Soccer Stars
Raul Gonzalez
-->Michael Owen
--> Raul Gonzalez
Birth Date: 27 June 1977
Height: 180 cm
Weight: 68 kg
Position: FW
Current Club: Real Madrid (ESP)
First Int'l Cap: Czech Republic ( 9 October 1996)
Not having a team to play for, Raul turned to local rivals Real Madrid, where success came quickly: he began the 1994/95 season in Real's C team, scoring 13 goals in the first seven games.
In October 1994, coach Jorge Valdano picked the teenager for his first team. At just 17 years and four months old, Raul became the youngest player ever to wear a Real Madrid shirt. In so doing, he became more valued than players such as Emilio Butragueño. He was soon on the way to becoming Spain's new superstar. In his first season, he scored nine times in 28 appearances and won a Spanish league championship medal.
Raul earned his first full international cap in October 1996.
Raul's inconsistency at an international level has perplexed the best football judges, who use it as a reason for why the 24-year-old only came in third to team-mate Luis Figo as FIFA Player of the Year in 2001.
