As much as we fans dread the dearth of end-to-end football action in the coming months, it has truly been a season to remember for a myriad of reasons for the 2006/07 year. While we endure the withdrawal symptoms of lacking our regular dosage of La Liga action, we can only look back in retrospect and relive the entertaining moments before the start of the next campaign.

In the January, after Madrid appeared nonchalant about keeping David Beckham on its payroll, the Englishman's decision to defect across the Atlantic entailed a scathing attack by club president Ramon Calderon, branding David Beckham as a half-baked actor who retreats to Tinseltown when his services are no longer in demand.

Fast forward five months later, the very same man responsible for that caustic vitriol is eating humble pie by being the strongest advocate for Beckham to renege on his LA Galaxy deal.

Beckham's fabled stint at the Santiago Bernabeu has finally reached its end, thus closing a stirring chapter in the football annals. Having experienced so many ups and downs that any lesser of a man would have thrown in the towel and faded into oblivion, Beckham has certainly proven himself to be anything but a weakling.

Real's route to glory has indeed been fraught with obstacles and drama-filled as they were never looked capable of usurping Barca's throne after falling behind the leaguye pace-setters early on. However, their story of team spirit and coordination has allowed them to successfully inch across the finishing line as the champions, sending their fans into cloud nine.

Whilst Beckham recels in his perfect parting gift to the club, the indisputable star of Madrid's success has to be Ruud van Nistelrooy, as the Dutchman rutned saviour and applied the coup de grace on no less than 25 occasions, making him the 'pichichi' winner.

Nonetheless, as Madrid savour the sweet taste of success, it cannont rest on its laurels as its rivals are definitely returning next term with a more resilient and resolute squad in tow. This accomplishment will hopefully vindicate Fabio Capello's position in the club hierarchy, and pave the route to greater achievements.

For Los Merengues fans weaned off the club's golden era, they would be inclined to believe that their team's fortunes have turned the corner and this would mark the beginning of a new chapter in Real's chronicles.

Barca had to relinquish its crown to its arch rivals in the cruelest manner due to its inferior head-to-head record. Despite matching Real's results in the final run-in, one cannot help but feel it was the nitty-gritty and lack of consistency that had done the Catalans in.

The sense of foreboding stemmed since day one as it crashed to a damning 3-0 defeat in the UEFA Super Cup against upstarts Sevilla. The various commitments that accompanied its European champions' status back then also bogged down the Balugrana, particularly after an exhausting World Cup summer for its players.

For its entire repertoire of skills and feints, everything came to nought as Barca ended trophy-less. The media and fans alike had pinned high hopes on them but alas, it was not to be.

Hopefully, the palpable pain will drive the fallen giants to restore dented pride and regain their rightful place on the pedestal. However, with Barca's reputation of beautiful, attacking football, they are almost obliged to sign Thierry Henry to entertain the Nou Camp faithful.

Although Lionel Messi and Ronaldinho concur in unison that the lack of individual brillance to carry the weight of the team was partly responsible for their failure this season, this is not the panacea to their problems. It is of paramount importance that Barca tackle the roots of its conundrum by reinforcing their defensive ranks and to plug the gaping holes in its ageing defence.

Widely pilloried for failing to build on their goalscoring leads and succumbing to late sucker punches, Barca must revamp itself to keep abreast of its competitors.

Some allege that this may have sounded the death knell of manager Frank Rijkaard, but the silver lining in the cloud is that with ample rest, Barca will be better able to prepare itself to re-assert its supremacy on Spanish soil next season.

4th - Valencia
Once again, Valencia simply could not fathom how their expensively assembled squad has failed to mount a credible title challenge. They have never looked the same after Rafael Benitez defected for Liverpool and their futile attempts in reliving its glory days are causing its patience to thin rapidly.

Los Ches may be contemplating another massive transfer market raid but it is still unknown how much Quique Sanchez Flores will have in his new transfer kitty. The Spaniard may likely have to contend with his existing ranks and try appeasing their disgruntled fans and to fulfil the club's ambitions of delivering the league title next year.

