Real defeats Alaves 3-0

Raul Gonzalez Blanco helped Real Madrid beat Alaves by 3:0 on Sunday.
Real started the match in seventh place in the standings, following two wins and two defeats.
Real started the game like a team under pressure and Alaves were first to carve out a few goal scoring opportunities.
Real striker Ronaldo produced a terrible pass towards his own goal which was intercepted by Rodolfo Bodipo.
Unfortunately for Alaves, the striker shot wide when through on goal with just Real goalkeeper Iker Casillas to beat.
Real eventually started to threaten the Alaves goal and Julio Baptista latched onto a loose ball just outside the penalty area and fired a shot that Alaves goalkeeper Franco Costanzo did well to push wide.
Real continued to press for the opening goal and, after captain Raul was brought down, David Beckham curled a free-kick that Costanzo punched away from just under the crossbar.
After the teams turned with the match still goalless, Real took the lead 15 minutes into the second half.
The Alaves defence failed to deal with Raul's long pass and the loose ball fell to Ronaldo who thumped a powerful shot past Costanzo from just outside the penalty area.
It was a stunning goal, which seemed to lift Real after they had struggled to break down a stubborn Alaves outfit.
Ronaldo should have had a second minutes later, but after Robert Carlos's pass found him in the penalty area, his shot bounced back off the post.
The Brazilian did eventually grab his second goal of the game.
Beckham picked up the ball in midfield and threaded a well-weighted pass to Ronaldo, who rounded Costanzo and slipped the ball into the empty net.
The seal was put on a convincing victory when midfielder Guti scored the game's third goal just before the final whistle.
Ronaldo was involved again.
He tried to set up substitute Robinho, who had been rested for Wednesday's Champions League game against Olympiakos.
Robinho's shot was blocked and the rebound fell to Guti, who gratefully accepted the opportunity.
The 3-0 victory saw Real climb from seventh into provisional second place on goal difference.
Alaves remained bottom of the table with two points from five games.

Raul leads Madrid to defeat At. Bilbao

A quick-fire double from captain Raul and a well-taken header by new signing Robinho allowed 10-man Real Madrid to fight back from a goal down to claim a 3-1 win at home to Athletic Bilbao on Thursday.

Real looked to be heading for a fourth defeat in a row when England defender Jonathan Woodgate, playing his first competitive match since joining Real more than a year ago, sent a diving header into his own net in the 25th minute.

Vanderlei Luxemburgo's side struggled to respond to the setback and it was not until the start of the second half that they sparked into life.

Real broke through when Brazilian striker Robinho got in front of a forest of players to head home a David Beckham free kick eight minutes after the break.

Robinho's fellow Brazilian Ronaldo then set up Raul for his first goal when he burst his way through the Bilbao defense before unselfishly laying the ball off for his skipper to score at the far post.

Raul made certain of the win in the 69th minute, meeting a Beckham corner with an expert glancing header that spun over the keeper and into the net.

The unfortunate Woodgate was sent off in the 66th minute for picking up a second booking for a foul on Bilbao forward Joseba Etxeberria.

Spain steady in the Top Ten FIFA Ranking

Spain remains in the first ten positions of FIFA World Ranking for another month. At the same time, african temas improve their positions in this listing. Cameroon moved up six places in the FIFA world ranking to the 22nd place, and displaced Egypt to become the top team in the African continent for the month of September.

Tunisia also leap-froged eight places to clinch the second slot. Nigeria, with her fate in the hands of Rwanda in Kigali on October 9, moved up only a place (29) but still retained the third spot in the continent. Egypt slipped five places (31) and also slumped from the top of Africa to
the fourth place.

Nigeria's opponents in the 2006 World Cup qualifier, Zimbabwe moved up two places to (42 ) and eighth place in Africa. Although the FIFA ranking hardly has any meaningful effect on the
performance of teams, it is generally believed that it is used by countries as a barometer in gauging their progress in the round leather game. Months before the Super Eagles made their debut at the USA' 94 World Cup, Nigeria was ranked the fifth best team in the world. The Stephen Keshi-led team did not disappoint with its overall performance in that first time
outing amongst some of the best teams in the world.

In the overall world rankings, Brazil maintained her grip on the World with the Netherlands, Argentina , Czech and Mexico following in that order. France, USA, Spain, Portugal and Sweden made up the teams in the top 10 bracket of world football.

Surprisingly, power houses in European soccer, England (11), Italy (13), Germany (15) and Greece (20) could not make the top 10 of world football. Sven-Goran Eriksson's side fell four places to 11th after losing 4-1 in a friendly to Denmark and 1-0 in a World Cup qualifying tie in Northern Ireland.

The result lifts Lawrie Sanchez's side 15 places to 101st, while the Republic of Ireland are down seven to 21st. Scotland are up 12 to 74th after taking four World Cup points from two games, and Wales move up one place to 82nd.

Brazil keep their top spot but Holland have jumped over Argentina in second place after World Cup qualifying wins over Armenia and Andorra. Denmark (up four to 14th), Poland (up five to 17th).

Raul Gonzalez Bio

Raúl González Blanco, usually referred to simply as Raúl, was born in June 27, 1977 in Madrid. This spanish suoer striker has been playing for Real Madrid at senior level since 1994. He currently is the captain of both Real and the Spanish national team, being its all-time leading scorer. In both he wears jersey number 7.

Since making his debut against the Czech Republic in October 1996, Raúl's performances for Spain have very much mirrored the nation's fortunes.

Raúl was a key player in Real Madrid's last six big titles, three European Championships (1998, 2000 and 2002) and three National Championships (1999, 2001 and 2003). After Fernando Hierro retired from the Spanish national team in 2002, Raúl became the captain for Real Madrid and Spain.

Ever since, he has been under heavy criticism by the media and part of the supporters because of his poor performances in the last two years, in which Real Madrid struggled to win a title in Spain and in European Championships, with no success in either of them.

Raúl is a supremely intelligent striker who is able to link attack and midfield effectively. Although not as talented as other stars in his team, like Ronaldo or Zidane, he usually outperforms them by his strong character and redoubled efforts in the pitch, and by his unbreakable resolve to win every game.

For his country, Raúl scored 41 goals in 83 international matches (as of May 2005). He played in the 1998 World Cup, Euro 2000, the 2002 World Cup, and Euro 2004. He is also the leading scorer in the UEFA Champions League, with 49 goals in 95 matches (as of May 2005). Raúl is also currently 11th highest goalscorer in the history of Spain's top flight, with 175 goals in 382 games. All of these goals were for Real Madrid, making Raúl the club's third highest goalscorer of all time. This will surely improve as Raúl is still playing for the club.

Raúl possesses one of the distinctive celebrations in the modern game, with each goal acclaimed by a kiss of his wedding ring, an acknowledgement to his wife Mamen Sanz. They have two sons.