2021 Paraguayan Primera División season

The 2021 División Profesional season (officially the Copa de Primera TIGO-Visión Banco 2021 for sponsorship reasons) was the 87th season of the Paraguayan Primera División, the top-flight professional football league in Paraguay. The season began on 5 February and ended on 5 December 2021. The fixtures for the season were announced on 15 January 2021.[1][2] Olimpia were the defending champions after winning the 2020 Clausura tournament.

Primera División
Season2021
Dates5 February – 5 December 2021
ChampionsApertura: Libertad (21st title)
Clausura: Cerro Porteño (34th title)
RelegatedSportivo Luqueño
River Plate
Copa LibertadoresCerro Porteño
Libertad
Guaraní
Olimpia
Copa SudamericanaNacional
Guaireña
Sol de América (via Copa Paraguay)
Matches played180
Goals scored456 (2.53 per match)
Top goalscorerApertura: Leonardo Villagra (10 goals)
Clausura: Sebastián Ferreira and Lorenzo Melgarejo (9 goals each)
Biggest home winLibertad 5–0 Sportivo Luqueño
(29 August)
Libertad 5–0 River Plate
(3 December)
Biggest away win12 de Octubre 0–5 Sol de América
(20 February)
Guaraní 1–6 Libertad
(16 May)
Highest scoringGuaraní 1–6 Libertad
(16 May)
← 2020
2022 →

In the Torneo Apertura, Libertad secured their twenty-first league title with one match to spare following Nacional's loss to River Plate on 23 May,[3] whilst in the Torneo Clausura Cerro Porteño won their thirty-fourth league title after drawing with eventual runners-up Guaraní 2–2 on the last matchday played on 4 December.[4]

Teams

Ten teams competed in the season: the top ten teams in the relegation table of the previous season, with no teams promoted from the División Intermedia since the 2020 seasons of the lower-tier club tournaments of Paraguayan football were cancelled by the Paraguayan Football Association due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[5] General Díaz and San Lorenzo were both relegated to the second tier at the end of the previous season after eight and two years in the top flight, respectively.

Stadia and locations
Locations of the 2021 Primera División teams
Team Manager City Stadium[note 1] Capacity
12 de OctubreParaguay Pedro SarabiaItauguáLuis Alberto Salinas10,000
Cerro PorteñoParaguay Francisco ArceAsunciónGeneral Pablo Rojas45,000
GuaireñaParaguay Troadio DuarteVillarricaParque del Guairá12,000
GuaraníSpain Fernando JuberoAsunciónRogelio Livieres6,000
LibertadArgentina Daniel GarneroAsunciónDr. Nicolás Leoz10,000
NacionalUruguay Hernán Rodrigo LópezAsunciónArsenio Erico4,000
OlimpiaParaguay Julio César CáceresAsunciónManuel Ferreira25,000
River PlateParaguay Iván AlmeidaAsunciónRiver Plate6,500
Sol de AméricaArgentina Juan Pablo PumpidoVilla ElisaLuis Alfonso Giagni11,000
Sportivo LuqueñoArgentina Miguel Ángel ZahzúLuqueFeliciano Cáceres25,000
  1. Teams occasionally play their home matches at Estadio Defensores del Chaco in Asunción. Derbies between Cerro Porteño and Olimpia are also played at this stadium.

