Raúl

Raúl playing for Schalke 04.
Personal information
Full name	Raúl González Blanco
Date of birth	(1977-06-27) 27 June 1977 (age 34)
Place of birth	Madrid, Spain
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Playing position	Forward
Club information
Current club	Al Sadd
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	7	(13)
1994	Real Madrid B	1	(0)
1994–2010	Real Madrid	550	(228)
2010–2012	Schalke 04	66	(28)
2012–	Al Sadd	0	(0)
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)
Honours Real Madrid C.F. Winner La Liga 1995 Runner-up Supercopa de España 1995 Winner La Liga 1997 Winner Supercopa de España 1997 Winner UEFA Champions League 1998 Runner-up UEFA Super Cup 1998 Winner Intercontinental Cup 1998 Runner-up La Liga 1999 Winner UEFA Champions League 2000 Runner-up UEFA Super Cup 2000 Runner-up Intercontinental Cup 2000 Winner La Liga 2001 Winner Supercopa de España 2001 Third La Liga 2002 Runner-up Copa del Rey 2002 Winner UEFA Champions League 2002 Winner UEFA Super Cup 2002 Winner Intercontinental Cup 2002 Winner La Liga 2003 Winner Supercopa de España 2003 Runner-up Copa del Rey 2004 Runner-up La Liga 2005 Runner-up La Liga 2006 Winner La Liga 2007 Runner-up Supercopa de España 2007 Winner La Liga 2008 Winner Supercopa de España 2008 Runner-up La Liga 2009 Runner-up La Liga 2010 FC Schalke 04 Runner-up DFL-Supercup 2010 Winner DFB-Pokal 2011 Winner DFL-Supercup 2011
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 5 May 2012. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 6 September 2006

Raúl González Blanco (born 27 June 1977), commonly known simply as Raúl, is a Spanish footballer who has joined the Qatar Stars League club Al Sadd as a striker in 2012.^[2]

Raúl had spent most of his career playing for Spanish club Real Madrid and is the club's all-time top goalscorer. He was known for his technique, shooting ability and creating chances for other teammates.^[3] Raúl is a three-time winner of the UEFA Champions League and has long been the competition's all-time leading goalscorer. He left Real Madrid on 25 July 2010, having scored 323 goals in 741 appearances, and joined FC Schalke 04.^[4][5][6][7]

He joined Al Sadd after two seasons with FC Schalke 04, following the 2011–12 Bundesliga season.

Club career[link]

Youth clubs[link]

Raúl González's career began at his local team CD 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. Following Atlético's then-president Jesús Gil decision to close their 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 and subsequently went on to play for their Juvenil B and Juvenil A team.

Real Madrid[link]

Raúl playing for Real Madrid in an El Clásico match against Barcelona in 2007

He started his professional career in the 1994–95 season with Real Madrid C; he scored 13 goals in just seven games and swiftly promoted to the first team by coach Jorge Valdano, replacing the legendary figure of Emilio Butragueño in a highly symbolic "passing of the crown." He became the youngest player — 17 years and 124 days — ever to play for the senior side, though the record was broken by Alberto Rivera later that same season. On 29 October 1994, in an away game against Real Zaragoza at La Romareda, he created a goal for strike partner Iván Zamorano and impressing observers^[who?] with all-round play of startling precocity^{[peacock term]}, heralding the demise of Butragueño in the process. The very next week, Raúl scored his first goal in his second senior game on a home debut against Madrid rivals and former youth club Atlético Madrid in a bitter derby match. Duly establishing himself as a fixture in the first team, Raúl registered a total of nine goals in 28 appearances to help Real Madrid win the 1994–95 league championship in his first season.

With Real Madrid, he won several honours, including further La Liga titles in 1996–97 (scoring 21 La Liga goals), 2000–01 (scoring 24 La Liga goals), and 2002–03 (scoring 16 La Liga goals in a campaign truncated by a bout of appendicitis for which Raúl was hospitalized). During the period from 1998 to 2002, Raúl and Real Madrid also won three UEFA Champions League trophies in 1998, 2000, and 2002. 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. Despite appearing in two finals, in 2002 (in which he scored) and 2004, Raúl never lifted the Copa del Rey.

Raúl during a Champions League group match against Zenit St. Petersburg

He became the first player to score 50 Champions League goals when he netted in a 2–1 group stage win over Olympiacos on 28 September 2005,^[8] and continues to be the all-time leader in appearances, with 128.^[9] He was also the first player to score in two Champions League finals, netting in the finals of both 2000 against Valencia CF in the Stade de France, Saint-Denis, and 2002 against Bayer Leverkusen in Hampden Park, Glasgow. Samuel Eto'o later equaled this feat, scoring in the 2006 against Arsenal and in 2009 against Manchester United, with Lionel Messi also scoring in the same match and later in 2011 against the same team.

