Still fond of being a destroyer: Sergio Ramos in the Sevilla FC jersey (October 2023). © Fran Santiago/Getty Images
Finally a defender! The wishes of many listeners are being heard. The protagonist is He can kick, the football podcast from ZEIT ONLINE, as popular as it is controversial. Sergio Ramos is the epitome of a defender and was the leader of Real Madrid for more than a decade. He won all important titles with club and nation. After the superfluous PSG chapter, the 37-year-old is now playing at his hometown club FC Sevilla.
“He cannot be played, the master of destruction,” says Oliver Fritsch. The Spaniard is the best defender of the decade. “He is shortlisted as the best footballer of all time, as the Messi of defending.” Fabian Scheler, the other host, is also enthusiastic. “Beheading, fighting, wrestling – Ramos can do all of that.” He reminds him “of bullfighting, with its torrero-like elegance.” Fritsch names four recent defenders who, in his opinion, were almost as strong as Ramos.
But Ramos is also controversial and even hated. “He would have been remembered even better,” says Scheler, “if he hadn’t turned his head off sometimes.” Ramos received 28 red cards in his career, he was hot-blooded and brutal. “He was a football asshole,” writes our user Philipp.
Because Scheler and Fritsch themselves often kicked in defense, they then began to sing the praises of the ethics and art of defense. “A real defender says: ‘I’ll clean up most of the dirt,'” says Fritsch. “Defending is fun.” It is definitely not worth less than attacking. Blocking, tackling and doubling, pushing away, stabbing and playing – defense is multi-faceted. “It was time for us to highlight this,” says Scheler.
“He can kick” is the football podcast from ZEIT ONLINE. It appears every two weeks and is dedicated to the best footballers of our time. We talk less about tactics and more about what really matters in football: the individuality of the players. You can find all episodes of the podcast hereall Powercard ratings here. Write us! We accept criticism of the show and suggestions for Mister X [email protected] in contrast to.
Scenes and texts we talked about in the episode:
Finally a defender! The wishes of many listeners are being heard. The protagonist is He can kick, the football podcast from ZEIT ONLINE, as popular as it is controversial. Sergio Ramos is the epitome of a defender and was the leader of Real Madrid for more than a decade. He won all important titles with club and nation. After the superfluous PSG chapter, the 37-year-old is now playing at his hometown club FC Sevilla.
“He cannot be played, the master of destruction,” says Oliver Fritsch. The Spaniard is the best defender of the decade. “He is shortlisted as the best footballer of all time, as the Messi of defending.” Fabian Scheler, the other host, is also enthusiastic. “Beheading, fighting, wrestling – Ramos can do all of that.” He reminds him “of bullfighting, with its torrero-like elegance.” Fritsch names four recent defenders who, in his opinion, were almost as strong as Ramos.
