Saturday, December 11, 2010

Raul Gonzales Top Soccer Star

For other people named Raúl González, see Raúl González (disambiguation).
This name uses Spanish naming customs; the first or paternal family name is González and the second or maternal family name is Blanco.
Raúl
Raul Gonzalez 10mar2007.jpg
Personal information
Full name Raúl González Blanco
Date of birth 27 June 1977 (1977-06-27) (age 33)
Place of birth Madrid, Spain
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[1]
Playing position Striker
Club information
Current club Schalke 04
Number 7
Youth career
1987–1990 San Cristóbal de los Ángeles
1990–1992 Atlético Madrid
1992–1994 Real Madrid
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
1994 Real Madrid C 9 (16)
1994 Real Madrid B 1 (0)
1994–2010 Real Madrid 550 (228)
2010– Schalke 04 13 (6)
National team‡
1994 Spain U18 2 (4)
1995 Spain U20 5 (3)
1995–1996 Spain U21 9 (8)
1996 Spain U23 4 (2)
1996–2006 Spain 102 (44)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20 November 2010.
† Appearances (Goals).
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 24 April 2010
Raúl González Blanco (born 27 June 1977 in Madrid, Spain), known simply as Raúl, is a Spanish footballer who plays as a striker. He currently plays for German club Schalke 04, in the Bundesliga.[2] Raul has spent most of his career playing for Spanish club Real Madrid until 2010 and is the club's all-time top goalscorer. Raúl is a three-time winner of the UEFA Champions League and has long been the competition's all-time leading goal scorer. He left Real Madrid on 25 July 2010, having scored 323 goals in 741 appearances.[3][4][5][6]

Contents

[hide]

[edit] Club career

[edit] Youth clubs

Raúl career began at his local team San Cristóbal de los Ángeles playing for their Alevín team and the Infantil the next season. He signed with Atlético Madrid's Infantil team and won a national title with the Cadete team the following season. After Atlético's president Jesús Gil closed the youth academy as a cost-saving measure, Raúl moved on to Real Madrid's Cadete team. The following season, he was promoted to the Juvenil C team but subsequently played for Juvenil B, Juvenil A and Junior teams.

[edit] Real Madrid

Raúl playing for Real Madrid in a league match against Deportivo La Coruña in 2009
Started his professional career in the 1994-95 season with Real Madrid C, but was promoted to first team by coach Jorge Valdano after a few games. He became the youngest player (seventeen years and four months) ever to play for the senior side, scoring in his second senior game against derby rivals Atlético Madrid. In all, Raúl registered nine goals in 28 appearances to help Real Madrid win the 1994–95 league championship in his first season. Over the next eight seasons, he won several honours, including another three La Liga titles and three Champions Leagues. For most of this time, Raúl struck up a prolific scoring partnership with Fernando Morientes (and later, Ronaldo). Raúl took over the captaincy of Real Madrid when Fernando Hierro was transferred in 2003, a responsibility he held until leaving the club in 2010. Unusually for such a successful and long-serving player, and despite appearing in two finals, 2002 (in which he scored) and 2004, Raúl has never won the Copa del Rey (Spanish Cup).
He became the first player to score fifty Champions League goals when he netted in a 2–1 group stage win over Olympiacos on 28 September 2005,[7] and continues to be the all-time leader in appearances (128).[8] He was also the first player to score in two Champions League finals, netting in the finals of both 2000 against Valencia in Paris, and 2002 against Bayer Leverkusen in Glasgow. Samuel Eto'o later equalled this feat, scoring in the 2006 final against Arsenal and in 2009 against Manchester United.
Raúl during a Champions League group match against Zenit St. Petersburg
Raúl holds the distinction of having never received a red card throughout his 15 years at the professional level.[9] On 11 November 2008, Raúl scored his 300th goal for Real Madrid with a hat-trick against Real Unión, with Real winning the game 4–3 but being eliminated on away goals after drawing 6–6 on aggregate.[10] He has scored 323 career goals for Real Madrid, breaking the long-standing club record of Alfredo di Stéfano with a volleyed goal against Sporting Gijon on 15 February 2009. He is also the top active La Liga goalscorer with 228 goals in La Liga matches of his 323 goals scored,[11] and is presently third on the all-time list, which is headed by Telmo Zarra with 251 goals.[12] Raúl holds the record of all-time top La Liga scorer for Real Madrid with 228, a record previously held by Alfredo di Stéfano.
Raúl and fellow long-serving teammate Iker Casillas were both awarded a 'contract for life' in 2008 – the terms of which stipulate that it will be renewed annually for as long as they play 30 games per season.[13] On 23 September 2009, Raúl equaled former veteran and legend Manolo Sanchís' league appearance record for Real Madrid,[14] and is now the second in the La Liga behind Andoni Zubizarreta who played 622 games.[15]
The club confirmed on 25 July 2010 that Raúl was leaving the club, a day after teammate Guti confirmed he too was leaving after 15 years.[4]

