# 2019 Categoría Primera B season

The 2019 Categoría Primera B season (officially known as the 2019 Torneo Águila season for sponsorship reasons) was the 30th season since its founding as Colombia's second division football league.

## Format

For this season, the league returned to the format used in 2017. The season consisted of two tournaments (Torneo I and Torneo II) with three stages each. In the first stage of both tournaments, the 16 clubs played each other once, for a total of 15 games. The top eight teams after the first stage advanced to the semifinal round where they were sorted into two groups of four and played a double round-robin tournament group stage, with the top team of each group qualifying for the finals. The winners of both tournaments would play a final series on a home-and-away basis, with the winner being crowned as the season champions and also earning promotion to the Categoría Primera A for the 2020 season. The season runners-up would then play the best team in the aggregate table (other than the champions) in another double-legged series for the second promotion berth. In case the season runner-up also ended up as the best team in the aggregate table, it would also be promoted and the promotion play-off would not be played.

## Teams

16 teams took part, fourteen of them returning from last season plus Boyacá Chicó and Leones, who were relegated from the 2018 Primera A after one year in the top flight. Both teams replaced Cúcuta Deportivo and Unión Magdalena who earned promotion at the end of the last season. Also, starting from this season, Real Santander moved its home games to San Andrés Island, becoming Real San Andrés.
On 12 March 2019, the General Assembly of DIMAYOR approved a proposal to relocate Universitario from Popayán to Cali starting from the second half of the season, with the aforementioned club being effectively rebranded as Boca Juniors de Cali. Universitario played its last match in the tournament under that name on 4 May 2019, losing to Deportivo Pereira in Palmira by a 4–1 score.
| Club | Home city | Stadium | Capacity |
| Atlético | Cali | Pascual Guerrero | 33,130 |
| Barranquilla | Barranquilla | Romelio Martínez | 20,000 |
| Boca Juniors de Cali | Cali | Pascual Guerrero | 33,130 |
| Bogotá | Bogotá | Metropolitano de Techo | 8,000 |
| Boyacá Chicó | Tunja | La Independencia | 20,630 |
| Cortuluá | Tuluá | Doce de Octubre | 16,000 |
| Deportes Quindío | Armenia | Centenario | 20,716 |
| Deportivo Pereira | Pereira | Hernán Ramírez Villegas | 30,297 |
| Fortaleza | Cota | Municipal de Cota | 4,000 |
| Leones | Itagüí | Metropolitano Ciudad de Itagüí | 12,000 |
| Llaneros | Villavicencio | Manuel Calle Lombana | 15,000 |
| Orsomarso | Palmira | Francisco Rivera Escobar | 9,000 |
| Real Cartagena | Cartagena | Jaime Morón León | 16,068 |
| Real San Andrés | San Andrés | Erwin O'Neill | 5,000 |
| Tigres | Bogotá | Metropolitano de Techo | 8,000 |
| Universitario | Popayán | Ciro López$^a$ | 5,000 |
| Valledupar | Valledupar | Armando Maestre Pavajeau | 11,000 |
a: Universitario played their home matches against Llaneros, Bogotá, Leones and Deportivo Pereira at Estadio Deportivo Cali in Palmira.
* Only participated in the Torneo I.
* Replaced Universitario for the Torneo II.

## Torneo I
### First stage
#### Standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Real Cartagena | 15 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 26 | 15 | +11 | 29 | Advance to the semifinals |
| 2 | Deportes Quindío | 15 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 23 | 12 | +11 | 29 | Advance to the semifinals |
| 3 | Deportivo Pereira | 15 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 26 | 10 | +16 | 28 | Advance to the semifinals |
| 4 | Barranquilla | 15 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 20 | 15 | +5 | 26 | Advance to the semifinals |
| 5 | Boyacá Chicó | 15 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 16 | 10 | +6 | 25 | Advance to the semifinals |
| 6 | Cortuluá | 15 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 26 | 22 | +4 | 24 | Advance to the semifinals |
| 7 | Leones | 15 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 16 | 12 | +4 | 24 | Advance to the semifinals |
| 8 | Llaneros | 15 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 26 | 24 | +2 | 23 | Advance to the semifinals |
| 9 | Bogotá | 15 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 16 | 19 | −3 | 22 | |
| 10 | Tigres | 15 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 20 | 24 | −4 | 20 | |
| 11 | Fortaleza | 15 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 21 | 22 | −1 | 19 | |
| 12 | Valledupar | 15 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 13 | 20 | −7 | 14 | |
| 13 | Universitario | 15 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 12 | 20 | −8 | 12 | |
| 14 | Real San Andrés | 15 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 13 | 24 | −11 | 10 | |
| 15 | Atlético | 15 | 1 | 5 | 9 | 9 | 25 | −16 | 8 | |
| 16 | Orsomarso | 15 | 0 | 7 | 8 | 16 | 25 | −9 | 7 | |

