# 2002 in Paraguayan football

The following article presents a summary of the 2002 football (soccer) season in Paraguay.

## First division results
### Torneo Apertura

The Apertura tournament was played in a single all-play-all system. At the end, the top eight teams qualified to a playoff stage to determine the Apertura champion.
| Position | Team | Played | Wins | Draws | Losses | Scored | Conceded | Points |
| 1 | Sportivo Luqueño | 9 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 7 | 22 |
| 2 | 12 de Octubre | 9 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 4 | 19 |
| 3 | Libertad | 9 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 19 | 13 | 18 |
| 4 | Cerro Porteño | 9 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 17 | 15 | 15 |
| 5 | Sport Colombia | 9 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 23 | 13 | 14 |
| 6 | Sol de América | 9 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 13 | 13 | 13 |
| 7 | Olimpia | 9 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 13 | 15 | 11 |
| 8 | Guaraní | 9 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 14 | 19 | 9 |
| 9 | San Lorenzo | 9 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 14 | 4 |
| 10 | Deportivo Recoleta | 9 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 25 | 3 |

#### Apertura playoff stage

The top eight teams qualified to this stage.

##### Quarterfinals

| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Guaraní | 4-1 | Sportivo Luqueño | 2-1 | 2-0 |
| Olimpia | 4-2 | 12 de Octubre | 3-1 | 1-1 |
| Sol de América | 4-8 | Libertad | 3-3 | 1-5 |
| Sport Colombia | 1-3 | Cerro Porteño | 0-2 | 1-1 |

##### Semifinals

| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Cerro Porteño | 0-0 (5 - 3 pen) | Olimpia | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Guaraní | 2-5 | Libertad | 1-1 | 1-4 |

##### Apertura final

| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Cerro Porteño | 1-3 | Libertad | 0-3 | 1-0 |
Libertad wins the Apertura tournament final by an aggregate score of 3-1 on May 11, 2002.

### Torneo Clausura

The Clausura tournament was played in a two-round all-play-all system, with the champion being the team with the most points at the end of the two rounds.
| Position | Team | Played | Wins | Draws | Losses | Scored | Conceded | Points |
| 1 | 12 de Octubre | 18 | 10 | 2 | 6 | 30 | 24 | 32 |
| 2 | Libertad | 18 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 33 | 22 | 31 |
| 3 | Olimpia | 18 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 33 | 25 | 30 |
| 4 | Sportivo Luqueño | 18 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 19 | 17 | 27 |
| 5 | Guaraní | 18 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 29 | 26 | 26 |
| 6 | Sport Colombia | 18 | 8 | 2 | 8 | 23 | 27 | 26 |
| 7 | Cerro Porteño | 18 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 20 | 19 | 21 |
| 8 | Recoleta | 18 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 17 | 22 | 21 |
| 9 | Sol de América | 18 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 15 | 23 | 17 |
| 10 | San Lorenzo | 18 | 5 | 2 | 11 | 15 | 29 | 17 |

### Championship game playoff

The national championship game was played between the Apertura and Clausura tournaments winners.
Libertad declared as national champions by aggregate score of 6-2.

### Relegation / Promotion

* Recoleta automatically relegated to the second division after finishing last in the average points table based over a three-year period.
San Lorenzo finished second-to-last in the aggregate points table, so had to participate in the promotion play-off game against second division runners-up Club Presidente Hayes. San Lorenzo won the playoff game by an aggregate score of 4-3, so it remains in the first division.
* Tacuary promoted to the first division by winning the second division tournament.

### Qualification to international competitions

* Libertad qualified to the 2003 Copa Libertadores by winning the Torneo Apertura.
* 12 de Octubre qualified to the 2003 Copa Libertadores by winning the Torneo Clausura.
* Olimpia qualified to the 2003 Copa Libertadores as holders of the 2002 edition.
* A four team playoff (based on best positions in the aggregate points table) was played to determine the 4th participant in the 2003 Copa Libertadores.

#### Pre-Libertadores playoff

| Position | Team | Played | Wins | Draws | Losses | Scored | Conceded | Points |
| 1 | Cerro Porteño | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 4 | 7 |
| 2 | Guaraní | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 6 |
| 3 | Sport Colombia | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 2 |
| 4 | Sportivo Luqueño | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 1 |
* Cerro Porteño qualifies to the 2003 Copa Libertadores by winning the Pre-Libertadores tournament.

## Lower divisions results

| Level | Tournament | Champion |
| 2nd | Intermedia | Tacuary |
| 3rd (G.A. teams) | Primera de Ascenso | Sportivo Trinidense |
| 3rd (interior teams) | UFI Champions Cup | Cerro Porteño PF (Presidente Franco) |
| 4th (G.A. teams) | Segunda de Ascenso | General Caballero (San Felipe) |

## Paraguayan teams in international competitions

* Intercontinental Cup
** Olimpia: runners-up
* Copa Libertadores 2002:
** Olimpia: Champions
** Cerro Porteño: group-stage
** 12 de Octubre: group-stage
* Copa Sudamericana 2002:
** Libertad: preliminary second round
** Cerro Porteño: preliminary first round

## Paraguay national team

The following table lists all the games played by the Paraguay national football team in official competitions during 2002.
| Date | Venue | Opponents | Score | Comp | Paraguay scorers | Report |
| June 2, 2002 | Asiad Main Stadium Busan | South Africa | 2 - 2 | World Cup | Santa Cruz 39' Arce 55' | Report |
| June 7, 2002 | Jeonju World Cup Stadium Jeonju | Spain | 3 - 1 | World Cup | Puyol 10' (o.g.) | Report |
| June 12, 2002 | Jeju World Cup Stadium Seogwipo | Slovenia | 1 - 3 | World Cup | Cuevas 65', 84' Campos 73' | Report |
| June 15, 2002 | Jeju World Cup Stadium Seogwipo | Germany | 0 - 1 | World Cup | - | Report Archived 2010-06-15 at the Wayback Machine |
| September 19, 2002 | Takhti Stadium Tabriz | Iran | 1 - 1 (4–3 pen) | 2002 LG Cup | Bareiro 35' | Report |