2007–08 Argentine Primera División

The Apertura 2007 saw much success for the smaller teams in Argentine football. The eventual champions Lanús won the title for the first time in their history, the first maiden champions since Argentinos Juniors in 1984.

Primera División
Season2007–08
ChampionsApertura: Lanús (1st title)
Clausura: River Plate (35th title)
RelegatedOlimpo
San Martín (SJ)
2008 Copa SudamericanaEstudiantes
San Lorenzo
Argentinos Juniors
Independiente
2009 Copa LibertadoresLanús
River Plate
Top goalscorerApertura: Germán Denis (18 goals)
Clausura: Darío Cvitanich (13 goals)

Second place went to Tigre, a club playing their first season in the Argentine Primera since 1980 and making their best finish ever in the top flight.

Third place went to Banfield, completing an extremely unlikely top three.

Another small club, Arsenal won the 2007 Copa Sudamericana, the first major title in their history, making them the first Argentine club other than Boca Juniors to win an international competition since San Lorenzo won the Copa Sudamericana 2002.

Another feature of the Apertura was the number of managerial changes, by the end of the Apertura there had been 12 managerial changes.

The Clausura 2008 was won by River Plate, their first title since 2004.

For the first time the 380 games of the season were broadcast live on television.

Club locations

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Torneo Apertura

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Standings

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Lanús 19 11 5 3 34 21 13 38 2009 Copa Libertadores Second Stage
2 Tigre 19 10 4 5 28 20 8 34
3 Banfield 19 10 2 7 22 21 1 32
4 Boca Juniors 19 9 4 6 32 18 14 31
5 Argentinos Juniors 19 9 4 6 29 20 9 31
6 Estudiantes (LP) 19 8 6 5 27 19 8 30
7 Huracán 19 8 6 5 24 21 3 30
8 San Lorenzo 19 8 5 6 29 27 2 29
9 Independiente 19 8 4 7 33 23 10 28
10 Vélez Sarsfield 19 8 3 8 25 25 0 27
11 Newell's Old Boys 19 8 3 8 16 22 −6 27
12 Arsenal 19 7 5 7 19 24 −5 26
13 Racing 19 7 4 8 23 24 −1 25
14 River Plate 19 6 5 8 31 33 −2 23
15 Colón 19 6 4 9 19 22 −3 22
16 Olimpo 19 6 4 9 18 24 −6 22
17 Gimnasia y Esgrima (J) 19 5 5 9 22 31 −9 20
18 Gimnasia y Esgrima (LP) 19 5 4 10 15 27 −12 19
19 San Martín (SJ) 19 5 3 11 18 29 −11 18
20 Rosario Central 19 2 8 9 21 33 −12 14
Source: AFA
Rules for classification: 1st points; 2nd goal difference; 3rd goals scored; 4th head-to-head points; 5th head-to-head goal difference; 6th head-to-head goals scored. This does not apply to determining the champion. If two or more teams are tied in point at the end of the tournament, a playoff will be held at a neutral venue within 72 hours for the championship

Top scorers

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Position Player Team Goals
1 Germán Denis Independiente 18
2 José Sand Lanús 15
3 Martín Palermo Boca Juniors 13
4 Leandro Lázzaro Tigre 10
5 Néstor Silvera San Lorenzo 9
5 José Vizcarra Rosario Central 9
7 Facundo Sava Racing 8
8 Fernando Belluschi River Plate 7
8 Néstor Ayala Tigre 7
8 Álvaro Pereira Argentinos Juniors 7
8 Luis Tonelotto San Martín (SJ) 7

Torneo Clausura

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Table positions as of June 22, 2008.

