Forgetting the tensions experienced in recent years in the organization of Spanish football, despite the fact that we have just started July, there is already a month and a half left to start the championship, habemus LaLiga 2021-22 national calendar. The coronavirus crisis and the tightness of the previous and next almanac (with the Qatar World Cup looming in winter) seem to have made the leaders and the institutions they preside more forward-looking than ever, so we can already point on the agenda, to Lack of schedules, the 380 First Division matches that will run from August 13 to May 22 and the 468 Second Division matches that will last until June 19 through the Playoff. The first day in LaLiga Santander, finally with fans in all the stands, will be marked by the attractions Alavés-Real Madrid and Barça-Real Sociedad and for the premiere of the current champion, Atlético, in Vigo. The first Clásico, without Ramos and we will see without with Messi, will arrive on October 24 at the Camp Nou (10th day). The second, on March 20 (29th). The Madrid derbies will be on December 12 at the Bernabéu and on May 8 at the Wanda.
The draw for the asymmetric calendar was held again, as every year, in the Ciudad del Fútbol of Las Rozas. Seven boys and girls, as a reward for their resilience in times of a pandemic and as voluntary innocent hands with strong and well-studied messages (“Luis Enrique, we love you!” Said the most daring), They took out calendar number 59,881 (out of 100,000 different possible ones). In it, as in the last three seasons, a dozen conditions were introduced to have an on-demand organization of the season. This will allow a greater exploitation of the stadiums for other events and a better flexibility to revalue the audiovisual product from Friday to Monday, without forgetting priorities such as security (two teams from the same city do not play at the same time), strategic location of all derbies (Sevillians will be on November 7 and February 27) or those of respect for the rest of the professionals (at least 72 hours between matches) that both UEFA and AFE carefully monitor.
If last year the start of the championship was staggered by the damage to third parties from COVID, this time it will begin in unison a few days after Villarreal represent Spain in the final of the European Super Cup against Chelsea (Belfast, August 11 ). There are simply some requests that LaLiga has taken into account, as in previous years, so that various teams, among which are Madrid and Rayo Vallecano in First, and Tenerife and Burgos in Second, do not play home games in August in order to have more room for maneuver and finish the construction work on their stadiums. Madrid, who have competed at Di Stefano for the last season and a half, will return to the Bernabéu on September 12, against Celta, after playing the first three games away from home in Alavés, Levante and Betis. A few days later it will also debut its brand new stadium in the group stage of the Champions League.
First day of LaLiga Santander
- Deportivo Alavés – Real Madrid
- Barcelona – Real Sociedad
- Celta de Vigo – Athletic
- Mallorca – Real Betis
- Cadiz – Levante
- Osasuna – Espanyol
- Seville – Rayo Vallecano
- Valencia – Getafe
- Villarreal – Granada
- Elche – Athletic Club
The calendar will have five week-long days and will have a new Christmas break from December 19-21 to December 31. For that New Year’s Eve there will be three matches with local or regional duels (surely Atlético-Rayo, Getafe-Madrid and Villarreal-Leante) so that the players do not have to travel and can say goodbye to the year with their families. The rest of that day will be played on January 3, 2022. The stoppages for national teams will arrive from August 30 to September 8, from October 4 to 12, from November 8 to 16, from January 24 to 31 and March 21-29. On the 21st day (January 19) all teams will play except Atlético, Barcelona, Madrid and Athletic, the four participants of the Spanish Super Cup that takes place in Saudi Arabia from January 12 to 16 (with a Clásico and Atlético-Athletic in the semifinals). Said league matches will be advanced to 1-D.
The weekend of April 23 there will be no League either. There, both the Federation and LaLiga, reached an agreement with the usual mediation of the CSD to set that Saturday the final of the Copa del Rey. LaLiga will end with Barça-Villarreal, Real Madrid-Betis and Real Sociedad-Atlético. The next Champions League final, which has an impact on the placement of the different LaLiga matches, will be on May 28 (initially in Saint Petersburg) and the Europa League final on May 18 (Sánchez Pizjuán).