spain league News
Real Madrid retain title
Real Madrid won the Primera Division with 85 points with three matches before the end of the 2007/08 season, the highest winning point total in 11 years. Villarreal finished second with a club-high 77 points, while Barcelona conclude a disappointing campaign on third place, 18 points behind arch-rivals Real.
Atletico Madrid sealed the final UEFA Champions League qualifying spot in Spain for the first time in 12 years. Sixth-placed Racing Santander secured Spain's third UEFA Cup berth, to join Sevilla and King's Cup winners Valencia in Europe's second-tier club competition.
- Champions: Real Madrid (UEFA Champions League)
- Runners-up: Villarreal (UEFA Champions League)
- Third place: Barcelona (UEFA Champions League 3rd qualifying round)
- Fourth place: Atletico Madrid (UEFA Champions League 3rd qualifying round)
- Fifth place: Sevilla (UEFA Cup)
- Sixth place: Racing Santander (UEFA Cup)
- Spanish Cup winners: Valencia (UEFA Cup)
- Ninth place: Deportivo La Coruna (Intertoto Cup)
- Relegated: Zaragoza, Murcia, Levante
- Promoted: Numancia, Malaga, Gijon.
Zaragoza, Murcia and Levante were demoted to the Spanish second division, while Numancia, Malaga and Gijon were promoted. Malaga finished second behind champions Numancia and return to the top-flight after being relegated in 2006. Gijon were level on points in third and return to the Spanish La Liga after a ten-year spell in the second division.
| teams | titles | 2002/03 | 2003/04 | 2004/05 | 2005/06 | 2006/07 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Real Madrid | 31 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Barcelona | 18 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Atletico M. | 9 | 7 | 11 | 10 | 7 | 4 |
| Athletic B. | 8 | 5 | 8 | 12 | 17 | 11 |
| Valencia | 6 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 10 |
| Sevilla | 1 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 5 |
| Deportivo | 1 | 3 | 9 | 8 | 13 | 9 |
| Betis | 1 | 9 | 4 | 14 | 16 | 13 |
| Villarreal | - | 8 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 2 |
| Espanyol | - | 16 | 5 | 15 | 11 | 12 |
| Mallorca | - | 11 | 17 | 13 | 12 | 7 |
| Osasuna | - | 13 | 15 | 4 | 14 | 17 |
| Racing | - | 17 | 16 | 17 | 10 | 6 |
| Getafe | - | - | 13 | 9 | 9 | 14 |
| Malaga | - | 10 | 10 | 20 | - | - |
| Recreativo | - | - | - | - | 8 | 16 |
| Valladolid | - | 18 | - | - | - | 15 |
| Almeria | - | - | - | - | - | 8 |
| Numancia | - | - | 19 | - | - | - |
| Gijon | - | - | - | - | - | - |
This table shows the overall number of titles since 1929, for each club in Spanish Primera Division and their league standings in the last five seasons.
Major overhaul at Barcelona
Frank Rijkaard left Barcelona at the end of last season and former captain Pep Guardiola takes over as coach of the team. Rijkaard's position in the Camp Nou hot seat has been the subject of intense speculation so his departure comes as little surprise. With Rijkaard, the Catalan club became European champions in 2006 and also won two Primera Division titles, but his team have failed to win any major trophy for the past two seasons despite making heavy investment in new players. Meanwhile, Guardiola, 37, steered Barcelona's B team to the top of their section of Spain's fourth division last term.
Guardiola begins the task of reversing the club's flagging fortunes by the signing defensive midfielder Seydou Keita from Sevilla and defender Gerard Pique from Manchester United. Brazilian winger Dani Alves arrived from Sevilla and Belarus midfielder Alexander Hleb from Arsenal. On the other hand, Barcelona have offloaded two-time World Player of the Year Ronaldinho and full back Gianluca Zambrotta to Milan, midfielder Deco to Chelsea, forward Giovani Dos Santos to Tottenham and midfielder Edmilson to Villarreal.
