1998 Campeonato Ecuatoriano de Fútbol Serie A

Serie A
Season1998
ChampionsLDU Quito (5th title)
RelegatedPanamá
Técnico Universitario
Copa LibertadoresEmelec
LDU Quito
Matches played266
Goals scored775 (2.91 per match)
Top goalscorerIván Kaviedes (43 goals)
Biggest home winLDU Quito 7–0 Emelec (December 27)
Highest scoringTécnico Universitariao 3–5 Deportivo Quito (May 26)
← 1997
1999 →

The 1998 Campeonato Ecuatoriano de Fútbol de la Serie A was the 40th season of the Serie A, the top level of professional football in Ecuador. LDU Quito won their fifth national championship.

Format

The format for 1998 is unique to this season in terms of competition format and awarding of points after results.

The season was divided into two tournaments, the Apertura and the Clausura, each with similar formats. The first phases of each tournament were different. For the Apertura, the twelves teams competed against each in a double round-robin format, once at home and once away. The top-four teams were put in Group 1 for the second phase, the next four were put into Group 2, and the bottom-four were put into Group 3. In the Clausura, the twelve teams were placed into two groups of six. Within this those groups, the teams competed against each other in a double round-robin format, once at home and once away. At the end, the top-two teams from each group were placed into Group 1, the middle-two teams from each group were placed into Group 2, and the bottom-two teams from each group were placed into Group 3.

The second phases of each tournament are identical. In each group, the four teams competed against each other in a double round-robin format for different objectives. Teams in Group 1 competed for a spot in the championship final and a berth in the 1999 Copa Libertadores. Teams in Group 2 competed for a spot in the 1999 Copa CONMEBOL playoff (to be played the following season). Teams in Group 3 competed to avoid relegation.

Relegation is determined at the end of the Clausura and would only involve teams who had played in either Group 3. Teams who played in Group 3 of either tournament earned negative points depending on their position at the end of group play. The two teams who had the most negative points were relegated to the Serie B for the next season.

The championship playoff was contested between the two winners of each tournament's Group 1 on a home and a way basis.

The points system was different for this season. If a game ended in a draw, each team would earn the normal one point. However, a penalty shootout will ensue at the end of regulation. The winner of the penalty shootout would earn an extra point.

Torneo Apertura

First phase

Pos Team Pld W PKW PKL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 LDU Quito 22 11 5 1 5 40 27 +13 44 Qualifies to Group 1
2 Emelec 22 10 4 4 4 40 28 +12 42
3 Aucas 22 9 5 3 5 32 22 +10 40
4 Olmedo 22 8 5 4 5 28 24 +4 38
5 ESPOLI 22 10 2 2 8 36 36 0 36 Qualifies to Group 2
6 Barcelona 22 8 3 4 7 39 29 +10 34
7 Delfín 22 8 3 4 7 33 30 +3 34
8 El Nacional 22 8 2 3 9 35 27 +8 31
9 Deportivo Quito 22 6 3 6 7 34 36 −2 30 Qualifies to Group 3
10 Deportivo Cuenca 22 7 1 4 10 20 27 −7 27
11 Técnico Universitario 22 5 4 1 12 26 47 −21 24
12 Panamá 22 3 2 3 14 17 47 −30 16
Source: RSSSF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Second phase

Group 1

Pos Team Pld W PKW PKL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Emelec 6 5 0 0 1 12 5 +7 15 1999 Copa Libertadores and Championship playoff
2 LDU Quito 6 3 1 0 2 7 5 +2 11
3 Aucas 6 3 0 0 3 7 6 +1 9
4 Olmedo 6 0 0 1 5 2 12 −10 1
Source: RSSSF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Group 2

Pos Team Pld W PKW PKL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 El Nacional 6 3 2 0 1 9 3 +6 13 Copa CONMEBOL playoff
2 Barcelona 6 3 0 2 1 9 5 +4 11
3 ESPOLI 6 1 1 1 3 8 10 −2 6
4 Delfín 6 2 0 0 4 5 13 −8 6
Source: RSSSF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Group 3

Pos Team Pld W PKW PKL L GF GA GD Pts RPts
1 Deportivo Quito 6 4 1 1 0 11 5 +6 15 −1
2 Técnico Universitario 6 2 1 0 3 8 9 −1 8 −2
3 Panamá 6 2 1 0 3 6 9 −3 8 −3
4 Deportivo Cuenca 6 1 0 2 3 5 7 −2 5 −4
Source: RSSSF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Torneo Clausura

First phase

Hexagonal 1

Pos Team Pld W PKW PKL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Deportivo Quito 10 6 0 2 2 23 14 +9 20 Qualifies to Group 1
2 Aucas 10 5 1 2 2 13 11 +2 19
3 El Nacional 10 4 3 0 3 18 19 −1 18 Qualifies to Group 2
4 ESPOLI 10 4 0 2 4 21 15 +6 14
5 Emelec 10 4 0 1 5 19 18 +1 13 Qualifies to Group 3
6 Panamá 10 0 3 0 7 9 26 −17 6
Source: RSSSF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Hexagonal 2

Pos Team Pld W PKW PKL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 LDU Quito 10 6 3 0 1 18 5 +13 24 Qualifies to Group 1
2 Barcelona 10 6 1 1 2 17 7 +10 21
3 Olmedo 10 3 2 0 5 14 19 −5 13 Qualifies to Group 2
4 Deportivo Cuenca 10 2 1 3 4 11 16 −5 11
5 Técnico Universitario 10 1 3 3 3 10 17 −7 12 Qualifies to Group 3
6 Delfín 10 2 1 2 5 16 22 −6 10
Source: RSSSF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Second phase

Group 1

Pos Team Pld W PKW PKL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 LDU Quito 6 3 0 2 1 9 6 +3 11 1999 Copa Libertadores and Championship playoff
2 Barcelona 6 2 2 0 2 9 6 +3 10
3 Aucas 6 3 0 1 2 7 6 +1 10
4 Deportivo Quito 6 1 1 0 4 3 10 −7 5
Source: RSSSF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Group 2

Pos Team Pld W PKW PKL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Deportivo Cuenca 6 5 0 0 1 12 2 +10 15 Copa CONMEBOL playoff
2 ESPOLI 6 3 0 1 2 13 8 +5 10
3 Olmedo 6 0 3 0 3 2 12 −10 6
4 El Nacional 6 1 0 2 3 6 11 −5 5
Source: RSSSF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Group 3

Pos Team Pld W PKW PKL L GF GA GD Pts RPts
1 Emelec 6 4 1 0 1 20 9 +11 14 −1
2 Técnico Universitario 6 3 0 0 3 11 12 −1 9 −2
3 Delfín 6 3 0 0 3 8 15 −7 9 −3
4 Panamá 6 1 0 1 4 9 12 −3 4 −4
Source: RSSSF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Relegation

Pos Team RPts Qualification or relegation
1 Emelec −1
2 Deportivo Quito −1
3 Delfín −3
4 Deportivo Cuenca −4[a]
5 Técnico Universitario −4 Relegated to the Serie B
6 Panamá −7

Source: RSSSF

  1. ^ Deportivo Cuenca was saved from relegation by winning the Group 2 of the Clausura.

Championship playoff

Emelec1 – 0LDU Quito
LDU Quito7 – 0Emelec
de la Cruz ?', ?', ?'
E. Hurtado ?', ?'
Caicedo ?' (o.g.)
Escobar ?' (pen.)


 Serie A
1998 champion 
LDU Quito
5th title