Information About ™La Liga |
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La Liga de Fútbol Profesional (LFP) (. 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 17 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 Coruna and Sevilla FC . ''La Liga'' is Consistently Rated as one of the strongest leagues in Europe , along with Serie A and the English Premiership . Throughout its history it has featured some of the best players in the world. Alfredo Di Stéfano , Raymond Kopa , Luis Suarez , Johan Cruyff , Hristo Stoichkov , Rivaldo , Ronaldinho and Luis 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 , Luis 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 Sanchez . Current star players in ''La Liga'' include Samuel Eto'o , Raul , David Beckham , Pablo Aimar , Joaquín and Fernando Torres . 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 Espanol 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 Aviacion , Valencia CF and Sevilla CF that initially emerged as the strongest clubs. Atlético Aviacion 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 Aviacion 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 Suarez Although Atlético Madrid , previously known as ''Atlético Aviacion'', 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 declared Alfredo Di Stefano , Ferenc Puskás , José Santamaria and Ladislao Kubala to be Spanish nationals. Inspired by Kubala, Barca won the title in 1952 and 1953 . Di Stefano, Puskás and Raymond Kopa formed the nucleas 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 Suarez gained the title in 1959 and 1960 . La Liga Clubs in Europe Meanwhile ''La Liga'' teams found success in European competition. Alfredo Di Stefano 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 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 31 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 with 1 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 Malaga CF have found success in Europe, winning the UEFA Intertoto 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 end of the 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 Sanchez and the legendary ''La Quinta Del Buitre'' - Emilio Butragueño , Manolo Sanchís , Martín Vazquéz , 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 Luis 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 then 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 Hector Cuper , 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 and Samuel Eto'o , win their first title of the new century. CHAMPIONS Year By Year
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