Your Definitive La Liga Guide: What You Need To Know For 15/16

Welcome to The18’s La Liga guide, the highest level on the Spanish football pyramid and arguably the best league in European and world football. Despite what you may have heard, it’s not just Real Madrid and Barcelona; there are 18 other clubs that compete with the two giants for the Spanish title. This guide will tell you everything you need to know about La Liga’s history, top players, and current season. Vamos!

History

Real Madrid legend Alredo di Stefano. Photo: @SoloGambeta | Twitter

We kick off this La Liga guide with where it all began: in 1929 with ten teams. Play was suspended from 1937-1939 while Spain was embroiled in a civil war that saw Francisco Franco come into power as a dictator. Of the original ten teams that founded La Liga, three have never been relegated from the top division: Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Athletic Bilbao. No team has won the title more than Real Madrid with their 32 championships; Barcelona are second with 23.

Season

The Copa Del Rey trophy. Photo: @BarcaMania16 | Twitter

The La Liga season runs from August to May with each club playing 38 matches. Just as the race for the title is hotly contested, so too is the battle for the league’s top scorer, who earns the Pichichi Trophy. Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have each been top scorer three times. The record for most Pichichi trophies is six – by Athletic Bilbao’s Telmo Zarra in the 1940s and ‘50s.

All of Spain’s clubs also compete for the Copa Del Rey title throughout the season. This is the top knockout tournament in the country. Barcelona have won it 27 times, more than any other team.

There are two key dates in each La Liga calendar that each fan will circle when the fixtures come out. El Clasico. Real Madrid vs. Barcelona. Often, these battles determine the league champion. The 2015-16 season will see the two heavyweights meet on November 21st in Madrid and April 2nd or 3rd in Barcelona, depending the dates of other matches.

Format

Each club plays 38 matches, facing every other team twice: once at home and once on the road. At the end of the season, the three clubs at the bottom of the table are relegated to the Segunda Division, the second tier of Spanish football. They are replaced by the top two teams in the Segunda Division, plus its promotion playoff winner. The top four teams in La Liga qualify for the next UEFA Champions League, Europe’s top club competition. Teams finishing 5-7 participate in the Europa League, for a total of seven spots in Europe.

Clubs

The following clubs will be competing in the 2015-16 La Liga season:

Players

Atletico Madrid's Antoinne Griezman. Photo: @HarnersSports | Twitter

La Liga is home to the world’s two best footballers: Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. They are each worth the price of admission, or the monthly cable bill (see below), each week. At just 28, Messi is already the top scorer in La Liga history. Ronaldo, who is 30, is currently 4th on that list. Needless to say, there’s no shortage of goals when these two are on the pitch.

But there’s more stars than just Messi and Ronaldo. Barcelona also boasts Neymar, with his silky smooth dribbling and acrobatic goals, and Luis Suarez, who when he isn’t scoring goals, he’s probably biting his opponents. Real Madrid’s roster is a “who’s who” of international stars, including the Welshman Gareth Bale, the world’s most expensive footballer. Madrid purchased him from Tottenham Hotspur for nearly $140 million!

How to Watch

Barcelona's home stadium, the Camp Nou. Photo: 

And what would a La Liga guide be if we didn’t tell you how to watch? Fans of La Liga in the United States only need to fork over a little more dough to their cable company each month to watch their favorite stars each weekend on beIN Sports. In the UK, broadcasting rights are owned by Sky Sports.