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Just 25 years old and already a legend in his country,
Raul is determined to end Spain's long string of early
exits from the World Cup.
The Real Madrid striker is a veteran of the international
game, having played 51 games while scoring 25 goals,
but he has yet to lead Spain to a major championship.
This year, his ambition is more than just taking Spain
to its best World Cup performance since its fourth-place
finish in 1950.
"Spain is going to try to win this World Cup,"
he said. "I have always had the World Cup in my
head and now more so.
"Spanish football needs to do something big. I
think we can do it. And if there's anybody out there
who doesn't believe that, we'll make them believe it."
Certainly, Spain's coaching staff is looking for a
big performance from Raul, who is already the third-most-capped
player on the Spanish national team.
"Raul's the player that everyone looks to,"
Spanish coach Jose Antonio Camacho said. "And maybe
to be recognized as the world's best player he just
needs to do something at the national level."
Former national coach Javier Clemente is another admirer,
and not just because of Raul's skills.
"His capacity for fighting is enviable,"
said Clemete, "he strives and gets his team out
of a fix when it needs it. He's the prototype player
everyone wants in their team."
After scoring six goals in the 1995-96 Champions League
for Real Madrid, Spain fans called for national coach
Javier Clemente to bring up Raul for Euro '96, but Clemente
decided to save the young striker for the Olympic tournament.
Raul did have the opportunity to shine at France '98,
but he scored just one goal and failed to lead his squad
into the second round.
Perhaps the biggest disappointment in Raul's international
career came at Euro 2000 when he missed a penalty in
the last minute of the quarter-final against France,
eliminating the Spaniards once again.
While Raul's success at the international level may
come into question, his performance at the club level
doesn't. However, sometimes his dedication to his club,
Real Madrid, is blamed for his fatigue at major international
tournaments.
In 1998, Raul helped Real post a monumental 1-0 win
over Juventus at the UEFA Champions League Cup final.
Real won the Cup final again in 2000.
This year, he collected his third European Cup gold
medal in Real's victory over Bayer Leverkusen. For his
individual play, he finished third in voting for FIFA's
Player of the Year and second for Europe's Golden Ball
Award.
But even after such a long and eventful campaign, the
Spanish playmaker, whose club team is often nicknamed
Raul Madrid in reference to his importance to the team,
says he's not fatigued and he's ready for this World
Cup.
"It's been a long and and difficult season but
I'm feeling good," Raul said. "I'm definitely
feeling better than before the other major championships
I've played."
With files from Associated Press
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