# 1981 Torneo Descentralizado

The 1981 Torneo Descentralizado was the sixty-fifth season of Peruvian football. A total of 16 teams competed in the tournament. The season was divided into two phases. Melgar won its first national title and become the first club outside the Lima Region to win the title.

## Format

The national league was divided into two phases. The first phase divided the sixteen teams into groups. Each team was placed into one of four groups depending on the region where the club was located. This dubbed regional tournament was contested in this season because the Peru national football team was using domestic players in preparation for the 1982 World Cup Qualifiers. In order to reduce the impact of the absence of these key players in the national league, the regional tournament was played in which the winner contested the second berth to the 1982 Copa Libertadores against the Descentralizado runner-up. The second phase of the league was the Descentralizado in which all sixteen teams competed in a single league table and its winner was crowned national champion while its runner-up faced the first phase winner for the second berth of the Copa Libertadores.

## Teams
### Team changes

| Promoted from 1980 Copa Perú | Relegated from 1980 Primera División |
| León de Huánuco (1st) | Juventud La Palma (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 |
| ADT | Tarma | Unión Tarma | 9,000 | 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 |
| 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 | Miguel Grau | 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 Regional

The Torneo Regional was divided into 4 groups. The groups of the North, South and Central had its group winners advance to a Provincial final group where the top two advanced to the semifinals of the regional tournament. In the Metropolitan group, the top two advanced directly to the semifinals.

### Group stage

The North, Central, and South followed these rules:
* 2 points were given for a win;
* 1 point for a draw;
* No points for a loss.

#### Grupo Norte

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | AUR | TOR | CNI |
| 1 | Juan Aurich | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 5 | | | 1–1 | 1–0 |
| 2 | Atlético Torino | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 4 | Final Provincial | 3–1 | | 1–1 |
| 3 | CNI | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 3 | | 0–0 | 2–1 | |
* ↑ Torino appealed Juan Aurich's qualification to the next round.

#### Grupo Central

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | ADT | LEO | HUA | JUN |
| 1 | ADT | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 7 | +6 | 9 | Final Provincial | | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 |
| 2 | León de Huánuco | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 8 | +1 | 8 | | 3–2 | | 2–0 | 1–0 |
| 3 | Unión Huaral | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 9 | −2 | 4 | | 2–2 | 1–1 | | 3–0 |
| 4 | Deportivo Junín | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 10 | −5 | 3 | | 1–2 | 2–2 | 2–0 | |

#### Grupo Sur

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | MEL | BOL | ALF |
| 1 | Melgar | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 6 | +2 | 5 | Final Provincial | | 3–1 | 3–1 |
| 2 | Coronel Bolognesi | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 4 | | 2–0 | | 2–0 |
| 3 | Alfonso Ugarte | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 7 | −3 | 3 | | 2–2 | 1–0 | |

#### Final Provincial

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | MEL | ADT | TOR |
| 1 | Melgar | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 4 | Fase Eliminatoria | | 2–1 | |
| 2 | ADT | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 1 | Fase Eliminatoria | | | 1–1 |
| 3 | Atlético Torino | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 1 | | 1–2 | | |

#### Grupo Metropolitano

This group had special rules. Matches ending in draws were decided by a penalty shootout.
* 3 points were given for a win;
* 2 points were given for a win after a penalty shootout;
* 1 point for a draw;
* No points for a loss or loss after a penalty shootout.
In addition, the top two of this group advanced to the semifinals.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | SW | SL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Resv. | Total | Qualification |
| 1 | Universitario | 10 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 10 | +3 | 19 | 8.0 | 27 | Fase Eliminatoria |
| 2 | Deportivo Municipal | 10 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 13 | 8 | +5 | 18 | 7.5 | 25.5 | Fase Eliminatoria |
| 3 | Alianza Lima | 10 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 10 | +3 | 20 | 2.5 | 22.5 |
| 4 | Atlético Chalaco | 10 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 8 | 12 | -4 | 9 | 4.5 | 13.5 |
| 5 | Sport Boys | 10 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 12 | 15 | -3 | 11 | 1.0 | 12 |
| 6 | Sporting Cristal | 10 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 10 | 14 | -4 | 8 | 2.5 | 10.5 |
* Alianza Lima did not advance to the semifinals due to a parallel reserve tournament that was favorable to Universitario (champion) and Deportivo Municipal (runner-up).

##### Results

| Home \ Away | ALI | CHA | MUN | SBA | CRI | UNI |
| Alianza Lima | | 1–0 | 1–3 | 3–2 | 2–2 | 3–1 |
| Atlético Chalaco | 0–1 | | 0–2 | 4–2 | 2–0 | 0–0 |
| Deportivo Municipal | 1–0 | 1–0 | | 3–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 |
| Sport Boys | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | | 1–1 | 2–1 |
| Sporting Cristal | 0–1 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | | 1–3 |
| Universitario | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | |

### Fase Eliminatoria

| Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Finals | Finals | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| 1 | Deportivo Municipal | 3 | 0 | 3 | | | | | |
| 4 | ADT | 0 | 1 | 1 | | | | | |
| 4 | ADT | 0 | 1 | 1 | Deportivo Municipal | Deportivo Municipal | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| | | | | | Universitario | Universitario | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 3 | Universitario | 2 | 0 | 2 | Universitario | Universitario | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Melgar | 0 | 1 | 1 | | | | | |
* No winner in finals after two matches. Play-off was contested to determine winner.

#### Play-off
## Torneo Descentralizado
### Standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Melgar | 30 | 16 | 8 | 6 | 39 | 22 | +17 | 40 | 1982 Copa Libertadores |
| 2 | Universitario | 30 | 16 | 7 | 7 | 48 | 30 | +18 | 39 | Copa Libertadores play-off |
| 3 | Alianza Lima | 30 | 16 | 4 | 10 | 51 | 33 | +18 | 36 | |
| 4 | Alfonso Ugarte | 30 | 14 | 8 | 8 | 43 | 32 | +11 | 36 | |
| 5 | León de Huánuco | 30 | 10 | 13 | 7 | 30 | 30 | 0 | 33 | |
| 6 | Atlético Chalaco | 30 | 10 | 12 | 8 | 38 | 30 | +8 | 32 | |
| 7 | Sport Boys | 30 | 9 | 12 | 9 | 41 | 37 | +4 | 30 | |
| 8 | Deportivo Junín | 30 | 11 | 6 | 13 | 39 | 45 | −6 | 28 | |
| 9 | Sporting Cristal | 30 | 8 | 12 | 10 | 30 | 38 | −8 | 28 | |
| 10 | CNI | 30 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 35 | 40 | −5 | 27 | |
| 11 | Deportivo Municipal | 30 | 8 | 11 | 11 | 33 | 41 | −8 | 27 | Copa Libertadores play-off |
| 12 | Coronel Bolognesi | 30 | 10 | 6 | 14 | 29 | 35 | −6 | 26 | |
| 13 | Juan Aurich | 30 | 6 | 14 | 10 | 21 | 33 | −12 | 26 | |
| 14 | ADT | 30 | 9 | 7 | 14 | 27 | 31 | −4 | 25 | |
| 15 | Unión Huaral | 30 | 7 | 10 | 13 | 28 | 44 | −16 | 24 | |
| 16 | Atlético Torino | 30 | 10 | 3 | 17 | 34 | 45 | −11 | 23 | 1982 Copa Perú |

### Results

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

### Copa Libertadores play-off

* No winner after two matches. Play-off was contested to determine winner.