Raúl holds the distinction of having never received a red card throughout his 17 years at the professional level.^[10] 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 draw 6–6 on aggregate.^[11] In total, Raúl scored 323 goals for Real Madrid, breaking the long-standing club record of Alfredo Di Stéfano (228) with a volleyed goal against Sporting de Gijón on 15 February 2009. He is also the top active La Liga goalscorer with 228 goals in La Liga matches,^[12] and is presently third on the all-time list, which is headed by Telmo Zarra with 252 goals.^[13]

Raúl and fellow long-serving teammate Iker Casillas were both awarded "contracts for life" in 2008 (the terms of which stipulate that it will be renewed annually for as long as they play 30 games each season).^[14] On 23 September 2009, Raúl equalled former veteran and legend Manolo Sanchís' league appearance record for Real Madrid,^[15] and is second in La Liga behind Andoni Zubizarreta, who played 622 games.^[16]

Raúl in his last match with Real Madrid against Real Zaragoza

Raúl's last touch with the ball as Real Madrid player before an injury ruled him out of action for the rest of that season was to score his last goal, an opening goal scored on 24 April 2010 in a 2–1 away victory against Real Zaragoza in La Romareda, coincidentally the stadium where he made his debut in 1994. It was scored in the 50th minutes after Raúl (himself only on the pitch as a substitute for Rafael van der Vaart after 15 minutes) had signalled that he could not physically continue and was prepared to be substituted by Karim Benzema one minute after the goal.^[17] Before the substitution could be made, Real Madrid launched a counter-attack to create a goal. Though Raúl ran to a slow hobble, he shuffled into the box and was able to poke the ball from Cristiano Ronaldo's cross.

Having spent the rest of the season recovering from that injury, the club confirmed on 25 July 2010 that Raúl would be leaving the club, a day after his teammate Guti confirmed he was also leaving after 15-year spell.^[5] Although new coach José Mourinho wanted Raúl to continue, Raúl did not want to spend another season as third or fourth choice striker and he thought that it was better if he left as he was still able to deliver a good performance in another club.^[5]

Schalke 04[link]

Raúl playing with Schalke 04 in August 2011

Raúl signed a two-year contract with Schalke 04 on 28 July 2010. Schalke coach Felix Magath hailed the signing and told the club website,"It's great news for FC Schalke 04, I am pleased that we have succeeded in signing such an exceptional footballer and world-class striker switching to the Bundesliga for Schalke 04."^[18] Previously, it was expected that Raúl would have finished off his career in the United States or Qatar and he also received a lucrative offer from an unnamed Russian club. Raúl chose Schalke because they made it to the Champions League for the 2010-11 season.^[19]

Raúl scored his first goal for the club during his first match on 1 August 2010 with a brace in a 3–1 victory over Bayern Munich in the final match pre-season competition LIGA total! Cup 2010. One week later, he made his official match debut in the 2010 DFL-Supercup on 7 August 2010 against Bayern Munich again, but this time he failed to score in the 2–0 defeat. Raúl made his official Bundesliga debut on 21 August 2010 in a 2–1 defeat against Hamburger SV.^[20] and scored his first goal for Schalke in Bundesliga against Borussia Mönchengladbach on 25 September 2010 in a 2–2 draw.^[21] 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 win over Werder Bremen. On 18 December, he scored his second hat-trick for Schalke in a 3–0 win against Köln.

Raúl scored another crucial goal on 2 March 2011 in a 1–0 victory over the arch-rival Bayern Munich in the semi-final of 2010–11 DFB-Pokal. After being absent for six years, Schalke ultimately reached the finals since 2005. In the final match, they played against MSV Duisburg, the first 2. Fußball-Bundesliga team which reached the final since 2004. Raúl never won a domestic cup with Real Madrid (the Copa del Rey), but on 21 May 2011, in his first season, he finally won a domestic cup and got his maiden trophy with his new club. They won the tournament with a 5–0 win in the Olympiastadion in Berlin. This success was followed with victory two months later on 23 July 2011 in the 2011 DFL-Supercup against the league champions and rivals Borussia Dortmund.

