# 2019 Bolivian Primera División season

The 2019 Bolivian Primera División season, known as the 2019 Copa Tigo season for sponsorship reasons, was the 42nd season of Bolivia's top-flight football league and the second season under División de Fútbol Profesional management. San José were the defending champions, having won the 2018 Clausura tournament.
In the Torneo Apertura, Bolívar won their twenty-ninth league title and twenty-third in the professional era, with two matches to spare following a 2–1 victory over Oriente Petrolero on 16 May, while in the Torneo Clausura, Jorge Wilstermann won their fifteenth league title and eighth in the professional era following a 3–1 win against Oriente Petrolero on the last matchday of the tournament on 28 December.

## Format

The season was split into a Torneo Apertura and a Torneo Clausura, played in the first and second half of the year, respectively. Both were played under a double round-robin system, with all teams playing each other twice for a total of 26 matches. The teams placed first at the end of each tournament were the champions and earned qualification for the Copa Libertadores group stage. The remaining two Copa Libertadores berths as well as the four Copa Sudamericana ones were awarded through the aggregate table.

## Teams

The number of teams for the 2019 season remained the same as the 2018 season. Universitario were relegated to the Copa Simón Bolívar after finishing in last place of the aggregate table in the previous season, and were replaced by Always Ready, the 2018 Copa Simón Bolívar champions, who made their return to the top tier after 28 years.
| Team | Manager | Home city | Home stadium | Capacity |
| Always Ready | Pablo Godoy (caretaker) | La Paz | Municipal de Villa Ingenio | 25,000 |
| Aurora | Francisco Argüello | Cochabamba | Félix Capriles | 32,000 |
| Blooming | Erwin Sánchez | Santa Cruz | Ramón Tahuichi Aguilera | 38,000 |
| Bolívar | César Vigevani | La Paz | Hernando Siles | 42,000 |
| Destroyers | Víctor Hugo Antelo | Santa Cruz | Ramón Tahuichi Aguilera | 38,000 |
| Guabirá | Víctor Hugo Andrada | Montero | Gilberto Parada | 13,000 |
| Jorge Wilstermann | Christian Díaz | Cochabamba | Félix Capriles | 32,000 |
| Nacional Potosí | Alberto Illanes | Potosí | Víctor Agustín Ugarte | 32,105 |
| Oriente Petrolero | Pablo Sánchez | Santa Cruz | Ramón Tahuichi Aguilera | 38,000 |
| Real Potosí | Marcos Ferrufino | Potosí | Víctor Agustín Ugarte | 32,105 |
| Royal Pari | Miguel Ángel Abrigo (caretaker) | Santa Cruz | Ramón Tahuichi Aguilera | 38,000 |
| San José | Miguel Ponce | Oruro | Jesús Bermúdez | 33,795 |
| Sport Boys | Mauro Blanco | Warnes | Samuel Vaca Jiménez | 9,000 |
| The Strongest | Mauricio Soria | La Paz | Hernando Siles | 42,000 |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| Torneo Apertura |||||||
| Bolívar | Alfredo Arias | End of contract | 19 December 2018 | Pre-season | César Vigevani | 20 December 2018 |
| Jorge Wilstermann | Álvaro Peña | Resigned | 19 December 2018 | Pre-season | Miguel Ángel Portugal | 20 December 2018 |
| Oriente Petrolero | Ronald Arana | End of contract | 19 December 2018 | Pre-season | Mauricio Soria | 21 December 2018 |
| Real Potosí | Darwin Peña | End of caretaker spell | 19 December 2018 | Pre-season | Fernando Ochoaizpur | 28 December 2018 |
| Sport Boys | César Vigevani | Signed by Bolívar | 19 December 2018 | Pre-season | Carlos Leeb | 28 December 2018 |
| The Strongest | César Farías | End of contract | 19 December 2018 | Pre-season | Pablo Escobar | 24 December 2018 |
| Guabirá | Víctor Hugo Antelo | Resigned | 20 December 2018 | Pre-season | Ronald Arana | 27 December 2018 |
