Vega, Ramon

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Personal

Fullname: Ramon Vega
Born: 14 June 1971
Birthplace: Olten, Switzerland
Height: 6.03
Weight: 13st
Signed: 15 December 2000 (on loan)
Left: 14 June 2001 (to Watford)
Position: Defender, Central Defender
Debut: Celtic 6-0 Aberdeen, League, 16 Dec 2000
Internationals: Switzerland
International Caps: 28
International Goals: 1

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Biog

“At Celtic I was part of a family, I was one of them.” Ramon Vega

When it comes to Ramon Vega, you can view his Celtic career in one of two very diverse ways, you can take your pick from the below:
Option 1

“Celtic was a dream season” – Ramon Vega

Ramon Vega was a talented player, and he played well in his short stint with Celtic. Despite arriving only mid-season, he was near ever present in his time at the club, helping Celtic to a treble, the club’s first since 1968/69.

He was a stout defender who was helping to revive his career after a torrid time at Spurs, and fitted in comfortably in a side that was overflowing already with quality, and he added to it. It was a dream season and a great time for Vega to join up.

In a book in 2008, to the surprise of some he stated his love for the club, saying “I was so grateful to the Celtic fans for taking me in and making me believe in myself again!”.

He left prematurely at the end of the season (end of the loan) for Watford (then not in the top division in England) as it was late in his career and Celtic were not willing to offer him a long-term contract which he needed as a sign-off for financial reasons for his “retirement” from the playing game.

To quote him again “It broke my heart to leave that club.”

As happens, he regretted his decision as he knew he would saying “I knew that I regretted my decision, I didn’t want the financial security, I just wanted to be back in Scotland”, but it was too late.

He loved Celtic and Martin O’Neill, and he loved the derbies v Rangers:

“The Old Firm derby was one of the most incredible experiences of my career. Even when i had played at Anfield and St James Park, I had not heard football fans so loud.”

“At Celtic I was part of a family, I was one of them.”

A talented player, and many didn’t want to see him leave after after some fine performances in the Hoops in his half season here, with a handful of goals also. Scored twice in his debut in a 6-0 drubbing of Aberdeen, and a double v Dunfermline in a Scottish Cup replay match.

Last word to the good man:

“Spurs was a part of my life, they gave me a chance, an experience at a big club and I owe them for that. But I tell you what, I’d walk to Glasgow today for a chance to play for Celtic one more time.”

We can’t think of many other players who have expressed such a love for a club after such a short space of time with the club.

Will also be remembered for a funny cross dressing picture.

Option 2
Some players make really bad mistakes which can mark out their careers as dismally as the decision they make. This can be best illustrated by none other than Ramon Vega.

Coincidentally he shared the name of a popular “Street-Fighter” video-game character but he had himself the bravery levels of a mouse. Joining Celtic for a short-term contract initially, he was played in a number of games and scored for us and actually was playing not too badly (albeit in a season where we were already much in control). He had the option to carry on his career with Celtic and try to achieve something but opted not to. Fair enough, but he chose to go to Watford in the English Second Tier/First Division/Championship (however you want to describe it) for the money.

He stated that he wanted the financial security. This was a touch odd as on paper as he was not going to be paid peanuts if he stayed at Celtic, but also he was already from a wealthy Swiss family not some Brazilian favela.

It was remarked in FourFourTwo magazine in an article on the Premiership teams’ worst players that:

“The news of his arrival (at Watford) could barely be heard through the howls of derision from every corner of the footballing world.” (FourFourTwo magazine, 2017)

Unsurprising to read in newspaper articles years later of how he regretted the move, missing out on the best part of the MoN years. We’re sure if you read between the lines, the potential money he could have made from this was also something he regretted losing out on. Some footballers really do not have much nous. Ruined his career and dented his own ego. Prior to Celtic, he had been pilloried by many Tottenham Hotspurs fans as their worst ever signing, and if he’d stuck with us he could have possibly made them eat their words. He didn’t.

Hard luck and little sympathy needed. Just hope other players could note and learn not to make similar mistakes (especially some of the youngsters at Celtic).

Some like to remind others about the goals he scored for us, but this is a little overdone. He scored twice in an admittedly great debut but that was in a 6-0 trouncing of Aberdeen, so it was easy street. He didn’t score again for Celtic in the league. The other two goals were in the cup (both in an early round replay win over Dunfermline), but in the league his goal-scoring record is overstated. If anything, his general saunters pushing ahead in the pitch (when it was unnecessary) did leave Celtic exposed at the back, which is poor but thankfully didn’t cost Celtic.

