THE USURPER LEAGUELa Liga 1985/86.
Without the usual suspects.
Real Zaragoza win our alternative 1985/86 La Liga on 41 points from 30 matches. Athletic Club follow on 41 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 4th, rather than first.
The 1985/86 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 | Real Zaragoza | 30 | 15 | 11 | 4 | +22 | 41 |
| 2 | Athletic Club | 30 | 16 | 9 | 5 | +17 | 41 |
| 3 | Atlético Madrid | 30 | 16 | 8 | 6 | +17 | 40 |
| 4 | Sporting Gijón | 30 | 13 | 14 | 3 | +15 | 40 |
| 5 | Real Sociedad | 30 | 15 | 5 | 10 | +15 | 35 |
| 6 | Sevilla FC | 30 | 12 | 7 | 11 | +6 | 31 |
| 7 | Real Betis | 30 | 10 | 11 | 9 | +2 | 31 |
| 8 | Real Valladolid | 30 | 12 | 5 | 13 | +10 | 29 |
| 9 | Racing Santander | 30 | 10 | 9 | 11 | +2 | 29 |
| 10 | Espanyol | 30 | 10 | 8 | 12 | +5 | 28 |
| 11 | Osasuna | 30 | 9 | 8 | 13 | -5 | 26 |
| 12 | Cádiz CF | 30 | 9 | 8 | 13 | -21 | 26 |
| 13 | Valencia | 30 | 8 | 9 | 13 | -12 | 25 |
| 14 | UD Las Palmas | 30 | 7 | 9 | 14 | -26 | 23 |
| 15 | Hércules CF | 30 | 8 | 6 | 16 | -17 | 22 |
| 16 | Celta Vigo | 30 | 5 | 3 | 22 | -30 | 13 |
What changed?
With every club present, Real Madrid lead our all-club calculation. Without the two excluded clubs, Real Zaragoza 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 1985/86. Remaining clubs keep their recorded results.
See the all-club calculation (for comparison)
| # | Club | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Real Madrid | 34 | 26 | 4 | 4 | +50 | 56 |
| 2 | FC Barcelona | 34 | 18 | 9 | 7 | +25 | 45 |
| 3 | Athletic Club | 34 | 17 | 9 | 8 | +13 | 43 |
| 4 | Real Zaragoza | 34 | 15 | 12 | 7 | +17 | 42 |
| 5 | Atlético Madrid | 34 | 17 | 8 | 9 | +15 | 42 |
| 6 | Sporting Gijón | 34 | 13 | 15 | 6 | +10 | 41 |
| 7 | Real Sociedad | 34 | 17 | 5 | 12 | +13 | 39 |
| 8 | Real Betis | 34 | 11 | 13 | 10 | 0 | 35 |
| 9 | Sevilla FC | 34 | 12 | 10 | 12 | +5 | 34 |
| 10 | Real Valladolid | 34 | 13 | 6 | 15 | +6 | 32 |
| 11 | Espanyol | 34 | 11 | 9 | 14 | +3 | 31 |
| 12 | Racing Santander | 34 | 10 | 11 | 13 | -1 | 31 |
| 13 | Osasuna | 34 | 9 | 9 | 16 | -9 | 27 |
| 14 | UD Las Palmas | 34 | 9 | 9 | 16 | -28 | 27 |
| 15 | Cádiz CF | 34 | 9 | 8 | 17 | -28 | 26 |
| 16 | Valencia | 34 | 8 | 9 | 17 | -24 | 25 |
| 17 | Hércules CF | 34 | 8 | 6 | 20 | -27 | 22 |
| 18 | Celta Vigo | 34 | 5 | 4 | 25 | -40 | 14 |
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.