Managerial changes
Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment
Torneo Apertura
River Plate Paraguay Ariel Galeano End of caretaker spell 18 December 2020 Pre-season Argentina Mario Jara 21 December 2020[6]
Libertad Paraguay Juan Samudio 23 December 2020 Argentina Daniel Garnero 30 December 2020[7]
Sol de América Paraguay Celso Ayala Sacked 17 February 2021[8] 10th Paraguay Gustavo Florentín 17 February 2021[8]
River Plate Argentina Mario Jara Resigned 9 March 2021[9] 8th Paraguay Enrique Landaida 10 March 2021[10]
Olimpia Argentina Néstor Gorosito Sacked 15 March 2021[11] 4th Uruguay Sergio Órteman 15 March 2021[12]
Sol de América Paraguay Gustavo Florentín Resigned 23 March 2021[13] 8th Paraguay Ever Hugo Almeida 23 March 2021[14]
River Plate Paraguay Enrique Landaida Sacked 17 April 2021[15] 10th Paraguay Celso Ayala 18 April 2021[16]
Sportivo Luqueño Paraguay Luis Escobar 1 May 2021[17] 8th Paraguay Gilberto Fleitas (caretaker) 1 May 2021[17]
Sol de América Paraguay Ever Hugo Almeida 3 May 2021[18] 9th Paraguay Iván Almeida (caretaker) 3 May 2021[18]
Sportivo Luqueño Paraguay Gilberto Fleitas End of caretaker spell 9 May 2021 8th Argentina Alfredo Berti 9 May 2021[19]
Guaraní Argentina Gustavo Costas Mutual consent 28 May 2021[20] 6th Spain Fernando Jubero 12 June 2021[21]
Torneo Clausura
Sol de América Paraguay Iván Almeida End of caretaker spell 10 June 2021 Pre-tournament Argentina Juan Pablo Pumpido 10 June 2021[22]
Olimpia Uruguay Sergio Órteman Resigned 14 August 2021[23] 9th Paraguay Enrique Landaida 15 August 2021[24]
Paraguay Enrique Landaida Change of role 12 September 2021[25] 10th Uruguay Álvaro Gutiérrez 9 September 2021[26]
Sportivo Luqueño Argentina Alfredo Berti Sacked 12 September 2021[27] 5th Spain Badayco Maciel[lower-roman 1] 13 September 2021[29]
Olimpia Uruguay Álvaro Gutiérrez Resigned 14 October 2021[30] 10th Paraguay Julio César Cáceres 15 October 2021[31]
River Plate Paraguay Celso Ayala Sacked 18 October 2021[32] 6th Paraguay Iván Almeida 19 October 2021[33]
Sportivo Luqueño Spain Badayco Maciel Replaced 7 December 2021[34] Relegation play-off Argentina Miguel Ángel Zahzú 8 December 2021[34]
Notes
  1. Originally as caretaker manager, appointed as manager until the end of the tournament on 20 September 2021.[28]

Torneo Apertura

The Campeonato de Apertura, named "Centenario del Sportivo Luqueño", was the 123rd official championship of the Primera División and the first championship of the 2021 season. It started on 5 February and ended on 30 May.[35]

Standings
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Libertad (C) 18 12 2 4 36 15 +21 38 Qualification for Copa Libertadores group stage
2 Olimpia 18 10 3 5 34 23 +11 33
3 Nacional 18 8 6 4 26 19 +7 30
4 Cerro Porteño 18 8 4 6 24 22 +2 28
5 Guaireña 18 6 8 4 20 14 +6 26
6 Guaraní 18 7 4 7 24 27 −3 25
7 12 de Octubre 18 5 7 6 20 25 −5 22
8 Sportivo Luqueño 18 5 3 10 19 29 −10 18
9 Sol de América 18 3 5 10 18 28 −10 14
10 River Plate 18 2 6 10 13 32 −19 12
Source: APF, Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points, 2) Playoff game (only if needed to decide championship between two teams), 3) Goal difference, 4) Goals for, 5) Away goals for, 6) Drawing of lots.
(C) Champions

Results
Home \ Away 12O CCP GFC GUA LIB NAC OLI RIV SOL SLU
12 de Octubre — 0–2 1–1 1–1 2–1 2–2 0–2 2–2 0–5 1–0
Cerro Porteño 0–1 — 2–2 2–1 0–3 2–2 2–0 3–0 1–0 1–0
Guaireña 0–0 0–1 — 0–0 1–0 1–0 1–2 0–0 2–2 3–0
Guaraní 2–1 2–0 0–3 — 1–6 2–2 0–3 2–0 2–0 0–1
Libertad 3–1 2–1 2–1 1–1 — 1–1 0–1 2–1 1–2 2–0
Nacional 1–1 2–0 1–3 2–0 0–3 — 2–1 0–1 1–0 1–0
Olimpia 2–2 2–0 0–0 2–1 0–1 1–4 — 5–1 3–3 4–1
River Plate 0–2 1–1 0–1 1–4 1–3 0–0 1–2 — 0–2 1–0
Sol de América 0–3 1–3 0–0 1–3 0–2 1–2 0–2 1–1 — 0–2
Sportivo Luqueño 1–0 3–3 3–1 1–2 1–3 0–3 4–2 2–2 0–0 —
Source: Soccerway
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Top scorers
Rank Name Club Goals
1 Paraguay Leonardo Villagra Nacional 10
2 Paraguay Óscar Cardozo Libertad 9
3 Argentina Mauro Boselli Cerro Porteño 7
Paraguay Robert Morales Cerro Porteño
Paraguay Jorge Recalde Olimpia
6 Paraguay Carlos Arrua Nacional 6
Paraguay Fernando Fernández Guaraní
Uruguay Alejandro Silva Olimpia
9 Paraguay José Ariel Núñez 12 de Octubre 5
Paraguay Fernando Romero Guaireña
Paraguay Pablo Velázquez 12 de Octubre
Paraguay Pablo Zeballos River Plate