In European play, Raúl has since become the highest goal scorer in all UEFA competitions with 73 goals, ahead of Milan veteran Filippo Inzaghi with 70 goals. He scored 71 goals in Champions League (66 goals with Real Madrid and five with Schalke 04) and addition his two goals with Los Blancos, one goal in 2000 UEFA Super Cup and the other one in 1998 Intercontinental Cup (also commonly referred to as EUSA Cup). 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 most number of European goals. Raúl duly broke this record on 15 February 2011 on his return to Spain, with a crucial away goal in the last 16 tie against Valencia CF at the Mestalla in a 1–1 draw.

In the quarter-finals, Raúl scored two goals against Internazionale. Raúl scored one goal in the first leg, a 5–2 away win in the San Siro and one goal in the second leg, a 2–1 home win in Veltins-Arena. Schalke progressed to the semi-finals of the 2010–11 UEFA Champions League for the first time in their history, where they played against Manchester United. Schalke lost the first game 2–0, which was their first home defeat this season in this tournament and lost again 4–1 in Old Trafford; despite that defeat Raúl considered it an honor that he swapped shirts with Ryan Giggs.^[19] On 19 November 2011, he captained Schalke for the first time due to an injury of Benedikt Höwedes in a 4–0 home win against Nuremberg; he also scored the second goal and assisted the fourth in that game.

Raúl scored another hat-trick against Werder Bremen on 17 December 2011.^[22] The goals came in a 5–0 thumping that cemented Schalke's position in third place going into the winter break.^[23]

On 19 February 2012, he scored the 400th goal of his career, at that time, 323 with Real Madrid, 44 with Spain, and 33 with Schalke. ^[24] On 5 April 2012, in the second leg UEFA Europa League match against Athletic Bilbao, he scored his 77th goal in a European competition.

At a press conference on 19 April 2012, Raúl announced he was leaving Schalke after his contract expired in June, and that "my future is not in Europe."^[25]

Al Sadd[link]

On 12 May 2012, it was announced that Raúl had signed a deal with Qatari side Al Sadd for the 2012–13 Qatar Stars League season.^[2]

International career[link]

Raúl began his Spain career at youth level and represented the nation at the FIFA U-20 World Cup 1995, scoring three goals from five matches. In total, Rául scored 17 goals at the various youth levels for Spain. With the senior team, Raúl went on for many years to score a national record 44 goals in 102 caps for Spain. David Villa, however, later equaled Raúl's record in 2010 and surpassed it on 25 March 2011 in a Euro 2012 qualifier.

Of his 44 international goals, Raúl scored 32 goals in competitive games, six of which were in the finals of major tournaments and 12 others on friendly games. On 27 March 1999, in a Euro 2000 qualifier, Raúl scored four goals, one of his only two international hat-tricks, during Spain's 9–0 rout of Austria.^[26] He scored another international hat-trick four days later against San Marino during the same qualifying tournament.

Raúl took over the team captaincy following the retirement of Fernando Hierro in 2002 and skippered the national side for four years.

Curiously, Raúl's international career would begin and end with omissions from Spanish squads for European Championships tournaments. In spite of a successful first two seasons of senior football, Raúl was not chosen by then-coach Javier Clemente for Euro 1996 in England. Instead, Raúl had to wait until October 1996 to earn his first senior cap against the Czech Republic before opening his international goal tally with a strike on his second appearance against Yugoslavia. Raúl went on to participate in three FIFA World Cups from 1998 to 2006, along with UEFA Euro 2000 and Euro 2004, scoring at least one goal in each of the three World Cup competitions. At the 2002 World Cup, he scored three goals in the group phase before injuring himself against the Republic of Ireland in Spain's fourth game and missing the remainder of the tournament.

Raúl was last chosen for the national team in September 2006, following a 3–2 defeat against Northern Ireland in Belfast, a game in which Raúl hit the post late on, including the UEFA Euro 2008 final tournament, as Luis Aragonés preferred Fernando Torres and David Villa as his first choice strike force. Raúl's clubmate and goalkeeper Iker Casillas succeeded him as captain and also lifted the FIFA World Cup in 2010, which Spain also won.

Personal life[link]

Early in his career, Raúl's goal celebration 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; twins Héctor and Mateo; ^[27] and María.^[28] He enjoys listening to Spanish music and reading, especially the books of Arturo Pérez Reverte.^{[citation needed]}

On 16 October 2004, Raúl was appointed as FAO Goodwill Ambassador of the United Nations.

