| Competition: | Primera División |
| Season: | 2012–13 |
| Winners: | Torneo Inicial: Vélez Sarsfield (9th title) Torneo Final: Newell's Old Boys (6th title) Super Champions: Vélez Sarsfield (10th title) |
| Relegated: | San Martín (SJ) Independiente Unión |
| Continentalcup1: | 2013 Copa Libertadores |
| Continentalcup1 Qualifiers: | Vélez Sarsfield Newell's Old Boys Boca Juniors Tigre (via 2012 Copa Sudamericana) |
| Continentalcup2: | 2013 Copa Sudamericana |
| Continentalcup2 Qualifiers: | Lanús River Plate Racing Belgrano San Lorenzo Vélez Sarsfield |
| Continentalcup3: | 2014 Copa Libertadores |
| Continentalcup3 Qualifiers: | Newell's Old Boys Vélez Sarsfield |
| League Topscorer: | Torneo Inicial: Facundo Ferreyra Ignacio Scocco (13 goals each) Torneo Final: Emanuel Gigliotti Ignacio Scocco (11 goals each) |
| Matches: | 381 |
| Total Goals: | 854 |
| Biggest Home Win: | San Martín (SJ) 6–1 Boca Juniors (Apr. 13, 2013) River Plate 5–0 Godoy Cruz (Oct. 7, 2012) Newell's Old Boys 5–0 Unión (Jun. 10, 2013) |
| Biggest Away Win: | Arsenal 1–5 Vélez Sarsfield (Nov. 3, 2012) Arsenal 0–4 River Plate (Sep. 30, 2012) |
| Highest Scoring: | Atlético de Rafaela 5–3 Argentinos Juniors (Sep. 29, 2012) (8 goals) |
| Longest Wins: | Lanús -7 matches- (Oct. 5 - Nov. 19, 2012) |
| Longest Unbeaten: | Newell's Old Boys - 15 matches- (Aug. 4 - Nov. 15, 2012) Lanús -15 matches- (Dec. 8, 2012 - May 20, 2013) |
| Longest Losses: | Argentinos Juniors -6 matches- (Nov. 24, 2012 - Feb. 22, 2013) |
| Prevseason: | 2011–12 |
| Nextseason: | 2013–14 |
The 2012–13 Primera División season was the 122nd season of top-flight professional football in Argentina. It started on August 3, 2012 and ended on June 29, 2013. Twenty teams competed in the league, eighteen returning from the 2011–12 season and two promoted from the Primera B Nacional Championship (Championship winners River Plate and runners-up Quilmes). The two promoted clubs avoided relegation.
In the first half of the season Vélez Sarsfield became champion of the 2012 Torneo Inicial "Eva Perón", winning the “Evita Capitana” League Cup. In the second one Newell's Old Boys clinched the 2013 Torneo Final "Eva Perón", winning the “Juana Azurduy” League Cup.
In the Superfinal Vélez Sarsfield were crowned Argentina's Super champions after a 1–0 victory over Newell's Old Boys in Mendoza. This was the first overall league championship play-off in Argentina since 1991 when Newell's defeated Boca Juniors on penalties.
Independiente was relegated, for first time, to the Primera B Nacional Championship. The other relegated teams were San Martín (SJ) and Unión.
The champion of the Torneo Inicial and Torneo Final met in a season ending championship final to determine the super champion. The format for each tournament remained the same as in previous seasons.
Relegation was also changed for the season. Instead of two teams facing direct relegation to the Primera B Nacional, three teams were directly relegated. The promotion/relegation playoffs were eliminated.
