Awesome attack proves decisive in Real Madrid title win
Real Madrid added World Cup top scorer Ronaldo to their glittering squad at the start of the season, victory in the Spanish championship was thought to be a foregone conclusion.
When Real Madrid added World Cup top scorer Ronaldo to their glittering squad at the start of the season, victory in the Spanish championship was thought to be a foregone conclusion.
What no one predicted was that the nine-times European champions would be taken the distance by former relegation strugglers Real Sociedad and would have to endure a nail-biting season finale before clinching their 29th league title.
Sociedad's flying start to the league under new coach Raynald Denoueix, Ronaldo's early fitness problems and a tougher than expected Champions League campaign all took their toll on Real in the early part of the season.
A surprise 2-0 defeat at Racing Santander and a 1-1 draw at home to Villarreal saw them drop to fifth in the league, a full seven points behind unbeaten Sociedad, by early November.
They were then lucky to sneak a last-gasp win at lowly neighbours Rayo Vallecano but the notoriously hard-to-please Bernabeu faithful began to voice their discontent when Ronaldo hit a minor mid-season scoring drought.
With Roberto Carlos's rampaging runs on the left frequently leaving Real exposed at the back, and central defender Fernando Hierro getting caught out by speedy opposition strikers, Vicente del Bosque's team were conceding an alarming number of goals.
They frequently found themselves in the position of having to turn a game around in the second half after falling behind to fast-starting opponents.
But Real's saving grace was their awesome power going forward.
SURGING ATTACKS
Once Real set their minds to the task few teams could withstand the pressure of their relentless surging attacks.
Zinedine Zidane teased open opposition defences with his meandering infield runs and artful passes, Luis Figo supplied a string of magnificent crosses, while Raul and Ronaldo were nearly always on hand to provide the finishing touch.
Between them the two Madrid front men scored 39 goals this season, a total exceeded only by Real Sociedad's lethal strike pairing of Darko Kovacevic and Nihat Kahveci.
A 5-1 thrashing of Real Mallorca in Palma and an even better 4-1 win over Valencia at the Bernabeu Stadium in the New Year allowed Real to keep the pressure on Sociedad at the top.
Sociedad slipped to their first defeat of the season against Basque rivals Athletic Bilbao in early February and a shock 3-0 loss at mid-table Valladolid four weeks later.
That opened the door for Real Madrid to go top in early March after Ronaldo helped himself to a hat-trick as they hit five past a sorry-looking Alaves.
A confident and assured 2-0 victory over Deportivo Coruna at the Bernabeu gave Real a six-point lead by early April and the title race looked all but over.
TOTALLY OUTCLASSED
However, just as Real were being showered with compliments following their scintillating 3-1 Champions League victory at home to Manchester United, they were totally outclassed when Sociedad handed them a 4-2 defeat at Anoeta.
A 5-1 drubbing by a Samuel Eto'o-inspired Mallorca at the Bernabeu followed soon after and they went on to lose top spot after more than two months at the head of the table, handing the initiative back to Sociedad.
But as luck would have it their 4-0 win at neighbours Atletico and Sociedad's narrow 3-2 defeat at Champions League-bound Celta Vigo in the penultimate game produced a final reversal in fortunes.
In an almost exact repetition of the 1979-80 season Real snatched the lead from Sociedad and went into the final match needing a victory over Athletic Bilbao to clinch the title.
"I think we deserve it more than anyone," Real coach Vicente del Bosque said on the eve of the title decider. "The numbers are there for all to see."
Despite the distractions of the David Beckham signing and the question marks over Del Bosque's future, history duly repeated itself and once more Real were able to deny Sociedad the title with their 3-1 victory over Bilbao.
That result took their scoring tally for the season to 86 league goals -- 15 more than the next highest scorers Real Sociedad -- and turned the season into a triumph for the club's fearless attacking style.
It was a less emphatic title victory than many had predicted, but no one could argue that Real were undoubtedly the outstanding team in Spain this season, utterly fearless in attack and undeniably worthy of their 29th success.