# Primera División de México Apertura 2008

The 2008 Primera División Apertura is the first football tournament of the Mexican Primera División 2008−09 season. The tournament began in August 2008 and was contested by the league's 18 teams.
Reigning champion Santos Laguna failed to advance to the final losing 2-1 on a two-leg aggregate (0-0 in the first leg) to eventual champions Toluca in the semifinals, and were unable to defend their title. The team of Toluca would beat Cruz Azul 7-6 in penalties after tying 2-2 on a two-leg aggregate (2-0 in the first leg). This was Toluca's 9th championship, placing them as the third most successful club behind América and Guadalajara.

## Clubs

| Club | Home city | Stadium | Capacity |
| América | Mexico City | Azteca | 115,000 |
| Atlante | Cancún | Andrés Quintana Roo | 20,000 |
| Atlas | Guadalajara | Jalisco | 72,600 |
| Chiapas | Tuxtla Gutiérrez | Víctor Manuel Reyna | 23,208 |
| Ciudad Juárez | Ciudad Juárez | Olímpico Benito Juárez | 22,300 |
| Cruz Azul | Mexico City | Azul | 35,000 |
| Guadalajara | Guadalajara | Jalisco | 72,600 |
| Monterrey | Monterrey | Tecnológico | 38,000 |
| Morelia | Morelia | Morelos | 41,500 |
| Necaxa | Aguascalientes | Victoria | 25,000 |
| Pachuca | Pachuca | Hidalgo | 30,000 |
| Puebla | Puebla | Cuauhtémoc | 42,649 |
| San Luis | San Luis Potosí | Alfonso Lastras | 24,000 |
| Santos | Torreón | Corona | 18,050 |
| Toluca | Toluca | Nemesio Díez | 27,000 |
| Tecos | Guadalajara | 3 de Marzo | 30,015 |
| UANL | Monterrey | Universitario | 41,000 |
| UNAM | México | Olímpico Universitario | 83,700 |

### Managerial changes

This is a list of managerial changes made during the tournament.
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of departure | Incoming manager | Date hired | Position in table |
| Ciudad Juárez | Sergio Orduña | Sacked | Aug. 18, 2008 | Héctor Hugo Eugui | Aug. 19, 2008 | 18th |
| Tecos | José Trejo | Sacked | Sep. 1, 2008 | Miguel Herrera | Sep. 2, 2008 | 8th |
| Atlas | Miguel Brindisi | Resigned | Sep. 4, 2008 | Darío Franco | Sep. 5, 2008 | 17th |
| Puebla | José Sánchez | Sacked | Sep. 17, 2008 | Mario Carrillo | Sep. 17, 2008 | 16th |
| Chiapas | Sergio Almaguer | Sacked | Oct. 1, 2008 | Francisco Avilán | Oct. 1, 2008 | 18th |
| Necaxa | Salvador Reyes Jr. | Sacked | Oct. 13, 2008 | Octavio Becerril | Oct. 14, 2008 | 18th |

## Regular phase
### Standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | San Luis | 17 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 24 | 20 | +4 | 29 | 2009 Copa Libertadores Second Stage |
| 2 | Toluca | 17 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 25 | 16 | +9 | 27 | 2009 InterLiga |
| 3 | Atlante | 17 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 22 | 16 | +6 | 27 | |
| 4 | UNAM | 17 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 22 | 13 | +9 | 26 | |
| 5 | Cruz Azul | 17 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 29 | 23 | +6 | 26 | |
| 6 | UANL | 17 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 22 | 16 | +6 | 26 | 2009 InterLiga |
| 7 | UAG | 17 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 30 | 28 | +2 | 25 | 2009 InterLiga |
| 8 | Guadalajara | 17 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 23 | 23 | 0 | 25 | 2009 InterLiga |
| 9 | Morelia | 17 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 27 | 20 | +7 | 24 | 2009 InterLiga |
| 10 | Santos Laguna | 17 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 22 | 20 | +2 | 22 | |
| 11 | Atlas | 17 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 23 | 27 | −4 | 22 | 2009 InterLiga |
| 12 | Pachuca | 17 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 25 | 25 | 0 | 21 | 2009 InterLiga |
| 13 | América | 17 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 22 | 23 | −1 | 21 | 2009 InterLiga |
| 14 | Ciudad Juárez | 17 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 18 | 26 | −8 | 19 | |
| 15 | Monterrey | 17 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 18 | 26 | −8 | 19 | |
| 16 | Chiapas | 17 | 5 | 3 | 9 | 20 | 34 | −14 | 18 | |
| 17 | Necaxa | 17 | 3 | 8 | 6 | 17 | 24 | −7 | 17 | |
| 18 | Puebla | 17 | 2 | 9 | 6 | 12 | 21 | −9 | 15 | |
* 1 2 3 4 Atlante, UNAM, Cruz Azul, and Santos Laguna do not qualify to the InterLiga due to existing commitment in the 2008–09 CONCACAF Champions League.

