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Real Madrid - Atletico Madrid Special: Is It Raul's Last Throw Of The Derby Dice?
Los Blancos legend out to wind the clock back perhaps for the final time in Madrid showpiece...
27-Mar-2010 5:58:00 PM
By Patrick Reilly
Who knows if Raul is a fervent reader of Mark Twain but surely he would identify with one of his most famous quotes: "Rumours of my demise have been greatly exaggerated".
Debate still rages whether he wrote death or demise or if Twain even said it all but Real Madrid's No. 7 would appreciate the sentiment.
At 32, he's no longer a first-team regular at Los Blancos and hasn't played for his country in years, missing out entirely on Spain's Euro 2008 success. The Champions League's al- time record goalscorer is frequently linked with moves to the MLS as his career enters its twilight years. In short he's considered to be yesterday's man.
The derby with city rivals Atletico will bring a flood of memories back for the striker. His defection from the Vicente Calderon to the Santiago Bernabeu as a teenager has long since entered legend, which reputedly even members of his own family found hard to forgive at the time, and he opened his goalscoring account against his boyhood club back in 1994.
A sumptuous pass from Michael Laudrup and a trademark bullet finish from Raul put the boy on the route to stardom. Over 15 years on and to misquote Twain, if rumours are to be believed, Sunday's derby may well be the last to feature the forward who continues to prompt fierce division in his native Madrid.
On home turf things haven't been much better with Atletico only winning once in the last 15 encounters and that also came in 1999. In the return fixture earlier this season, Manuel Pellegrini's men ran out 3-2 winners in an entertaining match at the Calderon.
Expert Eye
KS Leong, Goal.com International's Spain Expert
Judging by the way the season has developed, it looks a distinct possibility that Raul could be on his way out of Real Madrid after 16 seasons in the famous white shirt. The MLS in the United States is the likely destination, with rumours that he is already close to joining New York Red Bulls. But if he chooses not to go, then his next option will be to see out his contract at the Santiago Bernabeu, and retire for good in 2011.
Don't count Raul out from scoring against Atletico in the derby. It could very well be his very last El Derbi Madrileno and if he does ripple the back of the net, it will be a momentous occasion for El Capitan, considering he scored his very first senior goal for Los Merengues against Atleti, more than 15 years ago. It will be a high octane derby as usual and expect a lot of goals, especially with neither side looking particularly secure in defence in recent weeks.
* The bookies are keeping an eye on Raul's future with Titanbet pricing him at 5/4 (2.25) to still be at the Bernabeu next season with 4/7 (1.57) on him moving elsewhere.
* Manuel Pellegrini's position is less secure with Titanbet pricing him at 6/4 (2.5) to be on the Bernabeu sideline next season opposed 1/2 (1.5) against.
* Given Real's dominance in this fixture they are 1/3 (1.33) on to win on Sunday, the draw is 7/2 (4.5) with Atletico pulling off a shock nicely priced at 15/2 (8.5).
* Real Madrid are an inviting 9/10 (1.9) to win La Liga while Atletico are 8/1 (9) to win the Europa League. A repeat of Real's 3-2 win this season is 11/10 (21) while their city foes are 100/1 (101) to repeat their 3-1 last win at the Bernabeu in 1999.
Is Raul yesterday's man or can he wind the clock back once again for Real? How do you think the Madrid derby will go? Goal.com wants to know what YOU think...
A comprehensive list of football betting markets is available from the Titanbet website.
Become a fan of Goal.com International on Facebook! Just click onto Facebook.com/Goal to join the beautiful game's leading fan community...
Debate still rages whether he wrote death or demise or if Twain even said it all but Real Madrid's No. 7 would appreciate the sentiment.
At 32, he's no longer a first-team regular at Los Blancos and hasn't played for his country in years, missing out entirely on Spain's Euro 2008 success. The Champions League's al- time record goalscorer is frequently linked with moves to the MLS as his career enters its twilight years. In short he's considered to be yesterday's man.
The derby with city rivals Atletico will bring a flood of memories back for the striker. His defection from the Vicente Calderon to the Santiago Bernabeu as a teenager has long since entered legend, which reputedly even members of his own family found hard to forgive at the time, and he opened his goalscoring account against his boyhood club back in 1994.
A sumptuous pass from Michael Laudrup and a trademark bullet finish from Raul put the boy on the route to stardom. Over 15 years on and to misquote Twain, if rumours are to be believed, Sunday's derby may well be the last to feature the forward who continues to prompt fierce division in his native Madrid.
On home turf things haven't been much better with Atletico only winning once in the last 15 encounters and that also came in 1999. In the return fixture earlier this season, Manuel Pellegrini's men ran out 3-2 winners in an entertaining match at the Calderon.
Expert Eye
KS Leong, Goal.com International's Spain Expert
Judging by the way the season has developed, it looks a distinct possibility that Raul could be on his way out of Real Madrid after 16 seasons in the famous white shirt. The MLS in the United States is the likely destination, with rumours that he is already close to joining New York Red Bulls. But if he chooses not to go, then his next option will be to see out his contract at the Santiago Bernabeu, and retire for good in 2011.
Don't count Raul out from scoring against Atletico in the derby. It could very well be his very last El Derbi Madrileno and if he does ripple the back of the net, it will be a momentous occasion for El Capitan, considering he scored his very first senior goal for Los Merengues against Atleti, more than 15 years ago. It will be a high octane derby as usual and expect a lot of goals, especially with neither side looking particularly secure in defence in recent weeks.
* The bookies are keeping an eye on Raul's future with Titanbet pricing him at 5/4 (2.25) to still be at the Bernabeu next season with 4/7 (1.57) on him moving elsewhere.
* Manuel Pellegrini's position is less secure with Titanbet pricing him at 6/4 (2.5) to be on the Bernabeu sideline next season opposed 1/2 (1.5) against.
* Given Real's dominance in this fixture they are 1/3 (1.33) on to win on Sunday, the draw is 7/2 (4.5) with Atletico pulling off a shock nicely priced at 15/2 (8.5).
* Real Madrid are an inviting 9/10 (1.9) to win La Liga while Atletico are 8/1 (9) to win the Europa League. A repeat of Real's 3-2 win this season is 11/10 (21) while their city foes are 100/1 (101) to repeat their 3-1 last win at the Bernabeu in 1999.
Is Raul yesterday's man or can he wind the clock back once again for Real? How do you think the Madrid derby will go? Goal.com wants to know what YOU think...
A comprehensive list of football betting markets is available from the Titanbet website.
Become a fan of Goal.com International on Facebook! Just click onto Facebook.com/Goal to join the beautiful game's leading fan community...
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