# Primera División de Fútbol Profesional – Clausura 2012

The Clausura 2012 season was the 28th edition of Primera División de Fútbol de El Salvador since its establishment of an Apertura and Clausura format. Isidro Metapán headed into this tournament as the defending champions. The season began on January 8, 2012 and concluded in mid-year. Like previous years, the league consisted of 10 teams, each playing a home and away game against the other clubs for a total of 18 games, respectively. The top four teams by the end of the regular season took part in the playoffs.

## Stadia and locations

| Team | Home city | Stadium | Capacity |
| Águila | San Miguel | Juan Francisco Barraza | 10,000 |
| Alianza | San Salvador | Estadio Cuscatlán | 45,925 |
| Atlético Marte | San Salvador | Estadio Cuscatlán | 45,925 |
| FAS | Santa Ana | Estadio Óscar Quiteño | 15,000 |
| Isidro Metapán | Metapán | Estadio Jorge Calero Suárez | 8,000 |
| Juventud Independiente | San Juan Opico | Complejo Municipal | 5,000 |
| Luís Ángel Firpo | Usulután | Estadio Sergio Torres | 5,000 |
| Once Municipal | Ahuachapán | Estadio Simeón Magaña | 5,000 |
| UES | San Salvador | Estadio Universitario UES | 10,000 |
| Vista Hermosa | San Francisco Gotera | Estadio Correcaminos | 12,000 |

### Personnel and sponsoring

| Team | Chairman | Head Coach | Kitmaker | Shirt sponsor |
| Águila | Julio Sosa | Eraldo Correia | Galaxia | Mister Donuts, Volkswagen, Impressa Repuestos, Soccerway |
| Alianza | Lisandro Pohl | Vladan Vićević | Lotto | Tigo, SINAI, Maseca, BIC |
| Atlético Marte | Felix Guardado | Fausto Omar Vásquez | Galaxia | Foskrol, La Curacao, UFG |
| FAS | David Lineras | Ricardo Mena Laguán | Milan (Jaguar Sportic) | Pepsi, Farmacia San Lorenzo, Alba Petróleos |
| Isidro Metapán | Rafael Morataya | Edwin Portillo | Milán (Jaguar Sportic) | Grupo Bimbo, Tigo, Arroz San Pedro |
| Juventud Independiente | Romeo Barillas | Juan Ramón Sánchez | Milán (Jaguar Sportic) | Alcaldía Municipal de San Juan Opico, Ria, CP Portillo |
| Luis Ángel Firpo | Enrique Escobar | Nelson Ancheta | Joma | Pilsener, Volkswagen, Redes, Burger King |
| Once Municipal | Andrés Rodríguez | Juan Andrés Sarulyte | Milan (Jaguar Sportic) | LA GEO, Milan (Jaguar Sportic), Tropigas |
| UES | Rufino Quesada | Roberto Gamarra | Galaxia | Alba Petróleos |
| Vista Hermosa | Francisco Benitez | Carlos Romero | Milan (Jaguar Sportic) | MK Medicamentos, Cetron, Comercial René |

## Managerial changes
### Before the start of the season

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Replaced by | Position in table |
| Águila | Omar Sevilla | resigned to manage the reserves | Eraldo Correia | 5th (Clausura 2011) |
| FAS | Willian Renderos Iraheta | Resigned | Ricardo Mena Laguán | 2nd (Clausura 2011) |
| Vista Hermosa | José Rolando Pérez | Moved to Aguila | Carlos Romero | 10th (Clausura 2011) |
| UES | Jorge Abrego | replaced and moved to coaching reserves | Roberto Gamarra | 9th (Clausura 2011) |

### During the regular season

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Replaced by | Date of appointment | Position in table |
| Alianza | Vladan Vićević | Resigned | January 19, 2012 | Leonel Cárcamo | January 25, 2012 | 7th (Clausura 2012) |
| Atlético Marte | Fausto Omar Vásquez | Resigned | January 29, 2012 | Jorge Alberto García | January 29, 2012 | 10th (Clausura 2012) |
| Águila | Eraldo Correia | Sacked | January 30, 2012 | Victor Coreas | January 30, 2012 | 7th (Clausura 2012) |
| Vista | Carlos Romero | Sacked | February 5, 2012 | José Efraín Núñez | February 6, 2012 | 9th (Clausura 2012) |
| Alianza | Leonel Cárcamo | Replaced and moved to assistant coach | February 6, 2012 | Juan Ramón Paredes | February 6, 2012 | 7th (Clausura 2012) |
| FAS | Ricardo Mena Laguán | Sacked | February 9, 2012 | Agustín Castillo | February 9, 2012 | 8th (Clausura 2012) |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Isidro Metapán | 18 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 34 | 15 | +19 | 38 | Qualification for playoffs |
| 2 | Águila (C) | 18 | 9 | 2 | 7 | 28 | 18 | +10 | 29 | Qualification for playoffs |
| 3 | Luis Ángel Firpo | 18 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 30 | 23 | +7 | 28 | Qualification for playoffs |
| 4 | Once Municipal | 18 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 25 | 13 | +12 | 27 | Qualification for playoffs |
| 5 | FAS | 18 | 6 | 9 | 3 | 24 | 23 | +1 | 27 | Qualification for playoffs |
| 6 | Juventud Independiente | 18 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 31 | 24 | +7 | 25 | |
| 7 | UES | 18 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 24 | 36 | −12 | 19 | |
| 8 | Atlético Marte | 18 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 17 | 29 | −12 | 17 | |
| 9 | Alianza | 18 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 25 | 40 | −15 | 15 | |
| 10 | Vista Hermosa | 18 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 17 | 34 | −17 | 15 | |
* ↑ FAS won the extra game by 3-0 against Once Municipal for the last place of the playoffs.

