1996–97 Categoría Primera A season

The 1996–97 Categoría Primera A season, known as Copa Mustang 1996–97 for sponsoring purposes, was the 50th season of the Categoría Primera A, Colombia's top-flight football league. The season started on 8 September 1996 and ended on 21 December 1997. América de Cali were the champions, winning their ninth domestic league title after beating the Torneo Adecuación winners Atlético Bucaramanga in the championship playoff.[1]

Copa Mustang
Season1996–97
Dates8 September 1996 – 21 December 1997
ChampionsAmérica de Cali (9th title)
RelegatedCúcuta Deportivo (Torneo Finalización)
Deportivo Pereira (Torneo Adecuación)
Copa LibertadoresAmérica de Cali
Atlético Bucaramanga
Copa CONMEBOLDeportes Quindío
Once Caldas
Matches played584
Goals scored1,479 (2.53 per match)
Top goalscorerHámilton Ricard (36 goals)
← 1995–96
1998 →

Deportivo Cali were the defending champions, but placed last in both the final group stage and the Adecuación semi-finals and thus failed to qualify for the finals of the competition.

Format

The season, which was originally to last from September 1996 to June 1997, was initially split into three stages: the Apertura and Finalización tournaments, and the final group:

  • In the Apertura tournament, played from September to February, the 16 teams played each other under a double round-robin format with two additional rounds of regional derbies for a total of 32 matches. Bonus points were awarded to the top four teams, with the first-placed side being awarded 2 bonus points, the runner-up 1 point, the third-placed team 0.5 points, and the fourth-placed team receiving 0.25 points. In addition to this, the team topping the table at the end of the tournament would be assured of a berth in the 1998 Copa CONMEBOL.
  • The Finalización tournament, played from February to April, had 14 rounds with the teams being divided into two groups of eight, made up according to the placements of teams in the previous stage with odd-placed sides in one group and even-placed teams in the other one. An aggregate table considering the results of both tournaments was used to decide the four teams that would advance to the final stage, with no bonus points being awarded. The team with the lowest average would be relegated to Categoría Primera B.
  • The final group was played by the top four teams in the aggregate table, which played each other twice for a total of 6 rounds. All teams started this round at 0 points, except for the top team in the aggregate table, which started with 1 point.[2]

However, in January 1997 the Assembly of DIMAYOR approved the return of the league to the calendar year format, while also deciding that the season's champion would be defined in December rather than June as originally expected. Because of this, an additional tournament known as Torneo Adecuación was played from July to December 1997:

  • In the first stage, the 16 teams were first split into two groups of eight where they played each one of their group rivals twice, and later into four groups of four where they played six additional matches. Bonus points were awarded to teams in both stages, and teams carried over their first stage performance to this second phase with the top eight teams advancing to the semi-final stage, whilst the bottom-placed side in the relegation table was relegated.
  • In the semi-finals, the qualified teams were split into two groups of four with the winners of each group playing a final series over two legs to decide the Adecuación tournament winners, whilst the two group runners-up played a play-off series to qualify for the Copa CONMEBOL along with the Adecuación runners-up.
  • Penalty shootouts were played in matches ending in draws, with the winning side earning an additional point.

The Adecuación winners would then play the winners of the final group (América de Cali) in another double-legged series to decide the season champions. In the event that both teams tied on points at the end of the second leg of the finals, a tiebreaker match on neutral ground would be played. Both season finalists qualified for the 1998 Copa Libertadores.[3]

Teams

16 teams originally competed in the season, the top 15 teams of the 1995–96 season and Cúcuta Deportivo, who were promoted as champions of the 1995–96 Categoría Primera B tournament, replacing Atlético Huila who were relegated at the end of the previous season. Cúcuta Deportivo were relegated to the second tier at the end of the Finalización tournament, being replaced by the 1996–97 Primera B champions Deportivo Unicosta for the Adecuación tournament, which brought the number of clubs that took part in the season up to 17.

Locations of the 1996–97 Categoría Primera A teams
Team Home city Stadium Capacity
América de Cali Cali Pascual Guerrero 45,625
Atlético Bucaramanga Bucaramanga Alfonso López 28,000
Atlético Nacional Medellín Atanasio Girardot 52,000
Cortuluá Tuluá Doce de Octubre 16,000
Cúcuta Deportivo Cúcuta General Santander 22,000
Deportes Quindío Armenia Centenario 29,000
Deportes Tolima Ibagué Manuel Murillo Toro 28,100
Deportivo Cali Cali Pascual Guerrero 45,625
Deportivo Pereira Pereira Hernán Ramírez Villegas 30,000
Deportivo Unicosta Barranquilla Romelio Martínez 20,000
Envigado Envigado Polideportivo Sur 11,000
Independiente Medellín Medellín Atanasio Girardot 52,000
Junior Barranquilla Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez 60,000
Millonarios Bogotá Nemesio Camacho El Campín 48,300
Once Caldas Manizales Palogrande 36,553
Santa Fe Bogotá Nemesio Camacho El Campín 48,300
Unión Magdalena Santa Marta Eduardo Santos 23,000

Torneo Apertura

The Torneo Apertura (also known as Copa Mustang I) began on 8 September 1996 and ended on 23 February 1997.

