THE USURPER LEAGUELa Liga 1973/74.
Without the usual suspects.
Atlético Madrid win our alternative 1973/74 La Liga on 40 points from 30 matches. Real Zaragoza follow on 37 points. That's a 3-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 1973/74 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 | Atlético Madrid | 30 | 17 | 6 | 7 | +22 | 40 |
| 2 | Real Zaragoza | 30 | 15 | 7 | 8 | +18 | 37 |
| 3 | Real Sociedad | 30 | 15 | 6 | 9 | +5 | 36 |
| 4 | Athletic Club | 30 | 14 | 6 | 10 | +6 | 34 |
| 5 | Granada CF | 30 | 11 | 10 | 9 | +2 | 32 |
| 6 | Málaga | 30 | 11 | 10 | 9 | +2 | 32 |
| 7 | Valencia | 30 | 12 | 7 | 11 | +11 | 31 |
| 8 | Espanyol | 30 | 12 | 7 | 11 | -1 | 31 |
| 9 | UD Las Palmas | 30 | 12 | 5 | 13 | -1 | 29 |
| 10 | Sporting Gijón | 30 | 12 | 3 | 15 | -5 | 27 |
| 11 | Real Murcia CF | 30 | 10 | 7 | 13 | -8 | 27 |
| 12 | Celta Vigo | 30 | 10 | 6 | 14 | 0 | 26 |
| 13 | CD Castellón | 30 | 8 | 10 | 12 | -13 | 26 |
| 14 | Elche | 30 | 9 | 7 | 14 | -7 | 25 |
| 15 | Racing Santander | 30 | 7 | 10 | 13 | -16 | 24 |
| 16 | Real Oviedo | 30 | 9 | 5 | 16 | -15 | 23 |
What changed?
With every club present, FC Barcelona lead our all-club calculation. Without the two excluded clubs, Atlético Madrid finish first. Nobody has been awarded invented wins or imaginary goals.
The rules. Such as they are.
66 matches involving Real Madrid or FC Barcelona were removed. Victories were worth 2 points under the rules of 1973/74. Remaining clubs keep their recorded results.
See the all-club calculation (for comparison)
| # | Club | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | FC Barcelona | 34 | 21 | 8 | 5 | +51 | 50 |
| 2 | Atlético Madrid | 34 | 18 | 6 | 10 | +19 | 42 |
| 3 | Real Zaragoza | 34 | 16 | 8 | 10 | +13 | 40 |
| 4 | Real Sociedad | 34 | 16 | 7 | 11 | +1 | 39 |
| 5 | Athletic Club | 34 | 15 | 7 | 12 | +4 | 37 |
| 6 | Granada CF | 34 | 12 | 12 | 10 | -1 | 36 |
| 7 | Málaga | 34 | 12 | 12 | 10 | -1 | 36 |
| 8 | Real Madrid | 34 | 13 | 8 | 13 | +10 | 34 |
| 9 | Espanyol | 34 | 13 | 8 | 13 | -4 | 34 |
| 10 | Valencia | 34 | 13 | 7 | 14 | +8 | 33 |
| 11 | UD Las Palmas | 34 | 14 | 5 | 15 | -7 | 33 |
| 12 | Celta Vigo | 34 | 12 | 6 | 16 | -6 | 30 |
| 13 | Sporting Gijón | 34 | 13 | 4 | 17 | -10 | 30 |
| 14 | Elche | 34 | 11 | 7 | 16 | -8 | 29 |
| 15 | Real Murcia CF | 34 | 10 | 9 | 15 | -10 | 29 |
| 16 | CD Castellón | 34 | 9 | 11 | 14 | -18 | 29 |
| 17 | Racing Santander | 34 | 8 | 11 | 15 | -18 | 27 |
| 18 | Real Oviedo | 34 | 9 | 6 | 19 | -23 | 24 |
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.