Raúl González

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For other uses, see Raúl González (disambiguation).
Raúl
Personal information
Full name Raúl González Blanco
Date of birth June 27, 1977 (1977-06-27) (age 30)
Place of birth    Madrid, Spain
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing position Second striker
Club information
Current club Real Madrid
Number 7
Youth clubs
1988–1989
1990–1992
1992–1994		 San Cristóbal de Los Ángeles
Atlético Madrid
Real Madrid
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1994– Real Madrid 483 (205)   
National team2
1996– Spain 102 0(44)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of May 18, 2008 (UTC).
2 National team caps and goals correct
as of September 9, 2006 (UTC).
* Appearances (Goals)

Raúl González Blanco (born June 27, 1977 in Madrid, Spain), usually referred to as Raúl, is a Spanish professional football forward. He has been playing for Real Madrid at senior level since 1994, and is the team captain since 2003. He was also a member of the Spanish national team, and is its all-time leading goal scorer with 44 goals. He represented Spain in the 1998 FIFA World Cup, Euro 2000, the 2002 FIFA World Cup, Euro 2004 and 2006 FIFA World Cup tournaments. With Real Madrid, he has won the UEFA Champions League three times, and is the all-time leading scorer of that competition with 61 goals.

Raúl is currently seventh highest goalscorer in the history of Spain's top flight, with 205 goals in 483 games. All of these goals were for Real Madrid, making Raúl the club's second highest goalscorer of all time. He is also called 'El siete' (The Seven), 'El Angel del Madrid' (Madrid's Angel), and 'El Capitán' (The Captain) by fans and pundits.

When playing, he wears jersey number 7 for both club and country (except WC'98 and EC'00 he wore 10 for Spain). He has been wearing the number 7 shirt for Real Madrid since he was 19.

His current contract with Real Madrid runs until 2011 and will be extended for a year each as long as he plays at least 30 official games for Real Madrid in his last year of a contract. This means that he will likely play for the club for the rest of his career.[1] He is considered by many to be one of the greatest Spanish Footballers of all time.

Contents

[edit] Senior club career at Real Madrid (1994-)

He began the 1994-95 season in Madrid's "C" team, and scored 13 goals in the seven games. In October 1994, head coach Jorge Valdano picked the gifted teenager in his first team. At just 17 years and four months, Raúl became the youngest player ever to wear a Real Madrid shirt. In doing so, he nudged aside 1991 Pichichi Trophy winner Emilio Butragueño, and was soon well on the way to becoming Spain's new sensation. He scored nine times in his first season from 28 appearances, including one in his second game against Atlético, and won the Spanish La Liga championship.

Raúl (right) with team-mates celebrating a goal against Bayern Munich
Raúl (right) with team-mates celebrating a goal against Bayern Munich

Raúl has been a key player in Real Madrid's six big titles from 1998 to 2003. He helped the team win the UEFA Champions League titles of 1998, 2000 and 2002, scoring goals in both the 2000 and 2002 Champions League finals. On the domestic scene, he has won six Spanish La Liga championships in 1995, 1997, 2001, 2003, 2007 and 2008. Although he has mainly played as a striker, Raúl has shown his ability to play in a number of different positions including left/right winger or playmaker.

Ever since 2004, he has been under criticism by the media and part of the supporters for his supposed poor performances, during a period in which Real Madrid struggled to win domestic or European competitions. These struggles have seen Raúl relegated at times to the substitutes bench by both club and country, leaving questions as to how much he might have in the tank. For a time, it was widely rumoured that the primary reason why Raúl started in the Real Madrid line-up is because he has tremendous influence in Madrid.

However, during the latter part of the 2006-07 season, Raúl managed to recreate some of his past glories, partnering in attack with Dutch striker Ruud Van Nistelrooy.

On 28 September 2005 against Greek power Olympiacos, in his 97th UEFA Champions League match, Raul became the first player in the history of the tournament to score 50 goals, passing Real Madrid legend Alfredo Di Stéfano. He is currently the top goal scorer in the history of the competition with 61 goals. His most recent UEFA Champions League goal came against AS Roma 5 March 2008 at home.

