2015 Argentine Primera División Explained

Competition:	Primera División
Season:	2015
Winners:	Boca Juniors (31st title)
Relegated:	Nueva Chicago Crucero del Norte
Continentalcup1:	2016 Copa Libertadores
Continentalcup1 Qualifiers:	Boca Juniors San Lorenzo Racing Rosario Central (via 2014–15 Copa Argentina) River Plate (via 2015 Copa Libertadores) Huracán (via 2015 Copa Sudamericana)
Continentalcup2:	2016 Copa Sudamericana
Continentalcup2 Qualifiers:	Independiente Belgrano Banfield Estudiantes (LP) Lanús
League Topscorer:	Marco Ruben (21 goals)
Matches:	468
Total Goals:	1045
Prevseason:	2014
Nextseason:	2016

The 2015 Argentine Primera División or Torneo de Primera División 2015 "Julio H. Grondona"^[1] was the 125th season of top-flight professional football in Argentina. The season began on February 13 and ended on December 6.^[2] Thirty teams competed in the league, twenty returning from the 2014 Torneo de Transición and ten promoted from the 2014 Primera B Nacional (Aldosivi, Argentinos Juniors, Colón, Crucero del Norte, Huracán, Nueva Chicago, San Martín (SJ), Sarmiento, Temperley and Unión). No teams were relegated to the Primera B Nacional Championship in the previous tournament.

Competition format

Each of the 30 teams plays the other sides once, along with an extra derby game, for a total of 30 matches for each side.^[3]

The winners and runners-up of the first division qualified for the 2016 Copa Libertadores. Additionally, the winner of the 2015 Copa Argentina earned the Argentina 3 berth to the Copa Libertadores. The teams that place third to sixth in the league table advanced to the Liguilla Pre-Libertadores. The winner of this Liguilla earned the fourth berth to the Copa Libertadores, with the runner-up entering the 2016 Copa Sudamericana. The teams that place seventh to eighteenth in addition to the losing semifinalists of the Liguilla Pre-Libertadores advanced to the Liguilla Pre-Sudamericana, to determine the six berths for the 2016 Copa Sudamericana.^[2]

Club information

Stadia and locations

^[4]

Club	City	Stadium
Aldosivi	Mar del Plata	José María Minella
Argentinos Juniors	Buenos Aires	Diego Armando Maradona
Arsenal	Sarandí	Julio Humberto Grondona
Atlético de Rafaela	Rafaela	Nuevo Monumental
Banfield	Banfield	Florencio Sola
Belgrano	Córdoba	Mario Alberto Kempes
Boca Juniors	Buenos Aires	Alberto J. Armando
Colón	Santa Fe	Brigadier Estanislao López
Crucero del Norte	Garupá	Comandante Andrés Guacurarí
	Florencio Varela	Tito Tomaghello
Estudiantes (LP)	La Plata	Único Ciudad de La Plata
Gimnasia y Esgrima (LP)	La Plata	Juan Carmelo Zerillo
Godoy Cruz	Godoy Cruz	Malvinas Argentinas
Huracán	Buenos Aires	Tomás Adolfo Ducó
Independiente	Avellaneda	Libertadores de América
Lanús	Lanús	Ciudad de Lanús - Néstor Díaz Pérez
Newell's Old Boys	Rosario	Marcelo Bielsa
Nueva Chicago	Buenos Aires	República de Mataderos
Olimpo	Bahía Blanca	Roberto Carminatti
Quilmes	Quilmes	Centenario Dr. José Luis Meiszner
Racing	Avellaneda	Presidente Perón
River Plate	Buenos Aires	Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti
Rosario Central	Rosario	Gigante de Arroyito
San Lorenzo	Buenos Aires	Pedro Bidegain
San Martín (SJ)	San Juan	Ingeniero Hilario Sánchez
	Junín	Eva Perón
Temperley	Temperley	Alfredo Martín Beranger
Tigre	Victoria	Don José Dellagiovanna
Unión	Santa Fe	15 de Abril
Vélez Sarsfield	Buenos Aires	José Amalfitani

