2020 Categoría Primera A season explained

Competition:Liga BetPlay Dimayor
Season:2020
Dates:23 January – 29 December 2020
Winners:América de Cali (15th title)
Relegated:Cúcuta Deportivo (disaffiliated)
Continentalcup1:Copa Libertadores
Continentalcup1 Qualifiers:América de Cali
Santa Fe
Junior
Atlético Nacional
Continentalcup2:Copa Sudamericana
Continentalcup2 Qualifiers:Deportes Tolima
La Equidad
Deportivo Pasto
Deportivo Cali
League Topscorer:Miguel Borja
(14 goals)
Matches:231
Total Goals:563
Biggest Home Win:Millonarios 6–1 A. Petrolera
(15 November)
Biggest Away Win:
(11 February)
Jaguares 0–3 Cúcuta Deportivo
(10 March)
Highest Scoring:La Equidad 3–4 Atlético Nacional
(29 January)
Millonarios 6–1 A. Petrolera
(15 November)
Millonarios 5–2 Once Caldas
(27 November)
Prevseason:2019
Nextseason:2021

The 2020 Categoría Primera A season (officially known as the 2020 Liga BetPlay Dimayor season for sponsorship reasons) was the 73rd season of the Categoría Primera A, Colombia's top-flight football league. The season began on 23 January[1] and concluded on 29 December 2020. América de Cali entered the season as defending champions having won the 2019 Finalización tournament, and managed to defend their title by beating Santa Fe 3–2 on aggregate in the finals, winning their fifteenth domestic league championship.[2]

The competition was suspended from 13 March to 12 September due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Format

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the league season was planned to be played as follows:

On 25 July 2020, DIMAYOR's General Assembly decided to continue playing the Torneo Apertura as the only tournament to be held in the season, with the semifinal stage originally planned for the Torneo Finalización. The allocation of international qualification berths was also altered, with the Copa Libertadores berth originally allocated to the Finalización winners going to the league runners-up, and the fourth Copa Sudamericana berth going to the winner of a play-off involving the aggregate table fourth best team not qualified for the Copa Libertadores and the 12 teams that fail to qualify for the semifinal stage. Further format changes were confirmed on 13 August 2020, with DIMAYOR's General Assembly deciding to suspend relegation for this season and postpone it until the end of the first semester of 2021, in order to ensure teams could be able to play the same amount of matches as originally scheduled before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.[4]

On 9 September 2020, DIMAYOR confirmed the format to be used for the remainder of the season, with the single round-robin stage started in the Torneo Apertura being resumed and played as planned and eight teams advancing out of the first stage. The semifinal stage was ultimately replaced by double-legged knockout series to decide the league champions, whilst the 12 teams that failed to qualify for the knockout stage would be sorted into three groups of four teams, with the group winners and the best group runners-up advancing to a single-legged semifinal stage and the winners of those semifinals facing each other in a single-legged final, with its winner playing against the aggregate table fourth-best placed team not qualified for the 2021 Copa Libertadores for the Colombia 4 berth to the 2021 Copa Sudamericana.[5]

Teams

20 teams took part, eighteen of them returning from last season plus Deportivo Pereira and Boyacá Chicó, who were promoted from the 2019 Primera B. Both promoted teams replaced Unión Magdalena and Atlético Huila who were relegated at the end of the previous season by having finished as the bottom two teams of the relegation table.

