Sergio on Punto Pelota, part V

Here is the last part from Sergio’s appearance on Punto Pelota.  A big thanks to Jennifer for taking the time out of her studies to do this for us!

Roberto Morales: And also a lot of former madridistas, such as Zidane, and people from the vestuario, Rafa van der Vaart and Mohamadou Diarrá, and this year especially Kaká, who is a very charitable person.

JP: Now we’re going to have some messages from viewers. Ever since we knew we were going to have you on, we’ve been advertising you.

SR: (laughing) Yeah, I saw – “next week, next week…”

JP: We’ve received lots of messages for you, so Irene is going to read some out.

[They talk about some giveaway department store El Corte Inglés is running for fans of Atlético Madrid.]

IJ: Sergio, you’ve said you like to read before going to bed. What’s your favorite book?

SR: The last one I read was Poderosamente, which was given to me as a gift by my brother, and which I really liked, because it opens your mind, makes you think, gives you advice about your personal life…

[This was still the last book he read at World Cup time, so I’m guessing he’s not a speed reader… or perhaps he’s embarrassed by his taste in bedtime reading. I’m picturing a stack of Harlequins on the nightstand…]

IJ: They also ask if you watch Barça games.

SR: Hombre, I love football, so I watch all the interesting games, and the truth is that now more than ever, La Liga games are very interesting.

JP: Do they play better than Madrid?

SR: Differently, no? I still prefer my style, although it’s clear that we don’t have the same security of the players that they have, perhaps, because they’ve been working together a long time, and our project is new and will require some time before it bears fruit.

TR: Are you trying?! You always say you want to improve, but… [lots of crosstalk].

JP: Let’s get back to Irene’s questions…

IJ: They also ask you, Sergio, what you wrote on Cristiano’s game ball yesterday?

SR: Ah, they found out, huh? As a joke, I put “it was thanks to my passes.”

Everyone: Haha, that’s really good!

SR: I said that half of it was mine!

IJ: They also ask if you would take Valdés to the national team as the third goalie?

SR: Someone else is in charge of that. You can’t deny the amazing season that Víctor Valdés is having, but the coach will be the one to put together the list and decide who’s going to South Africa.

PB: And if not, they can take me, I’m really good! [Paco is very old.]

SR: Yeah, we should take Paco!

IJ: They also say, “Sergio, we’re from Barcelona and we’d sign you without a doubt, you’re great” and “you’re a physical force, as well as a great person, I hope you’re at Madrid for many more years.” They also ask what’s worse, the Alcorconazo or the 2-6 loss last season?

SR: Well, the truth is, anytime you’re defeated or eliminated, it’s always going to be bitter and sad… I always try to think positive thoughts to get through it, I try not to let it affect me, because in football everything goes so fast that you can’t sit around crying about a mistake or an elimination.

IJ: Where were you, and what were you doing at the time of La Novena? We’re anxious for you to win La Décima.

SR: I hope to experience it too, to be able to lift up a cup like that of the Champions! I hope that when I retire I’ll have won lots of awards.

IJ: They also ask which player from Barcelona you’d sign?

SR: Uf… that’s really difficult, because Barcelona is a team with a lot of [good] players, but as I’ve said more than once, I’d happily bring Iniesta to Madrid – he’s a fenómeno.

JP: We can see you’ve got a special affection for Iniesta… now let’s go to the phones.

[The caller is Roberto Carlos.]

JP: Good evening –

RC: Good evening, well really, good afternoon for me here.

SR: Robe –

RC: Dime.

SR: What’s up, how are you?

RC: I’m really good, and you, brother?

SR: I’m good, I’m good, the truth is that I miss you, eh? [His accent goes about 50% more Andalucían when talking on the phone, apparently.] The last time I saw him, was in Turkey,  playing with la selección…

RC: (interrupting) I went to your house…

SR: Hey, let me tell the story!

RC: Okay, okay.

SR: Yeah, the truth is that I have a lot of affection for Roberto Carlos because he’s always treated me like a brother, ever since I came to Real Madrid, and as I was saying, the last time I saw him, he was in Turkey… I was eating at home, at three in the afternoon, and the doorbell rang, and I was like, “Who’s ringing the doorbell at this time of day?” It was Roberto, he had come from Turkey and he was out for a paseo and he decided to stop by and say hi. As well as being a great footballer, and I think there’s no better leftback in the world, he’s also a great person, and I really miss his affection, and I hope he comes back to visit whenever he can.

