Raul Gonzalez. Raul Gonzalez - a great seven Transition to Schalke

The legend of Real Madrid and the Spanish national team, a football player who won absolutely everything at the club level, but at the same time constantly suffered failures with the national team - this is all about him.

Raul Gonzalez Blanco

• Country: Spain.
• Position – forward.
• Born: June 29, 1977.
• Height: 180 cm.

Biography and career of a football player

Raul was born and raised in Madrid in a simple family. His father worked as an electrician, and supported the family as best he could, in which, in addition to Raul himself, there were two more children - his brother Pedro and sister Maria Luisa.

The father of the future Real Madrid star was a passionate Atlético Madrid fan, and therefore Raul started at the mattress school. So Raul would have become an Atlético player, but the not unknown Jesus Gil decided to disperse the youth teams for the sake of economy and “Raul was forced to move to the school of Real Madrid.”

"Real Madrid

1994-2010

The Madrid club became the main one in Raul's career - he gave him 16 best years of your career. The presidents of Real and its head coaches changed (during Raul's performance for Real, the club changed 14 coaches), but Raul remained a kind of constant.

His debut for the first team of Madrid took place in October 1994, and in his first season, Raul scored 9 goals in 28 matches of the Spanish championship, and Real was then able to win the championship title after a 4-year break. The 17-year-old striker, practically without any buildup, became a starter - already in the 1995-1996 season, Raul scored 26 goals for Real in official matches.

So the young forward became the team leader and remained so for a decade and a half. That “Real” of the mid-late 90s personally impressed me with its balance and lack of, let’s say, excessive pomposity. The club's leaders - Fernando Hierro, Christian Panucci, Fernando Redondo, Davor Suker and, of course, Raul, were stars of the first magnitude, but did not shy away from rough work.

Then “cream” won the Spanish championship three times, and most importantly, after 22 years they were able to win the main European trophy, winning the Champions League in the 1997-1998 season, and repeated this success two years later.

Then Florentino Perez became the president of Real Madrid, and the era of the “Galacticos” began in the club - within a few years, Perez signed Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo, Michael Owen. And this is in addition to the existing stars!

At that time, the fate of many Real Madrid players was unenviable - for example, Fernando Morientes, who played for Madrid from the age of 19, was forced to leave the team forever. But not Raoul. Not only does he not get lost in the company of megastars, but in 2003 he received the captain's armband, which will remain with him until he leaves the club.

To this day, Raul remains the club's record holder for the number of matches played - 741, and Cristiano Ronaldo recently surpassed him in the number of goals scored. At the same time, Raul extremely rarely acted at the forefront of the attack; he loved to threaten the opponent’s goal from deep in the field and often found himself on the flanks.

However, the years took their toll, and in the summer of 2010, the 33-year-old forward decided to leave the club that had previously been the only one in his career.

Schalke 04

2010-2012

At the same time, Raul remains in big European football, because he is leaving not just anywhere, but Gelsenkirchen, since not the very last Bundesliga club was interested in his services.

Here I will step back a little from the topic to talk about Schalke. Over the past ten years, this club has been a mystery to me. There is money there, an excellent stadium that is filled to capacity with loyal fans, quite qualified football players, but from season to season Schalke does not live up to the expectations of its fans.

So, after Raul’s transfer to Schalke, I seem to have found the answer to this question - in Gelsenkirchen there are not enough football players with a winning mentality who have known the taste big victories and not afraid of any opponent.

Under the leadership of the Spaniard, the Cobalts reached the semi-finals of the Champions League, twice beating the current trophy winner Inter in the quarter-finals with a total score of 7:3. Raul scored a goal each in Milan and Gelsenkirchen.

He scored another important goal in the semi-final of the German Cup against the invincible Bayern. The goal was the only one, Schalke advanced to the final, where they defeated Duisburg.

In the 2011-2013 season, the inspired Gelsenkirchen team challenged Bayern and Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga, but could not keep up the pace and finished third in the championship.

"Al-Sadd"

2012-2014

Raul played for the club from Qatar for two seasons, scored a quarter of a hundred goals for the club and became the national champion.

At the same time, Raul played his farewell match. On August 22, 2013, Real Madrid and Al-Sadd met at the Santiago Bernabeu. In the first half, Raul came out as part of the “royal club” with the captain’s armband and wearing No. 7, which for this occasion was given to him by Cristiano Ronaldo. Having scored the second goal, Raul played for Al-Sadd, and the match ended in a victory for Real with a score of 5:0.