Stadia and locations

TeamManagerCityStadiumCapacity
Alianza Petrolera Dayron Montesino (caretaker)BarrancabermejaDaniel Villa Zapata10,400
América de Cali Juan Cruz RealCaliPascual Guerrero33,130
ArmeniaCentenario20,716
Atlético Bucaramanga Guillermo SanguinettiBucaramangaAlfonso López28,000
BarrancabermejaDaniel Villa Zapata10,400
Atlético Nacional Alejandro Restrepo (caretaker)MedellínAtanasio Girardot40,043
Boyacá Chicó Belmer AguilarTunjaLa Independencia20,630
Cúcuta Deportivo David SuárezCúcutaGeneral Santander42,901
ArmeniaCentenario20,716
Deportes Tolima Hernán TorresIbaguéManuel Murillo Toro28,100
BogotáMetropolitano de Techo8,000
Deportivo Cali Alfredo AriasPalmiraDeportivo Cali44,000
Deportivo Pasto Diego CorredorPastoDepartamental Libertad20,665
Deportivo Pereira Alexis Márquez (caretaker)PereiraHernán Ramírez Villegas30,297
Envigado José ArasteyEnvigadoPolideportivo Sur11,000
Independiente Medellín Humberto Sierra (caretaker)MedellínAtanasio Girardot40,043
Jaguares Alberto SuárezMonteríaJaraguay12,000
Junior Luis Amaranto PereaBarranquillaMetropolitano Roberto Meléndez49,692
Romelio Martínez8,600
La Equidad Alexis GarcíaBogotáMetropolitano de Techo8,000
Nemesio Camacho El Campín36,343
Millonarios Alberto GameroBogotáNemesio Camacho El Campín36,343
Once Caldas Hubert BodhertManizalesPalogrande28,678
Patriotas Abel SegoviaTunjaLa Independencia20,630
Rionegro Águilas Francesco StifanoRionegroAlberto Grisales14,000
Santa Fe Harold RiveraBogotáNemesio Camacho El Campín36,343

Managerial changes

TeamOutgoing managerManner of departureDate of vacancyPosition in tableIncoming managerDate of appointment
La Equidad Guillermo RiveraEnd of caretaker spell29 October 2019Pre-season Alexis García7 January 2020[6]
Millonarios Jorge Luis PintoResigned5 November 2019[7] Alberto Gamero3 December 2019[8]
Atlético Bucaramanga Sergio NovoaEnd of caretaker spell5 November 2019 José Manuel Rodríguez5 November 2019[9]
Rionegro Águilas Flabio TorresSacked5 November 2019[10] Francesco Stifano12 December 2019[11]
Cúcuta Deportivo Guillermo SanguinettiEnd of contract27 November 2019[12] Jairo Patiño5 January 2020[13]
Deportes Tolima Alberto GameroSigned by Millonarios3 December 2019[14] Hernán Torres6 December 2019[15]
Deportivo Pasto Octavio ZambranoSacked4 December 2019[16] Diego Corredor4 December 2019
Deportivo Cali Lucas PusineriMutual consent7 December 2019[17] Alfredo Arias13 December 2019[18]
Atlético Bucaramanga José Manuel RodríguezSacked17 February 2020[19] 20th Jorge Amado Nunes (caretaker)17 February 2020
Cúcuta Deportivo Jairo Patiño17 February 2020[20] 16th Jorge Artigas17 February 2020[21]
Atlético Bucaramanga Jorge Amado NunesEnd of caretaker spell23 February 202017th Guillermo Sanguinetti22 February 2020[22]
Jaguares Juan Cruz RealResigned12 March 2020[23] 16th Alberto Suárez17 July 2020[24]
América de Cali Alexandre GuimarãesEnd of contract14 June 2020[25] 8th Juan Cruz Real13 July 2020[26]
Boyacá Chicó Jhon Jaime GómezSacked2 September 2020[27] 19th Belmer Aguilar2 September 2020
Junior Julio ComesañaResigned14 September 2020[28] 6th Luis Amaranto Perea14 September 2020
Independiente Medellín Aldo BobadillaMutual consent28 September 2020[29] 13th Javier Álvarez2 October 2020[30]
Deportivo Pereira Néstor CraviottoResigned26 October 2020[31] 16th Alexis Márquez (caretaker)3 November 2020[32]
Atlético Nacional Juan Carlos OsorioSacked1 November 2020[33] 7th Alejandro Restrepo (caretaker)5 November 2020[34]
Cúcuta Deportivo Jorge ArtigasResigned3 November 2020[35] 19th David Suárez4 November 2020[36]
Independiente Medellín Javier Álvarez15 November 2020[37] 14th Humberto Sierra (caretaker)15 November 2020
Alianza Petrolera César TorresSacked15 November 2020[38] 15th Dayron Montesino (caretaker)15 November 2020
Patriotas Nelson Gómez17 November 2020[39] 18th Abel Segovia17 November 2020[40]

Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic

On 13 March 2020, after a meeting with its member clubs, DIMAYOR announced the temporary suspension of the tournament, along with the Primera B and Copa Colombia ones, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[41]

On 29 June, and after an Assembly of its member clubs, DIMAYOR presented a timetable for the implementation of the biosecurity protocol to resume its competitions, with COVID-19 testing for players and staff members of every club scheduled to be held from 10 to 15 July, and individual training resuming the following day. The resumption of collective training sessions, scheduled for 20 August, would be subject to government approval. According to said timetable, the league was scheduled to resume on 27 August, pending the fulfillment of the previous stages as well as final approval by the Colombian government.[42] [43] On 25 July, it was announced that the competition would resume on 30 August with alterations in its format, and pending government approval.[44] With the Ministry of Health authorizing stages 4 and 5 of the biosecurity protocol (collective trainings and competition, respectively) on 20 August, and due to some adjustments to the protocol requested by DIMAYOR, that date of resumption had to be pushed back for at least two weeks, to mid-September.[45] [46]

On 31 August, the Ministry of Health issued the resolution that approved the adjusted protocol and greenlit the start of collective training sessions for 1 September, while President of DIMAYOR Fernando Jaramillo confirmed that the tournament would resume on 19 September,[47] with the postponed matches Deportivo Cali vs. Millonarios and Deportivo Pasto vs. Deportes Tolima to be played on 13 and 14 September, respectively.[48] On 3 September, DIMAYOR confirmed that the league would resume on 12 September 2020, with the postponed matches as it was planned,[49] while the rest of clubs were notified that the ninth round of the competition would be played in the weekend of 19–20 September, with a meeting to confirm the competition format to be held on 9 September.[50]

On 18 September, the match Atlético Nacional vs. Deportes Tolima was suspended by DIMAYOR on advice from representatives from the Ministry of Health following the confirmation of positive COVID-19 cases in the latter team and despite having authorized the team's trip to Medellín to play the match. The match was scheduled to be played in the evening of that same day,[51] and was eventually rescheduled for 30 September.

First stage

Results

Knockout stage

Quarter-finals

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Second leg

Semi-finals

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Second leg

Finals

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América de Cali won 3–2 on aggregate.

Liguilla

Group stage

The 12 teams that failed to qualify for the knockout stages were split into three groups of four teams according to geographical criteria and played each one of their rivals once in a single round-robin tournament, with the two highest-placed teams from the first stage in each group playing two matches at home. The three group winners and the best group runners-up advanced to the semi-finals.[52]

The fixture for the Liguilla group stage was unveiled by DIMAYOR on 23 November. Due to the liquidation of Cúcuta Deportivo, DIMAYOR decided to exclude that club from the competition and the Liguilla was played by 11 teams as a result, with one of the groups being comprised by three teams only.[53]

Ranking of group runners-up

The best team among the three group runners-up qualified for the Liguilla semi-finals.

Semi-finals

The teams with the best performance after the first stage and the Liguilla group stage hosted the match.----

Final

The team with the best performance after the first stage and the previous stages of the Liguilla hosted the match.

Copa Sudamericana play-off

The Liguilla winners played the aggregate table fourth best team not qualified for the 2021 Copa Libertadores in a single match for the Colombia 4 berth in the 2021 Copa Sudamericana. The match was hosted by the aggregate table fourth best team not qualified for the Copa Libertadores.

