Here, you will find all information about The History Of The Spanish League (La Liga), Foundation Of The Spanish League, Real Madrid Spanish League Dominance and much more.
About The Spanish League (La Liga)
The men’s top professional football division of the Spanish football league system, called Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, also known as Primera División in Spain, La Liga in English-speaking nations, and officially La Liga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as La Liga. It is governed by the Liga Nacional de Ftbol Profesional and is participated in by 20 teams. The bottom three teams in each season demoted to the Segunda División and became replaced by the top two teams and the play-off winner.
La Liga has included 62 different teams since its start. Nine teams have won the championship, with Real Madrid winning the trophy a record 35 times, most recently in the 2021–22 season, and Barcelona winning the inaugural La Liga. Valencia, Atlético Madrid, and Barcelona became the strongest clubs in the 1940s, taking home numerous championships. In the 1950s, Real Madrid and Barcelona were the dominant teams, each taking home four La Liga trophies. Real Madrid dominated La Liga in the 1960s and 1970s, winning fourteen championships against Atlético Madrid’s four.
Real Madrid dominated La Liga in the 1980s and 1990s, but Athletic Club and Real Sociedad, two Basque clubs, also enjoyed success, each taking home two Liga championships. Barcelona has dominated La Liga during the 1990s, winning sixteen championships to date. Despite Real Madrid’s dominance and eleven championships, La Liga has also produced winners from Atlético Madrid, Valencia, and Deportivo La Coruna.
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La Liga has been the best league in Europe for each of the seven years between 2013 and 2019 (determined using totals from the five seasons prior) and has been the best league in Europe for 22 out of the 60 ranked years up to 2019, more than any other nation. It has also produced the top club on the continent more frequently (22) than any other league during that time, more frequently than Serie A (Italy), which came in second.
The top club in 10 of the 11 seasons between 2009 and 2019 were all won by either Barcelona or Real Madrid. The most UEFA Champions League (19), UEFA Europa League (13), UEFA Super Cup (15), and FIFA Club World Cup (7) titles have been won by La Liga clubs, and the most Ballon d’Or (19), Best FIFA Men’s Player (19), and UEFA Men’s Player of the Year (19) and UEFA Club Footballer of the Year (19) awards have been won by La Liga players.
With an average attendance of 26,933 for league matches during the 2018–19 season, La Liga is one of the most well-known professional sports leagues in the world.
This is the third-highest professional association football league in the world and the eighth-highest domestic professional sports league overall, trailing only the Bundesliga and the Premier League and surpassing the other two “Big Five” European leagues, Serie A and Ligue 1.
In terms of revenue, La Liga is the sixth-richest professional sports league in the world, trailing only the NFL, MLB, NBA, Premier League, and NHL.
History Of The Spanish League (La Liga)
Foundation of the Spanish League (La Liga)
The concept of a national league in Spain was first proposed by José Mara Acha, a director at Getxo, in April 1928. The Real Federación Espaola de Ftbol eventually came to an agreement on the 10 teams that would make up the first Primera División in 1929 after much argument regarding the size of the league and who would participate. Prior Copa del Rey champions included Barcelona, Real Madrid, Athletic Club, Real Sociedad, Getxo, and Real Unión. Racing de Santander qualified via a knockout match, while Atlético Madrid, Espanyol, and Europa qualified as Copa del Rey runners-up. Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Athletic Club are the only three founding teams to have never been demoted from the Primera División.
Athletic Club’s heyday in the 1930s
Athletic Club dominated the early pace by winning Primera División in 1930, 1931, 1934, and 1936, despite Barcelona winning the inaugural Liga in 1929 and Real Madrid winning their first championships in 1932 and 1933. They finished second in 1932 and 1933 as well. Real Betis, formerly known as Betis Balompié, won their lone championship in 1935. While Spain was embroiled in civil war, Primera División was suspended.
Barcelona won the Mediterranean League in 1937, which featured teams from Republican Spain with the notable exception of the two Madrid clubs. On September 28, 2007, seventy years after the occurrence, Barcelona asked the Royal Spanish Football Federation (abbreviated RFEF in Spanish) to recognize the title as a Liga title. After RFEF was petitioned to recognize Levante FC’s Copa de la Espaa Libre victory as equal to the Copa del Rey trophy, this move was taken. But the organization in charge of Spanish football hasn’t made a final choice yet.
