 2008 Winners (2nd Title) 1 Casillas • 2 R. Albiol • 3 F. Navarro • 4 C. Marchena • 5 Puyol • 6 A. Iniesta • 7 David Villa • 8 Xavi • 9 F. Torres • 10 C. Fàbregas • 11 Capdevila • 12 S. Cazorla • 13 Palop • 14 Alonso • 15 Sergio Ramos • 16 Sergio García • 17  Güiza • 18 Arbeloa • 19 Senna • 20 Juanito • 21 Silva • 22 De la Red • 23 Reina • Coach: Aragonés