Top goalscorers

RankNameClubGoals
align=center 1 Miguel BorjaJunioralign=center 14
align=center 2 Jáder ObrianRionegro Águilasalign=center 13
3 Cristian ArangoMillonarios10
Matías MierLa Equidad
Agustín PalavecinoDeportivo Cali
6 Jefferson DuqueAtlético Nacional9
Diego HerazoAtlético Bucaramanga
Adrián RamosAmérica de Cali
9 Andrés AndradeAtlético Nacional7
Ayron del ValleMillonarios
Jorge Luis RamosSanta Fe
Pablo SabbagLa Equidad-13 Andrey EstupiñánDeportes Tolima6
Roberto OvelarOnce Caldas
15 Jaminton CampazDeportes Tolima5
Yeison GuzmánEnvigado
Neyder MorenoEnvigado
Jhon PajoyDeportivo Pasto
Michell RamosCúcuta Deportivo
Michael RangelAmérica de Cali
Fabián SambuezaSanta Fe
Diego ValdésSanta Fe-->

Source: Soccerway

Relegation

A separate table is kept to determine the teams that get relegated to the Categoría Primera B for the next season. This table is elaborated from a sum of all first stage games played for the current season and the previous two seasons. For purposes of elaborating the table, promoted teams are given the same point and goal tallies as the team in the 18th position at the start of the season.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, no teams were relegated at the end of this season, with relegation being postponed until the end of the first semester of 2021 in order to ensure teams could be able to play the same amount of matches as originally scheduled.[4]

width=28
width=185Teamwidth=50width=50width=50width=50width=50width=50width=50width=50
1Deportes Tolima72 64 37 98 137 84 53 173
2Atlético Nacional71 66 35 98 143 97 46 172
3Deportivo Cali58 67 34 98 133 97 36 159
4Junior62 63 33 98 118 77 41 158
569 59 20 98 145 120 25 148
6Once Caldas63 56 29 98 120 98 22 148
7Millonarios51 67 30 98 125 104 21 148
8América de Cali47 67 33 98 127 119 8 147
9Santa Fe56 46 40 98 120 85 35 142
10La Equidad61 42 32 98 111 99 12 135
11Rionegro Águilas57 40 31 98 108 119 –11 128
12Atlético Bucaramanga58 46 21 98 103 119 –16 125
13Deportivo Pasto35 54 34 98 96 98 –2 123
14Envigado46 47 23 98 106 120 –14 116
1542 55 20 98 102 126 –23 116
16Patriotas49 50 17 98 83 116 –33 116
17Cúcuta Deportivo42 59 14 98 117 152 –35 115
18Deportivo Pereira39 38 18 98 77 137 –60 95
19Jaguares39 38 17 98 81 143 –62 94
20Boyacá Chicó39 38 15 98 73 146 –73 92
Source: Dimayor
Rules for classification: 1st points; 2nd goal difference; 3rd goals scored; 4th away goals scored.

Awards

Team of the year

Team of the Year[54]
Goalkeeper Sebastián Viera (Junior)
Defenders Walmer Pacheco (La Equidad) Jeison Palacios (Santa Fe) Edwin Velasco (América de Cali)
Midfielders Fabián Sambueza (Santa Fe) Agustín Palavecino (Deportivo Cali) Andrés Andrade (Atlético Nacional) Matías Mier (La Equidad)
Forwards Adrián Ramos (América de Cali) Duván Vergara (América de Cali) Miguel Borja (Junior)

