# 2018 Paraguayan Primera División season

The 2018 División Profesional season (officially the Copa de Primera TIGO-Visión Banco 2018 for sponsorship reasons) was the 84th season of top-flight professional football in Paraguay. The season began on 2 February and ended on 8 December. Cerro Porteño were the defending champions.
In the Torneo Apertura, Olimpia won their forty-first league title with two matches to spare following a 2–1 win over Libertad on 30 May. Olimpia also clinched their forty-second league title in the Torneo Clausura with two matches to spare after beating Guaraní 4–1 on 28 November.

## Teams
### Stadia and locations

| Team | Manager | Home city | Stadium | Capacity |
| 3 de Febrero | Eduardo Rivera | Ciudad del Este | Antonio Aranda | 23,500 |
| Cerro Porteño | Fernando Jubero | Asunción | General Pablo Rojas | 45,000 |
| Deportivo Capiatá | Julio Cabrera (caretaker) | Capiatá | Lic. Erico Galeano Segovia | 10,000 |
| Deportivo Santaní | Héctor Marecos | San Estanislao | Juan José Vázquez$^a$ | 8,000 |
| General Díaz | Florencio Villalba | Luque | General Adrián Jara | 3,500 |
| Guaraní | Gustavo Florentín | Asunción | Rogelio Livieres$^b$ | 6,000 |
| Independiente | Mario Jara | Asunción | Ricardo Gregor | 1,500 |
| Libertad | Leonel Álvarez | Asunción | Dr. Nicolás Leoz | 10,000 |
| Nacional | Fernando Gamboa | Asunción | Arsenio Erico | 4,000 |
| Olimpia | Daniel Garnero | Asunción | Manuel Ferreira | 25,000 |
| Sol de América | Ever Hugo Almeida | Villa Elisa | Luis Alfonso Giagni | 10,000 |
| Sportivo Luqueño | Pedro Sarabia | Luque | Feliciano Cáceres | 25,000 |
Note: Teams occasionally play their home games at Estadio Defensores del Chaco in Asunción. Derbies between Cerro Porteño and Olimpia are also played at this stadium. a: Deportivo Santaní played their Torneo Apertura home match against Olimpia at Estadio Antonio Aranda in Ciudad del Este instead of their regular stadium Estadio Juan José Vázquez in San Estanislao. b: Guaraní played their home games at Estadio Defensores del Chaco in Asunción until mid-May while their regular stadium Estadio Rogelio Livieres underwent maintenance works. Guaraní played their Torneo Apertura home match against Olimpia at Estadio Antonio Aranda in Ciudad del Este.

