2008–09 La Liga

The 2008–09 La Liga season (known as the Liga BBVA for sponsorship reasons) was the 78th since its establishment. Real Madrid were the defending champions, having won their 31st La Liga title in the previous season. The campaign began on 30 August 2008 and ended on 31 May 2009. A total of 20 teams contested the league, 17 of which already contested in the 2007–08 season, and three of which were promoted from the Segunda División. A new match ball – the Nike T90 Omni – served as the official ball for all matches.

La Liga
Season2008–09
Dates30 August 2008 – 31 May 2009
ChampionsBarcelona
19th title
RelegatedBetis
Numancia
Recreativo
Champions LeagueBarcelona (group stage)
Real Madrid (group stage)
Sevilla (group stage)
Atlético Madrid (playoff round)
Europa LeagueVillarreal (playoff round)
Valencia (playoff round)
Athletic Bilbao (third qualifying round) (via Copa del Rey)
Matches played380
Goals scored1,101 (2.9 per match)
Top goalscorerDiego Forlán
(32 goals)
Biggest home winReal Madrid 7–1 Sporting
(24 September 2008)[1]
Barcelona 6–0 Valladolid
(8 November 2008)[2]
Barcelona 6–0 Málaga
(22 March 2009)[3]
Biggest away winSporting 1–6 Barcelona
(21 September 2008)[4]
Highest scoringReal Madrid 7–1 Sporting
(24 September 2008)[1]
Real Madrid 2–6 Barcelona
(2 May 2009)[5]
Deportivo 5–3 Racing
(8 March 2009)[6]
Villarreal 4–4 Atlético Madrid
(26 October 2008)[7]

On 16 May 2009, after Villarreal's 3–2 victory over Real Madrid, Barcelona were declared champions, their 19th La Liga title, with three matches to play. Lionel Messi received the inaugural LaLiga Award for Best Player from the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional.

Promotion and relegation

Real Zaragoza, Real Murcia and Levante were relegated to the 2008–09 Segunda División after finishing in the bottom three spots of the table at the end of the 2007–08 La Liga. Zaragoza were relegated to the Segunda División after five seasons of continuous membership in the top football league of Spain; Levante returned in Segunda División after two-year tenured in La Liga; and Murcia made their immediate return to the second level.

The three relegated teams were replaced by three 2007–08 Segunda División sides. Champions Numancia, who ended their second-level status after three years, runners-up Málaga, who returned to the top flight after two season in the second level, and Sporting de Gijón returned to the highest Spanish league after ten years.

Team information

Stadia and locations
Location of teams in La Liga 2008–09
Team Venue Capacity
Almería Estadio del Mediterráneo 22,000
Athletic Bilbao San Mamés 39,750
Atlético Madrid Vicente Calderón 54,851
Barcelona Camp Nou 98,772
Betis Manuel Ruiz de Lopera 52,132
Deportivo Riazor 34,600
Espanyol Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys 55,926
Getafe Coliseum Alfonso Pérez 16,300
Málaga La Rosaleda 35,530
Mallorca ONO Estadi 23,142
Numancia Los Pajaritos 9,700
Osasuna Estadio Reyno de Navarra 19,553
Racing Santander El Sardinero 22,400
Real Madrid Santiago Bernabéu 80,354
Recreativo Nuevo Colombino 21,600
Sevilla Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán 45,500
Sporting El Molinón 25,885
Valencia Mestalla 55,000
Valladolid Estadio José Zorrilla 26,512
Villarreal El Madrigal 23,000

