Not since Steve Bull was banging goals in left, right and centre have Wolves supporters revered an Old Gold number nine as much as they did with Raul Jimenez.
In the two decades between the legendary England man hanging up his boots and Jimenez lacing up his as Molineux’s latest centre-forward addition in the summer of 2018, many were hoping Nuno Espirito Santo’s chosen one wouldn’t be added to the long list of strikers who have flattered to deceive in gold and black.
You could count on one hand the amount of players who had tasted success while wearing the famous number nine during that time, because far too often the legacy Bully left behind had become difficult for those who had followed him to live up to.
Wolves had been promoted back to the Premier League having spent just the first half of their 2017/18 Championship-winning campaign playing with a ‘true’ centre-forward.
Leo Bonatini led the line until he lost his regular starting spot as Nuno opted to mix and match between the Brazilian, Benik Afobe, Diogo Jota, Ivan Cavaleiro and Helder Costa, but that was all to change when the challenge of Wolves’ first top-flight season in six years came around.
Step forward the Mexican sensation.
Initially brought in on a loan with an option from Benfica, Jimenez was known to have the talent – he wouldn’t have represented his country as many times as he had done without it – but he had struggled to make his previous European destination his home.
Having been idolised at Club America, after progressing through the Mexico City-based club’s youth system and into the first-team to make more than 100 appearances where he scored 38 times, Jimenez went out of his comfort zone and took his first steps out of Mexico in the summer of 2014.
One season at Atletico Madrid brought just a single goal. Many would have crumbled after that, and maybe Raul thought about turning back to his homeland, but he was made of sterner stuff, and felt he would have more luck in Portugal with ‘The Eagles’.
A return of more than a goal every four games in his first year at the Estadio da Luz was followed up by more than one in three the following term. But after finding the net eight times in 43 appearances during a 2017/18 season which dipped below the standards he had set for himself, it might have come as a surprise to some that his next move would be the Premier League.
But after being in and out of the team at Benfica, Raul needed to go somewhere he was pretty much guaranteed to be the main man, and Wolves were on the hunt for a ‘true’ number nine.
Alongside his partner Daniela, where they would eventually be joined by daughter Arya and son Ander, Raul set up a new life for his family in their little corner of the West Midlands – a life the Jimenez clan soon fell in love with.
Away from the hustle and bustle of the big city’s he was used to, Raul enjoyed the peace and quiet that his Wolverhampton home offered. Unlike in Mexico City, Madrid and Lisbon, the striker was able to get on with his day without the hassle of paparazzi and supporters watching his every move.
Raul would take daily walks around Tettenhall with his dogs Dobby and Agua, yet despite being a world-renown centre-forward who brought millions of followers to Wolves from Mexico, he became part of the area’s fabric.
His relaxed and loving family life off the pitch certainly translated on it. Not since his third season in the Club America first-team had Jimenez experienced a season quite like his debut in England.
It took just 80 minutes into his first competitive start in front of his new supporters to show Wolves were right to bring him to the Premier League.
With his side trailing 2-1 to Everton on the opening day of the campaign, the Mexican found space inside the centre of the penalty area, was picked out by a pinpoint Ruben Neves cross and placed his header into the bottom corner of the net.
In front of the South Bank – they hailed their new hero.
Although he scored number two of 57 Old Gold goals that were to follow against Burnley to secure a 1-0 win, and Wolves’ first at home in the Premier League since December 2011, on matchday five, Raul was proving to be more than just a goalscorer.
He was as adept as setting his teammates up for goals as he was dispatching them himself. He was the man to lay the ball off to Joao Moutinho to silence Old Trafford as Wolves secured a 1-1 draw versus Manchester United the following week, before two more assists in successive wins over Southampton at home and Crystal Palace on the road.
He became well versed across the league for his accuracy from the penalty spot.
The first of those saw the Mexican send Hugo Lloris the wrong way as Wolves left their fightback just too late to turn around a three-goal deficit to Tottenham Hotspur. But as Wolves’ top-flight return looked to be faltering as 2019 approached, who else but Raul was there to step up and fire his side back on track.
Just shy of an hour on the clock at home to Chelsea with Wolves 1-0 down, Jimenez was there to slam the ball into the tightest of spaces underneath Kepa Arrizabalaga to inspire a thrilling comeback, before another Molineux goal next time out downed Bournemouth and kept the gold and black flame burning bright.
That first season was full of goals and memories which will be played over and over in our heads. Spurs and Wembley, the two against West Ham under the Molineux lights and then there was the FA Cup run.
Although the journey was to end in utter despair for those of a Wanderers persuasion, Raul was key to the team having even made it to the semis.
He was the man who set Wolves on their way against Liverpool in the third round before Neves’ thunderbolt second put the cherry on the top of the icing. He was the one who came on at Montgomery Waters Meadow to help salvage a late, late draw against Shrewsbury Town to take the fourth round to a replay.