| Destroyers | Óscar Ramírez | Replaced | 7 January 2019 | Pre-season | Evandro Guimarães | 7 January 2019 |
| San José | Eduardo Villegas | Signed by Bolivia | 14 January 2019 | Pre-season | Jaime Jemio (caretaker) | 18 January 2019 |
| San José | Jaime Jemio | End of caretaker spell | 20 January 2019 | 6th | Néstor Clausen | 21 January 2019 |
| Always Ready | David de la Torre | Sacked | 30 January 2019 | 10th | Julio César Baldivieso | 31 January 2019 |
| Guabirá | Ronald Arana | Mutual consent | 1 March 2019 | 12th | Eduardo Espinel | 9 March 2019 |
| Sport Boys | Carlos Leeb | Sacked | 6 March 2019 | 11th | Christian Lovrincevich | 6 March 2019 |
| San José | Néstor Clausen | Sacked | 6 March 2019 | 6th | William Ramallo (caretaker) | 7 March 2019 |
| Real Potosí | Fernando Ochoaizpur | Sacked | 16 March 2019 | 10th | Julio Fernández (caretaker) | 16 March 2019 |
| San José | William Ramallo | End of caretaker spell | 17 March 2019 | 6th | Miguel Ponce | 18 March 2019 |
| Real Potosí | Julio Fernández | End of caretaker spell | 20 March 2019 | 11th | Leandro Cabrera | 20 March 2019 |
| Aurora | Marcos Ferrufino | Mutual consent | 7 April 2019 | 14th | Thiago Leitão | 8 April 2019 |
| Real Potosí | Leandro Cabrera | Sacked | 18 April 2019 | 13th | Fabio Espada | 18 April 2019 |
| Jorge Wilstermann | Miguel Ángel Portugal | Mutual consent | 21 April 2019 | 6th | Norberto Kekez (caretaker) | 22 April 2019 |
| Torneo Clausura |||||||
| Aurora | Thiago Leitão | End of contract | 22 May 2019 | Pre-tournament | Julio César Fuentes | 7 June 2019 |
| Jorge Wilstermann | Norberto Kekez | End of caretaker spell | 22 May 2019 | Pre-tournament | Christian Díaz | 2 June 2019 |
| Sport Boys | Christian Lovrincevich | Replaced | 21 June 2019 | Pre-tournament | Víctor Hugo Antelo | 21 June 2019 |
| Oriente Petrolero | Mauricio Soria | Mutual consent | 11 July 2019 | Pre-tournament | Luis Marín Camacho (caretaker) | 11 July 2019 |
| The Strongest | Pablo Escobar | Sacked | 5 August 2019 | 5th | Mauricio Soria | 5 August 2019 |
| Guabirá | Eduardo Espinel | Sacked | 5 August 2019 | 14th | Víctor Hugo Andrada | 5 August 2019 |
| Real Potosí | Fabio Espada | Sacked | 7 August 2019 | 11th | Nicolás Suárez | 7 August 2019 |
| Royal Pari | Roberto Mosquera | Resigned | 19 August 2019 | 9th | Miguel Ángel Abrigo (caretaker) | 19 August 2019 |
| Destroyers | Evandro Guimarães | Sacked | 1 September 2019 | 13th | Carlos Leeb | 4 September 2019 |
| Royal Pari | Miguel Ángel Abrigo | End of caretaker spell | 2 September 2019 | 8th | Francisco Maturana | 2 September 2019 |
| Aurora | Julio César Fuentes | Sacked | 10 September 2019 | 12th | Mauricio Adorno (caretaker) | 10 September 2019 |
| Always Ready | Julio César Baldivieso | Sacked | 16 September 2019 | 6th | Sebastián Núñez | 17 September 2019 |
| Oriente Petrolero | Luis Marín Camacho | End of caretaker spell | 29 September 2019 | 9th | Pablo Sánchez | 27 September 2019 |
| Real Potosí | Nicolás Suárez | Sacked | 7 October 2019 | 13th | Marcos Ferrufino | 11 October 2019 |
| Sport Boys | Víctor Hugo Antelo | Resigned | 13 November 2019 | 12th | Mauro Blanco | 25 November 2019 |
| Destroyers | Carlos Leeb | Sacked | 9 December 2019 | 13th | Víctor Hugo Antelo | 9 December 2019 |
| Aurora | Mauricio Adorno | End of caretaker spell | 17 December 2019 | 13th | Francisco Argüello | 17 December 2019 |
| Royal Pari | Francisco Maturana | Mutual consent | 20 December 2019 | 9th | Miguel Ángel Abrigo (caretaker) | 20 December 2019 |
| Always Ready | Sebastián Núñez | End of contract | 21 December 2019 | 4th | Pablo Godoy (caretaker) | 23 December 2019 |