The teams ending the 2011–12 season in the bottom two places of the relegation table were Banfield and Olimpo. They played in the 2012–13 Primera B Nacional Championship. At the same time the 2011–12 Primera B Nacional Championship winners River Plate and runners-up Quilmes were directly promoted at the end of the season. San Lorenzo and San Martín (SJ) remained in the Primera División winning their Relegation/promotion playoffs to Instituto and Rosario Central.
| Club | Manager | Kit manufacturer | Main sponsor | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Boys |  José Romero | Balonpie | Lácteos Barraza | |
| Argentinos Juniors | Ricardo Caruso Lombardi | Olympikus | Liderar Seguros | |
| Arsenal | Gustavo Alfaro | Lotto | La Nueva Seguros | |
| Atlético de Rafaela | Jorge Burruchaga | Reusch | SanCor | |
| Belgrano | Ricardo Zielinski | Lotto | Tersuave | |
| Boca Juniors | Carlos Bianchi | Nike | BBVA | |
| Colón | Pablo Morant | Umbro | Flecha Bus | |
| Estudiantes (LP) | Mauricio Pellegrino | Adidas | DirecTV | |
| Godoy Cruz | Martín Palermo | Lotto | Mendoza | |
| Independiente | Miguel Ángel Brindisi | Puma | Motomel | |
| Lanús | Guillermo Barros Schelotto | Olympikus | Herbalife/ESCO | |
| Newell's Old Boys | Gerardo Martino | Topper | Motomel | |
| Quilmes | Omar De Felippe | Lotto | Quilmes | |
| Racing | Luis Zubeldía | Olympikus | Banco Hipotecario | |
| River Plate | Ramón Díaz | Adidas | BBVA | |
| San Lorenzo |  Juan Antonio Pizzi | Lotto | La Nueva Seguros/Banco Ciudad | |
| San Martín (SJ) | Rubén Forestello | Mitre | San Juan | |
| Tigre | Néstor Gorosito | Kappa | Banco Macro | |
| Unión | Facundo Sava | TBS | Flecha Bus | |
| Vélez Sarsfield | Ricardo Gareca | Topper | Samsung |
1. Superfinal is not included
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Replaced by | Date of appointment | Position in table |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-season changes | ||||||
| Lanús | Gabriel Schürrer | Sacked | June 18, 2012 | Guillermo Barros Schelotto | June 20, 2012[1] | N/A |
| Estudiantes (LP) | Replaced | June 24, 2012 | Diego Cagna | June 29, 2012[2] | N/A | |
| Torneo Inicial changes | ||||||
| Independiente | Cristian Díaz | Resigned | August 25, 2012 | Américo Gallego | August 27, 2012[3] | 17th |
| Unión | Frank Kudelka | Resigned | August 31, 2012 | Nery Pumpido | September 4, 2012[4] | 19th |
| San Martín (SJ) | Sacked | September 3, 2012[5] | September 7, 2012[6] | 20th | ||
| San Lorenzo | Mutual agreement | October 9, 2012 | Juan Antonio Pizzi | October 13, 2012[7] | 18th | |
| Tigre | Rodolfo Arruabarrena | Resigned | October 21, 2012 | Néstor Gorosito | October 22, 2012[8] | 19th |
| Argentinos Juniors | Leonardo Astrada | Resigned | November 4, 2012[9] | November 15, 2012[10] | 17th | |
| Sacked | November 18, 2012[11] | December 5, 2012[12] | 15th | |||
| Godoy Cruz | Omar Asad | Resigned | November 19, 2012[13] | November 26, 2012[14] | 14th | |
| River Plate | Matías Almeyda | Sacked | November 29, 2012[15] | 9th | ||
| Inter-tournament changes | ||||||
| Unión | Nery Pumpido | Resigned | December 8, 2012 | Facundo Sava | N/A | |
| Boca Juniors | Julio César Falcioni | End of contract | December 10, 2012 | Carlos Bianchi | December 17, 2012[16] | N/A |
| Torneo Final changes | ||||||
| Argentinos Juniors | Gabriel Schürrer | Resigned | February 22, 2013[17] | March 14, 2013[18] | 20th | |
| San Martín (SJ) | Gabriel Perrone | Resigned | March 10, 2013[19] | March 17, 2013[20] | 17th | |
| Colón | Resigned | March 16, 2013 | March 17, 2013[21] | 20th | ||
| Estudiantes (LP) | Diego Cagna | Resigned | March 30, 2013[22] | April 5, 2013[23] | 19th | |
| Independiente | Américo Gallego | Mutual agreement | April 14, 2013 | Miguel Ángel Brindisi | April 16, 2013[24] | 16th |