### Group standings

Group 1 :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Atlante (A) | 17 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 22 | 16 | +6 | 27 |
| 2 | Santos Laguna (A) | 17 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 22 | 20 | +2 | 22 |
| 3 | Pachuca | 17 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 25 | 25 | 0 | 21 |
| 4 | Monterrey | 17 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 18 | 26 | −8 | 19 |
| 5 | Ciudad Juárez | 17 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 18 | 26 | −8 | 19 |
| 6 | Puebla | 17 | 2 | 9 | 6 | 12 | 21 | −9 | 15 |
Group 2 :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | UNAM (A) | 17 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 22 | 13 | +9 | 26 |
| 2 | Cruz Azul (A) | 17 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 29 | 23 | +6 | 26 |
| 3 | UAG (Q) | 17 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 30 | 28 | +2 | 25 |
| 4 | Guadalajara | 17 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 23 | 23 | 0 | 25 |
| 5 | Morelia | 17 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 27 | 20 | +7 | 24 |
| 6 | América | 17 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 22 | 23 | −1 | 21 |
Group 3 :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | San Luis (A) | 17 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 24 | 20 | +4 | 29 |
| 2 | Toluca (A) | 17 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 25 | 16 | +9 | 27 |
| 3 | UANL (Q) | 17 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 22 | 16 | +6 | 26 |
| 4 | Atlas | 17 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 23 | 27 | −4 | 22 |
| 5 | Chiapas | 17 | 5 | 3 | 9 | 20 | 34 | −14 | 18 |
| 6 | Necaxa | 17 | 3 | 8 | 6 | 17 | 24 | −7 | 17 |

## Results

| Home \ Away | AMÉ | ATE | ATL | CHI | CIU | CAZ | GUA | MON | MOR | NEC | PAC | PUE | SLA | SLU | TOL | UAG | UNL | UNM |
| América | | 1–2 | | 2–3 | | 2–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | | | 1–1 | 3–2 | | | | 1–3 | |
| Atlante | | | 2–2 | | 3–3 | 1–1 | | | | 0–1 | 2–1 | | | 1–0 | 2–1 | 3–1 | | 2–0 |
| Atlas | 1–1 | | | 5–0 | | 2–4 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | | | 2–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | | | | |
| Chiapas | | 1–1 | | | 2–1 | | | | | 4–0 | 2–1 | | | | 0–0 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 0–3 |
| Ciudad Juárez | 0–0 | | 2–4 | | | 1–0 | | | | 2–3 | 2–1 | 1–0 | | 2–3 | 1–1 | 0–1 | | |
| Cruz Azul | | | | 4–1 | | | 2–2 | 3–2 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | | 1–1 | | 1–1 | 2–0 | | |
| Guadalajara | | 1–0 | | 1–0 | 2–0 | | | 1–1 | 1–1 | | | | 3–5 | | | | 2–2 | 1–1 |
| Monterrey | | 2–1 | | 1–2 | 2–0 | | | | 0–4 | | | | 2–0 | | | 2–4 | 1–4 | 1–0 |
| Morelia | | 0–0 | | 5–2 | 0–1 | | | | | 3–1 | | | | | 3–2 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 |
| Necaxa | 2–0 | | 0–1 | | | | 2–2 | 0–1 | | | 1–1 | 0–0 | | 1–1 | 1–1 | | | |
| Pachuca | 1–1 | | 1–1 | | | | 5–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | | | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–3 | | | | |
| Puebla | | 0–2 | | 1–1 | | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 | | | | 0–0 | | | | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| Santos Laguna | | 0–0 | | 1–0 | 3–0 | | | | 1–0 | 1–1 | | | | | | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| San Luis | 1–2 | | | 2–0 | | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 | | | 1–1 | 2–2 | | | | 1–0 | |
| Toluca | 2–1 | | 4–0 | | | | 0–1 | 0–0 | | | 3–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | | | | |
| UAG | 1–3 | | 3–1 | | | | 1–0 | | | 2–2 | 2–2 | 3–0 | | 5–2 | 2–2 | | | |
| UANL | | 1–0 | 3–0 | | 0–1 | 1–3 | | | | 1–1 | 0–0 | | | | 0–1 | 1–0 | | 0–2 |
| UNAM | 1–1 | | 3–0 | | 1–1 | 0–2 | | | | 2–0 | 3–1 | | | 0–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 | | |

## Final phase (Liguilla)

| Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Finals | Finals | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| 1 | San Luis | 1 | 1 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Santos Laguna | 3 | 2 | 5 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Santos Laguna | 3 | 2 | 5 | 8 | Santos Laguna | 0 | 1 | 1 | | | | | |
| | | | | | 2 | Toluca | 0 | 2 | 2 | | | | | |
| 2 | Toluca | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | Toluca | 0 | 2 | 2 | | | | | |
| 7 | UAG | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 7 | UAG | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | | | | 2 | Toluca (p) | 2 | 0 | 2 (7) |
| | | | | | | | | | | 5 | Cruz Azul | 0 | 2 | 2 (6) |
| 4 | UNAM | 0 | 1 | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | 5 | Cruz Azul | 0 | 2 | 2 (6) |
| 5 | Cruz Azul | 0 | 3 | 3 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 5 | Cruz Azul | 0 | 3 | 3 | 5 | Cruz Azul | 3 | 1 | 4 | | | | | |
| | | | | | 3 | Atlante | 1 | 1 | 2 | | | | | |
| 3 | Atlante | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | Atlante | 1 | 1 | 2 | | | | | |
| 6 | UANL | 1 | 1 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | |
* Champions
* Toluca 9th title

### Notes

* If the two teams are tied after both legs, the higher seeded team advances.
* Both finalist qualify to the 2009–10 CONCACAF Champions League. The champion qualifies directly to the Group Stage, while the runner-up qualifies to the Preliminary Round.

## Top goalscorers

| P | Player | Team | Goals |
| 1 | Hector Mancilla | Toluca | 13 |
| 2 | Andrés Mendoza | Morelia | 10 |
| 3 | Adolfo Bautista | Chiapas | 9 |
| 3 | Hugo Rodallega | Necaxa | 9 |
| 5 | Christian Giménez | Pachuca | 8 |
| 5 | Lucas Lobos | UANL | 8 |
| 7 | Christian Benítez | Santos Laguna | 7 |
| 7 | Ariel Bogado | Atlas | 7 |
| 7 | Víctor Piríz | San Luis | 7 |
| 7 | Pablo Zeballos | Cruz Azul | 7 |
Source: MedioTiempo