La Liga

Liga de Fútbol Profesional (LFP; Spanish for "League of Professional Football"), commonly known as La Liga, is the professional football league in Spain. Nine clubs have been crowned La Liga Champions. 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 La Coruña and Sevilla FC. La Liga is consistently rated as one of the strongest leagues in Europe, along with the Italian Serie A, the German Bundesliga and the English Premiership.

Throughout its history, it has featured some of the best players in the world. Alfredo Di Stéfano, Raymond Kopa, Luis Suárez, Johan Cruyff, Hristo Stoichkov, Rivaldo, Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldinho and Luís Figo, were all elected European Footballer of the Year while playing for La Liga clubs. Di Stéfano and Cruyff won the award twice while in Spain. In addition Romario, Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Luís Figo, Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldinho were all voted FIFA World Player of the Year. Other significant players have included Ladislao Kubala, Ferenc Puskas, Diego Maradona, Gheorghe Hagi, Michael Laudrup, Mario Kempes and Hugo Sánchez.

The last six FIFA World Player of the Year awards have all been won by players playing in La Liga. (2001: Luis Figo, 2002: Ronaldo, 2003: Zinedine Zidane, 2004: Ronaldinho, 2005: Ronaldinho, 2006: Zinedine Zidane)

Current star players in La Liga include Samuel Eto'o, Raúl, David Beckham, Pablo Aimar, Juan Roman Riquelme, Joaquín, Xavi, Deco, David Villa, Vicente, Leo Messi, Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Robinho, Maxi Rodriguez, Fernando Torres, Sergio Aguero

The 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 Italy's Serie A in second and England's Premier League in third.^*

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. 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 top four placed Primera División teams qualify for the UEFA Champions League. The winner of La Liga also plays off against the Copa del Rey winner for the Supercopa de España. The fifth and sixth placed teams qualify for the UEFA Cup. A third UEFA Cup placed is awarded to the Copa del Rey winners or the seventh placed Primera Division team. All the teams have the right to request an invite to enter the UEFA Intertoto Cup. The three last placed teams are relegated to the Segunda Division A.

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 Division 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. Athletic Madrid, RCD Español 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 Division.

The 1930s

Although FC Barcelona won the very first La Liga and Madrid CF 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 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.

The 1940s

When La Liga resumed in the 1940s it was Atlético Aviación, Valencia CF and Sevilla CF that initially emerged as the strongest clubs. Atlético Aviación were only awarded a place the 1939/40 Primera Division 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 CF 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.

Di Stefano, 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 Stefano, Ferenc Puskás , José Santamaria and Ladislao Kubala. Inspired by Kubala, Barca won the title in 1952 and 1953. Di Stefano, Puskás and Raymond Kopa 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 Atlético Bilbao interrupting their sequence. CF Barcelona with a team coached by Helenio Herrera and featuring Luis Suárez gained the title in 1959 and 1960.

La Liga Clubs in Europe

Meanwhile La Liga teams found success in European competition. Alfredo Di Stéfano and friends also worked their magic in the European Cup and Real Madrid won the cup five times in a row between 1956 and 1960 and then for a sixth time in 1966. La Liga clubs also dominated the Fairs Cup. CF 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.

Real Madrid have been crowned champions of Europe on 9 separate occasions. La Liga clubs have won 32 major European trophies between them. Real Madrid have won 12 titles in total while FC Barcelona have won 10. Valencia CF have contributed another 6, 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, CD Alaves and RCD Mallorca have all contested major finals. Even smaller La Liga clubs, like Villarreal, Celta Vigo and Málaga CF have found success in Europe, winning the UEFA Intertoto Cup.

