# 2003–04 Primera B Nacional

The 2003–04 Argentine Primera B Nacional was the 18th season of second division professional football in Argentina. A total of 20 teams competed; the champion and runner-up were promoted to Argentine Primera División.

## Club information

| Club | City | Stadium |
| Almagro | José Ingenieros | Tres de Febrero |
| Argentinos Juniors | Buenos Aires | Diego Armando Maradona |
| Belgrano | Córdoba | El Gigante de Alberdi |
| CAI | Comodoro Rivadavia | Municipal de Comodoro Rivadavia |
| Defensa y Justicia | Florencio Varela | Norberto "Tito" Tomaghello |
| Defensores de Belgrano | Núñez | Juan Pasquale |
| El Porvenir | Gerli | Gildo Francisco Ghersinich |
| Ferro Carril Oeste | Caballito | Arq. Ricardo Etcheverry |
| Gimnasia y Esgrima | Concepción del Uruguay | Manuel y Ramón Núñez |
| Gimnasia y Esgrima | San Salvador de Jujuy | 23 de Agosto |
| Godoy Cruz | Mendoza | Malvinas Argentinas |
| Huracán | Parque Patricios | Tomás Adolfo Ducó |
| Huracán | Tres Arroyos | Roberto Lorenzo Bottino |
| Instituto | Córdoba | Presidente Perón |
| Juventud Antoniana | Salta | Fray Honorato Pistoia |
| Los Andes | Lomas de Zamora | Eduardo Gallardón |
| San Martín | Mendoza | San Martín |
| San Martín | San Juan | Ing. Hilario Sánchez |
| Tiro Federal | Rosario | Fortín de Ludueña |
| Unión | Santa Fe | 15 de Abril |

## Torneo Apertura standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Instituto | 19 | 10 | 6 | 3 | 34 | 22 | +12 | 36 | Promotion Playoff |
| 2 | Belgrano | 19 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 24 | 19 | +5 | 29 | |
| 3 | San Martín (M) | 19 | 7 | 8 | 4 | 20 | 16 | +4 | 29 | |
| 4 | Huracán (TA) | 19 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 29 | 24 | +5 | 28 | |
| 5 | CAI | 19 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 32 | 30 | +2 | 27 | |
| 6 | Gimnasia y Esgrima (J) | 19 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 24 | 24 | 0 | 27 | |
| 7 | Defensa y Justicia | 19 | 8 | 3 | 8 | 22 | 22 | 0 | 27 | |
| 8 | Defensores de Belgrano | 19 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 27 | 19 | +8 | 26 | |
| 9 | Huracán | 19 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 18 | 20 | −2 | 26 | |
| 10 | Juventud Antoniana | 19 | 7 | 4 | 8 | 25 | 27 | −2 | 25 | |
| 11 | Godoy Cruz | 19 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 17 | 21 | −4 | 25 | |
| 12 | Ferro Carril Oeste | 19 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 23 | 18 | +5 | 24 | |
| 13 | Argentinos Juniors | 19 | 4 | 11 | 4 | 28 | 23 | +5 | 23 | |
| 14 | Tiro Federal | 19 | 4 | 11 | 4 | 26 | 28 | −2 | 23 | |
| 15 | Los Andes | 19 | 4 | 9 | 6 | 16 | 17 | −1 | 21 | |
| 16 | Almagro | 19 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 22 | 24 | −2 | 21 | |
| 17 | Unión | 19 | 4 | 9 | 6 | 19 | 22 | −3 | 21 | |
| 18 | El Porvenir | 19 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 19 | 26 | −7 | 21 | |
| 19 | Gimnasia y Esgrima (CdU) | 19 | 3 | 10 | 6 | 14 | 27 | −13 | 19 | |
| 20 | San Martín (SJ) | 19 | 4 | 6 | 9 | 18 | 27 | −9 | 18 | |

## Torneo Clausura standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Almagro | 19 | 11 | 4 | 4 | 36 | 19 | +17 | 37 | Promotion Playoff |
| 2 | Argentinos Juniors | 19 | 11 | 3 | 5 | 28 | 18 | +10 | 36 | |
| 3 | Huracán (TA) | 19 | 8 | 10 | 1 | 26 | 15 | +11 | 34 | |
| 4 | Godoy Cruz | 19 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 26 | 21 | +5 | 33 | |
| 5 | El Porvenir | 19 | 9 | 4 | 6 | 26 | 16 | +10 | 31 | |
| 6 | Ferro Carril Oeste | 19 | 9 | 3 | 7 | 20 | 19 | +1 | 30 | |
| 7 | San Martín (SJ) | 19 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 22 | 23 | −1 | 29 | |
| 8 | Belgrano | 19 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 22 | 15 | +7 | 28 | |
| 9 | Huracán | 19 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 31 | 28 | +3 | 28 | |
| 10 | Tiro Federal | 19 | 8 | 3 | 8 | 27 | 26 | +1 | 27 | |
| 11 | Unión | 19 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 28 | 29 | −1 | 26 | |
| 12 | Los Andes | 19 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 23 | 29 | −6 | 25 | |
| 13 | Instituto | 19 | 7 | 3 | 9 | 22 | 24 | −2 | 24 | |
| 14 | Gimnasia y Esgrima (J) | 19 | 6 | 4 | 9 | 26 | 32 | −6 | 22 | |
| 15 | Defensa y Justicia | 19 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 27 | 34 | −7 | 21 | |
| 16 | CAI | 19 | 6 | 2 | 11 | 22 | 24 | −2 | 20 | |
| 17 | Defensores de Belgrano | 19 | 5 | 5 | 9 | 21 | 26 | −5 | 20 | |
| 18 | Gimnasia y Esgrima (CdU) | 19 | 5 | 4 | 10 | 25 | 32 | −7 | 19 | |
| 19 | Juventud Antoniana | 19 | 3 | 8 | 8 | 17 | 32 | −15 | 17 | |
| 20 | San Martín (M) | 19 | 3 | 4 | 12 | 16 | 30 | −14 | 13 | |

