The 1996 Torneo Descentralizado was the 81st season of the top category of Peruvian football. A total of 16 teams competed in the tournament.

Sporting Cristal Club Sporting Cristal S.A. is a Peruvian sports club located in the city of Lima, best known for its association football, football team. It was founded on 13 December 1955 in the Rímac District, Rímac district by engineer Richard Bentín Mujica ...

won its 13th first division title, completing a string of 3 consecutive titles starting in 1994. The feat is known as a ''tricampeonato'' and was only accomplished before by

Alianza Lima Club Alianza Lima, popularly known as Alianza Lima or simply Alianza, is a Peruvian professional sports club based in La Victoria District of Lima, Peru. It is widely known for having one of the most historical and successful football teams i ...

Changes from 1995

*The tournament would be played like in 1994, where the champion was crowned after the first stage of the tournament and the second berth to the Copa Libertadores was determined by an end-of-season Liguilla featuring 4 teams. *Four teams were relegated instead of the customary two. Two teams from the

Copa Perú The Copa Perú is a football tournament in Peru. Despite its name, it is not entirely an elimination-cup competition involving all Peruvian clubs, but rather a series of league tournaments leading to an elimination tournament, with regional leagu ...

and the

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commercially known as LaLiga SmartBank for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spanish football league system. Administrated by the Lig ...

in their place.

Teams

First stage

The first stage of the season was played as a double

round-robin tournament A round-robin tournament (or all-go-away-tournament) is a competition Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero ...

as champions qualified for the

1997 Copa Libertadores The 1997 edition of Copa Libertadores was won by Cruzeiro of Brazil, after defeating Sporting Cristal of Peru in the final. This was Cruzeiro's second title, their first being the 1976 edition. Cruzeiro's 1997 championship is the only time any ...

directly advanced to the end-of-season Liguilla and received a bonus point for placing second. The teams that placed 3 to 8 advanced to a preliminary round.

Pre-Liguilla

Universitario, Deportivo Pesquero, and Cienciano qualified for the Liguilla.

Liguilla

All matches were played in Lima.

References

External links

RSSSF Peru 1996 by Eli Schmerler, José Luis Pierrend
{{Torneo Descentralizado

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

Football (soccer) Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

Peruvian Primera División seasons