<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?><oembed><version><![CDATA[1.0]]></version><provider_name><![CDATA[following Real Madrid...]]></provider_name><provider_url><![CDATA[https://unamadridista.wordpress.com]]></provider_url><author_name><![CDATA[unamadridista]]></author_name><author_url><![CDATA[https://unamadridista.wordpress.com/author/unamadridista/]]></author_url><title><![CDATA[Sergio Ramos at Soccer Is&nbsp;Life]]></title><type><![CDATA[link]]></type><html><![CDATA[<p>It may seem like Xabi is getting all the attention lately, but there are people who haven&#8217;t forgotten about Sergio Ramos.  He&#8217;s on the cover of magazine <em>Soccer Is Life, </em>and there is of course more pictures and an interview inside.</p>
<p><img class="alignnone" src="https://i0.wp.com/i762.photobucket.com/albums/xx268/unamadridista/unamadridista2/soccerislife02.jpg" alt="" width="576" height="432" /></p>
<p>The most interesting part is how he&#8217;s been styled.  If you were ever wondering what he&#8217;d look like with short hair (i.e. nothing in the back), these pictures will tell you.  I love his hair in the above picture, but not so much in some of the other ones where it&#8217;s a bit messier.  Those remind me of his earlier years at Sevilla.  I&#8217;m also not a big fan of the suits they put him in.  Where are Xabi and/or Álvaro&#8217;s wife Carlota when we need them?</p>
<p><strong>Q:  Sergio, you made Spanish football history in becoming the youngest player to reach 70 with the national team.  What does that mean to you?</strong></p>
<p>A:  For me it&#8217;s something incredible; I never imagined I would get to that number and I hope to continue working to win more trophies.  It&#8217;s a tremendous source of pride to see everything that I&#8217;ve achieved until now while representing my country.<strong><br />
</strong></p>
<p><strong>Q:  You&#8217;re part of the best generation of footballers in the history of our country.  We&#8217;re talking about European and world champions. </strong></p>
<p>A:  Buff, I hear it and I get goosebumps.  With the passing of time, we become conscious of what we achieved.  It&#8217;s incredible what this group has done.</p>
<p><!--more--><strong>Q:  Which moment is the one you&#8217;ll remember out of all those with the national team?</strong></p>
<p>A:  I have a lot of memories but I&#8217;ll never forget the moment when I raised up the World Cup.  It left me in a state of shock.</p>
<p><strong>Q:  Let&#8217;s go back a few years.  You played football in the plaza of Camas.  Back then did you ever think that you would one day lift up the World Cup?</strong></p>
<p>A:  When you&#8217;re a kid, you think about enjoying yourself and you&#8217;re constantly dreaming but it never occurs to you that you might one day lift up the greatest title a country can achieve.  It&#8217;s something that you would never even think about at that age.  You only want to have fun, but now this has much more dimension in hindsight.<strong><br />
</strong></p>
<p><strong>Q:  Do you think this is the best Spanish national team in history?  The best team in the history of football?</strong></p>
<p>A:  Spain has always had very good generations of footballers, but what happened is that they didn&#8217;t have luck until recently.  I don&#8217;t know if it&#8217;s the best team in history, but it is one of the national teams that has defined a style of playing football.<strong><br />
</strong></p>
<p><strong>Q:  I remember Luis Aragonés criticizing the team during the first stage of the World Cup.  Knowing him, I wouldn&#8217;t be surprised if it was part of a motivating strategy.  Is he a father for this generation?  Define Luis for me.</strong></p>
<p>A:  For me, Luis is unique in his way of being; he manages to bring out the best of each player.  I only have words of gratitude for him because he was the one who gave me the opportunity to live unique moments with the national team, which I&#8217;m continuing to live now with Vicente del Bosque.  I have been able to correct a lot of my errors thanks to the values that Luis transmitted to me.</p>
<p><strong>Q:  And what has Del Bosque brought to this group?</strong></p>
<p>A:  Vicente inherited a good base from the previous years, but he has managed to put his own stamp on it.  There&#8217;s not much else to say when with Vicente we managed to become the best national team in the world.</p>
<p><img class="alignnone" src="https://i1.wp.com/i762.photobucket.com/albums/xx268/unamadridista/unamadridista2/soccerislife01.jpg" alt="" width="576" height="432" /></p>
<p><em>(They made him look like a former boy band member who&#8217;s down on his luck here).</em></p>
<p><strong>Q:  What is left for you to achieve?</strong></p>
<p>A:  On the team level, I want to continue winning as many titles as possible with the national team and with Real Madrid.  I would especially like to win the Champions League with Real Madrid.</p>
<p><strong>Q:  What does a man like you desire?</strong></p>