It was him who put Wolves ahead in the quarter-finals against Man United in one of the loudest atmospheres Molineux has heard in decades. He made us believe we were heading to the final when he acrobatically put the ball into the net under the national stadium’s arch, to only have the dream ripped from him in extra time.
It was no surprise that his loan was made permanent as soon as possible as the club tied down a striker who would go on to score 13 Premier League goals – the most in a top-flight season for Wolves in almost 50 years.
Yet if you thought his first Wolves season was incredible, wait until you hear about the sequel.
The 2019/20 campaign was all about his link-up with Adama Traore. Under the guidance of Nuno, the pair were unstoppable at times during their second year together in gold and black, combining for 27 Premier League chances that term, with Jimenez the benefactor of 19 and while he set Traore up for the other eight – the most in the league.
Two of those combinations came during a magical afternoon at the Etihad as Jimenez became dual provider, setting the Spaniard on his way twice so he could put the finishing touches to a pair of goals which would down Manchester City.
From that moment, Raul was unplayable. He would claim either a goal or an assist in nine of the next 11 Premier League matches, including one of each against the reigning champions as he played a vital role in another night at Molineux which will go down in history.
But the 2019/20 season will be remembered for Wolves’ first European campaign since the early 80s – and it gave Jimenez a chance to shine.
His two against Crusaders, two against Pyunik and two against Torino helped Wolves make it six wins from six in qualifying. The goalscoring exploits continued in the group stages, including one in each win over Slovan Bratislava, a goal and two assists in the rain-soaked draw in Braga, and the winner against Olympiacos to send his team to the quarter-finals.
An isolated missed penalty against Sevilla in the last eight was cruel but couldn’t truly tarnish a magical journey on the continent for the club.
The impact of Covid-19 on Wolves – which hit just days after Raul starred in that remarkable win on the road at Spurs – would be nothing compared to what was to happen just eight months later.
Jimenez was coming out of Covid off the back of his greatest ever season. 2019/20 brought 27 goals in 55 games for the Mexican, including those 17 in the Premier League. He was putting his claim down as Wolves’ greatest ever striker.
And spirits were high heading into 2020/21, despite matches being forced to be played behind closed doors due to the effects of the pandemic.
Raul and Wolves were in the form of their life. His four goals in the opening six matches of the new season had given the Old Gold their best start to a Premier League campaign ever, while he matched those statistics for his country with three goals and two assists in four international outings.
Then came 29th November 2020.
It was an incident which would shake Wolves and football to its core.
Twelve minutes into the match against Arsenal at the Emirates. Jimenez was defending a corner. As he jumped, David Luiz connected with Raul’s head instead of the ball, knocking the striker out cold.
Thanks to the quick attention of the Wolves medical staff, Raul was swiftly escorted to hospital having suffered a horrific fracture to his skull. But it could have been much, much worse.
During the following days, any slither of positive news regarding Jimenez’s health was greeted with relief as much as anything else, with his adopted Wolverhampton family doing everything they could to support the Mexican during his recovery.
Just a month later, Raul made his first public outing as he returned to meet his teammates and coaches at Compton Park and was all smiles. More precious memories which will last a lifetime. And although it took him another six months to be back playing football on those same training pitches, Raul was determined to make up for lost time.
He was straight back in from the off under Bruno Lage in the 2021/22 season, playing the full 90 minutes of Wolves’ opening seven matches. In number six he did what every Wolves supporter had been dreaming of since the previous November – score a goal for the Old Gold.
It was away at St Mary’s, 336 days after being stretchered off the Emirates pitch, that Jimenez latched onto a Jose Sa long ball, danced around several Southampton defenders before sliding the ball into the net. Cue jubilation from the 3,000 visiting Wolves supporters behind the goal.
Although Raul was to add another five to his goal tally that season – including his final top-flight goal at Molineux in the 4-0 rout of Watford – his form for Wolves was beginning to deteriorate. Niggling injuries were also taking their toll on the striker, who was finding life back in football tough.
The Mexican made just four appearances before the enforced World Cup break, with his only goal in that time coming in the Carabao Cup win over Preston North End, the competition was to be the striker’s main source of goals last season, as he also netted against Gillingham and Nottingham Forest as he saw his outings limited to the cups under Julen Lopetegui.
Having given so much to Wolves during his time in gold and black, it was clearly evident how much the Molineux support also meant to him at the final home match of 2022/23 against Everton.
Tears streamed down Jimenez’s face as he took his time to walk the perimeter of the pitch with his family following the full-time whistle as his famous chant rang out from all four corners of the ground he called home for five years.
“The best in the world, he comes from Mexico” sang the Molineux terraces. During Raul’s first 28 months in gold and black, they could not have been more on the money.
For 20 years the golden palace had been crying out for a legendary centre-forward who would help take Wolves to new heights, and they certainly found that in Jimenez.
Gracias, Senor.