A lot will hinge on the long-term futures of its chief marksman David Villa and young protege David Silva, who are both rumoured for the Mestalla exit after impressing scouts acros Europe. Valencia must hold onto key players or otherwise, it will certainly not scale the ditzy heights under Benitez ever again.

Villarreal have had an admirable season as they finally rose from the shadows to finish in fifth slot on 62 points. The last time the Yellow Submarines had performed so well, it still had Argentines Juan Pablo Sorin and Juan Roman Riquelme donning its colours. For this, they have Uruguayan forward Diego Forlan to thank as the former European Golden Shoe recipient chipped in with 19 goals to become his team's beacon of inspiration in this trying period.

For Atletico Madrid, this is turning out to be an all-too-familiar story plot as Fernando Torres continues to be frustrated with his lack of success at his boyhood club. Eagerly pursued by clubs all across the continent, one suspect "El Nino" has finally come to realise that his future lies away from Vincente Calderon should be yearn to play Champions League football as the Madrid-based side will always remain a rung below the likes of Barca and Real Madrid.

Although it has often been said that only champions deserve a place in history, we will be doing a grave injustice should we simply discount how much progress the modest Recreativo Huelva have made.

Recreativo do not have rich club coffers to tap upon or superstar names to reply on, but the newly-promoted Recre still managed to defy conventional logic to finish so high up in the rankings.

Undoubtedly, the vital source of goals from Florent Sinama Pongolle helped to catapult the unfashionable side into its final position but it must be said that the Andalusian minnows often went for the jugular rather than succumb to the infectious malaise of long-ball tactics that is so prevalent among the struggling teams. Its crowning moment arrived when Recre crafted a surprise 3-0 victory at Real Madrid and judging by the look of things, Recreativo certainly appear to be a respectable opponent as they held their heads high against all odds.

Getafe also managed to raise eyebrows into its third season after another solid finish in the top half of the table. Its record now reads: 13th, 9th, 9th in chronological order but i must be noted that Bernd Schuster's men have almost secured a place in the UEFA Cup next season after booking its date against Sevilla in the domestic cup final.

Getafe also have one of the meanest defences in La Liga and have gained a reputation as one of the toughest nuts to crack as they ruffled the feathers of the supposed bigwigs.

In the lower half, Espanyol, Mallorca, Deportivo La Coruna and Osasuna were all caught in no-man's land as they ended with little to play for in the domestic league.

To be fair, Espanyol and Osasuna have done well in their European endeavours after progressing to the finals and semi-finals respectively in the Spanish dominated UEFA Cup. For the Periquitos, it has been a reqarding season as the prolific duo of Waler Pandiani and Raul Tamudo combined for 22 league goals between them.

For Osasuna, this will also herald the end of 11-goal Roberto Soldado's successful load spell as he returns to take his claim for a regular slot in Real Madrid's set-up next season.

For Deportivo, it has been another mediocre campaign with its fans almost resigned to the fate that their beloved club will bever reach the upper echelon as its title-winning class of 2000 did. Depor consisted of a quality side on paper, including the Fabricio Coloccini, Jorge Andrade and Juan Valeron. Howeverm its on-field results often flattered to deceive, culminating in its lacklustre 13th placed finish.

Athletic Bilbao lived up to expectations and won 2-0 against Levante in Round 38 to escape from the claws of relegation. Despite boasting of talented players such as Francisco Yeste and established verterans Joseba Exteberria and Ismael Urzaiz, Bilbao barely scrapped through and will certainly want to avoid a repeat of this episode next season.

Relegation Battle
Real Betis left it late to preserve their La Liga status in the penultimate match as its Brazilian midfielder match as its Brazilian midfielder Edu notched two most-important goals of his career in the final 10 minutes against Racing Santander to snatch three points to fend off Celta Vigo's challenge.

The Celtinas sacked FErnando Vazquez after an uninspired run plunged the club into the relegation zone, resulting in the appointment of Bulgarian legend Hristov Stoichkov as manager.