In 2007-08, Raúl's form has improved compared to the previous two seasons, as he has started almost every game and has scored regularly. He has continued to form an effective partnership with Van Nistelrooy. Raúl has scored 18 goals from 37 in La Liga and 5 from 8 in the Champions League. In 2007, he was among the top 50 players shortlisted for the Ballon D'Or award by France Football magazine. However, he has not earned a national team call up. Spain's coach Luis Aragones stated that Raul would be called up to future squads, but there are suspicions that Raúl will not be called up again whilst Aragones remains in charge.[citation needed]


[edit] National team (1996-)

Raúl made his national team debut against the Czech Republic in October 1996. Although he has scored 44 goals for Spain - 15 more than previous record-holder, Fernando Hierro - Raúl's performances for his country have been regularly criticised, mainly because Spain have been dubbed the "greatest underachievers" in international football. An extremely consistent scorer in the qualifying rounds for major tournaments, Raul has only scored 6 goals in 18 appearances in the finals of the various competitions (World Cups in 1998, 2002 and 2006, and European Championships in 2000 and 2004). He is also remembered for a crucial penalty miss late on in a game v France in the quarter finals of Euro 2000.

After Fernando Hierro retired from the Spanish national team in 2002, Raúl became the captain for Spain. Overall, Raúl has played 102 games for the Spanish national team. When he led out the Spanish team against San Marino in a 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifier on 12 October 2005, he surpassed his predecessor as Spain captain, Fernando Hierro, as the most-capped outfield player (i.e., not a goalkeeper) in Spanish history.

On June 19, 2006, with a goal against Tunisia, Raúl became the 18th player to score in 3 different editions of the FIFA World Cup. He has scored in the 1998, 2002 and the 2006 FIFA World Cups.

In recent times, Raúl has been left out of the Spanish National Team squad on numerous occasions by coach Luis Aragonés. Calls to reinstate their captain have come from former teammates, Fernando Hierro, current teammates, almost the entire Real Madrid squad, and many members of the Spanish National Team, and these have been growing rapidly in recent times. The most recent addition to the list is Real Madrid coach Bernd Schuster.

Raul has been left out of the Spanish National team for the Euro 2008.

[edit] Personal life

Raúl has a distinctive celebration, with each goal acclaimed by a kiss of his wedding ring, an acknowledgment to his wife Mamen Sanz, who is also a spanish model. They have four sons: Jorge (February 25, 2000), named after Jorge Valdano; Hugo (November 20, 2002), named after Raúl's childhood hero Hugo Sánchez; and twins Héctor and Mateo (November 17, 2005). He enjoys reading, especially the books of Arturo Pérez Reverte, and listening to of Spanish music, as well as hunting and watching bullfighting.

[edit] Honors

[edit] Club

[edit] Individual

[edit] Achievements

  • Scored the 800th goal in Spain's national team history, March 27, 1999 vs Austria.
  • Scored the 900th goal in Spain's national team history, September 7, 2002 vs Greece.
  • Spanish national team all-time leading scorer with 44 goals.[2].
  • Most appearances for an outfield player in the Spanish national team with 102[2].
  • Top active scorer in La Liga[2].
  • Top UEFA Champions League appearances with 116.[4][2].
  • UEFA Champions League all-time leading scorer with 61 goals.
  • UEFA all-time leading scorer with 63 goals.
  • 2 goals in 3 UEFA Champions League Finals.
  • Has gone 30 months without receiving a yellow card and has never been sent off at professional level.[5].
  • 7º all-time top scorer in La Liga (205): 1 Zarra 251, 2 Hugo Sánchez 234, 3 Di Stéfano 227, 4 César 226, 5 Quini 219, 6 Pahíño 210, 7 Raúl 205.
  • 2º all-time top scorer in La Liga with Real Madrid: 1 Di Stéfano 216, 2 Raúl 205.
  • 2º all-time top-scorer in Real Madrid history: 1 Di Stéfano 307, 2 Raúl 292.[6].

[edit] Statistics

last update: May 18, 2008.

Club Season La Liga Cup Champions League Other* Total
Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Real Madrid 1994-95 28 9 4 2 1 0 0 0 0 30 10
1995-96 40 19 24 2 1 8 6 2 0 52 26
1996-97 42 21 25 5 1 0 0 0 0 47 22
1997-98 35 10 12 1 0 11 2 2 3 49 15
1998-99 37 25 5 2 0 8 3 2 1 49 29
1999-00 34 17 11 4 0 15 10 4 2 57 29
2000-01 36 24 2 0 0 12 7 2 1 50 32
2001-02 35 14 6 6 6 12 6 2 3 55 29
2002-03 31 16 11 2 0 12 9 2 0 47 25
2003-04 35 11 1 6 6 9 2 2 1 52 20
2004-05 32 9 6 1 0 10 4 0 0 43 13
2005-06 26 5 3 1 0 6 2 0 0 33 7
2006-07 35 7 3 1 0 7 5 0 0 43 12
2007-08 37 18 5 1 0 8 5 2 0 48 23
2008-09 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Career Totals 483 205 118 34 15 118 61 20 11 655 292

