Spanish La Liga
Liga de Fútbol Profesional (Professional Football League) is the professional national league in Spain. Commonly known as the Primera División or even just La Liga, it is widely recognized as one the best soccer leagues in the world.
Past Performances:
Based on the league’s performance for the previous five years the Primera División was ranked first in UEFA rankings of European leagues for the 2007-2008 season. That put the league ahead of the English Premier League and the Italian Serie A. Attendance for Primera División matches averaged nearly 30,000 during the 2005-2006 season making it the sixth highest attended domestic sport across the world.
Two clubs have dominated the Liga since the 1950s and they are Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. Real Madrid has won the championship 30 times and Barcelona have taken the title 18 times. However, in recent years other clubs have presented more of a challenge for the title and in total nine clubs have been ‘Campeones de Liga’, League Champions.
Other winners over the years include Valencia CF, Atletico Madrid, Sevilla FC, Deportivo de La Coruña, Athletic Bilbao, Real Sociedad and Real Betis.
Aside from their achievements in the Primera División Real Madrid and FC Barcelona have had much success in European competitions as well, as have other clubs from the league. In the 2005-2006 season FC Barcelona won the UEFA Champions League and Sevilla FC won the UEFA Cup giving the Primera División a “double” in Europe that hadn’t been achieved since back in 1997.
Some History:
The Primera División was established in 1928 to become Spain’s first national league. After much debate and negotiations the league was started with just ten teams but now there are twice that number playing. Since that time only three of the founding clubs have never been relegated from the Primera División and they are Real Madrid, FC Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao.
The Spanish Civil War had a serious impact on the game with players lost to fatalities during the violent conflict and stadium grounds damaged. In 1935 the league tournament was cancelled it was resumed only in the 1940s.
Real Madrid and FC Barcelona:
It was during the 1950s that Real Madrid and FC Barcelona rose to the prominence that they maintained for nearly 50 years. In particular from 1961 to 1980 Real Madrid dominated the league taking the title 14 times including five times in a row from 1961 to 1965. During this period only three other teams ever took the title.
By the 1980s Real Madrid lost its grip on the championship and other teams made it to the top of the league. By the 1990s FC Barcelona rose to the top winning four titles between 1991 and 1994.
By the start of the new millennium other teams were vying for the champion position and since then the cup has been won by a number of different teams.
Clubs from the Primera División have also had repeated success in the UEFA Cup and the UEFA Champions League or the European cup as it was formerly known.
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