The end of an era. The captain of the Spanish football team, Sergio Ramos, will not take part in the next European Championship (June 11 to July 11). The coach, Luis Enrique, decided, Monday, May 24, to do without his famous captain, not fully recovered from the physical problems that tarnished his end of the season with Real Madrid. Another surprise: for the first time in its history, La Roja will approach an international competition without any Real player.
Sergio Ramos will therefore miss his first major international competition with Spain since 2005, the date of his first steps in selection. “It was a difficult decision to make, but Ramos has not played and hardly trained since January”, justified Luis Enrique at a press conference. “I called him yesterday, it was hard, difficult. I feel bad, because he is very professional and he helps the selection a lot. And he will still be able to help her in the future. But I have to look for the best for the group ”, said the coach of La Roja.
“Things don’t always go the way you want”
Sure social networks, the footballer did not hide his disappointment: “After a few rotten months and an atypical season different from anything I have experienced in my career, the Euro is added. I fought and worked every day body and soul to be able to reach 100% with Real Madrid and the selection, but things do not always go the way we want ”, he reacted.
“It’s better to rest, recover well and come back next year as we always have. It hurts not to be able to represent your country, but you have to be honest and sincere ”, wrote Sergio Ramos. A thunderclap all the more difficult to withstand as captain Merengue misses a unique opportunity to play the Euro in front of his audience, in Andalusia. Indeed, Spain will play its matches in Seville, very close to Camas, where Sergio Ramos was born.
Después de unos meses jodidos y una temporada atípica y distinta a lo que he vivido en toda mi carrera, también se… https://t.co/qU7qYHkTvC
At the end of the contract on June 30, and still in negotiations to extend with Real Madrid, Sergio Ramos was absent for most of the end of the season. He was injured in his right thigh, left calf, contracted Covid-19 and, most recently, was injured in his left hamstrings. In 2021, he only played five games for the Madrid team. Does his absence from the Euro mean that he will play in the Tokyo Olympics (Olympics) with Spain? Luis Enrique did not wish to comment, specifying that the selection for the Olympics was not his responsibility.
Franco-Spanish Aymeric Laporte in the selection
Almost a decade after the Euro 2008, World Cup 2010, Euro 2012 treble, Spain is therefore entering the great European competition with a new generation of players. Among them, the Franco-Spanish defender Aymeric Laporte. Called three times for the France team, but without ever entering the field, the Manchester City defender, naturalized thanks to an accelerated procedure two weeks ago, has therefore officially chosen Spain.
His arrival ” not related to “ directly with the absence of Sergio Ramos, assured Luis Enrique, although the two players evolve in the same position, in central defense. But the surprise absence of the captain confirms the renewal desired by Luis Enrique, initiated during the last meetings.
The Spanish coach, who returned to his post in the fall of 2019 after taking a summer break due to the death of his daughter, has been able to test a lot of young talent in recent months; he called a lot of them for the Euro: Eric Garcia, Mikel Oyarzabal, Pau Torres, Pedri, Dani Olmo and Ferran Torres, among others. Barça players Sergio Busquets (32) and Jordi Alba (32) will therefore act as veterans in this rejuvenated list, which will try to play the spoilsport to elbow among the big favorites for the victory.
