The 2008-09
Primera División season was the 118th season of top-flight professional football in Argentina and the nineteenth season in which the
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 ...
system is used.
Boca Juniors
Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine sports club headquartered in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is mostly known for its professional football team which, since its promotion in 1913, has always played in the A ...
won the Apertura championship for their 29th national title after a three team playoff with
Tigre and
San Lorenzo
San Lorenzo is the Italian and Spanish name for Lawrence of Rome, Saint Lawrence, the 3rd-century Christian martyr, and may refer to:
Places Argentina
* San Lorenzo, Santa Fe
* San Lorenzo Department, Chaco
* Monte San Lorenzo, a mountain on t ...
. The Clausura championship was won by
Vélez Sársfield for their 7th national title.
Gimnasia y Esgrima (J) and
San Martín (T) were relegated to the
Primera B Nacional
Primera Nacional (usually called simply Nacional B, in English "National B Division", and known as Primera B Nacional until the 2019–20 season) is the second division of the Argentine football league system. The competition is made up of 37 tea ...
.
Format
The format for the 2008-09 season remained unchanged. The season was split into two tournaments called Apertura and Clausura. Each tournament was contested by the same 20 teams in a single
round-robin format. The champions of each tournament is determined by points. If the tops teams would be tied at points at the end of each tournament, a playoff would be held at a neutral site. Relegation was determined at the end of the season.
Club information
Promotion and relegation
Olimpo and
San Martín (SJ) were relegated at the end of the
2007–08 Primera División season. They were replaced by
Godoy Cruz and
San Martín (T), both of whom were promoted from the
Primera B Nacional
Primera Nacional (usually called simply Nacional B, in English "National B Division", and known as Primera B Nacional until the 2019–20 season) is the second division of the Argentine football league system. The competition is made up of 37 tea ...
.
Gimnasia y Esgrima (J) and
Racing
In sport, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific goa ...
played the
relegation/promotion playoffs against
Unión and
Belgrano, respectively. Both Gimnasia and Esgrima (J) and Racing won their playoff matches and retained their status in top-flight football.
Personnel
Managerial changes
Transfers
Torneo Apertura
The Torneo Apertura ( en, Opening Tournament) was played between August 6 to December 14, 2008. The champions earned a spot in the
2009 Copa Libertadores.
Standings
Results
Championship playoff
Since
San Lorenzo
San Lorenzo is the Italian and Spanish name for Lawrence of Rome, Saint Lawrence, the 3rd-century Christian martyr, and may refer to:
Places Argentina
* San Lorenzo, Santa Fe
* San Lorenzo Department, Chaco
* Monte San Lorenzo, a mountain on t ...
,
Tigre and
Boca Juniors
Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine sports club headquartered in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is mostly known for its professional football team which, since its promotion in 1913, has always played in the A ...
ended the tournament with the same number of points, a three-way playoff was played to determine the champions.
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Top Goalscorers
Source
Scorer Stats
Torneo Clausura
The Torneo Clausura ( en, Closing Tournament) began on February 6, 2009 and ended on July 5, 2009. The champions earned a spot in the
2010 Copa Libertadores.
Standings
Results
Top Goalscorers
Source
AFA
Relegation
Relegation from the Primera Division was determined on the basis of performance over the last three seasons. Every club had its points earned divided by the number of matches played and an average ( es, promedio) was determined. The clubs who finished in 17th and 18th played a relegation play-off against the 3rd and 4th placed clubs in
Primera B Nacional
Primera Nacional (usually called simply Nacional B, in English "National B Division", and known as Primera B Nacional until the 2019–20 season) is the second division of the Argentine football league system. The competition is made up of 37 tea ...
. The clubs who finished in 19th and 20th were directly relegated to Primera B Nacional.
Sourc
AFA
Relegation/promotion playoffs
, -
!colspan="5", Relegation/promotion playoff 1
, -
!colspan="5", Relegation/promotion playoff 2
Gimnasia y Esgrima (LP) remained in the Argentine First Division after a 3–3 aggregate tie by virtue of a "sports advantage". In case of a tie in goals, the team from the First Division gets to stay in it.
Rosario Central
Club Atlético Rosario Central () is a sports club based in Rosario, Argentina, that plays in the Argentine Primera División. The club was officially founded on December 24, 1889, by a group of railway workers, taking its name from the English- ...
won 2–1 and stayed in the Argentine First Division, while
Belgrano does not get promoted and remains in Argentine Nacional B.
International qualification
Copa Libertadores
The Apertura champions qualified for the
2009 Copa Libertadores and the Clausura champions qualified to the
2010 Copa Libertadores. The last two Argentina spots for the
2009 Copa Libertadores were determined by the sum of all points obtained in the past three tournaments.
Copa Sudamericana
Qualification for the
2009 Copa Sudamericana was determined from an aggregate table of the Apertura and Clausura tournaments. The top four teams in the aggregate table qualified;
Boca Juniors
Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine sports club headquartered in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is mostly known for its professional football team which, since its promotion in 1913, has always played in the A ...
and
River Plate were invited every year till this season, regardless of their standings in the season.
See also
*
2008–09 in Argentine football
External links
Asociación del Fútbol Argentino (AFA) websiteSeason regulations
{{DEFAULTSORT:2008-09 Argentine Primera Division season
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Argentine Primera División seasons
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