Latest news with #Raúl
BBC News
09-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
In pictures: Real Madrid legend joins golf stars at Scottish Open
Real Madrid legend Raúl González is among a host of celebrities who have taken part in the Scottish Open pro-am, on the eve of the tournament at the Renaissance Club in North of the world's top golfers are in Scotland for the event, near Edinburgh, which will be followed by the Open Championship at Royal Portrush in Northern include Masters champion Rory McIlroy, world number one Scottie Scheffler and defending champion Robert MacIntyre, who last month finished runner-up in the US Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald and major champions Justin Rose, Matt Fitzpatrick, Justin Thomas, Xander Schauffele, Adam Scott and Padraig Harrington are also in field. Raúl, who won three Champions League titles with the Spanish giants, played alongside former Celtic captain Scott Brown and ex-Rangers defender Steven in its fourth year as a PGA Tour and DP World Tour co-sanctioned event, the Scottish Open boasts a total purse of of $9m (£6.6m) – around $1.5m (£1.1m) of which goes to the than 76,000 golf fans attended the four-day tournament last year and a recent analysis found it delivered a net economic impact of £19.2m to the Scottish economy.
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
⭐ Mexico's MVPs at the Gold Cup
Mexico claimed the Gold Cup title after defeating the USA team 2 goals to 1. Three players from the Tricolor shone brightly during the tournament and were key pieces in Mexico's performance. Edson, the captain Machín was key in the Tricolor's most challenging moments, and his excellent level earned him the trophy for the Best Player of the 2025 Gold Cup. Mexico has a leader in midfield after a long time. Raúl, the scorer After an injury that almost left him off the fields, the "Mexican Wolf" regained his football level and is the key man in the Mexican offense. Santi has fallen behind while Raúl is shaping up to be the starter at the beginning of the 2026 World Cup. Mora, the hope During the final, the Mexican gem could do little, but with his performances during the previous rounds, Gilberto gave hope to the fans who see him as the next big figure in Mexican football. This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here. 📸 Omar Vega - 2025 Getty Images
Yahoo
05-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Will Mbappé lose his starting spot? Why Real's new Raúl could benefit him
Sure, fundamentally Kylian Mbappé doesn't have much in common with an SPD party chairman, but these days he's somewhat like Real Madrid's Lars Klingbeil: he lacks support within his own ranks. The popularity ratings of the French star striker are actually even more dramatic than the 64.9 percent Klingbeil had to accept at last week's party conference in Berlin. According to a survey by the Spanish portal 'El Chiringuito', only 38.5 percent of Real fans see what is probably their most important player in the starting lineup. When it comes to dealing with these catastrophic poll numbers, however, Mbappé doesn't have to analyze an election disaster or anything of the sort—he just has to watch the Club World Cup. Advertisement The 26-year-old has been forced to watch from the sidelines recently anyway. Mbappé was out for over two weeks with a stomach flu and had to watch as Real fans fell in love with another striker, who now holds the 61.5 percent that Mbappé is currently missing: Gonzalo García. García has been involved in four goals in Real's four Club World Cup matches so far, currently filling in for Mbappé at the center forward position. He's being celebrated online and has even been compared by coach Xabi Alonso to one of the greats. 'For me, it's not so surprising what he's doing. In many ways, he reminds me of Raúl,' the new Real coach recently explained, and he certainly knows what he's talking about: as a player, he shared the pitch with Raúl 60 times and, by his own account, followed many games of Real's second team last season. Advertisement What he means by the comparison: García is a classic poacher, but he doesn't rely on physicality—instead, it's his strong instincts in the box that set him apart. He rarely outruns defenders, because he's usually already in the right place. In a Real squad full of attacking players who are brilliant on the ball, it's García's off-the-ball genius that is enchanting everyone right now. For the fans, however, there's another aspect of the Raúl comparison that matters: he's one of their own. Just like the legendary striker, García comes from Real's own youth academy. And at Los Blancos, that's something special. While FC Barcelona regularly turns La Masia talents into big stars, Real's best players in recent years have almost always come from elsewhere. That also explains why a relatively average striker like Joselu, who played for Real's youth teams before his odyssey through European football, was so popular with the supporters. But back to Mbappé: What if not only the fans, but also Alonso, sees García as a permanent starter? Should Real's actual first-choice striker suddenly worry about his future in Madrid? If we assume that Gonzalo García really is Real's new Raúl: probably not. Because if you think about when and how Raúl worked best at Real, you quickly land at the time when he formed a strike partnership with the real Ronaldo. And it's precisely that role that Mbappé might even fill better than that of a lone number nine. With Raúl as his strike partner, R9 was able to drift wide, use his great speed, and attack the spaces where he was most effective. 