Raul Has Settled In Quickly With Schalke.

Schalke’s new signing, the legendary Spaniard Raul, made his first huge impact for his club and immediately endeared himself in the hearts of Koenigsblauen supporters. In a friendly match against German champions and last year’s Champions League losers Bayern Munich, Raul smashed in a wonderful brace and Schalke walked away with a 3-1 victory. Schalke’s other goalscorer was Brazilian striker Edu, and Bayern found a goal by way of youngster Deniz Mujic.

While all this only occured in a pre-season encounter that means little in terms of the season as a whole, it certainly does carry a bit of significance behind the scenes. In just a few days time on August 7th, Schalke and Bayern Munich will meet again to contest the German SuperCup. Then, under much more competitive circumstances, it will be interesting to see if Schalke and Raul can lift themselves over Bayern Munich once again and show that they have what it takes, under head coach Felix Magath, to go on and win the Bundesliga this season.

Raul’s brace, if nothing else, is a sign of good things for Schalke. The Koenigsblauen are qualified for the Champions League this season because of their second-placed Bundesliga finish last term, so the added striking power of a player who can hit the back of the net against the best of them is a much-needed asset.

Schalke brought Raul in to replace to the outgoing Kevin Kuranyi, who was a consistent scorer for the Koenigsblauen during the last five seasons.