Raúl
 |
| 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 |
[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
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 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
- La Liga (6): 1994–95, 1996–97, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2006–07, 2007–08
- Supercopa de España (4): 1997, 2001, 2003, 2008
- UEFA Champions League (3): 1997–98, 1999–00, 2001–02
- UEFA Super Cup (1): 2002
- Intercontinental Cup (2): 1998, 2002
[edit] Individual
- Don Balón Award for Breakthrough Player in La Liga: 1995
- IFFHS World Goalgetter: 1999
- Euro 2000 Team of the Tournament
- ESM Team of the Year: 1996–97, 1998–99, 1999–00
- Pichichi Trophy (2): 1999, 2001
- UEFA Champions League Top Scorer: 1999–2000, 2000–01
- UEFA Champions League Best Forward(3): 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2001–02
- FIFA World Player of the Year Bronze Award: 2001
- European Footballer of the Year Silver Award: 2001
- UEFA Club Forward of the Year (3): 1999–00, 2000–01, 2001–02
- Premio Don Balón for Best Spanish player in La Liga (5): 1996–97, 1998–99, 1999–00, 2000–01, 2001–02
- FIFA 100
- Trofeo Alfredo Di Stéfano: 2008[22][23]
- Madrid Gold Medal: 2009[24]
- Golden Foot 2nd place: 2009
- In the World Team of the Decade by Mirror Football: 2009[25]
- Real Madrid Record Goalscorer: 323 Goals
- Real Madrid Record Appearance Maker: 741 Games
- Spain all time top scorer: 44 goals (2nd)
[edit] Orders
- Royal Order Gold Medal for Sports Merit: 2006[26]
[edit] Statistics
[edit] Club goals
Last update: 20 November 2010
[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
| 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
- ^ "Raúl". FC Schalke 04. 1 September 2010. http://www.schalke04.com/teams/team.html?player=111&cHash=ed539e457f. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ La Liga All time top scorers Wikipedia
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Raúl mit Einsatzrekord". Transfermarkt.de. 24 September 2009. http://www.transfermarkt.de/de/news/31544/raul-mit-einsatzrekord.html. Retrieved 3 May 2010.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ Most capped Spain players Wikipedia
- ^ SOC: Spain 9 Austria 0 result – AAP Sports News, reprinted on highbeam.com (Partial article)
- ^ "Das Vorzeigespielerpaar um Raúl González Blanco". EM 2008. http://www.em-08.info/spielerfrauen/mamen_sanz/. Retrieved 3 May 2010.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Grateful Spain rewards Raúl". UEFA. 25 May 2006. http://www.uefa.com/footballeurope/news/kind=2/newsid=424494.html. Retrieved 7 July 2008.
- ^ Raúl National Football Teams
