THE USURPER LEAGUELa Liga 1929/30.
Without the usual suspects.
Athletic Club win our alternative 1929/30 La Liga on 23 points from 14 matches. Arenas Club follow on 18 points. That's a 5-point lead over second place. The scores are real. The trophy, regrettably, is not.
Yes, the two biggest clubs are very good at football. We know. For this table, we've removed every match involving Real Madrid or FC Barcelona. The remaining fixtures keep their actual scores. In our full-league calculation they were 1st, rather than first.
The 1929/30 table, without Madrid or Barça
Every match against either excluded club has been removed, including its points, goals and games played.
| # | Club | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Athletic Club | 14 | 9 | 5 | 0 | +32 | 23 |
| 2 | Arenas Club | 14 | 8 | 2 | 4 | +14 | 18 |
| 3 | Real Unión Club | 14 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 15 |
| 4 | Espanyol | 14 | 6 | 2 | 6 | -5 | 14 |
| 5 | CE Europa | 14 | 6 | 1 | 7 | -5 | 13 |
| 6 | Real Sociedad | 14 | 4 | 3 | 7 | -3 | 11 |
| 7 | Racing Santander | 14 | 5 | 0 | 9 | -18 | 10 |
| 8 | Atlético Madrid | 14 | 3 | 2 | 9 | -15 | 8 |
What changed?
With every club present, Athletic Club lead our all-club calculation. Without the two excluded clubs, Athletic Club finish first. Nobody has been awarded invented wins or imaginary goals.
The rules. Such as they are.
34 matches involving Real Madrid or FC Barcelona were removed. Victories were worth 2 points under the rules of 1929/30. Remaining clubs keep their recorded results.
See the all-club calculation (for comparison)
| # | Club | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Athletic Club | 18 | 12 | 6 | 0 | +35 | 30 |
| 2 | FC Barcelona | 18 | 11 | 1 | 6 | +10 | 23 |
| 3 | Arenas Club | 18 | 9 | 2 | 7 | +11 | 20 |
| 4 | Espanyol | 18 | 9 | 2 | 7 | +7 | 20 |
| 5 | Real Madrid | 18 | 7 | 3 | 8 | +3 | 17 |
| 6 | Real Unión Club | 18 | 6 | 5 | 7 | -4 | 17 |
| 7 | Real Sociedad | 18 | 5 | 4 | 9 | -3 | 14 |
| 8 | Racing Santander | 18 | 7 | 0 | 11 | -26 | 14 |
| 9 | CE Europa | 18 | 6 | 1 | 11 | -15 | 13 |
| 10 | Atlético Madrid | 18 | 5 | 2 | 11 | -18 | 12 |
A note about the numbers
These are independent recalculations, not official LaLiga standings. Positions are ordered by points, goal difference and goals scored. Historic points deductions and the league's official head-to-head tiebreakers aren't recreated, so some rankings may differ from the official record.
Underlying match results: Jack-Tilley/es-espana (CC0 archive). Each match involving Madrid or Barça is excluded in full. Season-specific gaps and formats are noted where relevant.
Feel like arguing about the result? Good. That's rather the point.