## Torneo Apertura
### Standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Bolívar (C) | 26 | 17 | 6 | 3 | 66 | 35 | +31 | 57 | Qualification for Copa Libertadores group stage |
| 2 | The Strongest | 26 | 16 | 4 | 6 | 55 | 30 | +25 | 52 | |
| 3 | Nacional Potosí | 26 | 15 | 5 | 6 | 44 | 22 | +22 | 50 | |
| 4 | Blooming | 26 | 15 | 2 | 9 | 55 | 45 | +10 | 47 | |
| 5 | San José | 26 | 12 | 7 | 7 | 55 | 44 | +11 | 40 | |
| 6 | Jorge Wilstermann | 26 | 12 | 4 | 10 | 44 | 37 | +7 | 40 | |
| 7 | Oriente Petrolero | 26 | 11 | 4 | 11 | 41 | 43 | −2 | 37 | |
| 8 | Guabirá | 26 | 8 | 7 | 11 | 31 | 49 | −18 | 31 | |
| 9 | Always Ready | 26 | 8 | 6 | 12 | 50 | 43 | +7 | 30 | |
| 10 | Real Potosí | 26 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 41 | 59 | −18 | 27 | |
| 11 | Royal Pari | 26 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 39 | 55 | −16 | 25 | |
| 12 | Sport Boys | 26 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 32 | 51 | −19 | 23 | |
| 13 | Aurora | 26 | 6 | 5 | 15 | 32 | 52 | −20 | 23 | |
| 14 | Destroyers | 26 | 5 | 7 | 14 | 23 | 43 | −20 | 22 | |
* ↑ San José were deducted three points as punishment for failing to pay a debt with former player Boris Alfaro on time.

### Results

| Home \ Away | CAR | AUR | BLO | BOL | DES | GUA | WIL | NAC | OPE | RPO | RPA | SJO | SBO | STR |
| Always Ready | — | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 6–0 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 5–0 | 3–1 | 6–0 | 3–3 | 3–1 | 1–2 |
| Aurora | 3–1 | — | 3–4 | 3–3 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 3–2 | 2–3 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–1 |
| Blooming | 1–0 | 1–0 | — | 2–1 | 2–1 | 4–2 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 5–3 | 2–3 | 5–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 |
| Bolívar | 2–1 | 6–3 | 4–1 | — | 2–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 4–3 | 3–0 | 2–3 | 4–1 | 1–3 |
| Destroyers | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 3–6 | — | 2–3 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 |
| Guabirá | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | — | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 |
| Jorge Wilstermann | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–5 | 0–2 | 3–3 | 0–2 | — | 2–0 | 0–1 | 5–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 5–2 | 0–1 |
| Nacional Potosí | 3–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 7–2 | 4–0 | 2–1 | — | 2–1 | 0–1 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 |
| Oriente Petrolero | 4–1 | 5–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | — | 2–1 | 1–1 | 4–3 | 2–1 | 2–1 |
| Real Potosí | 2–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 1–1 | — | 3–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 |
| Royal Pari | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 4–1 | — | 0–1 | 3–3 | 5–0 |
| San José | 6–2 | 3–0 | 5–1 | 4–4 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 0–3 | 2–2 | 3–2 | 2–2 | 2–1 | — | 2–1 | 1–1 |
| Sport Boys | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–5 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 | — | 0–0 |
| The Strongest | 3–2 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 5–0 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 4–0 | 4–1 | 5–2 | 2–2 | 5–0 | — |
* División de Fútbol Profesional 2019 Torneo Apertura champions
* Bolívar 29th domestic title

### Top goalscorers

| Rank | Name | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Carlos Saucedo | San José | 23 |
| 2 | Rolando Blackburn | The Strongest | 21 |
| 3 | Juan Miguel Callejón | Bolívar | 17 |
| 4 | William Ferreira | Always Ready | 13 |
| 4 | Marcos Riquelme | Bolívar | 13 |
| 6 | Vladimir Castellón | Nacional Potosí | 12 |
| 6 | Marcos Ovejero | Always Ready | 12 |
| 8 | José Alfredo Castillo | Oriente Petrolero | 11 |
| 8 | Rafinha | Blooming | 11 |
| 8 | Jair Reinoso | The Strongest | 11 |
Source: Soccerway

