It’s probably fair to admit at this point that the Sargossan public had never really taken to the domestic league’s big rebrand. It never really rolled off the tongue. Consequently, having persevered for a few years, the Football Federation quietly went another way. There was no big announcement this time. There was no expensive campaign. They just quietly started referring to the Cima Liga as the Liga-S. Structurally there is no change at all, it’s all about the semantics. Whether the public take better to this branding remains to be seen. At this stage it’s unclear if they’ve even noticed. Branding change or no, things remained no different on the pitch. Where perennial champions… hang on a minute. Is this right? I’m just going to double check some maths. In the meantime, please endure this goal breakdown from way back on matchday one.
0: And we’re off.
2: The first goal of the season comes in Bayamo, as Jorge Rodríguez catches the Rubio defence cold to give visiting Sportivo Cordova the lead.
11: They look for the rough diamonds at Almansa, and they may have found another one. Discarded by El Nacional, Eliel Barros opens his Atlético account in style at promoted Racing Club.
13: The crowd liked that one. Boze Maric has slide Alianza into the lead at the Bonilla, not the start El Nacional had hoped for.
14: That didn’t last long. Lucas Recoba off the mark for El Nacional to level it up.
15: All too easy for Sportivo Cordova in Bayamo, Antonio Delgado makes it two.
22: The barrios liked that one. Marcos García, one of their own, skilfully tucks the ball away to give Sporting San Marquez the lead against the Marinos.
24: It may be a long season for Racing Club, as the Azulans go a second goal down to Atlético Almansa, courtesy of the right boot of on-loan Sportivo Soluca striker Ramón Arce.
32: Tasty fixture this one, and Adonai Iglesias puts Alianza in front again. He only managed two goals in total last season, but he’s off the mark already here.
36: A bright start for the home side in Goza is all for naught, as Jesús Delgado skips passed Luis González to lash Dínamo in front.
36: The chants of
Webby ring around El Cova as Brian Webb smashes El Piratas in front against Sportivo Soluca
38: They can’t say it hasn’t been coming, a lovely strike from Carlos Alberto brings El Nacional level for the second time.
51: If there were an atmosphere at the Petro Dome it may have taken a knock, as Club De Camíri open the scoring in Mercada. They plucked Nicolás Abarca from across the water in Marquez, and he repays them with a debut goal.
53: Cienfuegos are undone. They’ve defended so well but Miguel Alonso rises highest to head the champions in front.
54: Disaster for Cienfuegos! Gonzalo Navarro doubles the Ciudad Soluca lead within a minute.
54: The Estadio Silva erupts as García grabs his and Sporting’s second against Daroca Marinos.
59: And the home side have sunk without trace in the space of six minutes. Candelariasian maestro Colin Griffiths puts Ciudad Soluca three goals to the good.
60: Newly promoted Ciudad De Oro brought in Marc Font on loan from El Nacional to strengthen their backline. Turns out he offers a goal threat too, with a bullet header to put the hosts ahead against Dunas Del Sol.
63: Delgado at the double, S.C. Goza have it all to do as Dínamo go two nil up in Goza.
65: Game on! Young defender Carlos Méndez is adjudged to have tripped Víctor González. And Jorge Montaño rifles in the resultant penalty for S.C. Goza.
67: Game no longer on. It’s a third goal in four crazy minutes, and Dínamo’s Jesús Delgado completes the first hattrick of the season.
68: They’ve hyped up Adrian Rodríguez all pre-season and his bagged a debut goal for Sportivo Soluca, they’re level in Ariaco.
72: Another Sportivo debutant hits the ground running, as Elías Pozo fires it low into the net to put the capital side ahead against the plucky Piratas.
74: The Students are undone! Rubén López beats Antonio Gutiérrez at his near post to give Estrella Torreón the lead at Estudientes.
82: And that’s the full set. Pablo Alarcón, the third of the
three amigos, lashing one in from range. Harsh on Alianza.
86: António Taveres pitches in for a contender for goal of the day, with a mazy dribble around several Sporting defenders, before a side footed finish into the net. Two-one now, but it could be too little too late for the Marinos.
88: Some consolation for the Cienfuegos faithful. Carlos Alberto Altuna looks very much at home at this level and his smart finish has pulled one back against Ciudad Soluca.
