World Cup winners arrive home in Spain for fiesta

Spain's football team returned home to a jubilant nation and a huge fiesta today after winning the World Cup, finally giving Spaniards a break from months of economic gloom, political squabbling and nationalist regions fighting to break away from the central government.



The celebrations for the team will include a meeting with the king and prime minister and an open-air bus ride through Madrid's historic center.



At least several hundred thousand fans were expected to line the streets to celebrate Spain's first World Cup title. Spain beat the Netherlands 1-0 yesterday in extra time.



Dozens of airport workers cheered from the runway as the plane, flying Spanish flags from cockpit windows, taxied to a stop while car horns could be heard honking in the distance. A special slogan printed along the fuselage of the Iberia plane read, "Proud of our National Team. Champions."



The country has been depressed by a debt crisis, 20 per cent unemployment and nationalist regions fighting to separate from Spain.