Raúl González Blanco was the star of the third day of White Week, held at the Real Madrid Universidad Europea University School. At the event moderated by Emilio Butragueño, the player who holds our team's all-time appearance record (741) and current Real Madrid Castilla coach reflected: “I got completely wrapped up in everything that Real Madrid stood for since I was a kid. What the club meant, what we had to do, the captaincy, madridismo. Thanks to all of that, I was able to achieve my dream of being here for such a long time and winning trophies. When you get the chance to come to this club, you can't let that opportunity pass you by. Being at this club is a privilege and I will forever be grateful to Real Madrid”.
“The warmth of the people is the greatest memory I hold of my time at the club. I felt loved and supported at all times and that's very important at a club as demanding as Real Madrid. Now, as I coach, I still feel that affection from the people. The Bernabéu has something special, as we saw in last year's Champions League. That stadium makes you feel like a superhero, as if you had super powers. That is what Real Madrid is,”, highlighted the madridista legend.
From player to coach
“It's a tough transition. People have always told me I had the soul of a coach but I was never so sure. When I started out as a coach, I saw football differently. When I got back from New York, I came home and started to work with the kids.”
“I love coaching, it's my vocation. You suffer more as a coach than as a player. I bring passion and commitment because that's what Real Madrid has shown me. Every time I see the images from the Youth League, I get emotional, that was something completely new to me. It was my first trophy as coach. I would place that Youth League on the same level as my titles as a player. It was a special moment. We have the same hunger this year and we'll fight to the end to gain promotion, that would be beautiful."
Real Madrid Foundation
Prior to Raúl's appearance, Julio González Ronco, Managing Director of the Real Madrid Foundation, chatted to the students about the club's charity work: The Real Madrid Foundation is the soul of our club. Real Madrid showed its commitment to society by setting up a non-profit organisation that would focus on people, no matter where you are from. We use sport as a tool for social integration. Our primary goal is to educate through values, not to find talent. We have over 600 diverse projects in 94 different countries, brought together by a single methodology."
Other speakers
Day three of White Week also boasted talks from Francisco Panadero, Real Madrid's Director of Infrastructure and Heritage Development, who focused on the maintenance and development of the club's historic assets, as well as Santiago López-Vilas, the Director General of Real Madrid Estadio, who discussed the renovations of the new Santiago Bernabéu, a 21st century stadium.