Biography Raul Gonzales

Biography 

Raúl was born in the Madrid suburb of Marconi de San Cristóbal de los Ángeles. After winning his spurs as a member of provincial amateur team San Cristóbal de los Ángeles, his father signed him up for Atlético Madrid at the age of 13. Raúl rose through the ranks, winning the national title with the Under-15 youth team (cadete), and seemed destined to join the professional side when Atlético president Jesús Gil dissolved the club's entire youth scheme in an effort to save money. Real Madrid scouts quickly signed Raúl and he started the 1992-93 season with the Cadete A. Raúl again won another Cadete title. In 1993-94, he began the season with the Juvenil B team, moved on to Juvenil A, and was promoted to the Under-19 División de Honor team. He began the 1994-95 season in Madrid's "C" team, and scored 13 goals in the seven games. In October 1994, head coach Jorge Valdano picked the gifted teenager in his first team. At just 17 years and four months, Raúl became the youngest player ever to wear a Real Madrid shirt. In doing so, he nudged aside 1991 Pichichi Trophy winner Emilio Butragueño, 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 Atlético, and won the Spanish La Liga championship. Raúl made his national team debut against the Czech Republic in October 1996. Raúl's performances for Spain have since mirrored the nation's fortunes, Spain being dubbed the "greatest underachievers" in international football.
Raúl was a key player in Real Madrid's six big titles from 1998 to 2003. With Real, he won three European UEFA Champions League trophies in 1998, 2000 and 2002, scoring the clinching goal in the 2000 Champions League final. On the domestic scene, he won five Spanish La Liga championships in 1995, 1997, 2001, 2003 and 2007. After Fernando Hierro retired from the Spanish national team in 2002, Raúl became the captain for Real Madrid and Spain.
Ever since 2003, he has been under heavy criticism by the media and part of the supporters because of his poor performances in the last four years, in which Real Madrid struggled to win a European competition, 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. It is widely rumoured that the primary reason why Raúl starts in the Real Madrid line-up is because he has tremendous influence in Madrid. During the 2006/7 season, Raul has managed to regain some of the former displays of the past, and has created an impressive partnership with Dutch striker Ruud Van Nistelrooy. Because of his effort and passion for Real Madrid, he has shown his ability to play in a number of different positions including left/right winger. Raúl's hard work has paid off as Real Madrid have won La Liga 2006/2007.
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. He is currently the top goal scorer of the competition, with 56 goals, scoring the last two in the 1st leg of their knockout stage match-up against Bayern Munich. When he led out the Spanish team against San Marino in a 2006 FIFA 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.

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