25 years since Raúl’s fifteen minutes. A hat-trick and Real Madrid’s sixth Spanish Super Cup

For 73 minutes, Real Madrid could not score against Real Zaragoza. Then Raúl apparently decided that, since the supporters had come to watch a final, somebody should give them the entire show. He needed fifteen minutes to complete a hat-trick and deliver the club’s sixth Spanish Super Cup.

Exactly 25 years ago, on 22 August 2001, Madrid won the second leg at the Santiago Bernabéu 3–0. Raúl scored every goal. He struck in the 74th, 81st and 89th minutes, turning a balanced match into a comfortable victory before Zaragoza had time to understand what had happened.

The first leg had been played three days earlier at La Romareda. Flávio Conceição put Madrid ahead in the 54th minute, but Yordi equalised 25 minutes later. The 1–1 draw left the tie completely open before the return match in the Spanish capital.

That evening also delivered another significant moment. Zinédine Zidane made his official Real Madrid debut in Zaragoza, only weeks after completing his record transfer from Juventus. The Frenchman also started the second leg alongside Luís Figo, Roberto Carlos, Claude Makélélé, Fernando Hierro and, of course, Raúl.

The goals did not arrive quickly. Madrid pushed forward, but the score remained 0–0 until the 74th minute. That was when the captain’s private quarter of an hour began.

Raúl scored the opener, added another seven minutes later and completed his hat-trick in the 89th minute. Madrid won the tie 4–1 on aggregate, while the number seven removed Zaragoza’s hopes, the trophy and the remaining uncertainty in one short burst.

Iker Casillas also started the match, with Hierro captaining the team and Makélélé operating in midfield. Zidane and Figo supplied the creativity. It was a side packed with major names, but the final was settled by the player who required neither an introduction nor the entire match to make the difference.

It was Real Madrid’s sixth Spanish Super Cup. It was Zidane’s first trophy in the white shirt. For Raúl, it became another evening when very little happened for a long time before everything suddenly started happening because of him.

Three goals in fifteen minutes. Each arrived later than the previous one and moved Madrid closer to their first trophy of the new season. Patience at the Santiago Bernabéu lasted until the 74th minute. Then Raúl began.