On Saturday, Sergio Ramos and Sevilla host Real Madrid at the Sanchez-Pizjuan, marking the first time he has faced the Spanish league leaders since 2005.
Diego Alonso, the new coach of Sevilla, will be put to the test in his debut on the bench against Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid team, and Ramos, the veteran centre defender, will be able to provide valuable advice from his own experience.
Even while the majority of supporters welcomed Ramos back with open arms this summer, there are still some who haven’t forgiven him for leaving Seville for the Spanish capital when he was only 19.
We feel that the very proposition of this deal was already a lack of respect for the values that have made us famous… and for the thousands of Sevilla fans who have endured the derision of this player in the past,” Biris Norte, a Sevilla ultras group, wrote in an open letter.
Ramos was eager to goad his former side in the years after he left, and he was routinely booed when visiting Seville.
The defender claimed he was “die happy” to be back with his childhood club, and he has done well for them since his return, even if they have struggled under Jose Luis Mendilibar.
“I had a few doubts at first but the reception I had on my arrival, I will take to the grave… now I can die happy,” Ramos remarked after his first match back at the Sanchez-Pizjuan, a win over Las Palmas.
His own goal in a 1-0 loss to archrivals Barcelona at the Catalan club’s temporary home of the Olympic Stadium at the end of September was a low point.
Ramos hopes his first match against Real Madrid goes well, but it’s likely to be an emotional one for him nonetheless.
When Madrid and PSG played in the Champions League in March 2022, he was sidelined with an injury after leaving Madrid for the French club.
In a 2-2 tie in May of 2005, while playing for Sevilla, Ramos scored against Madrid with a long-range drive after receiving a laid-off free-kick.
Ramos’s only loss came the one and only occasion he played against Real Madrid. The score at the Santiago Bernabeu was Sevilla 1, Real Madrid 0.
Before the Clasico on October 28, Madrid will try to retain or even increase their three-point lead over Barcelona.
On Sunday, Barcelona will play Ernesto Valverde and Athletic Bilbao, Valverde’s current team. The Catalans are now third in the league.
Girona, now in second place, host bottom-of-the-table Almeria on Sunday, and they should feel secure about maintaining their lead.
Sevilla are in 14th place, having won just twice in their first eight matches, and are only two points above the drop zone.
The Madrid match is just the beginning of a challenging stretch for Alonso and his team, which also includes a Champions League match against Arsenal and a La Liga duel against Real Betis.