The Primera División (First Division) of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional (Professional Football League), commonly known as La Liga (The League) or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA (BBVA League) since 2008, is the top professional association football league in Spain. It is contested by 20 teams, with the three lowest placed teams relegated to the Segunda División and replaced by the top three teams in that division. A total of 59 teams have competed in La Liga, nine of which have been crowned champions. Since the 1950s, Real Madrid and Barcelona have dominated the championship. The former have won the title 31 times while the latter have won it on 20 occasions. However, during the 1930s and 1940s and in the last two decades, La Liga has seen other champions including Atlético Madrid, Athletic Bilbao, Valencia, Real Sociedad, Deportivo, Sevilla and Real Betis. Barcelona are currently back to back winners of La Liga.
La Liga is one of the most popular professional sports leagues in the world, with an average attendance of 29,029 for league matches in the 2007–08 season. This is the eighth highest of any domestic professional sports league in the world and the third highest of any professional association football league. La Liga is currently ranked the second strongest league in Europe according to UEFA's league coefficient, based on recent European performances.
Competition format
The competition format follows the usual double
round-robin format. During the course of a season, which lasts from September to June, each club plays every other club twice, once at home and once away, for a total of 38 games. Teams receive three points for a win, one point for a draw, and no points for a loss. Teams are ranked by total points, with the highest-ranked club at the end of the season crowned champion. If points are equal between two or more clubs the rules (more detailed here) applied as of 2010-11 season in all leagues organized by RFEF are:
If two legged games between all clubs involved has been played:
*If are equal in points by two clubs, two legged games is alleged:
**head-to-head goal difference (without away goals rule)
*If are equal in points by more than two clubs, a mini-league system^ is alleged:
** a) head-to-head points
** b) head-to-head difference
** c) head-to-head goals scored
If two legged games between all clubs involved has not been played or continues drawn being applyied above rules:
* a) total goal difference
* b) total goals scored
If clubs involved continues drawn with all above rules, the tie-break will be determined by
Fair Play scales, these are:
* Each yellow card, 1 point
* Each doubled yellow card/ejection, 2 points
* Each direct red card, 3 points
* If Competition Committee finds a higher penalty of 3 games, points equally apply to penalty score
* Competition Committee alleged suspension or disqualification to coach, executive or other club's personnel (outside referee decisions), 5 points
* Misconduct of the supporters: Mild 5 points, Serious 6 points, Very Serious 7 points
* Each closure stadium, 10 points
* If Competition Committee removes some penalty, points are also removed
If persists drawn, it will be determined with a tie-break match in a neutral stadium.
^ In this "mini-league" must be applyied recursively the appropriate rules here specified. For example, if the head-to-head points classification are: team A > 9 points, team B > 5 points, team C > 5 points, must be applied the order of the another "mini-league" between teams B and C, not head-to-head goal difference between these teams drawn in 5 points (B and C), so team A is excluded to determinate tie-beak between the other teams. Another example is: team A > 8 points, team B > 7 points, team C > 7 points, team D > 7 points must be applied another head-to-head points between teams B, C and D, not head-to-head goal difference between four teams resulting from this "mini-league", so team A is excluded to determinate tie-beak between the other three teams. This rule is specified at the cited rules report in
Artículo 201. Sistema de puntos in the paragraph between subarticles 3d and 4.
A system of promotion and relegation exists between the Primera División and the Segunda División. The three lowest placed teams in La Liga are relegated to the Segunda División, and the top two teams from the Segunda División are promoted to La Liga. The third team from the Segunda División to be promoted to La Liga is determined by the winner of the play-off played between the winner of the play-off between 3rd against 6th and the winner of the play-off between 4th placed against 5th. These placed teams should be considered excluding reserve teams.
Qualification for European competitions
The top teams in La Liga qualify for the
UEFA Champions League, with the first, second, and third placed teams directly entering the group stage and the fourth placed team entering the third qualifying round. The fifth and sixth placed teams qualify for the first round of the
UEFA Europa League.
History
Foundation
In April 1927 Jose Maria Acha, a director at
Arenas Club de Getxo, first proposed the idea of a national league in
Spain. After much debate about the size of the league and who would take part, the
Real Federación Española de Fútbol eventually agreed on the ten teams who would form the first
Primera División in
1929.
