Join Now  | 
Home About Contact Us Privacy & Security Advertise
Soccer America Daily Special Edition Around The Net Soccer Business Insider College Soccer Reporter Youth Soccer Reporter Soccer on TV Soccer America Classifieds
Paul Gardner: SoccerTalk Soccer America Confidential Youth Soccer Insider World Cup Watch
RSS Feeds Archives Manage Subscriptions Subscribe
Order Current Issue Subscribe Manage My Subscription Renew My Subscription Gift Subscription
My Account Join Now
Tournament Calendar Camps & Academies Soccer Glossary Classifieds
David Beckham and Roberto Carlos leave Real Madrid with league title
June 18th, 2007 7:01AM
Subscribe to Soccer America Daily


MOST READ
TAGS:  mls, spain


David Beckham and Roberto Carlos departed Real Madrid as champions on Sunday when the Merengues won Spain's La Liga title for the 30th time with a 3-1 victory over Real Mallorca at the Bernabeu Stadium.

Real Madrid finished tied with Barcelona, a 5-1 winner over Gimnastic Tarragona, but captured the tie by virtue of its advantage in the tiebreaker (head-to-head play).

After a miserable first half of the season, Real Madrid recovered to chase down Barcelona and pull even with the two-time defending champion. As was often the case late in the season, the Merengues needed to come from behind to earn the win over Mallorca. They trailed at the half on Fernando Varela's early goal for Mallorca and looked to be in dangerous of falling further behind in the second half.

Without leading scorer Ruud van Nistelrooy, who left the game in the first half after appearing to pull a hamstring, the Real attack sputtered until substitute Jose Reyes saved the day. The former Arsenal striker equalized a minute after coming on in the second half for Beckham, who limped off in the 66th minute, and put the game away with a spectacular third seven minutes from time. Mahamadou Diarra, who had missed his African Nations Cup qualifier with Mali to play for Real Madrid, had the winning goal.

"I couldn't have dreamt it any better," said Beckham, who signed to play for MLS's Los Angeles Galaxy in January when Madrid was at its low point. "It's been about winning the title for the last six months, and we've deserved it tonight."

Roberto Carlos, 34, is leaving Real Madrid after 11 seasons to play for Turkish champion Fenerbahce.


No comments yet.

Sign in to leave a comment. Don't have an account? Join Now


AUTHORS

ARCHIVES
FOLLOW SOCCERAMERICA

Recent Soccer America Daily
Hoffenheim avoids automatic relegation    
[AMERICANS ABROAD] Fabian Johnson started for Hoffenheim in its 2-1 win UEFA Champions League finalist Borussia ...
What They're Saying    
"Locker room banter gone wild!!! #SAW" -- U.S. international Brek Shea's message on Instagram accompanying a ...
San Jose sin bin empties out    
[MLS SCHEDULE: Week 12] The San Jose Earthquakes' sin bin has emptied, putting them back at ...
Klinsmann explains his picks    
[USA MEN] A day after naming his squad of players for the upcoming set of five ...
Dwyer breaks scoring record in nine games    
[USL PRO REWIND: Week 9] It took only nine games, but Englishman Dom Dwyer, on loan ...
Red Devils loaded for Cleveland match    
[BELGIUM] Belgium is bringing a star-studded team, including a host of English Premier League stars and ...
Klose and Podolski head squad    
[GERMANY] Germany will be without many of its big stars for its trip to the United ...
Sky Blue FC moves into first-place tie with win at Thorns    
[NWSL REWIND: Week 7] Sky Blue FC moved into a tie for first place in the ...
Kljestan goal helps Anderlecht move closer to title    
[AMERICANS ABROAD] Sacha Kljestan, who was called up to the U.S. national team on Thursday, celebrated ...
City Islanders host top-of-the-table clash    
[USL PRO SCHEDULE: Week 9] The Harrisburg City Islanders host Orlando City in a top-of-the-table clash ...
>> Soccer America Daily Archives