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 Hugo Sánchez UDA Corredor de Vida / IsladelFraile.com
Athletic Bilbao Fernando García Joaquín Caparrós 100% Athletic Petronor
Atlético Madrid Enrique Cerezo Abel Resino Nike Kia
Barcelona Joan Laporta Pep Guardiola Nike UNICEF (*)
Betis Pepe León José María Nogués Kappa Andalucía
Deportivo Augusto Lendoiro Miguel Ángel Lotina Canterbury of New Zealand Estrella Galicia
Espanyol Daniel Sánchez Llibre Mauricio Pochettino uhlsport Interapuestas.com
Getafe Ángel Torres Míchel Joma Galco
Málaga Fernando Sanz Antonio Tapia Umbro Málaga
Mallorca Mateu Alemany Gregorio Manzano Reial Illes Balears / Viajes Iberia
Numancia Francisco Garcés Juan José Rojo Martín Errea Caja Duero
Osasuna Patxi Izco José Antonio Camacho Diadora Yingli Solar
Racing Santander Francisco Pernía López Muñiz Joma
Real Madrid Vicente Boluda Juande Ramos Adidas Bwin.com
Recreativo Francisco Mendoza Lucas Alcaraz Cejudo Cajasol
Sevilla José María del Nido Manolo Jiménez Joma 888.com
Sporting Manuel Vega-Arango Manolo Preciado Astore Gijón / Asturias
Valencia Vicente Soriano Unai Emery Nike Valencia Experience / Unibet / Compac Encimeras(†)
Valladolid Carlos Suárez Sureda José Luis Mendilibar Puma Caja Duero
Villarreal Fernando Roig 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.
  • (†) 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 Manolo Zambrano Sacked 7 October 2008[9] Lucas Alcaraz 7 October 2008[10] 18th
Osasuna José Ángel Ziganda Sacked 13 October 2008[11] José Antonio Camacho 13 October 2008[12] 16th
Espanyol Tintín Márquez Sacked 30 November 2008[13] José Manuel Esnal 1 December 2008[14] 17th
Real Madrid Bernd Schuster Sacked 9 December 2008[15] Juande Ramos 9 December 2008[16] 5th
Almería Gonzalo Arconada Sacked 21 December 2008[17] Hugo Sánchez 22 December 2008[18] 16th
Espanyol José Manuel Esnal Sacked 20 January 2009[19] Mauricio Pochettino 20 January 2009[20] 18th
Atlético Madrid Javier Aguirre Sacked 2 February 2009[21] Abel Resino 2 February 2009[22] 7th
Numancia Sergije Krešić Sacked 17 February 2009[23] Juan Martín 17 February 2009[24] 19th
Betis Paco Chaparro Sacked 6 April 2009[25] José María Nogués 6 April 2009[26] 16th
Getafe Víctor Muñoz Sacked 27 April 2009[27] 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) Champion; (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 Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Best Coach Pep Guardiola (Barcelona)
Best Goalkeeper Iker Casillas (Real Madrid)
Best Defender Dani Alves (Barcelona)
Best Midfielder(s) Xavi (Barcelona)
Andrés Iniesta (Barcelona)
Best Forward 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 Diego Forlán Atlético Madrid 32
2 Samuel Eto'o Barcelona 30
3 David Villa Valencia 28
4 Lionel Messi Barcelona 23
5 Gonzalo Higuaín Real Madrid 22
6 Álvaro Negredo Almería 19
Thierry Henry Barcelona
8 Raúl Real Madrid 18
Frédéric Kanouté Sevilla
10 Sergio Agüero Atlético Madrid 17
11 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 Víctor Valdés Barcelona 31 35 0.89
2 Andrés Palop Sevilla 35 35 1.00
3 Daniel Aranzubia Deportivo 45 37 1.22
4 Toño Racing Santander 41 33 1.24
5 Carlos Kameni Espanyol 47 37 1.27

Source: LFP

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

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

Discipline
  • First yellow card of the season: Grégory Béranger for Espanyol against Valladolid (30 August 2008)
  • First red card of the season: Diego Godín for Villarreal against Osasuna (31 August 2008)

See also
  • List of Spanish football transfers summer 2008
  • List of Spanish football transfers winter 2008–09
  • 2008–09 Segunda División
  • 2008–09 Copa del Rey

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. https://www.theguardian.com/football/2006/sep/13/barcelona Barça take the moral high road
  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. Retrieved 9 December 2008.
  16. "Juande, sustituto de Schuster". Real Madrid C.F. 9 December 2008. 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. 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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