85th season of La Liga
Football league season
The2015–16La Liga season (known as theLigaBBVA for sponsorship reasons) was the 85th since its establishment.Barcelona were the defending champions. The season began on 21 August 2015, and concluded on 15 May 2016.
Barcelona successfully retained the title (their 24th Liga overall) following a 3–0 win againstGranada on the final matchday.[ 2] Barcelona,Real Madrid andAtlético Madrid were engaged in an intense title race, with the three teams finishing with 91, 90 and 88 points respectively.
Barcelona'sLuis Suárez finished as the league's top scorer, becoming the first player apart fromLionel Messi orCristiano Ronaldo to do so since the2008–09 season .
Promotion and relegation (pre-season)[ edit ] A total of twenty teams contested the league, including seventeen sides from the2014–15 season and three promoted from the2014–15 Segunda División . This included the two top teams from the Segunda División,Real Betis andSporting Gijón , and the winners of theplay-offs ,Las Palmas .[ 3]
Almería andCórdoba were relegated to2015–16 Segunda División in the previous season, after spending two and one years in La Liga, respectively.Elche was administratively relegated despite finishing in 13th.[ 4] Following the competition rules,Eibar , who finished 18th, remained in the league.[ 5]
Real Betis was the first team from theSegunda División to achieve promotion, after a one-year absence from La Liga, on 24 May 2015 after winning 3–0 overAlcorcón .[ 6]
On 7 June 2015,Sporting Gijón secured promotion on the final matchday, after their 3–0 win against Betis allowed the club to leapfrogGirona , who drew their final match and could not retain second place and automatic promotion. Sporting returned to the top level after three years.
Las Palmas achieved promotion on 21 June 2015, after defeatingZaragoza in the promotion play-off final on away goals. Las Palmas won the second 2–0 leg at home after losing the first leg away 3–1, and returned to the first division after thirteen years away. They also became the first island team to play in La Liga sinceMallorca 's relegation from the top flight in the2012–13 season . During those thirteen seasons, the club spent two of them in the third-tierSegunda División B .
Stadiums and locations [ edit ] Location of teams in
2015–16 La Liga Location of teams in
2015–16 La Liga (Canary Islands)
Team Location Stadium Capacity Athletic Bilbao Bilbao San Mamés 53,289 Atlético Madrid Madrid Vicente Calderón 54,907 Barcelona Barcelona Camp Nou 99,354 Celta Vigo Vigo Balaídos 30,000 Deportivo La Coruña A Coruña Riazor 34,600 Eibar Eibar Ipurua 6,267 Espanyol Barcelona RCDE Stadium 40,500 Getafe Getafe Coliseum Alfonso Pérez 17,393 Granada Granada Nuevo Los Cármenes 23,156 Las Palmas Las Palmas Gran Canaria 32,150 Levante Valencia Ciutat de València 26,354 Málaga Málaga La Rosaleda 30,044 Rayo Vallecano Madrid Vallecas 14,708 Real Betis Seville Benito Villamarín 52,500 Real Madrid Madrid Santiago Bernabéu 85,454 Real Sociedad San Sebastián Anoeta 32,076 Sevilla Seville Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán 42,500 Sporting Gijón Gijón El Molinón 29,029 Valencia Valencia Mestalla 55,000 Villarreal Villarreal El Madrigal 24,890
Personnel and sponsorship [ edit ] Team Head coach Captain Kit Shirt sponsor Athletic Bilbao Ernesto Valverde Carlos Gurpegui Nike Kutkabank Atlético Madrid Diego Simeone Gabi Nike Plus500 ,Azerbaijan Land of Fire 1 ,Huawei 2 Barcelona Luis Enrique Andrés Iniesta Nike Qatar Airways ,Beko 2 ,UNICEF 4 Celta Vigo Eduardo Berizzo Hugo Mallo Adidas Citroën ,Estrella Galicia 0,0 1 3 ,Abanca 3 Deportivo La Coruña Víctor Sánchez Manuel Pablo Lotto Estrella Galicia 0,0 ,Abanca 1 , 西甲欢乐多5 Eibar José Luis Mendilibar Daniel García Puma AVIA,Wiko 1 3 , Eibar Energia Hiria2 Espanyol Constantin Gâlcă Javi López Joma Power8/Rastar,Riviera Maya 2 3 Getafe Juan Esnáider Pedro León Joma Tecnocasa Group, Gedesco1 Granada José González Diego Mainz Joma Solver Sports Capital, Banco Mare Nostrum1 , Coviran1 , Caja Rural Granada2 Las Palmas Quique Setién