2021 Paraguayan Primera División season
The 2021 División Profesional season (officially the Copa de Primera TIGO-Visión Banco 2021 for sponsorship reasons) is the 87th season of the Paraguayan Primera División, the top-flight professional football league in Paraguay. The season began on 5 February and is scheduled to end on 5 December 2021. The fixtures for the season were announced on 15 January 2021.[1][2] Olimpia are the defending champions after winning the 2020 Clausura tournament.
| Season | 2021 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 5 February – 5 December 2021 |
| Matches played | 5 |
| Goals scored | 17 (3.4 per match) |
| Biggest home win | Sportivo Luqueño 3–1 Guaireña (5 February) |
| Biggest away win | Sol de América 1–3 Cerro Porteño (6 February) |
| Highest scoring | Sportivo Luqueño 3–1 Guaireña (5 February) Guaraní 2–2 Nacional (5 February) 12 de Octubre 2–2 River Plate (6 February) Sol de América 1–3 Cerro Porteño (6 February) |
← 2020 2022 →
All statistics correct as of 7 February 2021. | |
Teams
Ten teams will compete in the season: the top ten teams in the relegation table of the previous season, with no teams promoted from the División Intermedia since the 2020 seasons of the lower-tier club tournaments of Paraguayan football were cancelled by the Paraguayan Football Association due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[3] General Díaz and San Lorenzo were both relegated to the second tier at the end of the previous season after eight and two years in the top flight, respectively.
Stadia and locations
| Team | Manager | City | Stadium[note 1] | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 de Octubre |  Pedro Sarabia | Itauguá | Luis Alberto Salinas | 10,000 |
| Cerro Porteño | Francisco Arce | Asunción | General Pablo Rojas | 45,000 |
| Guaireña | Troadio Duarte | Villarrica | Parque del Guairá | 12,000 |
| Guaraní |  Gustavo Costas | Asunción | Rogelio Livieres | 6,000 |
| Libertad | Daniel Garnero | Asunción | Dr. Nicolás Leoz | 10,000 |
| Nacional |  Hernán Rodrigo López | Asunción | Arsenio Erico | 4,000 |
| Olimpia | Néstor Gorosito | Asunción | Manuel Ferreira | 25,000 |
| River Plate | Mario Jara | Asunción | River Plate | 6,500 |
| Sol de América | Celso Ayala | Villa Elisa | Luis Alfonso Giagni | 10,000 |
| Sportivo Luqueño | Luis Escobar | Luque | Feliciano Cáceres | 25,000 |
- Teams occasionally play their home matches at Estadio Defensores del Chaco in Asunción. Derbies between Cerro Porteño and Olimpia are also played at this stadium.
Managerial changes
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Torneo Apertura | ||||||
| River Plate | Ariel Galeano |
End of caretaker spell | 18 December 2020 | Pre-season | Mario Jara |
21 December 2020[4] |
| Libertad | Juan Samudio |
23 December 2020 | Daniel Garnero |
30 December 2020[5] | ||
Torneo Apertura
The Campeonato de Apertura, named "Centenario del Sportivo Luqueño", is the 123rd official championship of the Primera División and the first championship of the 2021 season. It started on 5 February and is scheduled to conclude on 23 May.[6]
Standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cerro Porteño | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 3 | Qualification for Copa Libertadores group stage |
| 2 | Sportivo Luqueño | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 3 | |
| 3 | Libertad | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 3 | |
| 4 | River Plate | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | |
| 5 | Nacional | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | |
| 6 | 12 de Octubre | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | |
| 7 | Guaraní | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | |
| 8 | Olimpia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −1 | 0 | |
| 9 | Guaireña | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 0 | |
| 10 | Sol de América | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 0 |
Results
Relegation
Relegation is determined at the end of the season by computing an average of the number of points earned per game over the past three seasons. The team with the lowest average will be relegated to the División Intermedia for the following season, while the team with the 2nd lowest average will play a relegation play-off against the 2021 Intermedia fourth placed team.[7]
| Pos | Team | 2019 Pts | 2020 Pts | 2021 Pts | Total Pts | Total Pld | Avg | Relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Olimpia | 108 | 62 | 0 | 170 | 78 | 2.179 | |
| 2 | Cerro Porteño | 80 | 69 | 3 | 152 | 78 | 1.949 | |
| 3 | Libertad | 85 | 62 | 3 | 150 | 78 | 1.923 | |
| 4 | Guaraní | 69 | 59 | 1 | 129 | 78 | 1.654 | |
| 5 | Nacional | 52 | 44 | 1 | 97 | 78 | 1.244 | |
| 6 | 12 de Octubre | — | 41 | 1 | 42 | 34 | 1.235 | |
| 7 | Guaireña | — | 41 | 0 | 41 | 34 | 1.206 | |
| 8 | Sol de América | 57 | 35 | 0 | 92 | 78 | 1.179 | |
| 9 | River Plate | 52 | 38 | 1 | 91 | 78 | 1.167 | Qualification for Relegation play-off |
| 10 | Sportivo Luqueño | 52 | 36 | 3 | 91 | 78 | 1.167 | Relegation to División Intermedia |
Updated to matches played on 7 February 2021. Source: APF
References
- "Vuelve el apasionante todos contra todos para el Apertura 2021" (in Spanish). Tigo Sports. 5 January 2021. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
- "Ya se conoce el calendario del torneo Apertura 2021" (in Spanish). Tigo Sports. 15 January 2021. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
- "Es oficial: ¡APF suspende Intermedia y 6 torneos más!". Versus. 11 September 2020. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
- "Mario Jara es nuevo técnico del Kelito" (in Spanish). D10 Paraguay. 21 December 2020. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
- "Libertad hace oficial la llegada de Daniel Garnero" (in Spanish). D10 Paraguay. 30 December 2020. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
- "El Torneo Apertura 2021 tiene fecha de inicio, denominación y formato" (in Spanish). Versus. 27 November 2020. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
- "Panorama completo de los torneos paraguayos" (in Spanish). D10 Paraguay. 2 January 2021. Retrieved 11 January 2021.