# 1979–80 La Liga

The 1979–80 La Liga season was the 49th since its establishment. It began on 8 September 1979, and concluded on 18 May 1980.
Real Madrid achieved their 20th title. They also won the Copa del Rey against their reserve team, Castilla CF; thus Castilla qualified for next season's Cup Winners Cup.

## Overview

Once finished the championship on June 20, 1980, the Competition Committee of the Royal Spanish Football Federation quashed the game of the 31st round between Málaga and Salamanca (0–3), considering that it had been rigged, and sanctioned the salmantino club with the deduction of two points. Thus, Salamanca ended in the 14th position with 30 points and with a record of 12 wins, 8 draws and 13 defeats in 33 games, totaling 34 goals for and 37 against. However, a year later, on May 8, 1981, the Higher Committee of Sports Justice of the Superior Sports Council overturned the sanctions due to lack of evidence.

## Teams and locations

| Team | Home city | Stadium |
| Almería | Almería | Juan Rojas |
| Athletic Bilbao | Bilbao | San Mamés |
| Atlético Madrid | Madrid | Vicente Calderón |
| Barcelona | Barcelona | Nou Camp |
| Burgos | Burgos | El Plantío |
| Español | Barcelona | Sarriá |
| Hércules | Alicante | José Rico Pérez |
| Las Palmas | Las Palmas | Insular |
| Málaga | Málaga | La Rosaleda |
| Rayo Vallecano | Madrid | Vallecas |
| Real Betis | Seville | Benito Villamarín |
| Real Madrid | Madrid | Santiago Bernabéu |
| Real Sociedad | San Sebastián | Atocha |
| Salamanca | Salamanca | Helmántico |
| Sevilla | Seville | Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán |
| Sporting Gijón | Gijón | El Molinón |
| Valencia | Valencia | Luis Casanova |
| Zaragoza | Zaragoza | La Romareda |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Real Madrid (C) | 34 | 22 | 9 | 3 | 70 | 33 | +37 | 53 | Qualification for the European Cup first round |
| 2 | Real Sociedad | 34 | 19 | 14 | 1 | 54 | 20 | +34 | 52 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 3 | Sporting Gijón | 34 | 16 | 7 | 11 | 47 | 34 | +13 | 39 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 4 | Barcelona | 34 | 13 | 12 | 9 | 42 | 33 | +9 | 38 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 5 | Real Betis | 34 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 42 | 40 | +2 | 36 | |
| 6 | Valencia | 34 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 50 | 42 | +8 | 36 | Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round |
| 7 | Athletic Bilbao | 34 | 15 | 5 | 14 | 52 | 44 | +8 | 35 | |
| 8 | Sevilla | 34 | 14 | 6 | 14 | 50 | 47 | +3 | 34 | |
| 9 | Salamanca | 34 | 13 | 8 | 13 | 37 | 37 | 0 | 34 | |
| 10 | Almería | 34 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 41 | 50 | −9 | 33 | |
| 11 | Zaragoza | 34 | 13 | 7 | 14 | 43 | 40 | +3 | 33 | |
| 12 | Las Palmas | 34 | 13 | 6 | 15 | 36 | 49 | −13 | 32 | |
| 13 | Atlético Madrid | 34 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 38 | 44 | −6 | 31 | |
| 14 | Español | 34 | 9 | 12 | 13 | 28 | 37 | −9 | 30 | |
| 15 | Hércules | 34 | 8 | 12 | 14 | 36 | 39 | −3 | 28 | |
| 16 | Rayo Vallecano (R) | 34 | 9 | 8 | 17 | 46 | 61 | −15 | 26 | Relegation to the Segunda División |
| 17 | Burgos (R) | 34 | 5 | 10 | 19 | 29 | 61 | −32 | 20 | Relegation to the Segunda División |
| 18 | Málaga (R) | 34 | 8 | 6 | 20 | 28 | 58 | −30 | 19 | Relegation to the Segunda División |
* ↑ Valencia qualified to the Cup Winners' Cup as holders.
* ↑ Málaga did not show up for the match of the 27th round, against Almería, which was played in Algeciras after Málaga's La Rosaleda Stadium had been closed. The Royal Spanish Football Federation awarded a win to Almería, while Málaga were also penalized with a three-point deduction.

## Results table

| Home \ Away | ALM | ATH | ATM | BAR | BET | BUR | ESP | HÉR | LPA | MLG | RAY | RMA | RSO | SAL | SEV | SPG | VAL | ZAR |
| AD Almería | | 4–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 3–2 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| Athletic Bilbao | 3–0 | | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 4–1 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 4–3 | 2–3 | 4–0 | 3–1 |
| Atlético Madrid | 4–1 | 0–1 | | 2–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 3–0 |
| FC Barcelona | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | | 5–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 |
| Betis | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | | 3–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 |
| Burgos | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 0–1 |
| RCD Español | 5–2 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 |
| Hércules CF | 4–0 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 0–1 | | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 |
| UD Las Palmas | 3–2 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 4–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 |
| CD Málaga | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–0 | | 1–3 | 1–4 | 0–0 | – | 2–1 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 1–1 |
| Rayo Vallecano | 1–2 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 5–2 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 5–1 | | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 |
| Real Madrid | 4–1 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 5–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 7–0 | | 2–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 3–2 |
| Real Sociedad | 1–0 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 4–3 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 4–0 | | 1–0 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 |
| UD Salamanca | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 |
| Sevilla FC | 3–1 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 6–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 |
| Sporting de Gijón | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 4–1 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 4–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | | 4–2 | 1–4 |
| Valencia CF | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 5–1 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 3–1 | | 3–0 |
| Zaragoza | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 5–1 | 5–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | |
* ↑ Awarded
* ↑ See overview

## Top goalscorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Quini | Sporting Gijón | 24 |
| 2 | Santillana | Real Madrid | 23 |
| 3 | Mario Kempes | Valencia | 22 |
| 4 | Dani | Athletic Bilbao | 21 |
| 4 | Fernando Morena | Rayo Vallecano | 21 |
| 6 | Pichi Alonso | Zaragoza | 20 |
| 7 | Marañón | Espanyol | 17 |
| 7 | Jesús María Satrústegui | Real Sociedad | 17 |
| 9 | Daniel Bertoni | Sevilla | 16 |
| 9 | Héctor Scotta | Sevilla | 16 |
* La Liga 1979–80 Winners
* Real Madrid 20th Title