Ramon Vega
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 14 June 1971 | ||
| Place of birth | Olten, Switzerland | ||
| Height | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||
| Playing position | Centre back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| FC Olten | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1990–1996 | Grasshoppers | 169 | (13) |
| 1996–1997 | Cagliari | 14 | (0) |
| 1997–2001 | Tottenham | 64 | (7) |
| 2000–2001 | → Celtic (loan) | 18 | (2) |
| 2001–2002 | Watford | 27 | (1) |
| 2002–2003 | Créteil | 23 | (4) |
| Total | 315 | (27) | |
| National team | |||
| 1993–2001 | Switzerland | 23 | (1) |
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. | |||
Ramon Vega (born 14 June 1971) is a Swiss retired footballer of Spanish descent who played as a central defender.
During his 13-year professional career he was best known for his spell in England at Tottenham Hotspur, but also had another stint in the United Kingdom, playing in Scotland for Celtic.
Early life
Vega was one of five children to Spanish immigrants. He was born in Olten near Zürich, with the remaining siblings already born in his parents' native city of Madrid.
Vega attended school in Trimbach and went on to study for a degree in banking and financing, at the Zürich Business School.[1]
Club career
Vega began his professional career in with local Grasshopper Club Zürich in 1989, being a defensive mainstay from his second season onwards. He was essential in two of the three leagues he actually conquered, playing in 67 games combined and scoring seven goals.
In the 1996 summer Vega moved to Italy with Cagliari Calcio, in the Serie A. However, after only seven months, he signed with England's Tottenham Hotspur, for a transfer fee of £3.75 million. He was used mostly as a backup with his new side, helping it win the Football League Cup in 1999; in the final, a 1–0 win over Leicester City, he broke his ankle, and could never regain his previous form with the Spurs.[2]
In mid-December 2000, Vega moved on loan to Celtic – in the previous off-season, he rejected a move to the club[3]– where he played a significant part in the winning of three trophies, in a short six-month spell. In his debut, on the 17th, he netted twice in the home demolition of Aberdeen (6–0);[4] he also scored a brace against Dunfermline in the Scottish Cup.[5]
Released by Tottenham in June 2001, after also having refused the Scottish club's offer of an additional year,[6] Vega moved back to England with Watford, penning a three-year deal with the Championship outfit. One of the side's best-paid players under manager Gianluca Vialli, he was released after just one season, as the club underachieved for a final 14th position;[7] for the Hornets he netted three times, once in the league against Norwich City[8] and twice in the League Cup, against Bristol City[9] and Bradford City.[10]
Vega retired in 2004 aged 33, after one season with lowly US Créteil-Lusitanos in France.
International career
Vega first played for Switzerland in 1993, but was overlooked for the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States.
Two years later, he was picked – and started – for the squad at UEFA Euro 1996 in England, helping to a 1–1 draw against the hosts. His career brought him a total of 23 caps, and he also captained the side on occasion, scoring in the 1–1 friendly match with England – who were preparing for the 1998 World Cup – in Bern.[11]
Honours
- Grasshoppers
- Swiss Super League: 1990–91, 1994–95, 1995–96
- Swiss Cup: 1993–94
- Tottenham
- Celtic
Career statistics
- As of January 2004
| Club | Country | Season | League | League | Cup¹ | League Cup² | Total | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps. | Goals |  |  | Apps. | Goals | | | Apps. | Goals | | | Apps. | Goals | | | ||||
| Cagliari |  |
1996–97 | Serie A | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tottenham |  |
1996-97 | Premier League | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 1997-98 | 25 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 3 | 7 | 1 | |||
| 1998-99 | 16 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 25 | 3 | 3 | 0 | |||
| 1999-2000 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |||
| 2000-01 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |||
| Celtic (loan) |  |
2000-01 | Scottish Premier League | 18 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| Watford | |
2001-02 | First Division | 27 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 33 | 3 | 5 | 1 |
| Créteil |  |
2002-03 | Ligue 2 | 23 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Career total | 146 | 14 | 16 | 3 | 16 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 18 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 180 | 19 | 21 | 3 | |||
¹ include Coppa Italia, FA Cup, Scottish Cup,and Coupe de France .
² include Football League Cup, Scottish League Cup,and Coupe de la Ligue.
Personal life
Vega is fluent in five languages, which are French, German, Spanish, Italian and English.[1]
After his retirement, he became a founding member of the Duet Group (2002), a financial group specialising in asset management and private equity. In 2006 Vega also founded the Matterhorn Capital Rosalp, a Swiss real estate company focusing on the development of luxury hotels worldwide, opening the first facilities in Verbier, Switzerland. He also opened "Ramon Vega's Soccer School" in Marbella, Spain.
In February 2009, Vega unsuccessfully bid to purchase Premier League team and FA Cup holders Portsmouth from its owner Alexandre Gaydamak; however, he was consistently able to demonstrate an ability to secure financing for his proposal.[12][13][14]
In October 2015 he announced that he was considering standing as a candidate in the FIFA presidential election.[15]
References
- 1 2 "Were you there ...?". BBC Sport. 15 February 2007.
- ↑ "Graham blocks transfer plunge". BBC Sport. 21 September 2000.
- ↑ "Vega rejects Celtic's overtures". BBC Sport. 23 August 2000.
- ↑ "Celtic hit Dons for six". BBC Sport. 17 December 2000.
- ↑ "Celtic sweep Dunfermline aside". BBC Sport. 7 March 2001.
- ↑ "Vega set to quit Celtic". BBC Sport. 19 June 2001.
- ↑ "Watford release Vega". BBC Sport. 18 June 2002.
- ↑ "Norwich 3-1 Watford". BBC Sport. 18 September 2001.
- ↑ "Bristol City 2-3 Watford". BBC Sport. 12 September 2001.
- ↑ "Watford sting Bantams". BBC Sport. 9 October 2001.
- ↑ "England's track record". BBC Sport. 27 May 2004.
- ↑ Lawton, Matt (16 February 2009). "Former Tottenham defender Ramon Vega spurred on for Fratton Park bid". London: Daily Mail.
- ↑ "Portsmouth reject buy-out approach from former Spurs defender Vega". London: The Guardian. 26 February 2009. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
- ↑ Wilson, Jeremy (27 February 2009). "Portsmouth turn down Ramon Vega's takeover bid". London: Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
- ↑ "Ramon Vega: Ex-Spurs defender may stand for Fifa presidency". BBC Sport. 19 October 2015. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
External links
- Ramon Vega career statistics at Soccerbase
- Ramon Vega at National-Football-Teams.com
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