2017–18 Guatemalan Liga Nacional

Liga Nacional de Fútbol de Guatemala
Season2017–18
ChampionsApertura:
Antigua (3rd title)
Clausura:
Guastatoya (1st title)
Champions LeagueTBD
CONCACAF LeagueNone due to FIFA suspension
Matches played72
Goals scored174 (2.42 per match)
Biggest home winComunicaciones 5-1 Marquense
(23 September 2017)
Biggest away winMarquense 0-7 Municipal
(2018)

The 2017–18 Liga Nacional de Fútbol de Guatemala season is the 20th season in which the Apertura and Clausura season is used. The season began on 28 July 2017 and will ended in May 2018.

Format

The format for both championships are identical. Each championship will have two stages: a first stage and a playoff stage. The first stage of each championship is a double round-robin format. The teams that finish first and second in the standings will advance to the playoffs semifinals, while the teams that finish 3–6 will enter in the quarterfinals. The winner of each quarterfinal will advance to the semifinals. The winners of the semifinals will advance to the finals, which will determine the tournament champion.

Managerial changes

Beginning of the season

Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Replaced by Date of appointment Position in table
Malacateco Costa Rica Resigned May 2017 Costa Rica Mauricio Wright May 2017 th (Clausura 2018)

During the Apertura season

Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Replaced by Date of appointment Position in table
Sanarate Guatemala Héctor Julián Trujillo Resigned October 2017 Argentina Horacio Cordero October 2017 th (Apertura 2015)
Deportivo Marquense Guatemala Óscar Ulises Sosa Sacked September 2017 Guatemala Gabriel Castillo September 2017 th (Apertura 2015)
Cobán Imperial Uruguay Ariel Sena Sacked August 2017 Guatemala Fabricio Benitez August 2017 th (Apertura 2015)
Municipal Uruguay Gustavo Machaín Sacked Oct 2017 Paraguay Ever Hugo Almeida Oct 2017 th (Apertura 2015)
C.D. Suchitepequez Guatemala Walter Claverí Sacked Oct 2017 Guatemala Erick González Oct 2017 th (Apertura 2015)

Between Apertura and Clausura seasons

Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Replaced by Date of appointment Position in table
Municipal Paraguay Éver Hugo Almeida Contract finished December 2017 Costa Rica Hernan Medford December 2017 and Runners up (Apertura 2017)
Suchitepéquez Guatemala Erick González Contract finished December 2017 Peru Agustin Castillo December 2017 (Apertura 2017)
Sanarate Argentina Horacio Cordero Resigned December 2017 Argentina Pablo Centrone December 2017 th (Apertura 2015)
Siquinalá Guatemala Jairo Pérez Sacked December 2017 Argentina Daniel Berta December 2017 (Apertura 2017)

During the Apertura season

Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Replaced by Date of appointment Position in table
Suchitepéquez Peru Agustin Castillo Sacked February 2018 Uruguay Eduardo Méndez 2018 th (Clausura 2018)
Xelaju MC Costa Rica Ronald Gómez Sacked February 2018 Guatemala Walter Claveri February 2018 th (Clausura 2018)
Malacateco Costa Rica Mauricio Wright Resigned February 2018 Costa Rica Ronald Gómez February 2018 th (Clausura 2018)
Comunicaciones Costa Rica Ronald González Sacked February 2018 Uruguay Willy Coito Olivera February 2018 (Apertura 2017)
Marquense Guatemala Gabriel Castillo Sacked April 2018 Argentina Aldo Da Pozzo April 2018 th (Clausura 2018)

Apertura

The 2017 Torneo Apertura began on 28 July 2017 and will end in December 2017.

Personnel and sponsoring

Team Chairman Head Coach Kitmaker Shirt sponsor
Antigua GFC Guatemala Rafael Arreaga Argentina Mauricio Tapia TBD Banrural, Horcalba, Pepsi
Cobán Imperial Guatemala Irasema Meléndez Uruguay Ariel Sena TBD TBD
Comunicaciones Mexico Pedro Portilla Costa Rica Ronald González Puma TBD
Guastatoya Guatemala Guatemala Amarini Villatoro TBD TBD
Malacateco Guatemala TBD Costa Rica Mauricio Wright TBD TBD
Marquense Guatemala TBD Argentina Néstor Emilio Soria TBD TBD
Municipal Guatemala TBD Uruguay Gustavo Machaín TBD TBD
Deportivo Petapa Guatemala Mynor Morales Argentina Ramiro Cepeda TBD TBD
Sanarate Guatemala TBD Argentina Héctor Julián Trujillo
Siquinalá Guatemala TBD Guatemala Jairo Pérez
Suchitepéquez Guatemala TBD Guatemala Walter Claverí TBD TBD
Xelajú Guatemala TBD Costa Rica Ronald Gómez RetoSports TBD