However, even with the revered Stoichkov at the helm, he could not prevent the inevitable despite a late surge in form had Celta harbouring hopes of pulling off a Houdini act. The former Bulgaria national coach had a torrid start at Estadio Balaidos but to his credit, ended the season with a flourish three straight victories.

For that brief 15minutes or so, Celta thought they had done it. To beat the drop, that is. It all boiled down to the crunch match against Getafe and despite trailing early, they showed immense determination to overturn the deficit to win 2-1, only for Betis to spoil the Galicians' home party with two late goals.

Real Sociedad will be joining the likes of Albacete, Malaga and Las Palmas next season after finishing with 35 points to finish 19th. This will mark the lowest abyss of Sociedad having achieved a best finish of 2nd in 2002/03 with key performers Darko Kovacevic, Nihat Kahveci, Russian Valeri Karpin and ex-Liverpool custodian Sander Westerveld.

With almost all of its luminaries having aged or departed, Kovacevic was the only left to witness his club's fall from grace as the conservative club continued to adhere to its core of Basque players.

Sociedad often played with utter ineptitude and its disjointed side never looked capable of rising above mid-table mediocrity. Its paltry goalscoring return of 32 goals in total proved to be its Achilles' heel as they lacked the tactical discipline to avoid relegation.

One expects Sociedad to not dwell much on this latest setback, but instead focus on an immediate return to La Liga. However, in the unpredictable world of football, no one can be absolutely sure of anything and the Txuri-urdin can hitherto pray for the best.

For bottom-placed Gimnastic, this has been a wretched season after chalking up an abysmal record of 24 league defeats, conceding 69 goals in the process. After 56 years in the wilderness of lower division football, Nastic must have been hoping it had never returned this season.

Bereft of imaginative play and short of ideas, Gimnastic could not muster its strength to prolong its stay in thbe La Liga. With its porous defence and inability to step up a notch to match its illustrious league opponets, Gimnastic was the first to be consigned to relegation and perhaps the Segunda Division is where they should belong to in the near future.

Conclusion
No one could have foreseen such a riveting plot to unfold in the La Liga, as it never failed to capture the imagination of fans all across the world. To its ardent supporters, football transcends the boundaries of being a mere spectator sport. It porved that even in the modern era of today, in face of the toughest of adversities, Real Madrid could still deliver the seemingly impossible task - being La Liga champions for a record 30th time.

2006/07 Primera Liga Table			GP	W	D	L	GD	P
1		Real Madrid   C	38	23	7	8	+26	76
2		Barcelona	38	22	10	6	+45	76
3		FC Sevilla	38	21	8	9	+29	71
4		Valencia	38	20	6	12	+15	66
5		Villarreal	38	18	8	12	+4	62
6		Real Zaragoza	38	16	12	10	+12	60
7		Atletico Madrid	38	17	9	12	+7	60
8		Recreativo Huelva	38	15	9	14	+2	54
9		Getafe	38	14	10	14	+6	52
10		Racing Santander	38	12	14	12	-6	50
11		Espanyol	38	14	7	17	-6	49
12		Mallorca	38	12	13	13	-7	49
13		Deportivo La Coruna	38	12	11	15	-13	47
14		Osasuna	38	13	7	18	+2	46
15		Levante	38	10	12	16	-16	42
16		Real Betis	38	8	16	14	-13	40
17		Atheletic Bilbao	38	10	10	18	-18	40
18		Celta Vigo   R	38	10	9	19	-19	39
19		Real Sociedad   R	38	8	11	19	-15	35
20		Gimnastic de Tarragona   R	38	7	7	24	-35	28

Champions League: 1st, 2nd Champions League qualifying: 3rd, 4th UEFA Cup: 5th, 6th, 9th (Copa del Rey Winner) Intertoto Cup : 7th Relegation: 18th, 19th, 20th	Champions of 2006/2007 Real Madrid

English League 06/07 Review
Spanish League 06/07 Review
Italian League 06/07 Review
German League 06/07 Review
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