Raul Gonzalez. Raul Gonzalez - the magnificent "seven" Biography and career of a football player

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 failed with the national team - it's all about him.

Raul Gonzalez Blanco

• Country - Spain.
• Position - striker.
• 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 how he could support a family in which, besides Raul himself, there were two more children - his brother Pedro and sister Maria Luis.

The father of the future Real Madrid star was a passionate fan of Atlético, and therefore Raul started at the mattress top football school. So Raul would have become an Atlético player, but the notorious Jesus Gil decided to disperse the youth teams for the sake of economy and “Raul was forced to go to the Real Madrid school.

"Real Madrid

1994-2010

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

His debut for the Madrid first team took place in October 1994, and in his first season, Raul scored 9 goals in 28 matches of the Spanish championship, and Real Madrid then managed to win the league title after a 4-year break. The 17-year-old striker became a base player with almost no buildup - already in the 1995-1996 season, Raul scored 26 goals for Real Madrid in official matches.

So the young striker became the leader of the team 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. Club leaders - Fernando Hierro, Christian Panucci, Fernando Redondo, Davor Shuker and, of course, Raul, were stars of the first magnitude, but did not shy away from rough work.

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

Then Florentino Perez became the president of Real Madrid, and the era of "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 tinned 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.

Until now, Raul remains the club's record holder in terms of the number of matches played - 741, and in terms of the number goals scored he was recently surpassed by Cristiano Ronaldo. At the same time, Raul rarely acted at the cutting edge of the attack, he liked 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 striker decides to leave the club, which had previously been the only one in his career.

"Schalke-04"

2010-2012

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

Here I digress a little from the topic to talk about Schalke. For recent years ten this club is a mystery to me. There is money, a great stadium, which is filled to capacity with loyal fans, quite qualified players, but from season to season, Schalke does not live up to the expectations of its fans.

So, after the transfer of Raul to Schalke, I seem to have found the answer to this question - in Gelsenkirchen there are not enough players with the psychology of a winner who know the taste big victories and not afraid of any opponent.

Led by the Spaniard, the Cobalts reached the semi-finals of the Champions League, beating reigning trophy holders Inter twice in the quarter-finals 7-3 on aggregate. Raul scored a goal in Milan and Gelsenkirchen.

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

Inspired by Gelsenkirchen in the 2011-2013 season, they challenged Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga, but could not stand the pace and became third in the championship.

"Al-Sadd"

2012-2014

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

Then 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 at number 7, which for such an occasion gave way to Cristiano Ronaldo. Having scored a goal, Raul played second there for Al-Sadd, and the match ended in a 5-0 victory for Real Madrid.

"New York Cosmos"

2014-2015

However, this career Grand Master not completed - in October 2014 football world learns that Raul is moving to the New York Cosmos.

There he will play a little more than 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. That's how you can characterize Raul's career in the Spanish national team. Despite the fact that he played more than 100 matches for the national team and is the second scorer in its history, Raul never won anything in the aftermath of the "red fury".

At the age of 19, Raul got into the national team's application for, but never entered the field. His debut for the national team took place a little later, in October 1996, in a guest match against the Czech Republic.

But at the 1998 World Cup, Raul was already the main striker of the Spanish national team. But then the Spaniards did not leave the group, losing because of the Nigerian national team and drawing with the uncompromising Paraguayans.

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

“I cried on the field, then I cried in the dressing room, I could not calm down in the hotel. The world seemed to collapse for me. Arriving at home, I did not want to see anyone, I wanted to run away even from own house from sympathy and ridicule, ”the forward recalled in an interview.

It was especially offensive because it was the French who won the European gold in the end.

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

Raul already went to the 2004 European Championship as the 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, already in the 1/8 finals, they again lost to the French team.

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

Raul's titles

Command

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

Individual

1. Footballer of the Year in Spain - 5 times.
2. The best scorer of the championship of Spain - 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 Sans, 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 named Hugo, like the Mexican Real Madrid scorer Hugo Sanchez.

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

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

• According to a poll by the authoritative Spanish newspaper Marca in 2012, Raul became the best football player in Spain of all time. He won 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, in his entire career, Raul did not receive a single red card!
• In 2001, in the dispute for the Golden Ball, Raul lost quite a bit, which will 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 series. He also played himself in the feature film Goal!

Today Raoul stays out big football preferring to spend time with family. He is a frequent guest at the Santiago Bernabeu, but the thought does not leave me: “Maybe he will return?” I wonder in what capacity?

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Which on this moment stands for such a club as the New York Cosmos. For 16 years he played for Real Madrid, and it was during these years that he became popular. His biography is interesting and rich, so it's worth talking about it in more detail.

Childhood

Raul Gonzalez grew up in the suburbs of Madrid, namely in Marconi da San Cristobal de los Angeles. This is the long name of his native settlement. The boy's father was an ardent fan of Atlético Madrid. Looking ahead, I would like to say that Raul fulfilled the unspoken dream of his parent and from 1990 to 1992 played for this team, being a player in the youth squad. These two years he was one of the best pupils of the Atlético academy. With his game and skills, the boy amazed all the coaches. At first glance, it was clear - this is true promising football player which will show a lot in the future.

