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Raúl González Blanco, usually referred to simply as Raúl (born June 27, 1977 in Madrid) is a Spanish football forward. He currently plays for Real Madrid and is the all-time leading scorer for the Spanish national team.
Since making his debut against the Czech Republic in October 1996, Raúl's performances for Spain have very much mirrored the nation's fortunes. After Fernando Hierro retired from the Spanish national team in 2002, Raúl became the captain for Real Madrid and country despite quite heavy criticism because of his poor physical condition in the last 2 years, during which Real Madrid won nothing.
At his best Raúl is a supremely intelligent striker who is able to link attack and midfield effectively, although he is of relatively modest stature as a attacker.
For his country, Raúl scored 41 goals in 83 international matches (as of May 2005). He played in the Template:Wc, Template:Ec2, the Template:Wc, and Template:Ec2. He is also the leading scorer in the UEFA Champions League, with 49 goals in 95 matches (as of May 2005). Raúl is also currently 11th highest goalscorer in the history of Spain's top flight, with 175 goals in 382 games. All of these goals were for Real Madrid, making Raúl the club's third highest goalscorer of all time. This will surely improve as Raúl is still playing for the club.
Raúl possesses one of the distinctive celebrations in the modern game, with each goal acclaimed by a kiss of his wedding ring, an acknowledgement to his wife Mamen Sanz.
Among his nicknames are Angel de Madrid, Babystar, and Golden Boy.
Honors
- 4 x Spanish League (1995, 1997, 2001, 2003)
- 3 x Spanish Super Cup (1997, 2001, 2003)
- 2 x Top Scorer of the Spanish League (1999, 2001)
- 3 x UEFA Champions League (1998, 2000, 2002)
- 1 x European SuperCup (2002)
- 2 x Intercontinental Cup (1997, 2002)
- Voted Best Player of 1996/97 season after 21 goals in 42 games
- Leading scorer for the Spanish national team
- 3 x Champions League Best Forward (2000, 2001, 2002)
- 2000 Spanish outstanding sportsman
- 2 x Bronze Boot of Europe (1999, 2001)
- 2001 FIFA World Player of the Year, Bronze award
- 2001 European Footballer of the Year, Silver award
- 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
- Top active scorer in La Liga
- Top UEFA Champions League scorer
Quotes
- Thierry Henry (25/06/00):" When he plays, in his mind there is only the goal; it's the football essence. Figo and himself are two great players although a bit overated; everytime they do something, you stand up over your seat".
- Franz Beckenbauer (09/05/00): "Raúl is one of the bests of Europe. He is the Real Madrid's spirit. He is like Matthaus for us".
- Fabio Capello (15/11/99): "He is a winner. He is inheritance of the Real Madrid".
- Jesús Gil (29/10/99): "Raúl is my black beast".
- Javier Clemente (01/04/00): "Raúl is the best forward in Europe".da:Raul
de:Raúl he:ראול גונזלס es:Raúl González nl:Raúl González Blanco ja:ラウル・ゴンサレス pl:Raúl González