[edit] Schalke 04

Raúl signed a 2-year contract with FC Schalke 04 on 28 July 2010, ending speculation about his future. Schalke coach Felix Magath hailed the signing as "Great news for Schalke" and "we have succeeded in signing such an exceptional footballer."[2] He scored his first goals for the club on 1 August 2010 in a 3–1 victory over Bayern Munich in the final of the 2010 LIGA total! Cup. He made his Bundesliga debut on 21 August 2010, in a 2–1 defeat against Hamburg.[16] and scored his first goal for Schalke in the Bundesliga against Mönchengladbach on 25 September 2010 in a 2–2 draw.[17] After a quiet start he has rediscovered his goalscoring form in the Bundesliga with a brace against St. Pauli on 5 November 2010 in a 3–0 win, and on 20 November 2010 he scored his first hat-trick for the club in a 4–0 defeat of Werder Bremen.
On 22 October 2010, the former Spanish international scored twice against Hapoel Tel Aviv in a 3–1 win, which tied him with German legend Gerd Müller for the record of the most goals scored in the European Cup/Uefa Champions' League with 68 goals. In addition to his two goals with Madrid in UEFA Cup/Europa League play, Raul is the highest goalscorer in all European club competitions along with AC Milan veteran Filippo Inzaghi.

[edit] International career

Raúl began his rise in the international scene with the youth teams and was chosen to represent Spain at the 1995 FIFA World Youth Championship, scoring 2 goals. He has scored a national record 44 goals in 102 caps for Spain which was equalled by David Villa in 2010. He is also second in terms of caps won for Spain, with 102.[18] The former captain has made more international appearances for Spain than any other outfield player. Raúl was not chosen for Euro 1996 and had to wait until October 1996 to earn his first senior cap against the Czech Republic. He participated in three World Cups from 1998 to 2006, along with Euro 2000 and Euro 2004, scoring at least one goal in each of the three World Cup competitions. Raúl took over the team captaincy following the retirement of Fernando Hierro in 2002, but has not been chosen for the national team since September 2006, following a shock 3–2 defeat against Northern Ireland in Belfast (a game in which Raúl hit the post late on). In addition, he was not selected for the UEFA Euro 2008 final tournament (which Spain eventually won) as Luis Aragonés preferred Fernando Torres and David Villa. His clubmate and goalkeeper Iker Casillas succeeded him as captain.
Of his 44 international goals, Raúl scored 25 goals in competitive games, 6 of which were in the finals of major tournaments. In a Euro 2000 qualifier, on 27 March 1999, Raúl scored one of only two international hat-tricks during Spain's 9–0 rout of Austria.[19] He scored another international hat-trick four days later, against San Marino during the same qualifying tournament.

[edit] Personal life

For many years, Raúl's goal celebration has consisted of kissing his wedding ring as an acknowledgment to his wife Mamen Sanz whom he married in 1999 and with whom he has four sons and a daughter: Jorge, named after Jorge Valdano, Hugo after Hugo Sánchez, twins Héctor and Mateo named after Héctor Rial and Lothar Matthäus[20] and María.[21] He enjoys reading, especially the books of Arturo Pérez Reverte, and listening to Spanish music.

