Chelsea fans will never forget the man called Ramires, and while the Brazilian had a very productive spell during his six years as a Chelsea player, it was his goal against Barcelona in the 2012 Champions League semi-final that endeared him most to the Blues fans.
The 33-year-old has hailed former teammate and current Blues boss Frank Lampard, as the secret behind his stunning goal against Barca. While Ramires’ famous chip will always be remembered, Lampard was responsible for the assist, with a no-look pass to the Brazilian.
Ramires has backed Lampard to succeed as the Chelsea manager as he has admitted that the Englishman always had it in him.
“I knew Frank very well. His understanding of positional play is one of the best I have come across and he was always paying attention to movement so it’s easy if you’ve got eyes for such things,” Ramires told the Mirror. “He had passion for the game and he had love and the energy was there and when there is that in the eyes it’s easy.
“You just have to look at my goal against Barcelona to tell his awareness I remember that I just ran in the goal direction to wait the pass. The ball came and the rest is history.”
Lampard recently spoke about that game and thought it would be the worst night of his life.
“When we went 2-0 down and had 10 men, had the reshuffle. I thought this could be the worst night of my life,” Lampard told Jamie Redknapp on Tuesday’s episode of The Football Show on Sky Sports. “If we don’t score the goal before half-time then no chance. It was the only time I got into the Barcelona half in the first half and thankfully I had a runner in Ramires to find.
“It was a good pass but even better finish. I don’t think at half-time we thought we had much of a chance. It was more the feeling of the second half.”