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Raúl and Casillas sign lifelong contracts with Real Madrid. Realmadrid.com (2008-02-14). Retrieved on 2008-02-14.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Raúl González Blanco (Track Record). Realmadrid.com (2005-08-23). Retrieved on 2007-12-13.
  3. ^ AS readers vote for the Real Madrid captain to win the AS football award. Realmadrid.com (2007-11-23). Retrieved on 2007-12-13.
  4. ^ Defeat mars Raúl record. UEFA.com (2007-02-22). Retrieved on 2007-12-13.
  5. ^ The captain hasn't been booked in two and a half years (Raúl, a gentleman of fair play). Realmadrid.com (2007-04-24). Retrieved on 2007-12-15.
  6. ^ Raúl becomes the second all-time top-scorer in Real Madrid history. Realmadrid.com (2008-03-30). Retrieved on 2008-03-31.

[edit] External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
Preceded by
Fernando Hierro		 Real Madrid captain
2003–		 Succeeded by
Incumbent
Preceded by
Fernando Hierro		 Spain captain
2002–2008		 Succeeded by
Iker Casillas
Preceded by
Andriy Shevchenko		 UEFA Champions League Best Forward
1999–00, 2000–01, 2001–02		 Succeeded by
Ruud van Nistelrooy
v • d • e
Real Madrid C.F. – current squad

1 Casillas • 2 Salgado • 3 Pepe • 4 Ramos • 5 Cannavaro • 6 Diarra • 7 Raúl • 8 Gago • 9 Soldado • 10 Robinho • 11 Robben • 12 Marcelo • 13 Codina • 14 Guti • 15 Drenthe • 16 Heinze • 17 van Nistelrooy • 18 Saviola • 19 Baptista • 20 Higuaín • 21 Metzelder • 22 Torres • 23 Sneijder • 24 Balboa • 25 Dudek • Coach: Schuster
v • d • e
Spain squad - 1998 FIFA World Cup
1 Zubizarreta • 2 Ferrer • 3 Aranzábal • 4 Alkorta • 5 Abelardo • 6 Hierro • 7 Morientes • 8 Guerrero • 9 Pizzi • 10 Raúl • 11 Alfonso • 12 Sergi • 13 Cañizares • 14 Campo • 15 Aguilera • 16 Celades • 17 Etxeberria • 18 Amor • 19 Kiko • 20 Nadal • 21 Luis Enrique • 22 Molina • Coach: Clemente
 Flag of Spain
v • d • e
Spain squad - 2002 FIFA World Cup
1 Casillas • 2 Torres • 3 Juanfran • 4 Helguera • 5 Puyol • 6 Hierro • 7 Raúl • 8 Baraja • 9 Morientes • 10 Tristán • 11 de Pedro • 12 Luque • 13 Ricardo • 14 Albelda • 15 Romero • 16 Mendieta • 17 Valerón • 18 Sergio • 19 Xavi • 20 Nadal • 21 Luis Enrique • 22 Joaquín • 23 Contreras • Coach: Camacho
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v • d • e
Spain squad - UEFA Euro 2004
1 Cañizares • 2 Capdevila • 3 Marchena • 4 Albelda • 5 Puyol • 6 Helguera • 7 Raúl • 8 Baraja • 9 Torres • 10 Morientes • 11 Luque • 12 Gabri • 13 Aranzubia • 14 Vicente • 15 Bravo • 16 Xabi Alonso • 17 Etxeberria • 18 César Martín • 19 Joaquín • 20 Xavi • 21 Valerón • 22 Juanito • 23 Casillas • Coach: Iñaki Sáez
 Flag of Spain
v • d • e
Spain squad - 2006 FIFA World Cup
1 Casillas • 2 Salgado • 3 Pernía • 4 Marchena • 5 Puyol • 6 Albelda • 7 Raúl • 8 Xavi • 9 Torres • 10 Reyes • 11 Luis García • 12 Antonio López • 13 Iniesta • 14 Xabi Alonso • 15 Ramos • 16 Senna • 17 Joaquín • 18 Cesc • 19 Cañizares • 20 Juanito • 21 Villa • 22 Pablo • 23 Reina • Coach: Aragonés
 Flag of Spain