90+: That’s all folks.
And we’re back in the room with some startling news. Perhaps it was the change of branding, but the top division of Sargossan football has a shiny new champion. Admittedly, from the very same city as the previous one. Celebrated in the very same stadium in fact. But we grasp at straws when they are presented to us. Yes, Sportivo Soluca are Liga-S champions. Rodrigo Defederico’s side set the tone with a seven-game winning streak, including a 3-0 dismantling of champions and city rivals Ciudad, before a tame reversal at home to the Marinos. But they dusted themselves down and went on another winning run, this time handing out a 3-0 reversal to El Nacional in the process. That was the tale of Sportivo’s season, with each (rare) setback followed by a run of wins.
A lot of credit for the success went to coach Rodrigo Defederico, who has added a first league championship to his already impressive CV, and also Sporting Director Antonio García, whose pre-season transfer business was key. With Alejandro Martínez not getting any younger between the sticks, Antonio Reyes was recruited from Mytanar side 1896 Ebor and looked imperious. That wasn’t the only bit of business done in Mytanija, with Sargossan national team midfielder Elías Pozo snapped up from Atletik. Pozo may have been a little disappointed with his three goals, but his thirteen assists made him the league’s chief creator. And up front a lethal partnership was created between Jesús Blaya and Adrian Rodríguez. After 37 goals in two seasons on loan at S.C. Motril, Defederico decided it was time for Rodríguez to pull on the famous black and yellow. And how he repaid the faith. With another 37 goals, in as many games. It was a truly exceptional debut season. The next highest goalscorer was El Nacional’s Lucas Recoba, on 21.
But in another way normal service was simply resumed, in that the top three remained unassailable to the rest. El Nacional finished as runners-up for the third successive season, albeit with a points tally that would have lifted the title a year ago. And it was a chastening experience for Ciudad. Having lost one league game in the last two years, they lost six times in this campaign. The damage was really done in one unfortunate week when the champions lost in Maturín, before a second loss to Sportivo in the capital derby. Although they still finished a whopping 21 points clear of the side in fourth.
That fourth side provided the feel-good story, with Estrella Torreón heading for the global cup competition for the very first time. Their young centreback pairing of Jairo Santamaría and the on-loan Ciudad Soluca starlet Leonardo Díaz excelled. So good were they that Sargossan international Santiago Álvarez, a new signing, barely got a look in. Behind them Imanol Sánchez, snapped up from Alianza Jucaro, was rock solid. The altitude of Torreón always plays a role, but José Carlos Martínez’s side richly deserved their fourth place, ahead of Alianza Jucaro and Dunas Del Sol. Dínamo Maturín had been expected to challenge for that fourth place too, but a poor run led to the sacking of former national team coach Rafael Barrios. He was replaced by youth team boss Elías Zabala.
The top end of the table may have been lacking final day drama, but there were still events to be decided at the bottom end. Promoted Racing Club Delgadopolis looked hopelessly out of their depth from beginning to end, but the remaining two relegation places were not quite so clear cut. Piratas De Ariaco, a place above the relegation zone, started the day on 36 points, Estudientes Soluca on 35 and Ciudad De Oro on 34. Estudientes were at home to new champions Sportivo, praying that their bigger city rivals would take their feet off the gas. They didn't. An Adrian Rodríguez penalty put Sportivo in front, before Victor Duesca equalised. Rodríguez’s second edged the visitors in front again. And the contest was effectively ended when Salvador Rodríguez (no relation) saw red for the hosts. In Ariaco, Diego Suárez’s first of the season proved pivotal. It cancelled out on-loan Alberto Moreno’s early strike for Sportivo Cordova and secured a priceless point. Priceless because Ciudad De Oro were ending their campaign with a second successive win. Francisco José Gutiérrez and Iván Paramio got the goals in Xinzó against Club De Camíri, but it wasn’t enough. The clubs finished level on points and with a level head-to-head record, having shared away wins. So goal difference kept Piratas De Ariaco up and sent Ciudad De Oro back down.
