2022–23 Liga Nacional de Guatemala explained

Competition:	Liga Nacional de Guatemala
Season:	2022–23
Winners:	Apertura: Cobán Imperial (2nd title) Clausura: Xelajú (6th title)
Relegated:	Iztapa Santa Lucía
Continentalcup1:	CONCACAF Central American Cup
Continentalcup1 Qualifiers:	Cobán Imperial Xelajú Comunicaciones
League Topscorer:	Apertura: Lucas Gómez - 12 Goals Clausura: Matías Rotondi - 14 goals
Prevseason:	2021–22
Nextseason:	2023–24

The 2022–23 Liga Nacional de Guatemala, also known as Liga Guate Banrural for sponsorship reasons,^[1] was the 70th season of the Liga Nacional de Guatemala, the top-flight football league in Guatemala. The season began on 23 July 2022, when the Apertura 2022 tournament started,^[2] and ended on 27 May 2023 with the Clausura 2023 tournament second leg final.

Competition format

Same as previous years, the season was divided into two short tournaments: Torneo Apertura (opening) and Torneo Clausura (closing), each of which crowning its own champion. Both Apertura and Clausura tournaments were played under the same format which consisted in a Classification phase and a Final phase.^[3]

In the classification phase, teams played each other twice on a home-and-away round-robin basis. The top eight teams at the conclusion of the classification stage advanced to the quarter-finals of the final stage.

The final phase was played on a single-elimination format and consisted of the quarter-finals, semi-finals and the finals. All rounds were played on a home-and-away two-legged basis, with the higher-ranked team in the classification phase of each tie hosting the second leg. The quarter-final pairings were pre-determined based on the teams' final position in the classification phase. In the semi-finals the teams were re-seeded based also on their final position in the classification phase in order to determine the two pairings. The quarter-finals and semi-finals matchups were determined as follows:

Quarter-finals

• Match A: Third placed team vs. Sixth placed team
• Match B: Fourth placed team vs. Fifth placed team
• Match C: First placed team vs. Eighth placed team
• Match D: Second placed team vs. Seventh placed team

Semi-finals

• Match I: Second best placed semi-finalist vs. Third best placed semi-finalist
• Match II: Top-placed semi-finalist vs. Fourth best placed semi-finalist

Both champions of the Apertura and Clausura tournaments plus the best placed team on the aggregate table (excluding the two champions) at the end of the season qualified for the 2023 CONCACAF Central American Cup.

Format changes

The following changes were adopted as of this season:^[4]

• The away goals rule was abolished and was no longer taken into account as a tie-breaker criterion in the final phase series.
• The tie-breaker criterion based on the seeds used to determine a qualification in the event of a tie on aggregate was also abolished. Instead, it was decided to play extra time and a penalty shoot-out if necessary.

Teams

A total of 12 teams took part in this season: the top ten teams from the aggregate table of the 2021–22 season as well as two promoted teams from the 2021–22 Primera División season, which were Deportivo Mixco and Xinabajul-Huehue. Deportivo Mixco earned promotion for being finalists in both Apertura and Clausura tournaments of the 2021–22 season,^[5] while Xinabajul-Huehue ensured promotion to the Liga Nacional on 4 June 2022, after winning the promotion play-off against Deportivo Marquense.^[6]

The two promoted teams replaced Sololá and Nueva Concepción, the bottom two teams in the aggregate table of the 2021–22 season, who were relegated to Primera División.

Stadia and locations

Team	City	Stadium	Capacity
Achuapa	El Progreso	Winston Pineda	6,000
Antigua	Antigua Guatemala	Pensativo	10,000
Cobán Imperial	Cobán	Verapaz	15,000
Comunicaciones	Guatemala City	Doroteo Guamuch Flores	26,000
Guastatoya	Guastatoya	David Cordón Hichos	3,100
Iztapa	Iztapa	El Morón	4,800
Malacateco	Malacatán	Santa Lucía	7,000
Mixco	Mixco		5,200
Municipal	Guatemala City	El Trébol	7,500
Santa Lucía	Santa Lucía Cotzumalguapa	Santa Lucía Cotzumalguapa	9,000
Xelajú	Quetzaltenango	Mario Camposeco	11,220
Xinabajul-Huehue	Huehuetenango	Los Cuchumatanes	5,340

