La Liga Overview

Spain’s La Liga was started in 1929, and is one of the world’s oldest and most successful football championships. It is the top ranked domestic football league in Europe, and the third highest ranked for average attendance (29,029). It features 20 clubs, and the format for the league has remained more or less unchanged over the years. It ranks easily as one of the best leagues in the world, and has featured some of the most brilliant players in world football in its history, such as Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo, Luis Figo, Diego Maradona and Thierry Henry.

League Ranking

UEFA Ranking - 2nd

La Liga History

The idea for the league was proposed in April 1927, and the ten clubs chosen to form the first Primera Division were Arenas Club de Getxo, FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, Athletic Bilbao, Real Unión, Athletic Madrid, RCD Español, Racing Santander, CE Europa and Real Sociedad. They all qualified on the basis of being winners of the Copa del Rey. FC Barcelona were the very first winners of La Liga, although Athletic Bilbao were the strongest and most successful side in the early days of the league.

In the 1930s and 1940s, despite Bilbao’s strength, the league remained quite competitive. But since the 1950s, the has been dominated by Real Madrid and Barcelona, who between them have 48 of the 76 La Liga titles.

The approach and advent of new millennium saw more competition emerge in the league, with Valencia winning two titles (2002 and 2004), and Deportivo La Coruña winning in 2000 (but dramatically losing out to two more). Atletico Madrid managed their most recent league success in 1996.

The format and make-up of the teams and league has remained quite consistent through time. Teams were gradually added from the league’s birth in 1929, but no major restructuring was otherwise carried out.

Due to varying political conditions however, aspects of the league have changed over time. The Fascist regime of Franco, Spanish Civil War, and birth of democracy all saw various name changes to teams. The time of the Spanish Second Republic had clubs like Real Madrid and Real Betis dropped the “Real” from their name, and Real Sociedad became Donostia CF. In 1941, Franco banned the use of non-Castilian names, and FC Barcelona and Sevilla FC became CF Barcelona and Sevilla CF. Athletic Bilbao and Athletic Aviación changed the spelling of their prefix to Atlético, Sporting de Gijón and Racing Santander became Real Gijón and Real Santander. All of these name changes came to be reversed, however when Athletic Madrid changed their name to Atlético Madrid, they stayed with the latter. Real Madrid, Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao are the only teams never to have been relegated.

League Format

La Liga operates with a classic league format. Each of the 20 teams play each other home and away for a total of 38 games in the season. Each year the bottom 3 teams are relegated to the Spanish Segunda Division, with the team finishing first being crowned Champions, and teams placed 1-6 qualifying for European football.

Spain gets 4 Champions League places (2 autmoatic), and 3 UEFA Cup places (2 automatic). However, unlike other leagues, if two teams are tied for first place on points, the championship is then decided by a playoff match, instead of goal difference, goals scored and head-to-head records.

Spanish sides are only allowed to have 3 non-EU players in their registered squads.

League Trophies

La Liga has been dominated by teams from the country’s two biggest and most influential cities – Real Madrid and Barcelona. Between them, they have captured 48 of the 76 La Liga championships played, and Real Madrid are one of the most successful teams in the world. The new millennium saw Valencia emerge as another powerhouse of Spanish football.

La Liga Clubs

The following teams currently compete in the Liga de Fútbol Profesional:

• FC Barcelona
• Real Madrid CF
• RCD Espanyol
• Atlético Madrid
• Valencia CF
• Real Betis
• Sevilla FC
• Athletic Bilbao
• Deportivo La Coruña
• Real Zaragoza
• Real Murcia
• Real Valladolid
• Levante UD
• RCD Mallorca
• Villareal CF
• Racing Santander
• UD Almería
• Recreativo Huelva
• Osasuna
• Getafe CF

Recognition and Awards

Most League Goals of All Time

Most League Appearances

League Management

Sponsors

Media Coverage

Sky Sports – Matches in the UK

Unlike other leagues, teams in Spain negotiate their own television contracts, although this is partially regulated by the LFP.

Important Links

http://www.lfp.es

References