La Liga Clubs dominance in Europe since 2000

Since the turn of the century La Liga clubs have dominated in Europe, in 2000 3 out of the 4 semi-finalists in the UEFA Champions League were from La Liga (Real Madrid, Valencia and Barcelona) with Real Madrid being crowned European champions beating fellow La Liga club Valencia CF while in 2001 Valencia CF reached their 2nd UEFA Champions League final again losing this time to Bayern Munich on penalties with Real Madrid losing in the semi-finals. Also, in 2001 Deportivo Alaves reached the UEFA Cup final losing to Liverpool FC with FC Barcelona losing in the semi-finals. In 2002, Real Madrid and FC Barcelona made two of the four UEFA Champions League semi-finalists with Real Madrid again being crowned European champions this time beating Bayer Leverkusen. In 2003, Real Madrid reached the semi-finals again in the UEFA Champions League but this time losing to Juventus. In 2004, Deportivo La Coruna reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League but lost to eventual winners FC Porto. Meanwhile, in the UEFA Cup Villarreal CF and Valencia CF made 2 of the 4 semi-finalists with Valencia CF winning the trophy beating Olympique de Marseille 2-0. In 2006, FC Barcelona and Villarreal CF made 2 of the 4 semi-finalists in the UEFA Champions League with FC Barcelona lifting the trophy beating Premier League side Arsenal FC 2-1. While in the UEFA Cup, Sevilla FC followed in FC Barcelona footsteps by beating another Premier League side Middlesbrough FC 4-0 to win the UEFA Cup

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.

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 resumed normal service with another five in a row sequence (1986-90) with a team that included Hugo Sánchez and the legendary La Quinta del Buitre - Emilio Butragueño , Manolo Sanchís, Martín Vázquez, Míchel and Miguel Pardeza, guided by Leo Beenhakker.

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 Begiristain, 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 Atletico 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.

Recent Events

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 Barcelona assert their dominance, winning the title with three rounds to spare.

In 2005/2006 La Liga further boasted their claim to have the best league in the world, with FC Barcelona winning the UEFA Champions League and Sevilla FC winning the UEFA Cup being the first league to do the "Double" (UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup) since 1997.

Champions

Year By Year

Year	Team
1929	FC Barcelona
1930	Athletic Bilbao
1931	Athletic Bilbao
1932	Madrid FC
1933	Madrid FC
1934	Athletic Bilbao
1935	Betis Balompie
1936	Athletic Bilbao
1937	civil war
1938	civil war
1939	civil war
1940	Atletico Aviación
1941	Atlético Aviación
1942	Valencia CF
1943	Atletico Bilbao
1944	Valencia CF
1945	CF Barcelona
1946	Sevilla CF
1947	Valencia CF
1948	CF Barcelona
1949	CF Barcelona
1950	Atlético de Madrid
1951	Atlético de Madrid
1952	CF Barcelona
1953	CF Barcelona
1954	Real Madrid
1955	Real Madrid

Year	Team
1956	Atletico Bilbao
1957	Real Madrid
1958	Real Madrid
1959	CF Barcelona
1960	CF Barcelona
1961	Real Madrid
1962	Real Madrid
1963	Real Madrid
1964	Real Madrid
1965	Real Madrid
1966	Atlético de Madrid
1967	Real Madrid
1968	Real Madrid
1969	Real Madrid
1970	Atlético de Madrid
1971	Valencia CF
1972	Real Madrid
1973	Atlético de Madrid
1974	FC Barcelona
1975	Real Madrid
1976	Real Madrid
1977	Atlético de Madrid
1978	Real Madrid
1979	Real Madrid
1980	Real Madrid
1981	Real Sociedad
1982	Real Sociedad

Year	Team
1983	Athletic Bilbao
1984	Athletic Bilbao
1985	FC Barcelona
1986	Real Madrid
1987	Real Madrid
1988	Real Madrid
1989	Real Madrid
1990	Real Madrid
1991	FC Barcelona
1992	FC Barcelona
1993	FC Barcelona
1994	FC Barcelona
1995	Real Madrid
1996	Atlético de Madrid
1997	Real Madrid
1998	FC Barcelona
1999	FC Barcelona
2000	Deportivo
2001	Real Madrid
2002	Valencia CF
2003	Real Madrid
2004	Valencia CF
2005	FC Barcelona
2006	FC Barcelona

Performance by club

Real Madrid/Madrid FC: 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

Atletico Madrid/Atletico Aviacion: 9

1939-40, 1940-41, 1949-50, 1950-51, 1965-66, 1969-70, 1972-73, 1976-77, 1995-96

Athletic Bilbao/Atletico 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 CF:1

1945-46

Betis Balompie:1

1934-35

Deportivo de La Coruña:1

1999-2000

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.

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External links

La Liga | National football (soccer) premier leagues | Spanish football competitions

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