Personnel and kits

Team	Head Coach	Captain	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsor(s)
Achuapa	Raúl Arias	Rigoberto Hernández	NS Sport
Antigua	Ramiro Cepeda	José Mena	Joma
Cobán Imperial	César Méndez	Janderson	MG Sports
Comunicaciones	Willy Coito	José Manuel Contreras	Kelme
Guastatoya	Mario Acevedo	Rubén Morales	Guza−Sport
Iztapa	Pablo Garabello	Pedro Samayoa	Tuto Sport
Malacateco	Adrián García	Jorge Sánchez	Silver Sport
Mixco	Fabricio Benítez	Jean Márquez	JM12
Municipal	José Cardozo	Marlon Sequén	Umbro
Santa Lucía	Rónald Gómez	Mafre Icuté	Silver Sport
Xelajú	Amarini Villatoro	Kenner Gutiérrez	MR
Xinabajul-Huehue	Pablo Centrone	Kristian Guzmán	Orion

Managerial changes

Team	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Position in table	Incoming manager	Date of appointment
Torneo Apertura
Xelajú	Irving Rubirosa	End of contract	13 May 2022^[7]	Pre-season	Amarini Villatoro	24 May 2022^[8]
Cobán Imperial	Sebastián Bini		15 May 2022^[9]		Roberto Montoya	6 June 2022^[10] ^[11]
Municipal	José Cardozo	Mutual agreement	30 May 2022^[12]		Juan Antonio Torres	21 June 2022^[13]
Iztapa	Richard Parra		11 August 2022^[14]	10th	Milton García	12 August 2022^[15]
Santa Lucía	Matías Tatangelo	Sacked	1 September 2022^[16]	12th	Juan Cortés	6 September 2022^[17]
Achuapa	Adrián García	Resigned	14 September 2022^[18]	8th	Ramón Maradiaga	14 September 2022^[19]
Malacateco	Israel Hernández	Mutual agreement	18 September 2022^[20]	8th	Adrián García	21 September 2022^[21]
Mixco	Julio Gómez		3 October 2022^[22]	11th	Douglas Sequeira	5 October 2022^[23]
Municipal	Juan Antonio Torres		17 October 2022^[24]	7th	José Cardozo	20 October 2022^[25]
Xinabajul-Huehue	Silvio Fernández		12 December 2022^[26]	10th	Pablo Centrone	16 December 2022^[27]
Santa Lucía	Juan Cortés		17 December 2022^[28]	12th	Rónald Gómez	19 December 2022^[29]
Torneo Clausura
Achuapa	Ramón Maradiaga	Mutual agreement	2 February 2023^[30]	12th	Hamilton López	2 February 2023^[31]
Achuapa	Hamilton López	End of caretaker spell	7 February 2023	12th	Raúl Arias	7 February 2023^[32]
Iztapa	Milton García	Mutual agreement	20 February 2023^[33]	8th	Pablo Garabello	20 February 2021^[34]
Mixco	Douglas Sequeira	Resigned	6 March 2023^[35]	8th	Fabricio Benítez	7 March 2023^[36]
Cobán Imperial	Roberto Montoya	Sacked	13 March 2023^[37] ^[38]	12th	César Méndez	16 March 2023^[39]

Notes

Torneo Apertura

The Apertura 2022 tournament began on 23 July and ended on 18 December 2022.^[2] Comunicaciones were the defending champions, having won the Clausura 2022 tournament at the previous season.

Classification phase – Apertura 2022

The classification phase of the Apertura tournament ran from 23 July to 27 November 2022.^[40]

Results

The match schedule was decided based on the draw which was held on 17 June 2022.^{[41] [42]}

Top goalscorers

Players sorted first by goals scored, then by last name. Goals scored during the final phase are not included as the tournament top scorer award only takes into account goals scored in the classification phase.^[3]

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
align=center rowspan=2	1	Lucas Gómez	Antigua	align=center rowspan=2	12
Nicolás Martínez	Cobán Imperial
3	Darwin Lom	Xelajú	10
4	Jhony Cano	Iztapa	9
align=center rowspan=3	5	Janderson	Cobán Imperial	align=center rowspan=3	8
Luis Ángel Landín	Comunicaciones
Isaac Acuña	Santa Lucía
align=center rowspan=4	8	Kevin Bordón	Achuapa	align=center rowspan=4	7
Dewinder Bradley	Antigua
Paolo Dantaz	Xinabajul-Huehue
Oscar Santis	Comunicaciones

Note

Final phase – Apertura 2022

The final phase of the Apertura tournament ran from 30 November to 18 December 2022.^{[43] [44]}

Quarter-finals

Comunicaciones won 2–0 on aggregate and advanced to the semi-finals.----Municipal won 2–1 on aggregate and advanced to the semi-finals.----Antigua won 3–1 on aggregate and advanced to the semi-finals.----Cobán Imperial won 1–0 on aggregate and advanced to the semi-finals.