Matchday 38Atlético Almansa 0–1 El Nacional
Cienfuegos S.C. 1–2 Alianza Jucaro
Ciudad De Oro 2–0 Club De Camíri
Estudientes Soluca 1–2 Sportivo Soluca
Petro Mercada 1–1 Estrella Torreón
Piratas De Ariaco 1–1 Sportivo Cordova
Racing Club Delgadopolis 1–3 Dunas Del Sol
Rubio Bayamo 0–0 Dínamo Maturín
S.C. Goza 1–1 Daroca Marinos
Sporting San Marquez 2–2 Ciudad Soluca
Final Liga-S Standings
Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Sportivo Soluca 38 31 2 5 93 33 +60 95 (CL)
2 El Nacional 38 27 8 3 77 30 +47 89 (CC)
3 Ciudad Soluca 38 26 6 6 65 34 +31 84 (CC)
4 Estrella Torreón 38 18 9 11 47 40 +7 63 (CC)
5 Alianza Jucaro 38 18 6 14 62 47 +15 60
6 Dunas Del Sol 38 16 8 14 57 54 +3 56
7 S.C. Goza 38 15 11 12 63 52 +10 56
8 Dínamo Maturín 38 15 11 12 48 44 +4 56
9 Sportivo Cordova 38 15 10 13 54 50 +4 55
10 Petro Mercada 38 12 11 15 48 51 -3 47
11 Atlético Almansa 38 12 10 16 55 67 -12 46
12 Sporting San Marquez 38 10 16 12 49 52 −3 46
13 Daroca Marinos 38 10 13 15 40 47 −7 43
14 Club De Camíri 38 11 9 18 40 57 −17 42
15 Rubio Bayamo 38 10 10 18 35 53 −18 40
16 Cienfuegos S.C. 38 8 14 16 38 55 −17 38
17 Piratas De Ariaco 38 9 10 19 47 60 −13 37
18 Ciudad De Oro 38 10 7 21 38 68 −30 37 (R)
19 Estudientes Soluca 38 6 17 15 35 55 −20 35 (R)
20 R.C. Delgadopolis 38 4 6 28 34 75 −41 18 (R)
In the twos years following their relegation from the top flight, Sportivo Alcántara had twice faced playoff heartache. They assured that it would indeed be third time lucky, with a barn storming season that saw them lift the Liga-S2, as we’re now supposed to call it, title by a full ten points. It was something of a vindication for the choice to keep faith with coach Adrían Alba, even after relegation and successive playoff defeats. Moruga S.C. too had enough of a cushion in second, despite a shock home defeat to already relegated Costa San Verdi. The sides relegated from the Liga-S last year occupied three of the four playoff places, with S.C. Motril, another side with recent top flight experience, taking the fourth. Porto Alegro Azul, who have experienced either promotion or relegation in four of the last five years, emerged from the Playoff battles, having comfortably dispatched Nuevo Onwere, before edging passed S.C. Motril.
At the other end, Sportivo Valera’s ten points from their previous four games had given them a shout of extending their second tier stay for a second season. But a home defeat against Sportivo Torrienté, coupled with S.C. Viesca’s point picked up in Coira, sent Sportivo Valera down with Costa San Verdi, Once Coira and army club Defensor. Which meant two of the sides promoted from the third tier remain to fight another day, which has not always been the case. Temuco S.C., albeit after only a single season away, were six points clear of the drop. While Costa Carranza, in their debut second tier campaign, finished a highly creditable thirteenth.