Source: Soccerway

Torneo Clausura

The Campeonato de Clausura, named "Homenaje a César Zabala", was the 124th official championship of the Primera División and the second championship of the 2021 season. It began on 16 July and ended on 5 December.[36]

Standings
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Cerro Porteño (C) 18 11 5 2 27 8 +19 38 Qualification for Copa Libertadores group stage
2 Guaraní 18 10 6 2 39 19 +20 36
3 Sol de América 18 8 4 6 22 22 0 28
4 Libertad 18 7 6 5 32 21 +11 27
5 12 de Octubre 18 5 6 7 18 22 −4 21
6 Sportivo Luqueño 18 5 6 7 16 27 −11 21
7 Nacional 18 4 8 6 17 25 −8 20
8 Olimpia 18 6 0 12 24 29 −5 18
9 Guaireña 18 4 6 8 12 21 −9 18
10 River Plate 18 4 5 9 15 28 −13 17
Source: APF, Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points, 2) Playoff game (only if needed to decide championship between two teams), 3) Goal difference, 4) Goals for, 5) Away goals for, 6) Drawing of lots.
(C) Champions

Results
Home \ Away 12O CCP GFC GUA LIB NAC OLI RIV SOL SLU
12 de Octubre — 0–1 0–0 1–2 0–1 2–2 1–3 2–2 1–0 0–1
Cerro Porteño 1–0 — 2–0 0–0 1–1 0–2 1–0 2–0 3–0 0–1
Guaireña 0–1 0–2 — 1–1 2–1 0–0 0–2 1–2 1–1 1–2
Guaraní 4–1 2–2 3–0 — 2–2 1–1 3–1 2–1 3–0 2–1
Libertad 3–3 0–2 0–0 2–0 — 1–2 0–3 5–0 1–1 5–0
Nacional 1–1 1–5 0–2 1–1 1–0 — 1–3 1–1 1–1 0–0
Olimpia 1–2 0–3 0–2 1–3 2–3 1–2 — 1–3 0–1 4–0
River Plate 0–2 0–0 1–1 1–5 0–1 1–0 1–2 — 0–2 0–0
Sol de América 0–1 1–2 3–0 2–1 0–4 3–0 1–0 1–0 — 2–1
Sportivo Luqueño 0–0 0–0 0–1 1–4 2–2 2–1 2–0 0–2 3–3 —
Source: Soccerway
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Top scorers
Rank Name Club Goals
1 Paraguay Sebastián Ferreira Libertad 9
Paraguay Lorenzo Melgarejo Libertad
3 Brazil Chico Sol de América 8
4 Argentina Claudio Aquino Cerro Porteño 7
Paraguay José Florentín Guaraní
Paraguay José Verdún Guaireña
7 Paraguay Enrique Borja Sportivo Luqueño 6
Paraguay Robert Morales Cerro Porteño
Paraguay Alfio Oviedo Guaraní
10 Paraguay Hernesto Caballero River Plate 5
Paraguay Fernando Fernández Guaraní
Paraguay Marcelo González Guaraní