Standings
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 América de Cali 32 21 8 3 52 22 +30 71
2 Atlético Nacional 32 16 11 5 48 22 +26 59
3 Deportivo Cali 32 16 9 7 52 37 +15 57
4 Junior 32 13 9 10 53 40 +13 48
5 Independiente Medellín 32 12 11 9 31 31 0 47
6 Deportes Tolima 32 12 10 10 46 43 +3 46
7 Santa Fe 32 11 11 10 34 31 +3 44
8 Once Caldas 32 11 10 11 46 33 +13 43
9 Envigado 32 10 12 10 41 37 +4 42
10 Atlético Bucaramanga 32 10 12 10 37 39 −2 42
11 Unión Magdalena 32 11 7 14 35 46 −11 40
12 Cortuluá 32 7 16 9 29 34 −5 37
13 Millonarios 32 6 10 16 30 41 −11 28
14 Deportivo Pereira 32 5 13 14 39 55 −16 28
15 Deportes Quindío 32 5 13 14 34 62 −28 28
16 Cúcuta Deportivo 32 4 10 18 27 61 −34 22
Source: RSSSF
Rules for classification: 1) Points, 2) Wins, 3) Goal difference, 4) Goals for, 5) Away goals for, 6) Goals against, 7) Away goals against, 8) Drawing of lots.

Torneo Finalización

The Torneo Finalización (also known as Copa Mustang II) began on 26 February 1997 and ended on 20 April 1997. An aggregate table known as Reclasificación including the games of both tournaments (Apertura and Finalización) was used to determine the teams that would advance to the Copa Mustang final stage, as well as the first team to be relegated to Categoría Primera B for the following season.

Aggregate table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 América de Cali 46 29 10 7 70 37 +33 99[lower-alpha 1] Advance to the Final group
2 Atlético Nacional 46 24 14 8 73 37 +36 87[lower-alpha 1]
3 Deportivo Cali 46 23 13 10 77 54 +23 82.5[lower-alpha 1]
4 Deportes Tolima 46 18 16 12 61 54 +7 70
5 Independiente Medellín 46 18 16 12 49 44 +5 70
6 Unión Magdalena 46 20 9 17 55 61 −6 69
7 Junior 46 18 11 17 65 58 +7 65.25[lower-alpha 1]
8 Atlético Bucaramanga 46 17 13 16 59 59 0 64
9 Cortuluá 46 15 18 13 50 49 +1 63
10 Once Caldas 46 15 15 16 63 48 +15 60
11 Santa Fe 46 14 14 18 47 52 −5 56
12 Envigado 46 13 15 18 55 55 0 54
13 Deportes Quindío 46 11 15 20 57 85 −28 48
14 Deportivo Pereira 46 8 16 22 58 82 −24 40
15 Millonarios 46 8 13 25 45 65 −20 37
16 Cúcuta Deportivo (R) 46 5 16 25 36 80 −44 31 Relegation by average to Categoría Primera B
Source: RSSSF
Rules for classification: 1) Points, 2) Wins, 3) Goal difference, 4) Goals for, 5) Away goals for, 6) Goals against, 7) Away goals against, 8) Drawing of lots.
(R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. Apertura bonus points: América de Cali 2, Atlético Nacional 1, Deportivo Cali 0.5, Junior 0.25

Final group

In the third stage of the tournament, the four qualified teams played each other under a double round-robin system with the team with the most points at the end of this stage advancing to the championship playoff and qualifying for the 1998 Copa Libertadores.

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification AME TOL NAC CAL
1 América de Cali 6 2 3 1 9 4 +5 10[lower-alpha 1] Advance to Championship playoff and Copa Libertadores — 0–0 4–0 1–1
2 Deportes Tolima 6 2 3 1 6 3 +3 9 0–0 — 0–1 3–1
3 Atlético Nacional 6 3 0 3 8 11 −3 9 3–1 1–3 — 2–1
4 Deportivo Cali 6 1 2 3 5 10 −5 5 0–3 0–0 2–1 —
Source: RSSSF
Rules for classification: 1) Points, 2) Wins, 3) Goal difference, 4) Goals for, 5) Away goals for, 6) Goals against, 7) Away goals against, 8) Drawing of lots.
Notes:
  1. Aggregate table bonus: 1 point

Torneo Adecuación

The Torneo Adecuación began on 10 July 1997 and ended on 13 December 1997.

