# 1978 Torneo Descentralizado

The 1978 Torneo Descentralizado, the top category of Peruvian football (soccer), was played by 16 teams. The national champion was Alianza Lima.
The season was divided into 2 stages. A Preliminary Tournament contested in two groups; this was a friendly tournament to keep teams occupied as the National Team was preparing for the 1978 World Cup Finals. The second stage was the Decentralized (league tournament); the top 2 qualified for Copa Libertadores and the last team was relegated.

## Teams
### Team changes

| Promoted from 1977 Copa Perú | Relegated from 1977 Primera División |
| Atlético Torino (1st) | Cienciano (16th) |

### Stadia locations

| Team | City | Stadium | Capacity | Field |
| Alfonso Ugarte | Puno | Enrique Torres Belón | 20,000 | Grass |
| Alianza Lima | La Victoria, Lima | Alejandro Villanueva | 35,000 | Grass |
| Atlético Chalaco | Callao | Miguel Grau | 15,000 | Grass |
| Atlético Torino | Talara | Campeonísimo | 8,000 | Grass |
| CNI | Iquitos | Max Augustín | 24,000 | Grass |
| Coronel Bolognesi | Tacna | Jorge Basadre | 19,850 | Grass |
| Defensor Lima | Breña, Lima | Nacional | 45,750 | Grass |
| Deportivo Junín | Huancayo | Huancayo | 20,000 | Grass |
| Deportivo Municipal | Cercado de Lima | Nacional | 45,750 | Grass |
| Juan Aurich | Chiclayo | Elías Aguirre | 24,500 | Grass |
| León de Huánuco | Huánuco | Heraclio Tapia | 15,000 | Grass |
| Melgar | Arequipa | Mariano Melgar | 20,000 | Grass |
| Sport Boys | Callao | Telmo Carbajo | 15,000 | Grass |
| Sporting Cristal | Rímac, Lima | Nacional | 45,750 | Grass |
| Unión Huaral | Huaral | Julio Lores Colan | 10,000 | Grass |
| Universitario | Breña, Lima | Nacional | 45,750 | Grass |

## Torneo Interzonal
### Grupo Norte

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | HUA | AUR | JUN | SBA | UNI | TOR | CNI | CRI |
| 1 | Unión Huaral | 14 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 25 | 16 | +9 | 19 | Liguilla Final | | 3–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 |
| 2 | Juan Aurich | 14 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 24 | 16 | +8 | 19 | Liguilla Final | 5–3 | | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 4–0 |
| 3 | Deportivo Junín | 14 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 23 | 18 | +5 | 18 | | 2–1 | 1–1 | | 3–2 | 1–1 | 5–0 | 2–1 | 4–3 |
| 4 | Sport Boys | 14 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 23 | 22 | +1 | 14 | | 2–4 | 1–2 | 1–1 | | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 3–2 |
| 5 | Universitario | 14 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 16 | 15 | +1 | 13 | | 2–2 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–3 | | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 |
| 6 | Atlético Torino | 14 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 20 | 24 | −4 | 13 | | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | | 1–0 | 4–0 |
| 7 | CNI | 14 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 13 | −2 | 10 | | 1–1 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 0–1 | | 2–0 |
| 8 | Sporting Cristal | 14 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 14 | 32 | −18 | 6 | | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 0–1 | |

### Grupo Sur

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | ALI | BOL | DEF | UGA | MUN | LEO | MEL | CHA |
| 1 | Alianza Lima | 14 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 27 | 13 | +14 | 19 | Liguilla Final | | 1–2 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 4–1 |
| 2 | Coronel Bolognesi | 14 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 18 | 16 | +2 | 19 | Liguilla Final | 0–3 | | 3–2 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| 3 | Defensor Lima | 14 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 21 | 19 | +2 | 15 | | 3–2 | 0–0 | | 5–1 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 |
| 4 | Alfonso Ugarte | 14 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 19 | 17 | +2 | 14 | | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | | 5–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 |
| 5 | Deportivo Municipal | 14 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 20 | 21 | −1 | 14 | | 1–1 | 2–3 | 0–1 | 1–1 | | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 |
| 6 | León de Huánuco | 14 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 13 | 17 | −4 | 13 | | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | | 1–0 | 2–0 |
| 7 | Melgar | 14 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 13 | 15 | −2 | 12 | | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | | 0–0 |
| 8 | Atlético Chalaco | 14 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 26 | −13 | 6 | | 0–3 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 3–3 | |

