Raúl González Blanco makes his debut as a coach in Spain’s Segunda División this Saturday, leading Real Oviedo against Girona at the Nuevo Tartiere.
The former Real Madrid icon takes the helm following the departure of Julián Calero, tasked with revitalizing an Oviedo side currently level on points with Girona.
The 1994 Palamós encounter
Twenty-eight years before stepping into the dugout, a 17-year-old Raúl experienced his first and only taste of Segunda División football at the Nou Estadi de Palamós. On October 22, 1994, the young forward started for Real Madrid’s reserve side, Castilla, against a Palamós team that included Javi García and Rafael Becerra, known as “Fael.”
While Raúl entered the match with a reputation for scoring 13 goals in seven matches for Madrid C, he failed to find the net against Palamós. “I remember he missed a sitter after a long-range shot hit the crossbar. He missed when he was alone in front of goalkeeper Àngel Campos,” Fael told Diari de Girona.
A legend in the making
The players on the pitch that day were largely unaware of the teenager’s future trajectory. “In that Madrid B team, there were players who had already debuted like Sandro, Marcos, or Dani García. We hadn’t heard of Raúl and we didn’t know him,” said Javi García, who later became a fixture for Girona between 2002 and 2004.
The realization of who they had faced came later that evening. “When I saw him with the first team against Zaragoza, I thought, ‘Isn’t that the kid from the B team who played against us the other day?'” Fael said. That match in Zaragoza, occurring just one week after the defeat in Palamós, marked the beginning of Raúl’s 16-season career with the Real Madrid senior squad.
Current challenges in Segunda
Both Oviedo and Girona enter Saturday’s fixture seeking stability. Following their relegation from the top flight last season, both clubs have struggled to meet the expectations placed on them as promotion candidates. While the visitors arrive following recent losses to Sanse and Almeria, the hosts have opted for a coaching change.
Javi García, who resides in Vilobí, suggests that the atmosphere at the Nuevo Tartiere will be intense. “Coaching changes are always a jolt because the players get plugged in,” he said. “Those who play don’t want to lose their place and those who don’t want to show that they can do it.”
Raúl moves to the Segunda bench after six seasons managing Real Madrid Castilla in the Segunda B and Primera RFEF divisions. The match kicks off on Saturday, marking his first official league engagement in the second tier of Spanish football.
Worth a look
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