The 1997 Torneo Descentralizado was the 82nd season of the top category of

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 ...

vian

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 ...

. It was played by 14 teams. The national champion was

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 ...

, their first title in 19 years.

Competition modus

The national championship was divided into two half-year

tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

s, the Torneo Apertura and the Torneo Clausura. Each was played on a round-robin basis. The winners of each would play for the national title in a playoff. However, since the same club won both tournaments, it won the national championship automatically. Following-season

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as the Copa Libertadores de América ( pt, Copa Libertadores da América), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in S ...

berths went to the champion, as well as to the winner of a Liguilla (''small league'') featuring teams between second and seventh place on the aggregate table. This had a round-robin format, with the team obtaining the best results in matchups during the "regular season" playing at home. The runner-up would qualify for the

Copa CONMEBOL The Copa CONMEBOL ( en, CONMEBOL Cup) was an annual football cup competition organized by CONMEBOL between 1992 and 1999 for South American football clubs. During its time of existence, it was a very prestigious South American club football cont ...

. The bottom four teams on the aggregate table were relegated.

Teams

Torneo Apertura

Torneo Clausura

Finals

No finals were held after Alianza Lima won both the Apertura and Clausura tournaments, thus automatically obtaining the national title.

Aggregate table

Title

Liguilla Pre-Libertadores

Top scorers

''Source
RSSSF
' ;17 goals * Ricardo Zegarra ''(

Alianza Atlético Club Alianza Atlético de Sullana is a Peruvian association football, football club, located in the city of Sullana, Piura region, Piura. The club was founded in 1920 and promoted to the Primera División Peruana, Peruvian Primera División in 198 ...

)''

External links

Peru 1997 season
Details on

RSSSF The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF) is an international organization dedicated to collecting statistics about association football. The foundation aims to build an exhaustive archive of football-related information from around the ...

{{Torneo Descentralizado Peruvian Primera División seasons

1997 in Peruvian football