Raúl González

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/Attacking Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Real Madrid
Number	7
Youth clubs
1990-1992 1992-1994	Atlético Madrid Real Madrid
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1994-	Real Madrid	463 (195)
National team2
1996-	Spain	102 0(44)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 11:45, 1 November 2007 (UTC). 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 12:00, 9 September 2006 (UTC). * Appearances (Goals)

Raúl González Blanco (born June 27, 1977 in Madrid), usually referred to simply as Raúl, is a Spanish football forward. He has been playing for Real Madrid at senior level since 1994, where he is currently the team captain. He has played 102 games for 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. He is the UEFA Champions League all-time leading scorer with 59 goals. Raúl is also currently 7th highest goalscorer in the history of Spain's top flight, with 195 goals in 463 games. All of these goals were for Real Madrid, making Raúl the club's 2nd highest goalscorer of all time. He is also called 'El siete', 'El Angel del Madrid' and 'El Capitán' by fans and pundits etc. When playing, he wears jersey number 7 for both club and country (except Euro 2000 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 2010.

Biography

Raúl grew up in the modest San Cristóbal de los Ángeles neighbourhood of Madrid. After winning his spurs as a member of provincial amateur team San Cristóbal de los Ángeles, his father signed him up for Atlético Madrid at the age of 13. Raúl rose through the ranks, winning the national title with the Under-15 youth team (cadete), and seemed destined to join the professional side when Atlético president Jesús Gil dissolved the club's entire youth scheme in an effort to save money. Real Madrid scouts quickly signed Raúl and he started the 1992-93 season with the Cadete A. Raúl again won another Cadete title. In 1993-94, he began the season with the Juvenil B team, moved on to Juvenil A, and was promoted to the Under-19 División de Honor team. 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 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 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.

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

At club level, however, Raúl has been a key player in Real Madrid's six big titles from 1998 to 2003. With Real, he won three European UEFA Champions League trophies in 1998, 2000 and 2002, scoring both goals in the 2000 and 2002 Champions League finals. On the domestic scene, he won five Spanish La Liga championships in 1995, 1997, 2001, 2003 and 2007. After Fernando Hierro retired from the Spanish national team in 2002, Raúl became the captain for Spain. Ever since 2004, he has been under heavy criticism by the media and part of the supporters because of his alleged poor performances, during a period in which Real Madrid struggled to win a domestic or European competition. 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 2006/7 season, Raul managed to recreate some of his past glories, forging an impressive partnership with Dutch striker Ruud Van Nistelrooy. Because of his effort and passion for Real Madrid, Raúl has shown his ability to play in a number of different positions including left/right winger. 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 59 goals. His most recent UEFA Champions League goal came against SS Lazio 11 December 2007 at the Bernabeu. 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, 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 Aragones. 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. In 2007/2008, Raúl's form has been truly remarkable, and he was among an elite group of 50 players shortlisted for the Ballon D'Or by France Football magazine. Many are puzzled as to why he has not earned a national team call up. Luis Aragones has stated that Raul would be called up to future squads, but there are suspicions that Raúl will not be called up against whilst Aragones remains in charge. This season his form has been incredible; he has started almost every game and has scored regularly this season for Real Madrid. In fact, he is the current top scorer, equal to strike partner Ruud Van Nistelrooy with whom he forms a formidable partnership. Raúl has scored 8 goals from 17 in La Liga and 3 from 6 in the Champions League.

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. Since he has been dropped from the Spanish squad, Raúl's distinctive goal celebration has become more elaborate. Now, in addition to kissing his wedding ring, Raúl also points to the name on the back of his shirt with both thumbs, as if to say 'I am the man.' Raúl has 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 likes reading, especially the books of Arturo Pérez Reverte, and listening to all sorts of Spanish music. He also enjoys hunting and watching bullfighting.

Honors

Club

• Spanish La Liga: (5) : 1995, 1997, 2001, 2003 and 2007^[1]
• Spanish Super Cup: (3) : 1997, 2001 and 2003^[1]
• UEFA Champions League: (3) : 1998, 2000 and 2002^[1]
• European Super Cup: (1) : 2002^[1]
• Intercontinental Cup: (2) : 1998 and 2002^[1]

Individual

• Pichichi Trophy: : 1999 and 2001^[1]
• Copa de Su Majestad el Rey Top Scorer: 2003-2004^[1]
• Spanish Player of the Year: : 1996-97 season^[1]
• UEFA Club Football Best Forward Award: : 2000, 2001 and 2002
• Intercontinental Cup Man of the Match: 1998
• IFFHS World Goalgetter: 1999
• Spanish outstanding sportsman: 2000
• UEFA Champions League Top Scorer: 1999-2000, 2000-2001^[1]
• Royal Order's gold medal for Sports Merit: 2006^[1]
• Bronze Boot of Europe: 1999, 2001
• FIFA World Player of the Year, Bronze award: 2001^[1]
• European Footballer of the Year, Silver award: 2001^[1]
• Best Spanish Sportsman of the Year: 2007^[2]

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^[1]
• Most appearances for an outfield player in the Spanish national team^[1]
• Top active scorer in La Liga^[1]
• Top UEFA Champions League appearances.^[3][1]
• UEFA Champions League all-time leading scorer with 59 goals
• 2 goals in 3 UEFA Champions League Finals
• Highest goal scorer against FC Barcelona in the history of Real Madrid (10 goals)
• Highest goal scorer against Atlético Madrid in the history of Real Madrid (10 goals)
• Has never been booked in 30 months and has never been sent off at professional level.^[4]
• 7º top scorer of all times of the Spanish league (195): 1 Zarra 251, 2 Hugo Sánchez 234, 3 Di Stéfano 227, 4 César 225, 5 Quini 219, 6 Pahíño 210, 7 Raúl 195
• 2º top scorer of all times in the Spanish League of Real Madrid: 1 Di Stéfano 216, 2 Raúl 195

Statistics

last update: 23 December 2007.

Club	Season	La Liga			Cup		Champions League		Other*		Total
		Games	Goals	Assists	Games	Goals	Games	Goals	Games	Goals	Games	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	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	4	4	52	35
	2001/02	35	14	6	6	6	12	6	0	0	53	26
	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	17	8	5	0	0	6	3	2	0	24	11
Total Carer		463	195	117	33	15	116	59	20	11	632	280

• ^*Include Spanish Supercup + European Supercup + Intercontinental Cup + Club World Cup.

Notes

External links

• Raúl González Blanco - Goals in International Matches
• Raúl González Blanco - Goals in European Cups
• FootballDatabase career profile and stats
• FIFA World Cup profile
• Ottmar Hitzfeld's interview on AS

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Raúl González

•  • 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

•  • 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

•  • e Spain squad - 2006 FIFA World Cup
1 Casillas • 2 Salgado • 3 Pernía • 4 Marchena • 5 Puyol • 6 Albelda • 7 Raúl • 8 Xavi • 9 F. Torres • 10 Reyes • 11 L. García • 12 A. López • 13 Iniesta • 14 Xabi Alonso • 15 Sergio Ramos • 16 M. Senna • 17 Joaquín • 18 Fàbregas • 19 Cañizares • 20 Juanito • 21 David Villa • 22 P. Ibáñez • 23 Reina • Coach: Aragonés