David García Acerbis Gran Canaria , Grupo DISA1 ,Islas Canarias 1 /Air Europa 1 ,CajaSur 2 , BeCordial Hotels & Resorts3 ,Binter 3 /Domingo Alonso3 ,Volkswagen 3 Levante Rubi Juanfran Nike East United/BetEast,Baleària 1 ,Valencia 1 , BetEast2 Málaga Javi Gracia Duda Nike Benahavis 1 Rayo Vallecano Paco Jémez David Cobeño Kelme Qbao.com, Halcón Viajes1 Real Betis Gus Poyet Jorge Molina Adidas UED Sports,Wiko 1 3 Real Madrid Zinedine Zidane Sergio Ramos Adidas Fly Emirates Real Sociedad Eusebio Sacristán Xabi Prieto Adidas Qbao.com,Kutxabank 1 ,Canal+ 2 Sevilla Unai Emery José Antonio Reyes New Balance Reale Seguros6 ,Andalucía 1 6 ,ZTE 3 6 Sporting Gijón Abelardo Fernández Alberto Lora Kappa Gijón ,Ternera Asturiana 2 ,Telecable 3 ,Nissan 3 Valencia Pako Ayestarán Paco Alcácer Adidas Codere (only in UEFA matches),Gol Televisión /beIN Sports 1 , Codere2 Villarreal Marcelino Bruno Soriano Xtep Pamesa Cerámica, Endavant
1.^ On the back of shirt. 2.^ On the sleeves. 3.^ On the shorts. 4.^ Barcelona made a donation to UNICEF in order to display the charity's logo on the back of the club's kit. 5.^ Deportivo had a phrase in Chinese characters on the back of its shorts meaning "La Liga is Diverse". 6.^ Sevilla featured these sponsors only for the2016 Copa del Rey Final . 7. Additionally, referee kits were now made by Adidas, sponsored byWürth , and Nike had a new match ball, the Ordem LFP. On 14 May 2016,Barcelona won their second consecutive and 24th overall La Liga title, following a 3–0 win overGranada at theEstadio Nuevo Los Cármenes on the final matchday.[ 27] Real Madrid finished one point behind Barcelona as runners-up, having gone on a twelve-match win streak to close out the season.[ 28] Atlético Madrid ended the season three points off the top in third place, having been eliminated from title contention after a loss toLevante on the penultimate matchday.[ 29]
Levante were the first team to be mathematically relegated to theSegunda División , following a 1–3 loss againstMálaga on 2 May 2016.[ 30] On 15 May 2016,Sporting Gijón ensured they would remain in the top flight after defeatingVillarreal 2–0 and taking advantage ofGetafe 's loss againstReal Betis , which saw Getafe relegated from La Liga for the first time in club history.Rayo Vallecano also went down despite winning their final match of the season.[ 31]
Source:
La Liga ,
Soccerway Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Goal difference; 5) Goals scored; 6) Fair-play points; 7) Play-off.
(C) Champions;
(R) Relegated
Notes:
^ Since the winners of the2015–16 Copa del Rey ,Barcelona , qualified for European competition based on league position, the spot awarded to the cup winners (Europa League group stage ) was passed to the sixth-placed team and the spot awarded to the sixth-placed team (Europa League third qualifying round ) was passed to the seventh-placed team. ^ Sevilla qualified for theChampions League group stage by winning the2015–16 UEFA Europa League . Based on their league position (7th), they would have received the spot above to enter theEuropa League third qualifying round . This spot was vacated without replacement as per UEFA regulations.^a b Málaga finished ahead of Real Sociedad on head-to-head record; Málaga 3–1 Real Sociedad, Real Sociedad 1–1 Málaga. ^a b Las Palmas finished ahead of Valencia on head-to-head record; Valencia 1–1 Las Palmas, Las Palmas 2–1 Valencia. ^a b Espanyol finished ahead of Eibar on head-to-head goal difference; Eibar 2–1 Espanyol, Espanyol 4–2 Eibar. ^a b Granada finished ahead of Sporting Gijón on head-to-head record; Granada 2–0 Sporting Gijón, Sporting Gijón 3–3 Granada. Source:
La Liga Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Barcelona'sLuis Suárez won thePichichi Trophy , with his 40 goals in the season also enough for theEuropean Golden Shoe . TheRicardo Zamora Trophy was awarded by newspaperMarca to the goalkeeper with the lowest ratio of goals conceded to matches played. A goalkeeper had to play at least 28 matches of 60 or more minutes to be eligible for the trophy.[ 37]
