LFP La Liga

Professional Football League), 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 Valencia CF, Sevilla FC, Atlético Madrid, Deportivo de La Coruña, Athletic Bilbao, Real Sociedad and Real Betis. La Liga also boasts the two most successful teams in European competition history in Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. 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 European "double" since 1997. [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 [hide] 1 Format 2 History 2.1 Foundation 2.2 The 1930s 2.3 The 1940s 2.4 Di Stéfano, Puskás, Kubala and Suárez 2.5 The Madrid Years 2.6 The 1980s 2.7 The 1990s 2.8 21st Century 3 La Liga Clubs In Europe 4 Champions 4.1 Year By Year 4.2 Performance by club 5 Note on name changes 6 Individual awards 7 Selected La Liga Players 7.1 European Footballers of the Year 7.2 FIFA World Players of the Year 7.3 FIFPro World Players of the Year 7.4 Other notable former star players 7.5 Selected current star players 8 See also 9 External links[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 place 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 La 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 the Mediterranean League. 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, 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 . 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, winning their first title of the new century. In 2005/06 again saw FC Barcelona assert their dominance, winning the La Liga/UEFA Champions League double, Sevilla also won the UEFA Cup in 2006.[edit] La Liga Clubs In Europe Main article: La Liga Clubs in Europe[edit] Champions[edit] Year By Year Year Team 1929 FC Barcelona 1930 Athletic Bilbao 1931 Athletic Bilbao 1932 Madrid CF 1933 Madrid CF 1934 Athletic Bilbao 1935 Betis Balompie 1936 Athletic Bilbao 1937 not held due to civil war 1938 1939 1940 Atlético Aviación 1941 Atlético Aviación 1942 Valencia CF 1943 Atlético 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 Atlético 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 de La Coruña 2001 Real Madrid 2002 Valencia CF 2003 Real Madrid 2004 Valencia CF 2005 FC Barcelona 2006 FC Barcelona 2007 Real Madrid 2008 2009[edit] Performance by club Real Madrid/Madrid CF: 30 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, 2002-03,2006-2007 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 Players[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. In 2006, the three nominees for the award were all La Liga players. Fabio Cannavaro won the award, Zinedine Zidane came second and Ronaldinho came third. 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 Fabio Cannavaro - 2006[edit] FIFPro World Players of the Year Ronaldinho - 2005, 2006[edit] Other notable former star players Luis Figo Diego Maradona Mario Kempes Jorge Valdano Fernando Redondo Xabi Alonso Amancio Amaro Luis Aragonés Luis Arconada José Mari Bakero Bata Emilio Butragueño Caminero Luis Enrique Fran José Eulogio Gárate Francisco Gento Goikoetxea I Goikoetxea II Gorostiza Josep Guardiola Julen Guerrero Fernando Hierro José Ángel Iribar Juanito Rafael Martín Vázquez Gaizka Mendieta Míchel Quini Josep Samitier Manuel Sanchís Martínez Ramallets Diego Tristán Urruti Velasco Zarra Ricardo Zamora Andoni Zubizarreta Hans Krankl Iván Zamorano Michael Laudrup Allan Simonsen David Beckham Jari Litmanen Bernd Schuster Zoltán Czibor Sándor Kocsis Ladislao Kubala Ferenc Puskás Hugo Sánchez Johan Cruyff Ronald Koeman Edgar Davids Roy Makaay Johan Neeskens Gheorghe Hagi Valery Karpin Alexander Mostovoi Predrag Mijatovic Miroslav Ðukic Vladimir Jugovic Robert Prosinecki Davor ..uker Zinedine Zidane David Beckham ROberto Carlos[edit] Selected current star players Iker Casillas Santiago Cañizares Víctor Valdés Andrés Iniesta Guti Joaquín Carles Puyol Raúl José Antonio Reyes Fernando Torres Vicente David Villa Xavi Sergio Ramos Fernando Morientes Jesús Navas Míchel Salgado Pablo Aimar Roberto Ayala Lionel Messi Juan Román Riquelme Maxi Rodríguez Javier Saviola Sergio Agüero Fernando Gago Gonzalo Higuain Daniel Alves Roberto Carlos Adriano Emerson Edmilson Robinho Ronaldinho Cicinho Mahamadou Diarra Samuel Eto'o Matias Fernandez Robert Pirès Ludovic Giuly Lillian Thuram Fabio Cannavaro Gianluca Zambrotta Antonio Cassano Rafael Márquez Ruud van Nistelrooy Deco Miguel Costinha Maniche Jorge AndradeLa Liga • 2006/07 clubs v • d • e Athletic Bilbao | Atlético Madrid | FC Barcelona | Real Betis | Celta de Vigo | Deportivo RCD Espanyol | Getafe | Gimnàstic | Levante | Real Madrid | RCD Mallorca | Osasuna Racing | Sevilla | Real Sociedad | Recreativo | Valencia | Villarreal | Real ZaragozaThe 2007–08 La Liga season, the seventy-ninth since its establishment, started on August 25, 2007 and finish on May 18, 2008. Real Madrid are the defending La Liga champions. This season, all European leagues will end earlier than the past season, due to the Euro 2008 championship. 