THE USURPER LEAGUELa Liga 1977/78.
Without the usual suspects.
Athletic Club win our alternative 1977/78 La Liga on 37 points from 30 matches. Sporting Gijón follow on 37 points. It's level on points at the top; goal difference and goals scored settle our recalculated order.
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 3rd, rather than first.
The 1977/78 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 | 30 | 15 | 7 | 8 | +27 | 37 |
| 2 | Sporting Gijón | 30 | 14 | 9 | 7 | +13 | 37 |
| 3 | Valencia | 30 | 14 | 7 | 9 | +20 | 35 |
| 4 | Atlético Madrid | 30 | 15 | 4 | 11 | +13 | 34 |
| 5 | Real Sociedad | 30 | 12 | 9 | 9 | +14 | 33 |
| 6 | UD Las Palmas | 30 | 12 | 9 | 9 | +8 | 33 |
| 7 | Sevilla FC | 30 | 12 | 7 | 11 | -3 | 31 |
| 8 | UD Salamanca | 30 | 12 | 5 | 13 | -3 | 29 |
| 9 | Hércules CF | 30 | 9 | 10 | 11 | -4 | 28 |
| 10 | Espanyol | 30 | 12 | 4 | 14 | -8 | 28 |
| 11 | Rayo Vallecano | 30 | 10 | 8 | 12 | -8 | 28 |
| 12 | Burgos CF | 30 | 9 | 10 | 11 | -9 | 28 |
| 13 | Racing Santander | 30 | 10 | 8 | 12 | -12 | 28 |
| 14 | Real Betis | 30 | 10 | 7 | 13 | +2 | 27 |
| 15 | Elche | 30 | 10 | 5 | 15 | -14 | 25 |
| 16 | Cádiz CF | 30 | 6 | 7 | 17 | -36 | 19 |
What changed?
With every club present, Real Madrid 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.
66 matches involving Real Madrid or FC Barcelona were removed. Victories were worth 2 points under the rules of 1977/78. Remaining clubs keep their recorded results.
See the all-club calculation (for comparison)
| # | Club | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Real Madrid | 34 | 22 | 3 | 9 | +37 | 47 |
| 2 | FC Barcelona | 34 | 16 | 9 | 9 | +20 | 41 |
| 3 | Athletic Club | 34 | 16 | 8 | 10 | +26 | 40 |
| 4 | Valencia | 34 | 16 | 7 | 11 | +21 | 39 |
| 5 | Sporting Gijón | 34 | 15 | 9 | 10 | +10 | 39 |
| 6 | Atlético Madrid | 34 | 16 | 4 | 14 | +9 | 36 |
| 7 | UD Las Palmas | 34 | 12 | 11 | 11 | +2 | 35 |
| 8 | UD Salamanca | 34 | 14 | 6 | 14 | -3 | 34 |
| 9 | Sevilla FC | 34 | 13 | 8 | 13 | -7 | 34 |
| 10 | Real Sociedad | 34 | 12 | 9 | 13 | +6 | 33 |
| 11 | Rayo Vallecano | 34 | 12 | 9 | 13 | -9 | 33 |
| 12 | Burgos CF | 34 | 10 | 11 | 13 | -14 | 31 |
| 13 | Racing Santander | 34 | 11 | 9 | 14 | -16 | 31 |
| 14 | Real Betis | 34 | 11 | 8 | 15 | -1 | 30 |
| 15 | Hércules CF | 34 | 10 | 10 | 14 | -8 | 30 |
| 16 | Espanyol | 34 | 12 | 6 | 16 | -12 | 30 |
| 17 | Elche | 34 | 11 | 5 | 18 | -22 | 27 |
| 18 | Cádiz CF | 34 | 7 | 8 | 19 | -39 | 22 |
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.