2003 Paraguayan Primera División season

Paraguayan Primera División 2003 14 February – 26 October 2003 Libertad Nacional San Lorenzo 2002 2004 The 2003 Paraguayan Primera División season was held from 14 February to 26 October, with the participation of ten clubs. The tournament was divided into three stages: the Torneo Apertura, won by Libertad; the Torneo Clausura, also won by Libertad after defeating Olimpia in a penalty shootout tiebreaker. By winning both stages, Libertad was automatically crowned Overall Champion of the 2003 season, securing the tenth league title in its history. Torneo Apertura 2003 The Torneo Apertura began on 14 February and concluded on 25 May. First stage The first stage was held from 14 February to 20 April. It followed a single round-robin format, with each team playing nine matches. The top six teams at the end of this phase advanced to the next round. Standings Pos.TeamPldWDLGFGAGDPts 1 Libertad 9 6 3 0 13 3 +10 21 2 Cerro Porteño 9 5 3 1 20 8 +12 18 3 Olimpia 9 4 4 1 16 11 +5 16 4 Sol de América 9 3 4 2 12 7 +5 13 5 Tacuary 9 4 1 4 15 16 –1 13 6 Guaraní 9 3 3 3 18 20 –2 12 7 Sportivo Luqueño 9 3 2 4 14 12 +2 11 8 Sport Colombia 9 2 2 5 14 20 –6 8 9 12 de Octubre 9 1 4 4 8 18 –10 710 San Lorenzo 9 1 0 8 10 25 –15 3 Pld = Matches played; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points Qualification for Final Stage of the Apertura Tournament Results 2003 Paraguayan Primera División season#Apertura results Final stage Semifinals The top six teams from the first stage advanced to the semifinals, which were divided into two groups. Libertad and Cerro Porteño began this stage with a 2-point advantage for finishing first and second, respectively, in the initial standings. Each team played once against the others in their group. The team with the highest number of points in each group advanced to the final. Group 1 Pos.TeamPldWDLGFGAGDPts 1 Libertad 2 1 1 0 2 0 +2 6 2 Tacuary 2 1 1 0 2 0 +2 4 3 Olimpia 2 0 0 2 0 4 –4 0 Pld = Matches played; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points Date Home team Score Away team 26 April Tacuary 2–0 Olimpia 4 May Libertad 0–0 Tacuary 11 May Libertad 2–0 Olimpia Group 2 Pos.TeamPldWDLGFGAGDPts 1 Guaraní 2 2 0 0 3 1 +2 6 2 Sol de América 2 1 0 1 4 3 +1 3 3 Cerro Porteño 2 0 0 2 3 6 –3 0 Date MatchApril 26Guaraní1:0Sol de AméricaMay 1Guaraní2:1Cerro PorteñoMay 11Cerro Porteño2:4Sol de América 18 May 2003, 18:10 Guaraní 0–0 Libertad Estadio Defensores del Chaco Asunción, Paraguay 5,242 Carlos Torres (Paraguay) ABC Digital 25 May 2003, 18:15 Libertad 1–0 (0–0) Guaraní Gustavo Morínigo 67 Estadio Defensores del Chaco Asunción, Paraguay approx. 18,000 Carlos Amarilla (Paraguay) ABC Digital 2003 Clausura Tournament The tournament started on June 15 and concluded on October 30. The competition format was a round-robin, with 18 matchdays played. Standings Pos.TeamPldWDLGFGAGDPts 1 LibertadAs Olimpia and Libertad finished tied on points, a playoff match was held to determine the champion. 18 9 6 3 32 20 +12 33 2 Olimpia 18 9 6 3 30 18 +12 33 3 Cerro Porteño 18 9 5 4 24 15 +9 32 4 Guaraní 18 7 6 5 24 17 +7 27 5 Sportivo Luqueño 18 7 6 5 21 20 +1 27 6 Sol de América 18 4 7 7 17 16 +1 19 7 12 de Octubre 18 4 7 7 7 14 –7 19 8 San Lorenzo 18 4 6 8 18 32 –14 18 9 Tacuary 18 4 5 9 20 29 –9 1710 Sport Colombia 18 4 4 10 22 34 –12 16 Pos=Position; Pld=Matches played; W=Wins; D=Draws; L=Losses; GF=Goals for; GA=Goals against; GD=Goal difference; Pts=Points Playoff match for the Clausura 2003 champion 30 October 2003 Olimpia 0–0 (5–6 pen) Libertad Estadio Defensores del Chaco Asunción, Paraguay 16,954 Nelson Valenzuela (Paraguay) Enciso Órteman López Benítez Corbo Alvarenga Morínigo Bonet Candia Martínez Cohener Robles Results See Results of the Clausura Tournament. Pre-Libertadores 2004 Guaraní and Olimpia finished second in the Apertura and Clausura tournaments respectively, so they played a match to decide the second qualifying spot for the 2004 Copa Libertadores. 