1.
Community of Madrid
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The Community of Madrid is one of the seventeen autonomous communities of Spain. It is located in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula, and its capital is the city of Madrid, which is also the capital of the country. The Community of Madrid is bounded to the south and east by Castile–La Mancha and to the north and west by Castile and it was formally created in 1983, based on the limits of the province of Madrid, until then conventionally included in the historical region of New Castile. The Community of Madrid is the third most populous in Spain with 6,369,167 inhabitants mostly concentrated in the area of Madrid. It is also the most densely populated autonomous community, Madrids economy is of roughly equal size to Catalonias, which remains Spains largest. Madrid thus has the highest GDP per capita in the country, some notable discoveries of the region the bell-shaped vase of Ciempozuelos. During the Roman Empire, the region was part of the Citerior Tarraconese province, except for the south-west portion of it and it was crossed by two important Roman roads, the via xxiv-xxix (joining Astorga to laminium and via xxv, and contained some important conurbations. The city of Complutum became an important metropolis, whereas Titulcia, during the period of the Visigothic Kingdom, the region lost its importance. The population was scattered amongst several small towns, Alcalá de Henares was designated the bishopric seat in the 5th century by orders of Asturio, archbishop of Toledo, but this event was not enough to bring back the lost splendor of the city. The centre of the peninsula was one of the regions of the Al-Andalus until the 11th century when it became important. The Muslim governors created a system of fortresses and towers all across the region with which they tried to stop the advance of the Christian kingdoms of the north. The fortress of Mayrit was built somewhere between 860 and 880 AD, as a walled precinct where a military and religious community lived, and it soon became the most strategic fortress in defense of the city of Toledo above the fortresses of Talamanca de Jarama and Qal-at-Abd-Al-Salam. In 1083, king Alfonso VI of Castile conquered the city of Madrid, Alcalá de Henares fell in 1118 in a new period of Castilian annexation. The feudal and ecclesiastical lords came into constant conflict with the different councils that had granted the authority to repopulate. Specifically, Alcalá de Henares was under the hands of the archbishopric of Toledo, Castilian monarchs showed a predilection for the center of the peninsula, with abundant forests and game. El Pardo was a region visited frequently by kings since the time of Henry III, the Catholic Monarchs started the construction of the Royal Palace of Aranjuez. In the 16th century, San Lorenzo de El Escorial was built, besides its growing political importance, it also became a cultural center with the foundation of the University of Alcalá de Henares in 1508. In 1561, King Philip II made Madrid the capital of the empire, the surrounding territories became economically subordinated to the town itself, even beyond the present day limits of the Community of Madrid
2.
Kit (association football)
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In association football, kit is the standard equipment and attire worn by players. The sports Laws of the Game specify the minimum kit which a player must use, footballers generally wear identifying numbers on the backs of their shirts. Professional clubs also usually display players surnames or nicknames on their shirts, Football kit has evolved significantly since the early days of the sport when players typically wore thick cotton shirts, knickerbockers and heavy rigid leather boots. The Laws of the Game set out the equipment which must be worn by all players in Law 4. Five separate items are specified, shirt, shorts, socks, footwear, goalkeepers are allowed to wear tracksuit bottoms instead of shorts. While most players wear studded football boots, the Laws do not specify that these are required, shirts must have sleeves, and goalkeepers must wear shirts which are easily distinguishable from all other players and the match officials. Thermal undershorts may be worn, but must be the colour as the shorts themselves. Shin pads must be covered entirely by the stockings, be made of rubber, plastic or a similar material, and provide a reasonable degree of protection. The only other restriction on equipment defined in the Laws of the Game is the requirement that a player must not use equipment or wear anything that is dangerous to himself or another player. In the event of a match between teams who would wear identical or similar colours the away team must change to a different colour. The England national team plays in red shirts even when it is not required. Many professional clubs also have a kit, ostensibly to be used if both their first-choice and away colours are deemed too similar to those of an opponent. Most professional clubs have retained the basic colour scheme for several decades. Teams representing countries in international competition generally wear national colours in common with other sporting teams of the same nation, shirts are normally made of a polyester mesh, which does not trap the sweat and body heat in the same way as a shirt made of a natural fibre. Depending on local rules, there may be restrictions on how large these logos may be or on what logos may be displayed, competitions such as the Premier League may also require players to wear patches on their sleeves depicting the logo of the competition. The captain of team is usually required to wear an elasticated armband around the left sleeve to identify him as the captain to the referee. Most current players wear specialist football boots, which can be either of leather or a synthetic material. Modern boots are cut slightly below the ankles, as opposed to the high-ankled boots used in former times, studs may be either moulded directly to the sole or be detachable, normally by means of a screw thread
3.