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| Torneo Apertura |||||||
| General Díaz | Mario Jara | Resigned | 6 December 2017 | Pre-season | Aldo Bobadilla | 15 December 2017 |
| Guaraní | Daniel Garnero | Signed by Olimpia | 7 December 2017 | Pre-season | Sebastián Saja | 8 December 2017 |
| Olimpia | Aldo Bobadilla | Mutual consent | 11 December 2017 | Pre-season | Daniel Garnero | 13 December 2017 |
| Libertad | Fernando Jubero | Resigned | 23 December 2017 | Pre-season | Aldo Bobadilla | 28 December 2017 |
| General Díaz | Aldo Bobadilla | Resigned | 28 December 2017 | Pre-season | Florencio Villalba (caretaker) | 2 January 2018 |
| General Díaz | Florencio Villalba | End of caretaker spell | 24 January 2018 | Pre-season | Francisco Arce | 24 January 2018 |
| Cerro Porteño | Leonel Álvarez | Resigned | 31 January 2018 | Pre-season | Jorge Núñez (caretaker) | 31 January 2018 |
| Cerro Porteño | Jorge Núñez | End of caretaker spell | 5 February 2018 | 10th | Luis Zubeldía | 5 February 2018 |
| Sportivo Luqueño | Javier Sanguinetti | Sacked | 25 February 2018 | 12th | Eduardo Rivera | 25 February 2018 |
| 3 de Febrero | Marcio Marolla | Sacked | 4 March 2018 | 12th | José Arrúa | 5 March 2018 |
| Deportivo Santaní | Pedro Sarabia | Mutual consent | 14 March 2018 | 11th | Mario Jara | 15 March 2018 |
| Guaraní | Sebastián Saja | Resigned | 25 March 2018 | 9th | Fernando Burgo (caretaker) | 25 March 2018 |
| Sportivo Luqueño | Eduardo Rivera | Resigned | 3 April 2018 | 8th | Fernando Ortiz | 4 April 2018 |
| General Díaz | Francisco Arce | Sacked | 8 April 2018 | 8th | Florencio Villalba (caretaker) | 9 April 2018 |
| Deportivo Capiatá | Gustavo Florentín | Resigned | 26 May 2018 | 8th | Diego Gavilán | 27 May 2018 |
| Sportivo Luqueño | Fernando Ortiz | Sacked | 27 May 2018 | 11th | Héctor Schönhauser (caretaker) | 28 May 2018 |
| Guaraní | Fernando Burgo | End of caretaker spell | 30 May 2018 | 7th | Juan Manuel Azconzábal | 31 May 2018 |
| Sol de América | Héctor Marecos | Sacked | 31 May 2018 | 6th | Alfredo Vera (caretaker) | 1 June 2018 |
| Sol de América | Alfredo Vera | End of caretaker spell | 8 June 2018 | 6th | Fernando Ortiz | 9 June 2018 |
| Sportivo Luqueño | Héctor Schönhauser | End of caretaker spell | 9 June 2018 | 10th | Gustavo Florentín | 9 June 2018 |
| Torneo Clausura |||||||
| Libertad | Aldo Bobadilla | Mutual consent | 21 July 2018 | 9th | Eduardo Villalba (caretaker) | 21 July 2018 |
| General Díaz | Florencio Villalba | End of caretaker spell | 22 July 2018 | 6th | Aldo Bobadilla | 22 July 2018 |
| 3 de Febrero | José Arrúa | Resigned | 5 August 2018 | 7th | Eduardo Rivera | 5 August 2018 |
| Cerro Porteño | Luis Zubeldía | Sacked | 20 August 2018 | 3rd | Fernando Jubero | 22 August 2018 |
| Sol de América | Fernando Ortiz | Resigned | 24 August 2018 | 10th | Ever Hugo Almeida | 25 August 2018 |
| Deportivo Santaní | Mario Jara | Sacked | 26 August 2018 | 9th | Héctor Marecos | 28 August 2018 |
| Guaraní | Juan Manuel Azconzábal | Sacked | 9 September 2018 | 10th | Gustavo Florentín | 10 September 2018 |
| Sportivo Luqueño | Gustavo Florentín | Signed by Guaraní | 9 September 2018 | 5th | Javier Sanguinetti | 10 September 2018 |
| Independiente (CG) | Pablo Caballero | Resigned | 23 September 2018 | 12th | Víctor Genes | 24 September 2018 |
| Libertad | Eduardo Villalba | End of caretaker spell | 8 October 2018 | 3rd | Leonel Álvarez | 9 October 2018 |
| Deportivo Capiatá | Diego Gavilán | Resigned | 20 October 2018 | 6th | Pablo Caballero | 20 October 2018 |
| Sportivo Luqueño | Javier Sanguinetti | Sacked | 22 October 2018 | 12th | Pedro Sarabia | 23 October 2018 |
| Independiente (CG) | Víctor Genes | Health issues | 2 November 2018 | 11th | Osvaldo Cohener (caretaker) | 2 November 2018 |
| Independiente (CG) | Osvaldo Cohener | End of caretaker spell | 4 November 2018 | 12th | Mario Jara | 4 November 2018 |
| Nacional | Celso Ayala | Resigned | 5 November 2018 | 8th | Fernando Gamboa | 6 November 2018 |
| General Díaz | Aldo Bobadilla | Mutual consent | 13 November 2018 | 12th | Florencio Villalba | 13 November 2018 |
| Deportivo Capiatá | Pablo Caballero | Sacked | 8 December 2018 | 8th | Julio Cabrera (caretaker) | 8 December 2018 |

## Torneo Apertura

The Campeonato de Apertura, named "Centenario del Estadio Defensores del Chaco", was the 117th official championship of the Primera División and the first championship of the 2018 season. It started on February 2 and concluded on June 10.

### Standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Olimpia (C) | 22 | 16 | 5 | 1 | 52 | 22 | +30 | 53 | Qualification to Copa Libertadores group stage |
| 2 | Cerro Porteño | 22 | 12 | 6 | 4 | 43 | 17 | +26 | 42 | |
| 3 | Libertad | 22 | 11 | 6 | 5 | 37 | 24 | +13 | 39 | |
| 4 | Nacional | 22 | 10 | 8 | 4 | 32 | 21 | +11 | 38 | |
| 5 | Independiente | 22 | 9 | 4 | 9 | 30 | 32 | −2 | 31 | |
| 6 | Sol de América | 22 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 36 | 40 | −4 | 30 | |
| 7 | General Díaz | 22 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 27 | 39 | −12 | 24 | |
| 8 | Guaraní | 22 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 25 | 39 | −14 | 23 | |
| 9 | Deportivo Santaní | 22 | 4 | 10 | 8 | 22 | 25 | −3 | 22 | |
| 10 | Sportivo Luqueño | 22 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 25 | 37 | −12 | 21 | |
| 11 | Deportivo Capiatá | 22 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 31 | 44 | −13 | 21 | |
| 12 | 3 de Febrero | 22 | 2 | 8 | 12 | 21 | 40 | −19 | 14 | |