Barcelona,
Real Madrid,
Athletic Bilbao,
Real Sociedad,
Arenas Club de Getxo and
Real Unión were all selected as previous winners of the
Copa del Rey.
Atlético Madrid,
Espanyol and
Europa qualified as Copa del Rey runners-up and
Racing Santander qualified through a knockout competition. Only three of the founding clubs,
Real Madrid,
Barcelona and
Athletic Bilbao, have never been relegated from the
Primera División.
The 1930s
Although
Barcelona won the very first
Liga in
1929 and
Real Madrid won their first titles in
1932 and
1933, it was
Athletic Bilbao that set the early pace winning
Primera División in
1930,
1931,
1934 and
1936. They were also runners-up in
1932 and
1933. In
1935,
Real Betis, then known as
Betis Balompié, won their only title to date.
Primera División was suspended during the
Spanish Civil War.
In 1937, the teams in the Republican area of Spain, with the notable exception of the two Madrid clubs, competed in the Mediterranean League and FC Barcelona emerged as champions. Seventy years later, on September 28, 2007, Barcelona requested RFEF to recognise that title as a Liga title. This action was taken after RFEF recognised Levante FC's Copa de la España Libre win as equivalent to Copa del Rey trophy.
The 1940s
When the Primera División resumed after the
Spanish Civil War it was
Atlético Aviación (nowadays
Atlético Madrid),
Valencia and
Sevilla that initially emerged as the strongest clubs. Atlético Aviación were only awarded a place during the
1939–40 season as a replacement for
Real Oviedo, whose ground had been damaged during the war. The club subsequently won their first Liga title and retained it in
1941. While other clubs lost players to exile, execution and as casualties of the war, the
Atlético Aviación team was reinforced by a merger. The young pre-war squad of Valencia had also remained intact and in the post-war years matured into champions, gaining three Liga titles in
1942,
1944 and
1947. They were also runners-up in
1948 and
1949. Sevilla also enjoyed a brief golden era, finishing as runners-up in
1940 and
1942 before winning their only title to date in
1946. By the latter part of the decade
Barcelona began to emerge as a force when they were crowned champions in
1945,
1948 and
1949.
Di Stéfano, Puskás, Kubala and Suárez
Although
Atlético Madrid, previously known as
Atlético Aviación, were champions in 1950 and 1951 under
catenaccio mastermind
Helenio Herrera, the 1950s saw the beginning of the
Barcelona/
Real Madrid dominance. During the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s there were strict limits imposed on foreign players. In most cases clubs could only have three foreign players in their squads, meaning that at least eight local players had to play in every game. During the 1950s, however, these rules were circumvented by
Real Madrid and
Barcelona who naturalized
Alfredo di Stéfano,
Ferenc Puskás and
Ladislao Kubala. Inspired by Kubala, Barça won the title in 1952 and 1953. Di Stéfano, Puskás and
Francisco Gento formed the nucleus of the
Real Madrid team that dominated the second half of the 1950s. Madrid won the first division for the first time as Real Madrid in 1954 and retained its title in 1955. They were winners again in 1957 and 1958, with only
Athletic Bilbao interrupting their sequence. During this period, Real Madrid also won an unprecedented five consecutive European Cups.
Barcelona with a team coached by
Helenio Herrera and featuring
Luis Suárez gained the title in 1959 and 1960.
The Madrid years
Between 1961 and 1980,
Real Madrid dominated the
Primera División being crowned champion 14 times. This included a five-in-a-row sequence from 1961 to 1965 and two three-in-a-row sequences (1967–1969 and 1978–1980). During this era only
Atlético Madrid offered Real Madrid any serious challenge, adding four more titles to their tally in 1966, 1970, 1973 and 1977. Of the other clubs, only
Valencia in 1971 and the
Johan Cruyff-inspired
Barcelona of 1974 managed to break the dominance of Real Madrid.
The 1980s
The
Madrid winning sequence was ended more significantly in 1981 when
Real Sociedad won their first ever title. They retained it in 1982 and their two in a row was followed by another by their fellow
Basques,
Athletic Bilbao who won back-to-back titles in 1983 and 1984.
Terry Venables led
Barcelona to a solitary title in 1985 before
Real Madrid won again another five in a row sequence (1986–1990) with a team, guided by
Leo Beenhakker, and including
Hugo Sánchez and the legendary
La Quinta del Buitre -
Emilio Butragueño,
Manolo Sanchís,
Martín Vázquez,
Míchel and
Miguel Pardeza.