Personnel and sponsoring
Team Chairman Head Coach Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
Almería Alfonso García Mexico Hugo Sánchez UDA Corredor de Vida/isladelfraile.com
Athletic Bilbao Fernando García Spain Joaquín Caparrós 100% Athletic Petronor
Atlético Madrid Enrique Cerezo Spain Abel Resino Nike Kia
Barcelona Joan Laporta Spain Pep Guardiola Nike UNICEF (*)
Betis Pepe León Spain José María Nogués Kappa Andalucía
Deportivo Augusto Lendoiro Spain Miguel Ángel Lotina Canterbury of New Zealand Estrella Galicia
Espanyol Daniel Sánchez Llibre Argentina Mauricio Pochettino uhlsport Interapuestas.com
Getafe Ángel Torres Spain Míchel Joma Galco
Málaga Fernando Sanz Spain Antonio Tapia Umbro Málaga
Mallorca Mateu Alemany Spain Gregorio Manzano Reial Illes Balears/Viajes Iberia
Numancia Francisco Garcés Spain Juan José Rojo Martín Errea Caja Duero
Osasuna Patxi Izco Spain José Antonio Camacho Diadora Yingli Solar
Racing Santander Francisco Pernía Spain López Muñiz Joma
Real Madrid Vicente Boluda Spain Juande Ramos Adidas Bwin.com
Recreativo Francisco Mendoza Spain Lucas Alcaraz Cejudo Cajasol
Sevilla José María del Nido Spain Manolo Jiménez Joma 888.com
Sporting Manuel Vega-Arango Spain Manolo Preciado Astore Gijón, Asturias
Valencia Vicente Soriano Spain Unai Emery Nike Valencia Experience/Unibet/Compac Encimeras1
Valladolid Carlos Suárez Sureda Spain José Luis Mendilibar Puma Caja Duero
Villarreal Fernando Roig Chile Manuel Pellegrini Puma Aeroport Castelló
  • (*) Barcelona had no shirt sponsor during the 2008–09 season. Instead, following the signing of a five-year agreement with the humanitarian organisation UNICEF in 2006,[8] the club sported the UNICEF logo on the front of its jersey while making an annual donation to the organisation.
  • (1) on the back of the shirt

Managerial changes
Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Replaced by Date of appointment Position in table
Recreativo Spain Manolo Zambrano Sacked 7 October 2008[9] Spain Lucas Alcaraz 7 October 2008[10] 18th
Osasuna Spain José Ángel Ziganda Sacked 13 October 2008[11] Spain José Antonio Camacho 13 October 2008[12] 16th
Espanyol Spain Tintín Márquez Sacked 30 November 2008[13] Spain José Manuel Esnal 1 December 2008[14] 17th
Real Madrid Germany Bernd Schuster Sacked 9 December 2008[15] Spain Juande Ramos 9 December 2008[16] 5th
Almería Spain Gonzalo Arconada Sacked 21 December 2008[17] Mexico Hugo Sánchez 22 December 2008[18] 16th
Espanyol Spain José Manuel Esnal Sacked 20 January 2009[19] Argentina Mauricio Pochettino 20 January 2009[20] 18th
Atlético Madrid Mexico Javier Aguirre Sacked 2 February 2009[21] Spain Abel Resino 2 February 2009[22] 7th
Numancia Croatia Sergije Krešić Sacked 17 February 2009[23] Spain Pacheta 17 February 2009[24] 19th
Betis Spain Paco Chaparro Sacked 6 April 2009[25] Spain José María Nogués 6 April 2009[26] 16th
Getafe Spain Víctor Muñoz Sacked 27 April 2009[27] Spain Míchel 27 April 2009[28] 17th

League table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Barcelona (C) 38 27 6 5 105 35 +70 87 Qualification for the Champions League group stage
2 Real Madrid 38 25 3 10 83 52 +31 78
3 Sevilla 38 21 7 10 54 39 +15 70
4 Atlético Madrid 38 20 7 11 80 57 +23 67 Qualification for the Champions League play-off round
5 Villarreal 38 18 11 9 61 54 +7 65 Qualification for the Europa League play-off round
6 Valencia 38 18 8 12 68 54 +14 62
7 Deportivo La Coruña 38 16 10 12 48 47 +1 58
8 Málaga 38 15 10 13 55 59 −4 55
9 Mallorca 38 14 9 15 53 60 −7 51
10 Espanyol 38 12 11 15 46 49 −3 47
11 Almería 38 13 7 18 45 61 −16 46[lower-alpha 1]
12 Racing Santander 38 12 10 16 49 48 +1 46[lower-alpha 1]
13 Athletic Bilbao 38 12 8 18 47 62 −15 44 Qualification for the Europa League third qualifying round[lower-alpha 2]
14 Sporting Gijón 38 14 1 23 47 79 −32 43[lower-alpha 3]
15 Osasuna 38 10 13 15 41 47 −6 43[lower-alpha 3]
16 Valladolid 38 12 7 19 46 58 −12 43[lower-alpha 3]
17 Getafe 38 10 12 16 50 56 −6 42[lower-alpha 4]
18 Betis (R) 38 10 12 16 51 58 −7 42[lower-alpha 4] Relegation to the Segunda División
19 Numancia (R) 38 10 5 23 38 69 −31 35
20 Recreativo (R) 38 8 9 21 34 57 −23 33
Source: LFP and Yahoo! Sport
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head goals scored; 5) goal difference; 6) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ALM 1–1 RAC; RAC 0–2 ALM
  2. Since Barcelona, winners of the 2008–09 Copa del Rey, already qualified for the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League, losing cup finalists Athletic Bilbao earned a spot in the third qualifying round of the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League.
  3. SPG: 12 pts; OSA: 2 pts → OSA 3–3 VLD; VLD: 2 pts → VLD 0–0 OSA
  4. GET 0–0 BET; BET 2–2 GET
 La Liga 2008–09 winners 
Barcelona
19th title