📸 Megan Briggs - 2025 Getty Images Advertisement For Mbappé, who has often struggled in the center at Real, an additional striker could actually be a kind of liberation. And who knows, maybe one day not only Kylian Mbappé, but also a club in Germany will get to enjoy Real's new striker. Because if he really is the new Raúl, then maybe in about 16 years we'll hear: Bienvenido a Schalke, Gonzalo García! This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here. 📸 CHANDAN KHANNA - AFP or licensors
Yahoo
27-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
90s Hitmen: Raul – Real Madrid and Champions League royalty
Expectations and pressure weigh heavier at Real Madrid than almost any other football club. The famous all-white colours, rich heritage and relentless demand for success, the Bernabeu is an environment where only the greats make a truly lasting impression. For almost two decades, Raúl González Blanco was the visual representation of a footballing superpower, the Madridista with magic in his feet who embodied his people and became the symbol of the Spanish side. Advertisement Raúl's contribution to the cause will last the test of time, but it was fate and ill-judgement that first guided the precocious forward towards Spain's most celebrated club. Raúl had been a part of Atletico Madrid's youth system when the club's former president, Jesus Gil, made a decision that would change the course of history in the capital, closing the youth system in a bid to cut costs and allowing the budding talent to cross the Madrid divide. It took little time before Raúl proved Atletico wrong, scoring prolifically for Real's youth sides to progress to the first team within a matter of months. He became Los Blancos' youngest-ever debutant for a short time following a bright performance against Real Zaragoza, before marking his second appearance with a goal and assist in a 4-2 derby success against Atletico Madrid. Advertisement Raúl had arrived. From the moment he took to the pitch in a Real Madrid shirt the forward belonged, possessing an innate self-confidence in his quality and the finesse of a player several seasons his senior. He was named La Liga's Breakthrough Player in 1994/95 after helping Real end Barcelona's four-season stranglehold on the title, before exploding the following campaign to score 26 goals in all competitions. It was that season when Raul first made his mark on the Champions League, scoring six goals in eight appearances in a competition that would come to define him. That haul included a hat-trick against Ferencváros, the teenager marking only his third appearance in the competition by becoming the youngest treble scorer in Champions League history, his record – aged just 18 years and 114 days – still standing almost three decades later. Advertisement Real's run was ended in the quarter-finals by eventual champions Juventus, despite Raúl handing the Spaniards a first-leg advantage with the only goal of the game on home soil. Raùl had risen from the ranks rapidly to become the hometown hero of the club's fanatical fanbase, each revelling in watching one of their own bring both endeavour and elegance to the Bernabeu stage. For those fans, success in Europe matters above all else. Since a dominant run in winning the first five editions of the European Cup, Real had added just one further title to their collection. Without success in Europe since 1966, the barren run was the narrative as the side progressed with cautious optimism through the 1997/98 campaign. Advertisement Real's form in continental competition juxtaposed their disappointing domestic campaign, eliminating Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund in the knockout stages to set up a final meeting with Juventus, the Italians experienced on this stage and into a third successive showpiece. Underdogs for the clash in Amsterdam, Raúl started in a deeper role behind a front pairing of Fernando Morientes and Predrag Mijatović, the latter scoring the decisive goal as Real's long wait was ended. Two seasons later, Real were back in the final, with Raúl – injury having disrupted his campaign two seasons earlier – outstanding in Europe, scoring twice in devastating fashion as holders Manchester United were eliminated in the last eight. He scored again in the final as Valencia were beaten in Paris, racing away on the counter-attack to score the clincher in a 3-0 success for Real, finishing as the Champions League's leading scorer with 10 goals in just 15 appearances. Advertisement Real's successes in Europe came despite a turbulent period off the pitch for the club, amid managerial upheaval and toxicity within the dressing room, Raúl having famously warned incoming arrival, Steve McManaman of the problems at the Bernabeu, just a year before that win over Valencia. 