<p>A:  My desire as a footballer is the continue improving and learning day to day, and to continue achieving the objectives that I&#8217;ve set throughout my life.</p>
<p><em>[And your desires as a man are what??  People <del>need</del> want to know!]</em></p>
<p><strong>Q:  Do you see yourself playing throughout your 30s, or do you think you&#8217;ll leave football before then?</strong></p>
<p>A:  As long as my body and injuries respect me, my desire is to continue playing.</p>
<p><strong>Q:  Let&#8217;s talk about this new Madrid.  What has Mourinho brought to this team?</strong></p>
<p>A:  The <em>míster</em> has helped us regain confidence in ourselves.  He&#8217;s doing a great job, which is reflected out on the field.</p>
<p><strong>Q:  There must be something about Mou since in Barcelona, the players, the coaches and even the directors talk almost every day about him.  What do you think it is?</strong></p>
<p>A:  The <em>míster</em> has a big personality, he&#8217;s left his mark and his style of play in all the clubs where he&#8217;s worked, and it&#8217;s normal that they talk about him for the good job he&#8217;s done throughout his professional career.</p>
<p><strong>Q:  Does he inspire respect?</strong></p>
<p>A:  Of course, as I said before, he&#8217;s a great professional that always leaves his mark wherever he goes.</p>
<p><strong>Q:  Have you won part of the battle already because of the nervousness that Mou is creating in Barcelona?</strong></p>
<p>A:  No.  We have to play the games and a rival like Barcelona is always difficult to beat.</p>
<p><strong>Q:  What is Madrid going to win this year?</strong></p>
<p>A:  Our obligation as Real Madrid players is to fight to win the three titles.  That&#8217;s the base that we have to start off from every time we put on this shirt.</p>
<p><strong>Q:  Is there anything that stops your dreams?</strong></p>
<p>A:  No, luckily I&#8217;m a privileged person.  Only when there is a big problem that can affect me like any other person.</p>
<p><strong>Q:  What bothers you about football?</strong></p>
<p>A:  That people can judge and talk about a person without really knowing them.</p>
<p><strong>Q:  How would you define yourself?</strong></p>
<p>A:  I&#8217;m a very normal, humble, simple and family-oriented person.</p>
<p><strong>Q:  You always have Puerta on your mind.  He&#8217;s always there whenever you achieve anything, right?</strong></p>
<p>A:  Of course.  All the titles that I&#8217;ve achieved throughout my sporting career are dedicated to him.  I&#8217;ll never forget him.</p>
<p><strong>Q:  It&#8217;s been said that you played a big part in helping Navas to integrate into the national team.  It&#8217;s difficult to find an image of Navas on the national team where you&#8217;re not right next to him.</strong></p>
<p>A:  Jesús is another of my good friends from the youth teams of Sevilla.  He took a big step forward in his career and I just helped him out in any way that I could.  He knows that he will always have my unconditional support.<strong></strong></p>
<p><strong>Q:  What will Sergio Ramos do when he leaves football?</strong></p>
<p>A:  I&#8217;m still very young and I hope to have many more years as a footballer in front of me, so right now I don&#8217;t even think about my retirement.  When the moment gets near, then I&#8217;ll start planning.<strong></strong></p>
<p><em>Thanks to all those who sent these pictures in.  I&#8217;m not sure where you all got them from, but if they&#8217;re yours, let me know and I&#8217;ll cite you</em>.  <em>If they&#8217;re not yours, then continue on with wondering whether Sergio is wearing anything under that blazer.</em></p>
<p><a href="http://i762.photobucket.com/albums/xx268/unamadridista/unamadridista2/soccerislife03.jpg"><img class="alignnone" src="https://i2.wp.com/i762.photobucket.com/albums/xx268/unamadridista/unamadridista2/soccerislife03.jpg" alt="" width="293" height="415" /></a><a href="http://i762.photobucket.com/albums/xx268/unamadridista/unamadridista2/soccerislife04.jpg"><img class="alignnone" src="https://i0.wp.com/i762.photobucket.com/albums/xx268/unamadridista/unamadridista2/soccerislife04.jpg" alt="" width="293" height="415" /></a></p>
<p><em>By the way, I can totally see Xabi in the same outfit and doing the same pose as Sergio below, but perhaps without that slightly creepy half smile.</em></p>
<p><a href="http://i762.photobucket.com/albums/xx268/unamadridista/unamadridista2/soccerislife05.jpg"><img class="alignnone" src="https://i0.wp.com/i762.photobucket.com/albums/xx268/unamadridista/unamadridista2/soccerislife05.jpg" alt="" width="293" height="415" /></a><a href="http://i762.photobucket.com/albums/xx268/unamadridista/unamadridista2/soccerislife06.jpg"><img class="alignnone" src="https://i2.wp.com/i762.photobucket.com/albums/xx268/unamadridista/unamadridista2/soccerislife06.jpg" alt="" width="293" height="415" /></a></p>
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