Raúl's place at risk from new generation of Spain forwards
Spain face Norway on Saturday at the Mestalla stadium in Valencia in the first leg of their 2004 European Championship qualification play-off and for the first time in nearly a decade the national coach’s hand may have wavered for a millisecond before putting the name of Raúl González at the top of the teamsheet.
Spain face Norway on Saturday at the Mestalla stadium in Valencia in the first leg of their 2004 European Championship qualification play-off and for the first time in nearly a decade the national coach’s hand may have wavered for a millisecond before putting the name of Raúl González at the top of the teamsheet.
Of course, Raúl has been called up and, were he not, it would be front-page news, and not just in the football press. But the Real Madrid striker is not having a great season and although he has scored five league goals he has not looked settled. At times, were he not the patron saint of Real, he would have been substituted.
On Sunday, when Sevilla flattened Real 4-1, Raúl — the captain who usually pulls it together when the team starts to unravel — looked like he had no idea what was going on, and not for the first time this season.
Marca, the Madrid football daily that is devoted to Raúl, said he was "missing", adding: "Once again, little, almost nothing, from Raúl."
Cynics say the golden boy is suffering from limelight deficiency, otherwise known as Ronaldo-Beckham syndrome, but this cannot wholly explain his loss of form. Besides, Raúl’s adaptability is one of his many strengths. When Fernando Morientes, his long-time friend and striking partner, was forced to give way to Ronaldo, Raúl quickly formed an understanding with the Brazilian and the pair proved a lethal combination last season.
Raúl has been on the scene for so long it is easy to forget that he is still only 26. His record is without parallel in Spanish football. He has won four league titles and three European Cups and has scored 225 goals in 450 matches in all competitions for his club. He has twice been La Liga’s top scorer and has also twice topped the scoring in the Champions League, where he is way ahead of the rest as all-time top scorer with 44 goals in 81 matches.
He made his debut for Spain in 1994 in the under-18 team and has scored 35 goals in 66 appearances for the full national squad, but has rarely performed as well for his country as, until recently, he has done for his club. However, as Spain as a whole have failed to be the sum of their talented parts, he can only be held partly responsible.
In a league where so often the front men are not Spanish and therefore not eligible, Iñaki Sáez, the Spain coach, suddenly finds himself spoilt for choice for strikers. Aside from Raúl, there is José Antonio Reyes, of Sevilla, who masterminded Real’s defeat on Sunday, Fernando Torres, of Atlético Madrid, Diego Tristán and Albert Luque, of Deportivo la Coruña, and Miguel Mista, of Valencia. All are playing well, as is Morientes, now at AS Monaco, but he has not yet been invited back into the fold. On Saturday Raúl is likely to be partnered by either Luque or Torres and the coach will be expected to give the in-form Reyes a game.
Reyes and Torres are only 20 and Raúl has already been described in one paper as "the babysitter".
Interviewed a fortnight ago on the tenth anniversary of his Real debut, Raúl said: "One day I’ll have to take my turn on the bench." Unless his form picks up, that day may come sooner than he imagined.