# 2018 Bolivian Primera División season

The 2018 Bolivian Primera División season was the 41st season of Bolivia's top-flight football league and the first season under División de Fútbol Profesional management. Bolívar were the defending champions, having won the 2017 Clausura tournament.
In the Torneo Apertura, Jorge Wilstermann won their fourteenth league title, and seventh in the professional era, after beating The Strongest on penalties in the third and last match of the finals on 6 June, and San José won their fourth league title in the Torneo Clausura on 19 December after tying with Royal Pari by a 1–1 score.

## Format

Given that the league was expanded from 12 to 14 teams, the league format had a slight variation for this season. The Torneo Apertura was played in the first half of the year, with the 14 teams being split into two groups of seven teams each for the first stage, in which teams in each group played each other as well as a team from the other group (their derby rival) twice, for a total of 14 matches. The top four teams from each group qualified for the knockout stage, where they were sorted in four ties played on a home-and-away basis, with the four winners advancing to the semifinals and the winners of each semifinal advancing to the final of the tournament. The six teams that failed to qualify for the knockout stage played another separate knockout tournament for a berth to the Copa Sudamericana. On the other hand, the Torneo Clausura was played in the second half of the year under a double round-robin system, with all teams playing each other twice for a total of 26 matches.
International qualification was as follows: the champions and runners-up of each tournament qualified for the 2019 Copa Libertadores, while the third-placed team in each tournament, as well as the fourth-placed in the Clausura and the winners of the Apertura's secondary knockout tournament would qualify for the 2019 Copa Sudamericana.

## Teams

The number of teams for the 2018 season was increased by two, from twelve to fourteen. Aurora and Royal Pari were promoted to the top flight after winning the 2016–17 Copa Simón Bolívar and 2017 Copa Simón Bolívar, respectively. Petrolero was relegated to the ATF Championship after losing the relegation playoff to Destroyers, the 2016–17 Copa Simón Bolívar runner-up.
| Team | Manager | Home city | Home stadium | Capacity |
| Aurora | Marcos Ferrufino | Cochabamba | Félix Capriles$^a$ | 32,000 |
| Blooming | Erwin Sánchez | Santa Cruz | Ramón Tahuichi Aguilera | 38,000 |
| Bolívar | Alfredo Arias | La Paz | Hernando Siles | 42,000 |
| Destroyers | Óscar Ramírez | Santa Cruz | Ramón Tahuichi Aguilera | 38,000 |
| Guabirá | Víctor Hugo Antelo | Montero | Gilberto Parada$^b$ | 13,000 |
| Jorge Wilstermann | Álvaro Peña | Cochabamba | Félix Capriles$^a$ | 32,000 |
| Nacional Potosí | Alberto Illanes | Potosí | Víctor Agustín Ugarte | 32,105 |
| Oriente Petrolero | Ronald Arana | Santa Cruz | Ramón Tahuichi Aguilera | 38,000 |
| Real Potosí | Darwin Peña (caretaker) | Potosí | Víctor Agustín Ugarte | 32,105 |
| Royal Pari | Roberto Mosquera | Santa Cruz | Ramón Tahuichi Aguilera | 38,000 |
| San José | Eduardo Villegas | Oruro | Jesús Bermúdez | 33,795 |
| Sport Boys | César Vigevani | Warnes | Samuel Vaca | 9,000 |
| The Strongest | César Farías | La Paz | Hernando Siles | 42,000 |
| Universitario de Sucre | Adrián Romero | Sucre | Olímpico Patria | 30,700 |
a: Aurora and Jorge Wilstermann played their Torneo Apertura home games at Estadio Capitán José Angulo in Sacaba due to the closure of Estadio Félix Capriles in preparation of the 2018 South American Games. Aurora played its Torneo Apertura home match against Jorge Wilstermann at Estadio Evo Morales in Ivirgarzama. b: Guabirá played six of their seven home games in the Torneo Apertura first stage at Estadio Ramón Tahuichi Aguilera in Santa Cruz de la Sierra and Estadio Samuel Vaca in Warnes while their regular stadium Estadio Gilberto Parada underwent remodeling works.