Results
Home \ Away ALM ATH ATM FCB BET RCD ESP GET MCF MLL NUM OSA RAC RMA REC SFC RSG VCF VLD VIL
Almería 2–1 1–1 0–2 1–0 0–1 0–3 2–1 1–0 2–1 2–1 2–1 1–1 1–1 1–0 0–1 3–1 2–2 3–2 3–0
Athletic Bilbao 1–3 1–4 0–1 1–0 0–1 1–1 0–1 3–2 2–1 2–0 2–0 2–1 2–5 1–1 1–2 3–0 3–2 2–0 1–4
Atlético Madrid 3–0 2–3 4–3 2–0 4–1 3–2 1–1 4–0 2–0 3–0 2–4 4–1 1–2 4–0 0–1 3–1 1–0 1–2 3–2
Barcelona 5–0 2–0 6–1 3–2 5–0 1–2 1–1 6–0 3–1 4–1 0–1 1–1 2–0 2–0 4–0 3–1 4–0 6–0 3–3
Betis 2–0 0–1 0–2 2–2 0–3 1–1 2–2 1–2 3–0 3–3 0–0 3–1 1–2 0–1 0–0 2–0 1–2 1–1 2–2
Deportivo La Coruña 2–0 3–1 1–2 1–1 1–1 1–0 1–1 2–0 0–0 1–0 0–0 5–3 2–1 4–1 1–3 0–3 1–1 1–0 3–0
Espanyol 2–2 1–0 2–3 1–2 2–0 3–1 1–1 3–0 3–3 3–4 1–0 1–0 0–2 1–1 0–2 0–1 3–0 1–0 0–0
Getafe 2–2 1–1 1–2 0–1 0–0 1–2 1–1 1–2 4–1 1–0 3–0 0–1 3–1 2–1 0–2 5–1 0–3 1–0 1–2
Málaga 3–2 0–0 1–1 1–4 1–1 1–1 4–0 2–1 1–1 2–0 4–2 1–0 0–1 0–2 2–2 1–0 0–2 2–1 2–2
Mallorca 2–0 3–3 2–0 2–1 3–3 1–1 3–0 2–1 2–2 2–0 1–1 1–0 0–3 2–3 0–0 0–2 3–1 2–0 2–3
Numancia 2–1 1–2 1–1 1–0 2–4 0–1 0–0 2–0 2–0 0–1 0–0 2–1 0–2 1–0 0–2 2–1 2–1 4–3 1–2
Osasuna 3–1 2–1 0–0 2–3 0–2 0–0 1–0 5–2 2–3 1–0 2–0 0–1 2–1 1–2 0–0 1–2 1–0 3–3 1–1
Racing Santander 0–2 1–1 5–1 1–2 2–3 0–0 3–0 1–1 1–1 1–2 5–0 1–1 0–2 1–1 1–1 1–0 0–1 3–2 1–1
Real Madrid 3–0 3–2 1–1 2–6 6–1 1–0 2–2 3–2 4–3 1–3 4–3 3–1 1–0 1–0 3–4 7–1 1–0 2–0 1–0
Recreativo 1–1 1–1 0–3 0–2 1–0 1–2 0–1 1–1 0–4 2–4 3–1 1–0 0–1 0–1 0–1 2–0 1–1 2–3 1–2
Sevilla 2–1 4–0 1–0 0–3 1–2 1–0 2–0 0–1 0–1 3–1 1–0 1–1 0–2 2–4 1–0 4–3 0–0 4–1 1–0
Sporting Gijón 1–0 1–1 2–5 1–6 1–2 3–2 0–3 1–2 2–1 0–1 3–1 2–1 0–2 0–4 2–1 1–0 2–3 2–1 0–1
Valencia 3–2 2–0 3–1 2–2 3–2 4–2 2–1 4–1 1–1 3–0 4–0 1–0 2–4 3–0 1–1 3–1 2–3 1–2 3–3
Valladolid 2–0 2–1 2–1 0–1 1–3 3–0 1–1 1–0 1–3 3–0 0–0 0–0 0–1 1–0 1–1 3–2 1–2 0–1 0–0
Villarreal 2–1 2–0 4–4 1–2 2–1 1–0 1–0 3–3 0–2 2–0 2–1 1–1 2–0 3–2 2–1 0–2 2–1 3–1 0–3
Source: LFP (in Spanish)
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Awards

