2008 Campeonato Ecuatoriano de Fútbol Serie A explained

Competition:Copa Pílsener Serie A
Season:2008
Winners:Deportivo Quito (3rd title)
Relegated:Deportivo Azogues
Universidad Católica
Continentalcup1:Copa Libertadores
Continentalcup1 Qualifiers:Deportivo Quito
Deportivo Cuenca
El Nacional
Continentalcup2:Copa Sudamericana
Continentalcup2 Qualifiers:Deportivo Quito
League Topscorer:Pablo Palacios (20 goals)
Biggest Home Win:Deportivo Quito 6−0 Emelec (Sep 21)
Biggest Away Win:Universidad Católica 0−6 Deportivo Quito (Mar 2)
Highest Scoring:ESPOLI 6−2 Emelec (Apr 26)
Matches:122
Total Goals:519
Longest Wins:7 matches:
Deportivo Quito (May 9−Jun 29)
Longest Unbeaten:12 matches:
Deportivo Quito (Apr 6−Jun 29)
Longest Losses:4 matches:
Técnico Universitario (Feb 10−Feb 27)
Universidad Católica (Feb 23−Mar 8)
Olmedo (May 23−Jun 22)
Prevseason:2007
Nextseason:2009

The 2008 Campeonato Ecuatoriano de Fútbol de la Serie A (known as the 2008 Copa Pílsener Serie A for sponsorship reasons) was the 50th season of the Ecuadorian Serie A, Ecuador's premier football league. The three-stage season ran from February 8 and December 7.

Deportivo Quito became the league champion on December 3 by defeating Macará 2–1 in Latacunga. It is Deportivo Quito's 3rd title, and first in 40 years.

Format

The format for 2008 was new, but similar to the 2007 Serie A. The season was composed of three stages:

The format for the First Stage remained the same. The twelve teams competed against each other in a double round-robin format playing each opponent once at home and once away. The top-four teams at the end of the stage qualified to the Liguilla Final. The top-three teams earned bonus points for the Liguilla Final (3, 2, & 1 point[s] respectively) The top-team of the stage qualified to the last Ecuadorian spot in the 2008 Copa Sudamericana.

The format for the Second Stage changed. The twelve teams were divided into two groups of six, where they played within their groups in a double round-robin tournament. The winner of the each group qualified to the final two spots in the Liguilla Final. If a team who has already qualified for the Liguilla Final manages to qualify again by winning their group, the last spots for the Liguilla Final went to the highest positioned team(s) in the Aggregate Table who have not already qualified. The top-team of each group received one bonus point for the Liguilla Final (if a team who earned bonus points from the First Stage finishes last in their group, they will lose their bonus points for the Liguilla Final). At the end of this stage, the two teams with the fewest points in the aggregate table were relegated to the Serie B for the 2009 season.

The format for the Liguilla Final remained the same. The six qualified team competed in a double round-robin tournament. The winner of this stage was crowned the champion of the Copa Pílsener Serie A. The champion will qualified to the 2009 Copa Libertadores Second Stage, while the runner-up and third-place finisher qualify to the First Stage (this slight change from other years is due to the fact that the defending Copa Libertadores champion is an Ecuadorian team).

Teams

The number of teams for the Serie A expanded this season from 10 to 12. Imbabura was the only team relegated at the end of the 2007 season by accumulating the fewest points in the aggregate table. Universidad Católica, ESPOLI, and Técnico Universitario were promoted as 2007 Serie B winner, runner-up, and third-place finisher, respectively. All the new teams have previously played in the Serie A.

TeamHome cityHome ground
Monumental Banco Pichincha
Municipal Jorge Andrade Cantos
Alejandro Serrano Aguilar
Olímpico Atahualpa
Olímpico Atahualpa
George Capwell
La Cocha (in Latacunga)
La Casa Blanca
Bellavista
Olímpico de Riobamba
Bellavista
Olímpico Atahualpa

First stage

The first stage ran from February 8 to July 13.

Standings

Results

Second stage

The second stage was played between July 19, 2008, and September 27, 2008.

Group A

Standings

Results

Group B

Standings

Results

Aggregate table

Liguilla Final

The Liguilla Final was played between October 19, 2008, and December 7, 2008. The top team qualifies directly to the 2009 Copa Libertadores Second Stage, with the runner-up and third-place finisher qualifying to the First Stage (LDU Quito already has a berth into the Second Stage of the 2009 Copa Libertadores as the defending tournament champion).

Top-ten goalscorers

PosPlayerClubGoals
1 Pablo PalaciosBarcelona20
2 Martín MandraDeportivo Quito17
3 Claudio BielerLDU Quito13
4 José HerreraMacará11
David QuirozBarcelona11
6 Carlos QuiñónezEl Nacional10
7 Ebelio OrdóñezDeportivo Quito9
Jorge ToralesDeportivo Cuenca9
9 Luis SaritamaDeportivo Qutio8
10 Orlindo AyovíDeportivo Azogues7
Walter CalderónDeportivo Quito7
Germán CastilloDeportivo Cuenca7
Ángel EscobarMacará7
Mauricio FerradasDeportivo Cuenca7
Edder VacaLDU Quito7
Last updated: December 6, 2008

See also

External links