THE USURPER LEAGUELa Liga 1951/52.
Without the usual suspects.
Athletic Club win our alternative 1951/52 La Liga on 38 points from 26 matches. Atlético Madrid follow on 34 points. That's a 4-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 2nd, rather than first.
The 1951/52 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 | 26 | 17 | 4 | 5 | +36 | 38 |
| 2 | Atlético Madrid | 26 | 15 | 4 | 7 | +26 | 34 |
| 3 | Valencia | 26 | 13 | 4 | 9 | +16 | 30 |
| 4 | Espanyol | 26 | 12 | 4 | 10 | +12 | 28 |
| 5 | Sevilla FC | 26 | 12 | 4 | 10 | +11 | 28 |
| 6 | Celta Vigo | 26 | 11 | 3 | 12 | +6 | 25 |
| 7 | Real Valladolid | 26 | 8 | 9 | 9 | +5 | 25 |
| 8 | Racing Santander | 26 | 9 | 7 | 10 | -6 | 25 |
| 9 | Real Zaragoza | 26 | 10 | 4 | 12 | -13 | 24 |
| 10 | Sporting Gijón | 26 | 9 | 5 | 12 | -13 | 23 |
| 11 | Deportivo La Coruña | 26 | 10 | 3 | 13 | -18 | 23 |
| 12 | UD Las Palmas | 26 | 9 | 4 | 13 | -33 | 22 |
| 13 | Real Sociedad | 26 | 9 | 3 | 14 | -1 | 21 |
| 14 | Atético Tetuán | 26 | 7 | 4 | 15 | -28 | 18 |
What changed?
With every club present, FC Barcelona 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.
58 matches involving Real Madrid or FC Barcelona were removed. Victories were worth 2 points under the rules of 1951/52. Remaining clubs keep their recorded results.
See the all-club calculation (for comparison)
| # | Club | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | FC Barcelona | 30 | 19 | 5 | 6 | +49 | 43 |
| 2 | Athletic Club | 30 | 17 | 6 | 7 | +32 | 40 |
| 3 | Real Madrid | 30 | 16 | 6 | 8 | +29 | 38 |
| 4 | Atlético Madrid | 30 | 16 | 5 | 9 | +23 | 37 |
| 5 | Valencia | 30 | 15 | 5 | 10 | +17 | 35 |
| 6 | Sevilla FC | 30 | 14 | 4 | 12 | +12 | 32 |
| 7 | Espanyol | 30 | 14 | 4 | 12 | +7 | 32 |
| 8 | Real Valladolid | 30 | 9 | 11 | 10 | +4 | 29 |
| 9 | Celta Vigo | 30 | 12 | 3 | 15 | -2 | 27 |
| 10 | Real Sociedad | 30 | 11 | 4 | 15 | +1 | 26 |
| 11 | Real Zaragoza | 30 | 10 | 5 | 15 | -19 | 25 |
| 12 | Racing Santander | 30 | 9 | 7 | 14 | -20 | 25 |
| 13 | Deportivo La Coruña | 30 | 10 | 5 | 15 | -24 | 25 |
| 14 | Sporting Gijón | 30 | 10 | 5 | 15 | -26 | 25 |
| 15 | UD Las Palmas | 30 | 9 | 4 | 17 | -49 | 22 |
| 16 | Atético Tetuán | 30 | 7 | 5 | 18 | -34 | 19 |
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.