LaLiga Awards

For the first time in La Liga's history, its governing body, the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional, honoured the competition's best players and coach with the LaLiga Awards.[29]

Recipient
Best Player Argentina Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Best Coach Spain Pep Guardiola (Barcelona)
Best Goalkeeper Spain Iker Casillas (Real Madrid)
Best Defender Brazil Dani Alves (Barcelona)
Best Midfielder(s) Spain Xavi (Barcelona)
Spain Andrés Iniesta (Barcelona)
Best Forward Argentina Lionel Messi (Barcelona)

Pichichi Trophy

The Pichichi Trophy is awarded to the player who scores the most goals in a season.

Rank Player Club Goals
1 Uruguay Diego Forlán Atlético Madrid 32
2 Cameroon Samuel Eto'o Barcelona 30
3 Spain David Villa Valencia 28
4 Argentina Lionel Messi Barcelona 23
5 Argentina Gonzalo Higuaín Real Madrid 22
6 Spain Álvaro Negredo Almería 19
France Thierry Henry Barcelona
8 Spain Raúl Real Madrid 18
Mali Frédéric Kanouté Sevilla
10 Argentina Sergio Agüero Atlético Madrid 17
11 Spain Joseba Llorente Villarreal 15

Source: Yahoo! Sport

Zamora Trophy

The Zamora Trophy is awarded by newspaper Marca to the goalkeeper with least goals-to-games ratio. A goalkeeper must play at least 28 games of 60 or more minutes to be eligible for the trophy.

Rank Name Club Goals
against		 Matches Average
1 Spain Víctor Valdés Barcelona 31 35 0.89
2 Spain Andrés Palop Sevilla 35 35 1.00
3 Spain Daniel Aranzubia Deportivo 45 37 1.22
4 Spain Toño Racing Santander 41 33 1.24
5 Cameroon Carlos Kameni Espanyol 47 37 1.27

Source: LFP

Assists table
Rank Player Club Assists
1 Spain Xavi Barcelona 20
2 Spain Juan Mata Valencia 13
3 Portugal Duda Málaga 11
Argentina Lionel Messi Barcelona
5 Uruguay Diego Forlán Atlético Madrid 10
Spain Pedro Munitis Racing Santander
7 Argentina Gonzalo Higuaín Real Madrid 9
Argentina Fernando Gago Real Madrid
Spain José Manuel Jurado Mallorca
Venezuela Juan Arango Mallorca
Argentina Sergio Agüero Atlético Madrid
Spain Jesús Navas Sevilla
France Robert Pires Villarreal
Brazil Dani Alves Barcelona

Fair Play award
Rank Club Points
1Barcelona98
2Deportivo102
3Villarreal110
4Recreativo113
5Valladolid114
6Numancia131
Valencia
8Almería132
9Getafe133
10Espanyol134
11Mallorca135
12Atlético Madrid136
Sevilla
14Málaga139
15Osasuna148
Real Madrid
17Athletic Bilbao149
18Racing Santander164
19Betis165
20Sporting de Gijón183
  • Source: 2008–09 Fair Play Rankings Season.[30]

Scoring

Hat-tricks
PlayerForAgainstResultDateReference
Croatia Mate BilićSporting GijónSevilla3–4 (A)13 September 2008
Netherlands Rafael van der VaartReal MadridSporting Gijón7–1 (H)24 September 2008
Cameroon Samuel Eto'oBarcelonaAlmería5–0 (H)25 October 2008
Burundi Mohamed TchitéRacing SantanderValencia4–2 (A)1 November 2008
Argentina Gonzalo Higuaín4Real MadridMálaga4–3 (H)8 November 2008
Cameroon Samuel Eto'o4BarcelonaValladolid6–0 (H)8 November 2008
France Thierry HenryBarcelonaValencia4–0 (H)9 December 2008
Spain Roberto SoldadoGetafeSporting Gijón5–1 (H)25 January 2009
Mali Frédéric KanoutéSevillaValladolid4–1 (H)21 March 2009
Spain RaúlReal MadridSevilla4–2 (A)26 April 2009
Uruguay Diego ForlánAtlético MadridAthletic Bilbao4–1 (A)23 May 2009
Spain Raúl TamudoEspanyolMálaga3–0 (H)31 May 2009

