The 2020 Liga 1 de Fútbol Profesional (known as the Liga 1 Movistar 2020 for sponsorship reasons) was the 104th season of the
Peruvian Primera División
The Peru First Division (; ''First Division'') —known as Liga 1 Betsson for sponsorship reasons and officially as Liga 1 — is the top flight of association football in Peru. It has been referred to as Torneo Descentralizado since 1966, when ...
, the highest division 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
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
. A total of 20 teams competed in the season with
Binacional coming in as defending champions. The season started on 31 January 2020 and concluded on 20 December 2020 with the second leg of the finals.
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 20th domestic championship by beating
Universitario
Club Universitario de Deportes, popularly known as Universitario or simply as La "U", is a Peruvian football club located in Lima. The club was founded in 1924 under the name Federación Universitaria by students of the National University of S ...
in the finals by a 3–2 aggregate score.
The competition was suspended between 12 March and 7 August due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, being once again suspended that same day after one match had been played. It eventually resumed on 18 August 2020.
Competition format
The season was divided into three stages: Torneo Apertura (Fase 1), Torneo Clausura (Fase 2), and the Playoffs.
The first and second stages were two
Apertura and Clausura
The ' and ' tournaments is a split season format for Spanish-speaking sports leagues. It is a relatively recent innovation for many Latin American football leagues in which the traditional association football season from August to May is div ...
tournaments, later rebranded as ''Fase 1'' and ''Fase 2'', respectively. In the Apertura tournament, each team played the other teams once for a total of 19 games. Prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Clausura tournament was scheduled to be played in a similar way to the Apertura, with reversed fixtures, however, its format was altered due to the 5-month suspension of the league. For the Clausura, the 20 teams were split into two groups of 10 according to their final placement in the Apertura. Teams played the other teams in their group once, with the winners of both groups playing a final to decide the Clausura winners.
Points earned during the Apertura did not carry over during the Clausura. The winners of the Apertura and Clausura stages qualified to the playoffs along with the top two teams of the aggregate table at the end of the season, unless the Apertura and Clausura winners were placed in the top two positions of the aggregate table.
The playoffs to decide the national champion were scheduled to be contested by four teams, which would play two semifinals with the winners playing the final. Since the Apertura winners also ended up in the top two of the aggregate table, they were given a bye to the final and only one semi-final was played by the other two playoff qualifiers. In every stage of the playoffs, the teams with the most points on the aggregate table chose which leg they would play as the home team. If teams were tied in points after the two legs of the final, extra time and a penalty shootout would have been played to decide the national champion. If a team won both the Apertura and Clausura, the playoffs would not be played and that team would be declared as champion.
Qualification to international competitions was as follows: the four playoff qualifiers (or the top four teams of the aggregate table in case the playoffs were contested by a lower amount of teams) qualified for the
2021 Copa Libertadores
The 2021 Copa CONMEBOL Libertadores was the 62nd edition of the CONMEBOL Libertadores (also referred to as the ''Copa Libertadores''), South America's premier club football tournament organized by CONMEBOL.
Starting from this season, teams must ...
, while the next three best teams in that table qualified for the
2021 Copa Sudamericana
The 2021 Copa CONMEBOL Sudamericana was the 20th edition of the CONMEBOL Sudamericana (also referred to as the ''Copa Sudamericana'', or pt, Copa Sul-Americana), South America's secondary club football tournament organized by CONMEBOL.
Starting ...
, with a fourth berth being allocated to the
2020 Copa Bicentenario winners.
With the cancellation of the Copa Bicentenario due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Copa Sudamericana berth allocated to its winner was transferred to the eighth best team in the aggregate table. The four teams with the fewest points in the aggregate table at the end of the season were to be relegated, unless 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 ...
was not played this season, in which case only three teams would be relegated. If the
Liga 2 was not played this season either, only two teams would be relegated.
Eventually, only the Copa Perú was confirmed not to be held this season, with which three teams were relegated from Liga 1 at the end of the season.
Teams
20 teams played in the 2020 Liga 1 season, an increase of two teams from the previous season. The top sixteen teams in the
2019 Liga 1
The 2019 Liga 1, also known as Shopee Liga 1 for sponsorship reasons, was the third season of Liga 1 (Indonesia), Liga 1 under its current name and the 10th season of the top-flight Indonesian professional league for association football clubs sin ...
took part, along with
2019 Liga 2
The 2019 Liga 2 was the third season of the Liga 2 under its current name and the 10th season under its current league structure.
Persik won the title after a 3–2 win over Persita in the final at Kapten I Wayan Dipta Stadium, Gianyar on 25 N ...
champions
Cienciano
Club Sportivo Cienciano is a professional football club based in Cusco, Peru that currently plays in the Peruvian Primera División.
The club was founded in 1901 by a group of students of the ''Colegio Nacional Ciencias del Cusco'' (National S ...
,
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 ...
champions
Carlos Stein, and the top two teams of the
promotion play-offs
Promotion may refer to:
Marketing
* Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...
(
Atlético Grau
Club Atlético Grau is a Peruvian football club, playing in the city of Piura, Peru. The club was founded in 1919 and play in the Liga 1 tournament.
History Founding
The club was founded on June 5, 1919 as Club Miguel Grau by Guillermo Herrera ...
and
Deportivo Llacuabamba
Club Social Cultural Deportivo Llacuabamba is a Peruvian association football, football club, based in the Department of La Libertad, Pataz Province, Pataz, Department of La Libertad, La Libertad. The club was founded in 2011 and currently play i ...
