When I heard about Raúl Gonzalez Blanco leaving Real Madrid I was heart-broken, the same happened the next day....when Guti also left the white team.
Couple of days Later I found out that Raul was ready to work with a team called Schalke 04 (for many months a struggled with this name).
It was already so hard to know that, the so called "Madridistas", gave him a cold farewell...forgetting about the tittles and games Raúl won for Real Madrid. The hard work that this player put on his club , on his field, but what did the most famous number 7 got in return? Just Bad criticism, insults, contempt and name-calling, trying to belittle the great figure and legend that Raul already was.
But the hardest part for me; was when I first saw him in his official Schalke Uniform:(Royal) blue and white. It was so different from his RM uniform. I just couldn't get used to the idea he was there and not in the Bernabeu. To be honest I was familiar with names like Neuer, Escudero,Jurado, and Huntelaar but I didnt knew them very well. I felt bad for Raul, he was the new guy in a different country, culture and customs, he didn't even knew the language!!! He probably thought "How did this happen?" Almost everyday I thought about it and how he was hanging on.
After I learned he had 3 team mates he could talk to, I felt good but, what kind of image they had of Raul? I mean there were so many wicked mean rumors about how he handled the club as a player and other stuff. Maybe they would feel threatened by him, who knows?! But knowing what a good person he is, Raul was more "present" on the practices, talking more, smiling more, so i guess he felt more confortable.
Schalke 04 turn out to be the best choice for him, because it's a club with traditions and hard working people, just like Gelsenkirchen, a place where soccer is everything. Also known by the famous Veltins Arena which is the most modern stadium in the world.
As you may expected, people were saying crap about Schalke 04 and why Raul was there. Belive me I heard it all! "Schalke04 is the worst team in Germany","a team of third category" "The Bundelsiga has a low level of football in Europe" By the time Raul was on Schalke04, they were number 16 on the bundesliga, but now they are in number 9 and going up! and the bundesliga is in the top 5 of European Leagues ! What about that?!!!Haters!
How things have change since last year, now the people who talked trash about him are silent or even saying that they always supported him! false! 2 faces people!. Schalke players and club has won my white heart and Raul still have my support. Little by little the Raul haters remain silent. For the past 10 months Raul showed them what a great football player is all about.
In European play, Raul has since become the highest goal scorer in all UEFA competitions with 73 goals, ahead of Milan veteran Filippo Inzaghi with 70 goals. He scored 71 goals inUEFA Champions League (66 goals with the Castilian and 5 others with Schalke 04) and addition his two goals with the capital side, one goal in 2000 UEFA Super Cup and the other one in 1998 Intercontinental Cup (also commonly referred as known as EUSA Cup). On 22 October 2010, the former Spanish international scored twice against Hapoel Tel Aviv in a 3–1 win, which tied him with German legend Gerd Müller for the most number of European goals. Raúl duly broke this record on 15 February 2011 on his return to Spain, with a crucial away goal in the last 16 tie against Valencia at the Mestalla Stadium in a 1–1 draw. In the quarter-finals, Raúl scored two goals against Internazionale. He scored one goal in the first leg, a 2–5 away win in San Siro and one goal in the second leg, a 2–1 home win in Veltins-Arena. Schalke progressed to the semi-finals of the 2010–11 UEFA Champions League for the first time in their history, where they will play against Manchester United.(wikipedia.org)
I believe going to S04 was the best thing Raul could do in his life! he is happy, respected and recognized all over the world! something that should had happened before! All I know is that, I know Ill see Raul and Schalke 04 on the top of Europe! meanwhile we just have to wait and support them.
1 comment:
Grande Raúl!!!
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