Italian star Cannavaro praises Beckham

Fabio Cannavaro praised David Beckham for his role in putting Real Madrid back into title contention.

Cannavaro admires Beckham's never-say-die attitude and believes it has been a positive influence on the rest of the Madrid team, which has won six of its last seven league matches.

"Beckham is a player I like very much both for his technique and the way he thinks," the Italian World Cup winner said. "He is a man who always wants to win, and he has transmitted that mentality to the squad."

Beckham's Madrid career looked to be over in January when coach Fabio Capello said the midfielder would not play for the club again after announcing he had agreed to join the Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer.

But the former England captain refused to concede his career at Madrid was finished and his determination during training camp eventually led to Capello reversing his decision and recalling Beckham to his playing squad after an absence of six matches.

Although he has missed a number of games through injury and suspension since returning to the fold, Beckham has still played an influential role in helping Madrid up to second place in the Primera Liga standings, just two points behind Barcelona.

"I think we are all much better now, not only David," Cannavaro said on his club's website. "We are all making a greater effort to win the league. We have five games left and we must win them all."

"We are in good spirits because we are having good results. This happens to every team. We must continue along the same path because it is important for us to have a good atmosphere - it makes us work better."