Pep Guardiola Praises Schalke's New Signing of Raul Gonzalez
Former Real Madrid striker Raul Gonzalez has settled in well at his new club Schalke 04, earning praise from teammates and an old rival in Spain.
The striker's former Barcelona rival Pep Guardiola, who now manages the Catalan club, praised the German team's new signing on Barcelona's pre-season tour of Asia.
"With Raul's departure, goes the best player of all time in Spanish football," said Guardiola at a press conference in South Korea.
Guardiola, who not only rivaled Raul as a Barcelona player, but also partnered him in the Spanish national team between 1996 and 2001, pointed to Raul's fantastic record with Real Madrid.
"The numbers speak for themselves," he said.
And Guardiola is right; Raul's record with Real Madrid is unmatched in Spanish football.
Real Madrid Record
Between 1994 and 2010, Raul won the Spanish league title six times with Real Madrid. He also helped the club to three Champions League titles.
He is also Real Madrid's top scorer in the league, a title he overtook from legendary forward Alberto Di Stefano, active as a player in the 1950's. In 550 league games, Raul bagged 228 goals for Real.
Off to a Good Start at Schalke
On Sunday, Gonzalez made his debut for Schalke against Bayern Munich.
It took the Spaniard only 34 minutes to win the heart of his new fans. At that point, he had tucked in the rebound from fellow striker Eduardo's shot to put Schalke level, and scored a second goal from outside the box.
The latter effort showed Raul's superior finishing skills, as he cut behind the Bayern defence with a diagonal run and let a perfectly weighted lob get the better of keeper Hans-Jorg Butt.
After the match, Schalke manager, Felix Magath, praised his new signing, who himself was delighted to have made a positive start in Germany.
"I'm feeling very well here and I'm happy that I helped the team to a win against Bayern with my two goals," Raul told the club's website.
As the former captain of both Real Madrid and Spanish national team, Raul will likely take on a leadership role at his new club.
For now, the 33-year-old is happy to have got started on a good note.
"My team-mates have been very helpful in the past couple of days and they're making it very easy for me to adapt to my new surroundings," he said.
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