February 21, 200817 yr Raul will hold a press conference with Luis Aragones this afternoon to talk about the NT, and their relationship; maybe there could be a way back for Raul in the NT or Raul just wants them to stop speculating and support the coach for Spain. Let's wait and see, it will be @ 17:00PM (GMT) 18:00PM (CET).
February 22, 200817 yr Raul press video http://www.as.com/futbol/video/raul-difici...dasdasftb_4/Ves The press conference didn'tresult in nopthing still don'tknow whether he'll be selected for EURO2008 or not? Just told the press to calm down and respect the coach, Raul still wants to be selected and will work hard for a place in the NT.
February 22, 200817 yr Raul And Aragones: We Must Look ForwardAt a hastily-arranged press conference at Las Rozas, Raul and Luis Aragones sought to clear the air regarding the Real Madrid man's Spanish international chances...With Raul's selection a constant source of speculation in the media and in bars across Spain, the striker opted to arrange a press conference with national team coach, Aragones, in order to settle the issue once and for all."The meeting was billed to "seek an end to the debate and speculation, and for the common good of the federation, squad, selector and Raul."Raul, explaining why he opted to arrange the event, said, "I thought about it for months."I think that the squad qualified [for Euro 2008] brilliantly, they've done a great job, but with four months to go until the Euros it hurts me that every squad selection will be accompanied by untrue speculation."I decided to talk to the selector because nothing really key like that has happened."Misunderstandings"Obviously there are always misunderstandings about the player-coach relationship, and things have always gone well when I've been in the squad," he continued."We talked about things in which we were in agreement, and things in which we weren't."But we should look not backwards, but ahead, because the squad is more important than just whether or not I go with them. Support the manager and the squad that goes."But would he be with them in Austria and Switzerland?"It'll be complicated and difficult, but I still have the dream," he sighed."But I just want to stop speculation about it... we had a conversation and we feel that this is best."Aragones' ThoughtsThe coach, meanwhile, had plenty to say as well."The conduct of Raul towards me has been extraordinary, as has mine to him."The first thing he asked me was if he wanted help with squad selection."Hopefully this will fix some things, and about these debates as to whether players, but especially Raul, who is in the media eye, will go or not."You, [the media], have to help us with this."On the subject of the media, Aragones stated that he felt that the fans' demonstration in Malaga calling for Raul's selection was contrived by external fortress. He offered no details, but remained convinced. Raul disagreed.The burning question remained, though, would Aragones take Raul to Euro 2008?"His issue is as complicated as that of other players," said the coach."I'm the selector. Some will stay and others will go."But Spain was half divided, and that's what we wanted to stop.
February 22, 200817 yr Spain coach Luis Aragones and Raul meet to defuse tension over non-selectionMADRID, Spain (AP) -Real Madrid striker Raul Gonzalez and Spain coach Luis Aragones met in a bid to defuse the tension caused by the player's omission from the national team.The two spoke Thursday at the Spanish Football Federation after Raul asked Aragones to meet him in a bid to end the differences that have been played up between them for the "good of the national team.''"Fundamentally, what interests Raul and what interests the coach and what interests the federation is that we end all of the debates and all of these themes and we move forward,'' said Aragones, who has faced intense scrutiny for not selecting Raul despite the Madrid captain's improved form."The debate and the speculation does not help anyone. What we want to do is end all of the debate.''Aragones said nothing had changed regarding Raul's chances of playing at the European Championship in June."Spain is split in two and we want to end this,'' Aragones said. "If I feel he is worth calling up, I will. But if I don't, then I won't.''Raul, Spain's all-time leading scorer with 44 goals in 102 games, believes a normal misunderstanding between a coach and a player had been blown out of proportion."I've been thinking about it for many months and I want the team to qualify without all of this suffering,'' Raul said. "It hurts me that with each game there is speculation and manipulation of news that isn't always real.''Raul hasn't played for Spain since it lost to Sweden in qualifying for Euro 2008 in September 2006.The 30-year-old Raul has scored 15 goals in all competitions for Spanish league leader Madrid after a season in which he only had seven goals in 35 games. He has played at three World Cups and two European Championships.Aragones has faced relentless questioning over the omission of Raul and was involved in a shouting match on national radio earlier this month when other journalists challenged him on the issue.
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