ATK (football club)
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Atlético de Kolkata, is an Indian Super League football franchise based in Kolkata, West Bengal. It was established on 7 May 2014 as the first team in the league, the teams name and colours are derived from their Spanish partner. Managed by Spaniard José Francisco Molina, the team plays their matches at the 85. The marquee player for the 2016 season is Portugal international forward Hélder Postiga, under coach Antonio López Habas, Atlético were the hosts and winners of the first match of the Indian Super League. They won the season, defeating Kerala Blasters 1–0 in the final. On 13 April 2014, it was announced that Sourav Ganguly, Harshavardhan Neotia, Sanjiv Goenka, Utsav Parekh and it turned out to be the most expensive franchise, being purchased for 18 crore. On 7 May 2014, the team was launched as Atlético de Kolkata. On 7 July, the jersey and logo were unveiled by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at the Nabanna building. The logo features a hybrid Bengal tiger–phoenix, with the element being symbolic of perpetuity. Five stars above the crest symbolise the five owners of the club, the shield is striped with tigers stripes. The club signed their first ever player on 4 July 2014 with the acquisition of former Real Madrid midfielder Borja Fernández. The team then went on to two more Spaniards, their first head coach, Antonio López Habas, and marquee player, former UEFA Champions League winner Luis García. They were the biggest spenders in the draft with an expenditure of 3.91 crore, in the International Draft, four of Atlético de Kolkatas allotted seven picks were Spaniards, including defender Josemi, a UEFA Champions League winner with Liverpool in 2005. The club played their first ever match in their history on 12 October 2014 at home against Mumbai City FC in the opening Indian Super League match. Fikru Teferra scored the first goal in team and league history in the 27th minute as Atlético de Kolkata went on to win 3–0. By finishing third in the league, the qualified for the end-of-season play-offs. At the final against the Kerala Blasters at the DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai, at the end of season awards, García was named the Most Exciting Player. On 5 June 2015, the team acquired Canadian international forward Iain Hume, garcías role as captain was taken on by his compatriot Borja
4.
Madrid
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Madrid is the capital city of the Kingdom of Spain and the largest municipality in both the Community of Madrid and Spain as a whole. The city has a population of almost 3.2 million with an area population of approximately 6.5 million. It is the third-largest city in the European Union after London and Berlin, the municipality itself covers an area of 604.3 km2. Madrid lies on the River Manzanares in the centre of both the country and the Community of Madrid, this community is bordered by the communities of Castile and León. As the capital city of Spain, seat of government, and residence of the Spanish monarch, Madrid is also the political, economic, the current mayor is Manuela Carmena from Ahora Madrid. Madrid is home to two football clubs, Real Madrid and Atlético de Madrid. Madrid is the 17th most liveable city in the according to Monocle magazine. Madrid organises fairs such as FITUR, ARCO, SIMO TCI, while Madrid possesses modern infrastructure, it has preserved the look and feel of many of its historic neighbourhoods and streets. Cibeles Palace and Fountain have become one of the monument symbols of the city, the first documented reference of the city originates in Andalusan times as the Arabic مجريط Majrīṭ, which was retained in Medieval Spanish as Magerit. A wider number of theories have been formulated on possible earlier origins, according to legend, Madrid was founded by Ocno Bianor and was named Metragirta or Mantua Carpetana. The most ancient recorded name of the city Magerit comes from the name of a built on the Manzanares River in the 9th century AD. Nevertheless, it is speculated that the origin of the current name of the city comes from the 2nd century BC. The Roman Empire established a settlement on the banks of the Manzanares river, the name of this first village was Matrice. In the 8th century, the Islamic conquest of the Iberian Peninsula saw the changed to Mayrit, from the Arabic term ميرا Mayra. The modern Madrid evolved from the Mozarabic Matrit, which is still in the Madrilenian gentilic, after the disintegration of the Caliphate of Córdoba, Madrid was integrated in the Taifa of Toledo. With the surrender of Toledo to Alfonso VI of León and Castile, the city was conquered by Christians in 1085, Christians replaced Muslims in the occupation of the centre of the city, while Muslims and Jews settled in the suburbs. The city was thriving and was given the title of Villa, since 1188, Madrid won the right to be a city with representation in the courts of Castile. In 1202, King Alfonso VIII of Castile gave Madrid its first charter to regulate the municipal council, which was expanded in 1222 by Ferdinand III of Castile
5.
