Raúl González Blanco

Raúl González Blanco (born June 27, 1977 in Madrid, Spain), renowned simply as Raúl, is a Spanish association football (soccer) striker. Raúl is currently the team captain for the famous European football club Real Madrid, and has been playing there professionally since the start of the 1992/1993 season. He has also played 102 games with Spain, and is the all-time top goal scorer on the national side, having attained 44 goals as of today.

Raúl has performed with the Spanish national team in the 1998 FIFA World Cup, the UEFA Euro 2000, the 2002 FIFA World Cup, the UEFA Euro 2004 and the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. "EL Angel del Madrid,"as he has been nicknamed by his fans and the media alike, is presently the 7th highest goal marker in Spain's association football history, with 196 goals and 466 appearances. Having composed all these goals for his club, Raúl is Real Madrid's all-time 2nd top goal scorer.

He is oftentimes also nicknamed "El Siete" (The Number Seven) and "El Capitán" (The Captain). He has been wearing the #7 jersey for first team duty since he was only 17 year old. His current contract with the club runs until 2010.

Titles and Accolades

La Liga: 1994/95, 1996/97, 2000/01, 2002/03, 2006/07

Champions League: 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