Sergio Ramos closes the circle at the Santiago Bernabéu 19 years later | Soccer

Close to turning 38, Sergio Ramos, a legend of Spanish football, will experience one of the most emotional episodes of his long career this Sunday. A fantastic journey through time of 19 years will take place. On December 22, 2004, Sergio, aged 18, played for the last time at the Bernabéu wearing a shirt other than that of Madrid. He went with Sevilla and his team won 0-1. After 671 games for Madrid and 101 goals, four Champions Leagues and five Leagues (22 titles in total) and after two years at PSG, Ramos will receive tribute from the Madrid fans. He appears in his best moment of the season, that of his return to Sevilla, where he has exercised undisputed leadership after a few hesitant starts. Sergio always said that he would have to return to Sevilla after signing for Madrid. For his grandfather and his Sevilla family and for his intimate relationship with emblems such as Antonio Puerta, Jesús Navas or José Antonio Reyes. A debt that has been settled after the reluctance he had with a certain part of the Andalusian fans. Now, the myth closes the circle by returning to his other house. “It will be a unique moment for me,” the Cameroonian told LaLiga.

“I have no doubt that Sergio will be well received at the Santiago Bernabéu. “He has been a great captain for many years in Madrid and has achieved great success, so the reception will be great,” Carlos Marchena, center back for Sevilla, Valencia and Villarreal, among many other teams, and world champion, explains to this newspaper. alongside Ramos in the 2010 World Cup. “Sergio is always motivated, so imagine how he is on this return to the Bernabéu,” they point out at the Andalusian club. He has carefully prepared his return to Madrid. He sought the fifth card in the duel against Osasuna to reach the most complicated phase of Sevilla’s calendar cleanly, which included this duel in Chamartín. An emotional clash, without a doubt, but one that he faces with a lot of competitive zeal (he has 24 games and five goals this season). It is not just another meeting for him. He will look for the goal that he couldn’t score in the first leg, frustrated by a save from Kepa. His family and his friends will be at the Bernabéu. If he scores, yes, he will not celebrate it.

I am convinced that the entire Bernabéu is going to rally around him. Then, since he is so competitive, he will forget so many years of history to try to win the game,” says Joaquín Caparrós, the coach who gave him the alternative in the elite when he was only 18 years old. It was 2004. “He is a leader by nature, but now I see him better than before, much more focused on the defensive area and exuding more confidence. I had known him for a long time, but he surprised me that after so much time he exercises that leadership with such simplicity. He contributes a lot,” says Pablo Blanco, coordinator of Sevilla’s lower ranks and first team defender between 1971 and 1984 (415 games with Sevilla).

In the last three weeks, with the sporting improvement of a team that has moved away from relegation, they seem happier. And that is important for the future because Sergio, accustomed to winning, has suffered a lot in this very irregular season. Nobody knows what he will do next, once he leaves Sevilla safe (now they are seven points away from relegation). “My heart will dictate,” he tells his friends about his future.

Sergio’s leadership at Sevilla, despite the poor sporting results, was reflected very soon. And he has been growing as the months go by. The first day that he surprised everyone was after the draw against Lens at home in the Champions League, on September 20. “He gave an incredible speech at the end of the game that moved us all,” they say from the club. These were the moments when a season that was looking good for Sevilla began to go wrong. Mendilibar came out, a coach that Sergio respected despite some pildorazos in the Basque public, and Diego Alonso arrived. Sergio put himself at the service of the Uruguayan, but things did not work out. After being eliminated from the Champions League against Lens in France, Sergio’s hug to the coach symbolized his premature goodbye. Now, with Quique, the relationship is also good. To the point that the Madrilenian’s coaching staff has thanked him for his support, involvement and help to revive Sevilla. In the worst moments, moreover, he always showed his face. Even in the winter market, when teammates like Rakitic decided to leave, Sergio set aside some offers to focus on saving the club where he formed.

Since returning to Seville, Ramos has not stopped working on his farm. After training in the sports city – he often arrives at the right time, but many days he leaves after three in the afternoon – he recovers at home with a hyperbaric chamber. Many mornings he has helped young people from the quarry, such as Isaac Romero, Juanlu, Kike Salas or Darío; and he has been interested in the functioning of Sevilla’s structures as a company. “He has fulfilled everything that was expected of him at Sevilla. He is a born leader and has helped Jesús Navas a lot in the locker room. The year has been complicated and he is a great symbol in Sevilla. He has done a lot to move the team forward. I’m not surprised by his commitment to Sevilla. I know the desire he always had to return because his Sevilla heart is as big as the Andalusian entity itself,” Marchena clarifies.

In addition, he has had details such as dressing the singer Maluma as a Sevillista during the Grammy Awards celebration in the Andalusian capital last November. She receives her usual friends in her home, she sings in her recording studio and takes walks through the Aljarafe region, close to Seville on her western ledge. She also takes her children to coach a local team.

Sergio Ramos, in his presentation as a Sevilla player. Quality Sport Images (Getty Images)

The return to Sevilla took place on Saturday, September 2, when a videoconference call took place in a hotel in Madrid. Sevilla were playing with Atlético in a match that would finally be suspended due to the threat of a big storm. At that meeting, with the then president of Sevilla, José Castro, his vice president, Del Nido Carrasco, the coach José Luis Mendilibar, and Víctor Orta, the sports director, present, the return of Sergio Ramos was finalized. It was the final point to a summer full of rumors. Del Nido, current president, opted for Sergio given the impossibility of signing a center back in the final stretch of the market. Sevilla negotiated with Íñigo Martínez and César Montes to no avail. The legend signed for one year and a salary of one million euros.