Sergio Ramos: The Win at All Costs Anti-Hero We Can't Help But Admire

We've all watched action movies as a child, or read classic tales of the plucky underdog and the big bad wolf. We're taught from a young age that the good guys eventually come out on top, while the baddies inevitably get their comeuppance.

So why is Sergio Ramos still winning?

Now 34 years of age, you'd expect the Spaniard to have suffered his downfall by now, as the narrator reminds us all of the benefits of being good, law-abiding citizens who wait in queues and say please and thank you.

But Ramos is still at the top of the football food chain. And while he strikes you as the kind of man who pretends to press the open button on the lift and laughs as the doors slam in your face, there's something paradoxically loveable about him.

Unbelievably, we occasionally even find ourselves rooting for this absolute behemoth. That is the magic and charisma that this guy carries.

The Spain international has won everything there is on offer in the world of football, both domestically with Real Madrid, and with his national team.

Yet there are many who will openly question his ability as a defender. Some will ponder how a man could have reached the upper echelons of the game while simultaneously boasting one of the worst discipline records that our sport has ever witnessed. Others just believe he's massively overrated.

But genuine coincidences are few and far between, and his trophy cabinet should put to bed any doubts over his deserved status as one of the world's greatest defenders.

As a centre-back, he possesses just about all the attributes needed to thrive at elite level. Although relatively short in height for a central defender, standing only six feet tall, the Spaniard can leap higher than most strikers thanks to his incredible physique, while his mental awareness and reading of the game are exemplary.

His tackling, blocking and passing capabilities are up there with the very best - as you'd expect, given his place within football royalty. But what separates the Madrid star from the rest of this breed is his mental approach to the game.

Ramos treads that fine line of maverick and mad man every match, pushing the boundaries of the sport to its absolute limit. Having enjoyed a fruitful career at the top level for more than 15 years, he has understandably fallen off that tightrope every now and again.

26 professional red cards ratify that.

But that comes with the territory of being football's greatest anti-hero. If you wanna make an omelette, you've gotta crack some eggs. And Ramos has been cooking up the world's largest tortilla de patatas for some years now.

He is public enemy number one in the red half of Merseyside, after injuring Liverpool's Mohamed Salah in the 2018 Champions League final. Madrid, of course, went on to win the trophy.

He's not too popular in his hometown city of Seville, either.

Having left Sevilla for Madrid early in his career, he came back to haunt them in 2017, scoring a cheeky Panenka penalty and celebrating in front of his ex-supporters, cupping his ears just to rub it in. They drew that one.

Ramos also picked up a deliberate suspension for Madrid's second leg home tie with Ajax in the 2018/19 Champions League Round of 16, assuming his Merengues teammates would finish the job he'd started in their 2-1 away win.

Los Blancos subsequently imploded at Santiago Bernabeu without their leader, losing 4-1 and crashing out of the competition.

See? It doesn't always come off for our pantomime villain.

But having won 25 major trophies during his years on the field, it's safe to say, he gets it right most of the time. That's what makes Ramos so special. Not everyone has the guts to be almost universally hated, do the dirty deeds which will permanently tarnish your reputation, and put his team's success ahead of his own individual player rating.

An evil martyr.

To describe the Spaniard as a match-winner is not entirely accurate, as that moniker is more often associated with the maverick striker or playmaking midfielder. But Ramos is the match-decider.

He decides if Madrid or Spain will win, based on firstly, whether he's on the pitch, and secondly, whether he's at the top of his game. The defender's leadership skills are what set him apart from most other players, and he instils so much confidence and reassurance within the rest of his teammates.

His presence on the pitch implores the others to hit their highest standards, and his tunnel-vision winning mentality has dragged los Blancos over the line time and time again throughout his career in Madrid.

On occasions, he is the match-winner. Without his incredible contributions in both penalty areas, the Bernabeu trophy cabinet would be far dustier, and much emptier. Back in 2014, Madrid were staring down the barrel. Carlo Ancelotti's men were a goal down to city rivals Atletico Madrid in the final, when they were handed a lifeline in the form of a 93rd minute corner.

When the ball beat the first man and floated into the penalty area, and the figure of Ramos came bounding towards goal, there was only one outcome. Cristiano Ronaldo probably scored a late goal and whipped his shirt off in celebration to claim all the headlines, but without Ramos, those Portuguese abs would have remained hidden forever.

He proved that he can be the match-winner this season, too. The ambitious defender bagged 11 league goals for Los Blancos over the course of the 2019/20 campaign, six of which came after the re-start in June. Those decisive strikes - from the penalty spot or otherwise - were the difference between a league title and another crushing second place finish.

That's why he is the star of this particular show. Ramos and Madrid are so similar in reputation and mindset that they now bleed the same blood. Viewed as a flashy, win-at-all-costs wicked force with the potential for so much evil, they walk side by side through the shadows, proud of every footstep they leave behind them.

And why not? Villains like the Joker, Bane and Ramos don't come along too often, and when they do, we should embrace their desire to defend alongside the dark arts - through gritted teeth, at least.