I see that both Messi and Vidal were unfortunate enough to run into this bloke’s elbow in the Real Madrid Barcelona game earlier.
They have VAR in Spain and he continues to get away with nonsense like this. At least the dirty bastard and his team lost on this occasion.
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The guy has played over 150 games for Spain at a time when they've dominated world football, and over 600 games for Real Madrid.
By the time he retires i'd imagine he will be pretty close to breaking (or have already broken) the appearance record for both.
Not to mention he's not far off 100 career goals, which for a defender is incredible.
His positioning is usually good and I admire his ability with heading. You might be right that he could be one of the best centre backs but its hard to judge when a lot of his defending involves nasty challenges or dirty tricks. when you are against some of the best strikers in the world you do need to have a bit of that to try and even the playing field but he does it against anyone, whoever they're playing and you know its a certain that he will do something during a game and the whole thing just comes across pathetic.
I mean he's had a great career and won't give a shit what I or others think so what does it matter. shame that his antics over the years have caused some unfair results and the odd career changing moments for others, usually for the worse. The refs are also to blame, everyone knows what he is as they know what other players are like but they never seem to take any that into account when making a decision. which has always baffled me.
I have no issue with a tough tackling full blooded defender, in fact I think they are great, but what this prick does on a weekly basis is practically assault at times - it is the fact it seems so premeditated and deliberate that grinds my gears. He doesn't even watch the ball when he is challenging it is all about taking out the other player and for me at least, I believe there should be no place in football for that kind of behaviour.
When he's long retired people will likely remember him as a bastard first and a quality player second.
In the group stage Real had Viktoria Plzen, easily the smallest club in the group stage, from pot 4. Frankly Real should be able to field eleven reserves and see off Viktoria. But the new coach had taken over, Ramos played and in the 13th minute, this is what he did. And then later made a big public deal of apologising, as if anyone believed him. Real won 5-0. Against a team playing two 35 year olds in the back four, and grieving the loss of their star striker who'd suffered an ACL injury two weeks earlier. Are you really telling me that you need to do that sort of shit in order two in games like that?
There's a difference between being a hard man and being a dirty ****. If you were in a really tight spot, whom would you rather be standing next to, Sergio Ramos, or Jorge Costa? Jorge Costa was both a damn good player, possibly our best ever centre back, and a right hard bastard. But he never went in for the sort of shit Ramos does every week. And he still returned to lead Porto to a European trophy after we unforgiveably let him go. I'd rather be standing next to Jorge, because I have the impression that Ramos is the sort of arsehole who melts away if he thinks the odds are a bit against him.
Best defender in the world? Give me a break. Better still, somebody give him a broken nose.
I was kinda surprised to read @JohnBoyUK buying this "need to have a dirty player" argument. Until I remembered that he was probably raised on Paul Miller and Pat van den Thug. Dirty bastards, both of them. But were they more effective than similar players who were not such thugs? The record says they were not.
pure filth
that elbow by Ramos proper filth against Plzen
no doubt he had to go when Lennie got rid of him
Shirtliff is a Charlton footballing God but he was no angel either
we’d all love a team of Sir Chris Powell’s but that’s not possible .
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/47438180
Incredibly selfish and unprofessional and, of course, our ten men got trolleyed 4-1 and we were all but down, the bloke was an animal.
Not sure I'd put Danny Mills in the same basket though, he was not a really dirty player as such but could obviously put himself about.