The 2003 Paraguayan Primera División season was held from 14 February to 26 October, with the participation of ten clubs. The tournament was divided into three stages: the Torneo Apertura, won by Libertad; the Torneo Clausura, also won by Libertad after defeating Olimpia in a penalty shootout tiebreaker. By winning both stages, Libertad was automatically crowned Overall Champion of the 2003 season, securing the tenth league title in its history.
Torneo Apertura 2003 The Torneo Apertura began on 14 February and concluded on 25 May.
First stage The first stage was held from 14 February to 20 April. It followed a single round-robin format, with each team playing nine matches. The top six teams at the end of this phase advanced to the next round. Standings
Pos.TeamPldWDLGFGAGDPts 1 Libertad 9 6 3 0 13 3 +10 21 2 Cerro Porteño 9 5 3 1 20 8 +12 18 3 Olimpia 9 4 4 1 16 11 +5 16 4 Sol de América 9 3 4 2 12 7 +5 13 5 Tacuary 9 4 1 4 15 16 –1 13 6 Guaraní 9 3 3 3 18 20 –2 12 7 Sportivo Luqueño 9 3 2 4 14 12 +2 11 8 Sport Colombia 9 2 2 5 14 20 –6 8 9 12 de Octubre 9 1 4 4 8 18 –10 710 San Lorenzo 9 1 0 8 10 25 –15 3
Pld = Matches played; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points
Qualification for Final Stage of the Apertura Tournament
Results
Final stage Semifinals The top six teams from the first stage advanced to the semifinals, which were divided into two groups. Libertad and Cerro Porteño began this stage with a 2-point advantage for finishing first and second, respectively, in the initial standings. Each team played once against the others in their group. The team with the highest number of points in each group advanced to the final. Group 1
Pos.TeamPldWDLGFGAGDPts 1 Libertad 2 1 1 0 2 0 +2 6 2 Tacuary 2 1 1 0 2 0 +2 4 3 Olimpia 2 0 0 2 0 4 –4 0
Pld = Matches played; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points Date Home team Score Away team 26 April Tacuary 2–0 Olimpia 4 May Libertad 0–0 Tacuary 11 May Libertad 2–0 Olimpia
Group 2
Pos.TeamPldWDLGFGAGDPts 1 Guaraní 2 2 0 0 3 1 +2 6 2 Sol de América 2 1 0 1 4 3 +1 3 3 Cerro Porteño 2 0 0 2 3 6 –3 0
Date MatchApril 26Guaraní1:0Sol de AméricaMay 1Guaraní2:1Cerro PorteñoMay 11Cerro Porteño2:4Sol de América
2003 Clausura Tournament The tournament started on June 15 and concluded on October 30. The competition format was a round-robin, with 18 matchdays played.
Standings
Pos.TeamPldWDLGFGAGDPts 1 LibertadAs Olimpia and Libertad finished tied on points, a playoff match was held to determine the champion. 18 9 6 3 32 20 +12 33 2 Olimpia 18 9 6 3 30 18 +12 33 3 Cerro Porteño 18 9 5 4 24 15 +9 32 4 Guaraní 18 7 6 5 24 17 +7 27 5 Sportivo Luqueño 18 7 6 5 21 20 +1 27 6 Sol de América 18 4 7 7 17 16 +1 19 7 12 de Octubre 18 4 7 7 7 14 –7 19 8 San Lorenzo 18 4 6 8 18 32 –14 18 9 Tacuary 18 4 5 9 20 29 –9 1710 Sport Colombia 18 4 4 10 22 34 –12 16
Pos=Position; Pld=Matches played; W=Wins; D=Draws; L=Losses; GF=Goals for; GA=Goals against; GD=Goal difference; Pts=Points
Playoff match for the Clausura 2003 champion
Results See Results of the Clausura Tournament.
Pre-Libertadores 2004
Guaraní and Olimpia finished second in the Apertura and Clausura tournaments respectively, so they played a match to decide the second qualifying spot for the 2004 Copa Libertadores.
With an aggregate score of 4–3, Guaraní qualified for the 2004 Copa Libertadores.
Pre-Libertadores Liguilla The top four teams in the Clausura tournament standings (excluding those already qualified) played a mini-tournament for the final berth in the 2004 Copa Libertadores. Olimpia started with a one-point bonus for being the highest-placed team in the Clausura among the participants in the liguilla. Pos.TeamPldWDLGFGAGDPts1.Olimpia321041+382.Sportivo Luqueño320184+463.Cerro Porteño310247−334.Sol de América301259−41
Pos = Position; Pld = Matches played; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points
Qualified for 2004 Copa Libertadores
Matchday 1
Matchday 2
Matchday 3
Final season standings
First, the criteria used to determine each club's qualification type for the following year are outlined, along with an explanation of what each entails. This is followed by a detailed summary of the outcomes.
Aggregate table
The aggregate table is the result of adding the points obtained by each team in both the 2003 Apertura and Clausura tournaments.
Pos. Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD 1st Libertad 54 27 15 9 3 45 23 +22 2nd Cerro Porteño 50 27 14 8 5 44 23 +21 3rd Olimpia 49 27 13 10 4 46 29 +17 4th Guaraní 39 27 10 9 8 42 37 +5 5th Sportivo Luqueño 38 27 10 8 9 35 32 +3 6th Sol de América 32 27 7 11 9 29 23 +6 7th Tacuary 30 27 8 6 13 35 35 0 8th 12 de Octubre 26 27 5 11 11 15 32 –17 9th Sport Colombia 24 27 6 6 15 36 54 –18 10th San Lorenzo 21 27 5 6 16 28 57 –29
Pts = Points; Pld = Matches played; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference
Qualified for 2004 Copa Libertadores
Average points
The average points of a team is calculated by dividing its accumulated points over the last three seasons by the number of matches played during that period.
Promotion playoff
This is a two-legged knockout series, with each team playing one match at home, to determine which division each club will play in the following season. It is contested between the second-to-last team in the average points table and the second-placed team from the lower division. The rules stated that if both teams were level on points after the two matches, goal difference would be used to determine the winner. If the tie persisted, a penalty shoot-out would be held. Promotion playoff
With an aggregate score of 4–2, Tacuary remained in the Primera División for the 2004 season. With an aggregate score of 4–2, Tacuary remained in the Primera División.
Qualification for international tournaments
The accumulated points table was used to determine the APF representatives in CONMEBOL competitions for the following year.
2004 Copa Libertadores (three qualifiers). The first spot went to the absolute champion of the 2003 Championship (Libertad). The second spot went to the Clausura or Apertura champion who was not the absolute champion of 2003 (Guaraní, due to a playoff between the two runners-up since Libertad won both tournaments). The third spot was awarded to the winner of the Pre-Libertadores playoff (Olimpia).
Relegation and promotion playoff
The average points table was used to determine relegation and the playoff participants:
San Lorenzo was directly relegated to the Second Division for finishing last in the average points table. They were replaced by the Intermedia champion, Club Nacional.
Tacuary, having the second lowest average, had to play a two-legged promotion playoff against the Intermedia runner-up, 3 de Febrero. The first leg ended with a 2–1 victory for Tacuary. The decisive second leg was also won by Tacuary by 2–1. Ultimately, the team from the higher division secured its spot for one more season with a 4–2 aggregate score.
References
External links
RSSSF - 2003 Season Official website of the Paraguayan Football Association