Managerial changes

Team	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Replaced by	Date of appointment	Position in table
Pre-season changes
Vélez Sarsfield	José Oscar Flores	End of contract	December 6, 2014^[5]	Miguel Ángel Russo	December 9, 2014^[6]	N/A
Newell's Old Boys	Gustavo Raggio	Mutual agreement	December 7, 2014^[7]	Américo Gallego	December 8, 2014^[8]	N/A
Rosario Central	Hugo Galloni	Replaced	December 12, 2014	Eduardo Coudet	December 12, 2014^[9]	N/A
San Martín (SJ)	Rubén Forestello	Resigned	December 15, 2014^[10]	Carlos Mayor	December 31, 2014^[11]	N/A
	Quilmes	Marcelo Pontiroli	Replaced	December 20, 2014	Julio César Falcioni	December 20, 2014^[12]	N/A
Tournament changes
Colón	Reinaldo Merlo	Sacked	February 16, 2015^[13] ^[14]		February 16, 2015^[15]	29th
Nueva Chicago	Omar Labruna	Sacked	March 31, 2015^[16]		March 31, 2015^[17]	28th
Atlético de Rafaela	Roberto Sensini	Sacked	April 4, 2015^[18]		April 13, 2015^[19]	28th
Olimpo	Walter Perazzo	Resigned	April 12, 2015^[20]		April 17, 2015^[21]	27th
Estudiantes (LP)	Mauricio Pellegrino	Sacked	April 14, 2015^[22]		April 15, 2015^[23]	16th
Defensa y Justicia	Darío Franco	Resigned	April 18, 2015^[24]	José Oscar Flores	April 20, 2015^[25]	21st
Arsenal	Martín Palermo	Resigned	April 19, 2015^[26]		May 9, 2015^[27]	26th
Crucero del Norte	Gabriel Schürrer	Resigned	April 22, 2015^[28]		April 27, 2015^[29]	27th
Nueva Chicago	Alejandro Nanía	Resigned	May 9, 2015^[30]	Rubén Forestello	May 15, 2015^[31]	30th
Independiente	Jorge Almirón	Resigned	May 25, 2015^[32]		June 4, 2015^[33]	17th
Newell's Old Boys	Américo Gallego	Sacked	June 1, 2015^[34]		June 10, 2015^[35]	7th
Colón	Javier Oscar López	Resigned	June 6, 2015^[36]	Darío Franco	June 10, 2015^[37]	21st
Godoy Cruz	Daniel Oldrá	Resigned	June 7, 2015^[38]	Gabriel Heinze	June 10, 2015^[39]	22nd
Defensa y Justicia	José Oscar Flores	Mutual agreement	June 10, 2015^[40]	Ariel Holan	June 11, 2015^[41]	27th
	Quilmes	Julio César Falcioni	Mutual agreement	July 20, 2015^[42]	Facundo Sava	July 21, 2015^[43]	23rd
	Banfield	Matías Almeyda	Resigned	August 3, 2015^[44]		August 4, 2015^[45]	12th
	Huracán	Néstor Apuzzo	Resigned	August 15, 2015^[46]	Eduardo Domínguez	August 18, 2015^[47]	26th
Godoy Cruz	Gabriel Heinze	Sacked	September 26, 2015^[48]		September 26, 2015^[49]	25th

