So the debate initially sparked by Ronaldo's desire to leave United, returns. Man Utd or Real Madrid but essentially this is the Premier League v La Liga.
Who has the better league and ultimately the greatest league in the world, Spain or England?
The Premiership replaced the old First Division in 1992 and the early titles were won by Manchester United. Many of the Premiership's qualities are based around passion and a willingness to do anything for the shirt.
La Liga—founded in 1929—was suspended for the Spanish civil war and returned in the 40's. Unlike in England, the idea of foreigners was embraced much earlier and greats like Di Stefano, Puskas, and Kubala emerged as stars.
The Premiership experienced a landmark year in '94/'95 when Blackburn Rovers wrestled the title away from the monopoly of United. Shearer and Sutton scored the goals to take the title to Ewood, temporarily at least.
The 90's in La Liga were Barça's years, lead by Cruyff, Robson, and van Gaal, the team boasted stars such as Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Koeman, Laudrup, Romario, and Luis Enrique, and claimed the title seven times in ten years.
Arsenal moved in on United's success as did Chelsea in the new millennium and the Premiership became a three horse race. La Liga saw the emergence of Deportivo and Valencia to challenge Madrid and Barcelona.
The introduction of Sky's coverage and the redevelopment of major stadiums saw the attraction of England's league grow dramatically in the 90's. La Liga had already done its development and now the Premiership threatened to overtake it.
Foreign players were soon attracted to the Premiership as Zola, Henry, Bergkamp, Asprilla, and Ginola all gave stellar performances to increase the image of the Premiership.
Players only seem to move to La Liga when they've had the Premiership experience already—Henry and Cristiano Ronaldo for example—while many leave La Liga for England knowing it has the perfect blend of passion and technique.
The Champions League is another area of contention between the two leagues.
Since 1997, Spain has had four winners while England has had three. However, it's worth noting that since 1997, Spain has had just two runners up while England has had three.
The area of history is how Spanish clubs lure players from the Premiership. For example, Real Madrid will tell Ronaldo and all possible buys how they won the European Cup five times in a row and its historic triumphs in 1966, 2000, and 2002.
However that is history and the dominance of English clubs is something that looks set to remain.
Money is another issue in the two leagues. According to the Deloitte Football Money League, only three Spanish clubs are among the 20 richest in the world. Compare that to the six English clubs on the list and it's easy to see where the money lies.
In conclusion, if you want passion and many of the best players in the world, then the Premier League is the league for you. If you want more focus on technique and skill, then La Liga is for you.
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3 months ago
Poor conclusion to a decent article. What have sunny weather and hard tackling got to do with strong leagues?
Many would dispute in favour of La Liga because there are 5 or 6 Spanish sides who could feasibly win the ttile next season with a bit of luck and few injuries.
I'm thinking of Villarreal, Sevilla and Atletico as well as Barcelona and Real Madrid. As with the so-called 'second-tier' sides in England's premier league, they do suffer from a severe financial handicap borne out of smaller stadiums therefore lower attendances and also a lack of television coverage in comparison with Les Blaugranes and Real Madrid.
However, the financial and sporting management of these two clubs has been and is still often shambolic. Between them, these clubs have had 17 managers over the course of the last decade
and this instability has greatly weakened their teams on several occasions. This has meant several squads not fulfilling their potential and giving the rest of the bunch reason for optimism.
In contrast, Manchester United's development as a squad and club has been overseen by Sir Aklex Ferguson over the last 20 years or so and Arsene Wenger has been Arsenal's coach for more than a decade. It is for this reason, as well as for financial reasons, that these two clubs have imposed themselves on the Premier League and, were Chelsea to afford Scolari a similar degree of trust, the South London club could forseeably match the achievements of their North London rivals in the future.
As you have mentioned, the Premier League is a far richer league than La Liga and its members can afford to spend more money on better players. As a result, there is a discernable difference in the quality of football on offer, hence the all-English Champions League final this year and the greater success generally enjoyed by English clubs over the kast few years in the competition. It is also notable that a team like Tottenham (arguably the 6th strongest team in England) outplayed Sevilla (arguably the 3rd strongest in Spain) despite being knocked out somewhat unjustly by the Spanish side.