Valencia CF
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Valencia Club de Fútbol are a Spanish football club based in Valencia. They play in La Liga and are one of the most successful and biggest clubs in Spanish football, Valencia have won six La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey trophies, two Fairs Cups, one UEFA Cup, one UEFA Cup Winners Cup and two UEFA Super Cups. They also reached two UEFA Champions League finals in a row, losing to La Liga rivals Real Madrid in 2000, Valencia were also members of the G-14 group of leading European football clubs. In total, Valencia have reached seven major European finals, winning four of them, Valencia were founded in 1919 and have played their home games at the 55, 000-seater Mestalla since 1923. They were due to move into the new 75, 000-seater Nou Mestalla in the north-west of the city in 2013, Valencia have a fierce rivalry with fellow Valencian club Villarreal CF, with whom they contest the Derby de la Comunitat. The rivalry is fueled by the fact that they are the two most successful clubs in the region. They also have a rivalry with Levante UD, also located in the city of Valencia. Valencia is the third-most supported football club in Spain, behind heavyweights Real Madrid, over the years, the club has achieved a global reputation for their prolific youth academy, or cantera. Products of their academy include world-class talents such as Raúl Albiol, Andrés Palop, Miguel Ángel Angulo, David Albelda, Gaizka Mendieta, current stars of the game to have graduated in recent years include Isco, Jordi Alba, Juan Bernat, and Paco Alcácer. The club was established on 5 March 1919 and officially approved on 18 March 1919, with Octavio Augusto Milego Díaz as its first president, incidentally, the club played its first competitive match away from home on 21 May 1919 against Valencia Gimnástico, and lost the match 1–0. Valencia CF moved into the Mestalla Stadium in 1923, having played its matches at the Algirós ground since 7 December 1919. The first match at Mestalla pitted the side against Castellón Castalia. In another match the day after, Valencia won against the same opposition, Valencia won the Regional Championship in 1923, and was eligible to play in the domestic Copa del Rey cup competition for the first time in its history. The Spanish Civil War halted the progress of the Valencia team until 1941, in the 1941–42 season, the club won its first Spanish La Liga championship title, although winning the Copa del Rey was more reputable than the championship at that time. The club maintained its consistency to capture the title again in the 1943–44 season. In 1995 they lost 2012 they lost 6-1 to CD Binefar In the 1950s, a restructuring of Mestalla resulted in an increase in spectator capacity to 45,000, while the club had a number of Spanish and foreign stars. Players such as Spanish international Antonio Puchades and Dutch forward Faas Wilkes graced the pitch at Mestalla, in the 1952–53 season, the club finished as runners-up in La Liga behind Barcelona. In the following season, the club won its third Copa del Rey, Valencia beat holders Barça 3–0 in the final in front of over 110,000 spectators at the Estadio Chamartín, then the home ground of Real Madrid
6.