### Positions by round

| Team ╲ Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
| Isidro Metapán | 2 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Águila | 9 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Luis Ángel Firpo | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Once Municipal | 4 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| FAS | 6 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Juventud Independiente | 8 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| UES | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| Atlético Marte | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Alianza | 7 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 |
| Vista Hermosa | 5 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 |

## Results

| Home \ Away | ÁGU | ALI | ATM | FAS | FIR | MET | JUV | OMU | UES | VIS |
| Águila | | 2–0 | 5–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 5–0 |
| Alianza | 1–3 | | 1–0 | 2–2 | 3–3 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–4 | 1–2 |
| Atlético Marte | 0–2 | 2–3 | | 0–1 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 4–1 |
| C.D. FAS | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 1–1 |
| Luis Ángel Firpo | 1–1 | 4–4 | 0–0 | 3–0 | | 2–4 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 |
| Isidro Metapán | 4–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | | 4–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 |
| Juventud Independiente | 2–1 | 3–0 | 4–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | | 2–2 | 5–0 | 2–0 |
| Once Municipal | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 5–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | | 4–1 | 3–0 |
| C.D. Universidad de El Salvador | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 3–4 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | | 0–2 |
| Vista Hermosa | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 0–3 | 1–2 | |

## Playoffs

| Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Final | Final | Final |
| 1 | Isidro Metapán | 0 | 3 | 3 | | | |
| 4 | FAS | 2 | 0 | 2 | | | |
| 4 | FAS | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | Isidro Metapán | 1 |
| | | | | | 2 | Águila | 2 |
| 2 | Águila | 4 | 1 | 5 | 2 | Águila | 2 |
| 3 | L.A. Firpo | 0 | 2 | 2 | | | |

### Semi-finals
#### Second leg

Isidro Metapán won 3-2 on aggregate.
Águila won 5-2 on aggregate.

### Final

Isidro Metapán: :
| GK | 1 | Miguel Montes | 37' |
| DF | 23 | Ricardo Alvarado | 54' |
| DF | 19 | Alexander Escobar |
| DF | 2 | Milton Molina |
| DF | 15 | Alfredo Pacheco | 26' |
| MF | 20 | Omar Mejía |
| MF | 53 | Marvin Monterrosa | 54' |
| MF | 16 | Ramón Sánchez | 68' |
| MF | 12 | Edwin Sánchez |
| FW | 17 | Léster Blanco |
| FW | 9 | Allan Kardeck | 60' 67' |
| Substitutes: ||
| FW | 11 | Christian Bautista | 54' |
| MF | 6 | Julio Martínez | 54' |
| FW | 30 | Leonardo Da Silva | 67' |
| Manager: |||
| Edwin Portillo ||||
Águila: :
| GK | 22 | Benji Villalobos | 84' |
| DF | 23 | Luis Anaya |
| DF | 6 | Mardoqueo Henríquez |
| DF | 4 | Glaúber da Silva | 17' |
| DF | 13 | Deris Umanzor |
| MF | 24 | Darwin Bonilla | 80' |
| DF | 3 | Isaac Zelaya |
| MF | 8 | Osael Romero |
| MF | 15 | Ronald Torres |
| FW | 33 | Irza Santos | 42' 59' |
| FW | 19 | Nicolás Muñoz |
| Substitutes: |||
| DF | 48 | Henry Romero | 17' 63' |
| MF | 7 | Irving Flores | 59' |
| DF | 2 | Rolando Torres | 80' |
| Manager: |||
| Víctor Coreas ||||
* Clausura 2012 champions
* C.D. Águila 15th title

## Player statistics
### Top scorers
#### Goalkeepers

| Goalkeeper | Goals | Matches | Average | Team |
| Miguel Montes | 10 | 12 | 0.83 | Isidro Metapán |
| Rafael Fuentes | 11 | 12 | 0.92 | Once Municipal |
| Benji Villalobos | 15 | 15 | 1.00 | Águila |
| Javier Gómez | 19 | 16 | 1.19 | Atlético Marte |
| Luis Contreras | 22 | 18 | 1.22 | FAS |
| Dagoberto Portillo | 22 | 18 | 1.22 | Luis Ángel Firpo |
| Wilber Ramírez | 22 | 17 | 1.29 | Juventud Independiente |
| Manuel González | 26 | 15 | 1.73 | UES |
| Aníbal Peña | 34 | 18 | 1.89 | Vista Hermosa |
| Yimmy Cuéllar | 19 | 10 | 1.90 | Alianza |
Updated to games played on April 15, 2012.
Post-season goals are not included, only regular season goals.

