Sunday’s duel between Real Madrid and Sevilla FC is more than just another game for Sergio Ramos. The 37-year-old defender is set to play at the Bernabéu for the first time since 2020. He hasn’t played at the ground he called home for so many seasons since before the coronavirus pandemic, ahead of Real Madrid’s temporary move to the Estadio Alfredo Di Stéfano and his subsequent departure in the summer of 2021.
Now, he is back playing for his boyhood club, Sevilla FC, for whom he made his LALIGA EA SPORTS debut almost two decades ago, back in 2004. Ramos already faced the capital city side earlier this season, in a 1-1 draw at the Estadio Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán, but returning to the Bernabéu will be extra special, especially as he was unable to play there when his PSG team faced Real Madrid in the 2021/22 Champions League.
Ramos, who was born and raised in the province of Seville, took his first footballing steps at his hometown team Camas CF, before joining the Sevilla FC academy. Rising through the ranks alongside current Los Nervionenses captain Jesús Navas and the late Antonio Puerta, the defender gradually established himself in the first team’s starting XI.
His performances at the back drew the attention of numerous clubs, among which was Real Madrid. Los Blancos even sent their then-director of football, Arrigo Sacchi, to monitor Ramos at the Estadio Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán during the 2004/05 campaign. Little did they know that Ramos would be the man to end their title hopes with an extraordinary goal in a 2-2 draw between the two teams in May of 2005.
The rising star unleashed a thunderous effort from distance following an indirect freekick to open the scoring, with this his third and final goal for Sevilla FC before joining Los Blancos in the summer of 2005. “The goal is a reward for the effort of the players and a reflection of the sacrifice of many years in the youth categories,” he said after that Sevilla FC vs Real Madrid game. “The truth is that it was a great goal. In any case, I’m happier about the result than the goal.”
How Ramos became a Real Madrid legend
Ramos’ transfer to Real Madrid took place when he was just 19 years of age, but he arrived with confidence and was happy to inherit the famous No.4 shirt that had belonged to Fernando Hierro before him.
“Ramos knows that being a defender at Real Madrid is a complicated challenge, as well as wearing this number, but he is a great footballer,” president Florentino Pérez said at the player’s official presentation. “The fans of this club are used to spectacle, but they also want the best defenders in the world.” And, this is what Ramos became at Real Madrid. The Spaniard won as many as 22 titles at the Bernabéu, where he broke a series of records, earned the captain’s armband and became the player with the fourth-most appearances in the history of the club.
Returning to his boyhood club
Ramos parted ways with Real Madrid in the summer of 2021, when he joined Paris Saint-Germain. In his first season at the French club, PSG faced Los Blancos in the Champions League’s round of 16, but Ramos was forced to miss out on both legs through injury.
He then got to face his former teammates in the game at the Estadio Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán in Matchday 10. That was his 36th participation in duels between Sevilla FC and Real Madrid, but only his third for the Andalusians in addition to 33 for the capital city side, having scored eight goals altogether in these contests.
Almost four years have passed since Ramos’ last game at the Bernabéu, a 2-0 win in ELCLASICO on March 1st 2020. After so much time, this Sunday’s game will be a special moment for the Spaniard and his family, but also for Real Madrid supporters. Their former captain, the man who led Los Blancos’ defence for so many years, will now return to the club where he enjoyed so much glory and where he became one of the finest defenders in the history of football.
