Chapter 135: The Feeling of Making History
When the final round of La Liga concluded on June 18, all the suspense of this season's campaign was fully revealed!
Real Madrid dominated the league, finishing with 24 wins, 8 draws, and 6 losses, amassing 80 points to secure the title with a commanding lead. They won the most games, lost the fewest, scored the most goals, conceded the least, and had the highest goal difference—leaving no doubt that they were the deserving champions of the season.
In a surprising turn, Mallorca finished as runners-up. Their final record of 22 wins, 9 draws, and 7 losses earned them 75 points, giving them a win rate second only to Real Madrid and on par with Deportivo La Coruña. However, Deportivo suffered two more defeats than Mallorca, leaving them two points behind in third place. Meanwhile, Barcelona relied on a stunning hat-trick from Rivaldo in the final round to secure a dramatic 3-2 away victory over Valencia. This allowed them to match Valencia's points total and claim fourth place due to their superior head-to-head record. Unfortunately for Valencia, despite being Champions League finalists for two consecutive years, they were relegated to the UEFA Cup for the next season.
In the relegation battle, Oviedo became the third team to drop to the second division, while Osasuna, one of La Liga's four remaining membership-based clubs, managed to survive. They secured their place by defeating Real Sociedad, successfully escaping the drop despite spending 25 of the 38 rounds in the relegation zone. With Oviedo's relegation, the number of La Liga teams with "Real" in their name decreased once more.
Raúl claimed the Pichichi Trophy with 25 goals, narrowly beating Rivaldo, who finished second with 23. Moreno came third with 22 goals, while Tristán ranked fourth with 19. Mallorca's top scorer was Samuel Eto'o with 11 goals, followed by Luque with 9. Impressively, Mallorca had 11 different players scoring in the league, with Ibagaza netting 10—one more than Luque. Meanwhile, Ronaldinho contributed 5 goals, forming a key part of the team's attacking force alongside Ibagaza, Eto'o, and Luque.
Despite the league's conclusion, four teams still had unfinished business—the Copa del Rey semifinalists. They would compete in the semifinals on June 21 and 24, with the final scheduled for June 30. The condensed schedule right after the league season ended was both amusing and frustrating.
This was one of the reasons José found the Spanish FA's scheduling rigid. The league had been spaced out, with just one game per week, yet now the cup matches were crammed together. A more balanced schedule, with a few midweek league fixtures, could have prevented this rush and shown more respect for the Copa del Rey.
José vaguely remembered that, at some point, the Copa del Rey final was moved to immediately after the league season ended. However, he wasn't sure when that change happened—after all, most Chinese fans didn't pay much attention to Copa del Rey scheduling.
This was exactly why he chose to rest key players in the final league match. Since they had already made it to the semifinals, why not go all in and try to win the cup?