Liga de Fútbol Profesional (Professional Football League), commonly known as the Primera División or simply La Liga or Liga BBVA, is the top professional football league in Spain.

Nine clubs have been crowned Campeones de Liga. Since the 1950s, Real Madrid and FC Barcelona have dominated the competition. The former have been champions 31 times while the latter have won it on 18 occasions. However during the 1930s and 1940s and in more recent seasons, the Primera División has been more competitive. Other winners include Valencia, Atletico Madrid, Sevilla, Deportivo de La Coruña, Athletic Bilbao, Real Sociedad and Real Betis.

In addition to their success in Primera División, Real Madrid, FC Barcelona and Valencia are three of the most successful teams in European competition history. All three clubs are the only Spanish clubs to have won 5 or more international trophies, all three clubs are also in the top ten most successful clubs in European football in terms of European trophies. In 2005/06 Barça won the UEFA Champions League and Sevilla won the UEFA Cup. The Primera División became the first league to do the European "double" since 1997.

The Primera División is currently second in the UEFA rankings of European leagues based on their performances in European competitions over a five-year period, behind the English Premier League in first and ahead of Italy's Serie A in third. The 2005–06 average attendance of 29,029 for league matches is the sixth highest of any domestic professional sports league in the world. Among professional football (soccer) leagues,Primera División was third-highest, behind the Bundesliga in first and the Premier League in second.

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 División 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 Español 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 División.

The 1930s

Although FC Barcelona won the very first Liga in 1929 and Real Madrid won their first titles in 1932 and 1933, it was Athletic Bilbao that set the early pace winning Primera División in 1930, 1931, 1934 and 1936. They were also runners-up in 1932 and 1933. In 1935 Real Betis, then known as Betis Balompie, won their only title to date. Primera División 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 the Mediterranean League. FC Barcelona emerged as champions in 1937.

The 1940s

When the Primera Liga resumed after the Spanish Civil War it was Atlético Aviación, Valencia CF and Sevilla FC that initially emerged as the strongest clubs. Atlético Aviación were only awarded a place during the 1939-40 season as a replacement for Real Oviedo, whose ground had been damaged during the war. The club subsequently won their first Liga title and retained it in 1941. While other clubs lost players to exile, execution and as casualties of the war, the Atlético Aviación 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 Liga titles in 1942, 1944 and 1947. They were also runners-up in 1948 and 1949. Sevilla FC 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 FC Barcelona began to emerge as a force when they were crowned champions in 1945, 1948 and 1949.

Di Stéfano, Puskás, Kubala and Suárez

Although Atlético Madrid, previously known as Atlético Aviación, were champions in 1950 and 1951 under catenaccio mastermind Helenio Herrera, 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 their squads, 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 naturalised Alfredo Di Stéfano, Ferenc Puskás and Ladislao Kubala. Inspired by Kubala, Barça won the title in 1952 and 1953. Di Stéfano, Puskás and Francisco Gento formed the nucleus of the Real Madrid team that dominated the second half of the 1950s. Real won Primera División for the first time as Real Madrid in 1954 and retained it in 1955. They were winners again in 1957 and 1958, with only Athletic Bilbao interrupting their sequence. CF Barcelona with a team coached by Helenio Herrera and featuring Luis Suárez gained the title in 1959 and 1960..

The Madrid Years

Between 1961 and 1980, Real Madrid dominated the Primera División, being crowned champion 14 times. This included a five-in-a-row sequence from 1961 to 1965 and two three-in-a-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. Of the other clubs, only Valencia CF in 1971 and the Johan Cruyff-inspired FC Barcelona of 1974 managed to break the might of Real Madrid.

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 won again another five in a row sequence (1986-90) with a team, guided by Leo Beenhakker, and including Hugo Sánchez and the legendary La Quinta del Buitre - Emilio Butragueño, Manolo Sanchís, Martín Vázquez, Míchel and Miguel Pardeza.

The 1990s Barça years

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 Beguiristain, Goikoetxea, Ronald Koeman, Michael Laudrup, Romario and Hristo Stoichkov. This team won Primera División four times between 1991 and 1994 and won the European Cup in 1992. Laudrup then moved to arch-rivals Real Madrid after a fall-out with Cruyff, and helped them end Barcelona's run in 1995. Atlético Madrid won their ninth Primera División title in 1996 before Real Madrid added another Liga trophy 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 again won the title in 1998 and 1999. Meanwhile, Real Madrid also experienced success on the intercontinental stage, winning the UEFA Champions League in 1998.

