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December 27, 2020 – 08:01 pm
Newsroom of El País
Good loves are ephemeral, but endless. Gustavo Adrián Ramos Vásquez, the great player, the scorer, the fan, the eternal boy in the body of a mature footballer who sighs every time he puts on a red shirt can attest to that.
He said goodbye to America in 2009, just one year after having conquered the thirteenth star, and last night, after eleven years of long waiting in foreign football, ‘Adriancho’ fulfilled that commitment and that desire he had: to return to the club of his loves to be champion again and give the fifteenth star to all those fans who for more than a decade spent it in their insomnia praying for his return.
Many other things had to happen to Ramos for this moment to arrive: to become a figure for Hertha Berlin, to receive instructions from the crazy -and always smiling- Jurgen Klopp at Borussia Dortmund, to give James Rodríguez an exquisite goal pass in the game of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil against Japan in Cuiabá and finally have the experience of kissing opposing networks in the Spanish League with Granada.
All that experience and that maturity were the main reasons for the 34-year-old Cauca to decide to agree to return to the ‘Mecha’ precisely on December 31, 2019, a few days after the club had won the fourteenth star by defeating Junior in the Pascual Guerrero.
Almost a year later, Adrián is once again at the top of Colombian football, because his nine goals throughout the atypical championship were essential for America to win the title yesterday after beating Independiente Santa Fe in the final.
A difficult road
But getting back to glory with America was not easy for Adrián.
In his first games of the season under the orders of Alexandre Guimaraes, the tall forward was not seen in his best form, and even when football stopped due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Ramos had not been able to convert from official way with the scarlet badge.
In the middle of the isolation, America had to change technicians —Guimaraes left for economic reasons— and the one who arrived was Argentine Juan Cruz Real, Ramos’s main ally to return to his best level.
On September 9 of this year, in the restart of football, America beat Junior 2-1, in Barranquilla, in the first match of the Super League. On that hot night there was a penalty in favor of the scarlet team and Adrián missed it.
The criticisms were of course not long in coming, but Cruz Real, at a press conference, defended his forward and captain with everything, who had the mission of supplying the goals of Michael Rangel, who also left.
“Adrián has shown a lot of prominence, the penalty was done to him, the work he does defensively is very important for the team, he had chances, but unfortunately it couldn’t be done, you have to be patient,” the Argentine coach said at that time 44 years old.
Patience. Patience and faith. On the 17th of that same month, against Internacional de Porto Alegre for the Copa Libertadores, the goal was finally opened to Adrián, who scored with a header in the 4-3 defeat.
And then, between October 5 and the final match yesterday, the American ‘killer’ scored nine goals. The most important, without a doubt, were those that he scored against Atlético Nacional and Junior in Medellín and Barranquilla for the quarterfinals and semifinals of the tournament, respectively.
America had not reached the decisive stage of the championship in the best way, but at that moment and after a 2-1 defeat at home against Equidad on the last date of the ‘all against all’, Ramos said: “the group has to be clear that we are in the finals and that this is another story ”.
And that is precisely what ex-players of the red team stand out the most, who from a distance admire not only his scoring work and his gift for ‘leading’ a group with touring players, but also young people.
“His experience of Europe and being a red bone and being born in America earned him the respect of his peers. Furthermore, the coach’s vote of confidence in naming him captain was key ”, explained Jorge Banguero.
“That leadership that Adrián brought out was fundamental to guide this group in the final part of the tournament,” said Fabián Vargas.
Finally, Iván Vélez, ex-lateral and Ramos’ partner in the 2008 title, published a photo on his networks with Adrián and other players from that time, putting as a description: “We feel represented by you.”
Good loves are ephemeral, but endless. And that of Adrián Ramos for America is one of those.
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