Standings

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 River Plate 19 13 4 2 29 13 16 43 2009 Copa Libertadores Second Stage
2 Boca Juniors 19 11 6 2 33 15 18 39
3 Estudiantes (LP) 19 11 6 2 30 21 9 39
4 San Lorenzo 19 11 2 6 30 21 9 35
5 Vélez Sarsfield 19 9 5 5 24 17 7 32
6 Independiente 19 8 7 4 25 15 10 31
7 Argentinos Juniors 19 9 3 7 23 24 −1 30
8 Newell's Old Boys 19 8 5 6 21 19 2 29
9 Rosario Central 19 7 6 6 26 23 3 27
10 Arsenal 19 7 4 8 22 25 −3 25
11 Colón 19 6 5 8 25 27 −2 23
12 Banfield 19 6 4 9 36 36 0 22
13 Huracán 19 5 7 7 15 17 −2 22
14 Tigre 19 6 4 9 24 37 −13 22
15 Olimpo 19 6 2 11 21 32 −11 20
16 Lanús 19 5 3 11 26 39 −13 18
17 Gimnasia y Esgrima (LP) 19 4 5 10 19 26 −7 17
18 San Martín (SJ) 19 5 2 12 20 30 −10 17
19 Gimnasia y Esgrima (J) 19 2 9 8 20 28 −8 15
20 Racing 19 2 9 8 14 22 −8 15
Source: AFA
Rules for classification: 1st points; 2nd goal difference; 3rd goals scored; 4th head-to-head points; 5th head-to-head goal difference; 6th head-to-head goals scored. This does not apply to determining the champion. If two or more teams are tied in point at the end of the tournament, a playoff will be held at a neutral venue within 72 hours for the championship

Top scorers

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Positions as of June 25, 2008

Position Player Team Goals
1   Darío Cvitanich Banfield 13
2   Martín Palermo Boca Juniors 10
3   Martín Bravo San Martín (San Juan) 9
  Germán Denis Independiente
  Santiago Salcedo Newell's Old Boys
  Diego Buonanotte River Plate
7   Rubén Ramírez Colón 8
  Luciano Leguizamón Arsenal
  César Carranza Gimnasia (Jujuy)
9   Daniel Montenegro Independiente 7
  Santiago Silva Vélez Sársfield
  Gonzalo Bergessio San Lorenzo
  José Sand Lanús

Relegation

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Pos
Team 2005–06
Pts
2006–07
Pts
2007–08
Pts
Total
Pts
Total
Pld
Avg
Relegation
1 Boca Juniors 83 83 70 236 114 2.07
2 Estudiantes (LP) 52 81 69 202 114 1.772
3 River Plate 62 71 66 199 114 1.746
4 San Lorenzo 56 73 64 193 114 1.693
5 Vélez Sarsfield 58 56 59 173 114 1.518
6 Lanús 58 59 56 173 114 1.518
7 Independiente 55 57 59 171 114 1.5
8 Tigre 0 0 56 56 38 1.474
9 Argentinos Juniors 50 46 61 157 114 1.377
10 Arsenal 44 62 51 157 114 1.377
11 Huracán 0 0 52 52 38 1.368
12 Banfield 59 39 54 152 114 1.333
13 Gimnasia y Esgrima (LP) 69 40 36 145 114 1.272
14 Newell's Old Boys 51 38 53 142 114 1.246
15 Rosario Central 45 52 41 138 114 1.211
16 Colón 46 46 45 137 114 1.202
17 Racing 44 49 40 133 114 1.167 Relegation Playoff Matches
18 Gimnasia y Esgrima (J) 51 43 35 129 114 1.132
19 Olimpo 0 0 42 42 38 1.105 Relegated to the Primera B Nacional
20 San Martín (SJ) 0 0 35 35 38 0.921

Updated as of June 22, 2008; Source:AFA

Promotion playoff

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Teams and schedules will be decided based on average after the end of the Closing tournament. The first and second legs of the final are scheduled to be played on June 25 and June 29, respectively.

Date
Time
Venue Home Team Score Away Team Referee Match Report(s)
2008-06-25
17:00 ET
Estadio 15 de Abril,
Santa Fe
Unión
Serrizuela   44'
1-1 Gimnasia (Jujuy)
Carranza   34'
Alejandro Sabino Report Archived 2008-07-01 at the Wayback Machine (in Spanish)
2008-06-29
17:10 ET
Estadio 23 de Agosto,
San Salvador de Jujuy
Gimnasia (Jujuy)
Arraya   68'
1-0 Unión Diego Abal Report Archived 2008-07-02 at the Wayback Machine (in Spanish)

Gimnasia (Jujuy) wins 2-1 and stays in the Argentine First Division, while Unión de Santa Fe does not get promoted and remains in Argentine Nacional B.

