Both Manchester United's David Beckham and Real Madrid's Raúl González have just led their respective countries to crucial victories in Euro 2004 qualifiers.  Both scored, Beckham inevitably from set-pieces against Liechtenstein and Turkey, Raúl in Kiev. Both are also vice captains of their clubs, who meet this evening at the Santiago Bernabéu in the first leg of their much-anticipitated European Cup quarter-final clash, with United knowing all about Raúl after he scored twice to knock the then holders out of the 2000 Champions League at Old Trafford.

TheFA.com takes a look at how the two most recognisable faces of the Premiership and Primera División compare:

RAÚL GONZÁLEZ BLANCO

 

Born: 27 June 1977, Madrid.
Position: Centre-forward.
First-team debut: 1994 as a 17-year-old replacement for Madrid favourite Emilio Butragueño.
International debut: October 96 v Czech Republic in Prague.
International caps/goals: 61/32.
Champions League goals: 40, an all-time record for the competition.
Honours: Spanish first division title in 1994/95, 1996/97 and 2000/01; European Cup in 1998, 2000 and 2002; Intercontinental Club Cup in 1998 and 2002; UEFA Super Cup in 2002.

Strengths: So many, where does one start? His left foot is the envy of most players' right and combined with his deadly accurate shooting, from both inside and outside of the penalty area, and fine heading ability, he could be termed the complete striker.

There really is no one specific area that he gets his goals from - and more than 200 in all competitions for Madrid is testimony to that.

He also has more than eight years of experience at the very highest levels of domestic and international football behind him, where he has learnt to lead the line expertly with a variety of different strike partners.

Weaknesses: Very few, if any. His right foot is not in the same league as his left, and some in Spain have questioned his ability to perform for the national team under intense pressure when it matters most, citing his crucial penalty miss in the final minute of Spain's Euro 2000 quarter-final with France.

However, the fact that he has scored in both of his clubs last two European Cup final victories counters that argument. Other than that, just his inability to be recognised individually as either the European or the World Footballer of the Year is a slight blot on his copybook, but there is little he can do about that.

Career highs: Internationally there have been few, but with Madrid, numerous. He is the all-time leading scorer in the history of the Champions League with 40 goals to date, as well as being his countries all-time leading scorer as well, having overtaken his club captain Fernando Hierro in a recent friendly in Germany.

He headed the Pichichi charts in both 1999 and 2001, scored in his club's 2000 and 2002 European Cup final victories, and is one of only four current Madrid players to have featured in their last three Champions League triumphs.

He also netted the winner against Vasco da Gama in the 1998 European/South American Cup in Tokyo.

Career lows: Undoubtedly his penalty miss against France three years ago that knocked his country out of the European Championships, although finishing as runner-up to Michael Owen in the 2001 Ballon D'Or hurt as well.

 

Did you know: He was born a rojiblanco, a Atlético de Madrid fan, attending matches with his Atlético supporting father at the Vicente Calderón before becoming a member of their junior team in 1988 as an eleven-year-old.

However, when he was 14, president Jesus Gil y Gil virtually dismantled the youth team and the rest as they say is history, with Raúl having appeared in more than 300 La Liga games for Atlético's fierce city rivals. He is also married to Spain's equivalent of Victoria Adams, Mamen, with the pair regularly featuring in Hola.

Quote: "It would hurt to think that a player like Raúl might one day go to another club" (Vicente del Bosque in an interview given last week). "Raúl can win them a game at any moment" (Sir Alex Ferguson speaking last week about tonight's match).

DAVID ROBERT JOSEPH BECKHAM

 

Born: 2 May 1975, London.
Position: Right midfield
First-team debut: January 1993.
International debut: September 1996 v Moldova in Tiraspol.
International caps/goals: 59/11.
Champions League goals: 15.
Honours: English Premiership title in 1995/96, 1996/97, 1998/99, 1999/00 and 2000/01; FA Cup in 1996 and 1999; European Cup in 1999; Intercontinental Club Cup in 1999.

Strengths: Obviously his greatest are his accurate, curling centres and the damage that he causes from set-pieces, making him a vital goalscoring contributor from midfield.

It is also a rarity to see him give possession away, he provides inspiration to the less experienced United players and his combination with fellow England international Gary Neville down United’s right flank is a major source of goals for both club and country.

Also, in terms of Champions League experience, few players in the whole continent have more of it than Beckham.

Weaknesses: In the early part of his career, his discipline on the field of play was often called into question, resulting in red cards and subsequent suspensions, most notably in the 1998 World Cup when he was sent off against Argentina.

However, on most occasions it was just simple over-enthusiasm on his part because of the determined nature of his character, and under the influence of Sir Alex Ferguson, he has learnt to control his temper, the result being that his last dismissal was in January 2000 in the Club World Championship against Necaxa, although against Turkey last Wednesday, the opposition wind-up tactics almost came off with him being booked early on.

Career highs: Winning the European Cup in 1999 to complete the Treble is an achievement that will be hard to better, unless he wins a trophy with England that is.

At the start of the 1996/97 campaign, he scored from the halfway line at Selhurst Park against Wimbledon, but more recently his most memorable moments have arrived as captain of his country, an honour first bestowed on him by Peter Taylor in November 2000 in a friendly Turin against Italy.

Almost three years on, he has since led his country to a 5-1 win in a crucial World Cup qualifier in Munich against Germany, before following that up with one of the greatest individual performances ever seen by a player wearing the Three Lions in England's 2-2 draw against Greece that sent them to the 2002 World Cup, but only after his 30 yard free kick in injury time had secured the draw.

And, of course, there was his winning penalty in Japan that effectively knocked bitter rivals Argentina out of the tournament and allowed England to qualify ahead of them.

Career lows: Initially, he did not walk straight into the United first-team, but was loaned out to Preston North End, for who he made two appearances between February and March 1995, to build up his physique and gain some experience of life outside the top-flight.

He has also had his fair share of run-ins with Ferguson, being dropped from a match at Elland Road in February 2000 and banished from first-team training after he missed training to look after his ill son. And, following this season's FA Cup defeat at Old Trafford to arch rivals Arsenal, he and his manager were involved in the 'Bootgate' scandal.

But the greatest nadir in his career came with his red card in St-Etienne against Argentina in the 1998 World Cup, a game that England went on to lose on a penalty shoot-out and for which Beckham was unfairly vilified for back home.

On the injury front, he has been lucky to have escaped any major operations, although last April he did break his left foot, an injury that almost ruled him out of the World Cup finals.

He also narrowly finished in second place behind Rivaldo in the voting for FIFA World Player of the Year and European Player of the Year in 1999 and was distraught to finish on the losing side in last summer's World Cup quarter-final exit at the hands of eventual winners Brazil.

 
Did you know: He is the top earner in the United side, collecting £100,000 per week from his new contract and was a lifelong supporter of the club before joining them as a trainee.

Quote: "What you see now is to some extent natural but more down to hard work. He practised as much as, if not more than, anyone I've ever seen. David is simply a guy who loves football and pushes himself to the limit. (Eric Harrison speaking in 2001).

"We don't think about David Beckham at all and there is no reason to talk about this matter." (Emilio Butragueño speaking on Friday in response to suggestions that Madrid were attempting to buy Beckham this summer).

This clash between two of European football's most successful club sides will be, as they say in Spain, El Clásico, and for no greater reason than on the last three occasions that the two teams have encountered each other in the European Cup, the winner of the tie has gone on to be crowned champions of Europe. And one wonders whether it will it be the golden boy of Spanish football, or the golden balls of English football, that will emerge victorious in a fortnight's time?

by Richard Morgan

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