"New York Space"

2014-2015

However, the career of the Big Master did not end there - in October 2014 football world learns that Raoul is moving to the New York Cosmos.

He will play there for a little over a year, play 37 matches, in which he will hit the opponent’s goal 10 times, after which he will finally hang up his boots.

Spain national team

1996-2006

As an outstanding footballer, he achieved nothing with a big team. This is how Raul’s career in the Spanish national team can be characterized. Despite the fact that he spent national team more than 100 matches and is the second highest scorer in its history, Raul never won anything in the rematch of the “red fury”.

At the age of 19, Raul was included in the national team's squad for the championship, but never entered the field. His debut for the national team took place a little later, in October 1996, in an away match against the Czech national team.

But at the 1998 World Cup, Raul was already the main striker of the Spanish team. But then the Spaniards did not make it out of the group, losing to the Nigerian national team and playing in a draw with the unyielding Paraguayans.

At Euro 2000, Raul would make perhaps the most fatal mistake in his career - at the very end of the quarter-final match against the French national team with the score 1:2, he went to take a penalty and sent the ball well above the goal.

“I cried on the field, then I cried in the locker room, I couldn’t calm down in the hotel. It was like the world had collapsed for me. When I arrived home, I didn’t want to see anyone, I wanted to run away even from my own home from sympathy and ridicule,” the forward recalled in an interview.

It was especially disappointing because it was the French who eventually won European gold.

And two years later, at the Far Eastern World Cup, the Spanish team suffered from the actions of the Egyptian referee Ghandour. The Egyptian, for obvious reasons, did not count two goals against the hosts of the tournament, and as a result, the Spaniards lost in a penalty shootout.

Raul already went to the 2004 European Championship as captain of the Spanish national team, but the team again left these tournaments ahead of time. At the European Championship in Portugal, the Spaniards scored 4 points in the first two matches, but then lost to the hosts and ended up third in the group. And two years later in Germany, in the 1/8 finals, they again lost to the French team.

Even then, Raul began to have disagreements with the head of the national team, Luis Aragones, as a result of which the forward was not included in the Euro 2008 squad. Of course, it’s a pity that Raul was left without titles in the national team, but the winners are not judged. Aragonés brought Spain its first title in more than 20 years and laid the foundation for a team that would dominate the world for six years. football fields world and win three major tournaments in a row.

Raoul's titles

Team

1. Six-time champion of Spain.
2. Four-time winner of the Spanish Super Cup.
3. Winner of the German Cup.
4. Winner of the German Super Cup.
5. Champion of Qatar.
6. Winner of the Qatar Emir Cup.
7. Three-time Champions League winner.
8. Winner of the UEFA Super Cup.
9. Two-time winner of the Intercontinental Cup.

Individual

1. Footballer of the Year in Spain – 5 times.
2. Top scorer of the Spanish Championship - 2 times.
3. Champions League top scorer - 2 times.
4. Winner of the European Bronze Boot in 1999 and 2001.
5. Included in the FIFA 100 list.

Raul's family and personal life

Raul's wife is the Spanish model Mamin Sanz, and they have five children - 4 sons and a daughter. Raul named his first son Jorge, in honor of his first coach at Real Madrid, Jorge Valdano, and the second is called Hugo, like the Mexican scorer of Real Madrid, Hugo Sanchez.

By the way, a fact that has no explanation: Raul’s sons, all four, were invariably born on the day of El Clasico - the confrontation between Real Madrid and Barcelona.

Raul is an exemplary family man, even when celebrating goals, he kissed his wedding ring, with this gesture demonstrating loyalty to his wife.

• According to a survey conducted in 2012 by the authoritative Spanish newspaper Marca, Raul became the best Spanish football player of all time. He received 47.5% of the vote, ahead of Xavi and Andreas Iniesta.

• For two and a half years, from October 2004 to April 2007, Raul did not receive a single yellow card in official matches.
• In general, Raul has not received a single red card in his entire career!
• In 2001, in the dispute for the Ballon d'Or, Raul lost quite a bit to , who would soon become his teammate.
• “The Triumph of Values” is the title of a book about Raul written by Enrique Ortega.
• Raul starred in several documentaries about football and TV series. He also played himself in the feature film “Goal!”