Interim Managers

1. Interim manager, but later promoted to full-time manager.

2. Interim manager, but later promoted to full-time manager.

3. Gustavo Tognarelli was interim manager in the 9th round.

4. Alejandro Giuntini was interim manager in the 10th.

5. Nelson Vivas was interim manager in the 10th round.

6. Roberto Santiago González was interim manager in the suspended 7th round and 11th–12th rounds.

7. Miguel Ángel Salinas was interim manager in the 11th round.

8. Fernando Berón was interim manager in the 14th and 15th rounds.

9. Carlos Picerni was interim manager in the 15th round.

10. Interim manager.

11. Interim manager in the suspended 22nd round and 27th–30th rounds.

Notable occurrences

• On January 25, Juan Román Riquelme announced his retirement from professional football, just one month after leading first club Argentinos Juniors back to the Primera División. Riquelme made his debut in 1996 and until his retirement played for Boca Juniors, Barcelona, Villarreal and Argentinos Juniors.^{[50] [51]}
• On March 15, A San Lorenzo supporter died from injuries sustained at the end of the derby against Huracán (3–1, 5th round) after he lost his balance and fell from the highest point of the uncovered home stand behind the goal.^{[52] [53]}
• On March 22, during the match San Martín (SJ)–Boca Juniors a tackle by Boca Juniors goalkeeper Agustín Orión resulted in a broken tibia and fibula in the right leg (from six to eight-month recovery) for San Martin's Carlos Bueno.^[54] Orión received a straight red card and got four-match ban.^{[55] [56]}
• On March 30, the referee Ariel Penel suspended after 30 minutes the match between Arsenal and Aldosivi (0–1) due to disturbances outside the Estadio Julio Humberto Grondona.^{[57] [58]} The match was finished on April 25 with final score 0–3.^[59]
• On April 4, the referee Germán Delfino awarded a penalty to Vélez Sarsfield after Daniel Rosero (Arsenal) was adjudged to have handled the ball in the area and showed his second booking of the game. As the penalty was about to be taken Delfino was told over his intercom that the handball was by Vélez Sarsfield striker Mariano Pavone and proceeded to overturn his decision and call Rosero back onto the field. Apparently the decision was overturned after linesman Iván Núñez caught a replay of the incident on a nearby cameraman's monitor and informed Delfino via his earpiece.^[60] Despite the correct decision was awarded by the referee, the video technology is not allowed in Argentine football and Delfino was banned one round.^[61]
• On May 21, The AFA's Disciplinary Tribunal gave the victory to Newell's Old Boys over Arsenal (0−1) for fielding an ineligible player. Arsenal were charged after they played the suspended midfielder Leandro Godoy in their 3−0 win over Newell's Old Boys on April 13 (9th round).^[62]
• On May 24, AFA suspended the match between Tigre and River Plate because of the death of Cristian Gómez, a player of second division football club Paraná, who died after collapsing on the pitch during a game.^{[63] [64]}

League table

Results

Teams play every other team once (either at home or away), and play one additional round against their local derby rival (or assigned match by AFA if a club doesn't have derby), completing a total of 30 rounds.

Liguilla Pre Libertadores

The Liguilla Pre Libertadores is contested by the four best placed teams from the league that have not already qualified for the Copa Libertadores, with the winners gaining a place in the 2016 tournament and the runners-up playing in the Copa Sudamericana. The losing semi-finalists play in the Liguilla Pre Sudamericana.^[65]

Semi-finals

----

Final

Second leg

Racing won 3–2 on aggregate and qualified to 2016 Copa Libertadores.
Independiente qualified to 2016 Copa Sudamericana.

Liguilla Pre Sudamericana

The Liguilla Pre Sudamericana is contested by the twelve best placed teams from the league that have not already qualified for the Copa Libertadores, plus the two losing semi-finalists from the Liguilla Pre Libertadores. The four winners of the finals qualify for the 2016 Copa Sudamericana.^[66]

Semi-finals

--------------------

Finals

Match 1

----

Match 2

----

Match 3

----

Match 4

----The four sides who won their ties on aggregate qualified for 2016 Copa Sudamericana.

Season statistics

Top goalscorers

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
align=center	1	Marco Ruben	Rosario Central	align=center	21
align=center	2	Leandro Fernández	Godoy Cruz	align=center	15
align=center	3	Claudio Bieler	Quilmes	align=center	14
align=center	4	José Sand	Aldosivi	align=center	12
align=center rowspan=2	5	Fernando Cavenaghi	River Plate	align=center	11
Alejandro Gagliardi	Nueva Chicago	align=center	11
align=center rowspan=4	7	Ramón Ábila	Huracán	align=center	10
Jonathan Calleri	Boca Juniors	align=center	10
Martín Cauteruccio	San Lorenzo	align=center	10
Maxi Rodríguez	Newell's Old Boys	align=center	10