## Overall standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Huracán (TA) | 38 | 15 | 17 | 6 | 55 | 39 | +16 | 62 | Second Promotion Playoff |
| 2 | Instituto | 38 | 17 | 9 | 12 | 56 | 46 | +10 | 60 | Promotion Playoff |
| 3 | Argentinos Juniors | 38 | 15 | 14 | 9 | 56 | 41 | +15 | 59 | Torneo Reducido |
| 4 | Almagro | 38 | 16 | 10 | 12 | 58 | 43 | +15 | 58 | Promotion Playoff |
| 5 | Godoy Cruz | 38 | 15 | 13 | 10 | 43 | 42 | +1 | 58 | Torneo Reducido |
| 6 | Belgrano | 38 | 15 | 12 | 11 | 46 | 34 | +12 | 57 | |
| 7 | Ferro Carril Oeste | 38 | 15 | 9 | 14 | 46 | 37 | +9 | 54 | |
| 8 | Huracán | 38 | 13 | 15 | 10 | 49 | 48 | +1 | 54 | |
| 9 | El Porvenir | 38 | 14 | 10 | 14 | 45 | 42 | +3 | 52 | |
| 10 | Tiro Federal | 38 | 12 | 14 | 12 | 53 | 54 | −1 | 50 | |
| 11 | San Martín (SJ) | 38 | 13 | 11 | 14 | 40 | 50 | −10 | 50 | |
| 12 | Gimnasia y Esgrima (J) | 38 | 13 | 10 | 15 | 50 | 56 | −6 | 49 | |
| 13 | Defensa y Justicia | 38 | 13 | 9 | 16 | 49 | 56 | −7 | 48 | |
| 14 | CAI | 38 | 13 | 8 | 17 | 54 | 54 | 0 | 47 | |
| 15 | Unión | 38 | 11 | 14 | 13 | 47 | 51 | −4 | 47 | |
| 16 | Defensores de Belgrano | 38 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 48 | 45 | +3 | 46 | |
| 17 | Los Andes | 38 | 10 | 16 | 12 | 39 | 46 | −7 | 46 | |
| 18 | San Martín (M) | 38 | 10 | 12 | 16 | 36 | 46 | −10 | 42 | |
| 19 | Juventud Antoniana | 38 | 10 | 12 | 16 | 42 | 59 | −17 | 42 | |
| 20 | Gimnasia y Esgrima (CdU) | 38 | 8 | 14 | 16 | 39 | 59 | −20 | 38 | |

## Promotion playoff

This leg was played between the Apertura Winner: Instituto, and the Clausura Winner: Almagro. The winning team was declared champion and was automatically promoted to 2004–05 Primera División and the losing team played the Second Promotion Playoff.

### Match details

Team details :
Instituto
Almagro
GK1 Mauricio Caranta
DF4 Enrique Ortiz
DF2 Ramón Galarza
DF6 Hernán Biasotto
DF3 Gastón Martínez
MF8 Renato Riggio
MF5 Cristian Favre
MF7 Adrián Peralta 57'
MF10 Santiago Raymonda
FW9 Hernán Boyero
FW11 Martín Montagna
Manager:
Héctor Rivoira
GK1 Martín Bernacchia
DF4 Mauricio Di Benedetto
DF2 Alejandro Baigorria
DF6 Alejandro Meloño
DF3 Rodrigo Bilbao
MF7 Claudio Filosa
MF5 Omar Gallardo
MF8 Sebastián Carrera
MF10 Hernán Lamberti
FW9 Luis Tonelotto
FW11 Maximiliano Castaño
Manager:
Enrique Hrabina & Juan A. Sánchez :

## Second Promotion Playoff

This leg was played by Almagro, the losing team of the Promotion Playoff, and Huracán (TA), who was the best team in the overall standings. was promoted to 2004–05 Primera División and the losing team played the Promotion Playoff Primera División-Primera B Nacional.

### Match details

Team details :
Huracán (TA)
Almagro :
Note: The series ended 2–2 on aggregate, and Almagro promoted to Primera after winning 4–3 on penalties.