The 1990s
Johan Cruyff returned to
Barcelona as manager in 1988, and assembled the legendary
Dream Team. Cruijff introduced players like
Josep Guardiola,
José Mari Bakero,
Txiki Beguiristain,
Goikoetxea,
Ronald Koeman,
Michael Laudrup,
Romário and
Hristo Stoichkov. This team won
Primera División four times between 1991 and 1994 and won the
European Cup in 1992. Laudrup then moved to arch-rivals
Real Madrid after a fall-out with Cruijff, and helped them end Barcelona's run in 1995.
Atlético Madrid won their ninth
Primera División title in 1996 before Real Madrid added another Liga trophy to their cabinet in 1997. After the success of Cruijff, another Dutchman - Ajax manager
Louis van Gaal - arrived at the
Camp Nou, and with the talents of
Luís Figo,
Luis Enrique and
Rivaldo, Barcelona again won the title in 1998 and 1999. Meanwhile, Real Madrid also experienced success on the continental stage, winning the
UEFA Champions League in 1998.
The 2000s
As
Primera División entered a new century, the Big Two found themselves facing new challengers. Between 1993 and 2004,
Deportivo La Coruña finished in the top three on ten occasions, a better record than either
Real Madrid or
Barcelona, and in 2000, under
Javier Irureta, they became the ninth team to be crowned champions. Real Madrid won two more Liga titles in 2001 and 2003 and also the
UEFA Champions League in 2000 and 2002, and won their third league title in 2007 after a three year drought. They were challenged by a re-emerging
Valencia in both competitions. Under the management of
Héctor Cúper, Valencia finished as Champions League runners-up in 2000 and 2001. His successor,
Rafael Benítez, built on this and led the club to a Liga title in 2002 and the winning a double with a league title and the
UEFA Cup in 2004. The 2004–05 season saw a resurgent Barcelona, inspired by the brilliant
Ronaldinho, win their first title of the new century, in addition to the Liga-Champions League double in 2005–06. Real Madrid won La Liga in 2006–07 and 2007–08 season, and Barcelona again in 2009, as part of their
treble winning season. Barcelona also won the title in 2010.
On 20 May 2010, a study published by the University of Barcelona revealed that La Liga's debt had risen to an astronomical €3.53 billion. There were only three clubs in the all divisions (Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Numancia) who had an operating profit. The study further revealed that 85% of club debt was accumulated from player wages. The debt crisis in La Liga and Spain as a whole has led to summits held by the presidents of each club, the goal being to renegotiate the Madrid and Barcelona dominated television rights, opting for a voting-bloc system much like the Premier League.
Teams
Real Valladolid,
CD Tenerife and
Xerez CD were relegated to the
Segunda División after finishing the
2009–10 season in the bottom three places. Tenerife and Xerez made their immediate return to the second level after just one year in the Spanish top flight, while Valladolid ended a three-year tenure in La Liga.
The relegated teams were replaced by 2009–10 Segunda División champions Real Sociedad from San Sebastián, runners-up Hércules CF from Alicante and Levante UD. Hércules returns to the highest Spanish football league for the first time after 13 years, while Real Sociedad and Levante terminated their second-level status after three and two years, respectively.
