# 1997 in Paraguayan football

The following article presents a summary of the 1997 football (soccer) season in Paraguay.

## First division results
### Torneo Apertura

The Apertura tournament was played in a single all-play-all system. After every draw during this stage the game went on to a penalty kick shootout, awarding two points to the winner of the shootout and one point to the losing team. At the end, the top eight teams qualified to a playoff stage to determine the Apertura champion.
| Position | Team | Played | Wins | Draws P.K. Wins / P.K. Losses | Losses | Scored | Conceded | Points |
| 1 | Olimpia | 12 | 7 | 4/0 | 1 | 22 | 7 | 29 |
| 2 | Cerro Porteño | 12 | 7 | 1/0 | 4 | 23 | 15 | 23 |
| 3 | Sol de América | 12 | 6 | 0/2 | 4 | 11 | 8 | 20 |
| 4 | Libertad | 12 | 5 | 0/5 | 2 | 17 | 13 | 20 |
| 5 | San Lorenzo | 12 | 5 | 1/2 | 4 | 15 | 17 | 19 |
| 6 | Guaraní | 12 | 5 | 1/2 | 4 | 18 | 15 | 19 |
| 7 | Presidente Hayes | 12 | 4 | 3/0 | 5 | 13 | 17 | 18 |
| 8 | Sportivo Luqueño | 12 | 5 | 0/1 | 6 | 15 | 22 | 16 |
| 9 | Nacional | 12 | 3 | 2/3 | 4 | 16 | 21 | 16 |
| 10 | Sport Colombia | 12 | 2 | 3/3 | 4 | 17 | 15 | 15 |
| 11 | Tembetary | 12 | 4 | 1/1 | 6 | 14 | 16 | 15 |
| 12 | Atl. Colegiales | 12 | 3 | 2/0 | 7 | 9 | 15 | 13 |
| 13 | Cerro Corá | 12 | 2 | 2/1 | 7 | 15 | 24 | 11 |
* Note: an extra match had to be played between Sportivo Luqueño and Nacional to decide the 8th spot for the playoff stage since both teams finished with the same number of points. The extra match was won by Sportivo Luqueño 2-0. Also, draws were done to determine the 3rd and 5th place and they were won by Sol de America and San Lorenzo respectively.

#### Apertura playoff stage

The top eight teams qualified to this stage and were given bonus points based on their final standing in the table. Two groups of four teams were made, with the top two of each group advancing to a playoff stage.

##### Group stage

Group A
| Position | Team | Played | Wins | Draws P.K. Wins / P.K. Losses | Losses | Scored | Conceded | Bonus Points | Points |
| 1 | Olimpia | 3 | 2 | 0/0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | [3] | 9 |
| 2 | Sportivo Luqueño | 3 | 2 | 0/0 | 1 | 7 | 5 | [0] | 6 |
| 3 | Libertad | 3 | 1 | 0/0 | 2 | 5 | 9 | [1.5] | 4.5 |
| 4 | Guaraní | 3 | 1 | 0/0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | [0.5] | 3.5 |
Group B
| Position | Team | Played | Wins | Draws P.K. Wins / P.K. Losses | Losses | Scored | Conceded | Bonus Points | Points |
| 1 | Cerro Porteño | 3 | 2 | 1/0 | 0 | 7 | 4 | [2.5] | 10.5 |
| 2 | Sol de América | 3 | 1 | 1/0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | [2] | 7 |
| 3 | San Lorenzo | 3 | 1 | 0/1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | [1] | 5 |
| 4 | Presidente Hayes | 3 | 0 | 0/1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | [0] | 1 |

##### Semifinals

| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
| Olimpia | 0 - 1 | Sol de América |
| Cerro Porteño | 1 - 0 | Sportivo Luqueño |

##### Apertura final

| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
| Cerro Porteño | 1 - 1 (4 - 3 pen) | Sol de América |
Cerro P. wins the Apertura tournament.

### Torneo Clausura

The Clausura tournament was played in a single all-play-all system. After every draw during this stage the game went on to a penalty kick shootout, awarding two points to the winner of the shootout and one point to the losing team. At the end, the top eight teams qualified to a playoff stage to determine the Clausura champion.
| Position | Team | Played | Wins | Draws P.K. Wins / P.K. Losses | Losses | Scored | Conceded | Points |
| 1 | Cerro Corá | 12 | 8 | 1/2 | 1 | 22 | 11 | 28 |
| 2 | Guaraní | 12 | 6 | 1/4 | 1 | 22 | 16 | 24 |
| 3 | San Lorenzo | 12 | 5 | 2/1 | 4 | 13 | 10 | 20 |
| 4 | Sportivo Luqueño | 12 | 4 | 3/2 | 3 | 18 | 16 | 20 |
| 5 | Olimpia | 12 | 4 | 4/0 | 4 | 18 | 16 | 20 |
| 6 | Atl. Colegiales | 12 | 4 | 3/2 | 3 | 18 | 18 | 20 |
| 7 | Cerro Porteño | 12 | 4 | 1/4 | 3 | 15 | 13 | 18 |
| 8 | Nacional | 12 | 4 | 1/2 | 5 | 14 | 23 | 16 |
| 9 | Tembetary | 12 | 4 | 1/2 | 5 | 31 | 27 | 16 |
| 10 | Sport Colombia | 12 | 3 | 1/3 | 5 | 20 | 19 | 14 |
| 11 | Presidente Hayes | 12 | 3 | 2/1 | 6 | 13 | 18 | 14 |
| 12 | Sol de América | 12 | 3 | 1/1 | 7 | 11 | 15 | 12 |
| 13 | Libertad | 12 | 2 | 3/0 | 7 | 8 | 21 | 12 |

#### Clausura playoff stage

The top eight teams qualified to this stage and were given bonus points based on their final standing in the table. Two groups of four teams were made, with the top two of each group advancing to a playoff stage.