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| Torneo Apertura |||||||
| Nacional Potosí | Ángel Pérez García | Sacked | 8 February 2018 | 6th (Serie B) | Edgardo Malvestiti | 10 February 2018 |
| Sport Boys | Marcos Ferrufino | Sacked | 25 February 2018 | 7th (Serie B) | César Vigevani | 25 February 2018 |
| Blooming | Jeaustin Campos | Mutual consent | 6 March 2018 | 5th (Serie B) | Roly Paniagua (caretaker) | 7 March 2018 |
| Blooming | Roly Paniagua | End of caretaker spell | 25 March 2018 | 4th (Serie B) | Erwin Sánchez | 26 March 2018 |
| The Strongest | Carlos Ischia | Mutual consent | 26 March 2018 | 2nd (Serie B) | César Farías | 29 March 2018 |
| Royal Pari | David de la Torre | Mutual consent | 4 April 2018 | 7th (Serie B) | Miguel Abrigo (caretaker) | 4 April 2018 |
| Aurora | Miguel Ángel Zahzú | Resigned | 16 April 2018 | 5th (Serie B) | Román Arriarán (caretaker) | 16 April 2018 |
| Royal Pari | Miguel Abrigo | End of caretaker spell | 17 April 2018 | 7th (Serie B) | Roberto Mosquera | 17 April 2018 |
| Oriente Petrolero | Néstor Clausen | Mutual consent | 14 May 2018 | 3rd (Serie A), QFs | Juan Manuel Llop | 9 June 2018 |
| Real Potosí | Milton Maygua | Mutual consent | 14 May 2018 | 5th (Serie A), SFs | Néstor Cari (caretaker) | 16 May 2018 |
| Universitario de Sucre | Óscar Sanz | End of contract | 15 May 2018 | 7th (Serie A), QFs | Carlos Leeb | 4 June 2018 |
| Torneo Clausura |||||||
| Bolívar | Vinícius Eutrópio | Sacked | 9 June 2018 | Pre-tournament | Alfredo Arias | 16 June 2018 |
| Real Potosí | Néstor Cari | End of caretaker spell | 13 June 2018 | Pre-tournament | Wálter Botto | 13 June 2018 |
| Aurora | Román Arriarán | End of caretaker spell | 18 June 2018 | Pre-tournament | Roberto Pérez | 18 June 2018 |
| Real Potosí | Wálter Botto | Sacked | 4 August 2018 | 13th | Sergio Apaza | 4 August 2018 |
| Aurora | Roberto Pérez | Resigned | 7 August 2018 | 13th | Marcos Ferrufino | 8 August 2018 |
| Destroyers | José Peña | Resigned | 13 August 2018 | 11th | Cleibson Ferreira | 14 August 2018 |
| Nacional Potosí | Edgardo Malvestiti | Sacked | 21 August 2018 | 10th | Alberto Illanes | 22 August 2018 |
| Universitario de Sucre | Carlos Leeb | Sacked | 21 August 2018 | 14th | Adrián Romero | 22 August 2018 |
| Oriente Petrolero | Juan Manuel Llop | Resigned | 20 September 2018 | 6th | Luis Marín Camacho (caretaker) | 21 September 2018 |
| Oriente Petrolero | Luis Marín Camacho | End of caretaker spell | 30 September 2018 | 6th | Ronald Arana | 1 October 2018 |
| Destroyers | Cleibson Ferreira | Resigned | 26 October 2018 | 11th | Óscar Ramírez | 26 October 2018 |
| Real Potosí | Sergio Apaza | Sacked | 19 December 2018 | 13th | Darwin Peña (caretaker) | 19 December 2018 |

## Torneo Apertura

The Torneo Apertura began on 27 January and ended on 6 June.

### Standings
#### Serie A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Jorge Wilstermann | 14 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 42 | 13 | +29 | 32 | Qualification to Championship playoff |
| 2 | Bolívar | 14 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 30 | 16 | +14 | 25 | Qualification to Championship playoff |
| 3 | Oriente Petrolero | 14 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 26 | 21 | +5 | 20 | Qualification to Championship playoff |
| 4 | Destroyers | 14 | 3 | 7 | 4 | 22 | 28 | −6 | 16 | Qualification to Championship playoff |
| 5 | Real Potosí | 14 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 23 | 47 | −24 | 13 | Qualification to Copa Sudamericana playoff |
| 6 | Guabirá | 14 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 23 | 28 | −5 | 11 | Qualification to Copa Sudamericana playoff |
| 7 | Universitario de Sucre | 14 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 18 | 29 | −11 | 11 | Qualification to Copa Sudamericana playoff |
* ↑ Real Potosí were deducted three points as punishment for failing to pay debts with former players and managers.

