Ramires' 100th appearance - One of Chelsea's finest

All the headlines after the victory at White Hart Lane were taken by Juan Mata and the whole situation of John Terry remaining as Chelsea‘s Captain. Somewhat overshadowed was the fact that Ramires made his 100th Chelsea appearance in the game, and to say he has been a revelation, is an understatement.

Do you remember when he came on as a substitute a couple of season ago at Stamford Bridge? I remember sitting there and thinking “My god, he is small and needs to bulk up a bit!” Little did I or anyone know just how well he would settle into life in the Premier League.

Ramires has been in a different class ever since he came here. In the short time he has been at the club, he saw pretty difficult times in the beginning. He played under Carlo Ancelotti who was later sacked, then Andre Villas-Boas, who was also sacked and now Roberto Di Matteo. However, one thing always remained constant, and that is the fact that no matter where he is asked to play by the manager, he gets on with it and always gives 100% without question. I don’t think I have ever heard or read a quote from him complaining.

He gets up and down that pitch all the time in the game. His touch has improved dramatically in my book, compared to when he first came here, his tackling has improved, his all round use of the ball has got better and he shows that he isn’t scared of going into tackles.

In addition to all this, Ramires scores goals and that’s something he has added to his game. He has scored some really important goals for Chelsea in his short time here, including two at Wembley last season. One against Spurs in the FA Cup Semi Final and one in the Final against Liverpool.

However, no one will ever forget his goal at the Nou Camp. Frank Lampard on the “Kings of Europe – The Chelsea Story” Documentary on SkySports, said that this goal was the game changer and was so important for Chelsea that night in Barcelona. If we hadn’t scored it could have been very different.

This goal tells you everything about the little fella. Bearing in mind he was asked to fill in at right back because of Gary Cahill being injured and John Terry being sent off, it shows his vision, reading of the game and his energy to play the ball to Lampard and make the run forward. The finish is one of the best I have ever seen, thinking about the pressure of the game and of that moment.

Take a look again for yourselves, this time with commentary, which for me, is fantastic!

Ramires is such an unsung hero these days and like I have said, just gets on with his football no matter where he is asked to play. The thing is, he is so consistent at the moment, he can play anywhere.

Congratulations Ramires on your 100th game for the club. I hope you play many, many more and have even more success at Chelsea!

Carefree & KTBFFH.