Sergio Ramos has scored his 100th goal for Real Madrid. Ramos’ header against Inter Milan in the Champions League group stage match was unable to be denied by Samir Handanovic. This record is quite extraordinary because of the position of the 34-year-old player who is a central defender.
Ramos was able to reach 100 goals in 659 appearances for El Real. He has been able to achieve double-digit goals in three seasons, including the last two. The goals he scored often happened at crucial moments. The one that is most memorable is of course the goal at 93:28 minutes in the 2014 Champions League final against Atletico. The goal was the equalizer that allowed the match to continue into extra time. Madrid finally won with a score of 4-1.
Against Atletico, he was able to score six goals. In the El Clasico match, the Madrid captain was able to score five goals. Ramos is an important player who can not only be relied on in defense. He is very dangerous in situations from corners or lateral free kicks. Of the total of 100 goals, 39 were born from corners and 22 were scored from free kicks. Since the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo, Ramos has shared with Karim Benzema as Madrid’s penalty executor who is also the source of Ramos’ goals.
Many center-backs are notoriously dangerous in set piece situations. Mainly because of his large posture and good aerial dueling ability. But reaching 100 goals is not a trivial achievement. Moreover, Ramos is now the sixth most fertile defender in history. His 127 career goals only lost to Graham Alexander (130), Laurent Blanc (153), Fernando Hierro (163), Daniel Passarella (175), and Ronald Koeman (253).
Ramos’ role in Madrid is very crucial. He is strong in defense but is also good at building attacks. Although he often uses unclean methods, he does all of this because of his desire to give his best for Madrid. When asked about his 100 goals record, he felt winning was more important than personal records.
“I am very happy personally, reaching a record 100 goals. In the end, individual achievement is always second, but it’s nice to be known for scoring 100 goals after many years of intense and sacrifice, ”Ramos said at his post-match press conference.
Ramos’s productivity isn’t just luck. He has been able to consistently endanger opponents’ goals over the past decade. Dead-ball situations aren’t just throwing the ball into the crowd and hoping the ball can be welcomed by teammates. The dead ball is a very controllable situation with a specific, pre-trained scheme.
Posture is not actually the only factor Ramos is particularly dangerous on the aerial ball. Moreover, Ramos is ‘only’ 184 cm tall, not very special for a central defender in Europe. However he has good leaps and bounds to win aerial duels. In addition, several techniques such as utilizing peer blocking, marking, and timing of movements also affect the goals he scores. He is also able to defeat the opponent’s dead-ball defense schemes, be it zonal marking or man-to-man marking.
Ramos’ 100th goal against Inter came from a blocking mechanism. Stefan de Vrij did man-to-man markings on Ramos. The movement of the Madrid players leaves potential for space at the near post. This space should be anticipated by Inter players doing zonal marking, namely Ashley Young and Ivan Perisic.
Ramos understands that he can move into the room freely while de Vrij’s path is blocked by Casemiro. Ramos finally let go of de Vrij’s guard and was able to grab Toni Kroos’ pass with good timing. Young and Perisic should have kept the space but they did not anticipate well and failed to clear the ball.
Another technique that Ramos is adept at using is dismarking (the act of escaping from an opponent’s guard). Ramos often made feints while watching where the ball would fall. The opponent is having a hard time because he has to look at Ramos while looking at the ball.
Ramos was originally heavily guarded by Riza Durmisi in the match against Real Betis in the 2016/17 season ago. The man-to-man marking from Betis allowed Ramos to simply break away from one-man guard and move towards the ball going down.
Ramos’s deceptive movements as if they were going to move outward greatly troubled Durmisi. He must see Ramos’ movement while knowing the direction of the ball. The tricky movement or so-called body feint succeeded in making Ramos out of his guard and finally able to gore the ball into the opponent’s goal.
Headers dominated Ramos’ goals with a total of 55 goals for Real Madrid. He is also good at executing penalties with a total of 21 goals. The calmness and mentality of steel that he has are valuable assets for Ramos to become the executioner of the white point. He only failed once while serving as the executor of a penalty during normal time, namely in the match against Sevilla in 2017/18.
Having a very solid defender like Ramos is certainly a big plus for a team that has him. Productivity of goals is a bonus but Ramos’ quality makes it one of Madrid’s strengths. 100 goals isn’t an easy thing to achieve but Ramos did.
ASL
