2011 Golden Foot Nominees

The Golden Foot award is an international award given to active football players of at least 29 years of age, who stands out for their athletic achievements (both as individuals and team players) and for their personality. This award can only be won once.

The international prize is given every year to the game’s greatest in the Principality of Monaco under the High Patronage of H.S.H. Prince Albert II and promoted by World Champions Club and the Tourism Office of Monaco.

Ten nominees are chosen by a panel of international journalists based on the criteria that they are at least 29 years of age and still playing. The 10 names this year have been chosen by the Golden Foot jury, composed of 58 journalists representing sports media all over the world.

In a ceremony headlined by last year's winner Francesco Totti, the AS Roma captain, the following candidates were announced as nominees for the 2011 Golden Foot:

David Beckham (LA Galaxy, England)

Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus, Italy)

Iker Casillas (Real Madrid, Spain)

Didier Drogba (Chelsea, Ivory Coast)

Samuel Eto'o (Inter Milan, Cameroon)

Ryan Giggs (Manchester United, Wales)

Carles Puyol (Barcelona, Spain)

Raúl González Blanco (Real Madrid, Spain)

Xavi Hernández (Barcelona, Spain)

Javier Zanetti (Inter Milan, Argentina).

Winner is selected by an online poll at goldenfoot.com where anyone can vote. Football fans have the chance to vote for the player they deem is worthy of the award until October 7. The award ceremony will be hosted on October 10 in Monte Carlo.

I, of course, have casted my vote already for my favorite Raul Gonzalez Blanco. He has been a nomine several times already but the nearest he got for the award was in 2009 where he was in 2^nd place to winner Ronaldinho. My voting for Raul is not simply a matter of favorites but at age 34 (he turns 34 today June 27, 2011) he is something else to behold. After 16 years playing loyally for Real Madrid, he left the whites to wear the Schalke 04 team wear and gave it his all.

For me he has always been playing good but I guess Real Madrid’s coaches and managers no longer saw his value after getting the much-expensive young players. Though the new Real Madrid coach Mourinho wanted him to continue with the team but Raul no longer wanted to spend another season being the 3^rd or 4^th choice striker when he knew he can still deliver a good performance in another place. The world saw a recharged Raul when he played with Schalke 04 and the Germans fell in love with El Angel del Madrid. He has always been a favorite with fans and that certainly continued in Germany and more so when on May 21, 2011, his first year with the Royal Blues, they were able to lift the DFB Cup when they won over MSV Duisburg in Berlin. That is the reason why I think he deserves the 2011 Golden Foot award.

To see his profile and vote for him, click here.

PS. Happy 34th birthday, Raul!

Good News and Bad News for Schalke 04

Real Murcia left-back Sergio Escudero joins the Royal Blues on a four year contract. He started his career at Betis Valladolid but was signed up by Real Murcia in the summer of 2008. He is one of the most sought after or most targeted by European clubs to sign-up being one of the upcoming Spain under-21 international.

As he wears the number three shirt for the Royal Blues team wear, he looks forward to playing in the Bundesliga and to playing the first match in front of adoring fans. He saw how great fan support is for Schalke. He wants to be in the first team and will be training hard for that. When asked why he chose Schalke over other clubs interested in signing him up, this is what he had to say:

Sergio Escudero in his new team wear

“The chance to win things and the way the club is run. The very first time I spoke to Felix Magath I got the feeling he was desperate to sign me. That impressed me greatly and gave me a good feeling right from the outset.”

On the other hand, Brazilian right-back Rafinha has transferred from Schalke to Serie A club Genoa after 5 years playing with the Royal Blues.

And for the really bad news:

Even after seeing the much improved playing of Schalke, it was not enough to win over Bayern Munich in the relaunched DFL Super Cup on Saturday. Although they got into a good start, Thomas Muller and Miroslav Klose scored in the final 15 minutes. And though Magath really wanted the win and theSuper Cup trophy he could only say:

“But it was Bayern who got the goals. Ultimately they deserved to win on account of their first-half performance."

I feel really about Schalke losing to Bayern but I still love Schalke. Needless to say, congrats to Bayern and may the best team wins, next time. I may also do a write up about Thomas Müller next time....he is going good.

Football 101: FC Schalke 04

FC Schalke 04

Full name Fußball-Club Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V.
Nickname(s) Die Königsblauen (The Royal Blues)
Die Knappen (The Miners)
Founded 4 May 1904
Ground Veltins-Arena, Gelsenkirchen
(Capacity: 61,673)
President Josef Schnusenberg
Manager Felix Magath
League Bundesliga
2009–10 Bundesliga, 2nd

FC Schalke 04 Team Wear

FC Schalke 04 2010-2011 Current Squad

	No.	Position		Player
1		GK		Manuel Neuer
3		DF		Sergio Escudero
4		DF		Benedikt Höwedes
6		DF		Tim Hoogland
7		FW		Raúl
8		MF		Hao Junmin
9		FW		Edu
10		MF		Ivan Rakitić
11		MF		Alexander Baumjohann
12		MF		Peer Kluge
13		MF		Lukas Schmitz
14		DF		Kyriakos Papadopoulos
17		FW		Jefferson Farfán
19		FW		Mario Gavranović
20		MF		Vasileios Pliatsikas
21		DF		Christoph Metzelder
22		DF		Atsuto Uchida
23		MF		Jermaine Jones
24		DF		Christian Pander
26		FW		Erik Jendrišek
28		MF		Christoph Moritz
29		FW		Bogdan Müller
30		MF		Levan Kenia
31		FW		David Loheider
32		DF		Joël Matip
33		GK		Mathias Schober
34		FW		Besart Ibraimi
36		GK		Lars Unnerstall
38		FW		Marvin Pourie
39		DF		Marvin Pachan
40		MF		Predrag Stevanović

