The following article presents a summary of the 1997 football (soccer) season in Paraguay.
See main article: article.
The Apertura tournament was played in a single all-play-all system. After every draw during this stage the game went on to a penalty kick shootout, awarding two points to the winner of the shootout and one point to the losing team. At the end, the top eight teams qualified to a playoff stage to determine the Apertura champion.
| Position | Team | Played | Wins | Draws P.K. Wins / P.K. Losses | Losses | Scored | Conceded | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | 7 | 4/0 | 1 | 22 | 7 | 29 | ||
| 2 | 12 | 7 | 1/0 | 4 | 23 | 15 | 23 | ||
| 3 | Sol de América | 12 | 6 | 0/2 | 4 | 11 | 8 | 20 | |
| 4 | Libertad | 12 | 5 | 0/5 | 2 | 17 | 13 | 20 | |
| 5 | 12 | 5 | 1/2 | 4 | 15 | 17 | 19 | ||
| 6 | Guaraní | 12 | 5 | 1/2 | 4 | 18 | 15 | 19 | |
| 7 | Presidente Hayes | 12 | 4 | 3/0 | 5 | 13 | 17 | 18 | |
| 8 | Sportivo Luqueño | 12 | 5 | 0/1 | 6 | 15 | 22 | 16 | |
| 9 | Nacional | 12 | 3 | 2/3 | 4 | 16 | 21 | 16 | |
| 10 | Sport Colombia | 12 | 2 | 3/3 | 4 | 17 | 15 | 15 | |
| 11 | Tembetary | 12 | 4 | 1/1 | 6 | 14 | 16 | 15 | |
| 12 | Atl. Colegiales | 12 | 3 | 2/0 | 7 | 9 | 15 | 13 | |
| 13 | Cerro Corá | 12 | 2 | 2/1 | 7 | 15 | 24 | 11 |
The top eight teams qualified to this stage and were given bonus points based on their final standing in the table. Two groups of four teams were made, with the top two of each group advancing to a playoff stage.
Group A
| Position | Team | Played | Wins | Draws P.K. Wins / P.K. Losses | Losses | Scored | Conceded | Bonus Points | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Olimpia | 3 | 2 | 0/0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | [3] | 9 |
| 2 | 3 | 2 | 0/0 | 1 | 7 | 5 | [0] | 6 | |
| 3 | 3 | 1 | 0/0 | 2 | 5 | 9 | [1.5] | 4.5 | |
| 4 | Guaraní | 3 | 1 | 0/0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | [0.5] | 3.5 |
Group B
| Position | Team | Played | Wins | Draws P.K. Wins / P.K. Losses | Losses | Scored | Conceded | Bonus Points | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cerro Porteño | 3 | 2 | 1/0 | 0 | 7 | 4 | [2.5] | 10.5 |
| 2 | Sol de América | 3 | 1 | 1/0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | [2] | 7 |
| 3 | San Lorenzo | 3 | 1 | 0/1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | [1] | 5 |
| 4 | Presidente Hayes | 3 | 0 | 0/1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | [0] | 1 |
|}
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Cerro P. wins the Apertura tournament.
The Clausura tournament was played in a single all-play-all system. After every draw during this stage the game went on to a penalty kick shootout, awarding two points to the winner of the shootout and one point to the losing team. At the end, the top eight teams qualified to a playoff stage to determine the Clausura champion.
| Position | Team | Played | Wins | Draws P.K. Wins / P.K. Losses | Losses | Scored | Conceded | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | 8 | 1/2 | 1 | 22 | 11 | 28 | ||
| 2 | 12 | 6 | 1/4 | 1 | 22 | 16 | 24 | ||
| 3 | 12 | 5 | 2/1 | 4 | 13 | 10 | 20 | ||
| 4 | 12 | 4 | 3/2 | 3 | 18 | 16 | 20 | ||
| 5 | 12 | 4 | 4/0 | 4 | 18 | 16 | 20 | ||
| 6 | Atl. Colegiales | 12 | 4 | 3/2 | 3 | 18 | 18 | 20 | |
| 7 | 12 | 4 | 1/4 | 3 | 15 | 13 | 18 | ||
| 8 | Nacional | 12 | 4 | 1/2 | 5 | 14 | 23 | 16 | |
| 9 | Tembetary | 12 | 4 | 1/2 | 5 | 31 | 27 | 16 | |
| 10 | Sport Colombia | 12 | 3 | 1/3 | 5 | 20 | 19 | 14 | |
| 11 | Presidente Hayes | 12 | 3 | 2/1 | 6 | 13 | 18 | 14 | |
| 12 | 12 | 3 | 1/1 | 7 | 11 | 15 | 12 | ||
| 13 | Libertad | 12 | 2 | 3/0 | 7 | 8 | 21 | 12 |
The top eight teams qualified to this stage and were given bonus points based on their final standing in the table. Two groups of four teams were made, with the top two of each group advancing to a playoff stage.
Group A
| Position | Team | Played | Wins | Draws P.K. Wins / P.K. Losses | Losses | Scored | Conceded | Bonus Points | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 3 | 0/0 | 0 | 9 | 3 | [1.5] | 10.5 | |
| 2 | Guaraní | 3 | 1 | 1/0 | 1 | 5 | 6 | [2.5] | 7.5 |
| 3 | 3 | 1 | 0/1 | 1 | 7 | 7 | [0] | 4 | |
| 4 | Cerro Porteño | 3 | 0 | 0/0 | 3 | 6 | 11 | [0] | 0 |
Group B
| Position | Team | Played | Wins | Draws P.K. Wins / P.K. Losses | Losses | Scored | Conceded | Bonus Points | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Olimpia | 3 | 2 | 0/1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | [1] | 8 |
| 2 | Cerro Corá | 3 | 1 | 1/0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | [3] | 8 |
| 3 | San Lorenzo | 3 | 1 | 0/1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | [2] | 6 |
| 4 | Atl. Colegiales | 3 | 0 | 1/0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | [0.5] | 2.5 |
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Olimpia wins the Clausura tournament.
The national championship game was played between the Apertura and Clausura tournaments winners.
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Olimpia declared as national champions by aggregate score of 2-1.
| Level | Tournament | Champion | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2nd | Intermedia | 12 de Octubre | |
| Primera de Ascenso | 12 de Octubre (Santo Domingo) | ||
| 4th | Segunda de Ascenso | Atlántida |
Round of 16
Group Stage
Group Stage
First round
The following table lists all the games played by the Paraguay national football team in official competitions during 1997.