The New York Cosmos unveiled Spanish legend Raul at a press conference on Tuesday.
The 37-year-old striker signed a multi-year contract at the NASL club where he will also serve as a technical director for the new academy opening in 2015. Raul discussed his excitement over the prospect of playing for the club and helping develop youths through the academy.
“Everyone throughout the soccer world knows the Cosmos name and the legacy of the players that played for the team previously,” he told the Cosmo’s official website. “They helped establish soccer in America and I’m honoured to follow in their footsteps. I believe in this club’s vision and I’m excited to be a part of that."How long the former Real Madrid man will actually play for the Cosmos has yet to be decided. “I have a contract for two years. I will try to play those two years, but it might be one, maybe two, maybe even three years. If the body says this is it in six months, I will be more involved in the academy. I moved here with something in mind – bringing my family to enjoy New York, which is one of the best cities in the world, and I’m committed to that. There are no limits and no deadlines. I will hopefully play for many, many, many years.”
Hard to argue against that, Raul has a lot of miles on that body. The Spaniard, who scored 323 goals in 741 matches for Real Madrid went on to net 40 times in two years at Schalke 04 and nine times in two years at Al-Sadd Sports Club before arriving Stateside.
The key to Raul’s deal with the Cosmos seems to be that he’ll run the club’s academy after his retirement from playing, although he did leave some wiggle room just in case one particular job comes through.
“My plan is to build an academy, and work on this project with the Cosmos,” Raul said. “It won’t take six months for this kind of big project, but I’m committed to being here with the Cosmos now. If I return to Spain at any given time, for obvious reasons it would probably be with Real Madrid.
Whatever I’m doing here now with the Cosmos would be a great experience to go and apply with Real Madrid, or anywhere else. This is a great project that I’m embracing very much.”Follow @mikeprindi
