The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as Primera División, or La Liga, and officially known as LALIGA EA SPORTS (stylized as all caps) for sponsorship reasons, is the men's top professional football league of the Spanish football league system. It is contested by 20 teams.
1950s: FC Barcelona continue their success but Real Madrid emerges
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Although Atlético Madrid, previously known as Atlético Aviación, were champions in 1950 and 1951 under catenaccio mastermind Helenio Herrera the 1950s continued the success Barcelona had during the late 1940s after they had won back to back La Liga titles. During this decade, Barcelona's first golden era emerged. Under coach Ferdinand Daučík, Barcelona won back-to-back doubles, winning La Liga and Copa Del Rey in 1952 and 1953. In 1952, Barcelona made history yet again by winning five distinctive trophies in one year. This team, composed of László Kubala, Mariano Gonzalvo, César Rodríguez and Joan Segarra won La Liga, Copa Del Rey, Copa Eva Duarte (predecessor of Spanish Super Cup), Latin Cup and Copa Martini & Rossi. Their success in winning five trophies in one year earned them the name 'L’equip de les cinc Copes'[16] or The Team of The Five Cups. In the latter parts of the 1950s, coached by Helenio Herrera and featuring Luis Suárez, Barcelona won yet again their third set of back-to-back La Liga, winning them in 1959 and 1960. In 1959, Barcelona also won another double of La Liga / Copa Del Rey, conquering three doubles in the 1950s.
The 1950s also saw the beginning of the Real Madrid dominance. During the 1930s through the 1950s there were strict limits imposed on foreign players. In most cases, clubs could have only three foreign players in their squads, meaning that at least eight local players had to play in every game. During the 1950s, however, these rules were circumvented by Real Madrid who naturalised Alfredo Di Stéfano and Ferenc Puskás.[citation needed] Di Stéfano, Puskás, Raymond Kopa and Francisco Gento formed the nucleus of the Real Madrid team that dominated the second half of the 1950s. Real Madrid won their third La Liga in 1954 — their first since 1933 — and retained their title in 1955. In 1956, Athletic Club won their sixth La Liga title, but Real Madrid won La Liga again in 1957 and 1958. The 1950s also saw Real Madrid dominate the newly created European Cup, sweeping the first five editions.
All in all, Barcelona and Real Madrid won four La Liga titles each in the 50s, with Atlético Madrid winning two Liga and Athletic Club winning one during this decade.
1960s–1970s: Real Madrid superiority
Real Madrid dominated La Liga between 1960 and 1980, being crowned champions 14 times.[17] Real Madrid won five La Liga titles in a row from 1961 to 1965 as well as winning three doubles between 1960 and 1980. During the 1960s and 1970s, only Atlético Madrid offered Real Madrid any serious challenge. Atlético Madrid were crowned La Liga champions four times in 1966, 1970, 1973, and 1977. Atlético Madrid also finished second place in 1961, 1963, and 1965. In 1971, Valencia won their fourth La Liga title in 1971 under Alfredo Di Stéfano, and the Johan Cruyff-inspired Barcelona won their ninth La Liga in 1974.
1980s: Real Madrid dominance but the Basque Clubs disrupt their monopoly
Real Madrid's monopoly in La Liga was interrupted significantly in the 1980s. Although Real Madrid won another five La Liga titles in a row from 1986 to 1990[18] under the brilliance of Emilio Butragueño and Hugo Sánchez, the Basque clubs of Real Sociedad and Athletic Club also dominated the 1980s.[19] Real Sociedad won back-to-back La Liga titles in 1981 and 1982, after leaving Real Madrid runner-up both times. Their title wins were followed by fellow Basque club Athletic Club, who won back-to-back titles in 1983 and 1984, with Athletic Club winning their fifth La Liga and Copa Del Rey double in 1984. Barcelona won their tenth La Liga title in 1985 under coach Terry Venables, their first La Liga win since 1974.
1990s: Barcelona's Dream Team
Johan Cruyff returned to Barcelona as manager in 1988, and assembled the legendary Dream Team.[20] When Cruyff took control of his Barcelona side, they had won only two La Liga titles in the past 20 years. Cruyff decided to build a team composed of international stars and La Masia graduates in order to restore Barcelona to their former glory days. This team was formed by international stars Romario, Michael Laudrup, Hristo Stoichkov and Ronald Koeman. Cruyff's Dream Team also consisted of La Masia graduates Pep Guardiola, Albert Ferrer and Guillermo Amor, as well as Spaniard Andoni Zubizarreta.
Johan Cruyff changed the way modern football was played,[21] and incorporated the principles of Total Football into this team. The success of possession-based football was revolutionary,[22] and Cruyff's team won their first European Cup in 1992 and four consecutive La Liga titles between 1991 and 1994. In total, Cruyff won eleven trophies in eight years, making him the most successful manager in Barcelona's history, until the record was broken by his protégé Pep Guardiola two decades later.
Barcelona's run ended with Real Madrid winning La Liga in 1995. Atlético Madrid won their ninth La Liga title in 1996, as well as their only Liga/Copa Del Rey double, before Real Madrid added another league title to their cabinet in 1997. After the success of Cruyff, another Dutchman – Ajax manager, Louis van Gaal – arrived at the Camp Nou, and with the talents of Luís Figo, Luis Enrique, and Rivaldo, Barcelona won the La Liga title in 1998 and 1999, including their fourth double of Liga and Copa Del Rey in 1998. All in all, Barcelona won six La Liga titles in the 1990s.