Stadia and locations
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Team
! Home city
! Stadium
! Capacity
|-
| Almería
| Almería
| Estadio del Mediterráneo
| 22,000
|-
| Athletic Bilbao
| Bilbao
| San Mamés
| 39,750
|-
| Atlético Madrid
| Madrid
| Vicente Calderón
| 54,851
|-
| Barcelona
| Barcelona
| Camp Nou
| 115,772
|-
| Deportivo La Coruña
| A Coruña
| Riazor
| 34,600
|-
| Espanyol
| Cornellà de Llobregat
| Estadi Cornellà-El Prat
| 40,500
|-
| Getafe
| Getafe
| Coliseum Alfonso Pérez
| 17,700
|-
| Hércules
| Alicante
| Estadio José Rico Pérez
| 30,000
|-
| Levante
| Valencia
| Estadi Ciutat de València
| 25,534
|-
| Málaga
| Málaga
| La Rosaleda
| 28,963
|-
| Mallorca
| Palma de Mallorca
| Iberostar Estadio
| 23,142
|-
| Osasuna
| Pamplona
| Estadio Reyno de Navarra
| 19,800
|-
| Racing Santander
| Santander
| El Sardinero
| 22,271
|-
| Real Madrid
| Madrid
| Santiago Bernabéu
| 80,354
|-
| Real Sociedad
| San Sebastián
| Estadio Anoeta
| 32,076
|-
| Sevilla
| Sevilla
| Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán
| 45,500
|-
| Sporting
| Gijón
| El Molinón
| 29,800
|-
| Valencia
| Valencia
| Mestalla
| 55,000
|-
| Villarreal
| Vila-real
| El Madrigal
| 25,000
|-
| Zaragoza
| Zaragoza
| La Romareda
| 34,596
|}
La Liga clubs in Europe
In addition to their success in Primera División, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia are three of the most successful teams in European competition history. All three clubs are the only Spanish clubs to have won 5 or more international trophies. All three clubs are also in the top ten most successful clubs in European football in terms of total European trophies. In 2005–06, Barcelona won the UEFA Champions League and Sevilla won the UEFA Cup. The Primera División became the first league to do the European "double" since 1997.
The Primera División is currently second in the UEFA rankings of European leagues based on their performances in European competitions over a five-year period, behind the English Premier League in first and ahead of Italy's Serie A in third.
Champions
Year by year
Performance by club
Note on name changes
During the
Second Spanish Republic FC Barcelona became
FC Barcelona and
Sevilla CF,
Athletic Aviación changed the spelling of its prefix to
Atlético, and
Sporting de Gijón and
Racing de Santander became
Real Gijón and
Real Santander. Some of these changes have been undone.
Players
Eligibility of non-EU players
In La Liga, players can claim citizenship from the nation their ancestors came from. If a player does not have European ancestry, he can claim Spanish citizenship after playing in Spain for 5 years. Sometimes, this can lead to a triple-citizenship situation e.g.
Leo Franco, who is Argentine-born, of Italian heritage and can claim a Spanish passport, having played in La Liga for over 5 years.
In addition, players from the ACP countries—countries in Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific that are signatories to the Cotonou Agreement—are not counted against non-EU quotas, due to the Kolpak ruling.
Individual awards
Many individual awards are conceded relating to La Liga, although not sanctioned by the
LFP nor the
RFEF they are widely regarded as official.
The most notable of these are three awarded by Spain's biggest sports paper, Marca, namely the Pichichi Trophy, awarded to the top scorer of the season, the Ricardo Zamora Trophy for the goalkeeper with the least "goals-to-games" ratio, and the Trofeo Alfredo di Stéfano, for the player judged to be the best overall player in the division. The most recent winners (for the 2009–10 season) were:
Pichichi - Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Ricardo Zamora - Víctor Valdés (Barcelona)
Zarra Trophy - David Villa (Valencia CF)
Trofeo Alfredo di Stéfano - Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
All-time top scorers
European Footballers of the Year
The following were all elected winners of
the Golden Ball while playing in La Liga:
Alfredo di Stéfano - 1957, 1959 (
Real Madrid)
Raymond Kopa - 1958 (
Real Madrid)
Luis Suárez - 1960 (
FC Barcelona)
Johan Cruyff - 1973, 1974 (
FC Barcelona)
Hristo Stoichkov - 1994 (
FC Barcelona)
Rivaldo - 1999 (
FC Barcelona)
Luís Figo - 2000 (
Real Madrid)
Ronaldo - 2002 (
Real Madrid)
Ronaldinho - 2005 (
FC Barcelona)
Fabio Cannavaro - 2006 (
Real Madrid)
Lionel Messi - 2009, 2010 (
FC Barcelona)
Lionel Messi -2010, 2011 (
FC Barcelona)
See also
All-Time La Liga table
List of attendance figures at domestic professional sports leagues
2010–11 La Liga
List of football clubs in Spain
Supercopa de España
Football records in Spain
Notes and references
External links
Official La Liga Site
Official RFEF Site
Results and Tables
La Liga Results and News at Yahoo! Eurosport UK
Historical Database
Primera Liga : presentation — All time table and all results since 1928 with links to entire results and winners, second and third.
Livin La Liga List of Liga Winners, Pichichi Topscorers and History of La Liga
Map of La Liga Stadiums
Spain
Category:1928 establishments
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