#### Serie B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | San José | 14 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 29 | 11 | +18 | 31 | Qualification to Championship playoff |
| 2 | The Strongest | 14 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 22 | 16 | +6 | 22 | Qualification to Championship playoff |
| 3 | Nacional Potosí | 14 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 21 | 24 | −3 | 18 | Qualification to Championship playoff |
| 4 | Blooming | 14 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 18 | 20 | −2 | 17 | Qualification to Championship playoff |
| 5 | Royal Pari | 14 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 13 | 19 | −6 | 14 | Qualification to Copa Sudamericana playoff |
| 6 | Aurora | 14 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 14 | 21 | −7 | 14 | Qualification to Copa Sudamericana playoff |
| 7 | Sport Boys | 14 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 14 | 22 | −8 | 14 | Qualification to Copa Sudamericana playoff |
* ↑ Blooming were deducted six points as punishment for outstanding debts with former players Ignacio Ithurralde and Marcos Acosta.

### Results

| Home \ Away | AUR | BLO | BOL | DES | GUA | WIL | NAC | OPE | RPO | RPA | SJO | SBO | STR | UNI |
| Aurora | — | 0–2 | — | — | — | 0–0 | 2–0 | — | — | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 | — |
| Blooming | 1–0 | — | — | — | — | — | 1–2 | 1–1 | — | 2–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | — |
| Bolívar | — | — | — | 1–1 | 2–0 | 5–1 | — | 0–0 | 5–1 | — | — | — | 3–0 | 2–0 |
| Destroyers | — | — | 2–2 | — | 4–4 | 0–2 | — | 3–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | — | — | — | 1–0 |
| Guabirá | — | — | 4–1 | 0–0 | — | 1–3 | — | 1–2 | 6–0 | — | — | 1–1 | — | 2–2 |
| Jorge Wilstermann | 5–1 | — | 4–2 | 4–0 | 3–0 | — | — | 1–0 | 4–0 | — | — | — | — | 7–0 |
| Nacional Potosí | 1–1 | 4–3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2–3 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 0–1 | — |
| Oriente Petrolero | — | 1–2 | 0–0 | 4–4 | 5–2 | 3–1 | — | — | 3–1 | — | — | — | — | 4–2 |
| Real Potosí | — | — | 1–6 | 5–2 | 2–1 | 0–6 | 3–2 | 2–1 | — | — | — | — | — | 4–4 |
| Royal Pari | 3–0 | 0–1 | — | 2–2 | — | — | 1–0 | — | — | — | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–2 | — |
| San José | 3–2 | 4–0 | — | — | — | — | 1–2 | — | — | 3–0 | — | 4–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 |
| Sport Boys | 1–2 | 0–2 | — | — | 1–1 | — | 4–0 | — | — | 0–0 | 0–0 | — | 3–2 | — |
| The Strongest | 2–1 | 4–0 | 2–0 | — | — | — | 0–1 | — | — | 3–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | — | — |
| Universitario de Sucre | — | — | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | — | 1–1 | 3–1 | — | 1–2 | — | — | — |

### Championship playoff
#### Quarterfinals

| Teams | Teams | Teams | Scores | Scores | Scores |
| Team 1 | Points | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg | Penalty shootout (if needed) |
| Jorge Wilstermann | 6:0 | Blooming | 3–0 | 3–1 | — |
| Nacional Potosí | 0:6 | Bolívar | 1–2 | 0–1 | — |
| Oriente Petrolero | 0:6 | The Strongest | 0–1 | 1–5 | — |
| Destroyers | 3:3 | San José | 1–0 | 0–8 | 2–4 |

#### Semifinals

| Teams | Teams | Teams | Scores | Scores | Scores |
| Team 1 | Points | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg | Penalty shootout (if needed) |
| San José | 0:6 | Jorge Wilstermann | 2–4 | 0–1 | — |
| Bolívar | 1:4 | The Strongest | 0–1 | 1–1 | — |

#### Third place play-off

| Teams | Teams | Teams | Scores | Scores | Scores |
| Team 1 | Points | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg | Tiebreaker match (if needed) |
| San José | 6:0 | Bolívar | 4–0 | 2–0 | — |

#### Finals

* División de Fútbol Profesional 2018 Torneo Apertura champions
* Jorge Wilstermann 14th domestic title

### Copa Sudamericana playoff
#### Quarterfinals

| Teams | Teams | Teams | Scores | Scores | Scores |
| Team 1 | Points | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg | Penalty shootout (if needed) |
| Sport Boys | 4:1 | Real Potosí | 0–0 | 2–1 | — |
| Guabirá | 4:1 | Aurora | 1–0 | 0–0 | — |
| Royal Pari | 6:0 | Universitario de Sucre | 1–0 | 2–0 | — |