Spain national football team
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The Spain national football team represents Spain in mens International association football and is controlled by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Spain. The current head coach is Julen Lopetegui after Vicente del Bosque stepped down following Euro 2016, the Spanish side is commonly referred to as La Roja, La Furia Roja, La Furia Española or simply La Furia. Spain became a member of FIFA in 1904 even though the Spanish Football Federation was first established in 1909, Spains national team debuted in 1920. Since then, the Spanish national team has participated in a total of 14 of 20 FIFA World Cups and 9 of 14 UEFA European Championships. These three successive titles make them the national team so far with three consecutive wins of either the applicable continental championship or the World Cup. From 2008 to 2013, a span, the national team won FIFA Team of the Year. Between November 2006 and June 2009 Spain went undefeated for a record-equalling 35 consecutive matches before their loss to the United States. The teams achievements have led many commentators, experts and former players to consider the 2010 and 2012 Spanish sides among the best ever international sides in world football. The first Spain national football team was constituted in 1920, with the objective of finding a team that would represent Spain at the Summer Olympics held in Belgium in that same year. Spain made their debut at the tournament on 28 August 1920 against Denmark, the Spanish managed to win that match by a scoreline of 1–0, eventually finishing with the silver medal. Spain qualified for their first FIFA World Cup in 1934, defeating Brazil in their first game and losing in a replay to the hosts, the Spanish Civil War and World War II prevented Spain from playing any competitive matches between the 1934 World Cup and the 1950 editions qualifiers. At the 1950 finals in Brazil, they topped their group to progress to the final round, until 2010, this had been Spains highest finish in a FIFA World Cup finals, which had given them the name of the underachievers. Spain won its first major title when hosting the 1964 European Championship held in Spain. The victory would stand as Spains lone major title for 44 years, Spain was selected as host of the 1982 FIFA World Cup, reaching the second round, and four years later they reached the quarter-finals before a penalty shootout defeat to Belgium. Javier Clemente was appointed as Spains coach in 1992, leading them to the quarter-finals of the 1994 World Cup, had the official acknowledged the foul, Spain would have merited a penalty kick. In the 2002 World Cup, Spain won its three group matches, then defeated the Republic of Ireland on penalties in the second round. They faced co-hosts South Korea in the quarter-finals, losing in a shootout after having two goals called back for alleged infractions during regular and extra time, at UEFA Euro 2008, Spain won all their games in Group D. Italy were the opponents in the match, which Spain won 4–2 on penalties
7.
Midfielder
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A midfielder is an association football position. Midfielders are generally positioned on the field between their teams defenders and forwards, some midfielders play a disciplined defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are otherwise known as defensive midfielders. Others blur the boundaries, being mobile and efficient in passing, they are commonly referred to as deep-lying midfielders, play-makers, box-to-box. The number of midfielders on a team and their assigned roles depends on the teams formation, most managers assign at least one midfielder to disrupt the opposing teams attacks, while others may be tasked with creating goals, or have equal responsibilities between attack and defence. Midfielders are the players who typically travel the greatest distance during a match, central or centre midfielders are players whose role is divided roughly equally between attack and defence. When the opposing team has the ball, a midfielder may drop back to protect the goal or move forward. The 4–3–3 and 4–5–1 formations each use three central midfielders, the 4−4−2 formation may use two central midfielders, and in the 4–2–3–1 formation one of the two deeper midfielders may be a central midfielder. The term box-to-box midfielder refers to central midfielders who have abilities and are skilled at both defending and attacking. These players can track back to their own box to make tackles and block shots. A good box-to-box midfielder needs good passing, vision, control, stamina, tackling and marking in defence, left and right midfielders have a role balanced between attack and defence, similar to that of central midfielders, but they are positioned closer to the touchlines of the pitch. They may be asked to cross the ball into the penalty area to make scoring chances for their teammates. Common modern formations that include left and right midfielders are the 4−4−2, the 4−4−1−1, the 4–2–3–1, a notable example of a right midfielder is David Beckham. Defensive midfielders are players who focus on protecting their teams goal. These players may defend a zone in front of their teams defence, defensive midfielders may also move to the full-back or centre-back positions if those players move forward to join in an attack. Sergio Busquets described his attitude, The coach knows that I am an obedient player who likes to help out and if I have to run to the wing to cover someones position, great. A good defensive midfielder needs good positional awareness, anticipation of play, marking, tackling, interceptions, passing and great stamina. A holding or deep-lying midfielder stays close to their teams defence, a player in this role will try to protect their goal by disrupting the opponents attacking moves and stopping long shots on the goal. The holding midfielder may also have responsibilities when their team has the ball and this player will make mostly short and simple passes to more attacking members of their team but may try some more difficult passes depending on the teams strategy
8.
