“I took the train from Villaverde to go to training. I opened the news and it was on all the front pages”

Raúl González Blanco shouldn’t be solely a Actual Madrid legend, but in addition an important determine within the historical past of Spanish soccer. Years after hanging up his boots, the ahead continues to seem in quite a few rankings for the white membership, both by variety of objectives or video games performed.

His profession exemplifies how success can escape unexpectedly and fully remodel life, forcing elite athletes to adapt to a brand new actuality.

Like so many different kids, his story with soccer started at a really younger age. His vocation was consolidated within the decrease classes of Atlético de Madrid, though destiny wished his skilled debut to happen within the everlasting rival.

There it could find yourself turning into the emblematic quantity 7 of Actual Madrid, with the permission of Cristiano Ronaldo. The trail, nevertheless, was not with out difficulties, particularly as a result of impression of a fame that made him recognizable anyplace.

Raúl was at all times clear that not everybody who goals of being a soccer participant manages to succeed in their objective. In his case, success was not the results of likelihood, however of perseverance, effort and a agency dedication to go away a mark.

His jump from the reserve team to the first team was almost unimaginable for him. In his second game, precisely against Atlético de Madrid, he scored his first two goals, thus beginning a career that would end up marking an era.

His emergence was dazzling. In a matter of days, his name was on the front pages and in the news. “I took the train daily from Villaverde to go to train. And suddenly I opened the news and I was on all the covers. They recognized me on the train. I tried to hide, not look at them,” he recalled in an interview with Vanity Fair.

Shyness became one of his most recognizable traits, along with a humility forged in his origins. “I was the 17-year-old boy from a humble neighborhood who had succeeded and when I arrived at the station, people were looking out of the cars waiting for me,” he said about those first moments of fame.

Since then, Raúl became a reference for an entire generation of young footballers. His story fueled the dream of many children who, like him, kicked a ball for the first time in improvised fields, where falls left scars that lasted for weeks.

That closeness and simplicity ended up winning over the Madrid fans, who knew their daily routine and were waiting for the opportunity to get closer to their idol. “I trained in the mornings and studied from 6 to 10 at night at the neighborhood high school,” he explained about his training period.

As time went by, the situation became unsustainable. “Then everything became chaotic. I had to stop studying because what I wanted was to be a soccer player,” he confessed, evidencing the personal sacrifices that accompanied his meteoric rise.