##### Group stage

Group A
| Position | Team | Played | Wins | Draws P.K. Wins / P.K. Losses | Losses | Scored | Conceded | Bonus Points | Points |
| 1 | Sportivo Luqueño | 3 | 3 | 0/0 | 0 | 9 | 3 | [1.5] | 10.5 |
| 2 | Guaraní | 3 | 1 | 1/0 | 1 | 5 | 6 | [2.5] | 7.5 |
| 3 | Nacional | 3 | 1 | 0/1 | 1 | 7 | 7 | [0] | 4 |
| 4 | Cerro Porteño | 3 | 0 | 0/0 | 3 | 6 | 11 | [0] | 0 |
Group B
| Position | Team | Played | Wins | Draws P.K. Wins / P.K. Losses | Losses | Scored | Conceded | Bonus Points | Points |
| 1 | Olimpia | 3 | 2 | 0/1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | [1] | 8 |
| 2 | Cerro Corá | 3 | 1 | 1/0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | [3] | 8 |
| 3 | San Lorenzo | 3 | 1 | 0/1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | [2] | 6 |
| 4 | Atl. Colegiales | 3 | 0 | 1/0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | [0.5] | 2.5 |

##### Semifinals

| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
| Olimpia | 4 - 2 | Guaraní |
| Cerro Corá | 2 - 2 (6 - 5 pen) | Sportivo Luqueño |

##### Clausura final

| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
| Olimpia | 3 - 0 | Cerro Corá |
Olimpia wins the Clausura tournament.

### National championship game

The national championship game was played between the Apertura and Clausura tournaments winners.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Cerro Porteño | 1 - 2 | Olimpia | 0-1 | 1-1 |
Olimpia declared as national champions by aggregate score of 2-1.

### Relegation / Promotion

* Tembetary and Sport Colombia automatically relegated to the second division after finishing last and second-to-last in the accumulated table Apertura/Clausura (Opening/Closing).
* 12 de Octubre promoted to the first division by winning the second division tournament.

### Qualification to international competitions

* Cerro Porteño qualified to the 1998 Copa Libertadores by winning the Torneo Apertura.
* Olimpia qualified to the 1998 Copa Libertadores by winning the Torneo Clausura.

## Lower divisions results

| Level | Tournament | Champion |
| 2nd | Intermedia | 12 de Octubre |
| 3rd | Primera de Ascenso | 12 de Octubre (Santo Domingo) |
| 4th | Segunda de Ascenso | Atlántida |

## Paraguayan teams in international competitions

* Copa Libertadores 1997:
** Club Guaraní: Round of 16
** Cerro Porteño: Group Stage
* Supercopa Sudamericana 1997:
** Olimpia: Group Stage
* Copa CONMEBOL 1997:
** Sportivo Luqueño: First round

## Paraguay national team

The following table lists all the games played by the Paraguay national football team in official competitions during 1997.
| Date | Venue | Opponents | Score | Comp | Paraguay scorers | Report |
| January 12, 1997 | Estadio Guillermo Soto Rosa Mérida | Venezuela | 0 - 2 | WCQ 1998 | M.A. Benítez 6' Enciso 62' | Report |
| February 12, 1997 | Estadio Defensores del Chaco Asunción | Peru | 2 - 1 | WCQ 1998 | Rivarola 12' A. Rojas 40' | Report |
| April 2, 1997 | Estadio Defensores del Chaco Asunción | Colombia | 2 - 1 | WCQ 1998 | Gamarra 6' D. Soto 82' | Report |
| April 30, 1997 | Estadio Defensores del Chaco Asunción | Uruguay | 3 - 1 | WCQ 1998 | A. Rojas 37' J. Cardozo 73' D. Soto 83' | Report |
| 1997-06-04 | Hermann Stadium St. Louis, United States | United States | 0 - 0 | F | | N/A |
| 1997-06-11 | Estadio Félix Capriles Cochabamba, Bolivia | Chile | 0 - 1 | CA97 | Acuña 28' | N/A |
| 1997-06-14 | Estadio Félix Capriles Cochabamba, Bolivia | Ecuador | 2 - 0 | CA97 | | N/A |
| 1997-06-17 | Estadio Félix Capriles Cochabamba, Bolivia | Argentina | 1 - 1 | CA97 | Chilavert 74' (pk) | N/A |
| 1997-06-22 | Estadio Ramón Aguilera Santa Cruz, Bolivia | Brazil | 2 - 0 | CA97 | | N/A |
| July 6, 1997 | Estadio Defensores del Chaco Asunción | Argentina | 1 - 2 | WCQ 1998 | R. Acuña 59' | Report |
| July 20, 1997 | Estadio Nacional de Chile Santiago | Chile | 2 - 1 | WCQ 1998 | H. Brizuela 61' | Report |
| August 20, 1997 | Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa Quito | Ecuador | 2 - 1 | WCQ 1998 | R. Báez | Report |
| September 10, 1997 | Estadio Defensores del Chaco Asunción | Bolivia | 2 - 1 | WCQ 1998 | M.A. Benítez 26' C. Gamarra 37' | Report |
| October 12, 1997 | Estadio Defensores del Chaco Asunción | Venezuela | 1 - 0 | WCQ 1998 | F. Torres 69' | Report |
| November 16, 1997 | Estadio Nacional Lima | Peru | 1 - 0 | WCQ 1998 | - | Report |