# 1988–89 in Argentine football

1988–89 in Argentine football saw Independiente win the Argentine championship. In the international competitions there were two editions of the Copa Libertadores, the best performance came from Newell's Old Boys who were runners up in the Copa Libertadores 1988. Racing Club were the inaugural champions of the Supercopa Sudamericana, their first championship of any description since 1967.

## League championship

The Argentine league championship featured an unusual points system. After each drawn match there was a penalty shootout to determine which team got the bonus point.
* 3 points: won match
* 2 points: draw, win on penalties
* 1 point0: draw, loss on penalties
    0 points: lost match
The tournament also featured an unofficial Apertura tournament to determine the two teams to qualify for the Copa Libertadores 1989. Racing Club and Boca Juniors were in the top two positions at the halfway stage of the season (after 19 games), and qualified.

### Final table

| Position | Team | Points | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against | Difference | Penalty wins | Penalty defeats |
| 1 | Independiente | 84 | 38 | 22 | 11 | 5 | 58 | 32 | 26 | 7 | 4 |
| 2 | Boca Juniors | 76 | 38 | 20 | 9 | 9 | 56 | 38 | 18 | 7 | 2 |
| 3 | D. Español | 68 | 38 | 16 | 14 | 8 | 45 | 31 | 14 | 6 | 8 |
| 4 | River Plate | 67 | 38 | 16 | 13 | 9 | 51 | 36 | 15 | 6 | 7 |
| 5 | San Lorenzo | 66 | 38 | 16 | 10 | 12 | 58 | 44 | 14 | 8 | 2 |
| 6 | Talleres | 65 | 38 | 16 | 12 | 10 | 48 | 43 | 5 | 5 | 7 |
| 7 | Argentinos | 61 | 38 | 13 | 16 | 9 | 55 | 39 | 16 | 6 | 10 |
| 8 | Estudiantes | 61 | 38 | 15 | 12 | 11 | 53 | 41 | 12 | 4 | 8 |
| 9 | Racing Club | 59 | 38 | 13 | 16 | 9 | 47 | 41 | 6 | 6 | 10 |
| 10 | Gimnasia (LP) | 57 | 38 | 10 | 16 | 12 | 31 | 30 | 1 | 11 | 5 |
| 11 | Vélez Sársfield | 53 | 38 | 8 | 17 | 13 | 37 | 54 | -17 | 12 | 5 |
| 12 | Newell's | 51 | 38 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 42 | 44 | -2 | 7 | 6 |
| 13 | Rosario Central | 51 | 38 | 10 | 16 | 12 | 49 | 55 | -6 | 7 | 9 |
| 14 | Textil Mandiyú | 51 | 38 | 7 | 19 | 12 | 35 | 44 | -9 | 11 | 8 |
| 15 | Platense | 50 | 38 | 11 | 11 | 16 | 36 | 51 | -15 | 6 | 5 |
| 16 | Racing (C) | 50 | 38 | 11 | 11 | 16 | 38 | 54 | -16 | 6 | 5 |
| 17 | San Martín (T) | 46 | 38 | 12 | 10 | 16 | 38 | 49 | -11 | 2 | 8 |
| 18 | Ferro | 45 | 38 | 8 | 14 | 16 | 35 | 43 | -8 | 7 | 7 |
| 19 | D. Armenio | 37 | 38 | 5 | 15 | 18 | 29 | 57 | -28 | 7 | 8 |
| 20 | Instituto | 31 | 38 | 7 | 9 | 22 | 38 | 65 | -27 | 1 | 8 |
* Independiente qualify for Copa Libertadores 1990 as Argentine Champions.

### Top Scorers

| Position | Player | Team | Goals |
| 1 | Oscar Dertycia | Argentinos Juniors | 20 |
| 1 | Néstor Raúl Gorosito | San Lorenzo | 20 |
| 3 | Juan Comas | Racing Club | 19 |
| 4 | Ariel Cozzoni | Instituto de Córdoba | 18 |