).
On 23 December 2019, Real Garcilaso announced its name change to Cusco Fútbol Club.
Stadia and locations
Starting from the seventh round of Stage 1, the following stadiums were used to host matches.
Estadio Monumental in Lima was also included as a host stadium starting from the second round of Stage 2:
Managerial changes
Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic
On 12 March, the Liga de Fútbol Profesional announced the decision to temporarily suspend the competition after the sixth round of the Torneo Apertura until at least 30 March due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
.
On 2 June, the Peruvian government through its Ministry of Health and the Instituto Peruano del Deporte (IPD) approved the biosecurity protocol presented by the
Peruvian Football Federation
The Peruvian Football Federation ( es, Federación Peruana de Futbol or ) is the body that governs Association football in Peru. It was founded on August 23, 1922, and affiliated in 1924. A member of CONMEBOL since 1925, it directly oversees the ...
to allow the resumption of the competition, authorizing clubs to resume their training sessions. On 8 June, the FPF and the Liga de Fútbol Profesional announced that the league would resume on 31 July with the seventh round of the Torneo Apertura, with training sessions to resume on 22 June. It was also announced that all the remaining matches of the season would be relocated to
Lima
Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...
to avoid the constant travel between cities that clubs must do under normal circumstances, as well as an alteration to the competition format.
However, after some delays with COVID-19 testing, the date for resumption was pushed back to 7 August.
On 5 August nine positive cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in
Binacional, following the application of tests ordered by the FPF after some players of said club breached the biosecurity protocol upon their arrival to Lima. In response to this finding the FPF's Medical Commission recommended the isolation of the entire Binacional delegation, meaning that their match against Alianza Lima scheduled for 9 August would not be played.
On the evening of 7 August, and due to an agglomeration of
Universitario
Club Universitario de Deportes, popularly known as Universitario or simply as La "U", is a Peruvian football club located in Lima. The club was founded in 1924 under the name Federación Universitaria by students of the National University of S ...
fans in the outskirts of the
Estadio Nacional before their club's match against
Cantolao breaching biosecurity protocols, the IPD ordered the suspension of the remaining matches scheduled for the seventh round of the Torneo Apertura. On 14 August, and following coordination meetings with authorities and awareness and prevention campaigns performed with fans, the IPD approved the proposal from the FPF to resume the competition on 18 August.
Fase 1
Standings
Results
Fase 2
Group A
Group B
Fase 2 final
Aggregate table
Both stages (1 and 2) of the 2020 season will be aggregated into a single league table throughout the season to determine two of the teams that will qualify for the playoffs and the
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 ...
and four
Copa Sudamericana
The CONMEBOL Sudamericana, named as ''Copa Sudamericana'' (; pt, Copa Sul-Americana ), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 2002. It is the second-most prestigious club competition in South American ...
qualifiers, as well as those to be relegated at the end of the season.
Alianza Lima and CAS decision
On 28 November 2020, Alianza Lima were relegated to
Liga 2 following a 2–0 loss to Sport Huancayo on the last matchday of the season, however, prior to this event the club's board had requested to the
FPF the application of a two-point deduction on Carlos Stein for failing to comply with economic regulations. Since the FPF initially ruled that Carlos Stein would only get fined, Alianza Lima lodged an appeal to the
Court of Arbitration for Sport
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS; french: Tribunal arbitral du sport, ''TAS'') is an international body established in 1984 to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration. Its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland and its co ...
(CAS). After months without a final decision and with the
2021 season already underway, on 17 March 2021 the CAS ruled in favor of Alianza Lima and deducted two points from Carlos Stein in the 2020 season's aggregate table, thus reinstating Alianza Lima in the top tier while Carlos Stein ended up relegated.
Playoffs
Semi-final
First leg
Second leg
''Sporting Cristal won 6–2 on aggregate and advanced to the finals''.
Finals
First leg
Second leg
''Sporting Cristal won 3–2 on aggregate.''
Top goalscorers
Source
Soccerway
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Liga 1 awards
On 1 February 2021, the Liga 1 announced the nominees for the 2020 Liga 1 awards.
The award ceremony, originally scheduled for 5 February 2021, 12:00 local time (
UTC−5), was held on 15 February 2021, 20:00 local time. The winners were chosen based on voting by coaches and captains of 2020 Liga 1 teams, 50 local sports journalist and Liga 1 fans weighted as follows:
*Votes from 2020 Liga 1 coaches: 35%
*Votes from 2020 Liga 1 teams captains: 35%
*Votes from local sports journalists: 20%
*Votes from fans on social media: 10%
The following awards were also awarded:
*Top goalscorer:
Emanuel Herrera
Emanuel Herrera (, born 13 April 1987) is an Argentine footballer that currently plays for Universitario de Deportes as a striker.
Club career
Career in Argentina
Herrera was born in Rosario. Herrera began his football career at Chacarita Ju ...
from
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 ...
(20 goals).
*Fair Play award:
UTC (ranked first in the Fair Play standings with 915 points).
Best XI
The best XI team of the 2020 Liga 1 season was also announced during the award ceremony.
See also
*
2020 Copa Bicentenario
*
2020 Torneo de Promoción y Reserva
*
2020 Liga 2
*
2020 in Peruvian football
References
External links
Official website
Tournament regulationsTorneo Descentralizadonews at Peru.com
Torneo Descentralizadostatistics and news at Dechalaca.com
Torneo Descentralizadostatistics and news at The Peruvian Waltz
{{DEFAULTSORT:Torneo Descentralizado 2020
2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...