I know he is an excellent footballer, where in the history of Spanish National players does he fall? Thanks.
Here's the current list of all-time Int'l Goal Scorers (someone else posted this link in another thread last week or so): http://www.rsssf.com/miscellaneous/century.html#goals Raul is Spain's career scoring leader and is tied for #49 on the global list with 41 international goals. Here's the list of Spanish leaders for most caps and for goals: http://www.rsssf.com/miscellaneous/span-recintlp.html Modern day players seem to have an advantage in that there are now more national team games.
He is probably going to rank #1 when he retires. He has records to his name, a great club history, a decent one in the NT (with more records)....and we are talking about current history. Luis Suarez was our best known player, he got a best European player award, was the star at Inter and helped Spain get our only EC, he was very, very good. However we are talking black and white here, Raul will go over him even if he doesn't win in the NT. As players, pound for pound, they were very different and I have seen little of Suarez, so I can't say. Also take into account that the history of the Spanish NT is not very prolific. We have traditionally been in the top 5-10, but far from the 1st and with only one title to our name. A player with the huge numbers of Raul at club level (much heavier than Suarez's in weight and lenght, even though not as important in personal career and NT levels), and who is living at the height of the information age (and in color), will take that crown easily. Who knows, if we are lucky Raul is still young and he may take all the glory without discussion (I hope so).
How would you assess his performance in the national team lately? The matches aren't covered in Manila (we get the England matches only for some reason) but Im rooting for Spain and am worried its strikers haven't been contributing much to the team's recent wins in the World Cup qualifiers...
Yeah, and not from just recently, I think you can pretty much go back to Zarra on this (20 goals in 20 games, I wish he was born again).
Yeah. That's why I'd like to see new people like Villa or Mista having a chance. And special mention to the overrated Torres. H'e good, but IMO better as a support striker. Iberian, c'mon we don't need to go that back, remember Santillana, Quini, el Buitre.
I loved each one of them, but I've heard wonders of Zarra. He didn't play too many games with the NT because in those times they played very few games, but his ratios there and in Liga where the ones of a much better striker than anybody after him, almost like he was the striker we needed in the times that we had a team and no striker, probably what happened to him in reverse. Mista is more of an opportunist (usually scores from very close range), somebody that has to be "en racha" to be doing anything. I don't see him fighting off strong defenses, he is not a 9 but more of an useful converted winger coming from the side who needs freedom of movement coming from behind and taking advantage of the strikers being marked instead of him. Villa, or Tamudo, are more the type I think. Tamudo I think would be best, his injuries are just a pain, and Villa more effective than Torres right now for sure.
Yeah, I have always liked Tamudo, but he has disappointed me when he has been with the NT. Zarra still has the record number of Pichichis, 6, followed by di Stefano, Quini and Hugo Sanchez with 5