#### Semifinals

| Teams | Teams | Teams | Scores | Scores | Scores |
| Team 1 | Points | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg | Penalty shootout (if needed) |
| Royal Pari | 3:3 | Real Potosí | 2–1 | 0–3 | 3–4 |
| Guabirá | 2:2 | Sport Boys | 2–2 | 0–0 | 5–4 |

#### Finals

| Teams | Teams | Teams | Scores | Scores | Scores |
| Team 1 | Points | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg | Tiebreaker match (if needed) |
| Guabirá | 6:0 | Real Potosí | 4–1 | 2–0 | — |

### Top goalscorers

| Rank | Name | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Carlos Saucedo | San José | 18 |
| 2 | Gilbert Álvarez | Jorge Wilstermann | 16 |
| 3 | José Alfredo Castillo | Guabirá | 12 |
| 4 | Jefferson Tavares | Destroyers | 9 |
| 5 | José Alí Meza | Oriente Petrolero | 8 |
| 6 | Juanmi Callejón | Bolívar | 7 |
| 6 | Ricardo Pedriel | Jorge Wilstermann | 7 |
| 6 | Rodrigo Ramallo | San José | 7 |
| 6 | Harold Reina | Nacional Potosí | 7 |
| 6 | Marcos Riquelme | Bolívar | 7 |
Source: LFPB

## Torneo Clausura
### Standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | San José (C) | 26 | 17 | 2 | 7 | 71 | 38 | +33 | 53 | Qualification to Copa Libertadores group stage |
| 2 | The Strongest | 26 | 16 | 2 | 8 | 65 | 29 | +36 | 50 | Qualification to Copa Libertadores second stage |
| 3 | Royal Pari | 26 | 15 | 5 | 6 | 51 | 35 | +16 | 50 | |
| 4 | Bolívar | 26 | 15 | 2 | 9 | 72 | 45 | +27 | 47 | |
| 5 | Jorge Wilstermann | 26 | 13 | 5 | 8 | 42 | 30 | +12 | 44 | |
| 6 | Sport Boys | 26 | 12 | 5 | 9 | 44 | 47 | −3 | 41 | |
| 7 | Nacional Potosí | 26 | 11 | 5 | 10 | 43 | 40 | +3 | 38 | |
| 8 | Oriente Petrolero | 26 | 11 | 5 | 10 | 27 | 32 | −5 | 38 | |
| 9 | Blooming | 26 | 10 | 6 | 10 | 41 | 43 | −2 | 36 | |
| 10 | Guabirá | 26 | 9 | 3 | 14 | 37 | 48 | −11 | 30 | |
| 11 | Aurora | 26 | 8 | 3 | 15 | 25 | 40 | −15 | 27 | |
| 12 | Real Potosí | 26 | 6 | 4 | 16 | 30 | 68 | −38 | 22 | |
| 13 | Universitario de Sucre | 26 | 6 | 5 | 15 | 18 | 50 | −32 | 20 | |
| 14 | Destroyers | 26 | 4 | 6 | 16 | 22 | 45 | −23 | 18 | |
* ↑ Universitario de Sucre were deducted three points as punishment for failing to pay an outstanding debt with former manager Óscar Sanz.

### Results

| Home \ Away | AUR | BLO | BOL | DES | GUA | WIL | NAC | OPE | RPO | RPA | SJO | SBO | STR | UNI |
| Aurora | — | 0–0 | 0–4 | 5–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 4–2 | 1–2 | 0–0 |
| Blooming | 2–1 | — | 3–2 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 0–3 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 5–0 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 7–1 |
| Bolívar | 3–0 | 3–0 | — | 5–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 8–0 | 7–5 | 4–2 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 6–0 |
| Destroyers | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | — | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 2–3 | 0–1 | 1–1 |
| Guabirá | 3–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 3–2 | — | 4–0 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 2–3 | 0–2 | 2–0 |
| Jorge Wilstermann | 3–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 3–2 | — | 2–2 | 1–2 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 |
| Nacional Potosí | 2–1 | 0–0 | 6–1 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 1–0 | — | 3–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2–5 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 2–0 |
| Oriente Petrolero | 2–0 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | — | 7–2 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 |
| Real Potosí | 1–0 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–3 | 1–0 | — | 1–2 | 0–5 | 3–1 | 0–3 | 1–1 |
| Royal Pari | 4–1 | 3–2 | 4–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 5–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | — | 1–1 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 |
| San José | 3–2 | 4–1 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 6–0 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 5–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | — | 6–0 | 3–1 | 3–0 |
| Sport Boys | 2–0 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 4–1 | 0–3 | 3–0 | — | 2–2 | 2–1 |
| The Strongest | 0–1 | 8–0 | 0–1 | 4–1 | 6–0 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 5–1 | 3–1 | 4–2 | 6–0 | — | 2–1 |
| Universitario de Sucre | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 2–1 | — |
* División de Fútbol Profesional 2018 Torneo Clausura champions
* San José 4th domestic title