Atlético Madrid, Barcelona, and Valencia appear in the 1940s.
After the Spanish Civil War, Atlético Aviación (now Atlético Madrid), Valencia, and FC Barcelona emerged as the top three teams in the Primera División. Real Oviedo’s ground had been devastated during the war, so Atlético was only given a spot for the 1939–1940 season as a replacement. The club thereafter won its first Liga championship, which it kept in 1941. While players from other teams were exiled, executed, or died in battle, the Atlético team was strengthened by a merger. Valencia’s young, pre-war team had also been kept together, and in the years following the war, they developed into champions, winning three Liga titles in 1942, 1944, and 1947. They finished second in 1948 and 1949 as well. A brief golden period was also experienced by Sevilla, who placed second in 1940 and 1942 before capturing their lone championship to date in 1946.
Under the renowned Josep Samitier, FC Barcelona started to become a major player on the other side of Spain. Samitier, a Spanish football player for Barcelona and Real Madrid, solidified his legacy with the Catalan club. He amassed 333 goals, the first La Liga crown, and five Copa Del Reys while playing for them. Samitier returned to Barcelona in 1944 as a coach, helping them clinch their second La Liga championship in 1945. Barcelona dominated La Liga in the late 1940s under Samitier and illustrious players César Rodriguez, Josep Escolà, Estanislau Basora, and Mariano Gonzalvo, taking home back-to-back La Liga championships in 1948 and 1949. Barcelona enjoyed a tremendous decade in the 1940s, winning three La Liga championships and one Copa Del Rey, but Real Madrid and Barcelona both dominated in the 1950s as well.
1950s: Real Madrid rule Spanish League (La Liga), winning 12 championships in 15 years.
The Real Madrid hegemony began in the 1950s as well. Foreign players were subject to stringent restrictions in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. Real Madrid won more championships throughout the 1960s, giving them 12 in 15 years. The most of the time, clubs were only allowed to field three international players, which meant that every game had to feature at least eight local players. However, Real Madrid broke these laws in the 1950s by naturalizing Alfredo Di Stéfano and Ferenc Puskás. [Reference needed] The Real Madrid team’s core, which included Di Stéfano, Puskás, Raymond Kopa, and Francisco Gento, dominated the second half of the 1950s.
Real Madrid won the La Liga for the third time in 1954, their first title since 1933, and they successfully defended it in 1955. Athletic Club won La Liga for the sixth time in 1956, while Real Madrid took home the trophy in 1957 and 1958. Real Madrid not only excelled at home, but they also dominated the newly established European Cup, winning the first five competitions and claiming the title of top football club in the world. In total, Barcelona and Real Madrid each won four La Liga championships in the 1950s, while Atlético Madrid won two and Athletic Club won one.
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The 1950s continued the success FC Barcelona had in the late 1940s after they had won back-to-back La Liga championships, despite Atlético Madrid, formerly known as Atlético Aviación, being champions in 1950 and 1951 under catenaccio mastermind Helenio Herrera. Barcelona’s first golden age began in this decade. FC Barcelona won the La Liga and Copa Del Rey in 1952 and 1953 while being coached by Ferdinand Dauk. FC Barcelona once again made history in 1952 when it won five different titles in a single season.
This group, which included László Kubala, Mariano Gonzalvo, César Rodriguez, and Joan Segarra, won the Latin Cup, Copa Martini & Rossi, Copa Del Rey, Copa Eva Duarte, and Spanish Super Cup. They acquired the moniker “L’equip de les cinc Copes” or “The Team of The Five Cups” due to their achievement in winning five trophies in a single year. Barcelona won the La Liga back-to-back for the third time between 1959 and 1960 under the direction of Helenio Herrera and with the help of Luis Suárez. FC Barcelona won three doubles in the 1950s, including another La Liga/Copa Del Rey double in 1959.
1960s–1970s: The dominance of Real Madrid
Between 1960 and 1980, Real Madrid dominated La Liga and won 14 championships.
