Ramires ready to step up for Chelsea in Capital One Cup final with Tottenham

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/feb/28/ramires-chelsea-capital-one-cup-final-tottenham

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The number of distractions around Chelsea has arguably been unbecoming of a Capital One Cup final week and it might be fitting if one of their quieter men emerges from the noise to make an impact at Wembley on Sunday. Ramires is the likely beneficiary of Nemanja Matic’s two-game suspension and the Brazilian, by no means a regular starter these days but often relied upon as a horse for the big-game course, feels that there is lost time to make up for.

“It is true I haven’t had the best of seasons,” he says. “I suffered a few injuries and had a setback that pushed me back. Now I’m fit and the team is in need of someone to step in. If I’m able to play I’ll do whatever needs doing, and hopefully we can win this trophy.”

Ramires took time to recover from an abductor muscle injury sustained at Manchester City in September, but has returned to form as what José Mourinho last month called “the best Ramires” in recent weeks. Realistically, just as relevant to his lack of playing time has been the form of Matic and Cesc Fàbregas as Chelsea’s central pair; Ramires’s athleticism and presence in both boxes make him a viable replacement for either and he recently deputised during Fàbregas’s lay-off. But he has started alongside both in high-stakes fixtures such as last week’s draw at Paris Saint-Germain and that match at the Etihad, and his record of decisive moments on the big stage – memories of his goalscoring contributions in the 2012 FA Cup final and the same season’s Champions League semi-final win over Barcelona remain vivid – is strong.

“I had a major role when we won the Champions League,” he says. “But players go through different phases in their careers within the same club. I’ve had an injury and lost a lot of playing time. We’ve got a very good squad with big competition; anyone could play but only 11 get on the pitch. When I don’t play, maybe I’m a bit moody – but in my head I think competition is good to keep everyone on their toes.”

He is certainly the most practiced of stand-ins and will come across another Brazilian understudy at Wembley. The oft-maligned Paulinho may not start for Tottenham Hotspur but the pair have a close relationship – as might any two people who were given the hopeless task of entering the pitch as half-time substitutes with Brazil 5-0 down in a World Cup semi-final against Germany.

“We’re actually very, very good friends off the pitch,” he says. “Not only myself but also our families. My wife is good friends with his wife and they spend a lot of time together. So it’s going to be very interesting playing against him. We both know it’s a big, big game. On the pitch there are no friends, but then life goes on and friendship goes on as well.

“I won’t be talking to him before the game, there’s already enough stuff going around, so I’m just going to leave that. I know he’s not going to text or call me either, and I prefer it that way.”

While the pair have that chastening summer experience in common, Ramires says that winning silverware against Tottenham would not serve to salve the wounds it inflicted.

“These are two absolutely different things. This is a final with Chelsea. What happened in the World Cup happened with the national team and the only thing that can make that any better will be in the next tournament playing for Brazil.”

Ramires was again a half-time replacement in Chelsea’s 5-3 defeat at White Hart Lane on New Year’s Day. His introduction at 3-1 down did something to staunch the home side’s flow but he is expecting a tighter affair from the beginning this time.

“I don’t think it’s going to be similar to other games we’ve played before,” he says. “Those were open games – they won at home, we won at home. Now we are playing at Wembley for a title and it might be more of a close game, at least at the beginning – a completely different story.”

If the “best Ramires” turns up again, then it might yet be one that Chelsea supporters have been happy to read before.