The 2007 Torneo Descentralizado (known as the Copa Cable Mágico for sponsorship reasons) is the ninety-first season of Peruvian football. A total of 12 teams competed in the tournament, with Alianza Lima as the defending champion. Universidad San Martín won its first national title as it did not have to play in the season finals due to Coronel Bolognesi's poor performance in the Torneo Apertura. The season began on February 3, 2007, and ended on December 16, 2007.Peru 2007San Martín: mucho más que un milagro
Changes from 2006 Rule changes Starting with the 2007 season, promotion of the Segunda División champion was re-introduced. Team changes Promoted from2006 Segunda División Promoted from2006 Copa Perú Relegated from2006 Primera División Deportivo Municipal Total Clean José Gálvez Unión Huaral
Season overview Universidad San Martín de Porres won the Apertura, their first title, and qualified for their first Copa Libertadores. Coronel Bolognesi won the Clausura which was their first title too. In the Apertura they had placed last and were in danger of relegation. No national championship final was contested because Coronel Bolognesi did not finish in the top 6 of the Apertura. The national title went to Universidad San Martín, who had accumulated more points on the aggregate table. Coincidentally, both teams also participated in the Copa Sudamericana together in 2006. The final fixture of the Clausura had four potential winners. Aside from Bolognesi, Universitario de Deportes, Alianza Lima, Cienciano, and Sport Áncash had a chance at winning the title. They all won their last fixtures, however, Bolognesi also won its fixture and surpassed Universitario by one point. Despite not winning the Clausura, Cienciano qualified for the Copa Libertadores 2008 preliminary round, and Universitario and Sport Áncash qualified for the Copa Sudamericana 2008. Alianza Lima, however, finished the season empty-handed.
Sporting Cristal, a Peruvian giant, was in danger of relegation throughout the season. This was Cristal's worst season in its history. The team failed in the Apertura under the Argentine Sampaoli and the club decided to hire Juan Carlos Oblitas for the Clausura. At first he did not have much success but during the second half of the Clausura, they were undefeated for the remaining 11 games with 5 wins and 6 draws. Cristal finished tying the last fixture and remained in the First Division. The newly promoted Deportivo Municipal and Total Clean were relegated. Deportivo Municipal played its last fixture with its U-20 squad and as a result, Alianza Lima defeated them 6–0. The first-team squad did not play because the club did not pay them for several months.
Teams
Team City Stadium Capacity Alianza Atlético Sullana Campeones del 368,000 Alianza Lima Lima Alejandro Villanueva35,000 Cienciano Cusco Garcilaso 42,056 Coronel Bolognesi Tacna Jorge Basadre 19,850 Deportivo Municipal Lima Nacional 45,574 Melgar Arequipa Mariano Melgar 20,000 Sport Áncash Huaraz Rosas Pampa 8,000 Sport Boys Callao Miguel Grau 15,000 Sporting Cristal Lima San Martín de Porres 18,000 Total Clean Arequipa Mariano Melgar 20,000 Universidad San Martín Lima San Martín de Porres 18,000 Universitario Lima Monumental80,093
Torneo Apertura Standings
Results
Torneo Clausura
Standings
Results
Aggregate table
Season finals No season finals were contested since the Apertura winners Universidad San Martín de Porres failed to finish in the top six of the Torneo Clausura and the Clausura winners Coronel Bolognesi failed to finish in the top six of the Torneo Apertura. Therefore, San Martín won the national title due to the team's better positioning on the aggregate table.
Top scorers Sources:Peru.com Peru.com 19 goals Johan Fano (Universitario) 18 goals Ysrael Zúñiga (Melgar) 17 goals Paul Cominges (Coronel Bolognesi) 16 goals Richard Estigarribia (Sport Áncash) 15 goals Pedro García (U. San Martín) 13 goals Hernán Rengifo (U. San Martín) Mario Leguizamón (U. San Martín) José Fernández (Cienciano) 12 goals Junior Viza (Alianza Lima) Sebastián Dominguez (Total Clean)
References
See also 2007 Peruvian Segunda División 2007 Copa Perú
External links Peru 2007 by Eli Schmerler and Carlos Manuel Nieto Tarazona Details on RSSSF Peruvian Football