Source: Soccerway

Aggregate table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Cerro Porteño (C) 36 19 9 8 51 30 +21 66 Qualification for Copa Libertadores group stage[lower-alpha 1]
2 Libertad (C) 36 19 8 9 68 36 +32 65
3 Guaraní 36 17 10 9 63 46 +17 61 Qualification for Copa Libertadores second stage
4 Olimpia 36 16 3 17 58 52 +6 51 Qualification for Copa Libertadores first stage
5 Nacional 36 12 14 10 43 44 −1 50 Qualification for Copa Sudamericana first stage
6 Guaireña 36 10 14 12 32 35 −3 44
7 12 de Octubre 36 10 13 13 38 47 −9 43
8 Sol de América 36 11 9 16 40 50 −10 42 Qualification for Copa Sudamericana first stage[lower-alpha 2]
9 Sportivo Luqueño 36 10 9 17 35 56 −21 39
10 River Plate 36 6 11 19 28 60 −32 29
Source: APF
Rules for classification: 1) Points, 2) Playoff game (only if needed to decide international qualification between two teams), 3) Goal difference, 4) Goals for, 5) Away goals for, 6) Drawing of lots.
(C) Champions
Notes:
  1. Cerro Porteño also qualified for the 2021 Supercopa Paraguay as the best-ranked champions in the aggregate table.
  2. Sol de América qualified for the Copa Sudamericana first stage as 2021 Copa Paraguay runners-up.

Relegation

Relegation is determined at the end of the season by computing an average of the number of points earned per game over the past three seasons. The team with the lowest average was relegated to the División Intermedia for the following season, while the team with the second lowest average played a double-legged relegation play-off against the 2021 Intermedia fourth placed team.[37]

Relegation table
Pos
Team
2019
Pts		2020
Pts		2021
Pts		Total
Pts		Total
Pld		AvgRelegation
1Olimpia 10862512211131.956
2Cerro Porteño 8069662151131.903
3Libertad 8562652121131.876
4Guaraní 6959611891131.673
5Nacional 5244501461131.292
6Guaireña —414485691.232
712 de Octubre —414384691.217
8Sol de América 5735421341131.186
9Sportivo Luqueño (R) 5236391271131.124 Qualification for Relegation play-off
10River Plate (R) 5238291191131.053 Relegation to División Intermedia

Source: APF

Promotion/relegation play-off
Sportivo Ameliano3–2Sportivo Luqueño
  • Giménez 21', 72'
  • Arce 63'
 Report
Referee: Carlos Benítez
Sportivo Luqueño1–1Sportivo Ameliano
  • Castro 77'
 Report
  • Giménez 42'
Referee: Alipio Colmán

Sportivo Ameliano won 4–3 on aggregate and were promoted to Primera División. Sportivo Luqueño were relegated to the División Intermedia.

Season awards

On 14 December 2021 a ceremony was held at the Paraguayan Football Association's headquarters to announce the winners of the season awards (Premios de Primera), who were chosen based on voting by the managers of the 10 Primera División teams, local sports journalists, the APF's Referee Commission, the public as well as official statistics.[38]

Award Winner Club
Best Player Argentina Claudio Aquino Cerro Porteño
Revelation Player Paraguay Julio César Enciso Libertad
People's Player Brazil Jean Paulo Fernandes Cerro Porteño
Top Scorer Paraguay Leonardo Villagra (14 goals) Nacional
Best Goal Argentina Claudio Aquino
(against Olimpia, Torneo Clausura Round 14)		 Cerro Porteño
Best Goalkeeper Brazil Jean Paulo Fernandes Cerro Porteño
Best Manager Paraguay Francisco Arce Cerro Porteño
Fair Play Team Guaireña
Best Referee Giancarlo Juliadoza
Best VAR Referee Mario Díaz de Vivar