'The dressing room is a cesspit of lies, treachery and whispers. I feel sorry for new players like Steve McManaman coming into the club. If McManaman thinks he is coming to one of the world's top clubs, then he has made a big mistake.' Raúl, so often the voice of the fans and the footballing figurehead for the Madridistas, was soon faced with another challenge, as the presidential arrival of Florentino Perez brought sweeping changes. In came the Galacticos, four Ballon d'Or winners and David Beckham signed within the space of four summers, a transfer strategy that threatened the balance both on and off the pitch. Raúl added a third Champions League winners' medal at the end of the 2001/02 campaign, scoring a stunning effort in the semi-finals against Barcelona, becoming the first player to score in two finals as Bayer Leverkusen were beaten at Hampden Park. Advertisement It was a quintessential goal from the Spanish striker, his sharpness in movement catching the Leverkusen defence off-guard as he latched onto Roberto Carlos' quick throw-in to roll beyond Hans-Jörg Butt. His movement and timing were often immaculate. Whether ghosting from the defender's gaze at the exact right moment or reacting quickest to a loose ball, around goal Raúl was often in a league of his own. Not blessed with elite natural gifts, his intelligence and application ensured he became one of the greatest goalscorers of a generation and one of the most remarkable Real Madrid players of all time. Advertisement Fernando Hierro once said of his former teammate that Raùl was 'not a 10 out of 10 in anything' but instead 'an eight-and-a-half in everything.' Raúl is amongst the greatest footballers Spain has produced, even if his time with the national team coincided with a team tagged as perennial underachievers, a generation's reputation for La Roja tainted further following the wealth of success that followed in the immediate aftermath of Raúl's retirement from national duty. He retired as Spain's all-time record goalscorer with 44 goals, a figure since eclipsed by David Villa, though success in major tournaments proved elusive with his last-minute missed penalty against France leading to elimination at Euro 2000. He was a great player in a team of unfulfilled potential, but back at club level, Raúl continued to write his legend. Advertisement Even as the marquee arrivals came and went at the Bernabeu, he remained the spirited leader of the Spanish giants, a player who gave the proverbial blood, sweat and tears in the quest for success in the capital. The trophies continued to come and the goals flowed at a rapid rate, his 323 goals in 741 appearances a Real Madrid record until the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo, the man who inherited his fabled number seven shirt. Twice he finished as the leading scorer in La Liga and was named as runner-up for the Ballon d'Or in 2001, his career passing without the recognition of Europe's greatest individual honour deemed a travesty by the Real Madrid support. Six league titles and three Champions League winners medals were among the many team honours accumulated, but as his legs aged and his role diminished towards the end of the 2000s, a fierce competitor wanted more than to be amongst the supporting cast. Advertisement Schalke came calling for a modern great and across two seasons Raúl left his own indelible mark in Gelsenkirchen, rolling back the years to score 40 goals in 98 games for the Bundesliga side. That haul included raising his Champions League tally to 71 goals, a competition record which stood until the all-time greats of Ronaldo and Lionel Messi condemned even extraordinary feats to afterthoughts. Ventures to Al Sadd and New York Cosmos wound down the career of a nineties icon, but it is for the relenting service to Real Madrid that most will remember Raúl. Insatiable in his pursuit of goals and success, Raúl was captivatingly clinical and often came alive on the grandest stages of all. Advertisement Read – Midfield Magicians: Guti, Real Madrid legend and undisputed king of assist porn Read Also – 90s Hitmen: Romario, a Brazilian goalscoring genius Follow The Football Faithful on Social Media: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube | TikTok
Iraqi News
28-05-2025
- Sport
- Iraqi News
Real Madrid Announces Coach to Replace Legend Raul
Follow-up - INA Real Madrid officially announced the new coach of the reserve team (Real Madrid Castilla), one day after the team's former coach, legendary Raul Gonzalez, announced his departure from the technical staff. The club said in an official statement: "Raúl has decided to end his time as coach of our club. It has been an honor for the club to have one of the greatest legends of Real Madrid and world football coaching our teams." The club confirmed that "Alvaro Arbeloa will coach Castilla starting in the 2025-26 season," adding: "Arbeloa is a legend of Real Madrid and Spanish football, and one of the most outstanding players in our club." Real Madrid quickly announced Raul's successor to lead the Castilla (under-21s). Former star Álvaro Arbeloa, coach of the under-19s, was chosen to succeed Real Madrid legend 47, has been coaching Real Madrid's second team, known in Spain as Real Madrid Castilla, since 2017 and has succeeded in developing several stars and promoting them to the first team, most notably Raul Asensio, Fran Garcia, Victor Munoz, and others.
