Preview: Raul González to make emotional Real Madrid reunion
The Spaniard who spent 18 glorious years at the Bernabeu will now make a return to the place he knows as home. Madridistas all over the world will definitely be delighted to see a man who took the club to lofty heights once again stroll through the Bernabeu.
Real Madrid fans await a bigger treat as the legendary striker will play one half for both the teams as Al-Sadd and Madrid both pay homage to one of the best player to have ever worn the Real Madrid shirt.
A Real Madrid youth product, Raul represented Los Blancos on 741 occasions scoring a massive 323 goals in the process. He has won 16 titles with Madrid and is both their top scorer and record appearance maker. Among his many allocates the 36 year old also heads the list of the most goals scored by any player in the UEFA Champions League, Raul tops the list with 71 goals to his name.
After falling down the pecking order in the Madrid side, Raul decided to seek a new challenge elsewhere and joined German side Schalke 04 where he spent two seasons before making a move to Qatar.
Raul’s current side Al- Sadd FC is the most decorated club in Qatar, having won 13 league, 13 Emir Cups as well as two AFC Champions League titles.
Al-Sadd were humiliated last week by Raul’s former side Schalke who ran riot scoring nine goals in the process, the Qatar giants put up a disappointing display in the Sheikh Jasim Cup losing 5-1 to Al Khor and might be in for another mauling from Carlo Ancelotti’s side.
Real Madrid who began their La Liga campaign earlier in the week with a win over Real Betis are expected to field a weaker side however star players Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Angel Di Maria and Mesut Ozil are all expected to feature. It is likely that the game will be played in the context of a friendly match keeping in mind that Real Madrid will be hoping to avoid any injuries now that the season has already begun for them.
Al-Sadd on the other hand will face a momentous task of trying to outclass the galacticos, the two time AFC champions are on a poor run and will be hoping to put up an impressive display before they head back to Qatar to take part in the Qatar Stars League which kicks off on the 13th of September.
Two of Real Madrid’s players have been linked to a move away from Bernabeu this morning to English side Arsenal, however it is the imminent arrival of Gareth Bale which seems to gather all the headlines and has also managed to attract the attention of the legendary Raul who is of the opinion that the Tottenham man is “over-priced”
“[Bale is] a brilliant player and would bring a lot to Madrid, but he’s very expensive. Tottenham have overestimated his price,” said the former Madrid man speaking to Al-Sadd’s official website.
Where to watch Real Madrid vs Al-Sadd – live stream, TV channels, start time and live score:
Real Madrid fans all over the world will be desperately waiting to see Raul in a Madrid shirt again, the match is thus likely to gather a lot of viewership.
Watch Real Madrid vs Al-Sadd live on Thursday, August 22, 2013:
In USA at 16:30 ET on beIN Sport, beIN Sport en Español
Fans in other parts of the world can visit the match page for local tv channel listings. Those in Spain can watch the match live on Gol Stadium, GOL T, Antena 3 whereas fans in South America will have FOX Sports 2 Cono Sur airing the match live.
If you want to follow the Santiago Bernabeu Trophy please visit the match page for updates on live scores starting at 4:30PM EST.