Group A
Pos Team Pld W PW PL L GF GA GD Pts
1 Deportes Quindío 16 9 0 4 3 24 16 +8 31
2 Atlético Bucaramanga 16 7 1 4 4 22 17 +5 27
3 Deportes Tolima 16 4 6 2 4 11 13 −2 26
4 Junior 16 6 2 2 6 23 22 +1 24
5 Once Caldas 16 2 7 4 3 18 22 −4 24
6 América de Cali 16 6 1 3 6 20 20 0 23
7 Santa Fe 16 5 2 4 5 19 20 −1 23
8 Independiente Medellín 16 3 0 2 11 16 27 −11 11
Source: RSSSF
Rules for classification: 1) Points, 2) Wins, 3) Goal difference, 4) Goals for, 5) Away goals for, 6) Goals against, 7) Away goals against, 8) Drawing of lots.

Group B
Pos Team Pld W PW PL L GF GA GD Pts
1 Deportivo Cali 16 9 3 0 4 29 19 +10 33
2 Millonarios 16 8 4 1 3 21 11 +10 33
3 Unión Magdalena 16 8 1 2 5 26 22 +4 28
4 Atlético Nacional 16 7 0 3 6 22 21 +1 24
5 Envigado 16 4 5 2 5 13 15 −2 24
6 Cortuluá 16 4 3 4 5 15 16 −1 22
7 Deportivo Pereira 16 3 2 4 7 17 20 −3 17
8 Deportivo Unicosta 16 2 4 0 10 14 29 −15 14
Source: RSSSF
Rules for classification: 1) Points, 2) Wins, 3) Goal difference, 4) Goals for, 5) Away goals for, 6) Goals against, 7) Away goals against, 8) Drawing of lots.

Group A
Pos Team Pld W PW PL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Deportivo Cali 22 12 5 0 5 39 26 +13 47[lower-alpha 1] Advance to the Semi-finals
2 Atlético Bucaramanga 22 10 1 5 6 35 28 +7 37.75[lower-alpha 2]
3 Santa Fe 22 6 3 6 7 27 31 −4 30
4 Independiente Medellín 22 3 2 4 13 26 39 −13 17
Source: RSSSF
Rules for classification: 1) Points, 2) Wins, 3) Goal difference, 4) Goals for, 5) Away goals for, 6) Goals against, 7) Away goals against, 8) Bonus points.
Notes:
  1. First stage bonus: 1 point
  2. First stage bonus: 0.75 points

Group B
Pos Team Pld W PW PL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Millonarios 22 11 5 1 5 34 22 +12 44.75[lower-alpha 1] Advance to the Semi-finals
2 América de Cali 22 8 2 5 7 31 28 +3 33
3 Deportes Tolima 22 5 7 3 7 18 25 −7 32.5[lower-alpha 2]
4 Deportivo Unicosta 22 4 5 1 12 24 39 −15 23
Source: RSSSF
Rules for classification: 1) Points, 2) Wins, 3) Goal difference, 4) Goals for, 5) Away goals for, 6) Goals against, 7) Away goals against, 8) Bonus points.
Notes:
  1. First stage bonus: 0.75 points
  2. First stage bonus: 0.5 points

Group C
Pos Team Pld W PW PL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Atlético Nacional 22 11 1 3 7 37 29 +8 38.25[lower-alpha 1] Advance to the Semi-finals
2 Once Caldas 22 6 7 5 4 31 29 +2 37
3 Deportes Quindío 22 9 1 5 7 29 27 +2 35[lower-alpha 2]
4 Deportivo Pereira (R) 22 5 2 4 11 25 35 −10 23 Relegation by average to Categoría Primera B
Source: RSSSF
Rules for classification: 1) Points, 2) Wins, 3) Goal difference, 4) Goals for, 5) Away goals for, 6) Goals against, 7) Away goals against, 8) Bonus points.
(R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. First stage bonus: 0.25 points
  2. First stage bonus: 1 point

Group D
Pos Team Pld W PW PL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Junior 22 10 2 3 7 32 26 +6 37.25[lower-alpha 1] Advance to the Semi-finals
2 Cortuluá 22 7 5 4 6 25 25 0 35
3 Unión Magdalena 22 9 1 3 9 33 31 +2 32.5[lower-alpha 2]
4 Envigado 22 5 6 3 8 18 24 −6 30
Source: RSSSF
Rules for classification: 1) Points, 2) Wins, 3) Goal difference, 4) Goals for, 5) Away goals for, 6) Goals against, 7) Away goals against, 8) Bonus points.
Notes:
  1. First stage bonus: 0.25 points
  2. First stage bonus: 0.5 points

Semi-finals

In the third stage of the tournament, the eight qualified teams were split into two groups, and played each one of the other teams in their group under a double round-robin system with the teams with the most points in each group at the end of this stage advancing to the final. The group runners-up advanced to the third place play-off.