1 Sevilla 1 1 0 0 4 1 +3 3 UEFA Champions League 2008-09 Group Stage 2 Almería 1 1 0 0 3 0 +3 3 3 Mallorca 1 1 0 0 3 0 +3 3 UEFA Champions League 2008-09 Third Qualifying Round 4 Villarreal 1 1 0 0 3 0 +3 3 5 Murcia 1 1 0 0 2 1 +1 3 6 Real Madrid 1 1 0 0 2 1 +1 3 7 Valladolid 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 3 8 Recreativo 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 9 Betis 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 10 Athletic Bilbao 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 11 Osasuna 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 12 Barcelona 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 13 Racing 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 14 Espanyol 1 0 0 1 0 1 -1 0 15 Atlético Madrid 1 0 0 1 1 2 -1 0 16 Zaragoza 1 0 0 1 1 2 -1 0 17 Valencia 1 0 0 1 0 3 -3 0 18 Levante 1 0 0 1 0 3 -3 0 Segunda División 2008/09 19 Deportivo 1 0 0 1 0 3 -3 0 20 Getafe 1 0 0 1 1 4 -3 0Last updated: 26 Aug 2007 Source: LFP Rules for classification: 1st points; 2nd head-to-head points; 3rd head-to-head goal difference; 4th head-to-head goals scored; 5th goal difference; 6th goals scored 1Could classify to UEFA Cup if Copa del Rey's finalists end 6th or higher 8th place could qualify to Intertoto Cup if 7th place qualify to UEFA Cup P = Position; Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points. Head-to-Head: used when two or more teams need the head-to-head rules to break a tie.Results Home .. Away1 ALM ATH ATM BAR BET DEP ESP GET LEV MAL MUR OSA RAC RMA REC SEV VAL VLD VILL ZAR Almería Athletic Bilbao Atlético Madrid Barcelona Betis Deportivo 0-3 Espanyol Getafe Levante Mallorca 3-0 Murcia 2-1 Osasuna Racing 0-0 Real Madrid 2-1 a Recreativo 1-1 Sevilla 4-1 Valencia 0-3 Valladolid Villarreal ZaragozaLast updated: 26 Aug 2007 Source: LFP 1The home team is listed in the left-hand column. Colours: Blue = home team win; White = draw; Red = away team win. For coming matches, an a indicates there is an article about the match.Goalscorers Goal Team Ariel Ibagaza 2 RCD Mallorca Sergio Agüero 1 Atlético Madrid Raúl 1 Real Madrid Wesley Sneijder 1 Real Madrid Pablo 1 Getafe CF Álvaro Mejía 1 Murcia Ricardo Oliveira 1 Zaragoza Jesús Navas 1 Sevilla FC Fernando Baiano 1 Murcia Luís Fabiano 1 Sevilla FC Fredi Kanouté 1 Sevilla FC Aleksandr Kerzhakov 1 Sevilla FC Álvaro Negredo 1 UD Almería Florent Sinama-Pongolle 1 Recreativo de Huelva Fernando Soriano 1 UD Almería Nano 1 Betis Albert Crusat 1 UD Almería Dani Güiza 1 RCD Mallorca Jon Dahl Tomasson 1 Villarreal CF Joseba Llorente 1 Valladolid Giuseppe Rossi 1 Villarreal CF Santi Cazorla 1 Villarreal CF[] Stadia Team Stadium Capacity FC Barcelona Camp Nou 98,772 Real Madrid Santiago Bernabéu 80,354 RCD Espanyol Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys 55,926 Atlético Madrid Vicente Calderón 55,005 Valencia CF Mestalla 52,469 Real Betis Manuel Ruiz de Lopera 52,132 Sevilla FC Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán 45,500 Athletic Bilbao San Mamés 39,750 Deportivo de La Coruña Riazor 34,600 Real Zaragoza La Romareda 34,596 Real Murcia Estadio Nueva Condomina 33,045 Real Valladolid Estadio José Zorrilla 26,512 Levante UD Ciudad de Valencia 25,354 RCD Mallorca ONO Estadi 23,142 Villarreal CF El Madrigal 23,000 Racing de Santander El Sardinero 22,400 Recreativo de Huelva Nuevo Colombino 21,600 CA Osasuna Estadio Reyno de Navarra 19,553 Getafe CF Coliseum Alfonso Pérez 16,300 UD Almería Estadio del Mediterráneo 15,000Teams by autonomous community Autonomous community Number of teams Teams 1 Andalusia 4 Almería, Betis, Recreativo and Sevilla 2 Madrid 3 Atlético Madrid, Getafe and Real Madrid Valencia 3 Levante, Valencia and Villarreal 4 Catalonia 2 Barcelona and Espanyol 5 Aragon 1 Zaragoza Balearic Islands 1 Mallorca Basque Country 1 Athletic Bilbao Cantabria 1 Racing Castile and León 1 Valladolid Galicia 1 Deportivo Murcia 1 Murcia Navarre 1 Osasunaheight="350">....