#### Results

| Home \ Away | ATL | BAR | BOG | BOY | COR | QUI | PER | FOR | LEO | LLA | ORS | RCA | RSA | TIG | UPO | VAL |
| Atlético | — | — | — | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–0 | — | 0–1 | — | — | — | 0–3 | 0–1 | — | — | — |
| Barranquilla | 1–0 | — | — | 0–0 | 2–2 | — | — | 2–0 | — | — | — | 2–1 | 2–0 | — | — | 3–0 |
| Bogotá | 0–0 | 0–2 | — | — | 3–2 | — | 1–1 | — | — | 2–5 | — | 1–0 | 1–0 | — | — | 2–1 |
| Boyacá Chicó | — | — | 0–0 | — | — | 1–1 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | — | 0–0 | — | — | 0–1 | 2–0 | — |
| Cortuluá | — | — | — | 0–0 | — | 1–3 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 0–1 | — | 2–0 | — | — | 2–1 | 1–0 | — |
| Deportes Quindío | — | 2–2 | 4–1 | — | — | — | — | — | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | — | — | 3–1 | 2–1 | — |
| Deportivo Pereira | 4–0 | 2–1 | — | — | — | 0–1 | — | — | — | — | 1–0 | — | 1–0 | 6–0 | — | 2–0 |
| Fortaleza | — | — | 2–0 | — | — | 0–2 | 1–2 | — | 4–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | — | — | 0–0 | 3–1 | — |
| Leones | 4–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | — | — | — | 1–0 | — | — | 0–1 | — | 1–1 | 3–0 | — | — | 0–0 |
| Llaneros | 3–1 | 3–1 | — | 3–3 | 3–2 | — | 0–0 | — | — | — | — | 0–2 | 2–0 | — | — | 0–1 |
| Orsomarso | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | — | — | — | — | — | 1–2 | 2–3 | — | — | — | — | 2–2 | 1–2 |
| Real Cartagena | — | — | — | 2–1 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 | — | — | 1–1 | — | — | 2–0 | 1–0 | — |
| Real San Andrés | — | — | — | 0–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | — | 2–2 | — | — | 2–2 | 3–3 | — | 1–1 | — | — |
| Tigres | 1–1 | 4–0 | 0–3 | — | — | — | — | — | 1–1 | 4–2 | 2–1 | — | — | — | 2–0 | — |
| Universitario | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | — | — | — | 1–4 | — | 0–0 | 3–0 | — | — | 1–1 | — | — | 2–1 |
| Valledupar | 1–1 | — | — | 0–1 | 1–3 | 0–1 | — | 1–1 | — | — | — | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | — | — |

### Semifinals

The eight teams that advanced to the semifinals were drawn into two groups of four teams. The winners of each group advanced to the finals.

#### Group A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | COR | RCA | LEO | BAR |
| 1 | Cortuluá | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 4 | +7 | 13 | Advance to the Finals | — | 3–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 |
| 2 | Real Cartagena | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 8 | +3 | 11 | | 1–1 | — | 4–1 | 2–1 |
| 3 | Leones | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 11 | −5 | 7 | | 3–1 | 1–1 | — | 1–0 |
| 4 | Barranquilla | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 9 | −5 | 3 | | 0–1 | 1–3 | 2–0 | — |

#### Group B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | PER | BOY | QUI | LLA |
| 1 | Deportivo Pereira | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 4 | +5 | 15 | Advance to the Finals | — | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 |
| 2 | Boyacá Chicó | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 2 | +7 | 13 | | 0–1 | — | 1–0 | 0–0 |
| 3 | Deportes Quindío | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 9 | −4 | 4 | | 0–2 | 0–3 | — | 3–0 |
| 4 | Llaneros | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 10 | −8 | 2 | | 1–2 | 0–3 | 1–1 | — |
* ↑ Match awarded 3–0 to Boyacá Chicó due to crowd disturbances. The match originally ended with a 0–1 win for Boyacá Chicó.

