Raúl González Blanco spent more than 15 years as a Real Madrid striker, finished his playing career with the New York Cosmos and then coached inside Madrid's academy for seven years. On Tuesday he was presented as the head coach of Real Oviedo, his first senior job outside the club, and his debut comes Saturday at the Carlos Tartiere against a Girona side level with Oviedo on points.

A quick decision in Asturias

Oviedo dismissed Julián Calero on Monday, only months after hiring him in the summer and with a contract that ran until June 2027. The record that cost him his job, according to 20minutos, was six wins, three draws and four losses, ninth place in Spain's second division, one point off the promotion playoff spots and six from automatic promotion, plus a first-round Copa del Rey exit against Numancia.

Within hours the club had announced Raúl, 49, on a deal through June 2028. Barcelona daily Sport described his mission as a push for promotion.

What Raúl promised

The new coach kept his message simple. "We want to demand from ourselves and live up to what this club and this city represent," Raúl said at his presentation, sitting next to sporting director David Fernández. In his first comments to club media he described his approach as respecting talent "but with unconditional commitment," a team that fights for the win "from the first minute to the last," so that Oviedo fans "feel proud of the team."

The presentation itself opened with a moment of remembrance for the victims of an incident in the city on Tuesday morning, the club said.

The resume, and the gap in it

Raúl's coaching career has been built entirely at Real Madrid. He arrived in 2018 to coach youth sides, won the UEFA Youth League with the Under-19s in 2020 and then spent six seasons in charge of Real Madrid Castilla, the reserve team. What he has never done is manage a professional first team with a promotion target, and Oviedo want to go up.

For US fans the name still carries a New York connection: Raúl closed his playing career with the Cosmos in the NASL in 2015, after spells at Schalke and Al-Sadd.

Saturday's opponent makes the begining harder. Girona, who played in the Champions League just two seasons ago, arrive with the same points as Oviedo, so the first game of Raúl's senior career is also a direct fight for a place near the top of the table.