[edit] Honours

[edit] Club

[edit] Individual

[edit] Orders

  • Royal Order Gold Medal for Sports Merit: 2006[26]

[edit] Statistics

[edit] Club goals

Last update: 20 November 2010
Club performance League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Spain League Copa del Rey Europe Total
1994–95 Real Madrid Primera División 28 9 2 1 - 30 10
1995–96 40 19 2 0 8 6 50 25
1996–97 42 21 5 1 - 47 22
1997–98 35 10 1 0 12 2 48 12
1998–99 37 25 2 0 8 3 47 28
1999-00 34 17 4 1 16 10 54 28
2000–01 36 24 0 0 12 7 48 31
2001–02 35 14 6 6 15 6 56 26
2002–03 31 16 2 0 12 9 45 25
2003–04 35 11 7 6 9 2 51 19
2004–05 32 9 1 0 10 4 43 13
2005–06 27 5 0 0 6 2 33 7
2006–07 34 7 1 0 7 5 42 12
2007–08 37 18 1 0 8 5 46 23
2008–09 37 18 1 3 7 3 45 24
2009–10 30 5 2 0 7 2 39 7
Total 550 228 37 18 137 66 724 312
Germany League DFB-Pokal Europe Total
2010–11 Schalke 04 Bundesliga 13 6 0 0 5 2 18 8
Career total 563 234 37 18 142 68 742 320

[edit] International goals

Spain national team
Year Apps Goals
1996 4 1
1997 6 0
1998 10 4
1999 9 10
2000 11 3
2001 9 5
2002 9 6
2003 10 8
2004 13 3
2005 12 2
2006 9 2
Total 102 44
Raúl González Blanco: International goals[28]
Goal Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 14 December 1996 Estadio Mestalla, Valencia, Spain  Yugoslavia 2–0 2–0 1998 WCQ
2 25 March 1998 Estadio Balaídos, Vigo, Spain  Sweden 3–0 4–0 Friendly
3 13 June 1998 Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes, France  Nigeria 2–1 2–3 1998 World Cup
4 5 September 1998 Tsirion Stadium, Limassol, Cyprus  Cyprus 2–1 3–2 2000 UEQ
5 18 November 1998 Stadio Arechi, Salerno, Italy  Italy 2–2 2–2 Friendly
6 27 March 1999 Estadio Mestalla, Valencia, Spain  Austria 1–0 9–0 2000 UEQ
7 27 March 1999 Estadio Mestalla, Valencia, Spain  Austria 2–0 9–0 2000 UEQ
8 27 March 1999 Estadio Mestalla, Valencia, Spain  Austria 5–0 9–0 2000 UEQ
9 27 March 1999 Estadio Mestalla, Valencia, Spain  Austria 8–0 9–0 2000 UEQ
10 31 March 1999 Stadio Olimpico, Serravalle, San Marino  San Marino 0–2 0–6 2000 UEQ
11 31 March 1999 Stadio Olimpico, Serravalle, San Marino  San Marino 0–4 0–6 2000 UEA
12 31 March 1999 Stadio Olimpico, Serravalle, San Marino  San Marino 0–5 0–6 2000 UEQ
13 5 June 1999 Estadio El Madrigal, Villarreal, Spain  San Marino 5–0 9–0 2000 UEQ
14 4 September 1999 Ernst Happel Stadion, Wien, Austria  Austria 0–1 1–3 2000 UEQ
15 10 October 1999 Estadio Carlos Belmonte, Albacete, Spain  Israel 3–0 3–0 2000 UEQ
16 26 January 2000 Estadio Cartagonova, Cartagena, Spain  Poland 1–0 3–0 Friendly match
17 18 June 2000 Amsterdam ArenA, Amsterdam, Netherlands  Slovenia 1–0 2–1 UEFA Euro 2000
