Raul

This profile was edited with Thomas’ Myspace Editor V3.4
I was born in the Madrid suburb of Villaverde Alto. After winning his spurs as a member of provincial team San Cristobal de Los Angeles, his father signed him to the Atletico Madrid youth team at the age of 13. Raul rose through the ranks, winning the national title with the Under-15's, and seemed destined to join the professional side when Atletico President Jesus Gil y Gil dissolved the club's entire youth scheme in an effort to save money.Deprived of a team to play for, Raul turned to local rivals Real Madrid, where success was quickly forthcoming: he began the 1994-5 season in Real's C team, scoring 13 goals in the first seven games. In October 1994, coach Jorge Valdano picked the gifted teenager in his first team. At just 17 years and four months, Raul became the youngest player ever to wear a Real Madrid shirt. In so doing, he nudged aside Emilio Butragueño, a star in his own right, and was soon well on the way to becoming Spain's new sensation. He scored nine times in his first season from 28 appearances, including one in his second game against Atletico, and won a Spanish league championship medal.Since making his debut against the Czech Republic in October 1996, Raúl's performances for Spain have very much mirrored the nation's fortunes, Spain being dubbed the "greatest underachievers" in international football.Raúl was a key player in Real Madrid's last six big titles, three European Champions Leagues (1998, 2000 and 2002) scoring the clinching goal in the champions league final of 2000 and three National Championships (1997, 2001 and 2003). After Fernando Hierro retired from the Spanish national team in 2002, Raúl became the captain for Real Madrid and Spain.Ever since, he has been under heavy criticism by the media and part of the supporters because of his poor performances in the last two years, in which Real Madrid struggled to win a title in Spain and in European Champions Leagues, with no success in either of them. These struggles have seen Raúl regulated at times to the substitutes bench by both club and country leaving questions as to how much he might have in the tank.Raúl is a striker who is able to link attack and midfield effectively.At 1.80m in height and just over 70 kg, Raúl is very mobile and light on his feet, and likes to switch positions or go out wide. He can put his team-mates through into great positions, and create chances for himself even against the toughest markers. Originally an out-and-out striker, thanks to his versatility he has developed link-up play, allowing him to play in the hole behind the front men.For his country, Raúl scored 42 goals in 92 international matches (as of November 2005). He played in the 1998 World Cup, Euro 2000, the 2002 World Cup, and Euro 2004. On 28 September 2005 against Greek power Olympiakos, he became the first player to score 50 goals in UEFA Champions League play (in his 97th match). Raúl is also currently 10th highest goalscorer in the history of Spain's top flight, with 180 goals in 400 games. All of these goals were for Real Madrid, making Raúl the club's third highest goalscorer of all time. This might improve as Raúl is still playing for the club.When he led out the Spanish team against San Marino in a World Cup qualifier on 12 October 2005, he surpassed his predecessor as Spain captain, Fernando Hierro, as the most-capped outfield player in Spanish history.Real Madrid