### Finals

Tied 3–3 on aggregate, Deportivo Pereira won on penalties.
* Torneo Águila 2019–I Winners
* Deportivo Pereira Advance to the Grand Final

### Top goalscorers

| Rank | Name | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Diego Álvarez | Deportivo Pereira | 12 |
| 1 | Juan Sebastián Herrera | Cortuluá | 12 |
| 1 | Guillermo Murillo | Cortuluá | 12 |
| 4 | Edwin Aguilar | Real Cartagena | 11 |
| 4 | Jairo Molina | Deportivo Pereira | 11 |
| 6 | Jhonny Cano | Real Cartagena | 8 |
| 7 | Kevin Aladesanmi | Leones | 7 |
| 7 | Leonel García | Atlético | 7 |
| 7 | Danny Santoya | Deportes Quindío | 7 |
Source: Soccerway

## Torneo II
### First stage
#### Standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Deportes Quindío | 15 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 21 | 12 | +9 | 29 | Advance to the semifinals |
| 2 | Boyacá Chicó | 15 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 25 | 19 | +6 | 27 | Advance to the semifinals |
| 3 | Bogotá | 15 | 8 | 2 | 5 | 19 | 14 | +5 | 26 | Advance to the semifinals |
| 4 | Cortuluá | 15 | 8 | 1 | 6 | 24 | 19 | +5 | 25 | Advance to the semifinals |
| 5 | Deportivo Pereira | 15 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 13 | 9 | +4 | 25 | Advance to the semifinals |
| 6 | Real Cartagena | 15 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 20 | 19 | +1 | 24 | Advance to the semifinals |
| 7 | Fortaleza | 15 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 18 | 15 | +3 | 22 | Advance to the semifinals |
| 8 | Tigres | 15 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 17 | 14 | +3 | 21 | Advance to the semifinals |
| 9 | Leones | 15 | 4 | 9 | 2 | 19 | 17 | +2 | 21 | |
| 10 | Real San Andrés | 15 | 6 | 2 | 7 | 16 | 17 | −1 | 20 | |
| 11 | Llaneros | 15 | 6 | 1 | 8 | 12 | 15 | −3 | 19 | |
| 12 | Valledupar | 15 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 14 | 19 | −5 | 19 | |
| 13 | Atlético | 15 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 15 | 13 | +2 | 18 | |
| 14 | Boca Juniors de Cali | 15 | 3 | 2 | 10 | 15 | 25 | −10 | 11 | |
| 15 | Barranquilla | 15 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 10 | 21 | −11 | 11 | |
| 16 | Orsomarso | 15 | 1 | 5 | 9 | 13 | 23 | −10 | 8 | |

#### Results

| Home \ Away | ATL | BAR | BOC | BOG | BOY | COR | QUI | PER | FOR | LEO | LLA | ORS | RCA | RSA | TIG | VAL |
| Atlético | — | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | — | — | — | 0–0 | — | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | — | — | 1–1 | 0–0 |
| Barranquilla | — | — | 3–1 | 0–2 | — | — | 0–2 | 1–1 | — | 2–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | — | — | 1–1 | — |
| Boca Juniors de Cali | — | — | — | — | 2–2 | 3–2 | 0–2 | — | 0–1 | — | — | 2–1 | 1–2 | — | 2–0 | — |
| Bogotá | — | — | 2–0 | — | 0–1 | — | 2–1 | — | 2–0 | 3–3 | — | 2–1 | — | — | 0–3 | — |
| Boyacá Chicó | 2–0 | 4–0 | — | — | — | 3–2 | — | — | — | — | 1–0 | — | 5–2 | 1–0 | — | 1–0 |
| Cortuluá | 3–2 | 2–0 | — | 1–0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1–0 | — | 1–0 | 1–0 | — | 6–0 |
| Deportes Quindío | 0–4 | — | — | — | 3–0 | 1–1 | — | 1–1 | 1–1 | — | — | — | 2–0 | 1–0 | — | 0–0 |
| Deportivo Pereira | — | — | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | — | — | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | — | 0–0 | — | — | — |
| Fortaleza | 1–1 | 2–1 | — | — | 3–0 | 4–2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1–0 | 3–0 | — | 0–0 |
| Leones | — | — | 2–2 | — | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–3 | — | 0–0 | — | — | 2–0 | — | — | 0–0 | — |
| Llaneros | — | — | 1–0 | 0–2 | — | — | 0–1 | — | 2–0 | 1–1 | — | 2–0 | — | — | 1–3 | — |
| Orsomarso | — | — | — | — | 4–4 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | — | — | — | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | — |
| Real Cartagena | 1–0 | 2–1 | — | 2–1 | — | — | — | — | — | 0–1 | 3–0 | — | — | 3–3 | — | 2–2 |
| Real San Andrés | 0–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | — | — | — | 3–1 | — | 3–1 | 0–1 | — | — | — | — | 2–1 |
| Tigres | — | — | — | — | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 3–2 | — | — | — | 0–1 | 1–1 | — | 1–2 |
| Valledupar | — | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | — | — | — | 1–1 | — | 1–1 | 0–2 | 3–1 | — | — | — | — |

### Semifinals

The eight teams that advanced to the semifinals were drawn into two groups of four teams. The winners of each group will advance to the finals.

