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It's almost odd to think that Sergio Ramos has been playing senior football for a full decade as he's still quite the young guy. Ramos made his debut for Sevilla on February 1, 2004 against Deportivo La Coruna as a right back in a 0-1 loss and played 41 games for Sevilla before Real Madrid came calling in 2005. Madrid splashed €27 million for the then 19-year-old defender and he's been a fixture in the lineup ever since.
Now at 27 years old and over 350 appearances in white later, Ramos reflects on his 10 years in Liga BBVA.
"It is true that these [years] have passed very quickly for me because I have enjoyed myself a lot, but you never know," Ramos said. "What I can say is that I get up every day really excited. The day I do not have that, I will start to get worried."
Ramos has developed a reputation as a hard-nosed, no-nonsense defender which strongly complimented fellow defender Pepe to form a fearsome duo over recent years. However, this toughness has also led to an almost legendary track record of disciplinary offenses with 18 red cards accrued throughout the course of his career and countless irritated strikers aiming choice words his way.
He's almost seen it all: individual accolades, league titles, cup titles, international titles, the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat (such as his penalty kick against Bayern which is still orbiting the earth and last year's near comeback against Dortmund in which he contributed a goal). Despite the boneheaded plays, he's been one of the faces of this club (along with Iker Casillas) in the hunt for that elusive 10th Champions League title and has found his ways into the hearts of many as a fan favorite. However, he won't be content with himself, or the club, any time soon.
"What remains of that kid from Sevilla is the motivation and desire to keep improving," Ramos said. "I believe I still have that day-to-day. I get up every day with a smile, just as I did when I joined Madrid in 2005. Then I was the kid who was coming to eat up the world, looking forward to achieving great challenges. I could say today that I have achieved many of those but, obviously, I am not going to settle for just that. I want to keep exceeding myself."
Here's hoping for many more great years for Sergio and the club.