References
  1. "Vuelve el apasionante todos contra todos para el Apertura 2021" (in Spanish). Tigo Sports. 5 January 2021. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  2. "Ya se conoce el calendario del torneo Apertura 2021" (in Spanish). Tigo Sports. 15 January 2021. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  3. "¡Libertad Campeón!". ABC Color. 23 May 2021.
  4. "Guaraní vs. Cerro Porteño: A lo Ciclón, Cerro Porteño es el campeón del Clausura" (in Spanish). ABC Color. 4 December 2021. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
  5. "Es oficial: ¡APF suspende Intermedia y 6 torneos más!". Versus. 11 September 2020. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  6. "Mario Jara es nuevo técnico del Kelito" (in Spanish). D10 Paraguay. 21 December 2020. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  7. "Libertad hace oficial la llegada de Daniel Garnero" (in Spanish). D10 Paraguay. 30 December 2020. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  8. "Sol tiene nuevo técnico" (in Spanish). D10 Paraguay. 17 February 2021. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  9. "Un cambio anunciado: Se fue Mario Jara y River ya tiene nuevo DT" (in Spanish). Versus. 9 March 2021. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  10. "Landaida valora la oportunidad" (in Spanish). D10 Paraguay. 10 March 2021. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  11. "Olimpia oficializa la salida de Néstor Gorosito" (in Spanish). D10 Paraguay. 15 March 2021.
  12. "Sergio Orteman, nuevo técnico de Olimpia" (in Spanish). D10 Paraguay. 15 March 2021.
  13. "Gustavo Florentín renuncia a Sol de América" (in Spanish). D10 Paraguay. 23 March 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  14. "Éver Hugo Almeida es nuevo técnico de Sol de América" (in Spanish). Versus. 23 March 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  15. ""Kike" Landaida dejó River Plate sin poder ganar en el Apertura 2021" (in Spanish). Versus. 18 April 2021. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
  16. "Celso Ayala, listo para su segundo ciclo en River" (in Spanish). Tigo Sports. 19 April 2021. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
  17. "Escobar deja la conducción técnica de Luqueño" (in Spanish). Tigo Sports. 18 April 2021. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  18. "Éver Almeida ya no es técnico de Sol de América" (in Spanish). D10 Paraguay. 3 May 2021. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  19. "Sportivo Luqueño anunció al Berti" (in Spanish). D10 Paraguay. 10 May 2021. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  20. "Gustavo Costas deja la dirección técnica de Guaraní" (in Spanish). D10 Paraguay. 19 May 2021. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  21. "Fernando Jubero está en Paraguay para el segundo ciclo en Guaraní" [Fernando Jubero is already in Paraguay for the second spell at Guaraní] (in Spanish). ABC Color. 12 June 2021. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
  22. "Juan Pablo Pumpido es el nuevo DT de Sol de América" [Juan Pablo Pumpido is the new manager of Sol de América] (in Spanish). ESPN. 10 June 2021. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
  23. "Sergio Orteman deja de ser técnico de Olimpia" (in Spanish). Tigo Sports. 15 August 2021.
  24. "Olimpia presenta a Enrique Landaida" (in Spanish). D10 Paraguay. 15 August 2021. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  25. "Enrique Landaida argumenta el cambio de técnico en Olimpia" (in Spanish). D10. 9 September 2021. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  26. "Olimpia anuncia a Álvaro Gutiérrez como nuevo técnico" (in Spanish). D10. 9 September 2021. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  27. "Alfredo Berti dejó la conducción técnica de Luqueño" (in Spanish). D10 Paraguay. 12 September 2021. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
  28. "Badayco Maciel continúa como entrenador de Sportivo Luqueño" (in Spanish). D10. 20 September 2021. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  29. "Badayco Maciel interina en Luqueño" (in Spanish). D10 Paraguay. 13 September 2021.
  30. "Olimpia hace oficial la salida de Álvaro Gutiérrez" (in Spanish). D10. 14 October 2021. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  31. "Olimpia presenta el nuevo cuerpo técnico" (in Spanish). D10. 15 October 2021. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  32. "Celso Ayala deja la conducción de River Plate" (in Spanish). Tigo Sports. 19 October 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
  33. "Iván Almeida empieza a trabajar con el plantel de River Plate" (in Spanish). Tigo Sports. 20 October 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
  34. "Luqueño contrata a Zahzú para la revancha" (in Spanish). Tigo Sports. 8 December 2021. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  35. "El Torneo Apertura 2021 tiene fecha de inicio, denominación y formato" (in Spanish). Versus. 27 November 2020. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  36. "Así quedaron los torneos" (in Spanish). ABC Color. 15 January 2021. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  37. "Panorama completo de los torneos paraguayos" (in Spanish). D10 Paraguay. 2 January 2021. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  38. "Estos fueron los protagonistas del 2021" (in Spanish). APF. 14 December 2021. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
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