1. Interim manager.
2. Marcelo Vivas was interim manager in the 6th match.
3. Carlos Mayor was interim manager in the 14th and 15th matches.
4. Víctor Bottaniz was interim manager in the 17th and 18th matches.
5. Daniel Oldrá was interim manager in the 17th match.
6. Gustavo Zapata was interim manager in the 18th match.
7. Fabián De Sarasqueta was interim manager in the 4th and 5th matches.
8. Marcelo Vivas was interim manager in the 6th match.
9. Interim manager.
10. Martín Zuccarelli was interim manager in the 8th and 9th matches.
The Torneo Inicial was the first tournament of the season. It began on August 3, 2012 and ended on February 13, 2013.
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Club | Goals | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| align=center rowspan=2 | 1 | Facundo Ferreyra | Argentina | Vélez Sársfield | 13 |
| Ignacio Scocco | Argentina | Newell's Old Boys | 13 | ||
| align=center rowspan=1 | 3 | Emanuel Gigliotti | Argentina | Colón | 10 |
| align=center rowspan=3 | 4 | Martín Cauteruccio | Quilmes | 7 | |
| Lucas Pratto | Argentina | Vélez Sársfield | 7 | ||
| Denis Stracqualursi | Argentina | San Lorenzo | 7 | ||
| align=center rowspan=5 | 7 | Iván Borghello | Argentina | All Boys | 6 |
| Rodrigo Mora | River Plate | 6 | |||
| Humberto Osorio Botello |  Colombia | San Martín (SJ) | 6 | ||
| Santiago Silva | Boca Juniors | 6 | |||
| Duván Zapata | Colombia | Estudiantes (LP) | 6 | ||
The Torneo Final was the second and final tournament of the season. It began on February 8 and ended on June 23, 2013.
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Club | Goals | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| align=center rowspan=2 | 1 | Emanuel Gigliotti | Argentina | Colón | 11 |
| Ignacio Scocco | Argentina | Newell's Old Boys | 11 | ||
| align=center rowspan=1 | 3 | Silvio Romero | Argentina | Lanús | 9 |
| align=center rowspan=1 | 4 | Luciano Vietto | Argentina | Racing | 8 |
| align=center rowspan=3 | 5 | Martín Cauteruccio | Quilmes | 7 | |
| Ezequiel Rescaldani | Argentina | Vélez Sarsfield | 7 | ||
| Duván Zapata | Colombia | Estudiantes (LP) | 7 | ||
| align=center rowspan=3 | 8 | Andrés Franzoia | Argentina | Unión | 6 |
| Mauro Obolo | Argentina | Godoy Cruz | 6 | ||
| Claudio Riaño | Argentina | San Martín (SJ) | 6 | ||
The 2012-13 Superfinal was played on 29 June 2013 between Vélez Sarsfield, winners of the 2012 Torneo Inicial, and Newell's Old Boys, winners of the 2013 Torneo Final. The match was played at the neutral venue of the Estadio Malvinas Argentinas in Mendoza.
Vélez Sarsfield were crowned Super champions after a 1–0 victory over Newell's Old Boys.[25] The Association recognised that title as a Primera División (league) championship.[26]
As super champions of the 2012–13 season Vélez Sarsfield was qualified for the 2013 Supercopa Argentina, 2013 Copa Sudamericana and 2014 Copa Libertadores.
