THE USURPER LEAGUELa Liga 2001/02.
Without the usual suspects.
Valencia win our alternative 2001/02 La Liga on 68 points from 34 matches. Deportivo La Coruña follow on 62 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 2001/02 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 | Valencia | 34 | 19 | 11 | 4 | +22 | 68 |
| 2 | Deportivo La Coruña | 34 | 18 | 8 | 8 | +23 | 62 |
| 3 | Celta Vigo | 34 | 15 | 10 | 9 | +18 | 55 |
| 4 | Sevilla FC | 34 | 14 | 11 | 9 | +16 | 53 |
| 5 | Real Betis | 34 | 13 | 13 | 8 | +8 | 52 |
| 6 | Málaga | 34 | 13 | 11 | 10 | +4 | 50 |
| 7 | Alavés | 34 | 16 | 2 | 16 | -2 | 50 |
| 8 | Athletic Club | 34 | 12 | 11 | 11 | -10 | 47 |
| 9 | Rayo Vallecano | 34 | 12 | 9 | 13 | -2 | 45 |
| 10 | Real Sociedad | 34 | 12 | 8 | 14 | -3 | 44 |
| 11 | Real Valladolid | 34 | 12 | 8 | 14 | -9 | 44 |
| 12 | Villarreal | 34 | 11 | 10 | 13 | -1 | 43 |
| 13 | Espanyol | 34 | 11 | 8 | 15 | -6 | 41 |
| 14 | RCD Mallorca | 34 | 11 | 7 | 16 | -9 | 40 |
| 15 | CD Tenerife | 34 | 10 | 8 | 16 | -13 | 38 |
| 16 | UD Las Palmas | 34 | 8 | 11 | 15 | -5 | 35 |
| 17 | Osasuna | 34 | 8 | 11 | 15 | -15 | 35 |
| 18 | Real Zaragoza | 34 | 8 | 9 | 17 | -16 | 33 |
What changed?
With every club present, Valencia lead our all-club calculation. Without the two excluded clubs, Valencia 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 2001/02. Remaining clubs keep their recorded results.
See the all-club calculation (for comparison)
| # | Club | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Valencia | 38 | 21 | 12 | 5 | +24 | 75 |
| 2 | Deportivo La Coruña | 38 | 20 | 8 | 10 | +24 | 68 |
| 3 | Real Madrid | 38 | 19 | 9 | 10 | +25 | 66 |
| 4 | FC Barcelona | 38 | 18 | 10 | 10 | +28 | 64 |
| 5 | Celta Vigo | 38 | 16 | 12 | 10 | +18 | 60 |
| 6 | Real Betis | 38 | 15 | 14 | 9 | +8 | 59 |
| 7 | Alavés | 38 | 17 | 3 | 18 | -3 | 54 |
| 8 | Sevilla FC | 38 | 14 | 11 | 13 | +11 | 53 |
| 9 | Málaga | 38 | 13 | 14 | 11 | 0 | 53 |
| 10 | Athletic Club | 38 | 14 | 11 | 13 | -12 | 53 |
| 11 | Rayo Vallecano | 38 | 13 | 10 | 15 | -6 | 49 |
| 12 | Real Valladolid | 38 | 13 | 9 | 16 | -13 | 48 |
| 13 | Real Sociedad | 38 | 13 | 8 | 17 | -6 | 47 |
| 14 | Espanyol | 38 | 13 | 8 | 17 | -9 | 47 |
| 15 | Villarreal | 38 | 11 | 10 | 17 | -9 | 43 |
| 16 | RCD Mallorca | 38 | 11 | 10 | 17 | -12 | 43 |
| 17 | Osasuna | 38 | 10 | 12 | 16 | -13 | 42 |
| 18 | UD Las Palmas | 38 | 9 | 13 | 16 | -10 | 40 |
| 19 | CD Tenerife | 38 | 10 | 8 | 20 | -26 | 38 |
| 20 | Real Zaragoza | 38 | 9 | 10 | 19 | -19 | 37 |
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.