La Liga
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| La Liga | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Sport | Football |
| Founded | 1929 |
| No. of teams | 20 |
| Country |  Spain |
| Current champions | FC Barcelona |
Liga de Fútbol Profesional, commonly known as La Liga, is the professional football league in Spain and is widely regarded as one of the best leagues in the world.
Nine clubs have been crowned Campeones de Liga. Since the 1950s, Real Madrid and FC Barcelona have dominated the competition. The former have been champions 29 times while the latter have won it on 18 occasions. However during the 1930s and 1940s and in more recent seasons, La Liga has been more competitive. Other winners include Atlético Madrid, Athletic Bilbao, Valencia CF, Real Sociedad, Real Betis, Deportivo de La Coruña and Sevilla FC. La Liga also boasts the two most successful teams in European competition history in Real Madrid and FC Barcelona.[1]
La Liga is currently first in the UEFA rankings of European leagues based on their performances in European competitions over a five year period, ahead of Serie A in second and Premier League in third. [2] The 2005–06 average attendance of 29,029 for league matches is the sixth highest of any domestic professional sports league in the world. In professional football leagues La Liga was third highest behind the Bundesliga in first and the Premier League in second. [3]
Contents |
[edit] Format
La Liga currently takes place between the months of September and June. The term La Liga is regularly used to refer to just the Primera División on its own, often referred to in Spain as just Primera. However it has always featured a Segunda División, currently designated Segunda División A. The lower leagues, Segunda División B and Tercera División are amateur and regionalised. Teams from La Liga also compete in the Copa del Rey.
The winner of La Liga also plays off against the Copa del Rey winner for the Supercopa de España.
The top four placed Primera División teams qualify for the UEFA Champions League. The top two qualify for the group stage, while the third and fourth-placed teams go to the third qualifying round.
The fifth and sixth placed teams qualify for the UEFA Cup. A third UEFA Cup placed is awarded to the Copa del Rey winners, the seventh placed Primera División team, or the Copa del Rey runners-up. By default the Copa del Rey winner gets the UEFA Cup spot, if the team finished in the fifth or sixth Primera División position (hence already qualified for the UEFA Cup), the seventh placed team will qualify for the UEFA Cup, while if the Copa del Rey winner ends Primera División amongst the top four placed, the extra UEFA Cup spot goes to the Copa del Rey runners-up.
All the teams have the right to request an invite to enter the UEFA Intertoto Cup. Of all the teams requesting an invite, the two highest placed teams at the end of Primera División without a UEFA Cup or UEFA Champions League spot will actually play the Intertoto.
The three last placed teams are relegated to the Segunda Division A, and replaced by the top three placed Segunda División A teams.
[edit] History
[edit] 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 Liga in 1928. FC 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, RCD Espanyol and CE Europa qualified as Copa del Rey runners-up and Racing Santander qualified through a knockout competition. Only three of the founding clubs, Real Madrid, FC Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao, have never been relegated from the Primera División.
[edit] The 1930s
Although FC Barcelona won the very first La Liga and Real Madrid won their first titles in 1932 and 1933, it was Athletic Bilbao that set the early pace winning La Liga in 1930, 1931, 1934 and 1936. They were also runners-up in 1932 and 1933. In 1935 Real Betis, then known as Betis Balompie, won their only title to date. La Liga was suspended during the Spanish Civil War, but clubs in the Republican area of Spain, with the notable exception of the two Madrid clubs, competed in La Liga del Mediterráneo. FC Barcelona emerged as champions in 1937.
[edit] The 1940s
When La Liga resumed in the 1940s it was Atlético Aviación, Valencia CF and Sevilla FC that initially emerged as the strongest clubs. Atlético Aviación were only awarded a place the 1939/40 Primera División as a replacement for Real Oviedo, whose ground had been damaged during the war. The club subsequently won their first La 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 CF had also remained intact and in the post-war years matured into champions, gaining three La Liga titles in 1942, 1944 and 1947. They were also runners-up in 1948 and 1949. Sevilla FC 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 CF Barcelona began to emerge as a force and they were crowned La Liga champions in 1945, 1948 and 1949.
[edit] Di Stéfano, Puskás, Kubala and Suárez
Although Atlético Madrid, previously known as Atlético Aviación, were champions in 1950 and 1951, the 1950s saw the beginning of the CF 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 its squad, meaning that at least eight local players had to play in every game. During the 1950s, however, these rules were circumnavigated by Real Madrid and CF Barcelona who naturalised Alfredo Di Stéfano, Ferenc Puskás and Ladislao Kubala. Inspired by Kubala, Barca 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 . Real won La Liga for first time as Real Madrid in 1954 and retained it in 1955. They were winners again in 1957 and 1958, with only Athletic Bilbao interrupting their sequence. CF Barcelona with a team coached by Helenio Herrera and featuring Luis Suárez gained the title in 1959 and 1960.