Top assists

Rank	Player	Club	Assists
align=center	1	Víctor Malcorra	Unión	align=center	9
align=center	2	Marcos Acuña	Racing	align=center	8
align=center rowspan=5	3	Mauricio Carrasco	Nueva Chicago	align=center	7
Ezequiel Cerutti	Estudiantes (LP)	align=center	7
Hernán Encina	Olimpo	align=center	7
Jesús Méndez	Independiente	align=center	7
Matías Pisano	Independiente	align=center	7
align=center rowspan=5	8	Fabrizio Angileri	Godoy Cruz	align=center	6
Rodrigo Gómez	Quilmes	align=center	6
Roger Martínez	Aldosivi	align=center	6
Maximiliano Meza	Gimnasia y Esgrima (LP)	align=center	6
Jorge Ortiz	Lanús/Independiente	align=center	6

Source: AFA

Relegation

width=28		width=185	Team	width=50		width=50		width=50		width=50		width=50		width=50		width=50		Relegation
1	Independiente	—	—	33	54	87	49
2	River Plate	64	58	39	49	210	125
3	Boca Juniors	51	61	31	64	207	125
4	San Lorenzo	58	60	26	61	205	125
5	Lanús	67	59	35	42	203	125
6	Newell's Old Boys	74	56	25	40	195	125
7	Racing	62	33	41	57	193	125
8	Rosario Central	—	54	21	59	134	87
9	Estudiantes (LP)	48	59	31	51	189	125
10	Belgrano	59	49	25	51	184	125
11	Gimnasia y Esgrima (LP)	—	57	24	44	125	87
12	Banfield	—	—	20	50	70	49
13	Vélez Sarsfield	61	61	25	29	176	125
14	Unión	—	—	—	41	41	30
15	Aldosivi	—	—	—	40	40	30
16	Arsenal	60	48	26	27	161	125
17	Godoy Cruz	49	56	21	32	158	125
18	Tigre	34	49	26	46	155	125
19	San Martín (SJ)	—	—	—	37	37	30
20	Quilmes	50	45	12	45	152	125
21	Olimpo	—	50	19	36	105	87
22	Colón	—	—	—	34	34	30
23	Atlético de Rafaela	43	49	25	23	140	125
24	Argentinos Juniors	—	—	—	33	33	30
25	Defensa y Justicia	—	—	20	32	52	49
26	Huracán	—	—	—	30	30	30
27	Sarmiento	—	—	—	30	30	30
28	Temperley	—	—	—	30	30	30
29	Nueva Chicago (R)	—	—	—	29	29	30		Relegation to Primera B Nacional
30	Crucero del Norte (R)	—	—	—	14	14	30

