As the smiling Real Madrid assistant coach zipped by on a golf cart, Daniel Ramirez jumped up to lean over a movable metal guardrail and beyond around six outstretched hands.
Ramirez came down beaming, having received a high-five from the assistant coach, soccer legend Zinedine Zidane. A nearby security guard wondered aloud why Ramirez would risk getting pulled and dragged along the ground by Zidane’s golf cart.
Fortune favored Ramirez beyond maintaining his health on Friday. The Venezuelan immigrant could count himself as one of the few fans who got to a share a moment with a member of the famed Real Madrid soccer club, after the team’s late afternoon practice at UCLA. Though the team’s training sessions at the North Athletic Field were open only to ticket holders, fans were allowed to watch the players travel to and from practice in areas bounded by movable guardrails throughout Wilson Plaza and on the north and east sides of the Student Activities Center. The crowd of bystanders was comprised of UCLA students, adults, high school students and children.
The players’ interactions with fans were varied during their nine practices on campus. While some players blew kisses to the crowd or shared quick hugs and pictures with a few fans, others seemed more focused on their training, according to several fans.
Fourth-year biology student Sanjai Jothikumar said he thought the athletes were more likely to interact with the crowd after morning practices.
Fourth-year biochemistry student Maltish Lorenzo said he understood the players’ reserved interactions with the fans.
“I’m sure (the players) get used to it. No matter where you go, you’re going to have fans when you’re an athlete and celebrity,” said Lorenzo, who said he has seen Real Madrid during each of the team’s last three visits to UCLA. Real Madrid’s weeklong series of practices marked the fourth straight year in which the professional European club trained at UCLA.
Despite limited contact with the players, many fans demonstrated the level of affection indicated by their peers’ posters proclaiming love for players such as Sergio Ramos and Ricardo “Kaká” Izecson Dos Santos. Most all players and coaches were greeted by hooting and hollering, and fans preserved the moments by replaying videos they captured just seconds earlier and chatting among themselves about how tall the athletes were up close.
UCLA Recreation was responsible for hurrying pedestrians through walkways and sealing the paths with guardrails when golf carts transporting soccer players drove by. Movement around Wilson Plaza was active enough for a UCLA Recreation member to call the event “hectic.”
Ramirez, like many other fans in attendance, was in no rush to leave the area surrounding the North Athletic Field. He was firmly entrenched in Wilson Plaza throughout the second half of the week, spending roughly 12 hours each day from Wednesday to Friday waiting for players to appear. Other than to go home, Ramirez said he left only to get food in Westwood because he did not want to lose a prime place along the guardrail.
Ramirez’s legs seemed to be no worse despite the extended inactivity. In between describing great Real Madrid players and moments, such as Zidane’s famous goal to win the 2002 Champions League final, he displayed considerable bursts of speed in running alongside golf carts for a few moments, chanting names and pointing at the players.
Real Madrid’s activities at UCLA concluded Monday, following a week that featured matches against the Los Angeles Galaxy in Glendale, Ariz. and Everton at Dodger Stadium. With the win against Everton on Saturday, Real Madrid advanced to the championship round of the Guinness International Champions Cup and squares off against fellow European club, Chelsea, in Miami Gardens, Fla., on Wednesday.
Compiled by Emilio Ronquillo, Bruin Sports staff.