Spanish legend Raul helped the New York Cosmos win the 2015 NASL Championship on Sunday night, as they defeated a 10-man Ottawa Fury FC, 3-2, at James M. Shuart Stadium.
It was Raul's final game as a professional footballer. What the 38-year-old does next is unknown. The striker plans to stay involved in the game, but has not yet decided how. He will take the next few weeks and months to figure it all out while living in New York and enjoying his new life with his family.
Eventually returning Real Madrid would make sense, but it is still to be determined whether he goes back there whenever he is ready to embark on the next phase of his career.
“They’ve always offered me (the chance) to return," Raul said at a press conference after the game. "I have the door open but nothing has been offered now and it’s not the time to talk about that. It’s time to rest. I’ve decided to retire and there will be time to return or not. The future will decide, but I will keep supporting Real Madrid.”
For now, Raul will simply ride off into the sunset with an NASL championship in tow. Another shiny ornament to add to a decorated career full of them.
“The decision is taken and I’m very happy,” he added. “It was an amazing year with my team-mates, with the club, with the league, but three months ago I decided to finish my career and this is like a dream to finish in a final and win in a difficult game against Ottawa.”
Raul did not get himself on the scoresheet in the final game of his storied career, but set up the match-winner with the type of magic that has made him so successful in Spain, Germany, Qatar and the United States during 21 years as a professional.
With Fury FC pressing for an equaliser, 2-1 down in the 85th minute, the 38-year-old forward received a pass just before the halfway line and clipped it straight into the path of Gaston Cellerino with the outside of his left foot. Cellerino took the pass and ran in on goal before clinically slotting inside the far post.
The scenes that followed were of pure bliss for the Cosmos and their fans. They knew the job was done and that Raul would go out fittingly, as a champion, even if they had to sweat it out when Ottawa pulled one back during the final three minutes of stoppage time.
“I’m very happy,” said Raul, sporting a Cosmos championship t-shirt during his final news conference. “Today was my last game to finish my career, and I’m very proud of everything I did, and (want to give a) thank you to the club, the team mates, the coach, the fans for this amazing year.
“For me, now it’s a new life with another project. I’m happy but, to be honest, I’m also a little bit sad.”
So, too, are the droves of fans worldwide who have watched Raul terrorise defences since debuting for Real Madrid in 1994. The former Spain international has delighted for more than two decades with hundreds of goals and Sunday’s match put a nice bow on a career that has seen him win six La Liga titles and three UEFA Champions League crowns.
Truthfully, Raul did not have a stand-out showing in his final game. He did not register a single shot and was held largely in check in the final third. That still did not stop him from impressing his team-mates and head coach, nor did it keep him from coming up with the moment of brilliance that sent him and fellow former Spain international Marcos Senna into retirement as champions.
“Fantastic. He was great because he gave the assist, but it’s what he does on the field,” Cosmos coach Giovanni Savarese said. “It’s the communication, it’s finding the right spaces, he’s holding the ball in the right areas, he’s making the right decisions. He’s just a clever player. Sometimes you don’t see him in some areas and then he appears in others and he’s very influential in the game.
“I thought he had a great, not game, a fantastic year. I remember when he came at the beginning of the year. He needed time to get back into his top (form). He’s finishing in top shape and on top. That’s the way we wanted him to retire.”
For some fans and observers, the way Raul’s distinguished career ended was not ideal. He spent his last year in the second division of the United States for a club with plenty of history but no stadium to call their own. Raul’s final match was played on an artificial turf surface and in front of 10,166 fans.
That crowd was a modern post-season NASL record, but still not one everybody viewed as fitting for Raul’s farewell. Raul, however, had no qualms about the amount of people he played in front of, the stadium he was at, or the type of field on which he kicked his final ball.
His career has taken him to many places and provided him with so much, and he said he has appreciated all the experiences that football has provided - even ones like Sunday that were not perfect.
“I’m taking a lot of affection from a lot of people from all the clubs I’ve played for, from clubs I’ve played against, from people who weren’t on my team and have recognised me. For me, that’s most important,” said Raul. “That’s the biggest prize at the end of my career. I want to say thank you. I feel like a kid from the neighborhood playing in the streets, playing on dirt fields.
“I’ve been lucky enough to play in World Cups, European Cups, Champions Leagues - and win them - but this is football to me,” said Raul. “Play on artificial turf, in front of crowds, in front of no one. I’ve been able to live all the experiences (both) before I was a professional and a nobody, and after when I had achieved a lot of things.
"I’ve always enjoyed and I think I will continue to enjoy (things) from this game, but no longer as a professional player because now a new path begins.”
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