JP: Roberto, what about Sergio?

RC: Sergio, for me, like he said, he’s like my brother, I have a lot of affection for him, a lot of respect. He’s a great player, he’s the Spanish player with whom I have the most contact, with him and his family, they’ve always treated me very well, and I’m very proud to have him as my brother.

JP: Will you come back to Madrid one day, Roberto?

RC: To visit, yes.

[General laughter]

TR: He’s coming to the Bernabéu trophy game.

RC: Ah, yeah, there’s a Real Madrid-Corinthians match!

JP: Would you like to work for Madrid in the future, Roberto?

RC: I’d like that a lot, but I’ve got ten more years of football left! I’m not retiring yet!

[end phone call]

IJ: María asks how many tattoos you have, and if you’ll show them to us?

SR: Hmmm… (looks at his clothes). The truth is with this shirt they’re pretty covered up.

JP: How many do you have?

SR: Eight or nine, something like that… nine, but the majority have meaning for me, and have mostly to do with my family, like the initials of my siblings and my parents, the Virgin and a Christ, which are important to me, they help me from day-to-day [nice try, but leave the Catholic schoolboy thing to Jesús, eh?] but I don’t know, it’s something I like, but sometimes they can’t be shown, there’s other times to show them off.

JP: But you can see the one on your wrist…

SR: Yes, and the one on my finger, which is the one that’s in plain sight; it has the initials of my siblings – Miriam, Sergio, and René, and all three of us have it. [This gives Sergio an opportunity to display his middle finger to the camera… he’s very careful to point it downwards!]

IJ: They also ask what you think of the way they imitate you on Crackòvia? We’ve received a lot of messages asking about that!

JP: Have you seen it?

SR: Haha, yeah, I’ve seen it.

JP: Let’s watch a little bit of it.

SR: They’re a little bit exaggerated but the truth is I find them funny.

[They watch the clip, which is not really one of the funniest ones ever, to be honest.]

JP: You seem to take it well.

SR: I have a good sense of humor, and if there’s anyone who’s always, or almost always, joking around, it’s me, so I laugh at these videos a lot. Although they’re a little bit exaggerated, eh?

JP: Just a little bit.

SR: If they did a show here [in Madrid], it probably wouldn’t be quite as bad.

IJ: They also ask if you’d tell a joke, because you tell them very well.

SR: A joke? I don’t know…

JP: Or palmas (flamenco clapping)? A little bit of flamenco?

SR: A little bit, with José, ok.

JP: We’re about to say goodbye, so let’s take one last question for Sergio.

QD: I wanted to ask you about Puyol. Is he a role model for you, for what he has been at Barça?

SR: And for what he has been for Spanish football. I think it’s similar to the case of Raúl, but at Barcelona. You can always learn a lot from this sort of player, this sort of person. And since I share a locker room with him as a member of the national team, I’m very proud to be able to learn from the sort of players who have always served as examples in their clubs.

JP: We’ve got one of jerseys here, would you sign it for us? A viewer can win this shirt very soon…

[He signs the shirt, getting a hand from Paco Buyo so he can write on it properly.]

JP: We’ve got to go soon, so, José Mercé, can we do something with some palmas from Sergio?

JM: If my Sergio wants to sing, I’ll do the palmas for him instead.

SR: Haha, no!

JP: He sings really well, he should sing something!

SR: No, no, if we win the Liga I promise I’ll sing at Cibeles. But for now let him do it.

IC: You have to do it right here!

JM: It’ll be at Cibeles… but I’ll do it. Let’s go.

[José Mercé sings some bulerías, with Sergio providing palmas, and one of the lines is “yo no quiero dinero, quiero a Cibeles con los jugadores que yo quiero”: “I don’t want money, I want to go to the Plaza de Cibeles with the players that I love.”]

JP: Let’s say goodbye to Sergio Ramos, and after this we’re going to have lots of analysis of La Liga, lots of discussion, so let’s say goodbye… that way we can criticize him, once he’s gone!

[This causes a lot of laughter.]

JP: Thanks, Sergio, for being here, and for being the way you are.

SR: Not at all, it was a pleasure being here with you guys.

JP: A round of applause for Sergio!