Honours[link]

Raúl in his last season with Real Madrid

Club[link]

Real Madrid

• 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

Schalke 04

• DFB-Pokal (1): 2010–11
• DFL-Supercup (1): 2011

Country[link]

Spain youth teams

• Spain U20
  • FIFA U-20 World Cup
    • Fourth place: 1995
• Spain U21
  • UEFA U-21 Championship
    • Runner-up: Silver medal 1996 (qualified for 1996 Summer Olympic Games)

Individual[link]

• Breakthrough player (1): 1994–95
• Best Spanish player (5): 1996–97, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2001–02 (record)

^*Most winner.

• European Sports Magazines Team of the Year (3): 1996–97, 1998–99, 1999–00
• Intercontinental Cup Best Player/Man of the match (1): 1998
• IFFHS World's Top Goal Scorer of the Year (1): 1999
• Zarra Trophy (4): 1995–96^*, 1998–99^*, 2000–01^*, 2002–03^*

^*Use the same rule before the trophy was awarded.

• Pichichi Trophy (2): 1998–99, 2000–01
• Copa del Rey Top Scorer (2): 2001–02, 2003–04
• UEFA Euro Qualifying Top Scorer: 2000
• UEFA Euro Team of the Tournament (1): 2000
• UEFA Champions League Top Scorer (2): 1999–2000, 2000–01
• UEFA Champions League Best Forward (3): ^* 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2001–02 (record)

^*Most winner.

• Ballon d'Or Silver award (1): 2001
• FIFA World Player of the Year Bronze award (1):2001
• FIFA 100
• Trofeo Alfredo Di Stéfano (1): 2007–08^[29][30][31]
• Golden Foot Award Runner-up (3): 2009, 2010, 2011
• Marca Leyenda: 2009^[32]
• Bundesliga Goal of the Year: (2011)

Records[link]

• Real Madrid Record Goalscorer: 323 goals
• Real Madrid Record Appearance Maker: 741 games
• Real Madrid Record Goalscorer in La Liga: 228 goals
• Real Madrid Record Appearance Maker in La Liga: 550 games
• Real Madrid Record Goalscorer in UEFA Champions League: 66 goals
• UEFA Champions League Record Goalscorer: 71 goals
• Real Madrid Record Appearance Maker in UEFA Champions League: 132 games
• UEFA Champions League Record Appearance Maker: 144 games
• Real Madrid Record Goalscorer in European Competitions: 67 goals^*
• European Competitions Record Goalscorer: 76 goals^*
• Real Madrid Record Appearance Maker in European Competitions: 135 games^*
• Real Madrid Record Goalscorer in UEFA Competitions: 68 goals^{^^}
• UEFA Competitions Record Goalscorer: 77 goals^{^^}
• Real Madrid Record Appearance Maker in UEFA Competitions: 138 games^{^^}

^*Includes other European competitive competitions, including the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, UEFA Intertoto Cup, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Super Cup.

^{^^}Includes other European competitive competitions and Intercontinental Cup.

• Has not received a red card in entire career until now (April 2012)

Decorations[link]

• Government of Spain: Gold Medal of the Royal Order of Sporting Merit 2006^[33]
• City of Madrid: Gold Medal 2009^[34]

Career statistics[link]

Club[link]

As of 5 May 2012.

¹Played in UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League.

²Includes other competitive competitions, including the Supercopa de España, UEFA Super Cup, Intercontinental Cup, FIFA Club World Cup and DFL-Supercup.

European competition goals[link]