### Top goalscorers

| Rank | Name | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Rolando Blackburn | The Strongest | 20 |
| 1 | Jair Reinoso | San José | 20 |
| 1 | Marcos Riquelme | Bolívar | 20 |
| 4 | Pablo Escobar | The Strongest | 16 |
| 5 | Juanmi Callejón | Bolívar | 15 |
| 5 | John Jairo Mosquera | Royal Pari | 15 |
| 7 | William Ferreira | Bolívar | 14 |
| 7 | Martín Prost | Sport Boys | 14 |
| 9 | José Alfredo Castillo | Guabirá | 13 |
| 10 | Harold Reina | Nacional Potosí | 12 |
| 10 | Javier Sanguinetti | San José | 12 |
Source: Soccerway

## Aggregate table

The aggregate table was elaborated considering the results in the Torneo Apertura (only the first stage) and the Torneo Clausura. The bottom-placed team in this table at the end of the season was relegated, while the next lowest placed team played the relegation playoff. In addition to this, all international qualification berths left vacant at the end of the season were allocated through this table.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | San José (C) | 40 | 26 | 6 | 8 | 99 | 49 | +50 | 84 | Qualification to Copa Libertadores group stage |
| 2 | Jorge Wilstermann (C) | 40 | 23 | 7 | 10 | 85 | 42 | +43 | 76 | Qualification to Copa Libertadores group stage |
| 3 | The Strongest | 40 | 23 | 3 | 14 | 87 | 45 | +42 | 72 | Qualification to Copa Libertadores second stage |
| 4 | Bolívar | 40 | 22 | 6 | 12 | 102 | 61 | +41 | 72 | Qualification to Copa Libertadores first stage |
| 5 | Royal Pari | 40 | 18 | 10 | 12 | 65 | 53 | +12 | 64 | Qualification to Copa Sudamericana first stage |
| 6 | Oriente Petrolero | 40 | 16 | 10 | 14 | 53 | 53 | 0 | 58 | Qualification to Copa Sudamericana first stage |
| 7 | Nacional Potosí | 40 | 16 | 8 | 16 | 64 | 64 | 0 | 56 | Qualification to Copa Sudamericana first stage |
| 8 | Sport Boys | 40 | 15 | 10 | 15 | 58 | 69 | −11 | 55 | |
| 9 | Blooming | 40 | 17 | 8 | 15 | 59 | 62 | −3 | 53 | |
| 10 | Guabirá | 40 | 11 | 8 | 21 | 60 | 76 | −16 | 41 | Qualification to Copa Sudamericana first stage |
| 11 | Aurora | 40 | 11 | 8 | 21 | 39 | 61 | −22 | 41 | |
| 12 | Real Potosí | 40 | 11 | 5 | 24 | 53 | 115 | −62 | 35 | |
| 13 | Destroyers (O) | 40 | 7 | 13 | 20 | 44 | 73 | −29 | 34 | Qualification to Relegation playoff |
| 14 | Universitario de Sucre (R) | 40 | 8 | 10 | 22 | 36 | 79 | −43 | 31 | Relegation to Copa Simón Bolívar |
* ↑ Blooming were deducted six points as punishment for outstanding debts with former players Ignacio Ithurralde and Marcos Acosta.
* ↑ Real Potosí were deducted three points as punishment for failing to pay debts with former players and managers.
* ↑ Universitario were deducted three points as punishment for failing to pay an outstanding debt with former manager Óscar Sanz.

## Relegation/promotion playoff

The relegation playoff was played between:
* Destroyers (2018 División Profesional aggregate table 13th place)
* Avilés Industrial (2018 Copa Simón Bolívar runners-up)
The winners will play in the top flight for the 2019 season.
Destroyers won 6–0 on points.