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Liga BBVA 2012/13 will be remembered because of Tito Vilanova's success, a coach who won the title in his debut as first team manager and who also overcame a very serious illness. It will also be remembered for being the season when we said goodbye to Jose Mourinho's era leading Real Madrid and for the revival of Atletico de Madrid and Real Sociedad.

Barcelona, Atletico de Madrid and Real Sociedad, together with the good performance of the Malaga headed by Chilean Manuel Pellegrini, Betis, and even Rayo Vallecano, achieved the important objectives they had set at the beginning of the season.

Real Madrid gave up its champion throne very early on. Other winning clubs did not meet their expectations either: Valencia and Sevilla did not manage to be in Champions League positions, and Athletic finished out of European competition positions. We must not forget either the relegated clubs: Mallorca, Deportivo and Zaragoza. Celta managed to survive relegation in the last round of fixtures.

Record

Barcelona reached the 100-points record obtained by Jose Mourinho's Real Madrid in the previous season. Moreover, it had the highest ever point difference with the second team: fifteen points.

Tito Vilanova's team, once again with the Argentinian star Leo Messi, dominated with authority this championship.

There was no contest, not even the absence of the manager after he travelled to the United States for treatment made a difference. Jordi Roura, his assistant, took the reins and nothing changed except for the results of the "duels", dominated by Mourinho's team.

Atletico and Real Sociedad, qualified for the Champions League

Real Madrid lost points very early on and it lagged behind from the beginning of the season. Barcelona did not give it any respite and, despite Cristiano Ronaldo's voracity, 34 goals, and despite finishing the season not having lost a single match in the Santiago Bernabeu stadium, it could only finish second.

There were times when Atletico de Madrid could be seen as a contender, but Barcelona did not allow for this to happen when push came to shove and the team of Argentinian Diego Pablo Simeone was also overtaken by Real Madrid. It however managed to defeat Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey's final, putting an end to its curse and finishing on a high note.

Atletico de Madrid's third position, achieved through soundness, meant their return to the Champions League and is a great prize for its wonderful season, in which Brazilian Diego Costa became the sensation of the year next to striker Radamel Falcao. The Colombian put an end to his career in Vicente Calderon and will head to Monaco after scoring 28 goals in his last season at Atletico de Madrid.

Nevertheless, the key to their success was down to the whole team, with a spectacular Belgian goalkeeper, Thibaut Courtois, a firm defence, and hard-working and daring midfielders.

Real Sociedad also deserved returning to the most important European championship, although in its case it will have to play the play-offs. The team headed by Frenchman Philippe Montanier, who will coach Rennes next season, finished being able to proudly say that they played a very attractive, courageous and effective football.

The team from San Sebastian, despite initially questioning its coach, became stronger as the championship went on and, although it reached the last round behind Valencia, the fact that the latter was defeated in Seville and that Real Sociedad won against Deportivo in Riazor meant it managed to get into the "Champions".

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