Group A
Pos Team Pld W PW PL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification QUI ONC NAC CAL
1 Deportes Quindío 6 3 1 1 1 8 5 +3 12 Advance to the Finals — 1–1 (4–3 p) 0–0 (4–5 p) 2–1
2 Once Caldas 6 3 0 1 2 7 6 +1 10 Advance to the Third place play-off 2–1 — 2–1 1–2
3 Atlético Nacional 6 2 1 0 3 6 8 −2 8 0–1 1–0 — 2–1
4 Deportivo Cali 6 2 0 0 4 9 11 −2 6 1–3 0–1 4–2 —
Source: RSSSF
Rules for classification: 1) Points, 2) Wins, 3) Goal difference, 4) Goals for, 5) Away goals for, 6) Goals against, 7) Away goals against, 8) Bonus points.

Group B
Pos Team Pld W PW PL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification BUC MIL COR JUN
1 Atlético Bucaramanga 6 2 3 1 0 9 3 +6 13 Advance to the Finals — 1–1 (3–4 p) 1–1 (6–5 p) 2–0
2 Millonarios 6 2 3 1 0 9 5 +4 13 Advance to the Third place play-off 0–0 (4–5 p) — 4–1 3–2
3 Cortuluá 6 0 1 3 2 6 10 −4 5 1–1 (2–3 p) 1–1 (2–3 p) — 1–1 (4–3 p)
4 Junior 6 1 0 2 3 5 11 −6 5 0–4 0–0 (3–4 p) 2–1 —
Source: RSSSF
Rules for classification: 1) Points, 2) Wins, 3) Goal difference, 4) Goals for, 5) Away goals for, 6) Goals against, 7) Away goals against, 8) Bonus points.

Third place play-off
Millonarios2–1Once Caldas
  • Villarreal 4', 54'
Once Caldas3–0Millonarios

Tied 3–3 on points, Millonarios won on bonus points and qualified for the 1998 Copa CONMEBOL. Millonarios eventually declined to take part in the Copa CONMEBOL upon being invited to compete in the 1998 Copa Merconorte, thus yielding the berth to Once Caldas.[4]

Finals
Atlético Bucaramanga2–1Deportes Quindío
  • Restrepo 34' (pen.)
  • Ballesteros 35'
Deportes Quindío1–1Atlético Bucaramanga
  • Ballesteros 90'

Atlético Bucaramanga won 4–1 on points, advanced to the championship playoff and qualified for the 1998 Copa Libertadores. Deportes Quindío qualified for the 1998 Copa CONMEBOL.

Championship playoff
Atlético Bucaramanga0–1América de Cali
América de Cali2–0Atlético Bucaramanga

América de Cali won 6–0 on points.

 1996–97 Categoría Primera A champions 
América de Cali
9th title

Top goalscorers
Rank Name Club Goals
1 Colombia Hámilton Ricard Deportivo Cali 36
2 Colombia Arnulfo Valentierra Once Caldas 33
3 Colombia Jorge Ramírez Quesada Deportes Tolima 27
4 Colombia Carlos Rodas Deportivo Pereira 26
5 Colombia Edison Mafla Deportivo Cali 25
6 Argentina Sergio Galván Rey Once Caldas 23
7 Colombia Luis Zuleta Unión Magdalena 20
8 Colombia Bernardo Redín Deportes Quindío 18
Uruguay Jorge Villar Unión Magdalena
10 Colombia Juan Pablo Ángel Atlético Nacional 17

Source: Historia del Fútbol Profesional Colombiano 70 Años[5]

References
  1. "De aquel 19 al 7 de diciembre: recorrido por las catorce estrellas del América de Cali" [From that 19th to December 7th: a tour of the fourteen stars of América de Cali] (in Spanish). El País. 7 December 2019. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  2. "Colombia 1996/97". RSSSF. 25 November 1999. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  3. "EL MANUAL PARA SEGUIR EL TORNEO DE FÚTBOL 1996-97" [THE HANDBOOK TO FOLLOW THE 1996–97 FOOTBALL TOURNAMENT] (in Spanish). El Tiempo. 21 March 1997. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  4. "Nuestra HISTORIA" [Our HISTORY] (in Spanish). Once Caldas DAF. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  5. Ruiz Bonilla, Guillermo (2018). Historia del Fútbol Profesional Colombiano 70 Años (First ed.). Bogotá, Colombia: Mundo Fútbol SAS. p. 337. ISBN 9-789584-852731.
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