List of Argentine football champions
The Argentina football champion is the winner of the highest league in Argentine football, the Primera División. The league season have had different formats, since the original double round-robin until the Superliga. The champion is the team with the most points at the end of the competition.
The first Argentine football champions, St. Andrew's and Old Caledonians, were crowned in 1891 in the first official championship. Alumni was the most successful club with 10 titles until its dissolution in 1911. River Plate is the most successful club, having won 37 titles to date.
Primera División champions (1891–present)[]
The following is a list including all the Primera División champions since the first edition held in 1891.[1][2][3] For the first time since 1892, no league championship was held in 2020 after the schedule for a regular league season had been repeatedly delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. As the National Government allowed football competitions to return in October,[4] AFA organised the 2020 Copa de la Liga Profesional, a domestic cup conceived as a contingency competition. It is expected that the next Primera División season will start in March 2021.
- Keys
- H = Copa de Honor
- C = Copa Campeonato
- O = Copa de Oro
- Met = Metropolitano (1967–1984)
- Nac = Nacional (1967–1985)
- Ap = Apertura (1991–2012)
- Cl = Clausura (1991–2012)
- In = Inicial (2012–2014)
- Fi = Final (2012–2014)
- Tr = Transition (2014)
- Notes
- ^ Championship organised by The Argentine Association Football League, predecessor of current Argentine Football Association (established in 1893). That association was the oldest outside Great Britain,[5] being dissolved that same year.[6]
- ^ a b The former and disbanded Association considered the title shared between both teams, in contrast to general opinion which held Saint Andrew's to be the champion because they won the final match, held to decide what team would be awarded with medals.[6]
- ^ Not related to Belgrano Athletic Club
- ^ Separate team created by members of the Lomas A.C. in order to have another competitive squad from the institution.[7]
- ^ Not related to Club Atlético Lanús
- ^ When Alumni won the 1900 title the club still named "English High School AC". In 1901 it was renamed due to the Football Association did not allow teams to use the same name as the school they represented to avoid advertising purposes.
- ^ The Federación Argentina de Football (FAF) was a rival association that organized its own championships from 1912 to 1914.
- ^ The Asociación Amateurs de Football (AAmF) was a rival association that organized its own championships from 1919 to 1926.
- ^ The Liga Argentina de Football (LAF) was a dissident association that organized the first four professional championships between 1931 and 1934. In 1935 it merged with the amateur association Asociación Argentina de Football (AAF) whose teams were relegated to second division.
- ^ a b c The 1936 season was divided into two single round-robin tournaments, "Copa Campeonato" (won by River Plate) and "Copa de Honor" (won by San Lorenzo). At the end of the season, both teams played the "Copa de Oro", a single match won by River. In its Memoria y Balance (Annual Report) published by the AFA that year, River Plate is mentioned as "1936 Champion" while San Lorenzo is only mentioned as "Copa de honor winning team".[8] In its 100th anniversary book published in 1993, the AFA listed River Plate as the only 1936 champion.[9] In 2013, the AFA included three 1936 championships on its website, mentioning River Plate as Copa de Oro and Copa Campeonato winner and San Lorenzo as Copa de Honor winner, therefore both clubs were added one league title to their honours.[10][11] Moreover, some historians consider Copa de Oro a national cup instead of a league championship, stating that it was only contested to qualify an Argentine representative to play the Copa Aldao against the Uruguayan champion.[12]
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r No third team recorded so the championship was played in a two zones format, where both teams qualified first played a final.
- ^ Although there was an Apertura (Newell's Old Boys) and Clausura champion (Boca Juniors) this season, the half-year champions played in a two-legged final to determine the season champion, which finally was Newell's.
- ^ Since 1991–92 season both Apertura and Clausura were official titles as individuals.
- ^ Vélez was recognized as the champion of the entire season (2013-14) and awarded its 10th. Primera División title.
- ^ Although River defeated San Lorenzo in the "Superfinal", this did not count as a new Primera División honour.
- ^ No championship was held in 2020 after the schedule for a regular league season was repeatedly delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Only a domestic cup created for the contingency, Copa de la Liga Profesional, was organised. It was contested by the 24 teams that had played in Primera in the 2019-20 season.