Raul himself wanted to be an excellent professional in terms of football, he dreamed of becoming a recognized striker. And it didn't take long to get recognized. Raul Gonzalez, who at that time was 15 years old, came to the attention of the scouts of Real Madrid. They immediately identified his abilities and talent. Representatives of the most famous Spanish club made an offer to the young striker, and without hesitation, he moved to Real Madrid, where he began to play for youth team.

The beginning of a professional career

In 1994, Raul Gonzalez signed his first professional contract with Real Madrid. But he was not immediately “launched” into the main team. The coach considered it right to wait for some time for the young man to gain experience in a team where adults play. The playing practice of a football player was important to him. So during the year Raul had to play for the second and third teams. There he played 8 matches and scored as many as 16 goals! Twice as many as the games themselves! Looking at such successes, the coach decided to transfer the young man to the first team and began to use his abilities and undoubted talent. And this player has always been and remains a key striker - no matter what leader comes to the club. The dream of a little boy has come true. He really became a legendary scorer. And everyone recognized it.

Playing style

Raul Gonzalez, like any other player, has his own individual style, which he adheres to when holding the ball. His main position can be anything. There are three options: he is either an insider, or a “drawn forward”, or “under the striker”. Pretty interesting positions for a footballer, isn't it? But, despite this, he ranks second in the ranking of the best scorers in the history of the Spanish national team. And Gonzalez prefers to act in accompaniment because it is more convenient for him to cope with the ball. In addition, in this way he gives more space and space to his attacking partners.

About goals scored

March 8, 2008 footballer Raul Gonzalez scored his 200th goal in La Liga. It was his personal achievement regarding the top Spanish division and playing career generally. Having scored a goal against opponents (which were the players of “Seville”), he took second place among the best Spanish scorers (this achievement was mentioned above). So he caught up with Alfredo Di Stefano - the real A a little later, on February 15, 2009, another feat was accomplished by Raul Gonzalez. The goals he scored before were weighty, but this one was really important to him. Because by rolling the ball into the goal of Sporting, he won the status top scorer in the history of Real Madrid. Thus, he even passed Alfred Di Stefano. And no wonder. After all, he has 323 goals in official matches. And if you take into account friendly - then 361.

Move to Schalke

In 2010, Raul was forced to leave his native Madrid club. Due to age, of course. He could no longer give out the level of play that he was capable of before. That's why he decided to leave the team. The football player notes that the years he spent at Real Madrid were wonderful, assures that he will remain a true Madrid player for the rest of his life. “The captain's armband in such a club is a great honor. But I was looking for something else. I could have stayed, but then I wouldn't have enjoyed football”, - these are the words of Raul, uttered by him before leaving.

So in 2010 he decided to move to Germany and play for Schalke 04. Raul Gonzalez spent two years there. How many goals did he score for this German club? Less, of course, than for Madrid. The man entered the field 66 times and scored 28 goals in them. But with his goals he saved more than once new team. Raul has scored in both the Bundesliga and the European Championships, making him a fan favorite with Schalke fans.

Al-Sadd and New York Cosmos

In 2012, Raul signed a contract with the Qatari club Al-Sadd, taking number seven there. Most often, he could be seen in the midfield position. Moreover, as part of this team, he quickly took his place and was even appointed vice-captain.

In 2013, on August 22, Raul played in his farewell match for Real Madrid. The first half of the match, that is, the first half, he was a player of the Spanish team. And even scored one goal - at 23 minutes. And in the second half, he “turned” into a player of Al-Sadd. As a result, Real Madrid won with a crushing score of 5:0.

Now many people are surprised to hear where Raul Gonzalez plays. To date, he is a football player for FC New York Cosmos. For the American team, he played 26 matches and scored 7 goals. And so, quite recently, in October of the same year, 2015, Raul announced that he had decided to end his career, and in November. That is, if you believe what was said, Gonzalez will “hang up his boots” in a couple of weeks.

But he stopped playing for the national team a long time ago - 9 years ago. Gonzalez entered the field as part of the Spanish national team 102 times and scored 44 goals. Raul was considered the main scorer of the national team, and his departure saddened many. But the player decided that it would be better.

About personal life and achievements

Raul Gonzalez's wife - former model, whose name is Mamen Sans. The couple has five children. Four boys (two of which are twins) and a daughter, Maria, who was born in 2009. In addition to football, Raul has a hobby - reading books and listening to Spanish music. He also breathes unevenly towards hunting and bullfighting, but prefers only to watch from the sidelines.