#	Date	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	18 October 1995	Ferencvárosi	6–1	Win	Champions League
2.	18 October 1995	Ferencvárosi	6–1	Win	Champions League
3.	18 October 1995	Ferencvárosi	6–1	Win	Champions League
4.	1 November 1995	Ferencvárosi	1–1	Draw	Champions League
5.	6 December 1995	Grasshopper	2–0	Win	Champions League
6.	1 March 1996	Juventus	2–0	Win	Champions League
7.	17 September 1997	Rosenborg	4–1	Win	Champions League
8.	1 October 1997	Porto	2–0	Win	Champions League
9.	30 September 1998	Spartak Moscow	1–2	Loss	Champions League
10.	21 October 1998	SK Sturm Graz	6–1	Win	Champions League
11.	9 December 1998	Spartak Moscow	2–1	Win	Champions League
12.	1 December 1998	Vasco da Gama	2–1	Win	Intercontinental Cup
13.	15 September 1999	Olympiacos	3–3	Draw	Champions League
14.	26 October 1999	Olympiacos	3–0	Win	Champions League
15.	23 November 1999	Dynamo Kyiv	2–1	Win	Champions League
16.	8 December 1999	Rosenborg	3–1	Win	Champions League
17.	29 February 2000	Bayern Munich	2–4	Loss	Champions League
18.	15 March 2000	Dynamo Kyiv	2–2	Draw	Champions League
19.	22 March 2000	Rosenborg	1–0	Win	Champions League
20.	19 April 2000	Manchester United	3–2	Win	Champions League
21.	19 April 2000	Manchester United	3–2	Win	Champions League
22.	24 May 2000	Valencia	3–0	Win	Champions League
23.	25 August 2000	Galatasaray	1–2	Loss	Super Cup
24.	17 October 2000	Bayer Leverkusen	5–3	Win	Champions League
25.	22 November 2000	Leeds United	2–0	Win	Champions League
26.	21 February 2001	Lazio	2–2	Draw	Champions League
27.	6 March 2001	Leeds United	3–2	Win	Champions League
28.	6 March 2001	Leeds United	3–2	Win	Champions League
29.	18 April 2001	Galatasaray	3–0	Win	Champions League
30.	18 April 2001	Galatasaray	3–0	Win	Champions League
31.	26 September 2001	Anderlecht	4–1	Win	Champions League
32.	26 September 2001	Anderlecht	4–1	Win	Champions League
33.	4 December 2001	Panathinaikos	3–0	Win	Champions League
34.	4 December 2001	Panathinaikos	3–0	Win	Champions League
35.	1 May 2002	Barcelona	1–1	Draw	Champions League
36.	15 May 2002	Bayer Leverkusen	2–1	Win	Champions League
37.	17 September 2002	Roma	3–0	Win	Champions League
38.	25 September 2002	Genk	6–0	Win	Champions League
39.	11 December 2002	Lokomotiv Moscow	2–2	Draw	Champions League
40.	11 December 2002	Lokomotiv Moscow	2–2	Draw	Champions League
41.	19 February 2003	Borussia Dortmund	2–1	Win	Champions League
42.	12 March 2003	Milan	3–1	Win	Champions League
43.	12 March 2003	Milan	3–1	Win	Champions League
44.	8 April 2003	Manchester United	3–1	Win	Champions League
45.	8 April 2003	Manchester United	3–1	Win	Champions League
46.	22 October 2003	Partizan	1–0	Win	Champions League
47.	22 October 2003	Monaco	1–3	Loss	Champions League
48.	28 September 2004	Roma	4–2	Win	Champions League
49.	28 September 2004	Roma	4–2	Win	Champions League
50.	3 November 2004	Dynamo Kyiv	2–2	Draw	Champions League
51.	23 November 2004	Bayer Leverkusen	1–1	Draw	Champions League
52.	28 September 2005	Olympiacos	2–1	Win	Champions League
53.	19 October 2005	Rosenborg	4–1	Win	Champions League
54.	26 September 2006	Dynamo Kyiv	5–1	Win	Champions League
55.	26 September 2006	Dynamo Kyiv	5–1	Win	Champions League
56.	17 October 2006	Steaua București	4–1	Win	Champions League
57.	20 February 2007	Bayern Munich	3–2	Win	Champions League
58.	20 February 2007	Bayern Munich	3–2	Win	Champions League
59.	18 September 2007	Werder Bremen	2–1	Win	Champions League
60.	24 October 2007	Olympiacos	4–2	Win	Champions League
61.	11 December 2007	Lazio	3–1	Win	Champions League
62.	19 February 2008	Roma	1–2	Loss	Champions League
63.	5 March 2008	Roma	1–2	Loss	Champions League
64.	25 November 2008	BATE Borisov	1–0	Win	Champions League
65.	10 December 2008	Zenit Saint Petersburg	3–0	Win	Champions League
66.	10 December 2008	Zenit Saint Petersburg	3–0	Win	Champions League
67.	15 September 2009	Zürich	5–1	Win	Champions League
68.	21 October 2009	Milan	2–3	Loss	Champions League
69.	20 October 2010	Hapoel Tel Aviv	3–1	Win	Champions League
70.	20 October 2010	Hapoel Tel Aviv	3–1	Win	Champions League
71.	15 February 2011	Valencia	1–1	Draw	Champions League
72.	5 April 2011	Internazionale	5–2	Win	Champions League
73.	13 April 2011	Internazionale	2–1	Win	Champions League
74.	1 December 2011	Steaua București	2–1	Win	Europa League
75.	29 March 2012	Athletic Bilbao	2–4	Loss	Europa League
76.	29 March 2012	Athletic Bilbao	2–4	Loss	Europa League
77.	5 April 2012	Athletic Bilbao	2–2	Draw	Europa League

International[link]

As of 6 September 2006.^[35][36]