Indispensable and with a bad haircut
(Written by Romario de Souza Faria)When Luis Aragones revealed his 23 man squad for Spain in a news conference on September 29th, one name was missing. Raul, the former Spanish captain, was dropped for the first time in 10 years for reasons other than injury. While many were shocked, it seemed like a necessary move for the beleaguered coach of Spain. Aragones had already benched his former captain during the World Cup, where Spain yet again failed to deliver on their incredible potential, but this was an even more drastic step. The Raul who scored 44 goals in 102 games for Spain and 181 goals in 461 games for Real Madrid was struggling yet again to regain even a fraction of the form that made him one of the most feared strikers in Europe.
It seemed like Spains golden boy would become the scapegoat for a humiliating 3-2 defeat to the minnows of Northern Ireland. Raul, as usual, reacted with typical grace to the news, "The national team is more important than any individual interests. I will be supporting the team with all my heart from my home. I will always be the national teams number one fan." The results, however, for player and national team have been completely the opposite.
In their first game without Raul, Spain failed to score and were beaten convincingly by Sweden. The 2-0 defeat left the reeling Spaniards in 5th place in Group F of the Euro 2008 qualifiers. The 2-1 win a few days later against an under-strength Argentina was needless to say, unconvincing.
Rauls reaction, on the other hand, has been recreating the form that drove Sir Alex Ferguson to say that Raul was "the best player in the world."
He scored his first goals for Real Madrid since 2005 when he scored a brace in the clubs 4-1 victory over Dynamo Kiev in the Champions League two weeks ago. He followed that with the only goal in the 1-1 tie with cross-town rivals, Athletico Madrid and continued his rich vein of form with the 2nd goal in the 4-1 win over Steau Bucahresti in the Champions League.
On the weekend, Raul showed that hes finally back with a superbly taken header in the 3rd minute against Barcelona. The statement Real Madrid made in their 2-0 win over heated rivals Barcelona was that they, like their captain, are a force to be reckoned with. With a deadly partnership developing with Dutchman Ruud Van Nistlerooy, Raul may finally be putting the demons of the last two years to rest.
They say form is temporary but class is permanent. Raul, after two years of below par performances which brought fierce criticism throughout Spain, seems to have proven the adage right. His current record of 5 goals in 5 games has reinvigorated his Real Madrid team, who are now finally clicking under new coach Fabio Capello.
For a team starved of any trophies over the past couple of years, Capello needed the teams icon and captain to be fit, hungry & productive in order for Madrid to challenge.
Aragones shocking move seems to have motivated Raul, who up until the move had gone goalless in 5 games. Perhaps Aragones, who left the door open for a possible recall of the star by saying "Raul will be in the national team... because hes a man who knows how to earn it," would be wise to make use of Spain�s "other" in-form striker (Valencias David Villa has 9 goals in 12 games).
The player Franz Beckenbauer dubbed as "one of the best of Europe. He is Real Madrids spirit. He is like Matthaus for us: indispensable, and with a bad haircut" could potentially be the spark plug Spain needs to regain their form and make a push at qualifying for Euro 2008.
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