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Caparrós had a habit of taking lots of reserves to train with
the first team. Sergio was very young, 15 or 16
and he saw something different in him.
People could think sometimes that he was a little forceful,
because he was someone with a lot of personality.
There's one story from his first training sessions with the first team when Joaquín Caparrós called him up.
I don't know if it was an elbow or a heavy tackle, but he took out the Sevilla captain,
Pablo Alfaro, So the veterans were like "wow, this kid
comes up and the first one he goes for is the captain." That says a lot about
Sergio's personality and his will to win. He wasn't going to pass up his first
opportunity at Sevilla.
That was a very quick year. Once he came out of the U-17s he basically played
three levels, national league, honours division, Sevilla Átletico, and he did it all in one year.
I remember the first time they spoke to me about Sergio Ramos. It was Pablo Blanco.
We played a match every Wednesday against the provincial team and we took
a few kids from the youth teams and Pablo told me we were going to see Sergio,
and we called him up. I liked his attitude, his condition and we used him
in the Copa del Rey, and at 17 he made his debut in La Liga.
It was against Deportivo La Coruña.
I was on the bench and someone got injured and two of us made our debuts. Juanjo
Bezares, my good friend from Cádiz, and me.
They were talking about Sergio over the previous weeks and months,
that the boss might call on him at any time. And for us it was a nice surprise, after so many training sessions where my father and I took turns, that week we were both there. And Sergio came from training with the great news that he'd been called up for La Coruña.
after so many training sessions where my father and I took turns,
that week we were both there. And Sergio came from training with the great news
that he'd been called up for La Coruña.
And I remember Sergio in the tunnel on the way to the pitch, before the game,
how he motivated all the players, how he banged his locker twice before the game,
and he was only 17 or 18.
Sergio's debut in La Coruña was very exciting. He went to warm up on the touchline and we were all expecting
the moment to come, and then he came on and in that moment my house
was full of emotion.
Another moment you never forget is your home debut. I made my debut in Deportivo's ground,
which was like a dream come true, a prize for so many years of work and effort, and when it was over I stayed out
there to enjoy the support. I made my home debut against Real Sociedad, and when they chant your name
there are sensations you remember as special moments.
He continues to mature, to grow, he's becoming more and more confident in himself,
because I think that's one of his qualities. The confidence he has in himself, in his potential.
One time I arrived one minute late at the Sánchez Pizjuan,
for another game. I was in my father's car, and we got a flat tyre.
So when we arrived in the car the bus was leaving. And the official said to me:
"No, no, Caparrós says not to stop, he's not stopping the bus." So
we drove after the bus until it stopped. And Caparrós said to me:
"If you think there's a one percent chance you'll arrive late, take your mattress
and sleep in the stadium." That's what he said to me.
"Sergio is a competitive animal. Genetically. He has the genes of a great
competitor, of a leader. That mentality makes him grow every day.
He surpassed himself in every training session and what we did with him was speed up the whole process: give him his debut,
have him assume responsibility in important games etc... and achieve everything
he's achieved and will achieve, because he's still very young.
And Caparrós has something, I owe him everything for trusting a kid that
had barely played under floodlights, in a stadium like that in his life. And he really bet
big on me, and he trusted young players. In my case, taking a free,
after just breaking into the team. And he saw me staying
for extra training and shooting practise, when he was giving the team talk before
the game he said, "Lay free kicks off to Renato, but for long ones lay it off
to the kid so he can shoot." The kid, the kid, Madrid came here fighting
for the title and I scored from a free and it cost them the League. And Florentino
always reminds me of that! And I also scored another goal against Real Sociedad which was
a bit luckier, it deflected off a defender and wrong-footed the keeper. But the Madrid one was
a golazo. Against Iker, who's still looking for it.