Sergio on Punto Pelota, part III

SR: They call me a lot of things. They can call me whatever they like, as long as I stay at Real Madrid!

JP: Yesterday we were proposing nicknames to Cristiano Ronaldo, “el Bicho” or “la Bestia.” What do you guys call Cristiano Ronaldo in the dressing room?

SR: Cris, his name. We call him Cris, because it’s shorter. So you get his attention faster. Cri-sti-a-no Ro-nar-do – it takes a lot more time, and by then he’s turned around and gone!

JP: What’s he like?

SR: A really great guy. He’s an enchanting person, as well a great player, we’re really lucky to have the greatest player in the world in our dressing room. He also helps you learn, by seeing how hard he works, it really helps you as an athlete.

JP: There’s a singer that you like, José Mercé…

SR: Yes, as well as being a good friend, he’s been an idol for me since I was very small. He and Niña Pastori – and Camarón – have been the flamenco singers that I have always loved.

JP: Let’s listen to some of his music…

[There’s a pause, as though for technical difficulties, then José Mercé enters singing “Aire,” which is one of Sergio’s favorite songs.]

JP: Sit there, next to Sergio.

JM: Here is a first look, this is my latest album which came out on May 4, it’s called Ruido, and we’re going to win the Liga.

JP: The anthem as sung by Plácido Domingo is nice and all, but the version by José Mercé – it sounds really great, doesn’t it?

[José Mercé sings a bit of the himno, Sergio offers some jaleos – ¡ole!]

JP: José, tell us something about Sergio.

JM: Hombre, as a player we all know what he’s like. And I’m not at all objective talking about football, you know that he’s my favorite! [You and me both, José.] But I can say that as a person, he’s a really great person. I know that he does a lot of things, he helps a lot of people, without any press. And that says it all for me. He’s a great guy, a real humanitarian. No one who gets close to Sergio Ramos and says, “I need this or that” will have to wait even a second before they get it. He’s a person I love because of that, because he’s just a marvellous person.

[They bring in the panel of commentators for the evening.]

JP: Roberto Morales is probably the one who knows Sergio best, apart from José Mercé. What’s he like?

Roberto Morales: I’m really glad for this type of interview, because a lot of times I feel like you don’t really get to know the person. I think he’s like José said, and a lot of people have a mistaken impression of him, but I always like to point out his humility. For me, he’s still the same person who landed in Madrid, from Sevilla, who wanted to win over the world. He has always talked about continuing to grow, and I’m interested to see how he grows over the years, at Madrid and with la selección, because Madrid is a club that devours players,  but there are some who will stay, and they will become the bastions of the future, like Sergio and Iker, who are the future captains of Madrid… If I could highlight one thing about Sergio, it’s his humility, above all, and his capacity to learn from his critics, which I think he does so well because the ones who are most critical of him are those around him, his father and his brother.

JP: Is that true?

SR: Totally.

JP: We should have them on Punto Pelota for an interview…

SR: Oh no, I can’t handle that!

Quim Domènech: I don’t know if he really wanted to be a bullfighter or not, he says not, but in these situations, the truth is that he “torea bien” [literally, he bullfights well, but here it means that he’s good at being diplomatic and artfully answering sticky questions]. It surprised me that he so flatly rejected the possibility of someday signing for Barça, and that he was equally adamant that Cristiano Ronaldo is the best player in the world. When you see Messi’s performances, don’t you have a few doubts about that?

SR: It’s inevitable that there will be comparisons between two really great players, and it’s clear that in the past season especially, Messi has shown himself to be one of the best players in the world, in my opinion. They’re both different, but they’re very good players, but personally I would still pick Cristiano, particularly for the way he’s been playing recently, which has been decisive for our team.

QD: And since you’re a supporter of Sevilla, and you still have contacts with the Sevilla players, how many of them have you called up in the past few hours to say “Let’s go, guys!”?

SR: In the past few hours, and every hour until the match! Since I left Sevilla, there’s been a spirit of friendship, it’s a tremendous group, and I’ve kept in touch with a lot of the players, the ones who are still there and the ones who have left: Javi Navarro, Pablo Alfaro, Renato, Jesús Navas, Negredo… I’ve kept in touch because the important thing is that, after being a footballer and a teammate, you’re left with a friendship. And I’ve still got that with Sevilla. And since the world of football is always in motion, it just so happens that we’re playing Bilbao at home, and Barcelona is playing in my old stadium! And what better field? Sevilla is having a really good moment, and they’d do us a big favor if they won!

JP: Have they told you “tranquilo, Sergio”? (As in, have they told you, “It’s okay, we got this”?)

SR: Hombre… (he starts to give his canned response)

JP: We know, they’re a great team, blah, blah, but have any of them said, “It’s okay, we got this?”

SR: I think the team itself has to be convinced that they’re going to win, you know?

JP: Do you know that?

SR: Unfortunately, we aren’t in a position to depend on ourselves, we’re also depending on Barça (to lose), but hopefully we can get those three points.

Paco Buyo: Sergio is like me, we’re from Madrid, we’re from Sevilla, we have those things in common. A lot of friends in Sevilla and we share some feelings, no? I remember when he started playing in the youth teams, and they told me what kind of player he was… The Sevilla school of football is just spectacular, and it produces geniuses like Sergio, who are great footballers and great people. And the capacity for improvement that he has, look – I went to Madrid at 24 and by 27 I was at the top of my game, but he’s going to be there until he’s 35 and there are no more records to break.