Table

Standings

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Antigua GFC 22 11 5 6 35 16 +19 38 Qualified to the Semifinals
2 Petapa 22 11 5 6 35 19 +16 38
3 Municipal 22 9 8 5 24 18 +6 35 Qualified to the Quarterfinals
4 Xelajú MC 22 10 5 7 30 27 +3 35
5 Cobán Imperial 22 9 8 5 28 25 +3 35
6 Guastatoya 22 9 7 6 33 21 +12 34
7 Comunicaciones 22 9 7 6 28 20 +8 34
8 Malacateco 22 7 5 10 29 29 0 26
9 Sanarate 22 7 5 10 14 22 −8 26
10 Suchitepéquez 22 6 4 12 24 43 −19 22
11 Siquinalá 22 6 2 14 19 38 −19 20
12 Marquense 22 5 5 12 18 39 −21 20
Updated to match(es) played on 26 November 2017. Source: [1]
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Results

Home \ Away ANT COB COM GUA MAL MAR MUN PET SAN SIQ SUC XEL
Antigua GFC 2–0 0–0 2–1 4–0 2–1 1–1 2–0 2–0 2–0 5–0 2–0
Coban Imperial 1–1 3–2 4–2 1–0 2–0 3–1 2–2 2–0 1–1 2–1 1–1
Comunicaciones 2–1 0–0 1–0 3–0 5–1 1–1 3–1 0–1 1–0 2–0 2–1
Guastatoya 0–0 2–0 2–0 3–1 4–2 1–2 2–1 1–0 3–0 4–1 3–0
Malacateco 0–3 5–0 2–0 2–2 4–0 1–1 3–0 0–0 2–0 3–0 1–2
Marquense 2–2 1–1 2–0 1–1 1–0 1–0 0–4 0–1 1–0 2–0 1–1
Municipal 1–0 1–0 0–0 0–0 2–1 1–0 0–1 2–0 2–0 2–0 0–1
Petapa 2–0 0–0 0–0 1–0 0–1 2–0 1–1 1–1 3–0 3–0 3–0
Sanarate 0–2 0–1 1–1 1–0 1–1 0–0 2–1 0–2 1–0 2–0 2–0
Siquinalá 3–2 0–2 0–3 1–1 3–1 4–0 1–2 1–4 1–0 2–0 2–1
Suchitepéquez 1–0 2–2 2–2 1–1 3–1 3–1 1–1 1–3 1–0 2–0 4–1
Xelajú MC 1–0 1–0 2–0 0–0 0–0 2–1 2–2 2–1 4–1 4–0 4–1
Updated to match(es) played on 1 October 2017. Source: [2]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Playoffs

Quarterfinals Semifinals Final
Cobán Imperial 1 0 1
4 Guastatoya 1 0 1 1 Antigua GFC 0 1 1
5 Municipal 1 2 3 Municipal 1 1 2
Antigua GFC 1 2 3
Municipal 2 3 5
3 Cobán Imperial 1 2 3 2 Petapa 1 0 1
6 Xelajú MC 1 2 3

Quarterfinals

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Guastatoya 1 – 3 Municipal 1 – 1 0 – 2
Cobán Imperial 3 – 3 [3] Xelajú MC 1 – 1 2 – 2

^ Cobán Imperial wins on away goals


First leg

Guastatoya1 – 1Municipal
Mejía 73' Report Pérez 63'
Estadio David Cordón Hichos
Cobán Imperial1 – 1Xelajú MC
Álvarez 85' Report Albizures 15'
Estadio Verapaz

Second leg

Municipal2 – 0Guastatoya
Lopez 31'
Suénaga 64'		 Report
Estadio El Trébol
Xelajú MC2 – 2Cobán Imperial
Brand 45+1', 68' (pen.) Report Guerra 19' (pen.), 38'
Estadio Mario Camposeco

Semifinals

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Cobán Imperial 1 – 1 Antigua GFC[4] 1 – 0 0 – 1
Municipal 5 – 1 Petapa 2 – 1 3 – 0

^ Antigua GFC wins on away goals

First leg

Cobán Imperial1 – 0Antigua GFC
Lombardi 62' Report
Estadio Verapaz
Municipal2 – 1Petapa
Suénaga 42'
Lopez 48'		 Report López 60' (o.g.)
Estadio Mateo Flores

