Background After years of wrangling, Spain’s
foremost teams were finally getting their act together to form the country’s
first national league. Before this season, competitions were made up of
regional championships, the winners qualifying for the national cup competition.
There were two distinct camps, those that wanted a smaller, elite league
consisting of 6 teams and those that wanted a more expansive and nationally
representative league. They were finally corralled by Jose Maria Atxa Larrea,
Vice-President of 1919 cup winners Arenas Club de Getxo, who brokered the final
format of ten teams. These were made up of the clubs that had either won the
Spanish Cup or were runners-up in the final. Nine teams were guaranteed a place
on these criteria, with the tenth place going to the winner of a pre-season
competition amongst the other clubs who had expressed an interest. In the end,
it took Racing Santander three matches to beat Sevilla FC in Madrid and claim
the final spot.
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| Arenas Club's bust of Larrea |
The story of the Campaign - Although classed
as the 1928-29 season, the bickering over the make-up of the league meant that it
did not get under way until February 1929. Even the pre-season qualifiers did
not start until Christmas Day 1928, and with the Copa still the premier
tournament, that had to be completed before the league could start. Finally on
Sunday 10 February 1929, all five games kicked-off simultaneously. Within five
minutes, the first ever goal was scored by Espanyol’s "Pitus" Prat in their match at the Estadi Sarria against Real Union. Real Madrid led the way
from the outset, winning seven of their first nine matches, but by week 11, the
league had a new leader in the unlikely shape of Arenas Club de Getxo. A nine
match unbeaten run had taken the Basque side to the top of the league, until the
wheels came off with a 1-7 defeat at Real Union and 0-2 home defeat to
Barcelona. After their mid-season wobble, Real Madrid had re-grouped and by
match-day 14, was back at the top of the league. Here they remained going into
the final match of the season, where they headed Barcelona on goal average. The
final round of matches saw Real Madrid lose at Athletic Club de Bilbao and
Barcelona comfortably beat Real Union 4-1 and go top of the league for the
first time on the last day of the season.
Champions Barcelona
Significant Matches -Their rivalry had yet to develop
to the full-scale revulsion that we see today, and Real Madrid’s matches with
Barcelona were not exactly pivotal. The first on the 17 February resulted in an
away victory by 1-2 to Real Madrid. Barcelona returned the favour on 11 May
with a 1-0 victory in Madrid. Perhaps the key result was in week 14 when Real
Madrid was held to a 2-2 draw at home to bottom club Racing Santander, one of
only two points the Cantabrians picked up on their travels.
Extras – Pre-season qualifiers, Racing
Santander finished bottom, and faced a two leg play-off against second division
winners Sevilla FC for a place in the following season’s top flight. Racing
prevailed 3-2 on aggregate. Barcelona, Espanyol and Europa each played one of
their home matches at the 70,000 capacity Estadio de Montjuic, which at the
time was by far and away the country’s largest stadium.
Crowds of over 40,000 watched the 3
matches at Montjuic
For the Record – Athletic Club’s 9-0 victory over
Espanyol in week 2 was the biggest win of the season, probably not helped by
the absence of Espanyol’s legendary goalkeeper Ricardo Zamora. Athletic’s
Basque rivals Real Sociedad were the league’s tops scorers with 46 goals,
whilst not surprisingly, bottom club Racing Santander conceded the most with 50
goals hitting the back of their net. There was total of 383 goals at an average
4.26 per game.
Pichichi – The Pichichi, the award for top
goal scorer in the first division was not devised by Marca until 1952. For
completeness of their records, Marca awarded backdated titles and Real
Sociedad’s Paco Bienzobas finished top of the charts for season 28-29 with 17
goals in 18 games. Bienzobas also played and managed CA Osasuna, before finishing
his career back in San Sebastian. He died in 1981, the day after Real Sociedad
claimed their first ever La Liga title.
Paco Bienzobas
Zamora – Likewise, Marca did not set up the
Zamora Trophy until 1958. It recognises the goalkeeper who has the lowest goals
against per game ratio. When applied retrospectively, it is rather fitting that
the first winner was the renowned Ricardo Zamora, the first of the modern
goalkeepers. He conceded 24 goals in 15 games and his absence was felt, as
Espanyol let in another 14 in the three matches in which Zamora missed
The Great Zamora
The Clubs Today – Seven of the ten original participants
play in this season’s championship, with Athletic Club, Barcelona & Real
Madrid having competed in every single top flight season. Real Union can be
found in Segunda B, whilst Arenas Club de Getxo and CE Europa play in the
Tercera.
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| The Final Table season 1928-29 |
Labels: A Season in the Spotlight