| # | team | points | g.dif. | win-draw-loss |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Real Madrid | 85 | 48 | 27-4-7 (38) |
| 2 | Villarreal | 77 | 23 | 24-5-9 (38) |
| 3 | Barcelona | 67 | 33 | 19-10-9 (38) |
| 4 | Atletico M. | 64 | 19 | 19-7-12 (38) |
| 5 | Sevilla | 64 | 26 | 20-4-14 (38) |
| 6 | Racing | 60 | 1 | 17-9-12 (38) |
| 7 | Mallorca | 59 | 15 | 15-14-9 (38) |
| 8 | Almeria | 52 | -3 | 14-10-14 (38) |
| 9 | Deportivo | 52 | -1 | 15-7-16 (38) |
| 10 | Valencia | 51 | -14 | 15-6-17 (38) |
| 11 | Athletic B. | 50 | -3 | 13-11-14 (38) |
| 12 | Espanyol | 48 | -10 | 13-9-16 (38) |
| 13 | Betis | 47 | -6 | 12-11-15 (38) |
| 14 | Getafe | 47 | -4 | 12-11-15 (38) |
| 15 | Valladolid | 45 | -15 | 11-12-15 (38) |
| 16 | Recreativo | 44 | -20 | 11-11-16 (38) |
| 17 | Ossasuna | 43 | -7 | 12-7-19 (38) |
| 18 | Zaragoza | 42 | -11 | 10-12-16 (38) |
| 19 | Murcia | 30 | -29 | 7-9-22 (38) |
| 20 | Levante | 26 | -42 | 7-5-26 (38) |
This table displays Spanish Primera league standings for season 2006/2007.
Coaching changes
Racing Santander have appointed former Malaga boss Juan Ramon Lopez Muniz as coach for the 2008/09 campaign. The 39-year-old led Malaga to promotion from the second division, and has worked as an assistant to current Tottenham Hotspur manager Juande Ramos in the past. Lopez Muniz replaces Marcelino Garcia who quit Racing at the end of May after having led the modest club to sixth in the standings to earn their first UEFA Cup place.
Getafe confirmed the appointment of Victor Munoz as their new coach. The 51-year-old steps in to replace Michael Laudrup who quit at the end of last season after leading the modest Madrid-based side to the King's Cup final and the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup. Munoz, who was sacked from Recreativo Huelva in February, has coached Villarreal, Real Zaragoza and Panathinaikos among others.
Espanyol made an impressive start to the last season, losing only three of their opening 19 games, but hopes of qualifying for European competitions ebbed in the second half of the campaign after losing 13 of their final 19 games. Ernesto Valverde has left the club for Greek champions Olympiacos and Espanyol have promoted Bartolome Marquez to the position of coach. Marquez has been the assistant to Miguel Angel Lotina and then Valverde over the past four seasons.
This page is introduction to the 2008/2009 Spanish Primera Division season. Latest news, statistics, results and predictions you can find on our main Euro Football > Spain page.
Newly-promoted Numancia named Sergije Kresic as their new coach. The 61-year-old has signed a one-year-deal. He replaces Almeria-bound Gonzalo Arconada, the coach responsible for leading the team into the Spanish top flight at the end of last season. Kresic, who was most recently in charge at Hajduk Split in his native Croatia, has spent most of his career in Spain, coaching Betis and Mallorca among others.
Almeria have appointed Gonzalo Arconada to be their coach for the next two seasons following the departure of Unai Emery. Arconada, brother of former Spanish international goalkeeper Luis Arconada, led Numancia to promotion to the top flight as second division champions but had agreed to part ways with the club. The 46-year-old takes over from Emery who left Almeria for Valencia after an impressive two seasons at the helm.
Emery will fill the void left by Ronald Koeman's sacking in April, with Salvador "Voro" Gonzalez having been in caretaker charge for the club's final five league games in 2007/08. Koeman enjoyed a disappointing league campaign and better luck in the King's Cup where his team beat Getafe 3-1 in the final. It is reported that Emery accepted the Valencia offer after being assured that the club would not be selling key players this summer. The 36-year-old has agreed a two-year contract at Mestalla.
| team | odds | team | odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Real Madrid | 1.75 | Barcelona | 2.6 |
| Sevilla | 26 | Villarreal | 26 |
| Valencia | 26 | Atletico Madrid | 26 |
| Espanyol | 150 | Mallorca | 250 |
| Deportivo La Coruna | 250 | Getafe | 270 |
| Racing Santander | 270 | Betis | 350 |
| Athletic Bilbao | 350 | Osasuna | 800 |
| Almeria | 1000 | Recreativo Huelva | 1500 |
| Valladolid | 1500 | Numancia | 1500 |
| Malaga | 2000 | Gijon | 2000 |
Spanish Cup finals in last five years
2004 Real Zaragoza - Real Madrid 3:2
2005 Betis - Osasuna 2:1
2006 Espanyol - Real Zaragoza 4:1
2007 Sevilla - Getafe 1:0
2008 Valencia - Getafe 3:1