18 16 August 2000 Niedersachsenstadion, Hannover, Germany  Germany 4–1 4–1 Friendly match
19 24 March 2001 Estadio José Rico Pérez, Alicante, Spain  Liechtenstein 4–1 5–0 2002 WCQ
20 2 June 2001 Estadio Carlos Tartiere, Oviedo, Spain  Bosnia and Herzegovina 3–1 4–1 2002 WCQ
21 6 June 2001 Ramat Gan Stadium, Tel-Aviv, Israel  Israel 1–1 1–1 2002 WCQ
22 5 September 2001 Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz, Liechtenstein  Liechtenstein 0–1 0–2 2002 WCQ
23 14 November 2001 Estadio Nuevo Colombino, Huelva, Spain  Mexico 1–0 1–0 Friendly match
24 17 April 2002 Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland  Northern Ireland 0–1 0–5 Friendly match
25 17 April 2002 Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland  Northern Ireland 0–3 0–5 Friendly match
26 2 June 2002 Gwangju Stadium, Gwangju, South Korea  Slovenia 1–0 3–1 2002 FIFA World Cup
27 12 June 2002 Daejeon Stadium, Daejeon, South Korea  South Africa 1–0 3–2 2002 FIFA World Cup
28 12 June 2002 Daejeon Stadium, Daejeon, South Korea  South Africa 3–2 3–2 2002 FIFA World Cup
29 7 September 2002 Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium, Athens, Greece  Greece 0–1 0–2 2004 UEQ
30 12 February 2003 ONO Estadi, Palma de Mallorca, Spain  Germany 1–0 3–1 Friendly match
31 12 February 2003 ONO Estadi, Palma de Mallorca, Spain  Germany 2–1 3–1 Friendly match
32 29 March 2003 Olympic Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine  Ukraine 1–1 2–2 2004 UEQ
33 10 September 2003 Estadio Martinez Valero, Elche, Spain  Ukraine 1–0 2–1 2004 UEQ
34 10 September 2003 Estadio Martinez Valero, Elche, Spain  Ukraine 2–0 2–1 2004 UEQ
35 11 October 2003 Hanrapetakan Stadium, Yerevan, Armenia  Armenia 0–2 0–4 2004 UEQ
36 15 November 2003 Estadio Mestalla, Valencia, Spain  Norway 1–1 2–1 2004 UEQ
37 19 November 2003 Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway  Norway 0–1 0–3 2004 UEQ
38 31 March 2004 El Molinón, Gijón, Spain  Denmark 2–0 2–0 Friendly match
39 3 September 2004 Estadio Mestalla, Valencia, Spain  Scotland 1–1 1–1 Friendly match
40 9 October 2004 Estadio El Sardinero, Santander, Spain  Belgium 2–0 2–0 2006 WCQ
41 9 February 2005 Estadio de los Juegos Mediterráneos, Almería, Spain  San Marino 3–0 5–0 2006 WCQ
42 7 September 2005 Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, Madrid, Spain  Serbia and Montenegro 1–0 1–1 2006 WCQ
43 3 June 2006 Estadio Martinez Valero, Elche, Spain  Egypt 1–0 2–0 Friendly match
44 19 June 2006 Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion, Stuttgart, Germany  Tunisia 1–1 3–1 2006 FIFA World Cup