Source: AFA

See also

• 2015 Primera B Nacional

External links

• Full fixture list
• soccerway.com

Notes and References

1. Web site: Homenaje: el predio en Ezeiza y el torneo de 30 equipos se llamarán Julio Grondona . October 15, 2014 . Canchallena . es.
2. Web site: Proyecto del Campeonato de Primera Division 2015. 5 December 2014 . AFA . es.
3. Web site: Primera División 2015 "Julio H. Grondona". Osvaldo José Gorgazzi. 2 June 2016. Argentina 2015. RSSSF. 5 October 2018.
4. Web site: Osvaldo José Gorgazzi . Campeonato de Primera División 2015 "Julio H. Grondona" . RSSSF . 8 August 2020 . 2 June 2016.
5. Web site: El Turu Flores ya no es más el técnico de Vélez . December 6, 2014 . Canchallena . es.
6. Web site: Palabra asegurada: Miguel Angel Russo será el nuevo entrenador de Vélez . December 9, 2014 . Canchallena . es.
7. Web site: Raggio dirige su último partido en Newell's y se viene el inicio de una nueva era . November 29, 2014 . La Capital . es.
8. Web site: Américo Gallego es el nuevo entrenador de Newell´s . December 4, 2014 . Canchallena . es.
9. Web site: Eduardo Coudet sera el nuevo técnico de Rosario Central y llega acompañado por Ariel Garcé . December 12, 2014 . Canchallena . es.
10. Web site: Forestello se bajó y no será el DT . December 15, 2014 . Diario de Cuyo . es.
11. Web site: Un técnico Mayor . December 31, 2014 . Olé . es.
12. Web site: Julio César Falcioni es el nuevo DT de Quilmes . December 20, 2014 . Canchallena . es.
13. Web site: Merlo sacked as Colón coach . February 17, 2015 . Buenos Aires Herald.
14. Web site: Tan sólo una fecha: Reinaldo Merlo dejó de ser el técnico de Colón . February 16, 2015 . Canchallena . es.
15. Web site: Colón ratificó a Javier López como técnico para el torneo . February 26, 2015 . Canchallena . es.
16. Web site: Adiós Labruna . March 31, 2015 . Olé . es.
17. Web site: Nanía se quedará como técnico de Chicago . April 20, 2015 . TyC Sports . es . April 21, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150427131722/http://www.tycsports.com/noticias/Nania-se-quedara-como-tecnico-de-Chicago-20150420-0053.html . April 27, 2015 . dead .
18. Web site: Roberto Sensini dejó de ser el entrenador de Atlético de Rafaela . April 4, 2015 . Canchallena . es.
19. Web site: Leo Astrada es el nuevo técnico de Atlético Rafaela . April 13, 2015 . Canchallena . es.
20. Web site: Olimpo se quedó sin DT: tras el 0-0 ante Defensa y Justicia, se fue Walter Perazzo . April 12, 2015 . Canchallena . es.
21. Web site: Diego Osella es el nuevo técnico de Olimpo . April 17, 2015 . El Litoral . es.
22. Web site: Mauricio Pellegrino se fue muy enojado de Estudiantes y Gabriel Milito está a un paso de ser el DT . April 14, 2015 . Canchallena . es.
23. Web site: Llegó la hora del Mariscal: Gabriel Milito es el nuevo DT de Estudiantes . April 15, 2015 . Canchallena . es.
24. Web site: Un técnico más que se va: Darío Franco dejó de ser el entrenador de Defensa y Justicia . April 18, 2015 . Canchallena . es.
25. Web site: Turu Flores es el nuevo DT de Defensa y Justicia, con un relator de Fútbol para Todos como ayudante . April 20, 2015 . Canchallena . es.
26. Web site: Martín Palermo dejó de ser el entrenador de Arsenal . April 19, 2015 . Canchallena . es.
27. Web site: Vuelve a Primera: Caruso Lombardi es el nuevo entrenador de Arsenal . May 9, 2015 . Canchallena . es.
28. Web site: Gabriel Schurrer se fue de Crucero del Norte y es el octavo DT que deja su puesto en 10 fechas . April 22, 2015 . Canchallena . es.
29. Web site: Sebastián Rambert es el nuevo DT de Crucero del Norte . April 27, 2015 . Canchallena . es.
30. Web site: Nueva Chicago se 'devoró' dos DT en 12 fechas: Alejandro Nanía presentó su renuncia . May 10, 2015 . Canchallena . es.
31. Web site: Rubén Forestello asumió como nuevo técnico de Nueva Chicago . May 15, 2015 . Canchallena . es.
32. Web site: Se fue Almirón . May 25, 2015 . Club Atlético Independiente - Sitio Oficial . es . 2015-05-26 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150526050717/https://clubaindependiente.com/es/futbol/primera/noticias/1432578561_se-fue-almiron . 2015-05-26 . dead .
33. Web site: Pese a la resistencia de los hinchas, Mauricio Pellegrino será el nuevo DT de Independiente . June 4, 2015 . Canchallena . es.