#### Group A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | PER | COR | TIG | QUI |
| 1 | Deportivo Pereira | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 4 | +7 | 13 | Advance to the Finals | — | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 |
| 2 | Cortuluá | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 6 | +4 | 11 | | 3–1 | — | 2–0 | 1–0 |
| 3 | Tigres | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 12 | −6 | 6 | | 0–5 | 1–1 | — | 4–3 |
| 4 | Deportes Quindío | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 11 | −5 | 2 | | 0–2 | 3–3 | 0–0 | — |

#### Group B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | BOY | FOR | RCA | BOG |
| 1 | Boyacá Chicó | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 4 | +5 | 14 | Advance to the Finals | — | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 |
| 2 | Fortaleza | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 9 | +1 | 8 | | 0–2 | — | 1–3 | 3–1 |
| 3 | Real Cartagena | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 7 | +1 | 8 | | 0–1 | 2–2 | — | 1–0 |
| 4 | Bogotá | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 11 | −7 | 2 | | 1–2 | 0–3 | 1–1 | — |

### Finals

Deportivo Pereira won 3–2 on aggregate.
* Torneo Águila 2019–II Winners
* Deportivo Pereira Advance to the Grand Final

### Top goalscorers

| Rank | Name | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Juan Sebastián Herrera | Cortuluá | 12 |
| 2 | Edinson Palomino | Boyacá Chicó | 11 |
| 3 | Sebastián Acosta | Fortaleza | 10 |
| 4 | Cristian Cangá | Valledupar | 8 |
| 5 | Edwin Aguilar | Real Cartagena | 7 |
| 5 | Diber Cambindo | Deportes Quindío | 7 |
| 5 | Leonel García | Atlético | 7 |
| 5 | Jairo Molina | Deportivo Pereira | 7 |
| 9 | Kevin Aladesanmi | Leones | 6 |
| 9 | Henry Hernández | Deportes Quindío | 6 |
| 9 | Yorleys Mena | Real Cartagena | 6 |
| 9 | Luis Mina | Boca Juniors de Cali | 6 |
| 9 | José Carlos Muñoz | Cortuluá | 6 |
Source: Soccerway

## Grand Final

Since Deportivo Pereira won both tournaments of the season, the Grand Final was not played and they were declared as champions of the season. Deportivo Pereira also earned direct promotion to Categoría Primera A for the 2020 season.
* Torneo Águila 2019 champions
* Deportivo Pereira 2nd title

## Aggregate table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Deportivo Pereira (C, P) | 46 | 25 | 13 | 8 | 65 | 32 | +33 | 88 | Promotion to Categoría Primera A |
| 2 | Boyacá Chicó (P) | 46 | 23 | 15 | 8 | 62 | 37 | +25 | 84 | Qualification for Promotion play-off |
| 3 | Cortuluá | 46 | 23 | 8 | 15 | 74 | 55 | +19 | 77 | Qualification for Promotion play-off |
| 4 | Real Cartagena | 42 | 20 | 12 | 10 | 65 | 49 | +16 | 72 | |
| 5 | Deportes Quindío | 42 | 17 | 13 | 12 | 55 | 44 | +11 | 64 | |
| 6 | Leones | 36 | 12 | 16 | 8 | 41 | 40 | +1 | 52 | |
| 7 | Bogotá | 36 | 14 | 8 | 14 | 39 | 44 | −5 | 50 | |
| 8 | Fortaleza | 36 | 13 | 10 | 13 | 49 | 46 | +3 | 49 | |
| 9 | Tigres | 36 | 11 | 14 | 11 | 43 | 50 | −7 | 47 | |
| 10 | Llaneros | 36 | 13 | 5 | 18 | 40 | 49 | −9 | 44 | |
| 11 | Barranquilla | 36 | 10 | 10 | 16 | 34 | 45 | −11 | 40 | |
| 12 | Valledupar | 30 | 7 | 12 | 11 | 27 | 39 | −12 | 33 | |
| 13 | Real San Andrés | 30 | 7 | 9 | 14 | 29 | 41 | −12 | 30 | |
| 14 | Atlético | 30 | 5 | 11 | 14 | 24 | 38 | −14 | 26 | |
| 15 | Boca Juniors de Cali | 30 | 5 | 8 | 17 | 27 | 45 | −18 | 23 | |
| 16 | Orsomarso | 30 | 1 | 12 | 17 | 29 | 48 | −19 | 15 | |

## Promotion play-off

The promotion play-off was played by Boyacá Chicó and Cortuluá, who were the best two teams in the aggregate table excluding the champions, Deportivo Pereira. The winners of this double-legged series earned the second promotion berth.
Boyacá Chicó won 1–0 on aggregate.