Ramires

Name:	Ramires
Nationality:	Brazilian
Date of Birth:	24/03/1987
Height:	5' 11" (180cm)
Weight:	11st 7lbs (73.0kg)
Previous
Clubs:	Benfica
Position:	Midfielder

Ramires Santos do Nascimento joined Chelsea in the summer of 2010 on a four-year contract after one season with Benfica, in which he helped them storm to the Liga Sagres title, five points clear of Braga in second place.

During that campaign, the 23-year-old midfielder made 26 league appearances, scoring four times including a last-minute winner against Vitoria Guimaraes on his debut.

Rio-born Ramires signed for Benfica from Cruzeiro, on the day he earned his first call-up to the full Brazil squad for the 2009 Confederations Cup, a tournament they easily won, and he went on to help them qualify for theWorld Cup.

Picked in Dunga's 23-man squad, he appeared in four of their five matches but was suspended for the 2-1 defeat to Holland in the quarter-finals after accumulating two yellow cards. His only start was against Chile in the first knockout round, and so far he has 17 caps, most recently against USA in midweek.

Comfortable in either the centre or the right of midfield, he spent just over two seasons in Belo Horizonte with Cruzeiro, whom he joined from Joinville in 2007, and became a state champion appearing in 61 league matches and scoring 10 times.

A Chelsea debut arrived in the 2-0 win against Stoke in late August,Ramires appearing for the final few minutes in place of Michael Essien, before a first start at West Ham and full games against Blackpool in the Premier League and Newcastle in the Carling Cup. Adaptation to England will take time, but in his first few appearances Ramires has shown plenty of potential.

Competition	Apps (as sub)	Goals	Yellow Cards	Red Cards
League	16  (5)	1	3	0
FA Cup	2  (0)	0	0	0
League Cup	1  (0)	0	0	0
Euro Cups	3  (1)	0	1	0

Career History:
Club	Season	Comp.	Apps (as sub)	Goals
Benfica	2009 - 10	League	23  (3)	4
		League Cup	0  (1)	0
		Euro Cups	9  (0)	0