the Marca interview – Sergio Ramos

Sergio Ramos is so cool that he wears TWO Balance Xtreme bracelets.  And white socks.  Anyway, he’s the subject of Marca’s photo shoot and interview today, and we get his thoughts on the upcoming battle of Iberia, Cristiano Ronaldo and the loss to Switzerland.  We also get to see him kiss the world, and find out that one of his favorite scents is that of his niece!  To keep in mind if you ever meet Sergio: don’t compliment him, because it’ll embarrass him.

And this leaves Iker as the only one we haven’t heard from yet in the daily questionnaires and interviews some of the Spanish papers are producing.

Interview

Q:  It took a lot more work than we expected, but we’ve completed our first goal.

A:  Yes, it took a lot, but we’re happy.  It made us happy that we ended up first in the group after how we started.

Q:  Now we face a battle with Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo.

A:  They’re doing well and they have a great team.  I enjoy facing off against my club teammates such as Cristiano and Pepe.  Let’s see if we can get into the quarterfinals.

Q:  Is Portugal almost all Cristiano?

A:  Of course Portugal has more than Cristiano.  The most important thing for a team is the collective, and no one can shine without the work of the group, the entire team.

Q:  How do you stop Cristiano Ronaldo?

A:  He’s very fast, powerful and has a lot of speed when controlling the ball.  We have to try to make sure he doesn’t receive the ball and not to give him a lot of space.

Q:  You might have to defend against him.

A:  That’s the good thing about World Cups, that you can face off against the best players in the world.  If it’s up to me to defend against him, I’ll be happy because these types of matchups are how you evaluate whether a player is good or not.

Q:  Are you two going to make a bet on the game?

A:  It’s better not to joke about it, because the season is really long and it might come back to haunt you.

Q:  Did you have any fears at any time after the loss to Switzerland?

A:  No.  I felt that everything was under control.  We dominated the game and had some opportunities.  The only thing that was going through my head was when we would score our first goal, not when we would receive it.

Q:  Did you feel like the team was put under a magnifying glass?

A:  We knew that if we didn’t win, there would be criticism, but we avoided getting into a debate.  It was the time to demonstrate the strength of the group, which we showed in the last two games.

Q:  How would you define the first phase in one word?

A:  Unity.  That’s the word we’ve used the most in the group.  Without unity we wouldn’t have been able to advance.

La Porra

1.  Spain  2. Brazil  3. Argentina  4. Uruguay

Personal profile

1.  A cologne: Light Blue from Dolce&Gabbana and that of my niece Daniela.  [Sergio is so sweet!]
2.  A car: the Audi A3, the first one I had.
3.  A watch: the Hublot for being champions of Europe.
4.  A pending trip: Senegal.  [Nice!]
5.  It embarrasses you… when I receive compliments to my face.
6.  A politician: Mandela.
7.  I envy women for… their intelligence.
8.  A historical person: Gandhi.
9.  You would go have a beer with… my lifelong friends.
10. What kind of work wouldn’t you like to do? Any type of work is dignified, I would do everything.

Sports profile
1.  A goal: Mine, in the 1-3 victory against Denmark, an important day.
2.  A football genius: Zidane.
3.  What do you see yourself doing in the World Cup? Holding the Cup in La Castellana (the victory parade route in Madrid).
4.  A coach: All the ones I’ve had, especially Capparós.
5.  First stadium that you went to: Sevilla’s, with my father and my brother.
6.  A teammate that was on the road to stardom but didn’t make it: A lot.
7.  Your first ball: one from the Three Kings.
8.  A game of Spain’s that you remember: the final in Vienna.
9.  Your first kit: Sevilla.
10. A stadium that you would like to play in that’s not your team’s: San Siro.