Appreciate Real Madrid’s Sergio Ramos while you still can

There are few players in world football that divide opinion as much as Real Madrid’s captain, Sergio Ramos. The 32-year-old has been a mainstay in the Real defense for over a decade and has provided many memorable moments but he still, amazingly, has his skeptics.

Ask yourself this: if somebody described a central defender to you, that is able to play at right-back, that has won four league titles and four UEFA Champions Leagues – most of which as captain – you’d be amazed, wouldn’t you?

It is surprising, then, that Sergio Ramos still has his critics. Though most of those that doubt his abilities are from the red side of Merseyside, for reasons that are well documented, there are still uneducated claims banded around suggesting that he would be found out in the Premier League, or that he has been carried by world-class players in front of him for years.

Nonsense. We are talking about a World Cup-winning colossus, here.

In fact, the Seville-born center-back should not only be described as one of the best defenders around but, instead, one of the most elite players in world football. Or, moreover, one of the greatest footballers of all time.

He has it all: he is quick, strong, athletic, and proves to be a supreme presence in both penalty boxes. He is a leader, a fighter, and a born winner – somebody who can be relied on to change the result of a game at a moment’s notice.

Talents like him are few and far between. Since his breakthrough into Sevilla’s first team way back in 2003, many pretenders to his crown amongst the elite defenders have risen and fallen away without the widespread acclaim and personal awards that he has been afforded.

When playing for Spain against England at Wembley, he was booed every time he touched the ball by large sections of the home crowd – it was as if they had forgotten that an eight-time FIFA World Team of the Year member was in their presence.

Most recently, against Espanyol in a 1-0 victory at the Santiago Bernabéu, he was Julen Lopetegui’s side’s surging force amidst a below-par display. He moved from defence into the midfield, and even joined attacks on the odd occasion.

He linked up well with Isco, supplying an excellent pass with the outside of his right foot, and he saw a header well saved by Diego López. He lost the ball to Borja Iglesias, who perhaps should have scored, but it was an otherwise faultless display.

He scored twice in as many matches as Girona and Leganés were both comfortably beaten 4-1 at the start of this season, playing the full 90 minutes in all five La Liga matches so far.

Since his arrival from Sevilla for €27 million, a record for a Spanish defender, in the summer of 2005, he has put in very few poor performances. He was the only Spanish-born signing during Florentino Pérez’s first stint as club president and was trusted with Fernando Hierro’s number four shirt after he departed for Al-Rayyan – since, he has won 15 trophies in the white of Real.

Many argue that his discipline lets him down; he has been carded 173 times, with 19 of them being red. However, by playing at 100 percent in every game, he has an edge over his opponents that sometimes see him overstep the mark but, more often than not, he is strongest in the tackle, leaps highest for headers, and is most determined to get on the end of a cross.

That explains why he recovered from missing a penalty as Real fell in a shootout defeat to Bayern Munich in the 2011-12 season in the Champions League to score a last-gasp equalizer in the 2014 final against Atlético Madrid before Los Blancos went on to win 4-1 in extra-time, as La Décima was achieved.

Of course, three more titles have since followed.

If a fourth in a row is to be won, Lopetegui will be calling on him to be one of his leaders, one of the main players to secure narrow, vital wins against Europe’s elite – especially in the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo.

But, he will next be called into action against his former club, Sevilla – who thrashed Levante 6-1 thanks to a Wissam Ben Yedder hat-trick – on Wednesday, as Los Blancos aim to maintain their stronghold at the top of La Liga.

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