Ramires

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Ramires
Ramires.jpg
0Full Name Ramires Santos
do Nascimento
0Date of Birth 24 March 1987
0Place of Birth Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
0Position Midfielder
0Chelsea career 2010–2016
0Debut 28 August 2010
0Games (goals) 251 (34)
0Other clubs Joinville
Cruzeiro
Benfica
Jiangsu Suning6

Ramires Santos do Nascimento, simply known as Ramires, is a Brazilian international midfielder who played for Chelsea from the summer of 2010 until January 2016, having signed from Benfica. A "box-to-box" midfielder, Ramires was known for his stamina s=from the beginning of his career in Brazil, pairing defensive ability with incisive forward runs. He was also employed on the right side of midfield for spells at Chelsea. In 2012 he was voted Players' Player of the Year by his team-mates, having been one of the outstanding players of Chelsea's ultimately highly successful 2011-12 season.

Contents

Before Chelsea

In January 2008, Ramires agreed to a five-year deal with Cruzeiro in a permanent move from Joinville for a fee of $300,000, giving Cruzeiro 70% of the players' economic rights. Joinville kept 30% in the event of any transfers in the future. He was referred to by the fans and media during his time there as the "Queniano Azul", or "Blue Kenyan", in relation to Cruzeiro's main colour and his stamina on the field, comparable to the outstanding performances of Kenyan long distance runners.

On 21 May 2009, Ramires joined Portuguese club Benfica for €7.5m on a five-year contract, with a minimum fee release of €30 million. He helped the club to the Portuguese Liga title in his only season with the club.

On 4 August 2010 Benfica announced they had agreed a deal with Chelsea and his third-party owner for around €22m (£18.2m). Having not played the required 75% of Brazil's international games over the previous two years, on 12 August Ramires was granted a work permit under the special circumstances clause; the panel recognising his status as a highly sought after and talented young player [1].

Chelsea career

Ramires completed his move to Chelsea on 13th August 2010, on a four year contract for a reported fee of £17m [2].

Upon his arrival at Chelsea, he said:

"Every player in the world would love to play for Chelsea and it's a great opportunity that was given to me, I will give my best to repay this chance, and I am very happy... I have seen most of the facilities and it is really impressive. I believe what you have here is everything and a little bit more that every player needs to do well. I know I haven't seen everything but with a little time I will get to know everything and I am sure I will be very happy here.

"Just to think that I will wear Chelsea's shirt is a dream come true for any player. I know it is a very strong, competitive league but I just hope that I can adapt as fast and as well as I can to give my best, and I am sure everything is going to be fine." [3]

2010-11

Ramires made his debut against Stoke City on 28 August 2010 in the Premier League, coming on as a substitute for Michael Essien in the 85th minute. On 11 September 2010, he made his full Premier League debut, starting against West Ham United. He also started in Chelsea's 2-0 win over Arsenal on 3 October 2010, winning possession and then putting Ashley Cole through to cross to Didier Drogba for Chelsea's first goal. Ramires went on to establish himself in the starting line-up, and scored his first goal for Chelsea in a 4-0 win against Bolton Wanderers at the Reebok Stadium. Ramires settled into English football in the second half of the season, putting in a string of energetic and consistent performances. In March he scored a sublime goal to seal a 2-0 victory against Manchester City, dropping a shoulder and beating three defenders before finishing confidently. The strike was later voted "Goal of the Season" by Chelsea fans. Ramires was sent off for two bookable offences in Chelsea's Champions League Quarter Final defeat against Manchester United, but overall his first season in England was a personal success, having cemented his place in the side and made 41 appearances in all competitions.

2011-12

The 2011-12 season was tempestuous even by the standards of Chelsea's recent history, but Ramires was one of the stand-out performers throughout the season, scoring 12 goals in 47 appearances and providing exceptional energy and stamina in the Blues' midfield. Having established himself as a key player during his first season in England the Brazilian international was a regular starter under new manager André Villas-Boas.
Chipping Victor Valdes in Camp Nou
He scored his first goals of the season in late September, scoring a brace against newly-promoted Swansea City in a 4-1 win. A knee injury kept him out briefly in October but he returned to help Chelsea qualify as group winners in the UEFA Champions League, with goals against Genk and Valencia. In the New Year he scored another brace, this time against Portsmouth in the FA Cup 3rd Round, but an injury sustained in the next round would keep him out for three weeks. In early March, just a couple of days after André Villas-Boas had been sacked as manager, it was announced that Ramires had signed a new contract that would keep him at the club until 2017. Despite the poor run of results that had lost Villas-Boas his job, Chelsea remained in contention in the remaining cup competitions, and Ramires contributed to the Blues reaching both the FA Cup and UEFA Champions League finals. In the FA Cup semi-final against Tottenham Hotspur he scored the third goal, killing off the North London side, with Chelsea eventually winning 5-1. In the Champions League semi-finals against Barcelona he was even more influential, setting up Didier Drogba for the only goal of the 1st leg before scoring with a beautifully taken chip to put Chelsea back in contention in first half injury time in the 2nd leg, the Blues having been 2-0 down on the night and down to 10 men as half time approached. Chelsea eventually drew the match 2-2 to progress 3-2 on aggregate, but Ramires picked up a booking that would rule him out of the final. In the FA Cup final he scored after 11 minutes following a trademark driving run to put Chelsea 1-0 up against Liverpool in a match they would eventually win 2-1; Ramires' first trophy at the club. A second followed two weeks later as Chelsea won the UEFA Champions League for the first time, despite the Brazilian's absence through suspension. One of the outstanding players of Chelsea's season, and also scoring crucial goals at crucial times, Ramires was one of the final three candidates for Player of the Year, but ultimately lost out to Juan Mata. He was voted Players' Player of the Year however; his team-mates fully acknowledging the enormous contribution he had made to Chelsea's success.

International

Ramires was part of the Brazil U-23 team for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. He appeared four times at the Olympics and won a bronze medal. On 21 May 2009, he was called up to the Brazilian national team for 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification and the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup. He played his first game for the full national team on 6 June 2009, a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification game against Uruguay, in which he came as a substitute for Elano. Ramires scored his first and second international goals on 7 June 2010 against Tanzania, in the lead up to the World Cup finals.

Ramires came on as a late subsitute in each of Brazil's three group games at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and started in the second round against Chile, setting up Robinho for Brazil's third goal following a long run with the ball. However, Ramires picked up his second booking of the tournament and was suspended for Brazil's quarter final loss to the Netherlands.

Statistics

See also: List of Ramires goals
Season Prem FA Cup League Cup Europe Other Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
2010-11 29 2 3 0 1 0 8 0 0 0 41 2
2011-12 30 5 6 4 1 0 10 3 0 0 47 12
2012-13 35 5 6 2 4 1 14 1 3 0 62 9
2013-14 30 1 3 0 2 1 10 2 1 0 46 4
2014-15 23 2 2 1 3 0 6 1 0 0 34 4
2015-16 12 2 1 0 2 1 5 0 1 0 21 3
Total 159 17 21 7 13 3 53 7 5 0 251 34

Correct as of 10 January 2015

Career honours

Club

Joinville

Cruzeiro

Benfica

Chelsea

International

Brazil

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