“He goes back to where it all began. Where he laid the seeds for what he is today.” He explains his “brother”, his best friend, Hector Quintanawhich means for Miguel Angel Ramirez return to the island to face his Las Palmas. The club where he started from very low to gain a foothold to become the coach he is today. That blond teenager who at the age of 18 entered the club’s youngest to be second to Paco Lemes ended the years being important in the growth of some of the pillars of this phenomenal García Pimienta team that is fighting to climb to the First Division: Sandro and Álex Suárez passed through his hands in the formative stage and Fabio took him to the club.
On Sunday, the Sporting coach is measured against his past. “It will be one of the most special games of his career,” say his friends. Many years after leaving to look for an opportunity in soccer, he faces his island team, the place where he dreamed, acquired his first experiences, and also knew the other side. “He had to swallow the bankruptcy. He put money out of his pocket… And he always helped the players,” adds Quintana, who became a delegate to travel with him to the corners of the islands.
LA NUEVA ESPAÑA delves into the origins of the rojiblanco coach, who faces the most special duel of his career: a match that his team will live with special pride. Those who saw him grow. Thus began his vital adventure after the ball. Before he had another life. One that helped him become a coach. “Miguel was drawn to music, but he began to enter football as a coach thanks to Loren. With him, he started in a team at the Claret College, where they both studied,” Quintana recounts. “Our families are related. We lived nearby. In the Arenales neighborhood. Miguel was a sociable boy. And, above all, very restless. He always had more concerns than the others; he always wanted to learn: he was very active at school, in the parish, he liked music. And, of course, soccer”, explains Loren Domínguez. Miguel’s career, the youngest of three brothers, raised in the neighborhood of Los Arenales, in the center of Las Palmas, had several jumps before accelerating. And a difficult decision then, with a lot of risk. He lived on his island. He was a teacher. But everything changed in July 2012.
Miguel Ángel has just finished an important conversation. He picks up the phone and makes a call that changes his life forever. He dials the phone number of Ignacio Jiménez, the director of the Claret College, who is on vacation in Barcelona on those days. In the center of Tamaraceite, -the one that goes from Primary Education to Second of ESO-, he is a tutor (first and second of primary) and physical education teacher. Shockingly young, he is one of the most valued teachers at one of the most important schools in Las Palmas. “He was very integrated,” say his former colleagues. Miguel Ángel swallows saliva and drives away. “Nacho. Good… I’ve thought about it a lot. I’m going to leave the center. I’m very comfortable, but I want to dedicate myself to football,” he tells him.
“His decision did not surprise me. He loved football,” explains the director. Miguel would try right after to earn a living with his great passion. More than a decade later, they explain at Claret, that young, idealistic, dreamy man is a professional soccer coach. “Miguel has one very good thing: he has never lost his humility. He has never changed despite the sporting successes he has had. Every time he comes to school he brings us cakes. He comes to see us two or three times a year. In fact, he has given a talk to the students”, says the director of the center. “He was a good student. He wasn’t gifted as a student, but he never had any problems,” says Esteban Benítez, head of studies, and his second-grader chemistry teacher.
“He was a great teacher. Very professional. He was very integrated with the rest of his classmates. He was very responsible, as he is now as a coach. Never, not once, did a father or mother complain about him. The children were also We are happy. In addition, he was well valued in the center. And, above all, he was a great teammate”, concludes Nacho.