### Relegation

| Team | Average | Points | Played | 1986-87 | 1987-88 | 1988-89 |
| Independiente | 1.219 | 139 | 114 | 47 | 37 | 55 |
| Newell's Old Boys | 1.193 | 136 | 114 | 48 | 55 | 33 |
| San Lorenzo | 1.184 | 135 | 114 | 44 | 49 | 42 |
| Racing Club | 1.158 | 132 | 114 | 44 | 48 | 40 |
| Boca Juniors | 1.140 | 130 | 114 | 46 | 35 | 49 |
| River Plate | 1.140 | 130 | 114 | 39 | 46 | 45 |
| Rosario Central | 1.079 | 123 | 114 | 49 | 40 | 34 |
| Deportivo Español | 1.070 | 122 | 114 | 36 | 40 | 46 |
| Gimnasia de La Plata | 1.018 | 116 | 114 | 37 | 43 | 36 |
| Vélez Sársfield | 1.009 | 115 | 114 | 41 | 41 | 33 |
| Estudiantes de La Plata | 0.974 | 111 | 114 | 37 | 32 | 42 |
| Argentinos Juniors | 0.965 | 110 | 114 | 28 | 40 | 42 |
| Talleres de Córdoba | 0.956 | 109 | 114 | 38 | 27 | 44 |
| Ferro Carril Oeste | 0.939 | 107 | 114 | 44 | 33 | 30 |
| Textil Mandiyú | 0.868 | 33 | 38 | N/A | N/A | 33 |
| Platense | 0.860 | 98 | 114 | 27 | 38 | 33 |
| Instituto de Córdoba | 0.851 | 97 | 114 | 41 | 33 | 23 |
| Racing de Córdoba | 0.851 | 97 | 114 | 33 | 31 | 33 |
| San Martín de Tucumán | 0.842 | 32 | 38 | N/A | N/A | 32 |
| Deportivo Armenio | 0.776 | 59 | 76 | N/A | 34 | 25 |

### Liguilla Pre-Libertadores
#### Winners tournament

Quarter finals
| Home (1st leg) | Home (2nd leg) | 1st Leg | 2nd leg | Aggregate |
| Chaco For Ever | Boca Juniors | 0-1 | 1-2 | 1-3 |
| Argentinos Juniors | River Plate | 2-0 | 0-1 | 2-1 |
| Platense | Deportivo Español | 0-0 | 3-1 | 3-1 |
| Talleres | San Lorenzo | 0-2 | 1-1 | 1-3 |
Semi finals
| | | Score |
| Argentinos Juniors | San Lorenzo | 1-3 |
| Platense | Boca Juniors | 1-1 |
Winners Final
| Home (1st leg) | Home (2nd leg) | 1st Leg | 2nd leg | Aggregate |
| Boca Juniors | San Lorenzo | 1-1 | 0-4 | 1-5 |
* San Lorenzo qualified to play a final with the winner of the requalifying tournament.

#### Requalifying tournament

First round
| Home (1st leg) | Home (2nd leg) | 1st Leg | 2nd leg | Aggregate |
| Argentinos Juniors | River Plate | 0-1 | 0-4 | 0-5 |
| Deportivo Español | Newell's Old Boys | 1-0 | 0-0 | 1-0 |
Second round
| Home (1st leg) | Home (2nd leg) | 1st Leg | 2nd leg | Aggregate |
| River Plate | Deportivo Español | 1-0 | 1-0 | 2-0 |
Requalifying Final
| Home (1st leg) | Home (2nd leg) | 1st Leg | 2nd leg | 3rd leg | Aggregate |
| River Plate | Boca Juniors | 0-0 | 0-0 | 2-1 | 2-1 |

#### Liguilla Final

| Home (1st leg) | Home (2nd leg) | 1st Leg | 2nd leg | Aggregate |
| San Lorenzo | River Plate | 1-0 | 0-0 | 1-0 |
* River Plate qualified for Copa Libertadores 1990

## Argentine clubs in international competitions

| Team | Recopa 1988 | Supercopa 1988 | Copa Libertadores 1988 | Copa Libertadores 1989 |
| Racing Club | Runner up | Champions | did not qualify | 2nd round |
| Newell's Old Boys | N/A | N/A | Runner up | did not qualify |
| San Lorenzo | N/A | N/A | SF | did not qualify |
| River Plate | N/A | SF | did not qualify | did not qualify |
| Argentinos Juniors | N/A | QF | did not qualify | did not qualify |
| Boca Juniors | N/A | Round 1 | did not qualify | Round 2 |
| Estudiantes | N/A | Round 1 | did not qualify | did not qualify |
| Independiente | N/A | Round 1 | did not qualify | did not qualify |