Matchday 42Jaguarés 1–1 Vista Huaral
Loco Motion 3–0 Defensor
Machala Del Norte 2–1 Racing Soluca
Moruga S.C. 0–1 Costa San Verdi
Nuevo Onwere 2–3 Mineros De Maracay
Once Coira 1–1 S.C. Viesca
Porto Alegro Azul 1–2 Racing Ibarra
Sportivo Alcántara 3–1 Cartago Rojo
Sportivo Valera 1–2 Sportivo Torrienté
Temuco S.C. 1–2 Costa Carranza
Union Celaya 0–1 S.C. Motril
Final Liga-S2 Standings
Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Sportivo Alcántara 42 29 6 7 79 37 +42 93 (P)
2 Moruga S.C. 42 26 5 11 70 43 +27 83 (P)
3 Mineros De Maracay 42 21 14 7 58 37 +21 77 (PO)
4 Nuevo Onwere 42 23 7 12 73 50 +23 76 (PO)
5 Porto Alegro Azul 42 21 9 12 61 42 +19 72 (P)
6 S.C. Motril 42 19 11 12 56 47 +9 68 (PO)
7 Cartago Rojo 42 18 10 14 58 49 +9 64
8 Union Celaya 42 17 8 17 49 50 -1 59
9 Machala Del Norte 42 16 11 15 57 53 +4 59
10 Sportivo Torrienté 42 15 12 15 52 56 -4 57
11 Racing Ibarra 42 15 12 15 50 52 -2 57
12 Jaguarés 42 14 13 15 42 51 -9 55
13 Costa Carranza 42 14 12 16 46 52 -6 54
14 Racing Soluca 42 13 12 17 55 58 −3 51
15 Vista Huaral 42 14 8 20 48 61 -13 50
16 Loco Motion 42 13 11 18 50 61 -11 50
17 Temuco S.C. 42 12 13 17 46 56 −10 49
18 S.C. Viesca 42 12 10 20 39 54 −15 46
19 Sportivo Valera 42 12 7 23 48 66 −18 43 (R)
20 Costa San Verdi 42 7 16 19 41 56 −15 37 (R)
21 Once Coira 42 8 12 22 42 60 −18 36 (R)
22 Defensor 42 9 9 24 39 68 −29 36 (R)
Promotion PlayoffsSemifinalsS.C. Motril 1–0 Mineros De Maracay
Mineros De Maracay 0–3 S.C. Motril
Porto Alegro Azul 2–1 Nuevo Onwere
Nuevo Onwere 1–1 Porto Alegro Azul
FinalS.C. Motril 1–3 Porto Alegro Azul
Porto Alegro Azul 0–1 S.C. Motril
In the cup there was more joy for Sportivo Soluca, as they added cup insult to league injury by dumping city rivals Ciudad out in the quarters. The first leg was cagey but the second was anything but, with holders Sportivo blowing Ciudad away. It was the third time this season that Sportivo had put three goals passed their great rivals. El Nacional’s home win over Daroca Marinos saw them safely through, while Cienfuegos S.C. edged out Dunas Del Sol by the odd goal in five. And Sportivo Cordova brushed aside S.C. Goza with surprising ease. Although not quite the ease with which Sportivo bested Cienfuegos S.C. in the semis, sticking seven passed the plucky underdogs across the two legs. El Nacional did all the hard work in the first leg in Cordova, so much so that they took their feet off the gas completely in the second leg. It almost cost them, losing 2 – 0 but advancing to the final 3 – 2 on aggregate.
Holders Sportivo were hoping to complete a dream season with a victory over El Nacional in the final, having taking four points off the Gozan giants in the league and with the talismanic Lucas Recoba suspended for the final in Jucaro. But Eric Alonso had his charges well up for the fight, and they took a narrow lead into halftime, with Carlos Alberto scoring twice, either side of a Jesús Blaya effort. In the second half El Nacional found another gear and Pablo Alarcón put them three to the good with twenty minutes to go, before Dácio Miranda caught Sportivo on the break with a fourth five minutes later.
Copa SargossaQuarterfinalsS.C. Goza 1–3 Sportivo Cordova
Sportivo Cordova 2–0 S.C. Goza
Dunas Del Sol 0–2 Cienfuegos S.C.
Cienfuegos S.C. 1–2 Dunas Del Sol
El Nacional 3–1 Daroca Marinos
Daroca Marinos 1–1 El Nacional
Ciudad Soluca 1–1 Sportivo Soluca
Sportivo Soluca 3–0 Ciudad Soluca
SemifinalsSportivo Cordova 0–3 El Nacional
El Nacional 0–2 Sportivo Cordova
Sportivo Soluca 4–0 Cienfuegos S.C.
Cienfuegos S.C. 2–3 Sportivo Soluca
FinalSportivo Soluca 1–4 El Nacional
Sargossa (SRG) qualifiers
IFCF Champions' League: Sportivo Soluca
IFCF Challengers' Cup: El Nacional, Ciudad Soluca, Estrella Torreón
Rushmore Copa de Campeones: Sportivo Soluca