In addition to winning three doubles between 1960 and 1980, Real Madrid won five consecutive La Liga championships from 1961 to 1965. Only Atlético Madrid posed a real threat to Real Madrid in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1966, 1970, 1973, and 1977, Atlético Madrid won the La Liga championship four times. Additionally, Atlético Madrid placed second in 1961, 1963, and 1965. Under Alfredo Di Stéfano, Valencia won their fourth La Liga championship in 1971, while Barcelona, who became influenced by Johan Cruyff, won their ninth La Liga championship in 1974.
Real Madrid’s dominance endures in the 1980s
In the 1980s, Real Madrid’s stranglehold in La Liga became considerably broken. The Basque clubs Real Sociedad and Athletic Club also dominated the 1980s, despite Real Madrid winning five more La Liga championships in a succession from 1986 to 1990 thanks to the talent of Emilio Butraguero and Hugo Sánchez. In 1981 and 1982, Real Sociedad won back-to-back La Liga championships, finishing both times as runners-up to Real Madrid. Athletic Club, a fellow Basque club, won back-to-back championships in 1983 and 1984, becoming the fifth team to win both the La Liga and Copa Del Rey championships in the same year. Under the direction of coach Terry Venables, Barcelona won its tenth La Liga championship in 1985, their first La Liga triumph since 1974.
Barcelona’s Dream Team in the 1990s
In 1988, Johan Cruyff returned to Barcelona as manager and put together the famed Dream Team.
Only two La Liga championships became achieved by this Barcelona team in the previous 20 years when Cruyff took over. Cruyff made the decision to assemble a squad of worldwide superstars and La Masia alums in an effort to bring Barcelona back to their heyday. Internationally renowned athletes Romario, Michael Laudrup, Hristo Stoichkov, and Ronald Koeman made up this team. Pep Guardiola, Albert Ferrer, Guillermo Amor, a graduate of La Masia, and the Spaniard Andoni Zubizarreta were all members of Cruyff’s Dream Team.
Johan Cruyff revolutionized contemporary football by introducing the concepts of “Total Football” into this squad. The advent of possession-based football was revolutionary and Cruyff’s squad won four straight La Liga championships between 1991 and 1994 in addition to their first-ever European Cup in 1992. Cruyff managed Barcelona for eight years and amassed a total of 11 titles, making him the club’s most successful manager until Pep Guardiola surpassed him two decades later.
Real Madrid winning La Liga in 1995 put a stop to Barcelona’s winning streak. Prior to Real Madrid adding another league trophy to their collection in 1997, Atlético Madrid won their ninth La Liga championship and one Liga/Copa Del Rey double in 1996. Following Cruyff’s success, Louis van Gaal, the manager of Ajax, moved to the Camp Nou. With the help of Luis Figo, Luis Enrique, and Rivaldo, Barcelona won the La Liga championship in 1998 and 1999, including their fourth consecutive Liga and Copa Del Rey double in 1998. Barcelona finished the 1990s with a total of six La Liga championships.
Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Valencia’s resurgence in the 2000s
10 years. Barcelona won the La Liga championship for the 26th time in the 2018–19 season, giving them eight La Liga championships in the previous 11 years. After the COVID-19 outbreak severely hampered the season in 2019–20, Real Madrid recaptured the championship.
2020s: currently
On September 12, the 2020–21 season officially began. Athletic Club de Bilbao, Atlético de Madrid, Barcelona, Betis, Cádiz, Eibar, Getafe, Huesca, Levante, Osasuna, Real Madrid, Real Sociedad, Sevilla, Valencia, Valladolid, Villarreal, Elche, Alavés, Eibar, and Celta Vigo are the participating teams in La Liga 2020–21. Cadiz, Elche, and Huesca are the teams moving up from Segunda to the Primera División. Real Madrid finished second to Atletico Madrid in the 2020–21 season.
La Liga clubs accepted a €2.7 billion deal in August 2021 to give CVC Capital Partners 10% of the league.
Real Madrid won the 2021–22 season by a four-game margin. Barcelona improved in the second part of the season and finished second.
Key Words
1. About The Spanish League (La Liga)
2. History Of The Spanish League (La Liga)
3. Foundation of The Spanish League (La Liga)
4. Real Madrid Spanish League Dominance
For more information, visit www.laliga.com
Here, you will find all information about The History Of The Spanish League (La Liga), Foundation Of The Spanish League, Real Madrid Spanish League Dominance, History Of The Spanish League (La Liga) and much more.