## Torneo Clausura
### Standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Jorge Wilstermann (C) | 26 | 18 | 6 | 2 | 57 | 21 | +36 | 60 | Qualification for Copa Libertadores group stage |
| 2 | The Strongest | 26 | 17 | 6 | 3 | 72 | 27 | +45 | 57 | |
| 3 | Bolívar | 26 | 17 | 5 | 4 | 74 | 34 | +40 | 56 | |
| 4 | San José | 26 | 15 | 5 | 6 | 62 | 30 | +32 | 44 | |
| 5 | Always Ready | 26 | 13 | 5 | 8 | 54 | 39 | +15 | 44 | |
| 6 | Oriente Petrolero | 26 | 11 | 4 | 11 | 39 | 43 | −4 | 37 | |
| 7 | Nacional Potosí | 26 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 47 | 45 | +2 | 34 | |
| 8 | Blooming | 26 | 10 | 3 | 13 | 34 | 55 | −21 | 33 | |
| 9 | Royal Pari | 26 | 7 | 7 | 12 | 28 | 40 | −12 | 28 | |
| 10 | Aurora | 26 | 5 | 9 | 12 | 24 | 47 | −23 | 24 | |
| 11 | Real Potosí | 25 | 6 | 3 | 16 | 35 | 57 | −22 | 21 | |
| 12 | Guabirá | 26 | 4 | 8 | 14 | 22 | 53 | −31 | 20 | |
| 13 | Destroyers | 26 | 4 | 5 | 17 | 22 | 66 | −44 | 17 | |
| 14 | Sport Boys (D) | 25 | 5 | 7 | 13 | 30 | 42 | −12 | 16 | Excluded from the tournament |
* ↑ San José were deducted three points as punishment for failing to pay a debt with former player Jair Reinoso, and an additional three points for outstanding debts with former players.
* ↑ Sport Boys were deducted six points for outstanding debts with former players.
* ↑ Sport Boys were excluded from the Torneo Clausura and disaffiliated from the league per ruling from the FBF's Tribunal de Disciplina Deportiva (TDD) after they failed to show up for their last Torneo Clausura match against Real Potosí.

### Results

| Home \ Away | CAR | AUR | BLO | BOL | DES | GUA | WIL | NAC | OPE | RPO | RPA | SJO | SBO | STR |
| Always Ready | — | 0–2 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 6–0 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 3–0 | 5–1 | 3–2 | 2–4 | 2–1 | 2–2 |
| Aurora | 1–1 | — | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–6 | 0–0 | 2–2 |
| Blooming | 2–3 | 0–1 | — | 2–3 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 1–0 |
| Bolívar | 3–0 | 5–0 | 6–0 | — | 3–0 | 7–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 5–2 | 2–2 | 1–4 | 2–0 | 1–1 |
| Destroyers | 1–3 | 1–0 | 2–4 | 2–3 | — | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 4–2 | 1–0 | 2–3 |
| Guabirá | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 0–5 | 1–1 | — | 1–4 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–5 |
| Jorge Wilstermann | 3–0 | 5–1 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 7–1 | 2–0 | — | 1–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 1–1 |
| Nacional Potosí | 3–2 | 3–2 | 5–0 | 0–3 | 4–1 | 2–1 | 1–3 | — | 2–3 | 1–2 | 5–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–4 |
| Oriente Petrolero | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | — | 2–1 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 1–2 |
| Real Potosí | 1–2 | 1–1 | 5–1 | 2–5 | 5–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–4 | 0–1 | — | 2–0 | 1–4 | — | 1–3 |
| Royal Pari | 1–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | — | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 |
| San José | 2–3 | 3–0 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 7–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 3–2 | 3–1 | — | 2–0 | 2–0 |
| Sport Boys | 1–2 | 4–0 | 2–3 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 6–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | — | 1–0 |
| The Strongest | 3–2 | 2–2 | 6–1 | 3–2 | 4–0 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 6–2 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 7–0 | — |
* ↑ The Real Potosí vs. Sport Boys match, originally scheduled on 28 December at 16:00, was not played as the away team failed to show up at the stadium. After a 10-minute wait, as indicated by tournament regulations, the referee officially declared the match as suspended.
* División de Fútbol Profesional 2019 Torneo Clausura champions
* Jorge Wilstermann 15th domestic title

