Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Real Madrid routs Israeli-Palestinian team

Less than 48 hours after winning the Spanish League title, Real Madrid routed a mixed Israeli-Palestinian team 8-0 Tuesday night in a charity "Peace Match."

Before a crowd of 30,000, Real Madrid played without David Beckham, who did not make the trip. The English midfielder, whose contract with the Spanish club expires June 30, joins Major League Soccer's Los Angeles Galaxy next month.

Guti scored four goals, including three goals in the first half against the Peace Team, which included Israel captain Yossi Benayoun and Bolton's Idan Tal.

Raul scored two minutes into the second half, Alvara Negredo made it 5-0, Guti added his final goal, and Ruben de la Red increased the lead to 7-0. Negredo scored again with two minutes left.

The game was organized by the Peres Center for Peace, headed by Nobel Peace Prize laureate and President-elect Shimon Peres. The center runs a number of Peace Sports Schools in Israel where Israeli and Palestinian children train together.

Real Madrid won the Spanish League by defeating Mallorca 3-1 Sunday night.

"We are very happy to be here, as we believe we have to work to help these kids," Raul said. "The team is very tired but we have to play a spectacular match for the fans and people watching."