The new millennium

As Primera División 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 than 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 Liga titles in 2001 and 2003 and also the UEFA Champions League in 2000 and 2002, and won their third league title in 2007 after a three year drought. They were challenged by a re-emerging Valencia CF in both competitions. Under the management of Héctor Cúper, Valencia finished as Champions League runners-up in 2000 and 2001. His successor, Rafael Benítez, built on this and led the club to a Liga title in 2002 and a Liga/UEFA Cup double in 2004. The 2004-05 season saw a resurgent Barcelona, inspired by the brilliant Ronaldinho, win their first title of the new century, in addition to the Liga-Champions League double in 2005-06. Sevilla FC also won the UEFA Cup in 2006 and again in 2007, when the Andalusians defeated fellow Spaniards RCD Espanyol 3-1 on penalties. After 3 years of misery, Real Madrid finally won the La Liga in 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 season.

Season: Winners-Runners Up

28-29: Barcelona/Real Madrid
29-30: Athletic Bilbao/Barcelona
30-31: Athletic Bilbao/Racing Santander
31-32: Real Madrid/Athletic Bilbao
32-33: Real Madrid/Athletic Bilbao
33-34: Athletic Bilbao/Real Madrid
34-35: Real Betis/Real Madrid
35-36: Athletic Bilbao/Real Madrid
36-37: No competition
37-38: No competition
38-39: No competition
39-40: Atlético Madrid/Sevilla
40-41: Atlético Madrid/Athletic Bilbao
41-42: Valencia/Real Madrid
42-43: Athletic Bilbao/Sevilla
43-44: Valencia/Atlético Madrid
44-45: Barcelona/Real Madrid
45-46: Sevilla/Barcelona
46-47: Valencia/Athletic Bilbao
47-48: Barcelona/Valencia
48-49: Barcelona/Valencia
49-50: Atlético Madrid/Deportivo Coruña
50-51: Atlético Madrid/Sevilla
51-52: Barcelona/Athletic Bilbao
52-53: Barcelona/Valencia
53-54: Real Madrid/Barcelona
54-55: Real Madrid/Barcelona
55-56: Athletic Bilbao/Barcelona
56-57: Real Madrid/Sevilla
57-58: Real Madrid/Atlético Madrid
58-59: Barcelona/Real Madrid
59-60: Barcelona/Real Madrid
60-61: Real Madrid/Atlético Madrid
61-62: Real Madrid/Barcelona
62-63: Real Madrid/Atlético Madrid
63-64: Real Madrid/Barcelona
64-65: Real Madrid/Atlético Madrid
65-66: Atlético Madrid/Real Madrid
66-67: Real Madrid/Barcelona
57-68: Real Madrid/Barcelona
68-69: Real Madrid/Las Palmas
69-70: Atlético Madrid/Athletic Bilbao
70-71: Valencia/Barcelona
71-72: Real Madrid/Valencia
72-73: Atlético Madrid/Barcelona
73-74: Barcelona/Atlético Madrid
74-75: Real Madrid/Zaragoza
75-76: Real Madrid/Barcelona
76-77: Atlético Madrid/Barcelona
77-78: Real Madrid/Barcelona
78-79: Real Madrid/Sporting Gijon
79-80: Real Madrid/Real Sociedad
80-81: Real Sociedad/Real Madrid
81-82: Real Sociedad/Barcelona
82-83: Athletic Bilbao/Real Madrid
83-84: Athletic Bilbao/Real Madrid
84-85: Barcelona/Atlético Madrid
85-86: Real Madrid/Barcelona
86-87: Real Madrid/Barcelona
87-88: Real Madrid/Real Sociedad
88-89: Real Madrid/Barcelona
89-90: Real Madrid/Valencia
90-91: Barcelona/Atlético Madrid
91-92: Barcelona/Real Madrid
92-93: Barcelona/Real Madrid
93-94: Barcelona/Deportivo La Coruña
94-95: Real Madrid/Deportivo La Coruña
95-96: Atlético Madrid/Valencia
96-97: Real Madrid/Barcelona
97-98: Barcelona/Athletic Bilbao
98-99: Barcelona/Real Madrid
99-00: Deportivo La Coruña/Barcelona
00-01: Real Madrid/Deportivo La Coruña
01-02: Valencia/Deportivo La Coruña
02-03: Real Madrid/Real Sociedad
03-04: Valencia/Barcelona
04-05: Barcelona/Real Madrid
05-06: Barcelona/Real Madrid
06-07: Real Madrid/Barcelona
06-07: Real Madrid/Villarreal

Loved the history mate...

Yeah great to see Madridstars ruling Spanish La Liga