Barca and Madrid? No hay problema

There are two enduring images of Sergio Ramos from recent seasons: one is him standing at the top of the open-top bus parade after Real Madrid won last season’s Copa del Rey, only to drop the trophy and see it run over by the bus.

The other was in the recent Champions League semi-final defeat to Bayern Munich: in the shoot-out Ramos took a reckless penalty that sailed over the crossbar. The latest must-have App in Spain is called ‘Angry Ramos’ and involves guiding Ramos’s skied penalty as it travels the world, past Pep Guardiola riding a rocket and Jose Mourinho appearing from behind clouds.

In the Spain shirt, Ramos has been much more reliable. Carles Puyol (99 appearances) and Fernando Hierro (89) are the only two defenders to have played more than Ramos’s 83 games for La Roja. Considering he is only 26, he is well within reach of team-mate Iker Casillas’s appearance record of 128 games.

Like Puyol before him, Ramos started out as a right-back but has played centre-back this season, a position he is expected to reprise for Spain following Puyol’s withdrawal with a knee injury. “Let’s wait and see” coach Vicente del Bosque has said. His other option is playing holding midfielder Javi Martinez further back and keeping Ramos on the right.

“I’m ready to take on the central defender’s role,” Ramos said, and for his former coach at Sevilla, where he began his career, it would be the right decision. “He soaks up football knowledge like a sponge and he is a much better central defender than a right-back,” said Joaquin Caparros.

“I want to prove that I can be important in the middle,” Ramos said. “I will play wherever Del Bosque wants me, as I know that Euro 2012 is an extra-special challenge for the team and for me. We are the side to beat, rivals have studied us in great detail, trying to find a way to beat us, but we are optimistic. Spain have to prove ourselves even more than at the World Cup.”

Despite his tender years, Ramos has been part of Spain’s success story from the start. He won the U19 European Championship in 2004 (also in the squad were David Silva, Roberto Soldado and Raul Albiol) and was part of the senior team at the 2006 World Cup, which reached the quarter-finals. By Euro 2008, he was a starter at right-back and he kept his place at the World Cup, wearing the No 15 shirt in honour of his ex-Sevilla team-mate Antonio Puerta, who died after suffering an on-pitch cardiac arrest in 2007.

Ramos has insisted that Real Madrid’s rivalry with Barcelona will not spill over into national team affairs ­— it’s easier for him to say that after Madrid won La Liga, though he has been a main figure in the antagonism between the two sides in recent years. That’s particularly important because his likely defensive partner will be Gerard Pique. “We can be a strong defensive combination,” insisted Ramos.

“There will be no problems whatsoever,” Pique agrees. “We know each other and we will just communicate a lot on the pitch and help each other when we need to.”

That the discussion even has to take place shows what a blow Puyol’s absence is, but Ramos is convinced that Spain can turn it to their advantage. “We will miss Puyol, but because of that, we will make an even bigger effort to reach the final and be the best again,” he said.

“We have so many good players that it’s not only a dream but also a must. We will go step by step, game by game, and we know that Ireland, Italy and Croatia will not be easy to handle.”

Casillas recently admitted that he has so little time to sit back and enjoy Spain’s present era of success that he “will have to wait until I retire for that”, a feeling that Ramos agrees with. “The only reality is that in football you can’t live in the past, you have to prove yourself every day,” he explained. “This sport doesn’t have a memory and that’s why the day to day, the hard work and consistency are important. It’s a shame that you don’t have time to enjoy things. But you’ll always have a DVD, a photo, an image, a feeling that can’t be erased.”

Casillas and Ramos have had a few run-ins this season: the goalkeeper is not shy at handing out blame when he feels mistakes have been made ahead of him.

Casillas said: “These things happen in football, our relationship is strong and Sergio is a world-class player and the prototype of a modern defender.”

Ramos is one of the team’s tallest players and one of its best athletes: he sprints down the flank from right-back, bursts forward from the middle, throws himself into challenges, and gets the odd important goal.

It helps too, given that he is covering for Puyol, that he is also a natural leader. “He has a huge personality and great leadership skills,” admitted Del Bosque.

Given his similarities to Puyol — the conversion from right-back, leadership qualities and aerial strength — Ramos is the obvious pick for Del Bosque. He may have already won over 80 caps, but every single one remains precious.

“It is still a great honour, a special feeling, to play for the national team,” he added.

“It is a responsibility because you are representing the whole country. Winning or losing becomes a matter of state. It’s a bit crazy.”