I had a conversation with a coworker of mine. He claimed that the English Premier league was the best league. Which I disagreed with in my head and continued to listen to the Chelsea fan. Then he added that La Liga is a two team league and the rest of the teams are garbage. AND that is where I was puzzled and annoyed. For the record any one can state which league is the best and which league is trash or worthless, but those of us with a position with local professional soccer teams should be slightly more knowledgeable than the average fan. He claimed that it was a debate that can't be solved and to let it be, but I replied that the answer may not be solved (which league is better) but it is definitely worth discussing in depth.
I am not claiming that La Liga is better, just interested in the why in this case English Premier league fans think that their league is better or "best."
To start, La Liga is a two team league and in the Premier league any team can beat any team on any given day.
La Liga does have two globally recognizable teams in FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. The popularity is enhanced due to the fierce rivalry and the long history those two teams share. By using simply the eye test La Liga does seem like a two team league. But, lets evaluate the numbers to compare the number of English Premier league winners and La Liga winners from the start of the premier league (1992-93) *Sorry Liverpool fans
EPL has had 6 different winners since the start; Manchester United (13), Chelsea (5), Arsenal (3), Manchester City (2), Leicester City (1), and Blackburn (1).
La Liga has has 5 different champions starting (1992-93) FC Barcelona (12), Real Madrid (8), Athletico Madrid (2), Valencia CF (2), and Deportivo La Coruna (1).
The EPL has had one more team win the league than La Liga in the span of 25 years. This may seem like I am choosing a sample size due to some sort of bias, but there is some neutral logic behind it. First the Premier league is technically a new competition. Second, the sample size is at the start of the Premier league to coincide with the new champions league format in order to remove any potentially altering results due to scheduling format changes that have occurred during the really early start of English football. Third, I will be using champions league winners as another sample size that wont go past 1993 that way the Real Madrid dominance in the 50's doesn't have an effect on the new champions league format where back then the tournament consisted mostly of knockout games among the league winners excluding second place regardless of the league. This meant that only Barcelona OR Real Madrid could participate in the early years of Europe's soccer competition.
Another way to argue that a league is better is through their intercontinental success such as the UEFA Champions league. Let's have a look. Starting in 1993. For those that want to argue that Liverpool has won more, that is true. They have won the competition 5 times. And so have Barcelona. Yet, Madrid still beats both those teams combined with a total of 12. *See why I do sample sizes?
EPL has had 4 winners Manchester United (2), Liverpool (1), and Chelsea (1).
La Liga has won it 10 times Real Madrid (6) and Barcelona (4)
Okay so the English Premier league boast that one thing that separates their league is that on any given day any team can beat any other team. Now that may be true, tagged with some excellent advertising and promotion from television networks, but lets see how that can be evaluated. In this instance, I decided to compare the two knock-out competitions that occur simultaneously with league play. Spain has the Copa del Rey and England has the FA Cup. I see this as the best barometer that can shine light on the "any team can beat any team."
FA Cup winners 8 different teams (Since 93) Arsenal (7), Chelsea (6), Manchester United (5), Liverpool (2), Everton (1), Wigan Athletic (1), Manchester City (1), and Portsmouth (1)
Copa del Rey winners 10 different teams (Since 93) FC Barcelona (7), Real Madrid (3), Real Zaragoza (3), Athletico Madrid (2), Deportivo La Coruna (2), Espanyol (2), Sevilla (2), Valencia (1), Real Betis (1), Mallorca (1)
There are plenty of leagues in Europe that are worth watching and if one wants to claim that one league is the best so be it that is perfectly fine. But, as someone who studies sports there is a distinction between analyzing data, in this case the English and Spanish leagues, and being a fan who supports and backs their team no matter what. Yes, at times some fans use numbers to demonstrate their teams superiority and that's fine too. However, that adds to muddling the two together. Full disclosure and transparency I support a club from La Liga who isn't even the 3rd best team in the league and I am aware that they probably wont win the league any time soon, but you better believe at the start of the season my belief in the possibility of winning the league runs high especially the longer the team hangs on to 2nd or 3rd place.
There are a few reasons why my curiosity brought me to do this comparison. However, one of them was not to promote or prove in any way that La Liga is better or the best league. One is I am genuinely curious in comparing the two leagues to see what I will find. Second, was to understand where some of my friends, colleagues, and a few sports TV personalities (in this case referring to the anglophone people) imply or straight out claim that the EPL is the best league. I repeat I like the EPL, I do think it is a league with great quality and has exciting football. I enjoy watching Klopp's Liverpool! Confession, what bothered me the most was that there are soccer fans in the United States that think the EPL is the standard league, that the U.S. should replicate it, which to me is baffling. There is a lot to discuss on why I think the U.S. shouldn't replicate their cousins over the Atlantic in terms of soccer, but lets save that one for another time. The same Chelsea fan who claimed Chelsea was almost relegated only to come back the next season to win it doesn't understand that, yes, what he stated is true, La Liga will probably never see FC Barcelona or Real Madrid face a relegation battle, but that the coach that came in and won it was an Italian who won the league using 3 at the back which he used in Serie A! Antonio Conte existed before Chelsea and had success prior to moving to London. Does that mean that the Italian Serie A is better than the English Premier league? Of course not (But it doesn't hurt to go in-depth on that comparison either right?). I understand the excitement aspect of the league, I just don't understand the negligence of other leagues as if they were absolutely inferior. Is it an imperialistic mind set? I am not sure. One thing is for sure, the league hasn't helped their international team succeed either.
