Fab praise for Beckham

Capello was speaking on the eve of Madrid's home game with Real Mallorca, a fixture which could see Beckham win his first major trophy since joining the Spanish giants four years ago from Manchester United.

"He has been and is a great player, but the last few months he has recovered his mental and physical condition and without doubt he is among the best players that I have trained in my life," said Capello, who has been in charge at AC Milan, Juventus and Roma, as well as two spells in the Madrid hotseat.

Earlier this year Capello declared Beckham would never play for Madrid again following his decision to join the Los Angeles Galaxy this summer, but the former England captain battled his way back into the reckoning and has impressed all with his scintillating form of late - not least Capello.

Beckham was among a 19-man Madrid squad named for the clash against Mallorca after proving his fitness following an ankle injury.

The midfielder picked up the ankle problem while on England duty last week and although he played the whole of last Saturday's draw with Real Zaragoza, he pulled up late in the match and needed treatment on the injury before continuing.

Beckham trained away from his team-mates for the majority of this week as he looked to overcome the problem, but he was back with the rest of the players on Saturday morning before being included in Capello's match-day squad.

"He has trained all week, and harder over the last three days. I spoke with him today (Saturday) and he said he was fine and would have no problems in playing," Capello added.