# 1990–91 in Argentine football

The 1990–91 season saw the introduction of the Apertura and Clausura system in Argentina. Newell's Old Boys won the Apertura 1990 and Boca Juniors won the Clausura 1991. The two teams faced each other in a playoff to decide the overall champions, which was won by Newell's. There was a great deal of controversy over this as Boca Juniors had won the Clausura without losing a game, but losing the playoff had cost them their first official championship since 1981. In subsequent seasons the winners of both the Apertura and Clausura have been officially recognised as champions.

## Torneo Apertura ("Opening" Tournament)

| Position | Team | Points | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against | Difference |
| 1 | Newell's Old Boys | 28 | 19 | 11 | 6 | 2 | 30 | 13 | 17 |
| 2 | River Plate | 26 | 19 | 11 | 4 | 4 | 29 | 13 | 16 |
| 3 | Vélez Sársfield | 24 | 19 | 8 | 8 | 3 | 27 | 18 | 9 |
| 4 | Argentinos Juniors | 23 | 19 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 25 | 17 | 8 |
| 5 | Rosario Central | 23 | 19 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 26 | 21 | 5 |
| 6 | Ferro Carril Oeste | 23 | 19 | 7 | 9 | 3 | 19 | 16 | 3 |
| 7 | Estudiantes de La Plata | 20 | 19 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 17 | 17 | 0 |
| 8 | Boca Juniors | 19 | 19 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 18 | 16 | 2 |
| 9 | Huracán | 19 | 19 | 5 | 9 | 5 | 20 | 19 | 1 |
| 10 | Independiente | 18 | 19 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 21 | 22 | -1 |
| 11 | San Lorenzo | 18 | 19 | 4 | 10 | 5 | 15 | 18 | -3 |
| 12 | Talleres de Córdoba | 18 | 19 | 7 | 4 | 8 | 23 | 27 | -4 |
| 13 | Racing Club | 17 | 19 | 2 | 13 | 4 | 19 | 21 | -2 |
| 14 | Gimnasia de La Plata | 16 | 19 | 2 | 12 | 5 | 15 | 20 | -5 |
| 15 | Platense | 16 | 19 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 16 | 22 | -6 |
| 16 | Chaco For Ever | 16 | 19 | 6 | 4 | 9 | 19 | 28 | -9 |
| 17 | Mandiyú | 15 | 19 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 17 | 21 | -4 |
| 18 | Deportivo Español | 14 | 19 | 4 | 6 | 9 | 18 | 24 | -6 |
| 19 | Unión de Santa Fe | 13 | 19 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 21 | 28 | -7 |
| 20 | Lanús | 11 | 19 | 3 | 5 | 11 | 11 | 27 | -16 |
    Newell's Old Boys to play in the championship decider
    Teams highlighted in blue qualified for the Liguilla Pre-Libertadores

### Relegation

    There is no relegation after the Apertura. For the relegation results of this tournament see below

## Torneo Clausura ("Closing" Tournament)

| Position | Team | Points | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against | Difference |
| 1 | Boca Juniors | 32 | 19 | 13 | 6 | 0 | 32 | 6 | 26 |
| 2 | San Lorenzo | 27 | 19 | 11 | 5 | 3 | 29 | 18 | 11 |
| 3 | Mandiyú | 23 | 19 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 20 | 13 | 7 |
| 4 | Racing Club | 23 | 19 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 23 | 22 | 1 |
| 5 | Independiente | 22 | 19 | 6 | 10 | 3 | 22 | 15 | 7 |
| 6 | Vélez Sársfield | 21 | 19 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 25 | 22 | 3 |
| 7 | Huracán | 21 | 19 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 16 | 16 | 0 |
| 8 | Newell's Old Boys | 20 | 19 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 21 | 14 | 7 |
| 9 | Estudiantes de La Plata | 19 | 19 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 18 | 15 | 3 |
| 10 | River Plate | 19 | 19 | 4 | 11 | 4 | 19 | 19 | 0 |
| 11 | Platense | 19 | 19 | 5 | 9 | 5 | 11 | 16 | -5 |
| 12 | Lanús | 18 | 19 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 15 | 16 | -1 |
| 13 | Unión de Santa Fe | 18 | 19 | 3 | 12 | 4 | 21 | 26 | -5 |
| 14 | Gimnasia de La Plata | 17 | 19 | 4 | 9 | 6 | 16 | 22 | -6 |
| 15 | Rosario Central | 16 | 19 | 4 | 8 | 7 | 15 | 23 | -8 |
| 16 | Ferro Carril Oeste | 15 | 19 | 2 | 11 | 6 | 15 | 20 | -5 |
| 17 | Deportivo Español | 14 | 19 | 4 | 6 | 9 | 22 | 25 | -3 |
| 18 | Argentinos Juniors | 13 | 19 | 3 | 7 | 9 | 19 | 30 | -11 |
| 19 | Chaco For Ever | 12 | 19 | 1 | 10 | 8 | 15 | 26 | -11 |
| 20 | Talleres de Córdoba | 11 | 19 | 4 | 3 | 12 | 24 | 34 | -10 |
    Boca Juniors to play in the championship decider
    Teams highlighted in blue qualified for the Liguilla Pre-Libertadores