David de Gea
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David de Gea Quintana is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for English club Manchester United and the Spain national team. He has been hailed as one of the best goalkeepers in the world, born in Madrid, De Gea began his career aged 13 with Atlético Madrid and rose through the academy system at the club before making his senior debut in 2009. After being made Atléticos first-choice goalkeeper, he helped the team win both the UEFA Europa League and the UEFA Super Cup in 2010. His performances attracted the attention of Manchester United, whom he joined in June 2011 for £17.8 million, since joining United, De Gea has made over 200 appearances and won a Premier League title, an FA Cup, a League Cup and three Community Shields. For three consecutive seasons from 2013–14 to 2015–16, he was elected as Uniteds Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year, De Gea was the captain for the Spain under-21 national side that won the European Championship in 2011 and 2013, and also competed in the 2012 Olympics. He made his debut for the team in 2014 and was selected for that years World Cup. Born in Madrid and raised in Illescas, De Gea joined Atlético Madrid at the age of 13 when his then-coach Juan Luis Martín lied to the club that Rayo Vallecano were set to sign him. A few days later, Diego Díaz Garrido scouted De Gea and he eventually made his way up through the youth ranks at the club before signing his first professional contract in 2008, aged 17, contracting him to Atlético until 2011. He spent his season for Atlético Madrid B in Segunda División B. De Gea rejected the approach, and was punished by being forced to train by himself, weeks later, Atlético manager Abel Resino noticed De Gea training alone and invited him to train with the first team, where he was rated as the third-choice goalkeeper. The same summer, Atlético rejected an offer from English team Wigan Athletic for a permanent transfer for De Gea, with first-choice goalkeeper Sergio Asenjo away on international duty at the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup, De Gea was called up to the senior side as cover for Roberto. He described starting at the Vicente Calderón Stadium as a dream since childhood, in January 2010, De Gea was touted as a possible replacement for Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar, who was set to retire in 2011. Days later, however, he signed a new contract which would keep him with Atlético until 2013, after some costly mistakes by Asenjo, and the arrival of Quique Sánchez Flores as manager, De Gea finished the 2009–10 season as the starting number one. He won two man of the match awards along the way, against Athletic Bilbao and Valencia, additionally, he appeared in eight games in the clubs victorious UEFA Europa League campaign, including the 2–1 final win against Fulham. Diego Forlán later said of his first season, David was good enough for the top level at 19, De Gea started 2010–11 in impressive fashion, helping Atlético win the seasons UEFA Super Cup. In the 90th minute of the 2–0 win against Internazionale, he saved a Diego Milito penalty kick. In September, it was reported that Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson had missed a League Cup game with Scunthorpe United to travel to Spain to watch De Gea in action against Valencia. De Gea played down the rumours, saying, The important thing is that I have a contract here and he remained the undisputed starting goalkeeper for the remainder of the season, going on to play in every La Liga game for the team en route to a seventh-place finish
9.
Away colours
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Away colours are a choice of coloured clothing used in team sports. They are required to be worn by one team during a game between teams that would wear the same colours as each other, or similar colours. This change prevents confusion for officials, players, and spectators, in most sports it is the visiting team that must change – second-choice kits are commonly known as away kits or change kits in British English, and road uniforms in American English. Some sports leagues mandate that teams must always wear an alternative kit. In some sports, conventionally the home team has changed its kit, in most cases, a team wears its away kit only when its primary kit would clash with the colours of the home team. However, sometimes teams wear away colours by choice, occasionally even in a home game, at some clubs, the away kit has become more popular than the home version. Replica home and away kits are available for fans to buy. Some teams also have produced third-choice kits, or even old-fashioned throwback uniforms, in American sports, road teams usually wear a change uniform regardless of a potential colour clash. Further, almost all road uniforms are white in American football, in the National Basketball Association, home uniforms are white or yellow, and visiting teams wear a darker colour. In the United States, color vs. color games are a rarity, most teams choose to wear their color jerseys at home, with the road team changing to white in most cases. White road uniforms gained prominence with the rise of television in the 1950s, a white vs. color game was easier to follow in black-and-white. According to Phil Hecken, until the mid 1950′s, not only was color versus color common in the NFL, even long after the advent of color television, the use of white jerseys has remained in almost every game. The NFLs current rules require that a home jerseys must be either white or official team color throughout the season. If a team insists on wearing its home uniforms on the road, the road team might instead wear a third jersey, such as the Seattle Seahawks Wolf Grey alternate. According to the Gridiron Uniform Database, the Cleveland Browns wore white for home game of the 1955 season. The only times they wore brown was for games at Philadelphia and the New York Giants, in 1964 the Baltimore Colts, Browns, Vikings and Rams wore white regularly for their home games according to Tim Brulias research. The St. Louis Cardinals wore white for several of their home games, until 1964 Dallas had worn blue at home, but it was not an official rule that teams should wear their colored jerseys at home. The use of white jerseys was instigated by general manager Tex Schramm, the Cowboys still wear white at home today
10.