### Hat-tricks

| Player | No. of goals | Time of goals | Representing | Final score | Opponent | Round |
| Marvin Monterrosa | 3 | 15', 66', 90' | Isidro Metapán | 3–1 | Vista Hermosa | 12th |
| Juan Carlos Reyes | 3 | 7', 38', 74' | Juventud Independiente | 5–0 | UES | 17th |

### Individual awards

| Hombre GOL | Best Coach Award | Best Goalkeeper Award | Fair Player Award | Rookie Player Award |
| Nicolás Muñoz Águila Anel Canales Luis Ángel Firpo | Edwin Portillo Isidro Metapán | Miguel Montes Isidro Metapán | César Larios UES | Otoniel Salinas Vista Hermosa |

## Season statistics
### Scoring

* First goal of the season: José Otoniel Salinas for Vista Hermosa against FAS, 4 minutes (January 7, 2012)
* Fastest goal in a match:2 minutes - José Lemus for Atlético Marte against Alianza (March 4, 2012)
* Goal scored at the latest point in a match: 90+10 minutes Alexander Larin for Atlético Marte against FAS (January 21, 2012)
* First penalty Kick of the season: Anel Canales for Luis Ángel Firpo against Atlético Marte, 48 minutes (January 8, 2012)
* Widest winning margin: 5 Goals
** Once Municipal 5–0 FAS (January 25, 2012)
** Águila 5–0 Atlético Marte (March 8, 2012)
** Juventud Independiente 5–0 UES (April 4, 2012)
** Águila 5–0 Vista Hermosa (April 4, 2012)
* First hat-trick of the season: Marvin Monterrosa for Isidro Metapán against Vista Hermosa (March 28, 2012)
* First own goal of the season: Carlos Arévalo (Alianza) for UES, 37 minutes (January 7, 2012)
* Most goals by one team in a match: 5 Goals
** Once Municipal 5–0 FAS (January 25, 2012)
** Águila 5–0 Atlético Marte (March 8, 2012)
** Juventud Independiente 5–0 UES (April 4, 2012)
** Águila 5–0 Vista Hermosa (April 4, 2012)
* Most goals in one half by one team:
* Most goals scored by losing team: 3 Goals
** UES 3–4 Luis Ángel Firpo (April 15, 2012)
* Most goals by one player in a single match: 3 Goals
** Marvin Monterrosa for Isidro Metapán against Vista Hermosa (March 28, 2012)
** Juan Carlos Reyes for Juventud Independiente against UES (April 4, 2012)

### Discipline

* First yellow card of the season: Nelson Bonilla for Alianza against UES, 5 minutes (January 7, 2012)
* First red card of the season: Nelson Bonilla for Alianza against UES, 9 minutes (January 7, 2012)
* Card given at latest point in a game: Red José Enrique Rodríguez for Juventud Independiente, 90+3 minutes against UES (February 11, 2012)

## Aggregate table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Isidro Metapán (C) | 36 | 21 | 11 | 4 | 66 | 36 | +30 | 74 | Qualification for 2012–13 CONCACAF Champions League Group stage |
| 2 | FAS | 36 | 15 | 14 | 7 | 48 | 40 | +8 | 59 | Qualification for 2012–13 CONCACAF Champions League Group stage |
| 3 | Águila (C) | 36 | 17 | 7 | 12 | 62 | 43 | +19 | 58 | Qualification for 2012–13 CONCACAF Champions League Group stage |
| 4 | Once Municipal | 36 | 15 | 12 | 9 | 54 | 32 | +22 | 57 | |
| 5 | Luis Ángel Firpo | 36 | 15 | 12 | 9 | 61 | 50 | +11 | 57 | |
| 6 | Juventud Independiente | 36 | 11 | 9 | 16 | 49 | 54 | −5 | 42 | |
| 7 | Atlético Marte | 36 | 10 | 10 | 16 | 38 | 50 | −12 | 40 | |
| 8 | Alianza | 36 | 9 | 12 | 15 | 43 | 57 | −14 | 39 | |
| 9 | UES | 36 | 7 | 12 | 17 | 39 | 65 | −26 | 33 | |
| 10 | Vista Hermosa (R) | 36 | 4 | 13 | 19 | 28 | 59 | −31 | 25 | Relegation to Segunda División |
* ↑ Because Belize does not have a stadium which meets CONCACAF'S minimum standards for the Champions League, the spot normally reserved for Belize's club champion was reallocated to El Salvador, since it was the only Central American nation to send a team to the 2011–12 CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals.

## List of foreign players in the league

This is a list of foreign players in Clausura 2012. The following players:
* have played at least one apertura game for the respective club.
* have not been capped for the El Salvador national football team on any level, independently from the birthplace
A new rule was introduced a few season ago, that clubs can only have three foreign players per club and can only add a new player if there is an injury or player/s is released.