## Torneo Reducido

It was played by the teams placed 3rd and 5th, in the Overall Standings: Argentinos Juniors (3rd) and Godoy Cruz (5th). The winning team played the Promotion Playoff Primera División-Primera B Nacional.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Final |||||
| Argentinos Juniors | 2–1 | Godoy Cruz | 0–1 | 2–0 |

## Promotion playoff Primera División-Primera B Nacional

The Second Promotion playoff loser (Huracán (TA)) and the Torneo Reducido Winner (Argentinos Juniors) played against the 18th and the 17th placed of the Relegation Table of 2003–04 Primera División.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Relegation/promotion playoff 1 |||||
| Huracán (Tres Arroyos) | 5–3 | Atlético de Rafaela | 2–1 | 3–2 |
| Relegation/promotion playoff 2 |||||
| Argentinos Juniors | 4–2 | Talleres (C) | 2–1 | 2–1 |
* Huracán (TA) was promoted to 2004–05 Primera División by winning the playoff and Atlético de Rafaela was relegated to the 2004–05 Primera B Nacional.
* Argentinos Juniors was promoted to 2004–05 Primera División by winning the playoff and Talleres (C) was relegated to the 2004–05 Primera B Nacional.

## Relegation

Note: Clubs with indirect affiliation with AFA are relegated to the Torneo Argentino A, while clubs directly affiliated face relegation to Primera B Metropolitana. Clubs with direct affiliation are all from Greater Buenos Aires, with the exception of Newell's, Rosario Central, Central Córdoba and Argentino de Rosario, all from Rosario, and Unión and Colón from Santa Fe.

### Metropolitana Zone

| Pos | Team | 2001–02 Pts | 2002–03 Pts | 2003–04 Pts | Total Pts | Total Pld | Avg | Situation | Affiliation |
| 1 | Argentinos Juniors | — | 74 | 59 | 135 | 76 | 1.75 | | Direct |
| 2 | Ferro Carril Oeste | — | — | 54 | 54 | 38 | 1.421 | | Direct |
| 3 | Huracán | — | — | 54 | 54 | 38 | 1.421 | | Direct |
| 4 | Almagro | 43 | 59 | 58 | 160 | 38 | 1.404 | | Direct |
| 5 | Defensa y Justicia | 57 | 55 | 48 | 160 | 114 | 1.404 | | Direct |
| 6 | El Porvenir | 59 | 42 | 52 | 153 | 114 | 1.342 | | Direct |
| 7 | Defensores de Belgrano | 56 | 49 | 46 | 151 | 114 | 1.325 | | Direct |
| 8 | Unión | — | — | 47 | 47 | 38 | 1.237 | Relegation Playoff Matches | Direct |
| 9 | Los Andes | 49 | 45 | 46 | 140 | 114 | 1.228 | Primera B Metropolitana | Direct |

### Interior Zone

| Pos | Team | 2001–02 Pts | 2002–03 Pts | 2003–04 Pts | Total Pts | Total Pld | Avg | Situation | Affiliation |
| 1 | Huracán (TA) | 63 | 55 | 62 | 180 | 114 | 1.579 | | Indirect |
| 2 | Instituto | 59 | 60 | 60 | 179 | 114 | 1.57 | | Indirect |
| 3 | Godoy Cruz | 47 | 58 | 58 | 163 | 114 | 1.43 | | Indirect |
| 4 | Belgrano | — | 52 | 57 | 109 | 78 | 1.397 | | Indirect |
| 5 | Gimnasia y Esgrima (J) | 58 | 48 | 49 | 155 | 114 | 1.36 | | Indirect |
| 6 | San Martín (M) | 50 | 62 | 42 | 154 | 114 | 1.351 | | Indirect |
| 7 | Tiro Federal | — | — | 50 | 50 | 38 | 1.316 | | Indirect |
| 8 | Juventud Antoniana | 51 | 53 | 42 | 146 | 76 | 1.281 | | Indirect |
| 9 | San Martín (SJ) | 57 | 36 | 50 | 143 | 114 | 1.254 | | Indirect |
| 10 | CAI | — | 45 | 47 | 92 | 76 | 1.211 | Relegation Playoff Matches | Indirect |
| 11 | Gimnasia y Esgrima (CdU) | 64 | 33 | 38 | 135 | 114 | 1.184 | Torneo Argentino A | Indirect |

## Relegation playoff matches

| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Relegation/promotion playoff 1 (Direct affiliation vs. Primera B Metropolitana) |||||
| Tristán Suárez | 0–3 | Unión | 0–0 | 0–3 |
| Relegation/promotion playoff 2 (Indirect affiliation vs. Torneo Argentino A) |||||
| Atlético Tucumán | 1–1 | CAI | 0–1 | 1–0 |
* Unión remains in the Primera B Nacional by winning the playoff.
* CAI remains in Primera B Nacional after a 1-1 aggregate tie by virtue of a "sports advantage". In case of a tie in goals, the team from the Primera B Nacional gets to stay in it.