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Graham Fisher
Andrew Aigner-Muehler
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HardyReal Madrid wins La Liga - Beckham; Carlos signs off in style
June 18th 2007 05:52
The 2006-07 La Liga season ended in a thrilling climax with Real Madrid coming back from a goal down to beat Real Mallorca 3-1 thus sealing the Spanish title for the 30th time in the club's illustrious history.
The gong gave departing players David Beckham and Roberto Carlos a fitting farewell to their tenure at the Bernabeu.
David Beckham and co. celebrates (BBC Sport)
For the first hour, Madrid was on the back-foot after going a goal down on the 17th minute courtesy of Mallorca defender Fernando Varela but the introduction of on-loan Arsenal winger Jose Reyes Antonio for the injured David Beckham proved to be a masterstroke from Real's Italian manager Fabio Capello.
The Spanish winger equalised for Madrid after just two minutes but that wasn't enough as Barcelona were well in command of their game against relegated Nastic.
Twelve minutes later, Real were ahead when Mahamadou Diarra's powerful header deflected off Mallorca midfielder Angelos Basinas and Reyes made sure of victory with his second goal on the 83rd minute - a brilliant curling shot from just outside the box.
The fans at the Bernabeu were in delirium after that as were the players and management staff after the final whistle.
The Spanish giants showed great determination and motivation to clinch their first La Liga title in four years. Having endured a barren few years with their last trophy won back in 2003, the "Whites" looked far from ending that drought in the first half of the season.
A turn of fortunes in the second half of the season, the recall of David Beckham and a string of gutsy performances saw Madrid mount a full-blooded assault on the Spanish title culminating in the thrilling climax which saw Madrid and arch-rivals Barcelona finishing level on points - Real clinched the title by virtue of a better head-to-head record.
David Beckham and Roberto Carlos both played their last games for the club - they will be moving to MLS side LA Galaxy and Turkish giants Fenerbache respectively.
The former England captain said: “It was amazing to have my family here. They have been with me for four years in Spain and been through the ups and downs.
“It meant the world to have everyone here that supported me through my career.
"I couldn’t have dreamt it any better. It’s been about winning the title for the last six months and we’ve deserved it.
“It has been an incredible experience. All I remember now is the great things. Winning this puts everything else to bed.
“It feels just as good as winning the Premiership. The titles just keep getting better and better.
“Words can’t describe how great I feel. I just want to say thank you for all the support. This is the perfect ending and I will miss the Bernabeu.”
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