## Championship decider

| | | 1st Leg | 2nd leg | Aggregate | Penalty shootout |
| Newell's Old Boys | Boca Juniors | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 |
* Newell's Old Boys win the 1990–1991 championship and qualify for the Copa Libertadores 1992.
* Boca Juniors enter the Liguilla Pre-Libertadores.

## Top Scorer

The top scorer over the combined championships was Esteban González of Vélez Sársfield, with 18 goals.

## Relegation

| Team | Average | Points | Played | 1988–89 | 1989–90 | 1990–1991 |
| Boca Juniors | 1.254 | 143 | 114 | 49 | 43 | 51 |
| River Plate | 1.254 | 143 | 114 | 45 | 53 | 45 |
| Independiente | 1.237 | 141 | 114 | 55 | 46 | 40 |
| San Lorenzo | 1.070 | 122 | 114 | 42 | 35 | 45 |
| Racing Club | 1.061 | 121 | 114 | 42 | 39 | 40 |
| Vélez Sársfield | 1.053 | 120 | 114 | 33 | 42 | 45 |
| Huracán | 1.053 | 40 | 38 | N/A | N/A | 40 |
| Newell's Old Boys | 1.044 | 119 | 114 | 35 | 36 | 48 |
| Rosario Central | 1.035 | 118 | 114 | 36 | 43 | 39 |
| Argentinos Juniors | 1.018 | 116 | 114 | 42 | 38 | 36 |
| Estudiantes de La Plata | 1.009 | 115 | 114 | 42 | 34 | 39 |
| Talleres de Córdoba | 0.956 | 109 | 114 | 44 | 36 | 29 |
| Gimnasia de La Plata | 0.947 | 108 | 114 | 36 | 39 | 33 |
| Ferro Carril Oeste | 0.939 | 107 | 114 | 30 | 39 | 38 |
| Mandiyú | 0.939 | 107 | 114 | 33 | 36 | 38 |
| Deportivo Español | 0.921 | 105 | 114 | 46 | 31 | 28 |
| Platense | 0.912 | 104 | 114 | 33 | 36 | 35 |
| Unión de Santa Fe | 0.882 | 67 | 76 | N/A | 36 | 31 |
| Chaco For Ever | 0.789 | 60 | 76 | N/A | 32 | 28 |
| Lanús | 0.763 | 29 | 38 | N/A | N/A | 29 |

## Liguilla Pre-Libertadores

    Teams highlighted in light blue, in the league tables above qualified for the Liguilla Pre-Libertadores.
Quarter-finals
| Home (1st leg) | Home (2nd leg) | 1st Leg | 2nd leg | Aggregate |
| Independiente | San Lorenzo | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–3 |
| River Plate | Mandiyú | 2–0 | 2–0 | 4–0 |
| Velez Sarsfield | Racing Club | 3–0 | 1–5 | 4–5 |
| Boca Juniors | Argentinos Juniors | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 |
Semi-finals
| Home (1st leg) | Home (2nd leg) | 1st Leg | 2nd leg | Aggregate |
| Boca Juniors | Racing Club | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 (4-2pk) |
| River Plate | San Lorenzo | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 (1-4pk) |
Final
| Home (1st leg) | Home (2nd leg) | 1st Leg | 2nd leg | Aggregate |
| San Lorenzo | Boca Juniors | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 |
* San Lorenzo qualify for the Copa Libertadores 1992.

## Argentine clubs in international competitions

| Team | Supercopa 1990 | Copa Libertadores 1991 |
| Boca Juniors | QF | SF |
| Estudiantes de La Plata | SF | did not qualify |
| Argentinos Juniors | QF | did not qualify |
| Racing Club | QF | did not qualify |
| River Plate | Round 1 | Round 1 |
| Independiente | Round 1 | did not qualify |