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Síntesis final de la asamblea extraordinaria de la DIMAYOR. DIMAYOR. es. 31 October 2019. 11 November 2019.
  2. Web site: ¡América de Cali, bicampeón del fútbol colombiano!. El Tiempo. es. 27 December 2020.
  3. Web site: Síntesis del primer día de la Asamblea Extraordinaria de la DIMAYOR. DIMAYOR. es. 30 October 2019. 11 November 2019.
  4. Web site: El FPC no tendrá descenso en el 2020. Marca Colombia. es. 13 August 2020. 15 August 2020.
  5. Web site: SÍNTESIS DE LA ASAMBLEA EXTRAORDINARIA DE LA DIMAYOR. DIMAYOR. es. 9 September 2020.
  6. Web site: Alexis García vuelve a ser 'asegurador': La Equidad oficializó su llegada para el 2020. es. Gol Caracol. 7 January 2020.
  7. Web site: Millonarios acepta la renuncia de Jorge Luis Pinto como DT. es. AS Colombia. 5 November 2019. 11 November 2019.
  8. Web site: Oficial: Gamero firmó su contrato como nuevo técnico de Millonarios. es. Futbolred. 4 December 2019.
  9. Web site: 'Willy' Rodríguez y 'Cenizo' Nunes, nuevo cuerpo técnico del Atlético. es. Vanguardia. 6 November 2019. 11 November 2019.
  10. Web site: Van 15 cambios de DT: Flabio Torres no continuará en Rionegro Águilas. es. Futbolred. 5 November 2019. 11 November 2019.
  11. Web site: El venezolano Francesco Stifano, nuevo técnico de Rionegro Águilas. es. Caracol Radio. 12 December 2019.
  12. Web site: Guillermo Sanguinetti habla sobre su salida del Cúcuta. es. W Radio. 12 December 2019. 5 January 2020.
  13. Web site: Por fin hubo noticias de Cúcuta: el club ya tiene nuevo entrenador. es. Futbolred. 5 January 2020.
  14. Web site: Así fue la emotiva despedida de Alberto Gamero en Deportes Tolima. es. Futbolred. 4 December 2019.
  15. Web site: Día de anuncios en Tolima: nuevo DT y se llevan una joven figura. es. Futbolred. 6 December 2019.
  16. Web site: Octavio Zambrano deja el Pasto por falta de pago. es. AS Colombia. 4 December 2019.
  17. Web site: ¡Confirmado! Lucas Pusineri deja la dirección técnica del Deportivo Cali. es. El País. 7 December 2019.
  18. Web site: ¡Es oficial! Deportivo Cali definió a su nuevo entrenador para 2020. es. Futbolred. 13 December 2019.
  19. Web site: Primer técnico despedido de 2020: el 'Willy' Rodríguez deja Bucaramanga. es. Antena 2. 17 February 2020.
  20. Web site: Y cayó el segundo: Jairo Patiño se va del Cúcuta Deportivo. es. El Tiempo. 17 February 2020.
  21. Web site: Oficial: Jorge Artigas es el nuevo técnico del Cúcuta Deportivo. es. AS Colombia. 17 February 2020.
  22. Web site: Sanguinetti vuelve a Colombia y tendrá otra experiencia en la Liga. es. Futbolred. 22 February 2020.
  23. Web site: Comienzo soñado y final decepcionante: sale otro técnico en la Liga. es. Futbolred. 12 March 2020.
  24. Web site: JAGUARES ANUNCIÓ EL REEMPLAZO DE JUAN CRUZ REAL, HOY EN AMÉRICA DE CALI. es. Antena 2. 17 July 2020. 18 July 2020.
  25. Web site: "Guimaraes termina contrato el 14 de junio, estamos en proceso de desvinculación": Mauricio Romero. es. El País. 1 June 2020. 12 June 2020.
  26. Web site: Se viste de rojo: América presenta oficialmente a Juan Cruz Real. es. Futbolred. 13 July 2020. 14 July 2020.
  27. Web site: Bélmer Aguilar tendrá su primera experiencia como técnico en Colombia. es. Futbolred. 2 September 2020. 8 September 2020.
  28. Web site: Julio Comesaña se va campeón: renunció a dirección técnica de Junior. es. Futbolred. 14 September 2020. 15 September 2020.