### Liguilla Final

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | HUA | BOL | AUR | ALI |
| 1 | Unión Huaral | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 8 | +3 | 7 | | 2–1 | 0–1 | 3–2 |
| 2 | Coronel Bolognesi | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 8 | +2 | 7 | 2–1 | | 4–1 | 2–1 |
| 3 | Juan Aurich | 6 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 6 | −2 | 6 | 1–1 | 1–1 | | 0–0 |
| 4 | Alianza Lima | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 9 | −3 | 4 | 1–4 | 2–0 | 0–0 | |

## Torneo Descentralizado
### Standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Alianza Lima | 30 | 20 | 4 | 6 | 63 | 20 | +43 | 44 | 1979 Copa Libertadores |
| 2 | Universitario | 30 | 21 | 1 | 8 | 62 | 28 | +34 | 43 | 1979 Copa Libertadores |
| 3 | Sporting Cristal | 30 | 18 | 6 | 6 | 61 | 28 | +33 | 42 | |
| 4 | Juan Aurich | 30 | 13 | 12 | 5 | 39 | 25 | +14 | 38 | |
| 5 | Sport Boys | 30 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 44 | 37 | +7 | 34 | |
| 6 | Melgar | 30 | 12 | 9 | 9 | 39 | 34 | +5 | 33 | |
| 7 | León de Huánuco | 30 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 27 | 35 | −8 | 30 | |
| 8 | Atlético Chalaco | 30 | 10 | 8 | 12 | 37 | 43 | −6 | 28 | |
| 9 | CNI | 30 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 28 | 35 | −7 | 28 | |
| 10 | Coronel Bolognesi | 30 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 30 | 41 | −11 | 28 | |
| 11 | Unión Huaral | 30 | 10 | 6 | 14 | 39 | 51 | −12 | 26 | |
| 12 | Atlético Torino | 30 | 9 | 6 | 15 | 35 | 47 | −12 | 24 | |
| 13 | Deportivo Municipal | 30 | 8 | 6 | 16 | 25 | 32 | −7 | 22 | |
| 14 | Alfonso Ugarte | 30 | 8 | 6 | 16 | 44 | 59 | −15 | 22 | |
| 15 | Deportivo Junín | 30 | 8 | 5 | 17 | 36 | 62 | −26 | 21 | |
| 16 | Defensor Lima | 30 | 6 | 5 | 19 | 40 | 72 | −32 | 17 | 1979 Copa Perú |

### Results

| Home \ Away | UGA | ALI | CHA | TOR | CNI | BOL | DEF | JUN | MUN | AUR | LEO | MEL | SBA | CRI | HUA | UNI |
| Alfonso Ugarte | | 1–1 | 2–2 | 7–0 | 6–2 | 4–3 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 |
| Alianza Lima | 9–0 | | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 6–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 5–1 | 2–1 |
| Atlético Chalaco | 3–2 | 1–0 | | 3–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 0–0 |
| Atlético Torino | 4–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | | 1–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 3–3 | 0–1 |
| CNI | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | | 3–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 |
| Coronel Bolognesi | 2–1 | 0–2 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 3–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–0 |
| Defensor Lima | 5–2 | 2–5 | 3–3 | 3–2 | 0–2 | 1–2 | | 4–1 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 1–5 | 0–5 | 1–1 | 2–4 |
| Deportivo Junín | 1–0 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 5–3 | | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 3–2 |
| Deportivo Municipal | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 3–2 | | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 0–2 |
| Juan Aurich | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | | 3–1 | 3–2 | 0–0 | 4–2 | 2–1 | 0–2 |
| León de Huánuco | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | | 1–0 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 |
| Melgar | 2–1 | 0–3 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 5–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | | 3–1 | 0–0 | 3–3 | 0–1 |
| Sport Boys | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | | 2–5 | 5–1 | 0–2 |
| Sporting Cristal | 6–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 3–0 | 5–0 | 3–0 | 5–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | | 5–2 | 3–2 |
| Unión Huaral | 3–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | | 0–3 |
| Universitario | 3–2 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 5–0 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 5–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 3–1 | |

## Top scorers

| Player | Nationality | Goals | Club |
| Juan José Oré | Peru | 19 | Universitario |