3 months ago
I have been following both for about 3 years, and I prefer La Liga. But for my money I also prefer Spain to England internationally. Not because they are superior but b/c I prefer the more open style that the Spanish play, and as 'CRY BABY' Ronaldo has said, in the Premiership it is more difficult for faster skill players to move in space as the more physical style often dominates. As a soccer fan who only watches European matches, I would much rather watch Sevilla, A.Madrid, Villareal or Espanyol then Everton, Aston Villa or Blackburn.
from 3 months ago
I would prefer to see the more skillful players adapt to beat physical play in the EPL because in La Liga, the referees almost protect the better players from fouls.
I'd rather watch Villa and Everton because they add drama, determination and passion to the skill and flair they have.
3 months ago
Well concluded.. I think that the overall quality of football in La Liga is better than that on show at the EPL.. I remember watching two mid-table teams producing some high quality football.
That said, the EPL is the place for passion and heart on the sleeve kind of situations, so there's very little to choose between these two leagues.
3 months ago
I have to agree with Shyam. The teams from top to bottom in La Liga are better than in the ELP. That being said, the top four in the ELP are arguably the best in the world (just take a look at the champions league).
But you cannot argue with La Liga's depth. This past season spots 8 to 18 were separated by merely 10 points in the table. Besides bottom two Murcia and Levante, every team was fighting for a place near a European birth but also fighting to avoid relegation. This makes for great football and not a single easy win for any team all season.
from 3 months ago
The gap undoubtably is bigger between the Top 4 and mid table in the EPL than Real Madrid and Barca and the rest. However it doesnt mean that United, Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea relish trips to Wigan, City, Villa, Everton, Newcastle, Blackburn etc.
3 months ago
most of the teams in la liga wouldn't be good enough for the EPL, real, barcelona are the only two spanish clubs that could realisticly challenge.
sorry lads but the EPL is far better than la liga, when ronaldo leaves & i'm sure he will it is purely for the money.How many spanish clubs were in the last for of the champions league?
EPL 3 la liga 1
3 months ago
Hmmmm.... Well, I have to say I'm rather curious about the dichotomy between the premiership boasting "the best players in the world" and La Liga's greater "focus on skill and technique". Does this mean that the likes of Ronaldo, Scholes, Giggs, Nani, Anderson, Fabregas, Hleb, J Cole, Torres, Gerrard etc aren't diplaying their true skill levels? Then there's the remarks about history which seems to overlook the fact that English clubs have just as good a history in the Champions League/European Cup as the Spanish clubs - the difference being that the English clubs' victories are spread between four clubs, whilst the Spanish victories are limited to two and primarily concentrated on Real and in particular their 5 victories in the very early years. I've seen some comments about La Liga having a greater strength in depth but I'm not so sure. La Liga has long been dominated by Real with only Barca offering any real resistance. Despite the fact that Real are rebuilding this season and looked poor in the champions league, they cantered away with the league. La Liga has built a rod for its own back by allowing clubs to negotiate individual TV deals and the gap between Real, Barca and the rest is sadly widening. One only needs to look at the rumoured transfers of Villa and Alves from Valencia and Sevilla to Real and Barca to see its effects. Can you imagine Arsenal or Liverpool selling Fabregas or Gerrard to Utd or Chelsea?
3 months ago
It doesn't always have to be the big boys..pitch blackburn against atletico madrid...everton against sevilla and spurs against valencia..The quality in mid table as Shyam said in higher in spain but the Big 4 are superior as compared to Real and Barca...
3 months ago
I hav 2 agree with almost everyone here..EPL is now just a money-driven league.If you want pure football enjoyment, go to the La Liga.
from 3 months ago
It wasn't always that way however now money men see the EPL as the most attractive league and are investing heavily.
Pre 2002 even 2003 the Premiership was always about passion and determination and that was often shown in the relegations scraps at the end of the year.
3 months ago
Dunno... To me it feels like comparing beer to wine. They're just too different to compare; both are great spectacle builders, both have a deservedly huge following. Why choose when you can enjoy both?
from 3 months ago
Have to respect that neutral point of view
3 months ago
If Big Phil has his way Chelsea will probably be transformed into a La Liga team within the EPL....then we`ll see how it goes.
3 months ago
As far as better football.It depends on the individual team but one thing I do know that I have been to watch madrid and the stadium wasn't even full.Thats totally unthinkable for a big club in England.
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