THE USURPER LEAGUELa Liga 1996/97.
Without the usual suspects.
Deportivo La Coruña win our alternative 1996/97 La Liga on 76 points from 38 matches. Real Betis follow on 75 points. That's a 1-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 4th, rather than first.
The 1996/97 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 | Deportivo La Coruña | 38 | 21 | 13 | 4 | +30 | 76 |
| 2 | Real Betis | 38 | 21 | 12 | 5 | +40 | 75 |
| 3 | Atlético Madrid | 38 | 20 | 10 | 8 | +20 | 70 |
| 4 | Real Valladolid | 38 | 17 | 9 | 12 | +15 | 60 |
| 5 | Real Sociedad | 38 | 17 | 9 | 12 | +8 | 60 |
| 6 | Athletic Club | 38 | 14 | 16 | 8 | +16 | 58 |
| 7 | Valencia | 38 | 15 | 9 | 14 | +7 | 54 |
| 8 | SD Compostela | 38 | 13 | 13 | 12 | -5 | 52 |
| 9 | CD Tenerife | 38 | 14 | 8 | 16 | +8 | 50 |
| 10 | Real Zaragoza | 38 | 12 | 14 | 12 | 0 | 50 |
| 11 | Sporting Gijón | 38 | 13 | 10 | 15 | -11 | 49 |
| 12 | Racing Santander | 38 | 11 | 15 | 12 | 0 | 48 |
| 13 | Espanyol | 38 | 13 | 9 | 16 | -3 | 48 |
| 14 | Real Oviedo | 38 | 12 | 11 | 15 | -8 | 47 |
| 15 | Celta Vigo | 38 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 0 | 46 |
| 16 | Sevilla FC | 38 | 12 | 7 | 19 | -10 | 43 |
| 17 | CF Extremadura | 38 | 11 | 10 | 17 | -19 | 43 |
| 18 | Rayo Vallecano | 38 | 12 | 6 | 20 | -12 | 42 |
| 19 | Hércules CF | 38 | 10 | 5 | 23 | -35 | 35 |
| 20 | CD Logroñés | 38 | 9 | 5 | 24 | -41 | 32 |
What changed?
With every club present, Real Madrid lead our all-club calculation. Without the two excluded clubs, Deportivo La Coruña finish first. Nobody has been awarded invented wins or imaginary goals.
The rules. Such as they are.
82 matches involving Real Madrid or FC Barcelona were removed. Victories were worth 3 points under the rules of 1996/97. Remaining clubs keep their recorded results.
See the all-club calculation (for comparison)
| # | Club | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Real Madrid | 42 | 27 | 11 | 4 | +49 | 92 |
| 2 | FC Barcelona | 42 | 28 | 6 | 8 | +54 | 90 |
| 3 | Real Betis | 42 | 21 | 14 | 7 | +35 | 77 |
| 4 | Deportivo La Coruña | 42 | 21 | 14 | 7 | +27 | 77 |
| 5 | Atlético Madrid | 42 | 20 | 11 | 11 | +12 | 71 |
| 6 | Athletic Club | 42 | 16 | 16 | 10 | +15 | 64 |
| 7 | Real Valladolid | 42 | 18 | 10 | 14 | +11 | 64 |
| 8 | Real Sociedad | 42 | 18 | 9 | 15 | +3 | 63 |
| 9 | CD Tenerife | 42 | 15 | 11 | 16 | +12 | 56 |
| 10 | Valencia | 42 | 15 | 11 | 16 | +4 | 56 |
| 11 | SD Compostela | 42 | 13 | 14 | 15 | -13 | 53 |
| 12 | Espanyol | 42 | 14 | 9 | 19 | -6 | 51 |
| 13 | Racing Santander | 42 | 11 | 17 | 14 | -2 | 50 |
| 14 | Real Zaragoza | 42 | 12 | 14 | 16 | -8 | 50 |
| 15 | Sporting Gijón | 42 | 13 | 11 | 18 | -18 | 50 |
| 16 | Celta Vigo | 42 | 12 | 13 | 17 | -3 | 49 |
| 17 | Real Oviedo | 42 | 12 | 12 | 18 | -16 | 48 |
| 18 | Rayo Vallecano | 42 | 13 | 6 | 23 | -19 | 45 |
| 19 | CF Extremadura | 42 | 11 | 11 | 20 | -29 | 44 |
| 20 | Sevilla FC | 42 | 12 | 7 | 23 | -19 | 43 |
| 21 | Hércules CF | 42 | 12 | 5 | 25 | -37 | 41 |
| 22 | CD Logroñés | 42 | 9 | 6 | 27 | -52 | 33 |
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.