If you tuned into
Houston Dynamo
forward
Christian Ramirez
's interview with MLSsoccer.com's Andrew Wiebe on Instagram Live on Saturday, you may have done a double take.
Ramirez joined the feed sporting some brand new hair that has him channeling his inner Justin Bieber.
"I was bored," Ramirez explained. "I was just looking for some sort of excitement to get me through this time. I started off with cutting my hair ... I bought a pair of clippers and I'd face time my barber from Minnesota and LA [my boy Mike from LA] and he was telling me how to touch it up .. Luckily that didn't fail that bad ... That got boring and then I said 'Alright, let me dye my hair."
Once they got past the inspiration behind the new look, Wiebe and Ramirez talked some soccer, going over a variety of topics from the 29-year-old veteran's MLS career, as well as his thoughts on the notion of a Liga MX-MLS combined super league -- an idea that remains a fantasy at the moment but has been kicked around as a potential long-term goal.
"I think in a perfect world it would be crazy, and it'd be a league that would take over the world, essentially," Ramirez said. "A lot of logistics go into it and with that amount of travel, injuries would go up. They're on the right track with the interleague stuff they've been doing with competitions that involve both leagues."
Ramirez also talked about life with Dynamo, which is his third stop in MLS after he started as a longtime fan-favorite with Minnesota United before a stint with LAFC.
Ramirez said he's still figuring out his role on the team with an entrenched starter at his position in Mauro Manotas, but that his ultimate hope is that the two of them can line up together.
"I think I'm on my third coach in 12 games [in Houston]," Ramirez said. "Coach [Wilmer Cabrera] gets fired after the first game after he had told me that he was going to ride with me and Mauro [Manotas] up top and let us spearhead this thing. Unlucky result in Philly, I get benched for a couple of games and then get thrown in again. Then the offseason came and to be honest I don't think the Dynamo thought myself and Mauro were both going to be here since there were confirmed offers for myself as well as for him.
"And so that's the situation right now. I'm obviously not challenging to start over Mauro because he's the second all-time leading goal scorer for this club and the face of this club. And we've been dying to play with each other since I got traded here, and we've shown we can do it. Hopefully those things start to head in that direction. If not, who knows what could happen?"
On the topic of potentially returning to the Loons one day to round off his career, Ramirez said he'd be open to the idea. Few soccer players are more beloved in Minnesota than the man the fanbase dubbed "Superman" as Ramirez remained with the club through its move to MLS after starting with the Loons in the NASL, developing what he says is a permanent affection for the city.
"It's what made me who I am today," he said. "It was special, my daughter being born there. I've always said in a perfect world I'd end up retiring there and making it home. That's how special that place became to myself and my family. You never know. I've built such good relationships there with everyone - it's the people and the lifestyle. We come from California where everything is so fast-paced and everyone is trying to become stars.
"And in Minnesota everyone is nice and welcoming and it's a slower pace. It wasn't like everyone was out to backstab each other. And the fans, us seeing them grow from 3000 people in Blaine to what they are now, you build relationships with them personally and you knew who to expect in the crowd and in what sections."
