Mayra Ramírez makes unpicking defences look effortless. It’s impossible not to watch in awe as she unmasks even the most experienced WSL defenders with a turn, a shrug, a touch or a flick.
Her goal in the fourth minute of Chelsea’s game at Arsenal in October placed the final nail in the coffin of Jonas Eidevall’s tenure, and it would be hammered down by the hosts’ 2-1 defeat. With her back to goal, Ramírez capitalised on poor defending and hooked the ball over her head, beyond Daphne van Domselaar and in.
She is a player made for the big moment and now she is settled in London, having joined Chelsea from Levante in January for a British record €450,000 (£375,000) plus add-ons, and ready for more.
On Saturday, Sonia Bompastor’s unbeaten side host their title rivals Manchester City at Stamford Bridge and Ramírez will face arguably the WSL’s most in-form centre-back, Alex Greenwood. “I love it,” says the unassuming Colombian, sitting in the mini stand by Chelsea’s indoor pitch in Cobham. “They’re the challenges that any player wants to have – facing the best players in the best teams. Earlier today, I played against Millie [Bright] in training. I get to practise against the best in training sessions almost every day – that makes you grow as a footballer. Man City will be a great challenge and I invite you all to come to Stamford Bridge to witness it.”
This is Ramírez’s first major interview with an English media outlet since her move, conducted via a translator. She can pick up the thrust of the questions and her English is improving, but speaking Spanish allows more freedom in her answers. At one point, the multilingual Lucy Bronze approaches and pauses to listen from a distance, before grinning and teasing the forward, in Spanish, about conducting the interview in her native tongue.
Bronze is one of several Spanish speakers at the club who have helped Ramírez’s transition, alongside Hannah Hampton, Júlia Bartel, Erin Cuthbert and the former manager Emma Hayes. Bompastor speaks a bit of Portuguese.
“I feel that my English is improving slowly and steadily,” Ramírez says. “I can have conversations with my teammates now. When I got here, I didn’t speak a word of English, so that’s a lot of improvement. It’s great to have teammates who can speak Spanish and can communicate with you while you learn.”
It is a good job the 25-year-old relishes a challenge, because few, from a football point of view, are greater than having to adapt to a new language, culture, league and style of play and to new teammates and two new managers
“We’re in a state of constant change,” she says. “Emma’s and Sonia’s passing games are a bit different, and the team is getting used to new systems and new tactics, as well as the new players who arrived in the summer. We need to be adaptable; we need to all come together and work out how we need to play as a team. It’s a process and there’s a long way to go and a lot to improve.
“That’s why we like football. We like that we never have to play the same way every game and that things are changing all the time. So, I like these challenges, I like learning, I like being in constant change, that’s how you improve.”
Ramírez’s transfer to Chelsea was a bolt from the blue. After Sam Kerr tore an ACL during a training camp in Morocco in January, the club worked rapidly to secure a player who had scored 20 goals in 34 league games for Levante.
“It was very exciting, certainly something that we didn’t expect, or I didn’t expect,” she says. “I found out on a Sunday and on Tuesday I was flying to London. It was crazy, rapid, super-quick. It was exciting to know that a great club is interested in you, then you just want it to happen swiftly so you can start growing with the club.”
Ramírez’s stock had been rising owing to her form with Levante but the World Cup brought her to the attention of the global fanbase, despite her not scoring as Colombia reached the quarter-finals.
“The turning point was the World Cup,” she says. “It was where Colombia showed their weapons, the great talent that we have. I’m very happy that now I’m in a great club where I’m going to continue to grow and demonstrate the strengths of the Colombian players.”
The difference between the WSL and La Liga was stark. “I was surprised when I arrived in England. It’s a physical, technical and tactical game where a lot of the teams compete to be the champions. We saw it last year, which was won on goal difference. In Spain, we know that Barça is the league leader and from there we start competing for the following positions.”
Getting used to that tighter gap was tricky, and injuries marred Ramírez’s first half-season. The biggest blow was missing the second leg of the Champions League semi-final against Barcelona at Stamford Bridge, after a historic 1-0 win in Spain. Chelsea lost 2-0 in London.
“That was very frustrating for me,” she says. “In Spain you don’t play so often – to be playing three games a week affects you physically. So, to adapt quickly to be able to do that when you’ve been playing every weekend is difficult, but now I am … adequate at it.”
How would she describe herself as a player? “I love the job, I love to work. I love giving everything on the field, playing until my last drop of sweat. I think that is what has taken me to where I am now.”