Semi-finals

Cobán Imperial won 3–0 on aggregate and advanced to the finals.----Antigua won 2–0 on aggregate and advanced to the finals.

Finals

Cobán Imperial won 1–0 on aggregate. As Torneo Apertura champions they qualified for the 2023 CONCACAF Central American Cup.

Torneo Clausura

The Clausura 2023 tournament began on 21 January and ended on 27 May 2023.^[45] The defending champions were Cobán Imperial, who had won the previous Apertura 2022 tournament.

As of this tournament, the Liga Nacional was renamed "Liga Guate Banrural" for sponsorship reasons due to a three-year agreement signed with the Banco de Desarrollo Rural.^[1]

Classification phase – Clausura 2023

The classification phase of the Clausura tournament ran from 21 January to 7 May 2023.^{[46] [45]}

Results

The match schedule was decided based on the draw which took place during the Extraordinary General Assembly of the Liga Nacional held on 20 December 2022.^{[47] [48] [46]}

Top goalscorers

Players sorted first by goals scored, then by last name. Goals scored during the final phase are not included as the tournament top scorer award only takes into account goals scored in the classification phase.^[3]

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Matías Rotondi	Municipal	14
2	Azarías Londoño	Comunicaciones	9
align=center rowspan=5	3	Marcelo Ferreira	Iztapa	align=center rowspan=5	8
Erick Lemus	Iztapa
Yasnier Matos	Municipal
Gerson Tinoco	Xinabajul-Huehue
Óscar Villa	Xelajú
align=center rowspan=2	8	Cristian Albizures	Iztapa	align=center rowspan=2	7
Eliser Quiñones	Achuapa
10	Feiver Mercado	Malacateco	6

Final phase – Clausura 2023

The final phase of the Clausura tournament ran from 10 to 27 May 2023.^{[49] [50]}

Quarter-finals

Xelajú won 2–1 on aggregate and advanced to the semi-finals.----Guastatoya won 2–1 on aggregate and advanced to the semi-finals.----Comunicaciones won 4–3 on aggregate and advanced to the semi-finals.----Tied 3–3 on aggregate, Antigua won on penalties and advanced to the semi-finals.

Semi-finals

Xelajú won 3–2 on aggregate and advanced to the finals.----Tied 1–1 on aggregate, Antigua won on penalties and advanced to the semi-finals.

Finals

Xelajú won 3–2 on aggregate. As Torneo Clausura champions they qualified for the 2023 CONCACAF Central American Cup.