Today Raoul remains out big football preferring to spend time with family. He is a frequent visitor to the Santiago Bernabeu, and the thought keeps haunting me: “Maybe he will return?” I wonder in what capacity?

Raul Gonzalez Blanco is a Spanish professional ex-footballer, striker (forward). He gained worldwide popularity in the royal Spanish club Real Madrid, for which he played for 16 years. Here he became the top scorer in the history of the club, holding this title for several years, which is why in Spain Raul is called a football legend. Three-time winner of the UEFA Champions League Cup (1998, 2000, 2002), six-time champion of Spain (1995, 1997, 2001, 2003, 2007, 2008). Raul Gonzalez was named the best football player five times Spanish championship according to numerous versions (several sports magazines, fan voting).

Until 2010, he was considered the top scorer of the Spanish national football team, whose colors he defended for 10 years, where he was captain. Raul is recognized as one of the best football players of the last fifty years, being included in the list of top 100 football players according to FIFA.

Raul Gonzalez: biography and first steps in football

Raul was born on June 27, 1977 in Madrid (the capital of Spain). He grew up and was brought up in the San Cristobal de Los Angeles area, which is located on the southern outskirts of Madrid. The first acquaintance with football occurred when his father put a five-year-old boy with him to watch football on TV. Young Raoul was impressed and followed the game with captivating interest, dreaming from the first minutes of becoming a real football player.

The idea of ​​little Raul was not postponed until later - his parents quickly enrolled him in the local football academy club "San Cristobal". The young guy's talents were immediately noticed by the coaches, so they began to take him to all children's football competitions, where Raul Gonzalez scored an insane number of goals.

Professional beginnings in football

In 1990, Raul Gonzalez Blanco joined the ranks of the Atlético Madrid youth club, where he began to play football at a higher level. Raul studied at the “mattress makers” academy until 1992, after which he was invited to a more famous school - the royal Real Madrid. Here he played at various levels and competitions. The successes of the football youngster began to captivate the Real Madrid coaches, so the management decided to offer the guy a real professional contract with the fourth team of the Real Madrid C division, which Raul happily signed. His skills and scoring qualities gradually improved, so Raul Gonzalez quickly climbed the football career ladder at the royal club. Years later, the Spanish striker joins Real Madrid and makes his debut in La Liga.

Legendary career at Real Madrid

As mentioned above, Raul Gonzalez's career at the royal club began in 1994, when he made his debut for the fourth-ranked team, Real Madrid C. The Spaniard immediately got into the starting lineup and took the place of center forward in his team. Over the first seven games, he managed to hit the opponent's goal 13 times, which is quite surprising for a newcomer. After such an application, he was quickly transferred to the first team, because head coach Jorge Valdano became interested in the young scorer.

At 17 years and 124 days, Raul Gonzalez made his debut for Real Madrid. In November 1994, he scored his first goal for Los Blancos against former club Atlético Madrid. Having proven his professional football competence and worth to everyone, Raul began to play more and more often. starting lineup"Galacticos". In the 1994/1995 Spanish La Liga season, Raul managed to score nine goals (in 24 games he played) and give 7 assists. It is noteworthy that the young Spaniard did not receive a single warning during the entire playing season.

Achievements and victories

Raul won many cups and trophies with Real Madrid. From 1997 to 2009, Raul Gonzalez won the following trophies: La Liga - 6 times, Spanish Super Cup - 4 times, UEFA Champions League - 3 times, UEFA Super Cup - 1 time, Intercontinental Cup - 2 times. The total is 16 cups - a fairly successful statistic, without taking into account personal awards. During his career at Madrid, Raul managed to become the first player in football history to score 50 goals in the UEFA Champions League tournament (he held the record until 2012).

Raul Gonzalez also became the first football player to score in two UEFA Champions League finals: against Valencia in 2000 and against Bayer Leverkusen in 2002. This feat was later repeated by Cameroonian footballer Samuel Eto'o, who scored against London's Arsenal and Manchester United in 2006 and 2009, respectively.

During his entire 16-year career at the royal club, Raul Gonzalez did not receive a single red card, which can also undoubtedly be attributed to the Spaniard’s personal records.