Notably, it is claimed some of the Celtic players seemed to humour Vega. After his departure, in honour of that he was regarded as the the poorest performer at training, then the poorest performer on the day would have to wear a bright yellow t-shirt emblazoned with “I am having a Vega“. No malice and just banter, but does reflect another reason why he wasn’t kept on. Poor at training feeds through to others and in time onto the main pitch, and maybe he wasn’t the best company with the rest.

Some reports state that he had a reputation of having a major ego. With his record of having some less than stellar tenures at clubs on his CV, that is quite a puzzle or a clear sign of delusion.

His time at Celtic was short, and those who are more critical of his time at Celtic in retrospect are thankful for that.

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Post Celtic
After his spell with Watford he played briefly for US Creteil in France before retiring in June 2003.

His national team career spanned over 28 caps. Vega also captained Switzerland.

After his retirement, Vega 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. The first hotel to be developed was in Verbier, Switzerland. Vega also opened “Ramon Vega’s Soccer School” in Marbella, Spain.

He tried to put his name forward for the then vacant Celtic Chief Executive role in 2021, but nobody took it seriously, and most saw it more as a way to get some free attention for himself.

One thing’s for certain is that he always stood up for Celtic, even standing up to detractors of ex-Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou when he moved to Spurs, which is something to respect.

He never lost his Celtic roots, and played in front of 48,000 supporters for a ‘Celtic Legends’ select side at Anfield v their Liverpool counterparts in a charity match in March 2023.

[….]

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Quote

Interviewer: “You played at Celtic too. Is the Scottish league really that much weaker than in England?”
Vega: “It is weaker, yes. But playing for Celtic is very hard. It’s not like playing for any old club – every day, every week, every season you have the pressure to win. You just don’t get that in England – not even at Manchester United. So, while the league as a whole maybe wasn’t as strong as in England, playing for Celtic was extremely pressurised.”

“Although I was only on loan, I rate my time at Celtic as one of the most enjoyable spells in my career.
“I can imagine they get fed up with hearing this, but the Celtic fans are without doubt the best I’ve ever played in front of. Every time I played and they announced the attendance at Celtic Park I was surprised.
“It would say something like 50,000 or 60,000 and I was convinced it was more like 200,000. People talk about a wall of noise at other stadiums, but I’ve experienced nothing like the roar I head at Celtic. It’s one of the few regrets I have in my playing career that I didn’t stay longer at Celtic. Tottenham released me and Celtic offered me a short-term contract, but Watford offered me three years.
“At that stage of my career, the extra years and security were very appealing so I joined up with Gianluca Vialli instead. I would have loved to have finished up at Celtic.”
Ramon Vega (2016)

“I would advise any player, go to Celtic. Honestly, what a club. Loved my time there…”
Ramon Vega (2016)

@ramon_vega71: What an unforgettable memorable day and debut for @CelticFC I didn’t have one training session with the lads beforehand let alone knowing all the names of the teammates then. Martin O’Neil put me straight into the side. What a reception by the Celtic Fans. Thank you Celtic fans
Ramon Vega (2021)

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Playing Career

Club	From	To	Fee	League		Scottish Cup		League cup		Other
Watford	21-06-2001	24-06-2002	Free	23 (4)	1	1 (0)	0	5 (0)	2	0 (0)	0
Celtic	15-12-2000	14-06-2001	Loan	18 (0)	2	6 (0)	2	2 (0)	0	0 (0)	0
Spurs	07-01-1997	21-06-2001	£3,750,000	53 (11)	7	8 (1)	0	9 (2)	1	0 (0)	0
Cagliari	01-08-1996	07-01-1997	Signed	No appearance data available
	_________	_________		App________	Goals	App____	Goals	App______	Goals	App____	Goals

Honours with Celtic

Scottish Premier League

• 2000-2001

Scottish League Cup

• 2000-2001

Scottish Cup

• 2000-2001

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Pictures

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Articles

Vega delighted after dream Celtic debut

Ramon Vega capped off an incredible 24 hours with a dream debut for Celtic – scoring twice in the impressive 6-0 rout of Aberdeen.The Swiss international completed a loan deal from Tottenham on Friday with Martin O’Neill wanting his services until the end of the season.

The defender though is hoping to make the move permanent and admitted that he felt loved again after savouring the reaction from the Parkhead support.

He said: “I’m delighted with the goals and with the reception from the fans. Focused “They were fantastic and I’ve not experienced anything like that. Celtic are a massive club and play great football and I’m focused on winning the league and then playing in Europe.

“That’s what I want to do – play at the top – and if the club want to talk to me about staying then I’m open to do that.”

His new boss paid his own tribute after Vega started his new career in the best possible manner.

O’ Neill acknowledged that it was the perfect debut.

“I’ve just told him that it’s all downhill after this, but seriously it was a great debut. Considering that he’s not trained with us yet it was a great start for him.”