THE USURPER LEAGUELa Liga 1983/84.
Without the usual suspects.
Athletic Club win our alternative 1983/84 La Liga on 46 points from 30 matches. Atlético Madrid follow on 40 points. That's a 6-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 1983/84 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 | 19 | 8 | 3 | +27 | 46 |
| 2 | Atlético Madrid | 30 | 16 | 8 | 6 | +12 | 40 |
| 3 | Real Sociedad | 30 | 14 | 7 | 9 | +11 | 35 |
| 4 | Real Betis | 30 | 16 | 3 | 11 | +6 | 35 |
| 5 | Real Zaragoza | 30 | 11 | 10 | 9 | +9 | 32 |
| 6 | Real Murcia CF | 30 | 10 | 11 | 9 | +8 | 31 |
| 7 | Málaga | 30 | 10 | 11 | 9 | +5 | 31 |
| 8 | Espanyol | 30 | 9 | 13 | 8 | +2 | 31 |
| 9 | Sporting Gijón | 30 | 11 | 7 | 12 | -3 | 29 |
| 10 | Sevilla FC | 30 | 11 | 7 | 12 | -4 | 29 |
| 11 | Valencia | 30 | 11 | 6 | 13 | -1 | 28 |
| 12 | Real Valladolid | 30 | 10 | 7 | 13 | -9 | 27 |
| 13 | Osasuna | 30 | 10 | 5 | 15 | -13 | 25 |
| 14 | Cádiz CF | 30 | 6 | 9 | 15 | -7 | 21 |
| 15 | UD Salamanca | 30 | 5 | 10 | 15 | -21 | 20 |
| 16 | RCD Mallorca | 30 | 3 | 14 | 13 | -22 | 20 |
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.
66 matches involving Real Madrid or FC Barcelona were removed. Victories were worth 2 points under the rules of 1983/84. Remaining clubs keep their recorded results.
See the all-club calculation (for comparison)
| # | Club | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Athletic Club | 34 | 20 | 9 | 5 | +23 | 49 |
| 2 | Real Madrid | 34 | 22 | 5 | 7 | +22 | 49 |
| 3 | FC Barcelona | 34 | 20 | 8 | 6 | +34 | 48 |
| 4 | Atlético Madrid | 34 | 17 | 8 | 9 | +6 | 42 |
| 5 | Real Betis | 34 | 17 | 4 | 13 | +5 | 38 |
| 6 | Real Sociedad | 34 | 14 | 9 | 11 | +8 | 37 |
| 7 | Real Zaragoza | 34 | 12 | 11 | 11 | +9 | 35 |
| 8 | Sevilla FC | 34 | 13 | 8 | 13 | -1 | 34 |
| 9 | Málaga | 34 | 11 | 11 | 12 | +6 | 33 |
| 10 | Espanyol | 34 | 10 | 13 | 11 | -2 | 33 |
| 11 | Real Murcia CF | 34 | 10 | 12 | 12 | +4 | 32 |
| 12 | Valencia | 34 | 12 | 8 | 14 | -2 | 32 |
| 13 | Sporting Gijón | 34 | 11 | 8 | 15 | -9 | 30 |
| 14 | Real Valladolid | 34 | 11 | 7 | 16 | -16 | 29 |
| 15 | Osasuna | 34 | 11 | 6 | 17 | -14 | 28 |
| 16 | Cádiz CF | 34 | 6 | 10 | 18 | -15 | 22 |
| 17 | RCD Mallorca | 34 | 3 | 15 | 16 | -29 | 21 |
| 18 | UD Salamanca | 34 | 5 | 10 | 19 | -29 | 20 |
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.