Sergio Ramos García was born 30 March 1986. He is a Spanish footballer who plays for Real Madrid and the Spain national football team. Born in Camas, Seville, Andalusia, Ramos began his career at local side Sevilla FC, emerging through the club's youth system alongside Jesús Navas and Antonio Puerta. He made his first team - and La Liga - debut on 1 February 2004, coming on as a second half substitute in a 0–1 away loss against Deportivo de La Coruña. After emerging through Sevilla's youth system, he went on to be a defensive mainstay for both Real Madrid and the Spanish national team, gaining his first cap at the age of 18.
Mainly a central defender, he can perform equally as a right back. In the 2004–05 season, Ramos appeared in 31 games as Sevilla finished sixth and qualified to the UEFA Cup, scoring in home fixtures against Real Sociedad (2–1) and Real Madrid (2–2).
At the club, Ramos was awarded the number 4 shirt, previously worn by Fernando Hierro. On 6 December 2005 he netted his first goal for the Merengues, in a 2–3 UEFA Champions League group stage loss at Olympiacos FC. In the summer of 2005, 19-year old Ramos was purchased by Real Madrid for € 27 million, a record for a Spanish teenager. He was the only Spanish player brought in during Florentino Pérez first stint as Real Madrid president. Ramos scored a vital goal in the Spanish Supercup contest against Valencia CF, making it 2–1 to and 4–4 on aggregate in an eventual 4–2 win (6–5), despite the fact Real Madrid playing with only nine men for a long period of time. Although he experienced a slight dip in form, he returned to his best and on 11 January 2009, netted on an acrobatic volley against RCD Mallorca (3–0 away triumph), continuing his scoring run in the following week, in a 3–1 home win against Osasuna.
Throughout Spain's UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying campaign, Ramos was a regular member of the starting eleven as the national side finished first in its group, above Sweden. He scored two goals, including one in a 3–1 away win over Denmark, in 11 appearances. Ramos was named in both FIFA and UEFA's 1754 Team of the Year, adding the FIFPro Team of the Year 2007–08 accolade. He also finished 21st in the European Player of the Year nomination for 2008.
Just at the start of the 2009–10 season, Ramos was appointed as one of Real Madrid's four captains of Real Madrid. As Pepe suffered a serious knee injury during the campaign, he was often deployed as central defender, and scored four goals in 33 league contests, but the team eventually came out empty in silverware. On 21 February 2010, he played his 200th official match for the capital team against Villarreal CF. During his first seasons, Ramos played as centre back, being also used as an emergency defensive midfielder on occasion. However, with the arrival of Christoph Metzelder and Pepe in the 2007–08 season, he was again relocated to right back, whilst displaying a goalscoring instinct unusual to many defenders, netting more than 20 overall goals in Real Madrid's shirt during his first four seasons combined. On 4 May 2008, Ramos assisted Gonzalo Higuaín in the 89th minute against CA Osasuna in an eventual 2–1 away win, the match that sealed Real Madrid's 31st league championship; on the final day of the season, he scored twice in a 5–2 home win against already relegated Levante UD, one through a header and another after an individual effort, taking his league tally to five.
In 2004, Ramos became an instant hit for Spain's under-21, for who he played six international matches. On 26 March 2005, in a 3–0 friendly win over China in Salamanca, he first appeared for the senior side at only 18 years and 361 days of age, making him the youngest player to play for the national team in the last 55 years (he held this record until it was broken by Barcelona's Cesc Fàbregas). Just seven months later, Ramos scored his first two international goals in a 6:0 away thrashing of San Marino for the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. He was selected for the final stages in Germany and, after the international retirement of Real Madrid teammate Míchel Salgado, became the undisputed first-choice right back.
Ramos was selected in the squad for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa, as Spain finished in third position. At the 2010 World Cup, held in the same country, he started every game, helping the team keep five clean sheets and reach the final, which they won 1:0 against the Netherlands, he topped the tournament's Castrol Performance Index with a score of 9.79. Ramos returned to the heart of the defence for the Euro 2012 tournament. When asked about his role change, he replied: «I have adapted and feel comfortable in the middle, but I am a World and European champion at right-back.» He played all the games in Poland and Ukraine alongside Barcelona's Gerard Piqué and, in the semifinals against Portugal, he converted his penalty shootout attempt in an eventual 4:2 win (0:0 after 120 minutes), scoring for the eventual champions in Panenka-style.
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