THE USURPER LEAGUELa Liga 1997/98.
Without the usual suspects.
Athletic Club win our alternative 1997/98 La Liga on 60 points from 34 matches. Real Sociedad follow on 59 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 2nd, rather than first.
The 1997/98 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 | 34 | 16 | 12 | 6 | +11 | 60 |
| 2 | Real Sociedad | 34 | 15 | 14 | 5 | +26 | 59 |
| 3 | RCD Mallorca | 34 | 16 | 10 | 8 | +19 | 58 |
| 4 | Atlético Madrid | 34 | 15 | 10 | 9 | +22 | 55 |
| 5 | Celta Vigo | 34 | 15 | 9 | 10 | +7 | 54 |
| 6 | Real Betis | 34 | 15 | 8 | 11 | -1 | 53 |
| 7 | Espanyol | 34 | 11 | 16 | 7 | +15 | 49 |
| 8 | Valencia | 34 | 14 | 7 | 13 | +9 | 49 |
| 9 | Real Valladolid | 34 | 12 | 10 | 12 | -9 | 46 |
| 10 | Deportivo La Coruña | 34 | 11 | 11 | 12 | -3 | 44 |
| 11 | Racing Santander | 34 | 12 | 8 | 14 | -4 | 44 |
| 12 | Real Zaragoza | 34 | 11 | 11 | 12 | -8 | 44 |
| 13 | SD Compostela | 34 | 11 | 10 | 13 | -6 | 43 |
| 14 | CD Tenerife | 34 | 10 | 11 | 13 | -10 | 41 |
| 15 | UD Salamanca | 34 | 10 | 9 | 15 | -1 | 39 |
| 16 | CP Mérida | 34 | 9 | 11 | 14 | -16 | 38 |
| 17 | Real Oviedo | 34 | 8 | 12 | 14 | -11 | 36 |
| 18 | Sporting Gijón | 34 | 2 | 7 | 25 | -40 | 13 |
What changed?
With every club present, FC Barcelona 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.
74 matches involving Real Madrid or FC Barcelona were removed. Victories were worth 3 points under the rules of 1997/98. Remaining clubs keep their recorded results.
See the all-club calculation (for comparison)
| # | Club | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | FC Barcelona | 38 | 23 | 5 | 10 | +22 | 74 |
| 2 | Athletic Club | 38 | 17 | 14 | 7 | +10 | 65 |
| 3 | Real Sociedad | 38 | 16 | 15 | 7 | +23 | 63 |
| 4 | Real Madrid | 38 | 17 | 12 | 9 | +18 | 63 |
| 5 | Atlético Madrid | 38 | 16 | 12 | 10 | +23 | 60 |
| 6 | RCD Mallorca | 38 | 16 | 12 | 10 | +16 | 60 |
| 7 | Celta Vigo | 38 | 17 | 9 | 12 | +7 | 60 |
| 8 | Real Betis | 38 | 17 | 8 | 13 | -1 | 59 |
| 9 | Valencia | 38 | 16 | 7 | 15 | +6 | 55 |
| 10 | Espanyol | 38 | 12 | 17 | 9 | +13 | 53 |
| 11 | Real Valladolid | 38 | 13 | 11 | 14 | -11 | 50 |
| 12 | Deportivo La Coruña | 38 | 12 | 13 | 13 | -2 | 49 |
| 13 | Real Zaragoza | 38 | 12 | 12 | 14 | -8 | 48 |
| 14 | UD Salamanca | 38 | 12 | 9 | 17 | 0 | 45 |
| 15 | Racing Santander | 38 | 12 | 9 | 17 | -9 | 45 |
| 16 | CD Tenerife | 38 | 11 | 12 | 15 | -13 | 45 |
| 17 | SD Compostela | 38 | 11 | 11 | 16 | -10 | 44 |
| 18 | Real Oviedo | 38 | 9 | 13 | 16 | -15 | 40 |
| 19 | CP Mérida | 38 | 9 | 12 | 17 | -20 | 39 |
| 20 | Sporting Gijón | 38 | 2 | 7 | 29 | -49 | 13 |
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.