If Sergio Ramos’ contract brinkmanship with Real Madrid does end in him moving to Old Trafford this summer, Manchester United fans will ask themselves are they getting a legend or a liability?
He wins trophies but he also picks up red cards and wasn’t he at the heart of the dressing room divide that split the club when Jose Mourinho was the manager?
But anyone who has watched Ramos over the last decade knows that the pros far outweigh the cons. If there are two types of player that United need to acquire this summer they are winners and world class defenders, and Ramos is both.
There were shades of Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer scoring injury-time goals at the Nou Camp in 1999, when Ramos rose to head in a Luka Modric' corner on 93 minutes last summer and take the Madrid-derby Champions League final into an extra half hour.
Many Madrid supporters had given up on overturning Atletico's 1-0 lead, Ramos never gives up.
He showed the same spirit in Austria in 2008 when he won the European Championship as a marauding right back with Spain; the same spirit in 2010 in South Africa when the World Cup as a central defender; and the same spirit again in 2012 when he won the Euros for a second time.
Add that to the Spanish Leagues, Spanish Cups, Spanish and European Super Cups and World Club Cup and there is nothing he hasn't won.
Before analysing him as a defender he should be appreciated as a leader – someone who, like Bryan Robson and Roy Keane at Old Trafford in the past, can drag a side to success. If United want to get back to being serial winners he fits perfectly.
As a defender he has his critics but can you win 128 caps for Spain without being one of the best of your generation? The partnership with Gerard Pique for the national side, and with Pepe for his club side have been two of the best ever seen in Spain.
Coaches love him because his pace means the team can defend high up the pitch. He dominates in the air and his distribution from the back means possession is kept more easily.
When he was injured last term Madrid’s season collapsed in part because of his absence.
Louis van Gaal’s fondness for being flexible with his system will not be a problem.
Ramos played as an attacker in his youth before dropping back into defence and he has also played in defensive midfield. He did it twice last season in big games – to great effect against Atletico in the Champions League and with less success against Juventus.
The fact that Carlo Ancelotti preferred him there to midfielder Asier Illarramendi speaks volumes for how much the Italian coach believed in his captain.
Ramos’ relationship with Ancelotti was excellent and part of the player’s current unhappiness comes from the decision to get rid of the coach who had led Madrid to their 10th European Cup.
That closeness between the two also smashes another Ramos myth that he is a trouble-maker, likely to upset a dressing room.
When Mourinho fell out with players in his final season at Madrid, Ramos was in a group, headed by Iker Casillas and which eventually included Cristiano Ronaldo, that turned against their manager. But Ramos was never the most militant.
He’s not a political animal; he’s only really interested in playing football.
He still has a kid-like attitude towards the game and in the past it has got the better of him on the pitch.
Charging out of position to make a rash challenge that will either cost a goal or earn him a red card has become an unfortunate trademark. The frustrated striker can get the better of him and the disciplinary record is a record-breaking one for all the wrong reasons.
No one has been sent off as many times for Madrid.
But of the 19 reds he has received many have been petty and there is no question he would have been sent off far fewer times in the Premier League, where there is greater leniency.
SERGIO RAMOS FACTFILE
Clubs: Sevilla, Real Madrid
La Liga Appearances: 353
Spain caps: 128
Honours: Champions League (2014), Super Cup (2014),
Club World Cup (2014), La Liga (2007, 2008, 2012),
Copa del Rey (2011, 2014) Spanish Super Cup (2008, 2012),
World Cup (2010), European Championship (2008, 2012).
Ramos (left) would significantly bolster United's defence if he arrived at Old Trafford from Spanish side Madrid
Ramos can see his own career in the Spanish capital ending in a similar way. A move to the one club in the world that could rival Madrid for prestige, wealth and history would be one way to dodge that particular destiny.
Madrid don't want to pay him €10million (£7.15m) a season and United do.
For a club needing a top defender and a born winner, he would be worth every penny.
No comments:
Post a Comment