The 2018 Campeonato Ecuatoriano de Fútbol Serie A (officially known as the Campeonato Ecuatoriano - Copa Lubricantes Havoline 2018 for sponsorship reasons) was the 60th season of the Serie A, Ecuador's top tier football league. Emelec were the defending champions. First stage winners LDU Quito defeated second stage winners and defending champions Emelec 2–1 on aggregate in the final (third stage) to win their eleventh domestic title.
Teams Twelve teams competed in the 2018 Serie A season, ten of whom took part in the previous season. Clan Juvenil and Fuerza Amarilla were relegated from the Serie A after accumulating the fewest points during the 2017 season. They were replaced by Técnico Universitario and Aucas, the 2017 Serie B winner and runner-up, respectively. Técnico Universitario were in their 25th top-flight appearance and their first one since 2012, while Aucas returned to the Serie A for their 37th appearance after just one season in the second tier.
Stadia and locations
Team Home city Stadium Capacity Aucas Quito Gonzalo Pozo Ripalda 21,689 Barcelona Guayaquil Monumental Banco Pichincha 57,267 Delfín Manta Jocay 17,834 Deportivo Cuenca Cuenca Banco del Austro Alejandro Serrano Aguilar 18,549 El Nacional Quito Olímpico Atahualpa 35,258 Emelec Guayaquil Banco del Pacífico Capwell 38,963 Guayaquil City Guayaquil Christian Benítez Betancourta 10,152 Independiente del Valle Sangolquí Rumiñahui 7,233 LDU Quito Quito Rodrigo Paz Delgado 41,575 Macará Ambato Bellavista 16,467 Técnico Universitario Ambato Bellavista 16,467 Universidad Católica Quito Olímpico Atahualpa 35,258
a: Guayaquil City played its home matches between February and early-June at Estadio Monumental Banco Pichincha and Estadio George Capwell in Guayaquil due to remodeling works at Estadio Christian Benítez Betancourt.
Personnel and kits
Team Manager Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor Aucas Darío Tempesta Umbro CNTBanco del Pacífico Barcelona Guillermo Almada Marathon Pilsener Delfín Fabián Bustos Spyro La Esquina de Ales Deportivo Cuenca Richard Páez Joma Chubb Seguros El Nacional Eduardo Favaro Lotto Aceros ANDECBanco General Rumiñahui Emelec Mariano Soso Adidas Electrocables Guayaquil City Pool Gavilánez Astro DirecTV Independiente del Valle Ismael Rescalvo Marathon ChevroletDirecTV LDU Quito Pablo Repetto Puma Chevrolet Macará Paúl Vélez Boman Cooperativa San Francisco Ltda. Técnico Universitario Fabián Frías Boman Cooperativa San Francisco Ltda. Universidad Católica Santiago Escobar Umbro Discover Card
Managerial changes
TeamOutgoing managerManner of departureDate of vacancyPosition in tableIncoming managerDate of appointmentFirst stageDeportivo Cuenca Gabriel SchürrerResigned9 December 2017Pre-season Aníbal Biggeri9 December 2017Independiente del Valle Alexis MendozaSacked9 December 2017 Gabriel Schürrer12 December 2017Delfín Guillermo Sanguinetti15 April 20189th Fabián Bustos15 April 2018Deportivo Cuenca Aníbal Biggeri17 April 201811th Juan Ramón Silva (caretaker)17 April 2018Deportivo Cuenca Juan Ramón SilvaEnd of caretaker tenure27 April 201811th Guillermo Sanguinetti30 April 2018Emelec Alfredo AriasResigned19 May 20184th Javier Klimowicz (caretaker)22 May 2018Emelec Javier KlimowiczEnd of caretaker tenure27 May 20184th Mariano Soso28 May 2018Deportivo Cuenca Guillermo SanguinettiSigned by Santa Fe11 June 201811th Juan Ramón Silva (caretaker)11 June 2018Deportivo Cuenca Juan Ramón SilvaEnd of caretaker tenure20 June 201811th Richard Páez21 June 2018Independiente del Valle Gabriel SchürrerMutual consent28 June 20186th Álvaro Carcelén (caretaker)28 June 2018Independiente del Valle Álvaro CarcelénEnd of caretaker tenure30 June 20186th Ismael Rescalvo1 July 2018Second stageTécnico Universitario Patricio HurtadoSacked23 July 201812th Fabián Frías24 July 2018Aucas Luis Soler30 August 201811th Darío Tempesta1 September 2018
First stage The First stage began on February 16 and is scheduled to end on July 16.
Results
Second stage The Second stage began on July 20 and ended on December 8.
Results
Third stage LDU Quito and Emelec qualified to the Finals (Third stage) by being the First stage and Second stage winners, respectively. The winners were the Serie A champions and earned the Ecuador 1 berth in the 2019 Copa Libertadores, and the losers were the Serie A runners-up and earned the Ecuador 2 berth in the 2019 Copa Libertadores. By having the greater number of points in the aggregate table, LDU Quito played the second leg at home.
LDU Quito won 2–1 on aggregate.
Aggregate table
Copa Sudamericana playoff The Copa Sudamericana playoff was played between: Aucas (Aggregate table 4th best team not qualified for 2019 Copa Libertadores) Mushuc Runa (2018 Serie B champions)
The winners qualified for the 2019 Copa Sudamericana first stage.
Mushuc Runa won 3–2 on aggregate.
Top goalscorers
Rank Name Club Goals 1 Jhon CifuenteUniversidad Católica 37 2 Brayan AnguloEmelec 29 3 Edson MontañoAucas 25 4 Carlos GarcésDelfín 19 5 Juan Manuel TévezMacará 18 6 Juan AnangonóLDU Quito 16 Luis ChicaizaDelfín Juan DinennoBarcelona 9 Diego ArmasTécnico Universitario 13 10 Anderson JulioLDU Quito 12
Source: FEF
References
External links Official website