2 November 2003 Guaraní 1–1 (1–0 at halftime) Olimpia Estadio Defensores del Chaco Asunción, Paraguay 1,319 Carlos Amarilla (Paraguay) Ángel Ortiz 28' Juan Carlos Benítez 90' 5 November 2003 Olimpia 2–3 (0–2 at halftime) Guaraní Estadio Defensores del Chaco Asunción, Paraguay Approx. 1,500 Ubaldo Aquino (Paraguay) Gilberto Palacios 51' Juan Carlos Benítez 80' Pablo Giménez 5' Fabio Nunes 38' Pablo Giménez 48' With an aggregate score of 4–3, Guaraní qualified for the 2004 Copa Libertadores. Pre-Libertadores Liguilla The top four teams in the Clausura tournament standings (excluding those already qualified) played a mini-tournament for the final berth in the 2004 Copa Libertadores. Olimpia started with a one-point bonus for being the highest-placed team in the Clausura among the participants in the liguilla. Pos.TeamPldWDLGFGAGDPts1.Olimpia321041+382.Sportivo Luqueño320184+463.Cerro Porteño310247−334.Sol de América301259−41 Pos = Position; Pld = Matches played; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points Qualified for 2004 Copa Libertadores Matchday 1 8 November 2003 Sportivo Luqueño 0–1 Olimpia Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Asunción Nelson Valenzuela (Paraguay)ABC Digital – De un penal dudoso, surge el gol que da respiro al decano. Julio Enciso 79' 8 November 2003 Cerro Porteño 3–2 Sol de América Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Asunción 1,478 Atilio Invernizzi (Paraguay)ABC Digital – Un Ciclón "eclipsó" a Sol de América. Érwin Ávalos 64'Julio dos Santos 67', 86' José Franco 37'Marcial Garay 55' Matchday 2 11 November 2003, 18:00 Sportivo Luqueño 5–2 Sol de América Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Asunción Juan Ruiz Díaz (Paraguay)ABC Digital – Goleada luqueña eclipsó a Sol. Christian Andersen 19'Hugo Centurión 25', 58', 75'Daniel Ferreira 67' José Franco 6'Miguel Cárdenas 90+2' 11 November 2003, 20:30 Cerro Porteño 0–2 Olimpia Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Asunción 9,143 Carlos Amarilla (Paraguay)ABC Digital – Olimpia, cansado, pero práctico, festeja al final. Francisco Esteche 9'Julio Enciso 89' Matchday 3 14 November 2003 Olimpia 1–1 Sol de América Estadio Manuel Ferreira, Asunción Approx. 100 Hugo Vera (Paraguay)ABC Digital – Olimpia y Sol despiden el año con una igualdad. Diego Figueredo 84' Aureliano Torres 32' 14 November 2003 Sportivo Luqueño 3–1 Cerro Porteño Estadio Feliciano Cáceres, Asunción 151 Antonio Arias (Paraguay)ABC Digital – Luqueño cierra el año con festejo y Cerro solo cumple. Héctor Sánchez 28', 31'Arnaldo Medina 74' Osvaldo Hobecker 60' Final season standings First, the criteria used to determine each club's qualification type for the following year are outlined, along with an explanation of what each entails. This is followed by a detailed summary of the outcomes. Aggregate table The aggregate table is the result of adding the points obtained by each team in both the 2003 Apertura and Clausura tournaments. Pos. Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD 1st Libertad 54 27 15 9 3 45 23 +22 2nd Cerro Porteño 50 27 14 8 5 44 23 +21 3rd Olimpia 49 27 13 10 4 46 29 +17 4th Guaraní 39 27 10 9 8 42 37 +5 5th Sportivo Luqueño 38 27 10 8 9 35 32 +3 6th Sol de América 32 27 7 11 9 29 23 +6 7th Tacuary 30 27 8 6 13 35 35 0 8th 12 de Octubre 26 27 5 11 11 15 32 –17 9th Sport Colombia 24 27 6 6 15 36 54 –18 10th San Lorenzo 21 27 5 6 16 28 57 –29 Pts = Points; Pld = Matches played; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference Qualified for 2004 Copa Libertadores Average points The average points of a team is calculated by dividing its accumulated points over the last three seasons by the number of matches played during that period. Promotion playoff This is a two-legged knockout series, with each team playing one match at home, to determine which division each club will play in the following season. It is contested between the second-to-last team in the average points table and the second-placed team from the lower division. The rules stated that if both teams were level on points after the two matches, goal difference would be used to determine the winner. If the tie persisted, a penalty shoot-out would be held. Promotion playoff 1 November 2003 21:15 3 de Febrero 1–2 Tacuary Adolfo Fatecha 90+2' Raúl Román 77', 81' Estadio Antonio Oddone Sarubbi, Asunción 3,925 Ubaldo Aquino (Paraguay)ABC Digital – Tacuary da un paso importante 9 November 2003 19:05 Tacuary 2–1 3 de Febrero Diego Canesa 58' Silvio Garay 90+1' Roberto Gamarra 15' Estadio Roberto Béttega, Asunción 1,704 Epifanio González (Paraguay)ABC Digital – Tacuary venció al viento del este y se mantiene en primera With an aggregate score of 4–2, Tacuary remained in the Primera División for the 2004 season. With an aggregate score of 4–2, Tacuary remained in the Primera División. Qualification for international tournaments The accumulated points table was used to determine the APF representatives in CONMEBOL competitions for the following year. 2004 Copa Libertadores (three qualifiers). The first spot went to the absolute champion of the 2003 Championship (Libertad). The second spot went to the Clausura or Apertura champion who was not the absolute champion of 2003 (Guaraní, due to a playoff between the two runners-up since Libertad won both tournaments). The third spot was awarded to the winner of the Pre-Libertadores playoff (Olimpia). Relegation and promotion playoff The average points table was used to determine relegation and the playoff participants: San Lorenzo was directly relegated to the Second Division for finishing last in the average points table.http://archivo.abc.com.py/2003-10-27/articulos/75671/guarani-despide-al-santo-con-un-bendito-empate ABC Digital - Guaraní says goodbye to "Santo" with a blessed draw 2025-06-27 2016-12-20 https://web.archive.org/web/20161220085816/http://archivo.abc.com.py/2003-10-27/articulos/75671/guarani-despide-al-santo-con-un-bendito-empate dead They were replaced by the Intermedia champion, Club Nacional. Tacuary, having the second lowest average, had to play a two-legged promotion playoff against the Intermedia runner-up, 3 de Febrero. The first leg ended with a 2–1 victory for Tacuary. The decisive second leg was also won by Tacuary by 2–1. Ultimately, the team from the higher division secured its spot for one more season with a 4–2 aggregate score. References External links RSSSF - 2003 Season Official website of the Paraguayan Football Association 2003 Category:2003 in South American football leagues Category:2003 in Paraguayan sport