Titles by club[]
The list include all the titles won by each club since the first Primera División championship held in 1891. Clubs in bold competed in Primera División as of last season; clubs in italic no longer exist or disaffiliated from the AFA.
- Notes
- ^ a b The Association awarded River Plate both titles, Copa Campeonato and Copa de Oro, as individual titles.
- ^ The Argentine Football Association considered the Superfinal as an official Primera División championship (2012-13 season) so Vélez Sarsfield awarded its 10th. title.[13]
- ^ Under the name "English High School AC"
Championships defined by final[]
Although most of Primera División championships were decided by points in single and double round-robin tournaments, some finals were played when two teams ended tied on points at the end of the season. The following is a list of those cases:[14]
Notes:
- The 1936 "Copa de Oro" is not listed because it did not define a Primera División champion but which team would participate in the 1936 Copa Aldao.[note3 1]
- Nacional championship finals are listed on their respective article and not included here.
- Copa Campeonato matches are not included because their had the format of national cup.
- Notes
- ^ This point is still under discussion and has caused controveries among football historians, as River Plate was mentioned as "Argentine champion" on the AFA Annual Report of that year.[8] Nevertheless, some historians argue that the "Copa de Oro" was not a league title but a national cup that determined which team would play the Copa Aldao v the Uruguayan representative.[15]
- ^ This match did not decide the champion so both teams had been awarded the title after they finished tied on points. The match was held only to define which team would be awareded the medals.
- ^ The club had its field in Palermo, Buenos Aires.
- ^ Porteño was croned champion after Independiente left the field in protest.
- ^ Chronicles referred to "Palermo" so it could be the field of C.A. Porteño or C.A. Estudiantes.
- ^ Crucecita stadium, also in Avellaneda.
- ^ Only the last match is included so both clubs had played three games before (in a two legged series, one win for each, then a playoff that drew after extra time)
- ^ The association crowned Huracán as champion after players of Nueva Chicago refused to play the extra time.
- ^ Played in a two-legged tie
- ^ Both finals played in the same venue.
- ^ Played in a two-legged tie, Newell's won by penalty shoot-out after both teams won a match each and tied 1–1 on aggregate.
References[]
- ^ "Campeones de Primera División" (in Spanish). AFA. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
- ^ Osvaldo José Gorgazzi and Héctor Villa Martínez (12 March 2020). "Argentina - List of Champions and Runners-Up". RSSSF. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
- ^ 38 Campeones del Fútbol Argentino 1891-2013 by Diego Estévez, Ediciones Continente - ISBN 978-950-754-369-2
- ^ El Gobierno dio vía libre para la vuelta del fútbol on Ámbito.com, 6 Oct 2020
- ^ Historia de fútbol de AFA: orígenes 1891/1899, by Carlos Yametti – Edición del Autor (2011) – ISBN 978-987-05-9773-5
- ^ a b Argentina 1891 by Eduardo Gorgazzi at RSSSF
- ^ "Lomas marcó el rumbo", Clarín, 2001-07-15
- ^ a b Memoria y Balance General 1936, p. 24 on the Argentine Football Association Library
- ^ 100 Años con el Fútbol (hardcover edition) - Argentine Football Association
- ^ La AFA les reconoció otro título a San Lorenzo y a River, Clarín, 6 July 2013
- ^ 77 años después: San Lorenzo y River, campeones! on Crónica, 5 July 2013]
- ^ Un título que 80 años después sigue generando controversia by Oscar Barnade on Clarín, 21 Dec 2016
- ^ "Vélez venció a Newell's y es el Supercampeón", Clarín, 29 Dec 2013
- ^ Un repaso único: las 33 finales del fútbol argentino de Primera División hasta 2021 by Carlos Aira on Abrí La Cancha, 14 Sep 2021
- ^ Un título que 80 años después sigue generando controversia by Oscar Barnade on Clarín, 21 Dec 2016
Categories:
- History of football in Argentina
- National association football champions
- Argentine Primera División