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Raúl". FC Schalke 04. 1 September 2010. http://www.schalke04.com/teams/team.html?player=111&cHash=ed539e457f. Retrieved 1 September 2010. 
  2. ^ a b "Raul signs for Schalke". FIFA.com. FIFA. 28 July 2010. http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/clubfootball/news/newsid=1278675.html?cid=rssfeed&att=. Retrieved 28 July 2010. 
  3. ^ "Emotional Raul leaves Madrid". ESPN Soccernet. 26 July 2010. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=810297&sec=europe&cc=5901. Retrieved 26 July 2010. 
  4. ^ a b "Real confirm Raul's Bernabeu departure". RTÉ Sport. 26 July 2010. http://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2010/0725/raul_realmadrid.html. Retrieved 26 July 2010. 
  5. ^ "Real Madrid confirm Raul exit". ESPN Soccernet. 26 July 2010. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=810211&sec=transfers&cc=5739&cc=5901. Retrieved 26 July 2010. 
  6. ^ Peter-Joseph Hegarty (26 July 2010). "Raul Gonzalez, Guti Poised to Leave Real Madrid, Sky Sports Reports". Bloomberg. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-07-25/raul-gonzalez-guti-poised-to-leave-real-madrid-sky-sports-reports.html. Retrieved 26 July 2010. 
  7. ^ "Sport / Football : Fifty not out for Raúl Gonzalez". The Hindu. 30 September 2005. http://www.hindu.com/2005/09/30/stories/2005093007521800.htm. Retrieved 3 May 2010. 
  8. ^ "Defeat mars Raúl record". UEFA.com. 22 February 2007. http://www.uefa.com/competitions/UCL/news/Kind=1/newsId=396659.html. Retrieved 13 December 2007. 
  9. ^ "The captain hasn't been booked in two and a half years (Raúl, a gentleman of fair play)". Real Madrid. 24 April 2007. Archived from the original on 10 October 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20071010015518/http://www.realmadrid.com/articulo/rma39016.htm. Retrieved 15 December 2007. 
  10. ^ "Raúl alcanza los 300 goles". Real Madrid. 12 November 2008. http://www.realmadrid.com/cs/Satellite/es/1202754820540/noticia/Noticia/Raul_alcanza_los_300_goles.htm. Retrieved 3 May 2010. 
  11. ^ "Raúl celebró su partido 500 en Liga con un gol". Marca.com. 11 January 2009. http://archivo.marca.com/edicion/marca/futbol/1a_division/real_madrid/es/desarrollo/1197432.html. Retrieved 3 May 2010. 
  12. ^ La Liga All time top scorers Wikipedia
  13. ^ "Raúl and Casillas commit to Real". FIFA.com. 14 February 2008. http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/clubfootball/news/newsid=691686.html. Retrieved 3 May 2010. 
  14. ^ "Sanchís comments on Raúl's record". Real Madrid. 20 May 1998. http://www.realmadrid.com/cs/Satellite/en/1202792091404/noticia/Entrevista/Sanchis_comments_on_Raul_s_record.htm. Retrieved 3 May 2010. 
  15. ^ "Raúl mit Einsatzrekord". Transfermarkt.de. 24 September 2009. http://www.transfermarkt.de/de/news/31544/raul-mit-einsatzrekord.html. Retrieved 3 May 2010. 
  16. ^ "Van Nistelrooy brace sinks Schalke". ESPN Soccernet. 21 August 2010. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report?id=297154&cc=5739&league=GER.1. Retrieved 23 August 2010. 
  17. ^ "Raul rescues Schalke late on". ESPN Soccernet. 25 September 2010. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report?id=296968&cc=5739&league=GER.1. Retrieved 20 October 2010. 
  18. ^ Most capped Spain players Wikipedia
  19. ^ SOC: Spain 9 Austria 0 result – AAP Sports News, reprinted on highbeam.com (Partial article)
  20. ^ "Das Vorzeigespielerpaar um Raúl González Blanco". EM 2008. http://www.em-08.info/spielerfrauen/mamen_sanz/. Retrieved 3 May 2010. 
  21. ^ "Nace María González, hija de Raúl González". AS.com. 1 January 2007. http://www.as.com/futbol/articulo/nace-maria-gonzalez-hija-raul/dasftb/20091204dasdasftb_36/Tes. Retrieved 3 May 2010. 
  22. ^ "Raúl wins the Di Stéfano Trophy". Real Madrid. 20 May 2008. http://www.realmadrid.com/cs/Satellite/en/1202736803447/noticia/Noticia/Raul_wins_the_Di_Stefano_Trophy.htm. Retrieved 6 August 2008. 
  23. ^ "Di Stéfano's worthy heir". Real Madrid. 14 September 2008. http://www.realmadrid.com/cs/Satellite/en/1202742030292/noticia/Noticia/Di_Stefano_s_worthy_heir.htm. Retrieved 14 September 2008. 
  24. ^ "Raúl recibirá la Medalla de Oro de Madrid". Marca.com. 5 March 2009. http://www.marca.com/2009/03/05/futbol/equipos/real_madrid/1236257456.html. 
  25. ^ "The World Team of the Decade, as selected by John Cross". Mirror Football. 31 December 2009. http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/opinion/blogs/mirror-football-blog/The-World-Team-of-the-Decade-as-selected-by-John-Cross-article257875.html. Retrieved 31 December 2009. 
  26. ^ "Grateful Spain rewards Raúl". UEFA. 25 May 2006. http://www.uefa.com/footballeurope/news/kind=2/newsid=424494.html. Retrieved 7 July 2008. 
  27. ^ Raúl National Football Teams
  28. ^ a b "Raúl González Blanco – Goals in International Matches". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 3 November 2006. http://www.rsssf.com/miscellaneous/raul-intlg.html. Retrieved 11 July 2008
Posted by ROSSI at 1:25 AM
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