POSITIONS
GK - Goalkeeper
DF - Defender
FW - Forward
MF - Midfielder

FC Schalke 04 Squad

1 Manuel Neuer	Goalkeeper		11 Alexander Baumjohann	Midfielder
33 Matthias Schober	Goalkeeper		12 Peer Kluge	Midfielder
36 Lars Unnerstall	Goalkeeper		13 Lukas Schmitz	Midfielder
2 Hans Sarpei	Defender		18 Jurado	Midfielder
2 Heiko Westermann	Defender		19 Mario Gavranovic	Midfielder
3 Sergio Escudero	Defender		20 Vassilis Pliatsikas	Midfielder
4 Benedikt Höwedes	Defender		23 Jermaine Jones	Midfielder
5 Nicolas Plestan	Defender		27 Ciprian Deac	Midfielder
6 Tim Hoogland	Defender		28 Christoph Moritz	Midfielder
14 Kyriakos Papadopoulos	Defender		30 Lewan Kenia	Midfielder
21 Christoph Metzelder	Defender		7 Raúl	Striker
22 Atsuto Uchida	Defender		9 Edu	Striker
24 Christian Pander	Defender		17 Jefferson Agustin Farfán	Striker
32 Joel Matip	Defender		25 Klaas-Jan Huntelaar	Striker
8 Hao Junmin	Midfielder		26 Erik Jendrisek	Striker
10 Ivan Rakitic	Midfielder		- Felix Magath	Manager/Coach

Source: Goal.com

Raul Says Adios to Real Madrid

Raul bids goodbye to Real Madrid after 16 incredible years, 323 goals and 550 league games or 744 official games. He has spent most of his football career playing for Real Madrid until 25th of July 2010 when he decided to sign a two-year contract with German Bundesliga club Schalke 04. After 16 years, he will change his team wear from whites to royal blue. He is a legend and a tough act to follow because he really was the soul of Real Madrid. His exit marks the end of an era, the Raul Madrid era.
His records in numbers say it all:

• 16 years - and 15 full seasons - with Real Madrid's senior side
• 17 years and four months... The youngest ever player to debut for Real Madrid's first team
• 228 League goals...third highest all-time goalscorer in La Liga
• 323 Competitive goals...Real Madrid's all-time top scorer
• 66 Champions League goals... all-time top scorer in the competition. He's also the first player to hit the 50-goal mark 68 goals in all UEFA club competition... joint all-time top scorer
• 550 appearances in La Liga... a Real Madrid record and the second highest in the league's history
• 132 Champions League appearances... second highest in the competition's history
• 16 major titles including three times UEFA Champions League title plus six times the Spanish championship
• Finishing his career as Real Madrid’s all-time top scorer

UEFA Champions League
1997/1998, 1999/2000, 2001/2002

Spanish championship
1994/1995, 1996/1997, 2000/2001, 2002/2003, 2006/2007, 2007/2008

Club World Cup
1998, 2002

European Super Cup
2002

Spanish Super Cup
1997, 2001, 2003, 2008

He is a legend and a tough act to follow. Yes, there will be newer players, even better players as there is now. But what Raul is can’t simply be replaced by a good player. As Cyrus C Malek of Goal.com wrote:

Every team have their talisman - the player who symbolizes the principles and values of his club, the man who embodies his club’s spirit, the leader who wears the captain’s armband and heads his team not just by way of words, but also by example.

For Real Madrid, that man is Raul Gonzalez Blanco.

Here are some of what his former teammates had to say about Raul:

Iker Casillas : "Raul is a symbol of Real Madrid. A great captain is defined by ups and downs, knowing how to always make the best of any situation. Raul is an example of professionalism and he helped me grow as a player and person. The incredible histories of clubs are written by great footballers, and Raul is one of them."


Cristiano Ronaldo: "Playing by Raul's side has been an honour. I always dreamed of doing so as a kid. It was an honour to share the same dressing room and I wish him all the best."


Xabi Alonso: "Raul represents the values of Real Madrid. He is a symbol and a part of this club's history. It isn't easy to play for Real Madrid for 15 years, but he did because is a magnificent player."


Kaka: "Raul is an amazing player and an important member of this club. Raul will forever be a part of Madridismo and his departure is a sad day for fans and team-mates."


Pepe: "The 16 years that he played here speak volumes about his talent. He holds a special place in my heart because he always followed my progress when I was injured. He got off from the bench and accompanied me to the dressing room, which was an incredible gesture that I will never forget. He is a huge piece of Real Madrid's history."

Schalke on the other hand is honored with his presence because as the Scalke boss said “Raul is one of the world's best players. The fans have something to look forward to. Raul is one of that rare breed of footballers who put their own interests behind those of the team. And you don’t get that very often these days.”

And so we wish him luck on his new journey with Schalke 04. He will wear a new color, Royal Blues, and a new team uniform but still with his traditional number 7, he is still El Siete.