4 Player scored four goals(H) - Home ; (A) - Away

Discipline

See also

References
  1. "Real Madrid 7–1 Sporting" (in Spanish). RFEF. Retrieved 24 September 2008.
  2. "Barcelona 6–0 Valladolid" (in Spanish). RFEF. Retrieved 8 November 2008.
  3. "Barcelona 6–0 Málaga" (in Spanish). RFEF. Retrieved 22 March 2009.
  4. "Sporting 1–6 Barcelona" (in Spanish). RFEF. 21 September 2008. Retrieved 9 September 2010.
  5. "Real Madrid 2–6 Barcelona". RFEF. Retrieved 2 May 2009.
  6. "Deportivo 5–3 Racing Santander" (in Spanish). RFEF. Retrieved 8 March 2009.
  7. "Atlético Madrid 4–4 Villarreal" (in Spanish). RFEF. Retrieved 26 October 2008.
  8. "Barça take the moral high road". the Guardian. 13 September 2006. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  9. "Zambrano es cesado y su puesto lo ocupará Lucas Alcaraz". Recreativo de Huelva. 7 October 2008. Archived from the original on 23 January 2009. Retrieved 30 October 2008.
  10. "Lucas Alcaraz: "Volver al Recre es especial para mí"". Recreativo de Huelva. 7 October 2008. Archived from the original on 23 January 2009. Retrieved 30 October 2008.
  11. "El CA Osasuna releva a Ziganda de sus funciones". CA Osasuna. 13 October 2008. Archived from the original on 16 October 2008. Retrieved 30 October 2008.
  12. "Acuerdo con Camacho para dirigir a Osasuna". CA Osasuna. 13 October 2008. Archived from the original on 16 October 2008. Retrieved 30 October 2008.
  13. "Márquez, cesado". RCD Espanyol. 30 November 2008. Archived from the original on 7 January 2009. Retrieved 1 December 2008.
  14. "Mané, nuevo entrenador del Espanyol". RCD Espanyol. 1 December 2008. Archived from the original on 7 January 2009. Retrieved 1 December 2008.
  15. "Schuster, destituido del Real Madrid". Real Madrid C.F. 9 December 2008. Archived from the original on 11 December 2008. Retrieved 9 December 2008.
  16. "Juande, sustituto de Schuster". Real Madrid C.F. 9 December 2008. Archived from the original on 12 January 2009. Retrieved 9 December 2008.
  17. "El Almería cesa a Gonzalo Arconada". UD Almería. 21 December 2008. Archived from the original on 31 January 2009. Retrieved 21 December 2008.
  18. "Hugo Sánchez, nuevo entrenador del Almería". UD Almería. 22 December 2008. Archived from the original on 24 January 2009. Retrieved 22 December 2008.
  19. "Mané, destituido como técnico del Espanyol". RCD Espanyol. 20 January 2009. Archived from the original on 22 January 2009. Retrieved 20 January 2009.
  20. "Pochettino será el nuevo técnico del Espanyol". RCD Espanyol. 20 January 2009. Archived from the original on 29 July 2012. Retrieved 20 January 2009.
  21. "Javier Aguirre, destituido". Atlético Madrid. 2 February 2009. Archived from the original on 5 February 2009. Retrieved 2 February 2009.
  22. "Abel Resino, nuevo técnico del Atlético de Madrid". Atlético Madrid. 2 February 2009. Archived from the original on 3 February 2009. Retrieved 2 February 2009.
  23. "El Numancia destituye a Kresic y nombra como nuevo entrenador a Pacheta". CD Numancia. 17 February 2009. Archived from the original on 23 January 2020. Retrieved 17 February 2009.
  24. "El Numancia sustituye a Kresic por Pacheta". CD Numancia. 17 February 2009. Archived from the original on 27 March 2009. Retrieved 17 February 2009.
  25. "El Betis destituye a Paco Chaparro". Real Betis. 6 April 2009. Archived from the original on 9 April 2009. Retrieved 6 April 2009.
  26. "El Betis destituye a Chaparro y lo sustituye por José María Nogués". Real Betis. 6 April 2009. Retrieved 6 April 2009.
  27. "Víctor Muñoz cesado del Getafe". Getafe CF. 27 April 2009. Archived from the original on 29 April 2009. Retrieved 27 April 2009.
  28. "Míchel, nuevo entrenador del Getafe". Getafe CF. 27 April 2009. Archived from the original on 30 April 2009. Retrieved 27 April 2009.
  29. "Ganadores de las cuatro ediciones de premios de la LFP". ABC (in Spanish). 13 November 2012. Archived from the original on 16 January 2016. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
  30. "Clasificaciones del Premio Juego Limpio" (PDF) (in Spanish). RFEF. 3 June 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 4 September 2010.
  31. "RFEF". actas.rfef.es.
  32. "RFEF". actas.rfef.es.
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