[edit] The Madrid Years
Between 1961 and 1980, Real Madrid dominated La Liga with the club winning the competition 14 times. This included a five in a row sequence (1961-65) and two three in row sequences (1967-69 and 1978-1980). During this era only Atlético Madrid offered Real any serious challenge, adding four more titles to their tally in 1966, 1970, 1973 and 1977. Only Valencia CF in 1971 and the Johan Cruyff-inspired FC Barcelona of 1974 managed to break the Madrid monopoly. The arrival of Cryuff in La Liga also signalled the easing of restrictions imposed on foreign players.
[edit] 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 FC Barcelona to a solitary title in 1985 before Real Madrid won again another five in a row sequence (1986-90) 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.
[edit] The 1990s
Johan Cruyff returned to FC Barcelona as manager in 1988, and assembled the legendary Dream Team. Cruyff introduced players like Josep Guardiola, José Mari Bakero, Txiki Beguiristain, Goikoetxea, Ronald Koeman, Michael Laudrup and Hristo Stoichkov. This team won La Liga four times between 1991 and 1994 and won the European Cup in 1992. Real Madrid, with Michael Laudrup in the team, ended their run in 1995 and added another title in 1997. In between Atlético Madrid won their ninth La Liga title. Inspired by Luís Figo, Luis Enrique and Rivaldo, FC Barcelona again won the title in 1998 and 1999. Meanwhile Real Madrid also won the UEFA Champions League, winning in 1998 and 2000.
[edit] 21st Century
As La Liga 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 FC Barcelona, and in 2000, under Javier Irureta, they became the ninth team to be crowned champions. Real Madrid won two more La Liga titles in 2001 and 2003 and the UEFA Champions League again in 2000 and 2002. They were challenged by a re-emerging Valencia CF in both competitions. Under the management of Héctor Cúper, Valencia CF finished as runners-up in the UEFA Champions League in 2000 and 2001. His successor, Rafael Benítez, built on this and led the club to a La Liga title in 2002 and a La Liga/UEFA Cup double in 2004. The 2004/05 season saw a resurgent FC Barcelona, inspired by Ronaldinho, win their first title of the new century. 2005/06 again saw FC Barcelona assert their dominance, winning the title with three games to spare. In 2005/2006 La Liga further boasted their claim in having the best league in the world with FC Barcelona winning the UEFA Champions League and Sevilla FC winning the UEFA Cup. La Liga became the first league to do the "Double" (UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup) since 1997.
[edit] La Liga Clubs In Europe
Football clubs from La Liga have been among the most successful in Europe. Real Madrid have been crowned champions of Europe on 9 separate occasions. La Liga clubs have won 28 major European trophies between them, more than any other league along with the Premier League who also has 28 but La Liga has had more losing finalists than the Premier League. Real Madrid have won 11 titles in total while FC Barcelona have won 9 . Valencia CF have contributed another 4, while Real Zaragoza with 2 and Atlético Madrid and Sevilla FC with 1 each complete the tally. Deportivo La Coruna have been regulars in the UEFA Champions League while Athletic Bilbao, RCD Espanyol, Alaves and RCD Mallorca have all contested major finals. Even smaller La Liga clubs, like Villarreal CF, Celta Vigo and Málaga CF have found success in Europe, winning the UEFA Intertoto Cup. In 2005/06 FC Barcelona won the UEFA Champions League and Sevilla FC won the UEFA Cup. La Liga became the first league to do the Double since 1997.
Real Madrid won the European Cup cup five times in a row between 1956 and 1960 and then for a sixth time in 1966. La Liga clubs also dominated the early Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. FC Barcelona, Valencia CF and Real Zaragoza won this competition six times between them between 1958 and 1966, resulting in three all-La Liga finals in 1962, 1964 and 1966. La Liga clubs have continued to be successful in Europe ever since.
[edit] La Liga's dominance in Europe since 2000
Since the turn of the century, La Liga clubs have dominated Europe. In 2000, La Liga had 3 out of the 4 semi-finalists in the UEFA Champions League with Real Madrid, Valencia CF and FC Barcelona, Real Madrid went on to beat fellow La Liga side Valencia CF in an all Spanish final. In 2001, La Liga had 2 out of the 4 semi-finalists in the UEFA Champions League with Real Madrid and Valencia CF. Valencia CF went on to lose the final again this time to Bayern Munich. Meanwhile, in the UEFA Cup, La Liga had 2 out of the 4 semi-finalists with Deportivo Alaves and FC Barcelona, with Deportivo Alaves losing to Liverpool FC in the final. In 2002, had 2 out of the 4 semi-finalists in the UEFA Champions League with Real Madrid beating FC Barcelona in the semi-finals then beating Bayer Leverkusen in the final. In 2003 Real Madrid reached the semi-finals again but this time losing against Juventus. In 2004, Deportivo de la Coruna reached the semi-finals of the but lost to eventual champions FC Porto. In the UEFA Cup, La Liga had 2 out of the 4 semi-finalists. Valencia CF beat Villarreal CF in the semi-finals before beating Olympique de Marseille in the final. In 2006, La Liga had 2 out of the 4 semi-finalists in the UEFA Champions League with FC Barcelona and Villarreal CF where FC Barcelona went on to become European champions again by beating Arsenal FC 2-1 in the final. Meanwhile, in the UEFA Cup Sevilla FC followed in Barcelona's footsteps by beating a Premier League side in a European final when they defeated Middlesbrough FC 4-0. With FC Barcelona and Sevilla FC, La Liga took home both European trophies on offer in 2006.
