5 Contenders? seriously? which 5 are those? I'll repeat, since 95-96 only THREE TEAMS in the EPL have won the league, THREE Liverpool, often seen as one of the big 4, haven't won it since when? not since before 95-96 and that's supposed to be one of the big 4, not even 5. whose the fifth team? Tottenham? surely you jest. If it wasn't for Roman Abromovich you would only have 2 since 95 and ManU would've won it like 8 years in a row b/c Arsenal aren't going to. one can't really say anything about the top 4 english teams in europe of late but the bottom 1/3 of that league is utter shite, remember Derby county? the Playoff system is partially to fault , letting a 6th place team get a run of a few good games and win promotion when they don't belong (the exact argument against PO's in american sports) but there are some foe-full bottom half english teams out there.
The two spanish giants (Barca & Madrid) have the advantage of being able to get into debt. They are allowed to borrow gigantic sums of money to make their club. Many other spanish clubs cannot spend more than they make a season. Therefore there budget is limited by their income. No such limit exists for the big two.
The two spanish giants (Barca & Madrid) have the advantage of being able to get into debt. They are allowed to borrow gigantic sums of money, they do not have, to make their club. Many other spanish clubs (like Atletico) cannot spend more than they make a season as they have to brake even. Therefore their budget is limited by their income. No such limit exists for the big two.
La Liga is home to the fiercest rivalry in football right now: FC Barcelona-Real Madrid. Throughout the whole league, you will see some of the most technical football being played in the world.
In terms of them both dominating together then yes, but they have dominated La Liga between them for 60 years. Since the 51/52 seasons, the two have won 46 out of 60 titles. It's by no means as pronounced as the domination of a few teams in say Scotland or Portugal, but it's certainly dominated by them.
Actually, for Scotland the number is not that much different (50 out of 60, so only a mere 4 titles over 60 years less for "the rest"). A big difference however is that all of the other teams' titles were won in or before the 1980s.
That about perfectly sums it up. The one good that comes out of the spanish league is the HIGH scoring whenever Barcelona or Real face a poor chump like Almeria. But if you actually think about it, it works since anyone in America or elsewhere probably likes either of these giants anyways. Oh and once every year when these powerhouses meets is quite fun too but other then that, none of the other FCs really had a chance. And then you have the horrific pitiful AWFUl kit that is Getafes
We have to define what you mean by "worst" Is it the worst when it comes to quality of football? NO, in fact when it comes to the quality of football the spanish league is the best. Is it the worst when it comes to being the most competitive? Maybe. You can have a league being the most competitive (the premier league) not being the league with the best quality of football.
I think it is ok. It's true that Real Madrid and Barcelona have taken over that league. Real Madrid has 31 titles, and FC Barcelona has 21 Titles. Atletico Madrid has 9 which I would include in the 3 dominating teams of La Liga. Villa Real and all the other teams have yet to win a title so I don't think we will be seeing them anytime soon.
LFP is going downhill with the unfair distribution of the TV rights' money, that's for sure. It was really refreshing when Dep. La Coruña (which has been relegated) and Valencia won three leagues. But those not so distant times when Barcelona and Madrid rarely got more than 80 points back, midtable teams could win or even trash them, and teams such as Real Sociedad (which nearly won the league back then), Mallorca or Celta qualified for the Champions League are over. Still Valencia, Villarreal, Sevilla and At. Madrid are still very good teams, and games tend to be very enjoyable. So I'd say it's still okay.
Unless it all colapses due to the financial instability that the league (and country in general) is in. Almost every single club is in huge debt. Only a few teams are in a healthy state financially. But those clubs can't ever hope to compete against Madrid and Barcelona. True it has been like that forever but never with such a big divide as it is now.
True, except for the bolded part. The two remaining CL spots (after Barca and Madrid) are still pretty much up for the taking in Spain. Malaga was in the relegation zone early in 2011 but are probably among the 6 or so teams that have a shot at qualifying for the 2012/13 CL.