Aggregate table

The aggregate table was used to determine the third qualified team for the 2023 CONCACAF Central American Cup, besides the Apertura and Clausura champions, and the two relegated teams to the 2023–24 Primera División.^[3]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Banrural se convierte en el orgulloso patrocinador de "La Liga Guate Banrural". CRN Noticias. 17 January 2023. es.
2. Web site: Liga Nacional: Acuerdan fechas y formato de competencia. Guatefutbol. Solares. Luis. 24 May 2022. es.
3. Web site: 2022 REGLAMENTO DE COMPETENCIA LNFG. Liga Nacional de Fútbol de Guatemala. ligagt.org/. 7 July 2022. Approved on 27 June 2022. 5 March 2023. es.
4. Web site: URGENTE | Cambios importantes al Reglamento de la Liga. Guatefutbol. Luis. Solares. 17 June 2022. 5 September 2023. es.
5. Web site: ¡Deportivo Mixco asciende a la Liga Nacional!. CRN Noticias. 15 May 2022. es.
6. Web site: ¡Xinabajul-Huehue se impone en El Pensativo y asciende a la Liga Nacional!. ESPN. Antigua Guatemala. 4 June 2022. es.
7. Web site: Xelajú MC confirma la salida del técnico mexicano Irving Rubirosa. Xelajú MC confirms the departure of Mexican coach Irving Rubirosa. Publinews. Chang. Christoper. 13 May 2022. es.
8. Web site: Amarini Villatoro fue presentado oficialmente como nuevo director técnico de Xelajú MC para la próxima temporada. Amarini Villatoro was officially presentd as new coach of Xelajú MC for the nxt season. Prensa Libre. Suruy. Douglas. 24 May 2022. es.
9. Web site: Sebastián Bini da un paso al costado en Cobán Imperial al no llegar a un acuerdo en el tema deportivo con el presidente del club. Sebastián Bini steps aside from Cobán Imperial after failing to reach an agreement on sports matters with the club's president. Prensa Libre. Suruy. Douglas. 25 May 2022. es.
10. Web site: Cobán Imperial Ya Tiene Nuevo Entrenador Y Es Mexicano. La Red. www.lared1061.com. 7 June 2022. es.
11. Web site: Mexicano Roberto Montoya es el nuevo técnico del Cobán de Guatemala. Mexican Roberto Montoya is the new coach of Guatemala's Cobán. Swissinfo. EFElocation=Guatemala City. 7 June 2022. es.
12. Web site: ¡Al margen! Municipal oficializa la destitución de José Saturnino Cardozo como entrenador. On the sidelines! Municipal makes official the dismissal of José Saturnino Cardozo as head coach. ESPN. Guatemala City. 30 May 2022. es.
13. Web site: Antonio Torres Servín dirigirá a Municipal, tras el desplante de Diego Vázquez. Antonio Torres Servín to coach Municipal, after the rudeness of Diego Vázquez. ESPN. Guatemala City. 21 June 2022. es.
14. Web site: Richard Parra deja de ser técnico del Deportivo Iztapa. Richard Parra steps down as coach of Deportivo Iztapa. Emisoras Unidas. Chang. Christoper. 12 August 2022. es.
15. Web site: Se confirma el motivo de la salida de Richard Parra. Guatefutbol. Tamayac. Jonathan. 12 August 2022. es.
16. Web site: FC Santa Lucía Cotzumalguapa a la afición Luciana y los medios de comunicación informa que ha rescindido el contrato de Matías Tatangelo como Director Técnico del club. F.C. Santa Lucía. 1 September 2022. es. Facebook.
17. Web site: Santa Lucía apuesta por el técnico español Juan Cortés para retomar el camino del Apertura 2022. ESPN. Santa Lucía Cotzumalguapa. 6 September 2022. es.
18. AchuapaD. 1570130923743477765. COMUNICADO OFICIAL. Deportivo Achuapa. 14 September 2022. 9 September 2023. es.
19. Web site: Ramón Maradiaga regresa a Guatemala. Ramón Maradiaga returns to Guatemala. Guatefutbol. Solares. Luis. 14 September 2022. es.
20. Web site: Malacateco anuncia la salida del técnico Israel Hernández pese a la victoria ante Comunicaciones. Malacateco announces departure of coach Israel Hernandez despite win over Comunicaciones. Prensa Libre. Ordoñez. Oscar. 18 September 2022. es.
21. Web site: García Arias tomó el mando de los Toros. Guatefutbol. Pineda. Javier. 21 September 2022. es.
22. Web site: Se ha llegado a un acuerdo con el entrenador Julio Gómez y su equipo técnico para rescindir su contrato y darle de baja. An agreement has been reached with coach Julio Gómez and his technical staff to terminate his contract and release him from service. Deportivo Mixco. 3 October 2022. es. Facebook.
23. Web site: El costarricense Douglas Sequeira nuevo entrenador de Mixco. Costa Rican Douglas Sequeira new Mixco coach. Publinews. Chang. Christoper. 5 October 2022. es.
24. Web site: Apertura 2022: Municipal anuncia que Juan Antonio Servín deja de ser técnico escarlata. Apertura 2022: Municipal announces that Juan Antonio Servín is no longer a Escarlata coach. Prensa Libre. Corado. Juan Pablo. 17 October 2022. es.