| GK | 13 | |||
| DF | 5 | Fabián Cubero (c) | ||
| DF | 2 | Fernando Tobio | ||
| DF | 6 | Sebastián Domínguez (c) | ||
| DF | 3 | |||
| MF | 24 | |||
| MF | 17 | |||
| MF | 8 | |||
| MF | 10 | |||
| FW | 12 | |||
| FW | 14 | Facundo Ferreyra | ||
| Substitutes: | ||||
| GK | 1 | Germán Montoya | ||
| DF | 30 | Juan Sabia | ||
| DF | 4 | |||
| MF | 18 | |||
| MF | 21 | Agustín Allione | ||
| MF | 29 | |||
| FW | 9 | Ezequiel Rescaldani | ||
| Manager: | ||||
| Ricardo Gareca | ||||
| width=25 | ! | width=25 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GK | 1 | Nahuel Guzmán | ||
| DF | 4 | Marcos Cáceres | ||
| DF | 27 | |||
| DF | 20 | Gabriel Heinze | ||
| DF | 15 | Milton Casco | ||
| MF | 8 | |||
| MF | 7 | Lucas Bernardi (c) | ||
| MF | 14 | |||
| FW | 11 | Maxi Rodríguez | ||
| FW | 32 | Ignacio Scocco | ||
| FW | 16 | Víctor Figueroa | ||
| Substitutes: | ||||
| GK | 22 | Sebastián Peratta | ||
| DF | 6 | Víctor López | ||
| MF | 5 | Diego Mateo | ||
| MF | 28 | |||
| MF | 18 | Horacio Orzán | ||
| FW | 37 | |||
| FW | 39 | Fabián Muñoz | ||
| Manager: | ||||
| Gerardo Martino | ||||
| Assistant referees
| Match rules
|
| width=28 | width=185 | Team | width=50 | width=50 | width=50 | width=50 | width=50 | width=50 | Relegation | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vélez Sarsfield | 82 | 64 | 61 | 207 | 114 | ||||||||||
| 2 | River Plate | — | — | 64 | 64 | 38 | ||||||||||
| 3 | Lanús | 63 | 55 | 67 | 185 | 114 | ||||||||||
| 4 | Boca Juniors | 53 | 76 | 51 | 180 | 114 | ||||||||||
| 5 | Arsenal | 57 | 62 | 60 | 179 | 114 | ||||||||||
| 6 | Belgrano | — | 55 | 59 | 114 | 76 | ||||||||||
| 7 | Estudiantes (LP) | 69 | 50 | 48 | 167 | 114 | ||||||||||
| 8 | Newell's Old Boys | 42 | 48 | 74 | 164 | 114 | ||||||||||
| 9 | Racing | 52 | 50 | 62 | 164 | 114 | ||||||||||
| 10 | Colón | 47 | 60 | 46 | 153 | 114 | ||||||||||
| 11 | Godoy Cruz | 63 | 38 | 49 | 150 | 114 | ||||||||||
| 12 | Quilmes | — | — | 50 | 50 | 38 | ||||||||||
| 13 | San Lorenzo | 47 | 44 | 58 | 149 | 114 | ||||||||||
| 14 | Tigre | 50 | 63 | 34 | 147 | 114 | ||||||||||
| 15 | All Boys | 51 | 54 | 41 | 146 | 114 | ||||||||||
| 16 | Argentinos Juniors | 54 | 49 | 37 | 140 | 114 | ||||||||||
| 17 | Atlético de Rafaela | — | 50 | 43 | 93 | 76 | ||||||||||
| 18 | San Martín (SJ) (R) | — | 48 | 43 | 91 | 76 | Primera B Nacional | |||||||||
| 19 | Independiente (R) | 43 | 47 | 39 | 129 | 114 | ||||||||||
| 20 | Unión (R) | — | 50 | 24 | 74 | 76 |
Qualification for the 2013 Copa Libertadores tournament was awarded to the winners of the 2011/12 Clausura and 2012/13 Torneo Inicial tournaments. A third place was awarded to the Argentine side that proceeded furthest in the 2012 Copa Sudamericana tournament. Two more places were available to the teams who gain most points in the 2012 Argentine tournaments, and a league table showing those combined points is given below.[28]
Qualification for the 2013 Copa Sudamericana tournament was awarded to the winners of the 2012–13 Argentine Primera División and the 5 best non-finalists (if not qualified for 2013 Copa Libertadores second stage or relegated) according to the aggregate table of the 2012–13 Torneo Inicial and Torneo Final.[29] [30]
This aggregate table could also be used for award places for the 2014 Copa Libertadores.[29]
