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The ending 2010-2011 season of the Spanish championship was the most successful for the Barcelona team. Joseph Guardiola's Catalan club became the country's champion for the third time in a row and the 21st time in its history.
In the next season, the honor of Spain in Europe will be defended by the 7 most powerful "Liga BBVA" clubs, bidding farewell to La Coruna's "Deportivo", who once put all opponents on the back foot.
This year, the two best players in the world finally shattered two personal myths: Cristiano Ronaldo scored his first goal against "Barca", and Lionel Messi finally shone in a match against a team led by Jose Mourinho.
What did the fans receive as a gift from the just-concluded 2010-2011 season in the strongest division of Spain?
CHAMPIONS
"Barcelona"
The Catalan club won 30 games in the highest division of the country, played 6 draws, and suffered only 2 losses. With 96 points, "Barca" had enough to keep the "Primera" cup in Barcelona for the third year in a row.
In a race with their eternal rivals from Madrid, Guardiola's students took a decisive step in the 13th round of the Spanish championship. Then in a showdown between the two giants of La Liga at the Camp Nou stadium, Barcelona crushed Real 5-0 and climbed to the top of the tournament table. Barcelona did not relinquish this position until the end of the championship, securing the title in the 36th round by drawing 1-1 with Valencia's "Levante".
EUROPEANS
UEFA Champions League: "Barcelona", Madrid "Real", "Valencia", "Villarreal"
UEFA Europa League: "Sevilla", Bilbao "Athletic", Madrid "Atletico"
The Madrid "Atletico" team has "Barca" and "Real" to thank. Both Spanish football leaders played in the Copa del Rey final and, of course, will compete in the next season's Champions League tournament. This means that the seventh place in the Spanish championship also guarantees a ticket to the Europa League for the team. If at least one team not from the top six had played in the Copa del Rey final, the remaining seven "Atletico" would not have entered the Europa League.
The "Villarreal" team finally succumbed to the third position in the tournament table after a race against "Valencia" and will start the Champions League tournament from the qualifying stage. The first three Spanish teams immediately entered the main group stages.
ADIOS PRIMERA, HOLA SEGUNDA
18th place: La Coruna's "Deportivo"
19th place: Alicante's "Hercules"
20th place: "Almeria"
The "Hercules" and "Almeria" teams bid farewell to the "Primera" earlier than the end of their championships, while the last round became fatal for Miguel Angel Lotino's team. The La Coruna "Deportivo" team needed a draw with "Valencia" in the 38th round (if they had lost to "Mallorca") or a victory, but the Galicians lost 0-2 and said goodbye for a year to the top league.
The "Deportivo" players, who had played terribly this season, fell to the second half of the tournament table after the 35th round, rose again, but finally fell out of the top division altogether.
Undoubtedly, a painful blow for all "Deportivo" fans, who now likely nostalgically remember the beginning of the 21st century when the Galician team was one of the leaders of "Primera" and became its champion in the 1999-2000 season.
BEST OFFENSE, WORST DEFENSE
Madrid "Real" - 102 goals scored
"Almeria" - 70 goals conceded
In the last round of the Spanish championship, these two teams faced each other. The match at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium ended in a goal fest for Madrid "Real" with an 8-1 victory. This result meant that "Almeria" had the worst defense. Previously, the San Sebastian "Sociedad" team was the worst, having conceded 66 goals.
The Madrid club, having exited the Champions League, quickly lost the right to compete for the Spanish champions' titles, so Jose Mourinho's students did not hide their responsibilities, the psychological pressure disappeared, and there was no longer motivation to fight for trophies. The relaxed "Real" players started crushing opponents with impressive results at the end of the competition - they defeated Valencia 6-3, Sevilla 6-2, Getafe 4-0, and finally humiliated Almeria 8-1.
BEST DEFENSE, WORST OFFENSE
"Barcelona" - 21 goals conceded
La Coruna's "Deportivo" - 31 goals scored
The champions of "Liga BBVA" demonstrated a championship-caliber defense. Throughout 38 rounds, only 21 precise opponent shots entered the Barcelona goal. The only two teams that managed to score more than one goal against the Catalan team in a single match were Alicante's "Hercules" and San Sebastian "Sociedad". Ironically, the Basques barely held onto their place in the "Primera" league, while "Hercules," much to the surprise of many at the start of the competition, fell into the second division.
By the way, "Barcelona" goalkeepers Victor Valdes and Jose Manuel Pinto managed to keep their goal "dry" in 19 out of 38 matches, i.e., in exactly half of La Liga games.
The Galician team, ousted from the La Liga division, produced the weakest offense throughout the season, and it must be assumed that it led to the club's regression. Paradoxically, the "Deportivo" goalkeeper Daniel Aranzubia, based on the ratio of goals conceded to matches played, ranked only behind Victor Valdes and Iker Casillas. Thus, this clearly demonstrates that the "Deportivo" defense was not really poor, and everything was determined by the attackers' inability to finish attacks effectively.
LONGEST WINNING STREAK
"Barcelona" - 16 matches
From the 7th to the 23rd round of the "Primera," Guardiola's team did not experience defeat and did not lose a single point. This impressive journey of the future Spanish champions was somewhat unexpectedly halted by Chichon's "Sporting," who managed to draw against "Barca" 1-1.