2000s: Real Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia's re-emergence
| Season | BAR | RMA | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000–01 | 4 | 1 | ||||
| 2001–02 | 4 | 3 | ||||
| 2002–03 | 6 | 1 | ||||
| 2003–04 | 2 | 4 | ||||
| 2004–05 | 1 | 2 | ||||
| 2005–06 | 1 | 2 | ||||
| 2006–07 | 2 | 1 | ||||
| 2007–08 | 3 | 1 | ||||
| 2008–09 | 1 | 2 | ||||
| 2009–10 | 1 | 2 | ||||
| 2010–11 | 1 | 2 | ||||
| 2011–12 | 2 | 1 | ||||
| 2012–13 | 1 | 2 | ||||
| 2013–14 | 2 | 3 | ||||
| 2014–15 | 1 | 2 | ||||
| 2015–16 | 1 | 2 | ||||
| 2016–17 | 2 | 1 | ||||
| 2017–18 | 1 | 3 | ||||
| 2018–19 | 1 | 3 | ||||
| 2019–20 | 2 | 1 | ||||
| 2020–21 | 3 | 2 | ||||
| 2021–22 | 2 | 1 | ||||
| 2022–23 | 1 | 2 | ||||
| TOTAL | 11 | 8 | ||||
| Top three | 20 | 22 | ||||
| League champions Copa del Rey La Liga/Copa del Rey double | ||||||
The 21st century continued the success Barcelona had in the 1990s under Johan Cruyff, dominating La Liga. Although Real Madrid had been prominent, Barcelona created a hegemony in Spain not seen since the Real Madrid of the 1960s–70s.[23] Since the start of the new century, Barcelona won ten La Ligas, including two trebles and four doubles. This new century however has also seen new challengers being crowned champions. Between 1999–2000 and 2004, Deportivo La Coruña finished in the top three on five occasions, a better record than either Real Madrid or Barcelona, and in 2000, under Javier Irureta, Deportivo became the ninth team to be crowned champions. Valencia were one of the strongest teams in Europe in the early to mid 2000s; they were crowned La Liga champions in 2002 and 2004 under Rafael Benítez, whilst also being runners-up in the UEFA Champions League in 2000 and 2001 under Hector Cuper and winning the UEFA Cup in 2004 and the Copa del Rey in 1999.
Real Madrid won their first Liga titles of the century in 2001 and 2003. With world-class players like Raúl, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Gonzalo Higuaín, Real Madrid won back-to-back La Liga titles in 2006–07 and 2007–08. Barcelona won their first title of the new century after Real Madrid and Valencia had shared the last four titles under the brilliance of Ronaldinho and Samuel Eto'o in the 2004–05 season. Barcelona retained the title to make it back-to-back wins in the 2005–06 season.
2010s: Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico
In 2009–10, Real Madrid achieved a record 96 points but still finished behind Barcelona, who amassed 99 points. Barcelona then won a third straight La Liga title in the 2010–11 season with 96 points to Real's 92, but Real Madrid ended their winning streak in the 2011–12 season under the management of José Mourinho and with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Ángel Di María, Mesut Özil and Karim Benzema. Madrid won their 32nd La Liga title with a record 100 points, a record 121 goals scored and a record +89 goal difference. The following year, in the 2012–13 season, Barcelona won yet another La Liga title under coach Tito Vilanova, replicating the 100 points record Real Madrid achieved the previous year. Atlético Madrid, under the management of Diego Simeone, won their tenth La Liga title in 2013–14, their first since 1996. They became the first team since Valencia in 2004 to win La Liga and break Barcelona and Real Madrid's dominion over the league.[24] In the 2014–15 season, under the trio of Messi, Neymar, and Suarez nicknamed 'MSN', Barcelona made history by becoming the first team to achieve a second Treble, and winning a sixth Liga/Copa Del Rey double. Barcelona continued their dominance, and in the 2015–16 season they won a back-to-back Liga/Copa Del Rey double, something that had not been achieved since the 1950s.[25] Real Madrid brought back the La Liga title under the management of Zinedine Zidane in 2016–17, but Barcelona won the title again in the 2017–18 season, as well as winning their eighth double,[26] for seven La Liga titles in ten years. Barcelona retained the title yet again and won their 26th La Liga title in the 2018–19 season, for eight La Liga titles in eleven years.[27] Real Madrid reclaimed the title in 2019–20, winning the season that was severely disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.[28]
2020s: present
The 2020–21 season started on 12 September, and was won by Atletico Madrid, with Real Madrid as runners-up.[29] In August 2021, La Liga clubs approved a €2.7 billion deal to sell 10% of the league to CVC Capital Partners.[30] The 2021–22 season was won by Real Madrid with four games to spare,[31] while the 2022–23 season was won by Barcelona with four games to spare.
In 2023, La Liga rebranded itself with a new logo and new sponsor. EA (Electronic Arts) replaced the Spanish financial services giant Santander that was the title sponsor of the league for seven years. LaLiga EA Sports and LaLiga Hypermotion are the names of the Primera and Segunda Divisions, starting in the 2023-24 season and for the following four seasons.[32]
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