The Worst of the Worst: La Liga's Most Abysmal Teams

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La Liga is renowned worldwide as one of the best and most competitive leagues in all of football. Week in and week out, fans are treated to jaw-dropping displays of skill and tactical brilliance from stars like Messi, Modric and Benzema. However, for every great La Liga team, there have also been some that were truly and spectacularly bad. Let's take a look back at some of the most abysmal outfits to have ever graced Spain's top flight and try to understand just how they managed to be so unbelievably terrible. 

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read: Which Sport Has the Highest Paid Athletes?

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Kicking things off at number one are Real Oviedo from the 2002-03 season. If there was ever a team that truly embodied the spirit of soccer tragedy, it was this Oviedo squad. They conceded an incredible 102 goals over 42 games, the highest total in La Liga history. Their defense was practically non-existent as they leaked goals at a rate of over two per match. Even more alarmingly, they only scored 22 times at the other end, meaning their goal difference was a mind-boggling -80. It's hard to even comprehend being that bad. Oviedo were relegated having accrued just 15 miserable points.

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see: Worst Premier League Team

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In second is another team whose defensive incompetence dragged them to humiliating depths - UE Lleida from the 1995–96 season. They shipped an almost as disastrous 93 goals and could only score 26 themselves. With a pathetic -67 goal difference, it's extraordinary they even managed to earn 13 points. Some of their thrashings that year included 6-0 and 5-0 hidings from Real Madrid and Valencia respectively. It was a torturous campaign for unfortunate Lleida fans. 

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Rounding off the top three are Hercules, who come in due to the sheer hopelessness of their 2000-01 season. After losing 7 of their first 8 games, scoring just 3 and conceding a disastrous 22, it was clear they were destined for misery. Things never improved as they shipped 96 goals over 38 games, winning only twice all year. Their goal difference of -70 and paltry 11 points sealed their fate as one of La Liga's worst ever teams.

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So while La Liga is defined by its elite, there have also been some sides so inept they deserve to be remembered, if only as a warning to future generations of just how bad it's possible to be. The absolute disasters of Real Oviedo, UE Lleida and Hercules show that in football, it's not just whether you win or lose, but how badly you can lose that really matters!