### Results

| Home \ Away | 3FE | CCP | CAP | SAN | GEN | GUA | IND | LIB | NAC | OLI | SOL | SLU |
| 3 de Febrero | — | 1–1 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–4 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 2–1 | 0–2 |
| Cerro Porteño | 3–1 | — | 2–2 | 0–0 | 4–1 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 0–2 | 5–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 |
| Deportivo Capiatá | 2–1 | 2–3 | — | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–4 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 4–1 |
| Deportivo Santaní | 1–0 | 1–1 | 3–3 | — | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–5 | 2–0 | 3–0 |
| General Díaz | 3–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | — | 0–3 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 |
| Guaraní | 1–1 | 0–4 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | — | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–4 | 0–0 | 6–2 | 1–4 |
| Independiente | 1–1 | 0–3 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 2–1 | — | 3–1 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 4–1 |
| Libertad | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | — | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 |
| Nacional | 0–0 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | — | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 |
| Olimpia | 3–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 5–2 | 4–2 | 2–1 | 4–2 | — | 3–3 | 3–0 |
| Sol de América | 4–1 | 0–3 | 5–1 | 3–2 | 4–3 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 3–3 | 1–0 | 0–3 | — | 3–1 |
| Sportivo Luqueño | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 0–1 | — |
* ↑ Match awarded 3–0 to Nacional due to Independiente (CG) fielding a non-native Paraguayan under-19 player. The original result was a 4–0 win for Independiente (CG).

### Top goalscorers

| Rank | Name | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Néstor Camacho | Olimpia | 14 |
| 2 | Sebastián Ferreira | Independiente | 11 |
| 2 | William Mendieta | Olimpia | 11 |
| 4 | Antonio Bareiro | Libertad | 10 |
| 5 | Adam Bareiro | Nacional | 9 |
| 5 | César Villagra | Sol de América | 9 |
| 7 | Óscar Cardozo | Libertad | 8 |
| 7 | Fabio Escobar | Deportivo Santaní | 8 |
| 9 | Enrique Borja | General Díaz | 7 |
| 10 | Ernesto Álvarez | Sol de América | 6 |
| 10 | Diego Churín | Cerro Porteño | 6 |
* ↑ Sebastián Ferreira's official goal tally excludes 2 goals scored in the match awarded to Nacional.
Source: APF, Soccerway

## Torneo Clausura

The Campeonato de Clausura, named "Dr. Gerónimo Angulo Gastón", was the 118th official championship of the Primera División and the second championship of the 2018 season. It started on July 17 and concluded on December 8.

### Standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Olimpia (C) | 22 | 15 | 4 | 3 | 48 | 20 | +28 | 49 | Qualification to Copa Libertadores group stage |
| 2 | Cerro Porteño | 22 | 11 | 7 | 4 | 36 | 21 | +15 | 40 | |
| 3 | Libertad | 22 | 10 | 7 | 5 | 33 | 20 | +13 | 37 | |
| 4 | Sol de América | 22 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 29 | 30 | −1 | 33 | |
| 5 | Deportivo Santaní | 22 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 22 | 29 | −7 | 28 | |
| 6 | Nacional | 22 | 6 | 9 | 7 | 28 | 31 | −3 | 27 | |
| 7 | Guaraní | 22 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 27 | 30 | −3 | 25 | |
| 8 | 3 de Febrero | 22 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 32 | 37 | −5 | 25 | |
| 9 | Sportivo Luqueño | 22 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 23 | 30 | −7 | 25 | |
| 10 | Deportivo Capiatá | 22 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 25 | 36 | −11 | 24 | |
| 11 | General Díaz | 22 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 30 | 38 | −8 | 22 | |
| 12 | Independiente | 22 | 4 | 8 | 10 | 22 | 32 | −10 | 20 | |

### Results

| Home \ Away | 3FE | CCP | CAP | SAN | GEN | GUA | IND | LIB | NAC | OLI | SOL | SLU |
| 3 de Febrero | — | 1–3 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 4–4 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 |
| Cerro Porteño | 1–1 | — | 1–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–1 |
| Deportivo Capiatá | 2–1 | 2–4 | — | 0–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 0–1 | 2–1 |
| Deportivo Santaní | 1–3 | 2–2 | 0–1 | — | 3–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 0–5 | 2–1 | 1–0 |
| General Díaz | 1–5 | 1–4 | 2–3 | 4–0 | — | 3–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 |
| Guaraní | 5–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | — | 0–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 3–0 |
| Independiente | 1–4 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | — | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 |
| Libertad | 0–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | — | 1–0 | 0–2 | 4–0 | 2–3 |
| Nacional | 4–2 | 0–3 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 1–2 | — | 1–2 | 0–0 | 3–1 |
| Olimpia | 1–0 | 2–2 | 4–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 4–1 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | — | 3–2 | 4–2 |
| Sol de América | 3–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | — | 1–0 |
| Sportivo Luqueño | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 | — |