Date
Time
Venue Home Team Score Away Team Referee Match Report(s)
2008-06-25
20:10 ET
Estadio Córdoba,
Córdoba
Belgrano
Gigli   76'
1-1 Racing
Sava   14'
Gustavo Bassi Report Archived 2008-07-01 at the Wayback Machine (in Spanish)
2008-06-29
14:10 ET
Presidente Perón,
Avellaneda
Racing
Moralez   10'
1-0 Belgrano Sergio Pezzotta Report Archived 2008-07-02 at the Wayback Machine (in Spanish)

Racing wins 2-1 and stays in the Argentine First Division, while Belgrano does not get promoted and remains in Argentine Nacional B.

International qualification

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Copa Sudamericana

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Qualification for the 2008 Copa Sudamericana is determined from an aggregate table of the Apertura and Clausura tournaments. The top four teams in the aggregate table qualify; Boca Juniors and River Plate are invited regardless of their standings in the season, this season Arsenal was also invited as defending champions.

Aggregate table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Boca Juniors 38 20 10 8 65 33 32 70 2008 Copa Sudamericana Round of 16
2 Estudiantes (LP) 38 19 12 7 56 35 21 69 2008 Copa Sudamericana First Stage
3 River Plate 38 19 9 10 60 46 14 66 2008 Copa Sudamericana Round of 16
4 San Lorenzo 38 19 7 12 59 48 11 64 2008 Copa Sudamericana First Stage
5 Argentinos Juniors 38 18 7 13 52 44 8 61
6 Independiente 38 16 11 11 58 38 20 59
7 Vélez Sarsfield 38 17 8 13 49 42 7 59
8 Lanús 38 16 8 14 60 60 0 56
9 Newell's Old Boys 38 16 8 14 37 41 −4 56
10 Tigre 38 16 8 14 52 57 −5 56
11 Banfield 38 16 6 16 58 57 1 54
12 Huracán 38 13 13 12 39 39 0 52
13 Arsenal 38 14 9 15 41 49 −8 51 2008 Copa Sudamericana First Stage
14 Colón 38 12 9 17 44 49 −5 45
15 Olimpo 38 12 6 20 39 56 −17 42
16 Rosario Central 38 9 14 15 47 56 −9 41
17 Racing 38 9 13 16 37 46 −9 40
18 Gimnasia y Esgrima (LP) 38 9 9 20 34 53 −19 36
19 Gimnasia y Esgrima (J) 38 7 14 17 42 59 −17 35
20 San Martín (SJ) 38 10 5 23 38 59 −21 35
Source: AFA
Rules for classification: 1st points; 2nd head-to-head points; 3rd head-to-head goal difference; 4th head-to-head goals

Managerial Changes

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This is a list of the managerial changes in the Argentine Primera during the 2007-2008 season.

Club Manager out Replaced by
Gimnasia (La Plata) Francisco Maturana 1st Julio Falcioni 2nd Guillermo Sanguinetti
Argentinos Juniors Ricardo Caruso Lombardi Néstor Gorosito
Huracán Antonio Mohamed 1st Osvaldo Ardiles 2nd Claudio Ubeda
Newell's Old Boys Pablo Marini 1st Ricardo Caruso Lombardi 2nd Fernando Gamboa
Olimpo Guillermo Rivarola 1st Roberto Saporiti 2nd Daniel Florit
Rosario Central Carlos Ischia Leonardo Madelón
Gimnasia (Jujuy) Mario Gómez 1st Carlos Ramaciotti 2nd Omar Labruna
Vélez Sársfield Ricardo La Volpe Hugo Tocalli
River Plate Daniel Passarella Diego Simeone
Racing Gustavo Costas 1st Miguel Ángel Micó 2nd Juan Manuel Llop
Estudiantes Diego Simeone Roberto Sensini
Boca Juniors Miguel Ángel Russo Carlos Ischia
Colón Leonardo Astrada Antonio Mohamed
Independiente Pedro Troglio 1st Miguel Ángel Santoro 2nd Claudio Borghi
Banfield Juan Manuel Llop 1st Miguel Jerez 2nd Jorge Burruchaga
San Lorenzo Ramón Díaz Miguel Ángel Russo
Arsenal Gustavo Alfaro Daniel Garnero
Lanús Ramón Cabrero Luis Zubeldía

Transfers

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See List of Argentine Primera División transfers (2007–08 season).

See also

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References

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