4 Player scored four goals5 Player scored five goals (H) – Home; (A) – Away
[ 39] [ 40]
Most yellow cards (club):136 Most yellow cards (player):17 Most red cards (club):10 Most red cards (player):2 Pos Team Total High Low Average Change 1 Barcelona 1,486,763 98,902 65,531 78,251 +0.8% † 2 Real Madrid 1,286,433 80,148 61,564 67,707 −7.8% † 3 Atlético Madrid 820,812 51,933 29,737 43,201 −7.2% † 4 Athletic Bilbao 797,268 47,785 37,552 41,961 +3.3% † 5 Valencia 709,329 47,217 27,876 37,333 −14.8% † 6 Real Betis 686,700 46,061 24,879 36,142 +18.0% 1 7 Sevilla 646,007 40,395 21,915 34,000 +9.3% † 8 Sporting Gijón 440,723 28,140 19,536 23,196 +20.1% 1 9 Deportivo La Coruña 437,148 29,666 16,185 23,008 +8.1% † 10 Las Palmas 402,922 28,414 15,819 21,206 +32.4% 1 11 Málaga 401,292 28,290 13,909 21,121 −5.1% † 12 Real Sociedad 386,468 27,484 12,755 20,340 −8.0% † 13 Espanyol 348,353 27,395 12,461 18,334 −1.9% † 14 Celta Vigo 342,272 24,519 13,584 18,014 −5.9% † 15 Villarreal 318,573 23,450 12,843 16,767 +5.0% † 16 Granada 301,361 20,552 12,711 15,861 −3.8% † 17 Levante 259,258 22,424 9,225 13,645 −10.6% † 18 Rayo Vallecano 218,308 13,775 9,301 11,490 +8.1% † 19 Getafe 138,861 12,772 4,532 7,308 −0.7% † 20 Eibar 98,868 5,941 4,215 5,204 +8.9% † League total 10,527,719 98,902 4,215 27,705 +3.6% †
Source:[citation needed ] Notes: 1: Team played last season in Segunda División.
La Liga's governing body, theLiga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , honoured the competition's best players and coach with theLa Liga Awards .[ 41]
Oblak
Piqué
Ramos
Godín
Marcelo
Busquets
Iniesta
Ronaldo
Modrić
Suárez
Messi
Broadcasting rights [ edit ] Telefónica purchased the exclusive television broadcasting rights to telecast the 2015–16 season in Spain.Sky Sports had exclusive rights in the United Kingdom, andbeIN Sports had exclusive rights to air the season in various countries, including the United States, Canada,MENA , France and the Middle East.[ 61] KBSN Sports had the exclusive television broadcasting rights in South Korea, apart from internet broadcasting.[ 62]
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Retrieved3 September 2020 .^ "SD Eibar y Gaizka Garitano rescinden el contrato" (in Spanish). SD Eibar. 30 June 2015. Archived fromthe original on 24 September 2015.^ "José Luis Mendilibar nuevo entrenador de SD Eibar" (in Spanish). SD Eibar. 30 June 2015. Archived fromthe original on 24 September 2015.^ "Las Palmas sack Paco Herrera as manager after poor start" . ESPN. 19 October 2015.^ "Quique Setién toma el mando en la UD Las Palmas" (in Spanish). LFP. 19 October 2015.^ "Lucas Alcaraz says goodbye at Levante training ground" . As. 26 October 2015. Archived fromthe original on 28 October 2015. Retrieved26 October 2015 .^ "David Moyes sacked by Real Sociedad after a year in charge" .The Guardian .^ "Nuno Espírito Santo resigns as Valencia coach after defeat by Sevilla" .The Guardian . 29 November 2015. Retrieved29 November 2015 .^ "VCF Official Statement Gary Neville" . Valencia CF.^ "Galca nuevo entrenador del RCD Espanyol" (in Spanish).^a b "Zinedine Zidane replaces Rafael Benitez as Real Madrid coach" .BBC Sport . 5 January 2016.^ "Betis part company with coach Pepe Mel" . LFP.es. 10 January 2016. Archived fromthe original on 18 April 2016. Retrieved11 January 2016 .^ "José Ramón Sandoval and Granada CF part company" . LFP.es. 22 February 2016. Archived fromthe original on 18 April 2016. Retrieved22 February 2016 .^ "José González replaces José Ramón Sandoval as Granada coach" . ESPN. 22 February 2016.^a b "Valencia give Gary Neville the chop" . Marca. 30 March 2016. Retrieved30 March 2016 .^ "Fran Escribá deja de ser entrenador del Getafe" (in Spanish). Marca. 11 April 2016.^ "Gustavo Poyet named new Betis coach" . LFP.es. 9 May 2016. Archived fromthe original on 19 June 2016. Retrieved19 May 2016 .^ "Barcelona wins La Liga title" .Goal.com . 14 May 2016. Retrieved30 May 2016 .^ "Deportivo La Coruna 0–2 Real Madrid" . BBC Sport. 14 May 2016. Retrieved30 May 2016 .^ "Levante 2–1 Atlético Madrid" . BBC Sport. 8 May 2016. Retrieved30 May 2016 .