[edit] Champions
[edit] Year By Year
[edit] Performance by club
- Real Madrid/Madrid CF: 29
- 1931-32, 1932-33, 1953-54, 1954-55, 1956-57, 1957-58, 1960-61, 1961-62, 1962-63, 1963-64, 1964-65, 1966-67, 1967-68, 1968-69, 1971-72, 1974-75, 1975-76, 1977-78, 1978-79, 1979-80, 1985-86, 1986-87, 1987-88, 1988-89, 1989-90, 1994-95, 1996-97, 2000-01, 2002-03
- FC Barcelona/CF Barcelona: 18
- 1928-29, 1944-45, 1947-48, 1948-49, 1951-52, 1952-53, 1958-59, 1959-60, 1973-74, 1984-85, 1990-91, 1991-92, 1992-93, 1993-94, 1997-98, 1998-99, 2004-05, 2005-06
- Atlético Madrid/Atlético Aviación: 9
- 1939-40, 1940-41, 1949-50, 1950-51, 1965-66, 1969-70, 1972-73, 1976-77, 1995-96
- Athletic Bilbao/Atlético Bilbao: 8
- 1929-30, 1930-31, 1933-34, 1935-36, 1942-43, 1955-56, 1982-83, 1983-84
- Valencia CF: 6
- 1941-42, 1943-44, 1946-47, 1970-71, 2001-02, 2003-04
- Real Sociedad: 2
- 1980-81, 1981-82
- Sevilla FC:1
- 1945-46
- Betis Balompie:1
- 1934-35
- Deportivo de La Coruña:1
- 1999-2000
[edit] Note on name changes
During the Spanish Second Republic clubs such as Real Madrid and Real Betis dropped the Real from their name. In the 1941 a decree issued by Franco banned the use of non-Spanish language names. FC Barcelona and Sevilla FC became CF Barcelona and Sevilla CF and both Athletic Bilbao and Athletic Aviacion changed the spelling of their prefix to Atlético.
[edit] Individual awards
Many individual awards are conceded relating to La Liga, although not sanctioned by the LFP nor the RFEF they're widely regarded as official. The most notable of them are the Pichichi Trophy, awarded to the top scorer of the season, and the Zamora Trophy for the goalkeeper with the least "goals-to-games" ratio (with a some extra rules, see the main article). Both trophies are awarded by the sports newspaper Marca.
[edit] Selected La Liga Star Players
Since it's inception, La Liga has been home to some of the world's best players and still currently does. Here is a breakdown of the past and present stars who have played and are currently playing in the Spanish La Liga.
[edit] European Footballers of the Year
The following were all elected European Footballer of the Year while playing with La Liga clubs.
-
Alfredo Di Stéfano - 1957, 1959 
Raymond Kopa - 1958- Luis Suárez - 1960
Johan Cruyff - 1973, 1974
Hristo Stoichkov - 1994
Rivaldo - 1999
Luís Figo - 2000- Ronaldo - 2002
- Ronaldinho - 2005
Fabio Cannavaro - 2006
[edit] FIFA World Players of the Year
The following were all elected FIFA World Player of the Year while playing with La Liga clubs. The last six awards have all been won by players playing in La Liga.
- Romario - 1994
- Ronaldo - 1996, 1997, 2002
- Rivaldo - 1999
- Luís Figo - 2001
- Zinedine Zidane - 2003
- Ronaldinho - 2004, 2005
[edit] FIFPro World Players of the Year
- Ronaldinho - 2005, 2006
[edit] Other notable former star players
|
[edit] Selected current star players
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| La Liga seasons | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1991/92 | 1992/93 | 1993/94 | 1994/95 | 1995/96 | 1996/97 | 1997/98 | 1998/99 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[edit] See also
- List of football clubs in Spain
- Sports league attendances
- List of transfers of La Liga - 2005/2006 season
- La Liga 2006-07 goalscorers
[edit] External links
- (Spanish) Official La Liga Site
- (Spanish) Official RFEF Site
- (Spanish) RFEF site
- (Spanish) Marca
- (Spanish) La Liga on Futbol.com
- (Spanish) As
- (Spanish) El Mundo Deportivo
- (Spanish) Sport
- (English) Soccer Spain
- (English) Primera Division
- (English) 2005-2006 Spanish La Liga Final Season, Team, and Player Statistics in .PDF format - (www.worldcupadvice.com)
- (English)Spanish Soccer Glossary
