Two players from Minnesota United were named this week to the NASL Best XI. Justin Davis and Christian Ramirez were given the honors for the third consecutive season. Ramirez also lost out on his second Golden Ball nomination, the award going to New York Cosmos’ Juan Arango.
The Golden Ball snub stings for Ramirez, who previously lost out to his best friend, Miguel Ibarra when he was nominated in 2014. After seeing the award go to Ibarra, Ramirez was happy for his friend though motivated to eventually win it for himself.
Ramirez calls the Golden Ball “a target of mine that I had set at the beginning of the season as one of the things I wanted to achieve.” At the same time, he says, “I can’t argue with it going to Arango because of what he has done for his side to help them get into the championship.”
“There were so many games we left points on the table to put us in the ultimate goal of getting into the playoffs.”
Looking back on the season that earned him a Golden Ball nomination and Best XI honors, Ramirez is ambivalent. He says that “personally [it] felt good to be able to have the year I had statistically and continue to grow as a professional.” However, he can’t help feeling disappointed by missing out on the playoffs: “There were so many games we left points on the table to put us in the ultimate goal of getting into the playoffs.”
Ramirez is looking to move past the disappointment, though, saying that he is “proud to say through everything that I left it out on the field and did everything I could for the guys, the fans, the club. And [I] can’t wait to see what’s next.”
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