25. Web site: Municipal anuncia regreso de José Cardozo, la afición lo reprueba. Municipal announces return of José Cardozo, fans disapprove. Agencia Guatemalteca de Noticias. Coronado. Oscar. Guatemala City. 20 October 2022. es.
26. Web site: Se terminó la era del Cuchillo Fernández con la X. Guatefutbol. Pineda. Javier. 12 December 2022. es.
27. Web site: Los nuevos integrantes del cuerpo técnico de Xinabajul. Guatefutbol. Pineda. Javier. 16 December 2022. es.
28. Web site: FC Santa Lucía Cotzumalguapa a toda la afición luciana y medios de comunicación informa que por convenir a los intereses de ambas partes, de mutuo acuerdo, se ha acordado la rescisión del Contrato del entrenador Juan Cortes. F.C. Santa Lucía. 17 December 2022. es. Facebook.
29. Web site: FC Santa Lucía Cotzumalguapa a su afición y medios de comunicación informa la contratación del Director Técnico costarricense Rónald Gómez.. F.C. Santa Lucía. 19 December 2022. es. Facebook.
30. Web site: Técnico hondureño Ramón Maradiaga es despedido de Achuapa. Honduran coach Ramón Maradiaga is fired from Achuapa. Canal 8. 3 February 2023. es.
31. Web site: ¡No va más! Termina la era de Ramón "El Primitivo" Maradiaga en el banquillo de Achuapa. ESPN. Jutiapa. 2 February 2023. es.
32. Web site: ¡Otro regreso a los banquillos! Raúl Arias toma el reto en Guatemala con Deportivo Achuapa. Another return to the bench! Raúl Arias takes up the challenge in Guatemala with Deportivo Achuapa. Fox Sports. 7 February 2023. es.
33. Web site: Deportivo Iztapa anuncia la baja de Milton García como su técnico. Deportivo Iztapa announces the resignation of Milton Garcia as their coach. Emisoras Unidas. Coronado. Oscar. 20 February 2023. es.
34. Web site: Asistente del argentino Néstor Pekerman dirigirá a Deportivo Iztapa. Argentine Nestor Pekerman's assistant to coach Deportivo Iztapa. MaRpensa TV. 22 February 2023. es.
35. Web site: ¡No sigue! Douglas Sequeira da un paso al costado y deja de ser el técnico del Deportivo Mixco. He's not going on! Douglas Sequeira steps aside as Deportivo Mixco's head coach. ESPN. Utrilla. Josué. 6 March 2023. es.
36. Web site: Deportivo Mixco pone su confianza en Fabricio Benítez. Guatefutbol. Tamayac. Jonathan. 7 March 2023. es.
37. Web site: El mexicano Montoya es separado del Cobán, actual campeón de Guatemala. Mexican Montoya separated from Cobán, reigning Guatemalan champion. Swissinfo. EFElocation=Guatemala City. 13 March 2023. es.
38. Web site: Roberto Montoya profundiza sobre su salida de Cobán: "Asumo la responsabilidad; no se tomaron las decisiones correctas". Roberto Montoya elaborates on his departure from Cobán: "I assume responsibility; the right decisions were not made". ESPN. Guatemala City. Josué. Utrilla. 16 March 2023. es.
39. Web site: Cobán Imperial nombra a César Eduardo Méndez como su nuevo entrenador. Cobán Imperial names César Eduardo Méndez as their new coach. ESPN. Alta Verapaz. 16 March 2023. es.
40. Web site: ¡Quedó definido el calendario del Apertura 2022!. Guatefutbol. Pineda. Javier. 17 June 2023. es.
41. Web site: Apertura 2022: El calendario del próximo torneo se definirá el viernes 17 de junio. Apertura 2022: The schedule for the next tournament will be defined on Friday, June 17. Prensa Libre. Ordoñez. Oscar. 12 June 2022. es.
42. Web site: Apertura 2022 con novedades en su reglamento de competencia. Agencia Guatemalteca de Noticias. Coronado. Oscar. 18 June 2022. es.
43. Web site: Oficial | Programación de los Cuartos de Final. Guatefutbol. Pineda. Javier. 28 November 2022. 7 September 2023. es.
44. Web site: OFICIAL | Horarios de los juegos de la final. Guatefutbol. Pineda. Javier. 12 December 2022. 7 September 2023. es.
45. Web site: Torneo de Clausura 2023: estas son las fechas y horarios de la fase clasificatoria de la Liga Nacional. Torneo Clausura 2023: these are the dates and times of the Liga Nacional's classification stage. República. Utrera. Alicia. 10 January 2023. es.
46. Web site: Ya hay Calendario para el Clausura 2023. Guatefutbol. 20 December 2022. es.
47. Web site: 20 de diciembre, Asamblea de Liga Nacional para definir inicio del Clausura. December 20, Liga Nacional Assembly to define the start of the Clausura. Deguate.com. 2 December 2022. es.
48. Web site: Hoy se realizará la Asamblea General de la Liga Nacional. Guatefutbol. Tamayac. Jonathan. 20 December 2022. es.
49. Web site: Oficial | Programación de los cuartos de final. Guatefutbol. Javier. Pineda. 7 May 2023. es.
50. Web site: OFICIAL | Programación de los juegos de la Gran Final. Guatefutbol. Javier. Pineda. 22 May 2023. es.