THE LALIGA

THE LALIGA






Full Name: Liga de Fútbol Profesional Primera División
Founded: 1928
Level: 1
Number of Teams: 20
Record Champions: Real Madrid, 31

Official Website: lfp.es

Description:

The top tier of Spanish football is officially known as the Liga BBVA for its title sponsor BBVA, a Spanish banking firm. It's also called Liga de Fútbol Profesional Primera División - Professional Football League Premier Division or more often simply La Liga - The League. The Liga de Fútbol Profesional (LFP) is an umbrella group that administers the top two tiers of Spanish football, the Primera and the Segunda. La Liga contains two of the most successful clubs in world football - Real Madrid and Barcelona and is likely the second most popular league in the world after the English Premier League.

The Spanish Primera División got its start in the 1928-29 season with 10 teams - two from Madrid, three from Barcelona, five from the northern regions of Cantabria and the Basque country. The first title was won by Barcelona, who overtook Real Madrid on the final day of the season. The league broke apart for several years during the 1930s, one of so many victims of the Spanish Civil War. The league was restarted in 1939 with the bitterness of the Civil War finding new life in Spanish football stadiums and matches are played out to this day to the backdrop of complex historical overtones.


Format:

The 20 teams of La Liga play each other twice (home and away) for a total of 38 games. The season runs from August to May/June with a brief winter break for the Christmas holidays. The bottom three clubs are relegated to the second-tier Segunda División. The Primera clubs all contest the Copa del Rey (the King's Cup) along with teams from the second, third and fourth divisions. Additionally the league champions and the Copa del Rey winners compete in the Supercopa de España which traditionally opens the Spanish football season.
International Tournament Qualification:

* UEFA Champions League - The top three finishers in the Spanish Primera División qualify for the Champions League, entering at the group stage. The fourth place team enters at the fourth qualifying round.
* Europa League - The Copa del Rey winners and the next two league finishers in the league qualify for the Europa League. If the Copa del Rey winners qualify for the Champions League then the runners-up take that spot If both Copa del Rey finalists qualify for the Champions League that spots goes to the next highest league finisher.


Spanish Primera División Champions:

1929 Barcelona
1930 Athletic Bilbao
1931 Athletic Bilbao
1932 Madrid CF
1933 Madrid CF
1934 Athletic Bilbao
1935 Betis Balompié
1936 Athletic Bilbao

1940 Atlético Aviación
1941 Atlético Aviación
1942 Valencia
1943 Athletic Bilbao
1944 Valencia
1945 Barcelona
1946 Sevilla
1947 Valencia
1948 Barcelona
1949 Barcelona
1950 Atlético Madrid
1951 Atlético Madrid
1952 Barcelona
1953 Barcelona
1954 Real Madrid
1955 Real Madrid
1956 Athletic Bilbao
1957 Real Madrid
1958 Real Madrid
1959 Barcelona
1960 Barcelona
1961 Real Madrid
1962 Real Madrid
1963 Real Madrid
1964 Real Madrid
1965 Real Madrid
1966 Atlético Madrid
1967 Real Madrid
1968 Real Madrid
1969 Real Madrid
1970 Atlético Madrid
1971 Valencia
1972 Real Madrid
1973 Atlético Madrid
1974 Barcelona
1975 Real Madrid
1976 Real Madrid
1977 Atlético Madrid
1978 Real Madrid
1979 Real Madrid
1980 Real Madrid
1981 Real Sociedad
1982 Real Sociedad
1983 Athletic Bilbao
1984 Athletic Bilbao
1985 Barcelona
1986 Real Madrid
1987 Real Madrid
1988 Real Madrid
1989 Real Madrid
1990 Real Madrid
1991 Barcelona
1992 Barcelona
1993 Barcelona
1994 Barcelona
1995 Real Madrid
1996 Atlético Madrid
1997 Real Madrid
1998 Barcelona
1999 Barcelona
2000 Deportivo La Coruña
2001 Real Madrid
2002 Valencia
2003 Real Madrid
2004 Valencia
2005 Barcelona
2006 Barcelona
2007 Real Madrid
2008 Real Madrid
2009 Barcelona
Total Spanish Primera División Titles:

31 - Real Madrid
19 - Barcelona
9 - Atlético Madrid
8 - Athletic Bilbao
6 - Valencia
2 - Real Sociedad
1 - Real Betis, Deportivo La Coruña, Sevilla


Total Spanish Primera División Seasons (out of 78):

78 Athletic Bilbao, Barcelona, Real Madrid
74 Espanyol, Valencia
72 Atlético Madrid
65 Sevilla
63 Real Sociedad
54 Real Zaragoza
46 Celta Vigo, Real Betis
41 Racing Santander
39 Deportivo La Coruña, Real Valladolid
38 Real Oviedo
37 Sporting Gijon
31 Las Palmas, Osasuna
28 Málaga
23 Real Mallorca
19 Elche, Hercules
18 Real Murcia
17 Granada
14 Sabadell
12 Cádiz, Rayo Vallecano, Salamanca, Tenerife
11 Alavés, Castellon
10 Villareal
9 Burgos, Logroñes
8 Córdoba
7 Albacete, Arenas Club de Getxo
6 Pontevedra
5 Getafe, Levante, Recreativo Huelva
4 Alcoyano, Almería, Compostela, Gimnastic Tarragona, Numancia, Real Unión
3 Europa, Real Jaen
2 Extremadura, Lleida, Mérida
1 Atlético Tetuan, Condal, Cultural Leonesa

* Real Madrid was at one time known as Madrid CF. Similarly Real Betis were Betis Balompié and Atlético Madrid were Atlético Aviación.