34. Web site: El Tolo Gallego dejó de ser el técnico de Newell´s . June 1, 2015 . Canchallena . es.
35. Web site: De la cancha al banco: Lucas Bernardi es el nuevo técnico de Newell´s . June 10, 2015 . Canchallena . es.
36. Web site: Javier López dejó de ser el entrenador de Colón de Santa Fe . June 6, 2015 . ESPN . es.
37. Web site: Darío Franco, elegido como nuevo entrenador de Colón de Santa Fe . June 10, 2015 . Infobae . es.
38. Web site: El adiós de Oldrá y su llanto, lo más destacado del pobre empate entre Godoy Cruz y Arsenal . June 7, 2015 . Infobae . es.
39. Web site: Gabriel Heinze acordó de palabra para dirigir Godoy Cruz . June 10, 2015 . ESPN . es.
40. Web site: El Turu Flores dejó de ser el técnico de Defensa y Justicia . June 10, 2015 . TyC Sports . es . 2015-07-13 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150612041630/http://www.tycsports.com/noticias/El-Turu-Flores-dejo-de-ser-el-tecnico-de-Defensa-y-Justicia--20150610-0060.html . 2015-06-12 . dead .
41. Web site: Ariel Holan fue designado como nuevo entrenador de Defensa y Justicia . June 11, 2015 . ESPN . es.
42. Web site: Otro mal paso de Falcioni: dejará de ser el técnico de Quilmes... ¿Llega Sava? . July 19, 2015 . Infobae . es.
43. Web site: Sava será el nuevo técnico de Quilmes . July 20, 2015 . ESPN . es.
44. Web site: Banfield juega ante Arsenal en el último partido de Almeyda como DT del club . August 3, 2015 . Canchallena . es.
45. Web site: Vivas será el técnico de Banfield hasta fin de año . August 31, 2015 . Clarín . es.
46. Web site: Néstor Apuzzo renunció como entrenador de Huracán . August 15, 2015 . Canchallena . es.
47. Web site: Eduardo Domínguez se retiró como futbolista para asumir como entrenador de Huracán . August 18, 2015 . Canchallena . es.
48. Web site: Tras una nueva derrota, echaron a Gabriel Heinze de Godoy Cruz . September 26, 2015 . Infobae . es.
49. Web site: En Godoy Cruz, Oldrá reemplazará a Heinze . September 28, 2015 . Diario de Cuyo . es.
50. Web site: Juan Román Riquelme se retira del fútbol: "He tomado la decisión de no jugar más" . January 25, 2015 . Canchallena . es.
51. Web site: Juan Román Riquelme retires from football . January 25, 2015 . Buenos Aires Herald.
52. Web site: Fan dies after falling from San Lorenzo stand . March 15, 2015 . Buenos Aires Herald.
53. Web site: Muere un hincha de San Lorenzo en los festejos en el estadio al caer desde la tribuna . March 15, 2015 . Canchallena . es.
54. Web site: Agustín Orion salió con los pies para adelante y Carlos Bueno sufrió la fractura de tibia y peroné . March 22, 2015 . Canchallena . es.
55. Web site: Orión gets four-match ban for Bueno injury, back for Superclásico . April 1, 2015 . Buenos Aires Herald.
56. Web site: La AFA sancionó a Agustín Orion con cuatro fechas de suspensión: podrá jugar el superclásico . April 1, 2015 . Canchallena . es.
57. Web site: La violencia de siempre: por disturbios fuera del estadio, Arsenal-Aldosivi sólo jugaron 30 minutos . March 30, 2015 . Canchallena . es.
58. Web site: Crowd disturbances halt Arsenal's Primera clash with Aldosivi . March 30, 2015 . Buenos Aires Herald.
59. Web site: Un triunfo completo: Aldosivi terminó goleando 3-0 a Arsenal en Sarandí . April 25, 2015 . Canchallena . es.
60. Web site: La confesión de Delfino, tras anular un penal y una expulsión: "El procedimiento fue horrible" . April 4, 2015 . Canchallena . es.
61. Web site: Tras la polémica en Vélez - Arsenal, la AFA paró a Germán Delfino por una fecha . April 6, 2015 . Canchallena . es.
62. Web site: Sanción a Arsenal: la AFA le dio los tres puntos a Newell's por la mala inclusión de Godoy . May 21, 2015 . Canchallena . es.
63. Web site: Cristian Gomez: Argentine player dies after collapsing on pitch . May 24, 2015 . BBC.
64. Web site: La AFA decidió suspender Tigre-River por la muerte de Cristian Gómez . May 24, 2015 . Canchallena . es.
65. Web site: Primera División 2015 "Julio H. Grondona": Liguilla Pre Libertadores. Osvaldo José Gorgazzi. 2 June 2016. Argentina 2015. RSSSF. 5 October 2018.
66. Web site: Primera División 2015 "Julio H. Grondona": Pre Sudamericana . Osvaldo José Gorgazzi. 2 June 2016. Argentina 2015. RSSSF. 7 October 2018.