The way to the young, or why Raul left Los Blancos

In 2009, Raul received a serious injury, after which he could not recover to his previous form and quality play for a long time. Such situations in Real Madrid, as a rule, are solved very simply - they take and put another player in a problematic position, because this club has never had problems with personnel. Based on this, we can conclude that Raul Gonzalez experienced this stage.

In November 2009, in a match of the Spanish championship, Raul was replaced by the young Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo, who was bought by the management of “creamy” for a record amount that same year. This gesture tacitly meant that the legendary Raul was replaced by a new talent, who was subsequently awarded a T-shirt with the game number “7”. And so it happened, in 2010 footballer Raul Gonzalez left royal club and moves to the German Schalke 04.

The rest of Raul Gonzalez's career after leaving Real Madrid

In 2010, Raul signed a two-year contract with the German club Schalke 04, where he immediately took an unconditional place in the team. At the end of September he scored his debut goal against Borussia Mönchengladbach. While playing for the Pitmen, Raul became the top scorer in the Champions League in the history of football, scoring the 69th and 70th goals, thereby surpassing the result of the legendary football player Gerd Miller. In the German season 2010/2011, Raul Gonzalez (photo of the player below) also managed to score two hat-tricks against Werder and Cologne.

In May 2012, the footballer signed a contract with the Qatari club Al-Sadd, where he played for two years, until 2014, until he moved to New York Cosmos FC, where he retired at the end of the 2013/2014 season.

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Football fans know Spanish striker Raul Gonzalez as top scorer in the entire history of Real Madrid and the captain of the national team, in which he lasted a whole decade.

Gonzalez is a six-time winner of the Spanish championship and three-time winner of the Champions League. He won the title 5 times best football player of your country.

Start of a career

The future top scorer of Real Madrid was born in June 1977 in Madrid into the family of a fan of the capital's Atlético Madrid. His childhood was spent in Marconi de San Cristobal de los Angeles. Raul began his football career at San Cristobal. He studied at the club's academy for two years. In 1990, he was accepted into a similar educational institution, Atlético, and two years later, Raul was noticed by scouts of the capital Real Madrid and he began playing for youth team“creamy”, where he played until 1994.

"Real Madrid"

In 1994, Real Madrid signed a contract with Gonzalez. For a whole year he played in the reserve squads of the famous team. During this time, the footballer took part in eight games and hit the opponents' goal sixteen times. The following season, he already appeared on the field in the main team of Los Blancos.

After scoring a goal against Sporting in 2009, Raul was awarded the title of top scorer football club Real Madrid throughout the history of the team. By this time, Gonzalez had scored 323 goals against Los Blancos' opponents, and if friendly games are taken into account, Gonzalez's number of goals will be 361.

Schalke 04

In 2010, he began to defend the colors of FC Schalke 04 from Germany. The duration of the contract is two years. Raul scored his first goal for this team in the early autumn of the same year in a game against Borussia.

In 2011, Gonzalez scored at FC Bayern and his team became a finalist in the German Cup.

Among the footballer's trophies is a prize for " Best goal 2011 in Germany."

"Al-Sadd"

In 2012, Gonzalez began playing for the Qatari FC Al-Sadd. In this team he was assigned number seven and Raul became a midfielder. The following year, his team won the national title.

Gonzalez's farewell match was the game between Real Madrid and Al-Sadd in 2013. In the first half, Raul appeared as part of the Spanish team, scoring one goal, and in the second he played for Al-Sadd. As a result, Real defeated the Qatari club.

The following year, Raul signed a contract with New York Cosmos.

In 2015, Gonzalez announced the completion of his football career. His last game took place in November. In the match between Ottawa Fury and New York Cosmos, Raul's team won.

Spain national team

As part of the national youth teams, the footballer played sixteen games and hit the opponents' goal fourteen times, the Olympic team - four games and one goal, and in the main team - 102 games and 44 goals.

In 2006 Northern Ireland sensationally won against the Spaniards and Gonzalez decided to leave the national team.

Personal life

The wife of the famous football player is the model Mamen Sans. The couple has four sons and one daughter.

Raul Gonzalez with his family

Gonzalez named his first son after Jorge Valdano, and his second son after Hugo Sanchez. The boys also play football professionally.

Raul enjoys hunting, bullfighting, Spanish music and reading. His favorite writer is Arturo Perez-Reverte.