Your guide to the Primera Divison (La Liga)

The Primera Division (La Liga)

Image taken from Wikipedia (2017) 

The La Liga was formed in April 1927 and is Spain's (men's) professional football (soccer) league. Similar to the EPL, the La Liga is made up of 20 clubs; these clubs change every year through a system of promotion and relegation with the Segunda Division (2nd div). This is slightly different to the EPL; [in the La Liga] the bottom 3 teams are replaced by the two top teams [of Segunda div] and the winner of a play-off between the third, fourth, fifth and six placed teams [of Segunda div]. Like the EPL, the fixtures for the season see each club play 38 matches, where they play each club twice (once at home and once away). Teams receive 3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for a loss. Furthermore, teams are ranked by total points, with the highest-ranked club at the end of the season crowned the champion of the league. A total of 60 clubs have competed in La Liga since its formation in 1927, however, the division has been dominated by Real Madrid, who have won the title 33 times and Barcelona, 24 times. Athletic Bilbao have won the title 7 times, however these wins were in the league's early years. The current (2016/17) champions are Real Madrid.

Image taken from Mirror.co.uk (2016) 

Similar to the EPL (with English teams), the La Liga only features teams from Spain. However, the league is extremely popular across the world, in particular within Europe. This is because the league features some of the most famous and most talented players in the world. Some of these players include Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) and Lionel Messi (Barcelona) [pictured above]; Gareth Bale (Real Madrid), Neymar (Barcelona), Luis Suarez (Barcelona) and Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid). Furthermore, the La Liga attracts the best players from around the world with the biggest price tags. For instance (per week), Ramos earns £261,000; Suarez earns £272,000; Neymar earns £275,000; Bale earns £350,000; Messi and Ronaldo earn £365,000. In addition, Forbes (2017) have Barcelona (2nd overall sporting team) valued at $3.63 billion (US) and Real Madrid (3rd overall sporting team) valued at $3.58 billion (US), both earning a revenue of $688 million annually- making the La Liga one of the richest sporting leagues in the world.

The 2017/18 season began on Sat 19 August 2017 with Leganes taking on Alaves at Estadio Municipal de Butarque (Leganes home) where they won 1-0.

Nicholas Kemmler
02/10/2017

References:
1. Forbes, 2017. The World's Most Valuable Soccer Teams 2017. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeozanian/2017/06/06/the-worlds-most-valuable-soccer-teams-2017/. (Accessed 03 October 2017).
2. La Liga, 2017. La Liga. Available at: http://www.laliga.es/en. (Accessed 03 October 2017);
3. Soccerath, 2017. Highest Paid La Liga Players: Ronaldo and Messi top the list. Available at: https://www.soccerath.com/2017/03/21/highest-paid-la-liga-players/. (Accessed 03 October 2017);
4. Wikipedia, 2017. La Liga. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/la_liga. (Accessed 03 October 2017).

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Introduction of Soccer Rules - Part 2

Image
Continue with the Introduction of Rule... Start and Restart A kick-off is the way a soccer game is started or restarted: -            at the start of a game -            after a goal has been scored -            at the start of the second half (or each quarter in younger ages) -            at the start of each period of extra time, if used Throw-ins A throw-in is taken when the ball crosses a sideline and leaves the field. The two basic soccer rules for a proper throw-in are to have both feet on the ground and to throw the ball with both hands over the head. Corner Kicks & Goal Kicks A corner kick or goal kick is taken when the ball leaves the field across a goal line – you know, either end of the field with a goal. If the offensive team kicks it out, play is restarted with a goal kick and restarted with a corner kick. -            The goal kick - taken from anywhere inside the “goalie box” and can be taken by any player. -            The corn
Read more

Introduction of Soccer Rules - Part 4

Image
Continue with the Introduction of Rule... Fouls and Punishment The common rule of thumb on fouls is “If it looks like a foul, it probably is.”. Some soccer rules are actually not black-and-white. The normal consequence of a foul is a direct kick for the opposing team. Punishment is given in soccer with yellow and red cards. The FIFA soccer rules give the guidelines for when to give a yellow card and red card to a player. If a player is given two yellow cards in the same game, that is equal to a red card. A red card can be given at any time without the player first receiving a yellow card. When a player gets a red card, they must leave the game and their team must play short. Offside The first thing to know is that you cannot be offside on a corner kick, goal kick, or throw-in. It’s not an offense for a player to be in an offside position. The player must be involved in active play as determined by the referee to be called offside. -            An attac
Read more

Introduction of Soccer Rules - Part 3

Image
Continue with the Introduction of Rule... Direct & indirect Free Kicks Direct and indirect kicks are two primary ways that play is restarted after the referee stops play for an infraction. In both situations, the ball must be stationary before it is kicked and the opposing players should be a minimum of 10 yards away. The 10-yard allowance is often reduced for the smaller age groups and is left up to the discretion of the referee. The simple difference between the two is this: On a direct kick you can score by kicking the ball directly into the goal. On an indirect kick you cannot score - An indirect kick must be touched by another player before it can go into the goal – that is the kicker and a second person. Penalty Kick It occurred from a contact foul or hand ball by the defending team within the penalty area. it’s a type of direct kick also. All players must remain outside the penalty area and the penalty arc until the ball is kicked. The goalkeeper mu
Read more