Hundreds of thousands of Real Madrid fans took a short pilgrimage to the city's Cibeles fountain in the early hours of Sunday morning to celebrate the club's 28th Spanish league title.
There were no reports of the violence that marred the celebrations following the European Cup wins in 1998 and 2000, when hundreds were injured and drunken supporters clashed with police.
Instead, there was an almost palpable sense of relief as a 5-0 victory over Alaves at last secured one major honour at the end of a season that had promised even more success.
Real are worthy winners of the championship for the first time since 1997, having shown a consistency the likes of Deportivo Coruna and Barcelona have not been able to match.
Vicente del
Bosque's side have lost just six games -- Deportivo lost 11 in their title-winning campaign last year -- while they have scored 78 goals and conceded 38.
"We've demonstrated all season that we're the best team," said Br
azilian winger
Savio, who has won back a place in the side after being strongly linked with a transfer earlier in the season.
"That's why we've taken the title and it's time now for us and the fans to enjoy the success."
Real certainly celebrated the title in style, with striker Raul parading a bullfighter's cape in the centre of the pitch and goalkeeper
Iker Casillas driving a stretcher cart loaded with his colleagues up and down the field.
After an hour spent lapping up the applause at the Bernabeu, the team took an open-top bus down the Castellana, the central Madrid thoroughfare, to the Cibeles fountain.
An estimated 400,000 fans gathered at the traditional setting for the club's celebrations to cheer as the players climbed atop the fountain to 'crown' the statue.
Such delirious celebration was at odds, though, with the widespread feeling that the current Real side have, if anything, underachieved slightly this season.
The team that swaggered throughout the two group stages of the Champions League and swept past Galatasaray in the home leg of their quarter-final had been tipped for even greater things.
Four chances of silverware had already been squandered by the time the team took the league title, though.
The season started with defeat to Galatasaray in the European Supercup match in Monaco, the World Club championship was also lost to Boca Juniors and the side made a limp exit to third division Toledo in the King's Cup. There then followed home and away defeats to Bayern Munich in the Champions League semifinal before del
Bosque lifted his players again for the title run-in.
At the heart of Real's improvement this season -- they have played much, much better than in last year's successful Champions League campaign -- has been the irrepressible
Luis Figo, their controversial $56 million capture from Barcelona.
And it was fitting that he was once again the outstanding player in Saturday's 5-0 stroll past Alaves, the beaten UEFA Cup finalists.
While some criticism has been levelled at the Portuguese international's inability to dominate games in Europe the way he did last year for Barca, there is little doubt that he has been his new club's best player in the domestic game.
He ran the Alaves defence ragged on Saturday, skipping inside to thread balls through to Raul and
Guti or heading straight for the byline to whip over crosses in the manner of
David Beckham.
After Raul and
Guti had set Real on their way in the first half, it was
Figo who set up all three second-half goals for
Fernando Hierro,
Ivan Helguera and again Raul.
"With respect to Real Madrid, it was the individual qualities of Figo that did for us," said Alaves coach Mane.
"He was the one who created almost all their chances."
Real have been so much better with
Figo and unsung French midfielder
Claude Makelele at the heart of the side that there will remain a nagging sensation that this year could have been even better.
But no-one was dwelling on what might have been after the Alaves victory, least of all del
Bosque, who has now won Champions League and Spanish title honours in a year-and-a-half in charge.
"You can't say we failed in the Champions League," he insisted.
"We played 16 out of 17 possible games, showing great form and giving the fans something to cheer about."
"We finished the last century as rulers of Europe and we start this one as rulers in Spain."