It's fair to say that when Raul left Real Madrid after clocking up a stunning 550 appearances for the club most in the world of football believed his stunning career was starting to wind down.
Scattered in those 550 games were an amazing 132 appearances in the Champions League during which he scored 66 goals. His move to German club Schalke 04 at the start of this season meant he would be able to continues his adventures in Europe's premier competition, but no one seriously expected him or his new team to make much of an impact on things.
How wrong they were. So far this season, Raul has managed to add another ten Champions League appearances to his name, bagging a further five goals along the way, including some crucial strikes that unexpectedly propelled his side to the semi-final stage of the competition, upsetting the Champions League promotions along the way.
As it stands, he holds the European Competitions scoring record, with an amazing 72 goals, only one of which was not scored in the Champions League and he could still add to that tally this season.
Unfortunately for Raul, it looks like his next appearance in the competition could well be his last. They lost the first leg of their semi-final to Manchester United by two goals and they are currently sat in tenth in the Bundesliga. Anyone looking to bet on Champions League games won't expect them to bounce back.
Fans of the legendary player will no doubt be hoping that he has one last fantastic performance in him, but given how United played Schalke off the park during their first match it may be a miracle too far for a player set to go down as one of the game's true legends.
Whatever the circumstances of his last game in Champions League football, you can be certain that all true supporters will be sad to see him go.
No comments:
Post a Comment