Featured Player: Raúl González Blanco.

Raúl González Blanco - The Finisher.

June 27, 1977

Raúl

Personal information
Full name	Raúl González Blanco
Date of birth
Place of birth	Madrid, Spain
Height	180cm
Nickname	El Niño Raúl
Position	Centre Forward Striker
Club information
Current club	Real Madrid
Number	7
Youth clubs
1990–1992 1992–1994	Atlético Madrid Real Madrid
Professional clubs*
Years	Club	Apps (goals)
1994–present	Real Madrid	400 (180)
National team**
1996–present	Spain	100 (44)
* Professional club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of May 2006. ** National team caps and goals correct as of 15 Aug 2006.

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Raúl has been playing for Real Madrid at senior level since 1994. He currently is the captain of both Real Madrid and the Spanish National Team, being its all-time leading scorer. He wears jersey number 7 when playing for either team.

Raúl was born in the Madrid suburb of Villaverde Alto. After winning his spurs as a member of provincial team San Cristobal de Los Angeles, his father signed him to the Athletico Madrid youth team at the age of 13. Raul rose through the ranks, winning the national title with the Under-15's, and seemed destined to join the professional side when Atletico President Jesus Gil dissolved the club's entire youth scheme in an effort to save money.

Deprived of a team to play for, Raul turned to local rivals Real Madrid, where success was quickly forthcoming: he began the 1994-5 season in Real's C team, scoring 13 goals in the first seven games. In October 1994, coach Jorge Voldano picked the gifted teenager in his first team. At just 17 years and four months, Raul became the youngest player ever to wear a Real Madrid shirt. In so doing, he nudged aside Emilio Butragueño, a star in his own right, and was soon well on the way to becoming Spain's new sensation. He scored nine times in his first season from 28 appearances, including one in his second game against Atletico, and won a Spanish league championship medal. Since making his debut against the Czech Republic in October 1996, Raúl's performances for Spain have very much mirrored the nation's fortunes, Spain being dubbed the "greatest underachievers" in international football.

Raúl was a key player in Real Madrid's last six big titles, three European Champions Leagues (1998, 2000 and 2002) scoring the clinching goal in the champions league final of 2000 and three National Championships (1997, 2001 and 2003). After Fernando Hierro retired from the Spanish national team in 2002, Raúl became the captain for Real Madrid and Spain.

Ever since, he has been under heavy criticism by the media and part of the supporters because of his poor performances in the last two years, in which Real Madrid struggled to win a title in Spain and in European Champions Leagues, with no success in either of them. These struggles have seen Raúl relegated at times to the substitutes bench by both club and country leaving questions as to how much he might have in the tank.

Raúl is a striker who is able to link attack and midfield effectively.

At 1.80m in height and just over 68 kg, Raúl is very mobile and light on his feet, and likes to switch positions or go out wide. He can put his team-mates through into great positions, and create chances for himself even against the toughest markers. Originally an out-and-out striker, thanks to his versatility he has developed link-up play, allowing him to play in the hole behind the front men.

For his country, Raúl scored 44 goals in 95 international matches (as of June 19, 2006). He played in the 1998 FIFA World Cup, Euro 2000, the 2002 FIFA World Cup, and Euro 2004. On 28 September 2005 against Greek power Olympiakos, his 97th UEFA Champions League match, he became the first player to score 50 goals in the history of the tournament, passing Real Madrid legend Alfredo Di Stéfano. Raúl is also currently 10th highest goalscorer in the history of Spain's top flight, with 180 goals in 400 games. All of these goals were for Real Madrid, making Raúl the club's third highest goalscorer of all time. This might improve as Raúl is still playing for the club.

When he led out the Spanish team against San Marino in a World Cup qualifier on 12 October 2005, he surpassed his predecessor as Spain captain, Fernando Hierro, as the most-capped outfield player (i.e., not a goalkeeper) in Spanish history.

On June 19, with a goal against Tunisia, Raúl became the 18th player to score in 3 different editions of the FIFA World Cup. He has scored in the 1998 FIFA World Cup, the 2002 FIFA World Cup and the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

Honors

• Royal Order's gold medal for Sports Merit (2006)
• 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 (1998, 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)
• 1998 Most Valuable Player, Intercontinental Cup
• 1999 IFFHS World Goalgetter
• 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
• Most appearances for an outfield player in the Spanish national team
• Top active scorer in La Liga
• Top UEFA Champions League appearances
• UEFA Champions League all-time leading scorer
• 2 x UEFA Champions League Top Scorer
• 2 goals in 3 UEFA Champions League Finals