  29. Web site: ¡Y se acabó la paciencia! Bobadilla deja de ser técnico del Medellín. es. Futbolred. 28 September 2020.
  30. Web site: ¡Es oficial! Medellín tiene nuevo entrenador tras salida de Bobadilla. es. Futblred. 2 October 2020.
  31. Web site: ¡No va más! Néstor Craviotto renunció a su cargo como DT de Pereira. es. Futbolred. 19 October 2020.
  32. Web site: Fútbol colombiano: Deportivo Pereira oficializó a Alexis Márquez como técnico interino. es. Gol Caracol. 3 November 2020. 4 November 2020.
  33. Web site: Oficial: Atlético Nacional confirma la salida de Juan Carlos Osorio. es. Futbolred. 1 November 2020.
  34. Web site: Nacional define el DT que queda encargado al frente del equipo. es. El Tiempo. 5 November 2020. 6 November 2020.
  35. Web site: Cúcuta sigue en la mala, ahora se quedó sin cuerpo técnico. es. El Tiempo. 3 November 2020.
  36. Web site: Uno de la casa: Cúcuta ya tiene entrenador tras salida de Artigas. es. Futbolred. 4 November 2020.
  37. Web site: Otro que se va: Javier Álvarez renunció al Medellín. es. El Tiempo. 15 November 2020. 18 November 2020.
  38. Web site: MILLONARIOS COBRÓ CABEZA DE UN TÉCNICO; CÉSAR TORRES DEJA ALIANZA TRAS POLÉMICA GOLEADA. es. Antena 2. 16 November 2020. 18 November 2020.
  39. Web site: Cero y van 13: equipo eliminado de cuartos anuncia salida de su DT. es. Futbolred. 17 November 2020. 18 November 2020.
  40. Web site: Patriotas tiene nuevo técnico y es un exjugador del Sevilla y del Real Madrid: Abel Segovia. es. Gol Caracol. 17 November 2020. 19 November 2020.
  41. Web site: Suspendido el fútbol profesional colombiano por coronavirus. El Tiempo. es. 13 March 2020.
  42. Web site: DIMAYOR envió comunicación a los clubes del FPC para la implementación del Protocolo de Bioseguridad. DIMAYOR. es. 29 June 2020. 5 July 2020.
  43. Web site: Ya hay una fecha para un posible inicio del fútbol colombiano. Futbolred. es. 3 July 2020. 5 July 2020.
  44. Web site: ¡Aceptado! Así será el retorno del fútbol colombiano. El Tiempo. es. 25 July 2020.
  45. Web site: Regreso del FPC: Minsalud autoriza entrenamientos colectivos y competencia. Deportes RCN. es. 20 August 2020. 31 August 2020.
  46. Web site: Ya no sería el 12: el Gobierno contempla otra fecha para el fútbol. El Tiempo. es. 27 August 2020. 31 August 2020.
  47. Web site: ¡Humo blanco! Así será el regreso del fútbol profesional. El Tiempo. es. 31 August 2020.
  48. Web site: El panorama se aclara: los dos juegos aplazados ya tienen fecha. El Tiempo. es. 1 September 2020. 3 September 2020.
  49. Web site: ¡Se adelantó el FPC! Dimayor definió fecha y horario de aplazados. Futbolred. es. 3 September 2020.
  50. Web site: DIMAYOR comunicó a los clubes, fechas y opciones de sistemas de juego para la reactivación de las competencias. DIMAYOR. es. 3 September 2020. 9 September 2020.
  51. Web site: Algo de razón: Dimayor aplazó Nacional vs Tolima por casos de covid-19. Futbolred. es. 18 September 2020.
  52. Web site: REGLAMENTO LIGA BETPLAY DIMAYOR 2020. Dimayor.com.co. es. 8 November 2020.
  53. Web site: Los grupos y el fixture de la Liguilla de eliminados. 23 November 2020 . El Tiempo. es. 23 November 2020.
  54. Web site: 11 IDEAL DE LA LIGA BETPLAY DIMAYOR 2020 . Dimayor . es . 28 December 2020.

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