Third jersey
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Alternate jerseys are also a means for professional sports organizations to generate revenue, by sales to fans. Of North American sports leagues, the NFL generates $1.2 billion annually in jersey sales, another use of the alternate uniform is for identifying with causes, like the Central Coast Mariners wear an alternate pink kit on pink ribbon day. Extra alternate uniforms or fourth/fifth kits are not commonly used, but are required when teams other uniforms cause color clashes. In cases where teams have more than three kits in the same season, the extra kits were usually recycled from previous seasons. Third-choice jerseys or uniforms are used in all four North American major professional sports leagues, Third kits are commonplace in professional European association football and in some professional European rugby union clubs. Alternate guernseys or jerseys are common in Australias two biggest domestic leagues, the Australian Football League and National Rugby League, for home and away jerseys in North America, historical convention has often dictated the colors used by teams in a given league. Teams generally have one jersey which is primarily in a team color, white at home is the convention in baseball, basketball, minor league professional hockey, and college hockey. White while away is the convention in football, major professional hockey. Association football does not have a white at home or a white while away convention, the NBA and NHL both enforce the color/white rule strictly, any NHL team seeking to wear white at home must get express permission from the league office to do so. In American sports, throwback jerseys are generally used for special team games. In American football a third jersey may be a uniform based on designs the team used in the past. In association football, meanwhile, it is commonly a radically different design. Initially, the NFL rule stated that a team may wear their third only once a year. There are currently no rules on wearing alternate pants, teams are also permitted to wear alternate jerseys as often as desired in playoff games, the only team to do so was the 2008 San Diego Chargers. Some teams will use one of their third jersey allotments against a particular division opponent each year. The New York Giants were known to wear their red jerseys at home against the Dallas Cowboys until the red jerseys were retired in 2009. The Washington Redskins wear their uniform on home games to commemorate their annual homecoming game once a year since 2012. When wearing their jerseys, especially if the team is wearing a throwback uniform
11.
La Liga
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The Primera División, commonly known as La Liga and as La Liga Santander for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system. A total of 60 teams have competed in La Liga since its inception, nine teams have been crowned champions, with Real Madrid winning the title a record 32 times and Barcelona 24 times. Real Madrid dominated the championship from the 1950s through the 1980s, from the 1990s onwards, Barcelona and Real Madrid both dominated, though La Liga also saw other champions, including Atlético Madrid, Valencia, and Deportivo de La Coruña. In more recent years, Atlético Madrid has joined a coalition of now three teams dominating La Liga alongside Real Madrid and Barcelona. Its clubs have won the most UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Super Cup, and FIFA Club World Cup titles, and its players have accumulated the highest number of Ballon dOr awards. La Liga is one of the most popular sports leagues in the world. The competition format follows the usual double round-robin format, during the course of a season, which lasts from August to May, each club plays every other club twice, once at home and once away, for a total of 38 matchdays. Teams receive three points for a win, one point for a draw, and no points for a loss, teams are ranked by total points, with the highest-ranked club at the end of the season crowned champion. A system of promotion and relegation exists between the Primera División and the Segunda División, the top teams in La Liga qualify for the UEFA Champions League. The first, second, and third placed teams enter the group stage. Teams placed fifth and sixth play in the UEFA Europa League, if both teams in the cup final finish in the top six, an additional berth in the Europa League is given to the team that finishes in seventh. In April 1927, José María Acha, a director at Arenas Club de Getxo, first proposed the idea of a national league in Spain. After much debate about the size of the league and who would take part, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Athletic Bilbao, Real Sociedad, Arenas Club de Getxo and Real Unión were all selected as previous winners of the Copa del Rey. Atlético Madrid, Espanyol and Europa qualified as Copa del Rey runners-up, only three of the founding clubs, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao, have never been relegated from the Primera División. They were also runners-up in 1932 and 1933, in 1935, Real Betis, then known as Betis Balompié, won their only title to date. Primera División was suspended during the Spanish Civil War, in 1937, the teams in the Republican area of Spain, with the notable exception of the two Madrid clubs, competed in the Mediterranean League and Barcelona emerged as champions. Seventy years later, on 28 September 2007, Barcelona requested the RFEF to recognise that title as a Liga title and this action was taken after RFEF was asked to recognise Levante FCs Copa de la España Libre win as equivalent to Copa del Rey trophy. Nevertheless, the body of Spanish football has not made an outright decision yet
Oscar Fernández
