Juan de Dios Ramírez Perales, dubbed "El Capi" (born 8 March 1969) is a Mexican former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a defender. Ramírez Perales played for nearly 15 years in Mexico's league top tier, beginning his career with UNAM in 1988.MedioTiempo
"Juan de Dios Ramírez Perales – Veracruz".
Retrieved on 14 January 2013. By the following year he had become a starter in central defense, and he started 41 matches in 1990–91 as Pumas won the league, overcoming

Club América Club de Fútbol América S.A. de C.V., commonly known as Club América or simply América, is a professional football club based in Mexico City. Nicknamed ''Las Águilas'' (The Eagles), it competes in Liga MX, the top tier of Mexican football ...

in the final. He remained with UNAM until 1994, then joined

Monterrey Monterrey ( , ) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León, Mexico, and the third largest city in Mexico behind Guadalajara and Mexico City. Located at the foothills of the Sierra Madre Oriental, the city is anchor ...

for one season and Toros Neza for another before moving to

Atlante Atlante or Atlantes may refer to: * Atlas (architecture), a column in the shape of a man * Atlante San Alejo, a Salvadoran football club * Atlante F.C., a Mexican football club * Atlante (private equity fund) * ''Atlante''-class tugboat * Atlante ...

for the Invierno 1996 season. Playing alongside Romanian

Miodrag Belodedici Miodrag Belodedici (; sr, Миодраг Белодедић, Miodrag Belodedić; born 20 May 1964) is a Romanian former professional footballer who played as a sweeper. Nicknamed ''the deer'' due to his elegant tackles, he spent the majority o ...

, Ramírez Perales helped form a strong central defensive pairing, but Atlante's seasons during this time repeatedly ended in disappointment in the knockout Liguilla phase. Leaving Atlante in 2000, he represented Chivas, Irapuato, and Veracruz in the closing years of his career. At international level, he earned 49 caps for the

Mexico national team The Mexico national football team () represents Mexico in international football and is governed by the Mexican Football Federation (). It competes as a member of CONCACAF. Mexico has qualified to seventeen World Cups and has qualified consec ...

between 1991 and 1995. Ramírez Perales made his international debut against the United States on 12 March 1991. Under César Luis Menotti and then

Miguel Mejía Baron --> Miguel is a given name and surname, the Portuguese and Spanish form of the Hebrew name Michael. It may refer to: Places *Pedro Miguel, a parish in the municipality of Horta and the island of Faial in the Azores Islands *São Miguel (disambi ...

, he became a starter for the national team throughout World Cup qualifying and the

1993 Copa América The 1993 Copa América was the 36th Copa América, CONMEBOL's football tournament for national teams. It was held in Ecuador between 15 June and 4 July. All 10 CONMEBOL members took part, but for the first time two nations from outside CONMEBOL w ...

, in which he played every minute of Mexico's six matches on the way to the final. Likewise, Ramírez Perales started all four games at the

1994 FIFA World Cup The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States ...

, lining up next to Claudio Suárez in the heart of the Mexico defense. He was recalled for the

1995 Copa América The 1995 Copa América football tournament was staged in Uruguay. It was won by Uruguay, who beat Brazil 5–3 in the penalty shootout after a 1–1 draw in the final. All 10 CONMEBOL members took part, with Mexico and the United States invited i ...

, but only appeared in the opening game. Ramírez Perales earned his final cap on 6 July 1995 in a 2–1 loss against Paraguay, and was replaced by

Manuel Vidrio Manuel Vidrio Solís (born 23 August 1972) is a Mexican former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He has been capped for the Mexico national team, including four games at the 2002 FIFA World Cup. He was also part of the Mexi ...

in central defense for Mexico's remaining matches in the competition. In addition, Ramírez Perales played three games for Mexico at the

1985 FIFA U-16 World Championship The 1985 FIFA U-16 World Championship, the first edition of the tournament, was held in the cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, and Dalian in People's Republic of China from July 31, 1985, to August 11, 1985. Players born after August 1, 1968, ...

in China.FIFA
"FIFA Player Statistics: Juan RAMIREZ".
Retrieved on 14 January 2013.

External links

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playerhistory

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramirez Perales, Juan de Dios 1969 births Living people 1994 FIFA World Cup players 1993 Copa América players 1995 Copa América players CONCACAF Gold Cup-winning players Footballers from Mexico City Association football defenders Mexico international footballers Club Universidad Nacional footballers C.D. Guadalajara footballers C.F. Monterrey players Atlante F.C. footballers Irapuato F.C. footballers C.D. Veracruz footballers Toros Neza footballers Liga MX players Mexican footballers 1993 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Club León non-playing staff Club Necaxa non-playing staff