The following article presents a summary of the 2001 football in Paraguay.
First division results
Torneo Apertura The Apertura tournament was played in a single all-play-all system. At the end, the top eight teams qualified to a playoff stage to determine the Apertura champion. PositionTeamPlayedWinsDrawsLossesScoredConcededPoints1Libertad9621168202Sportivo Luqueño96122614193Olimpia95312115184Guaraní9531149185Cerro Porteño93331713126Sol de América92431418107Cerro Corá9234131798Atl. Colegiales922591789San Lorenzo9126132351012 de Octubre903611203
Apertura playoff stage The top eight teams qualified to this stage.
Quarterfinals
*Libertad advances to next round due to better position in the Apertura table.
Semifinals
Apertura final
Cerro Porteño wins the Apertura tournament final by an aggregate score of 6-1 on June 24, 2001.
Torneo Clausura The Clausura tournament was played in a single all-play-all system. At the end, the top eight teams qualified to a playoff stage to determine the Clausura champion. PositionTeamPlayedWinsDrawsLossesScoredConcededPoints1Cerro Porteño9522147172Libertad944112416312 de Octubre95131510164Cerro Corá94231514145San Lorenzo94141111136Sportivo Luqueño93421112137Guaraní931569108Sol de América9234111699Atl. Colegiales9234611910Olimpia92166137
Clausura playoff stage The top eight teams qualified to this stage with the exception of Cerro Corá, who was replaced by Olimpia because Cerro Corá was already relegated to the second division based on a three-year average point table.
Quarterfinals
*Libertad advances to next round due to better position in the Apertura table.
Semifinals
Clausura final
Cerro Porteño wins the Clausura tournament final in a penalty shootout.
Championship game playoff Since Cerro Porteño won both the Apertura and Clausura tournaments they were declared as the national champions and no playoff game was played.
Relegation / Promotion Cerro Corá automatically relegated to the second division after finishing last in the average points table based over a three-year period. Atl. Colegiales finished second-to-last in the aggregate points table, so had to participate in the promotion play-off game against second division runners-up Club Sport Colombia. Sport Colombia won the playoff game by an aggregate score of 5-1, so Colegiales was relegated to the second division. Deportivo Recoleta promoted to the first division by winning the second division tournament.
Qualification to international competitions Cerro Porteño qualified to the 2002 Copa Libertadores by winning the Torneo Apertura and Torneo Clausura. The remaining two spots for Copa Libertadores were decided in the Pre-Libertadores playoff tournament.
Pre-Libertadores playoff Six teams participated based on aggregate points during the year. Sportivo Luqueño entered the playoff with three bonus points by winning the runners-up game against Guarani. PositionTeamPlayedWinsDrawsLossesScoredConcededBonus PointsPoints112 de Octubre5311104102Olimpia531185103Libertad5212111174Guaraní52124575Sportivo Luqueño511371376Sol de America51138104
Olimpia and 12 de Octubre qualify to the 2002 Copa Libertadores.
Lower divisions results LevelTournamentChampion2ndIntermediaRecoleta3rd (G.A. teams)Primera de AscensoClub Independiente (Campo Grande)3rd (interior teams)UFI Champions CupItá Ybaté (Villeta)4th (G.A. teams)Segunda de AscensoHumaitá
Paraguayan teams in international competitions 2001 Copa Libertadores: Cerro Porteño: round of 16 Olimpia: group stage Guaraní: group stage Copa MERCOSUR 2001: Cerro Porteño: quarterfinals Olimpia: group stage
Paraguay national team DateVenueOpponentsScoreCompParaguay scorersReport 2001-01-27 Hong Kong Stadium Hong Kong 1 - 1 F Morinigo N/A March 28, 2001 Estadio Centenario Montevideo 0 - 1 WCQ 2002 Alvarenga Report April 24, 2001 Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa Quito 2 - 1 WCQ 2002 Cardozo Report June 2, 2001 Estadio Defensores del Chaco Asunción 1 - 0 WCQ 2002 Paredes Report 2001-06-28 National Stadium Tokyo, Japan 0 - 2 Kirin Cup Caceres Ferreira N/A 2001-07-01 Sapporo Dome Sapporo, Japan 2 - 0 Kirin Cup N/A July 12, 2001 Estadio Pascual Guerrero Cali 3 - 3 CA2001 Ferreira , Garay N/A July 15, 2001 Estadio Pascual Guerrero Cali 0 - 0 CA2001 - N/A July 18, 2001 Estadio Pascual Guerrero Cali 3 - 1 CA2001 Alvarenga N/A August 15, 2001 Beira Rio Porto Alegre 2 - 0 WCQ 2002 - Report September 15, 2001 Estadio Defensores del Chaco Asunción 5 - 1 WCQ 2002 Paredes Cardozo , Chilavert Santa Cruz Report October 7, 2001 Estadio Defensores del Chaco Asunción 2 - 2 WCQ 2002 Chilavert Morinigo Report November 8, 2001 Estadio Polideportivo de Pueblo Nuevo San Cristóbal 3 - 1 WCQ 2002 Arce Report November 14, 2001 Estadio Defensores del Chaco Asunción 0 - 4 WCQ 2002 - Report
References Paraguay 2001 by Eli Schmerler, Andy Bolander and Juan Pablo Andrés at RSSSF Diario ABC Color