### Top goalscorers

| Rank | Name | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Óscar Cardozo | Libertad | 15 |
| 2 | Diego Churín | Cerro Porteño | 12 |
| 2 | Adrián Martínez | Sol de América | 12 |
| 2 | Santiago Salcedo | Deportivo Capiatá | 12 |
| 5 | Adam Bareiro | Nacional | 10 |
| 5 | Jorge Ortega | Olimpia | 10 |
| 7 | Enrique Borja | General Díaz | 9 |
| 7 | Roque Santa Cruz | Olimpia | 9 |
| 9 | William Mendieta | Olimpia | 8 |
| 10 | Facundo Parra | 3 de Febrero | 7 |
Source: APF Archived 2018-03-24 at the Wayback Machine, Soccerway

## Aggregate table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Olimpia (C) | 44 | 31 | 9 | 4 | 100 | 42 | +58 | 102 | Qualification to Copa Libertadores group stage |
| 2 | Cerro Porteño | 44 | 23 | 13 | 8 | 79 | 38 | +41 | 82 | Qualification to Copa Libertadores group stage |
| 3 | Libertad | 44 | 21 | 13 | 10 | 70 | 44 | +26 | 76 | Qualification to Copa Libertadores second stage |
| 4 | Nacional | 44 | 16 | 17 | 11 | 60 | 52 | +8 | 65 | Qualification to Copa Libertadores first stage |
| 5 | Sol de América | 44 | 17 | 12 | 15 | 65 | 70 | −5 | 63 | Qualification to Copa Sudamericana first stage |
| 6 | Independiente | 44 | 13 | 12 | 19 | 52 | 64 | −12 | 51 | Qualification to Copa Sudamericana first stage |
| 7 | Deportivo Santaní | 44 | 11 | 17 | 16 | 44 | 54 | −10 | 50 | Qualification to Copa Sudamericana first stage |
| 8 | Guaraní | 44 | 12 | 12 | 20 | 52 | 69 | −17 | 48 | Qualification to Copa Sudamericana first stage |
| 9 | Sportivo Luqueño | 44 | 11 | 13 | 20 | 48 | 67 | −19 | 46 | |
| 10 | General Díaz | 44 | 11 | 13 | 20 | 57 | 78 | −21 | 46 | |
| 11 | Deportivo Capiatá | 44 | 11 | 12 | 21 | 56 | 80 | −24 | 45 | |
| 12 | 3 de Febrero | 44 | 8 | 15 | 21 | 53 | 77 | −24 | 39 | |
* ↑ Guaraní qualified for the Copa Sudamericana first stage as 2018 Copa Paraguay champions.

## Relegation

Relegation is determined at the end of the season by computing an average of the number of points earned per game over the past three seasons. The two teams with the lowest average were relegated to the División Intermedia for the following season.
| Pos | Team | 2016 Pts | 2017 Pts | 2018 Pts | Total Pts | Total Pld | Avg | Relegation |
| 1 | Olimpia | 90 | 78 | 102 | 270 | 132 | 2.045 |
| 2 | Libertad | 83 | 75 | 76 | 234 | 132 | 1.773 |
| 3 | Cerro Porteño | 66 | 80 | 82 | 228 | 132 | 1.727 |
| 4 | Guaraní | 83 | 85 | 48 | 216 | 132 | 1.636 |
| 5 | Sol de América | 63 | 62 | 63 | 188 | 132 | 1.424 |
| 6 | Nacional | 54 | 50 | 65 | 169 | 132 | 1.28 |
| 7 | Deportivo Capiatá | 67 | 50 | 45 | 162 | 132 | 1.227 |
| 8 | General Díaz | 46 | 60 | 46 | 152 | 132 | 1.152 |
| 9 | Deportivo Santaní | — | — | 50 | 50 | 44 | 1.136 |
| 10 | Sportivo Luqueño | 53 | 50 | 46 | 149 | 132 | 1.129 |
| 11 | Independiente (R) | — | 47 | 51 | 98 | 88 | 1.114 | Relegation to División Intermedia |
| 12 | 3 de Febrero (R) | — | — | 39 | 39 | 44 | 0.886 | Relegation to División Intermedia |
Source: APF