^ "Levante relegated after 3-1 defeat at Malaga" . Eurosport. 2 May 2016. Retrieved30 May 2016 .^ "Sporting Gijón escape drop as Getafe, Rayo Vallecano go down" . AS. 15 May 2016. Archived fromthe original on 11 February 2018. Retrieved30 May 2016 .^ "RFEF" .actas.rfef.es .^ "Partido R. Betis – Getafe en directo, en vivo. Temporada 2015/2016 - Liga de Fútbol Profesional" .Liga de Fútbol Profesional . Archived fromthe original on 21 May 2016. Retrieved19 May 2016 .^ "2015–16 La Liga top goalscorers" .ESPN FC . Entertainment and Sports Programming Network. Retrieved1 November 2015 .^ "Pichichi 2015-16" .Neogol (in Spanish). Retrieved1 November 2015 .^ "Assists at ESPN" .ESPN FC . Entertainment and Sports Programming Network.^ "Trofeo Zamora La Liga Santander" .Marca (in Spanish).^ "Trofeo Zamora Liga BBVA" .Marca (in Spanish).^ "Yellow cards" . Archived fromthe original on 4 May 2016. Retrieved26 April 2016 .^ "Red cards" . Archived fromthe original on 4 May 2016. Retrieved26 April 2016 .^ "The Premios La Liga gala hailed as a resounding success" . Liga de Fútbol Profesional. 24 October 2016. Archived fromthe original on 5 April 2019. Retrieved25 October 2016 .^ "The Liga BBVA 2015/16 Team of the Season" . Liga de Fútbol Profesional. 1 June 2016. Archived fromthe original on 18 November 2018. Retrieved4 June 2016 .^ Marcelino wins Liga BBVA Manager of the Month for September Archived 12 September 2017 at theWayback Machine ; LFP.es 5 October 2015^ : Nolito named liga BBVA player of the month for September Archived 5 July 2018 at theWayback Machine ; LFP.es 1 October 2015^ "Ernesto Valverde named Liga BBVA manager of the Month for October" . La Liga. 6 November 2015. Archived fromthe original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved9 November 2015 .^ Borja Bastón named Liga BBVA Player of the Month for October Archived 8 December 2015 at theWayback Machine ; LFP.es 5 November 2015^ Diego Simeone named Liga BBVA Manager of the Month for November Archived 12 September 2017 at theWayback Machine ; LFP.es 8 December 2015^ Neymar named Liga BBVA Player of the Month for November Archived 12 September 2017 at theWayback Machine ; LFP.es 8 December 2015^ Lucas Pérez, mejor jugador de la Liga BBVA en diciembre ; LaLiga.es, 8 January 2016 (in Spanish)^ [1] ; LaLiga.es, 12 January 2016 (in Spanish)^ Unai Emery, Liga BBVA manager of the month for January Archived 13 September 2017 at theWayback Machine ; LFP.es, 12 February 2016^ Messi named Liga BBVA Player of the Month for January Archived 1 August 2019 at theWayback Machine ; LFP.es 12 February 2016^ Eusebio Sacristan named Liga BBVA Manager of the Month for February Archived 12 September 2017 at theWayback Machine ; LFP.es, 4 March 2016^ Miku named Liga BBVA Player of the Month for February Archived 12 September 2017 at theWayback Machine ; LFP.es, 4 March 2016^ "Quique Setien named Liga BBVA Manager of the Month for March" . LaLiga.es. 1 April 2016. Archived fromthe original on 13 September 2017. Retrieved1 April 2016 .^ "Aduriz named Liga BBVA Player of the Month for March" . LaLiga.es. 1 April 2016. Archived fromthe original on 17 April 2016. Retrieved1 April 2016 .^ "Zinedine Zidane named Liga BBVA Manager of the Month for April" . LFP.es. 19 May 2016. Archived fromthe original on 25 July 2017. Retrieved19 May 2016 .^ "Koke named Liga BBVA Player of the Month for April" . LFP.es. 19 May 2016. Archived fromthe original on 14 August 2017. Retrieved19 May 2016 .^ "Luis Enrique named Liga BBVA Manager of the Month for May" . LaLiga.es. 21 May 2016. Archived fromthe original on 24 June 2016. Retrieved21 May 2016 .^ "Luis Suarez named Liga BBVA Player of the Month for May" . LaLiga.es. 21 May 2016. Archived fromthe original on 24 June 2016. Retrieved21 May 2016 .^ "Spanish La Liga 2015-16 TV Channels Broadcast, Coverage" . Sports Mirchi. Retrieved13 July 2015 .^ "프로그램 소개" (in Korean). KBSN.
2015–16 in Spanish football
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Women's football Youth football
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