Real Madrid Galacticos

Raul

Posted on 04. Aug, 2008 by Borris Becker in Real Madrid Players

Raul, The king of Madrid

Place of Birth: Madrid, Spain

Date of Birth: 27/06/1977

Position: Forward

Weight: 149 lbs / 68 kg

Heigh: 5’11″ / 180 cm

Nationality: Spain

Individual Awards

• La Liga: 1994/95, 1996/97, 2000/01, 2002/03, 2006/07
• European Cup: 1997/98, 1999/00, 2001/02
• Intercontinental Cup: 1998, 2002
• European Super Cup: 2002
• Spanish Super Cup: 1997, 2001, 2003
• Spanish Sportsman of the Year: 2007
• Royal Order’s Gold Medal for Sports Merit: 2006
• FIFA 100 Greatest Living Footballers: 2004
• King’s Cup Top Scorer: 2003/04
• UEFA Club Football Best Forward: 2000, 2001, 2002
• UEFA Champions League Top Scorer: 1999/00, 2000/01
• FIFA World Player, Bronze: 2001
• European Footballer of the Year, Silver: 2001
• Pichichi Trophy: 1998/99, 2000/01
• Bronze Boot of Europe: 1999, 2001
• Spanish Player of Year: 1996/97
• Spanish Outstanding Sportsman: 2000
• IFFHS World Goalgetter: 1999
• Intercontinental Cup Man of the Match: 1998

Career

• Real Madrid youth system (1992-1995)
• Real Madrid (1994-present)
• La Liga debut: 29 October 1994
  Match: Zaragoza 3-2 Real Madrid
• Real Madrid debut: 29 October 1994
  Match: Zaragoza 3-2 Real Madrid

 (Statistics Source realmadrid.com)

 Raul Strengths:

Raul never say die attitude and his will to try everything and anything has led Raul to score some remarkable goals

• Though Raul is naturally left footed, he can shoot and place the ball with his right foot as well which always helps though none of his right or left foot is a killer, like Ronaldo’s (not C.Ronaldo) right foot or even Ronaldo’s left foot.

• Raul’s leadership quality, whenever the chips are down, Raul is the man Real Madrid look to for inspiration.

• Not so much a gifted player but Raul is mentally stronger than any player in current world football. Situations where everyone goes down, get demoralized, Raul seems to raise the level of his game and actually Raul performs better when put under pressure which is a unique quality.

• Raul’s physical fitness, though he cannot run at the pace of Roberto Carlos but he can run for 90 minutes unlike Roberto Carlos or for that matter, most of the players. Raul chases defenders down, the whole of 90 minutes, puts pressure on the opposition which leads to them loosing possession.

• Raul’s technique might not be among the best but his vision for the game (he is actually able to think under pressure, most players just want to go out there like a bull and smash the opposition after they concede a goal or get down on themselves but Raul has a different approach all together), more than makes up for it.

• His work ethic, a true professional and as far as I am concerned a role model for everyone, related or not related to sports. No matter what you do , you have to give it all you got, otherwise there is no point in doing anything.

• His positioning off the ball is exceptional, always finds space by running across the defenders rather than along with them, always helps his teammates by giving them options to play the ball by making himself available.

• Raul also has great composure which says a lot about his mental toughness, he rarely misses a godo enough chance under tight situations where as many top players in the world today, do miss sitters when playing under extreme pressure, Raul doesn’t and for this very reason he has been playing for the best club in the world for more than a decade.

 Raul weaknesses:

Raul may not have any strengths but his mental strength gives him the edge over players that are more talented than him

• Raul does not have any real weakness neither does he has any strengths apart from his mental abilities, but his main weakness is that he cannot score long range goals

• His pace is not enough to run down defenders

• Though he is a striker, he does not have that poacher’s instincts and neither has a devastating finish like Rud Van Nistelrooy but that does not mean that he is not a good striker, he is just not one of the best, though early on in his career he was a very very good finisher and had that acute goal scoring instincts (still does but as I said, he doesn’t have any weakness neither does he has any strengths)but since then, it has been a slide down over this part of his game.

• Raul ball control is sometimes a liability more than anything but most of the time it’s pretty good.

• His balance on either feet is also not the best.

• As mentioned before, Raul is not a naturally gifted player, he has worked hard for everything he has achieved. One consequence of not being naturally gifted it that Raul does not look very comfortable on the ball, he can miss control or miss hit shots when defenders close him down quickly, He is not like a Messi who is very very neat and natural on the ball , defenders think twice before tackling Messi as he has got such good feet and feel on the ball. Raul does not has that.

Raúl embodies Real Madrid’s core values of commitment, hard work, and composure every time he dons the team shirt, the only one he’ll ever wear in Spain according to him.

All in all Raul is a sort of standard player who can do everything and has exceptional leadership qualities.

(Note: this is not the definitive article, this is just what I have observed till the season 2007-2008,Raul may work on his weaknesses or may loose some of his strengths due to the obvious reasons but I will keep it updated so that if Barcelona want to defeat Real Madrid or Raul at least ,they can always count on me (just kidding, I don’t wanna help Barcelona, I just want to warn Real Madrid Lolz)

Tags: Raul, real madrid