The 2002–03
Argentine Primera División
The Primera División (; ), known officially as Liga Profesional de Fútbol, or Torneo Betano for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Argentina and the highest level of the Argentine football league system. Organ ...
was the 112th season of top-flight
football in Argentina
Association football is the most popular sport in Argentina and part of the culture of Argentina, culture in the country. It is the one with the most players (2,658,811 total, 331,811 of which are registered and 2,327,000 unregistered; with 3,37 ...
. The season ran from 26 July 2002 to 6 July 2003.
[Argentina 2002/03]
by Javier Roimiser on the rsssf.org Olimpo (Bahía Blanca) (champion of
2001–02 Primera B Nacional
The 2001–02 Argentine Primera B Nacional was the 16th season of second division professional of football in Argentina. A total of 25 teams competed; the champion and runner-up were promoted to Argentine Primera División.
Club information
T ...
, making its debut in Primera) and
Arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
(winner of "Torneo Reducido" after beating
Gimnasia y Esgrima de Concepción del Uruguay
Club Gimnasia y Esgrima de Concepción del Uruguay is an Argentine football club from the city of Concepción del Uruguay in Entre Ríos Province. The team currently plays in Torneo Argentino A, the regionalised third division of the Argentine f ...
in a two-legged series) were promoted from Primera B Nacional.
Independiente won the Apertura (16th. title) while
River Plate won the Clausura (33rd. title). On the other hand,
Talleres de Córdoba
Club Atlético Talleres (; ), mostly known simply as Talleres ( in Rioplatense Spanish, Rioplatense accent and or in Cordobés Spanish, Cordobés accent; ), is an Football in Argentina, Argentine professional sports club based in the city of C ...
and
Nueva Chicago played the promotion playoff v
San Martín de Mendoza and
Argentinos Juniors
Asociación Atlética Argentinos Juniors is an Argentine sports club based in La Paternal, Buenos Aires. The club is mostly known for its association football, football team, which currently plays in the Argentine Primera División, and was reco ...
respectively, in order to define which team would remain in (or promote to) Primera División. As teams in Primea División beat their rivals, teams relegated were
Unión de Santa Fe
Club Atlético Unión (; mostly known as Unión de Santa Fe ) is a sports club from Santa Fe, Argentina, Santa Fe, the capital city of the Santa Fe Province, in Argentina. The club was founded on 15 April 1907.
Unión is mostly known for its asso ...
and
Huracán
Huracán (; ; , "one legged"), often referred to as ''U Kʼux Kaj'', the "Heart of Sky", is a Kʼicheʼ Maya god of wind, storm, fire and one of the creator deities who participated in all three attempts at creating humanity. He also caused th ...
).
Torneo Apertura
Final standings
Top scorers
Torneo Clausura
Final standings
Top scorers
Tournament review
River Plate,
Boca Juniors
Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine professional sports club based in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is best known for its men's professional Association football, football team which, since its promotion in 1913 ...
and
Velez Sarsfield were the teams who kept the league's lead for most of the tournament (except for Round 4, when the temporary leader was
Rosario Central
Club Atlético Rosario Central (), more commonly referred to as Rosario Central, or simply Central, is a sports club based in Rosario, Argentina, that plays in the Argentine Primera División. The club was officially founded on 24 December 1889, ...
, who finished fourth), and those three teams were the ones who arrived at the last rounds with possibilities of winning the tournament.
Velez Sarsfield started the tournament with three consecutive wins, obtaining the lead at the end of Round 3. Boca Juniors went on a winning streak from rounds 3 to 7, winning five consecutive games, taking the lead at the end of Round 5.
On May 4, 2003, during Round 11, Velez Sarsfield got a home win against leaders Boca Juniors and after three more consecutive wins, regained the top position in the league.
On June 1, during Round 14, Boca Juniors and River Plate confronted each other in the
Superclásico
''SuperClásico'' is a 2011 Danish romantic comedy film set in Argentina
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American coun ...
at
Boca Juniors stadium. The game ended 2-2 and allowed Velez, who won their match, to be the sole leaders of the league.
However, an unexpected home loss to
Olimpo on Round 15, made Velez lose the first position as Boca and River won their matches against
Huracán
Huracán (; ; , "one legged"), often referred to as ''U Kʼux Kaj'', the "Heart of Sky", is a Kʼicheʼ Maya god of wind, storm, fire and one of the creator deities who participated in all three attempts at creating humanity. He also caused th ...
and
San Lorenzo respectively. At the end of the matchday, Boca Juniors were the new leaders.
On June 15, during Round 16, River Plate defeated
Lanús
Lanús () is the capital of Lanús Partido, Buenos Aires Province in Argentina. It lies just south of the capital city Buenos Aires, in the Greater Buenos Aires conurbation, metropolitan area. The List of cities in Argentina, city has a populati ...
and because Velez and Boca tied their games, finished the match day as sole leaders.
On June 29, during Round 18, River defeated Olimpo in
Bahía Blanca
Bahía Blanca (; English: ''White Bay''), colloquially referred to by its own local inhabitants as simply Bahía, is a city in the Buenos Aires Province, Buenos Aires province of Argentina, centered on the northwestern end of the eponymous Blanc ...
and won the championship, by getting a difference of 4 points to rivals Boca Juniors, with only 1 round to go.
[ "River declared Champions in Bahia Blanca and it was heard throughout the country" (in Spanish)]
This table shows the evolution of the league table, showing team result, overall points and position on the table at the end of each round for the three teams that fought for the championship until the last rounds.
Relegation
Relegation table
*
*
Promotion Playoffs
'' Nueva Chicago and Talleres (C) remained in Primera División''.
See also
*
2002-03 in Argentine football
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:2002-03 Argentine Primera Division
Argentine Primera División seasons
2002–03 in Argentine football leagues