Cristian Ramírez

Cristian Ramírez

Personal information
Full name	Cristian Leonel Ramírez Zambrano
Date of birth	12 August 1994
Place of birth	Santo Domingo, Ecuador
Height	1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)
Playing position	Left back
Club information
Current team	Ferencváros
Number	77
Youth career
2008–2009	CSCyD Brasilia
2009–2011	Independiente DV
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2011–2012	Independiente DV	52	(0)
2013–2015	Fortuna Düsseldorf	16	(0)
2014–2015	→ Nürnberg (loan)	7	(0)
2015	→ Ferencváros (loan)	13	(1)
2015–	Ferencváros	28	(4)
National team^‡
2011	Ecuador U17	13	(0)
2013	Ecuador U20	7	(0)
2013–	Ecuador	6	(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 30 April 2016. ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 16 June 2016

Cristian Leonel Ramírez Zambrano (born 12 August 1994) is an Ecuadorian professional footballer who plays as a left back for Ferencvárosi TC. Fast, intelligent, ambidextrous and a great dribbler are the qualities of Ramirez which has led to the foreign press comparing him to Roberto Carlos.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]}

Club career

Independiente Jose Teran

Having started out early with CSCyD Brasilia, he was signed in 2009 by Independiente Jose Teran. A promising young left-back, even as to being compared to the legendary Roberto Carlos, his professional debut came on 28 August 2011, against El Nacional, fully completing everyone's expectations of his abilities on-field, and started most of his 2011 Serie A games. Throughout the season, he was an incredible defender and attacker against the league's top teams, like LDU Quito, Deportivo Quito, and Barcelona SC. He also gained a fearsome reputation, having stopped on their tracks promising young Ecuadorian talents such as Fidel Martinez, Renato Ibarra, the latter being during Ramirez' debut.

Ramírez continued to play with the starting eleven for the 2012 season. After garnering so much international attention, he had trials with Borussia Dortmund,^[8] though he could not be signed by the club then due to UEFA rules restricting signage of foreign players under 18, and recently a 10-day trial with Harry Redknapp's Tottenham Hotspurs, which began on 3 April 2012.

Fortuna Düsseldorf

On 25 May 2013, he signed for German Bundesliga club Fortuna Düsseldorf.^[9][10][11]

1. FC Nürnberg

On 17 June 2014, It was confirmed that Cristian would be loaned to Nürnberg for the 2014-2015 season.^[12][13][14]

Ferencváros

On 2 April 2016, Ramírez became Hungarian League champion with Ferencvárosi TC after losing to Debreceni VSC 2-1 at the Nagyerdei Stadion in the 2015–16 Nemzeti Bajnokság I season.^[15]

International career

Ramírez first played for Ecuador in the 2011 under-17 squad, who participated in the 2011 South American U-17 Football Championship, and just barely qualified for the 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup.^[16] Ramírez showcased his footballing skills and mental capacity in the 2011 U-17 World Cup to successfully defend against the likes of Germany, Panama and Burkina Faso. It was in this tournament where he has instantly intrigued the international club scene. As of April 2012, he has been called up for the U-20 squad, to be able to participate in the 2013 U-20 tournaments.

Ramírez was called up for the friendly matches against Argentina and Honduras on November 15 and 20, 2013. He made his debut as a second-half substitute against Honduras.

Honours

Ferencváros

• Hungarian League: 2015–16
• Hungarian Cup (2): 2014–15, 2015–16
• Hungarian League Cup: 2014–15

References

1. "Cristian Ramírez". uk.soccerway.com. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
2. "El Sub-17 Cristian Ramírez pasaría al Borussia Dortmund de Alemania" (in Spanish). mifutbolecuador.wordpress.com. 1 August 2011. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
3. "En Inglaterra dicen que el Tottenham contrataría al ecuatoriano Cristian Ramírez" (in Spanish). marcador.ec. 2 April 2012. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
4. "Juvenil ecuatoriano jugará en Alemania". ecuadorinmediato.com. 24 January 2013. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
5. Nixon, Alan (April 2012). "EXCLUSIVE: Spurs line up Ecuador's answer to Roberto Carlos". mirrorfootball.co.uk. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
6. "Cristian Ramírez habla sobre su 2012 y el futuro en el exterior" (in Spanish). futbolecuatv.blogspot.com.au. 9 February 2013. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
7. "Volvió tras dejar una buena impresión" (in Spanish). futbolecuador.com. 15 August 2011. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
8. "Juvenil del Independiente José Terán a un paso de fichar por el Borussia Dortmund" (in Spanish). marcador.ec. 1 August 2011. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
9. "Fortuna verpflichtet Cristian Ramírez" (in German). fortuna-duesseldorf.de. 9 February 2013. Archived from the original on 28 January 2013. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
10. "Düsseldorf vor Verpflichtung von Ramirez" (in German). focus.de. 24 January 2013. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
11. "Transferticker: Carlos Eduardo nach Hause - Gekas fündig" (in German). kicker.de. 24 January 2013. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
12. http://www.rp-online.de/sport/fussball/fortuna/avevor-verpflichtung-fix-ramirez-geht-aid-1.4320070
13. http://www.ecuagol.com/ecuagol/index.php?n=53922
14. http://www.planetafichajes.net/2014/06/ya-es-oficial-cristian-ramirez-jugara.html
15. "Ferencváros crowned Hungarian champions". UEFA.com. 2 April 2016.
16. "¡"Lío" Ramírez al Borussia Dortmund!" (in Spanish). Extra.ec. 2 August 2011. Retrieved 22 July 2013.