This player has achieved a lot. He became a six-time champion of Spain, a four-time winner of the Super Cup and a three-time national Cup. In addition, he also won the Champions League three times. Twice he received the Intercontinental Cup and once - the UEFA trophy. He won the Super Cup and the German Cup, he is the champion of Qatar. But there are also personal rewards. There are so many more, you can't count them all. After all, they number in the tens! He is a five-time football player of the year in Spain, the best striker of the European season (three times recognized as such), is a member of the symbolic teams, has the Bronze Boot and the Legend trophy, the Pichichi award, is included in the FIFA-100 list, was awarded trophy Alfredo Di Stefano, received the AC award as the best sportsman years ... All his achievements are really impossible to enumerate. But even this short list makes it clear that Raul Gonzalez is a truly great football player!

Raul González Blanco is a Spanish professional football player and striker. 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 Spain (1995, 1997, 2001, 2003, 2007, 2008). Raul Gonzalez was named the best 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, entering 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 the city of Madrid (capital of Spain). Grew up and brought up in the area of ​​San Cristobal de Los Angeles, which is located on the southern outskirts of Madrid. The first acquaintance with football happened when the father put a five-year-old boy with him to watch football on TV. Young Raul was impressed and followed the game with exciting interest, dreaming of becoming a real footballer from the first minutes.

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

Professional beginnings in football

In 1990, Raul González Blanco joins the Atlético Madrid youth club, where he starts playing football at a higher level. Raul studied at the academy of "mattress" until 1992, after which he was invited to a more eminent school - to the royal Real Madrid. Here he played at various levels and competitions. The success of the football youth began to conquer the coaches of Real Madrid, so the management decided to offer the guy a real professional contract with the fourth team of the Real Madrid C division, which Raul signs with pleasure. Skills and goalscoring qualities gradually improved, so Raul Gonzalez quickly went up the football career ladder in the royal club. Years later, the Spanish striker enters the basis of Real Madrid and makes his debut in La Liga.

Legendary Real Madrid career

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

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

Achievements and victories

Together with Real Madrid, Raul won many cups and trophies. Starting from 1997 and ending in 2009, Raul Gonzalez won the following trophies: the Spanish La Liga championship - 6 times, the Spanish Super Cup - 4 times, the UEFA Champions League - 3 times, the UEFA Super Cup - 1 time, the Intercontinental Cup - 2 times. In total, 16 cups are obtained - a fairly successful statistic, excluding personal awards. During his career at Madrid, Raul managed to become the first player in football history to score 50 goals in a UEFA Champions League tournament (holding the record until 2012).

Raul Gonzalez also became the first 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.

In his entire 16-year career at the Royal Club, Raul Gonzalez has not received a single red card, which can also undoubtedly be attributed to the Spaniard's personal records.

Make way for the young, or why Raul left the "creamy"

In 2009, Raul received a serious injury, after which he could not recover for a long time to his former form and high-quality game. 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 the match of the Spanish championship, Raul was replaced by the young Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo, who in the same year was bought by the management of the "creamy" for a record amount. This gesture implicitly meant that the legendary Raul was replaced by a new talent, who was later awarded a T-shirt with the game number "7". And so it happened, in 2010 the football player Raul Gonzalez leaves the 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 at the base. At the end of September, he scored his debut goal against Borussia Mönchengladbach. Playing for the Pitmen, Raul became the top scorer in the Champions League in the history of football, scoring the 69th and 70th goals, thus surpassing the result of the legendary footballer Gerd Miller. In the German season 2010/2011, Raul Gonzalez (footballer's photo below) also managed to score two hat-tricks against Werder Bremen and Cologne.

In May 2012, the football player 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.

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

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

Carier start

The future top scorer of Real Madrid was born in June 1977 in Madrid in the family of a fan of the capital's Atlético. His childhood was spent in Marconi de San Cristobal de los Angeles. Raul began his football career at San Cristobal. For two years he studied at the academy of this club. In 1990, he was admitted to a similar educational institution, Atletico, and two years later, Raul was noticed by the scouts of the capital Real Madrid and he began to play for the youth team of the Creamy, in which he played until 1994.

"Real Madrid"

In 1994, Real Madrid signed a contract with Gonzalez. For a whole year he played in the reserve teams of the famous team. During this time, the footballer took part in eight games and hit the opponents' gates sixteen times. The following season, he already entered the field in the main team of the "creamy".

After scoring a goal against Sporting in 2009, Raul was awarded the title of top scorer football club Real Madrid in the history of the team. By this time, Gonzalez had scored 323 goals against the creamy rivals, 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 with Borussia.

In 2011, Gonzalez hit the gates of FC Bayern and his team became the finalist of the German Cup.

Among the trophies of a football player there 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 the seventh number and Raul became a midfielder. The following year, his team won the national title.

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

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

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

Spain national team

As part of the national youth teams, the footballer played sixteen games and hit the opponents' gates 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 beat 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 have four sons and one daughter.

Raul Gonzalez with family

Gonzalez named his first child after Jorge Valdano and his second son after Hugo Sanchez. Boys are also professionally involved in football.

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