Background –
In the ten seasons since the end of the Civil War, the La Liga title had been
won by five different clubs. Contrary to popular belief, Franco’s ascent to
power did not coincide with an immediate glut of trophies for Real Madrid. In
fact the 1940’s were a time of slim pickings for Los Merengues,
with just a couple of Copa del Generalísimo’s to their name. In contrast,
Athletic Club & FC Barcelona, clubs from regions that were experiencing
great hardship under the fascist regime, would win four leagues & five
copas between them during the forties. As the decade drew to a close, plans
were afoot to expand the top division to 16 clubs. This would be the final
season of a 14 team, 26 game format, but the participating clubs served up one
of the most free-scoring and unpredictable championships in the history of the
competition.
The Story of the Campaign – Barcelona had
won the two previous championships, holding off strong challenges from
Valencia, and both were expected to feature again. However, it was Athletic
Club who made the early running, winning six of its opening seven fixtures. A
4-1 defeat in Week 8 at Espanyol saw Athletic drop from the summit and an
unfamiliar name rise to the top of the table, that of Real Madrid. Powered by
the goals of Galician striker Pahiño and marshalled by a tight defence, Real
Madrid lost just two of its opening 17 fixtures, before successive away defeats
at the hands of struggling Real Oviedo and an improving Atlético Madrid saw
them fall from the top. Atlético was coached by Argentine Helenio Herrera, and
their 5-1 victory in the Madrid derby saw them head the table, level on points
with another surprise package, Celta Vigo. With two matches to play, any one of
five clubs could conceivably win the league, with Atlético, Celta, Deportivo La
Coruña, Valencia and Athletic Club separated by just two points. However, before
the nation could get too excited, the league took a month off to allow the
national team to prepare for their upcoming World Cup Qualifiers.
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| Goal-Fest - The Metropolitano witnessed 79 goals in 13 mtaches |
Matches of the Season – Upon resumption of the league, Celta Vigo
and Athletic Club bowed out of the running following away defeats to Barcelona
& Sevilla respectively. Entering the final week, Atlético held a one point
advantage over Deportivo and two over Valencia, who would be their opponents in
the final match. Valencia took an early lead thanks to a Igoa’s penalty, but
two goals from Barek gave Atléti a 2-1 lead at half-time. Up in Bilbao,
Deportivo were not going to lie-down and they also had a half-time lead thanks
to two goals from Rafael Franco. Atlético appeared to have sealed the title
with further goals from Carlson and Mújica in the first few minutes of the
second half. Things were also looking good at San Mamés as Athletic had drawn
level. Then the match in Madrid was turned on their head when Atlético lost their keeper
Domingo and Mújica to injuries. Valencia stormed back with goals from Igoa and
Pasieguito. Then, with seven minutes to play, Igoa completed his hat-trick.
Another goal for Valencia would see Los
Ches crowned as champions, whilst a winner for Deportivo in Bilbao would
see the title head to Galicia. Despite huge pressure, Atlético held on to claim
their third La Liga title.
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| Campeones - The free-scoring Atlético Madrid side of 1949-50 |
Extras – Due to the expansion of the league for the 1950-51 season,
there was no automatic relegation for the bottom two clubs. Instead Gimnástico
Tarragona & Real Oviedo faced a play-off against the teams that had
finished third & fourth in La Segunda’s promotion play-offs. On 2 July
1950, CD Alcoyano beat Gimnástico 6-3 at Espanyol’s Estadi de Sarria, whilst
Real Murcia beat Real Oviedo 2-0 in neutral Burgos. Athletic Club won the Copa
del Generalisimo thanks to a 4-1 victory over Real Valladolid at Madrid’s new Estadio
Chamartin.
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| Up for the Cup - Athletic Club & Real Valladolid do battle |
For the Record – The 1949-50 season was a campaign for the
forwards, with a total of 773 goals scored at an average of 4.25 per game.
Sixth placed Athletic Club topped the charts with 72 goals scored, which was
only 6 more than they conceded. However, Gimnástico’s incredibly porous defence
allowed a total of 99 goals to enter their net, including ten at Barcelona
& Celta Vigo. The calendar was littered with remarkable results, but perhaps
the most extraordinary was Atlético’s 6-6 draw with Athletic Club at the
Estadio Metropolitano, La Liga’s highest ever scoring draw.
Pichichi – Telmo Zarra won his fourth of a record six Pichichi’s
thanks to his total of 25 goals in 26 games. Zarra spent 16 seasons at Athletic
Club, scoring a total of 333 goals in all competitive matches. His tally of 252
goals in 278 first division matches is an all-time record. Zarra was capped
only 20 times for Spain, but still managed to score 20 goals, including the
winner against England in the 1950 World Cup. Zarra passed away in 2006, but is
honoured by the Zarra Trophy, which is awarded to the highest-scoring Spaniard
in La Primera.
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| Telmo Zarra - La Liga's all-time top scorer |
Zamora – Marca did not set up the Zamora Trophy until 1958, but
this season’s top goalkeeper was Deportivo’s Juan Acuña, who conceded 29 goals
in the 22 matches he played. This was the third of four occasions that Acuña
was recognised as the league’s top keeper in a career that spanned 19 seasons.
Despite his pedigree, Acuña only played for the national side on two occasions.
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| Acuña on one of his rare outings with La Selección |
The Clubs today – Eleven of the fourteen clubs will feature in the
2012-13 campaign, thanks in part to the recent promotion of Deportivo La Coruña,
Celta Vigo & Real Valladolid. Real Oviedo and the renamed Gimnástic de
Tarragona play in Segunda B, whilst CD Málaga was wound up in July 1992 with
debts of over 200m pesetas.
Labels: A Season in the Spotlight
