Natalia Ramos wants to sit outside so that the familiar smells of meaty bocadillos, tortilla tapas and arepas being prepared inside Castro’s Cafeteria do not cling to her lilac jumper.
When the 27-year-old Spain international moved to the northern English city this summer to join Liverpool, she felt ready to take on the Women’s Super League after 12 seasons playing for her hometown club Tenerife.
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“I feel so happy here,” the midfielder smiles from a tiny side street in the city centre. “Being at a very big club like Liverpool means a lot and I feel at home already with the support from the fans but also in the city, the people are so friendly.”
Her wife Silvia relocated too which Ramos says has been a major factor in helping her settle into a place which is over 3,000km and a four-and-a-half hour plane journey from Tenerife, her Canary Island home.
“We were conscious that moving away from home it would be difficult because everything is new,” Ramos says. “But our adaptation was quick. And we put a lot of that down to Castro’s.”
Borja Castro, who opened the cafe with his Liverpool-born wife Natasha, is from San Cristobal de La Laguna where Ramos and her identical twin sister Noelia, a goalkeeper for Tenerife, were born.
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“It’s crazy that we are from the same place and I feel like Castro’s is home, with Canarian food and nice people,” Ramos, whose wife has been helping out at the cafe, says. “It has been so important when we were settling in.”
On the pitch, adapting to the WSL came easy. It took no time at all for Liverpool fans to begin chants of “Vamos Ramos”. Her lively performances in midfield, wearing the No 6 shirt in dedication to her maternal grandmother, Pilar, who passed away when she was a child, quickly endeared Ramos to supporters.
Her first goal set the tone as she danced past three Sunderland players when scoring in the Subway Players Cup. She added a 93rd minute winner in the same competition against Birmingham City to earn the club’s player of the month award for September. And then came a 30-yard strike against Aston Villa in the WSL.
Ramos’ goal celebration is always a pull at the name on the back of her shirt and then she points to the sky in tribute to, Pilar, who Ramos’ mother shares her name with.
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“When I do this celebration I feel so strong and I always do this because my surname is who I am,” she says. “When I was young, my parents raised me and my sister with these values to be humble. When I arrive on the pitch to warm up I always do two steps with my left foot and then I do the sign of the cross. I always think about my grandmother because she is my angel in the sky. She used to take us to football training when we were younger with my grandfather. I have pictures of her at home and I have conversations with her.”
Ramos would love to be doing that celebration against Arsenal at Anfield this afternoon (Sunday). Ramos’ family, including parents Pilar and Juan Miguel, are flying in from Tenerife in what has been an emotional week for the island and club following the tragic death of Tenerife striker Jesus de Miguel last Tuesday morning after an on-pitch collision during a Segunda Division game on Monday.
Ramos’ father and uncle, Eduardo Ramos, played for Tenerife and her brother Airam worked as a physiotherapist at the club. Her twin sister’s game against Deportivo Alaves has been postponed with the club in mourning.
The Ramos family have had a lot to be proud of in the past few months, especially after Spain’s head coach Sonia Bermudez called Ramos up for the most recent international break.
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“All of my life I dreamed of that, so, imagine what it meant for me when I received the call from Sonia,” Ramos says, sitting a couple of doors down from Ye Hole In Ye Wall, Liverpool’s oldest pub which dates back to 1726. “She told me, ‘Nati, you are in the squad list,’ and I said, ‘Really?’ I was crying and so nervous when I received the call. When I finished the call I celebrated with my wife and then a video call with my family.”
Ramos says her parents also cried at the news. “My sister said, ‘Incredible Nati, we are so proud of you!’ She knows how hard I have been working to achieve this moment.”
Ramos’ first two caps were won from off the bench in back-to-back matches against the United States Women’s national team in October. In the 66th minute of the 2-0 Spain win in Washington D.C., Ramos was substituted on for Alexia Putellas, who made the move to the WSL last summer when signing for London City Lionesses.
“It was so nice, I enjoyed every day with the national team,” says Ramos. “And I admire Alexia as more than a footballer because she’s a very good person too. I swapped shirts with her the weekend before she won the Ballon d’Or (for the third time) so imagine how it felt to come onto the pitch for her to make my debut.”
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Staying in that squad is not going to be easy with players like Putellas, Aitana Bonmati, Patri Guijarro, Mariona Caldentey and Vicky Lopez to contend with. Ramos knows the difficulty of the task but is focused on achieving her dream of playing for Spain at a World Cup as they attempt to defend their title next summer in Brazil.
“The World Cup would be a dream,” Ramos says. “But first I want to maintain my level and increase it — keep working here in Liverpool and do good things for the team.”
A mantra Ramos lives by is the same as what Harry Kane posted after winning the men’s Ballon d’Or for the first time last month. “Work hard in silence. Let success be your noise,” Kane wrote.
“I take care of every detail,” Ramos says. “My footwork, mentality, strength exercises, education, sleep — everything. I try to be a mirror for the young players because I have a very strong character and I’m so ambitious.”
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
Spain, Liverpool FCW, Women’s Soccer, FIFA Women’s World Cup, Women’s Super League
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