LONGEST UNDEFEATED STREAK
"Barcelona" - 31 matches
In the second Spanish championship season, newcomers Alikante's "Hercules" created one of the biggest surprises in the competition. The team that was considered an underdog stunned "Barcelona" 2-0 at Camp Nou.
In the "La Liga" decisive match at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium this spring, the confronted clash had become memorable for both of the top-scoring "Primera" footballers. Cristiano Ronaldo scored his first goal against "Barca" in his career, and Lionel Messi finally scored against the team led by Jose Mourinho - neither against London's "Chelsea" nor against Milan's "Inter" had the Argentine scored before.
Another interesting fact: both players shattered their personal myths with accurate shots from the penalty spot.
ZAMORA RATING
Victor Valdes ("Barcelona") - 0.5 (16/32)
Iker Casillas (Madrid "Real") - 0.95 (32/34)
Daniel Aranzubia (La Coruna's "Deportivo") - 1.12 (35/31)
Victor Valdes became the best goalkeeper in the Spanish championship for the third consecutive year and the fourth time in his career. During 32 matches, the Catalan allowed only 16 goals into his goal posts, far surpassing Iker Casillas in the so-called Zamora coefficient (goals conceded divided by the number of matches played).
Once again, the third place surprises, taken by Daniel Aranzubia. As "Deportivo" fell out of the top division of Spain, the Zamora statistics only testify that the Galician team lacked a substantial contribution from its attackers.
TELMO ZARRA RATING
Alvaro Negredo ("Sevilla") - 20 goals
Sevilla's forward became the most effective Spaniard in the national championship. Alvaro Negredo sent two goals into Barcelona's "Espanyol" net in the last round of La Liga, overtaking Fernando Llorente, David Villa, and Roberto Soldado, who were left with 18 goals each.
MOST VIEWED MATCH
98,000 viewers, November 29, 2010, Round 13, Camp Nou stadium
"Barcelona" - Madrid "Real" 5-0
The "El Clasico" remains "El Clasico." On a cold November night at the largest European stadium, Barcelona fans witnessed an incredible football spectacle, the so-called "manita" - five fingers-five goals. This match will be remembered as a major tragedy of the season for the Madrid team and its fans.
STADIUM ATTENDANCE
"Camp Nou" - 1,522,913 (average 80,153)
"Santiago Bernabeu" - 1,344,000 (average 70,736)
"Estadio Vicente Calderon" - 849,000 (average 44,684)
Both Spanish championship giants can boast of attracting over 1 million viewers to their stadiums during the season. In third place for attendance is Madrid's "Atletico", which also cannot complain about the attention of fans, despite often disappointing them with unstable play.
The fewest viewers attended the "Getafe" matches during the season. On average, just over 11,000 fans attended the matches of this team.
MOST MISCONDUCTS
Ander Herrera ("Zaragoza") - 17 points (13 yellow cards, 2 red cards)
Eliseu ("Malaga"), Daniel Diaz ("Getafe"), Leonardo Ponzio ("Zaragoza"), and Francisco Punal ("Osasuna") - 16 points each
Former "Zaragoza" player, now also the new acquisition of Bilbao "Athletic," became the dirtiest player at the end of the Spanish championship this season. Indeed, a Basque remains a Basque - it is almost not worth doubting that Herrera, who promotes a tough playing style, will fit similarly in the "Athletic" team.
FAIR PLAY RATING
"Barcelona" - 75 points
San Sebastian "Sociedad" - 79 points
La Coruna "Deportivo" - 96 points
The "Barcelona" players, who became champions of Spain, rarely transgressed during the competition and received sanctions for it. In total, "Barca" was shown 71 yellow cards and 2 red cards. Only once were David Villa and Gerard Pique sent off the field.
The San Sebastian "Sociedad" followed closely behind "Barca." By the way, the Basque land team was the only "Primera" team not to receive a single red card throughout the 38 rounds.
The "Zaragoza" team ended up being the most penalized in the "Fair Play" rating, with 138 points. The Aragonese footballers received a total of 120 yellow cards and 9 red cards. Among the most frequently penalized teams were two Valencia clubs - "Valencia" and "Levante" with 127 and 132 points, respectively.
One BALL COSTING €301
Pamplona's "Osasuna" team's fans reduced their team's budget by... €602. The Spanish Football Federation fined the Navarre region team with exactly this amount for throwing two additional balls onto the field during the match in the 21st round with Madrid "Real." In this way, the fans hoped to prolong the match. Their efforts were in vain - the Pamplona team won the match 1-0.
DEJA VU: AN EARLY SENSATION = A TICKET TO "LIGA ADELANTE"
In the second round of the 2010-2011 season, Alicante's "Hercules" eleven "Camp Nou" defeated "Barcelona" 2-0. Although a majority of the Catalan team's players had recently returned from their national teams, this fact didn't bother them - "Hercules" victory remained a victory. However, it is likely not in vain that it is said, "the one who laughs last laughs best." In the second round, "Barcelona" took revenge on the upstarts, later won the national championship, and "Hercules" ended the season with a flight to the second division of Spain. A similar fate befell the "Numancia" team in the 2008-2009 season. Just promoted to the "Primera" division, the Sorian team forced "Barca" to surrender 1-0 in the very first match of the championship, but the season ended with a triumph for the Catalan club, while "Numancia" dropped to "Liga Adelante".
The 2011-2012 season in Spain will start a week earlier than usual, on August 21.
