The Apertura and Clausura system was a single round-robin tournament format used for the Argentine Primera División championships. Introduced in 1990–91, it lasted until the 2012–13 season when it was replaced by the "Inicial and Final", a similar tournament.

History

The top-flight of Argentine football had 20 teams, with seasons divided into two tournaments: "Apertura" ("opening") championship which opened the season and was contested in the second half of the calendar year, and "Clausura" ("closing") championship that closed the season and was played in the first half of the following year. Each Apertura or Clausura consisted of a single round robin of 19 rounds, and there were 10 matches per round.

1990–91 controversy

The first season saw the two champions play a championship decider to determine the overall champions. Newell's Old Boys beat Boca Juniors on penalties controversially denying Boca their first official league championship since 1981, when Boca had been clearly the best team of the season. Since the following season, both the champions of the Apertura and the Clausura have been recognized as official champions.

1991–92 onwards

Between the 1991–92 season and the 1994–95 seasons, the league used the old two points for a win system. From the 1995–96 season the Argentine Association adopted the 3 points for a win system.

season Apertura champions Points Clausura champions Points
1991–92 River Plate 31 Newell's Old Boys 32
1992–93 Boca Juniors 27 Vélez Sarsfield 27
1993–94 River Plate 24 Independiente 26
1994–95 River Plate 31 San Lorenzo 30
1995–96 Vélez Sarsfield 41 Vélez Sarsfield 40
1996–97 River Plate 46 River Plate 41
1997–98 River Plate 45 Vélez Sarsfield 46
1998–99 Boca Juniors 45 Boca Juniors 44
1999–00 River Plate 43 River Plate 42
2000–01 Boca Juniors 41 San Lorenzo 47
2001–02 Racing 42 River Plate 43
2002–03 Independiente 43 River Plate 43
2003–04 Boca Juniors 39 River Plate 40
2004–05 Newell's Old Boys 36 Vélez Sarsfield 39
2005–06 Boca Juniors 40 Boca Juniors 43
2006–07 Estudiantes (LP) 44[1] San Lorenzo 45
2007–08 Lanús 38 River Plate 40
2008–09 Boca Juniors 39[2] Vélez Sarsfield 40
2009–10 Banfield 41 Argentinos Juniors 41
2010–11 Estudiantes (LP) 45 Vélez Sarsfield 39
2011–12 Boca Juniors 43 Arsenal 38

Number of Championships by team

Excluding 1990-91 which was won outright by Newell's Old Boys.
Club Total Half-year tournaments
Torneo Apertura
(1991–2012)		Torneo Clausura
(1991–2012)
River Plate1266
Boca Juniors972
Vélez Sarsfield716
San Lorenzo303
Independiente211
Newell's Old Boys211
Estudiantes (LP)220
Racing110
Lanús110
Banfield110
Argentinos Juniors101
Arsenal101

See also

References

  1. ↑ Estudiantes beat Boca Juniors in a championship decider, after the two teams finished level on points
  2. ↑ Boca Juniors beat Tigre and San Lorenzo in a 3 way championship playoff
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