### Top goalscorers

| Rank | Name | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Juan Miguel Callejón | Bolívar | 19 |
| 1 | Jair Reinoso | The Strongest | 19 |
| 3 | Gilbert Álvarez | Jorge Wilstermann | 18 |
| 3 | Carlos Saucedo | San José | 18 |
| 5 | Carmelo Algarañaz | Always Ready | 13 |
| 5 | Enzo Maidana | Nacional Potosí | 13 |
| 5 | Harold Reina | The Strongest | 13 |
| 8 | Juan Carlos Arce | Bolívar | 12 |
| 9 | Vladimir Castellón | Bolívar | 11 |
| 9 | John Jairo Mosquera | Royal Pari | 11 |
Source: Soccerway

## Aggregate table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Bolívar (C) | 52 | 34 | 11 | 7 | 140 | 69 | +71 | 113 | Qualification for Copa Libertadores group stage |
| 2 | The Strongest | 52 | 33 | 10 | 9 | 127 | 57 | +70 | 109 | Qualification for Copa Libertadores second stage |
| 3 | Jorge Wilstermann (C) | 52 | 30 | 10 | 12 | 101 | 58 | +43 | 100 | Qualification for Copa Libertadores group stage |
| 4 | San José | 52 | 27 | 12 | 13 | 117 | 74 | +43 | 84 | Qualification for Copa Libertadores first stage |
| 5 | Nacional Potosí | 52 | 24 | 12 | 16 | 91 | 67 | +24 | 84 | Qualification for Copa Sudamericana first stage |
| 6 | Blooming | 52 | 25 | 5 | 22 | 89 | 100 | −11 | 80 | Qualification for Copa Sudamericana first stage |
| 7 | Always Ready | 52 | 21 | 11 | 20 | 104 | 83 | +21 | 74 | Qualification for Copa Sudamericana first stage |
| 8 | Oriente Petrolero | 52 | 22 | 8 | 22 | 80 | 86 | −6 | 74 | Qualification for Copa Sudamericana first stage |
| 9 | Royal Pari | 52 | 13 | 14 | 25 | 67 | 95 | −28 | 53 | |
| 10 | Guabirá | 52 | 12 | 15 | 25 | 53 | 102 | −49 | 51 | |
| 11 | Real Potosí | 51 | 13 | 9 | 29 | 76 | 116 | −40 | 48 | |
| 12 | Aurora | 52 | 11 | 14 | 27 | 56 | 99 | −43 | 47 | |
| 13 | Sport Boys (D, R) | 51 | 10 | 15 | 26 | 62 | 93 | −31 | 39 | Disaffiliated from the league |
| 14 | Destroyers (R) | 52 | 9 | 12 | 31 | 45 | 109 | −64 | 39 | Relegation to Copa Simón Bolívar |
* ↑ San José were deducted three points as punishment for failing to pay a debt with former player Boris Alfaro on time, an additional three points as punishment for failing to pay a debt with former player Jair Reinoso, and an additional three points for outstanding debts with former players.
* ↑ Sport Boys were deducted six points for outstanding debts with former players.
* ↑ Sport Boys were excluded from the Torneo Clausura and disaffiliated from the league per ruling from the FBF's Tribunal de Disciplina Deportiva (TDD) after they failed to show up for their last Torneo Clausura match against Real Potosí.

## Relegation/promotion playoff

The relegation playoff would have been played by Sport Boys, as the team placed 13th in the 2019 División Profesional aggregate table, and Real Santa Cruz, who were the 2019 Copa Simón Bolívar runners-up, with the winners playing in the top flight for the 2020 season. However, considering Sport Boys' disaffiliation from the league as well as Destroyers's relegation as the bottom-placed team in the aggregate table, and with the late conclusion of the 2019 season which made infeasible playing the playoff in early January 2020, the FBF decided on 5 January 2020 that Real Santa Cruz would be promoted for the next season as Copa Simón Bolívar runners-up.