THE USURPER LEAGUELa Liga 1978/79.
Without the usual suspects.
Sporting Gijón win our alternative 1978/79 La Liga on 41 points from 30 matches. Atlético Madrid follow on 36 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 2nd, rather than first.
The 1978/79 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 | Sporting Gijón | 30 | 16 | 9 | 5 | +21 | 41 |
| 2 | Atlético Madrid | 30 | 13 | 10 | 7 | +16 | 36 |
| 3 | Real Sociedad | 30 | 16 | 4 | 10 | +14 | 36 |
| 4 | UD Las Palmas | 30 | 13 | 7 | 10 | +9 | 33 |
| 5 | Espanyol | 30 | 15 | 3 | 12 | -6 | 33 |
| 6 | Valencia | 30 | 13 | 6 | 11 | +6 | 32 |
| 7 | Athletic Club | 30 | 11 | 9 | 10 | +10 | 31 |
| 8 | UD Salamanca | 30 | 12 | 7 | 11 | 0 | 31 |
| 9 | Hércules CF | 30 | 13 | 5 | 12 | 0 | 31 |
| 10 | Sevilla FC | 30 | 11 | 7 | 12 | -1 | 29 |
| 11 | Burgos CF | 30 | 9 | 11 | 10 | -5 | 29 |
| 12 | Real Zaragoza | 30 | 11 | 5 | 14 | +2 | 27 |
| 13 | Rayo Vallecano | 30 | 9 | 9 | 12 | -11 | 27 |
| 14 | Celta Vigo | 30 | 8 | 9 | 13 | -13 | 25 |
| 15 | Recreativo Huelva | 30 | 8 | 4 | 18 | -20 | 20 |
| 16 | Racing Santander | 30 | 8 | 3 | 19 | -22 | 19 |
What changed?
With every club present, Real Madrid lead our all-club calculation. Without the two excluded clubs, Sporting Gijón 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 1978/79. Remaining clubs keep their recorded results.
See the all-club calculation (for comparison)
| # | Club | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Real Madrid | 34 | 16 | 15 | 3 | +25 | 47 |
| 2 | Sporting Gijón | 34 | 17 | 9 | 8 | +15 | 43 |
| 3 | Atlético Madrid | 34 | 14 | 13 | 7 | +18 | 41 |
| 4 | Real Sociedad | 34 | 18 | 5 | 11 | +17 | 41 |
| 5 | FC Barcelona | 34 | 16 | 6 | 12 | +32 | 38 |
| 6 | UD Las Palmas | 34 | 14 | 9 | 11 | +6 | 37 |
| 7 | Valencia | 34 | 14 | 7 | 13 | +5 | 35 |
| 8 | Espanyol | 34 | 15 | 5 | 14 | -9 | 35 |
| 9 | Athletic Club | 34 | 12 | 10 | 12 | +10 | 34 |
| 10 | UD Salamanca | 34 | 13 | 8 | 13 | -4 | 34 |
| 11 | Sevilla FC | 34 | 12 | 9 | 13 | -1 | 33 |
| 12 | Hércules CF | 34 | 13 | 6 | 15 | -6 | 32 |
| 13 | Burgos CF | 34 | 10 | 12 | 12 | -9 | 32 |
| 14 | Real Zaragoza | 34 | 12 | 6 | 16 | -3 | 30 |
| 15 | Rayo Vallecano | 34 | 9 | 11 | 14 | -23 | 29 |
| 16 | Celta Vigo | 34 | 9 | 10 | 15 | -20 | 28 |
| 17 | Racing Santander | 34 | 9 | 4 | 21 | -26 | 22 |
| 18 | Recreativo Huelva | 34 | 8 | 5 | 21 | -27 | 21 |
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.