Second leg

Antigua GFC1 – 0Cobán Imperial
Herrera 74' Report
Estadio Pensativo
Petapa0 – 3Municipal
Report Reyna 3'
Martínez 63'
Pérez 87'
Estadio Municipal de San Miguel Petapa

Finals

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Municipal 2 – 3 Antigua GFC 1 – 1 1 – 2


First leg

Municipal1 – 1Antigua GFC
Baloy 83' Report Lopez 47' (o.g.)
Estadio Mateo Flores
Referee: Walter Lopez Castellanos

Second leg

Antigua GFC2 – 1Municipal
Mena 16'
Díaz 52'		 Report Reyna 41'
Estadio Pensativo


 Apertura 2017 champions 
Antigua GFC
3rd title

Clausura

The 2018 Torneo Clausura is expected to begin in January 2018 and end in May 2018.

Personnel and sponsoring

Team Chairman Head Coach Kitmaker Shirt sponsor
Antigua GFC Guatemala Rafael Arreaga Argentina Mauricio Tapia TBD Pegamex
Cobán Imperial Guatemala TBD Guatemala Fabricio Benítez Puma TBD
Comunicaciones Mexico Pedro Portilla Uruguay Willy Coito Olivera TBD TBd
Guastatoya Guatemala Lester Rodríguez Guatemala Amarini Villatoro TBD TBD
Malacateco Guatemala TBD Costa Rica Ronald Gomez TBD TBD
Marquense Guatemala TBD Argentina Aldo Da Pozzo TBD TBD
Municipal Guatemala Gerardo Villa Costa Rica Hernán Medford TBD TBD
Deportivo Petapa Guatemala TBD Argentina Ramiro Cepeda TBD TBD
Sanarate Guatemala TBD Argentina Pablo Centrone
Siquinalá Guatemala TBD Argentina Daniel Berta
Suchitepéquez Guatemala TBD Guatemala Othoniel Arce TBD TBD
Xelajú Guatemala TBD Guatemala Wálter Claverí RetoSports TBD

Table

Standings

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Sanarate 22 11 7 4 29 14 +15 40 Qualified to the Semifinals
2 Cobán Imperial 22 12 3 7 32 21 +11 39
3 Guastatoya 22 11 5 6 27 18 +9 38 Qualified to the Quarterfinals
4 Antigua GFC 22 11 4 7 42 34 +8 37
5 Xelajú MC 22 9 4 9 31 31 0 31
6 Siquinalá 22 8 7 7 20 22 −2 31
7 Comunicaciones 22 8 5 9 22 26 −4 29
8 Petapa 22 9 2 11 27 33 −6 29
9 Municipal 22 8 4 10 34 28 +6 28
10 Suchitepéquez 22 7 4 11 29 36 −7 25
11 Malacateco 22 7 4 11 25 32 −7 25
12 Marquense 22 4 5 13 16 39 −23 17
Source: [citation needed]

(May 07, 2018) Publication of the date=15/04/2018 page 60

Results

Home \ Away ANT COB COM GUA MAL MAR MUN PET SAN SIQ SUC XEL
Antigua GFC 1–3 1–2 1–1 4–3 4–1 3–2 1–2 2–0 2–0 2–3 3–1
Cobán Imperial 2–1 2–1 2–0 3–1 1–1 3–1 4–2 0–0 2–0 4–2 2–1
Comunicaciones 0–2 1–0 0–2 2–0 2–1 0–1 3–2 1–1 0–0 1–0 2–0
Guastatoya 3–2 1–0 1–0 3–0 2–0 2–0 1–0 2–1 1–1 1–2 3–1
Malacateco 0–1 1–0 3–0 2–1 2–0 2–2 1–0 3–3 2–0 1–0 2–2
Marquense 2–2 0–0 0–1 1–1 1–0 0–7 2–1 2–1 1–2 2–1 1–2
Municipal 1–2 0–1 1–1 1–0 2–0 4–1 4–0 0–2 0–1 2–0 2–3
Petapa 2–2 2–1 2–1 0–1 2–1 1–0 0–1 1–0 3–0 2–3 2–0
Sanarate 0–0 1–0 0–0 1–1 1–0 3–0 3–0 4–0 1–0 1–0 1–0
Siquinalá 1–2 2–0 1–1 1–0 0–0 1–0 2–1 0–0 1–1 2–0 2–1
Suchitepéquez 1–3 1–0 3–2 2–0 3–1 0–0 0–0 2–3 1–3 1–1 1–1
Xelajú MC 3–0 1–2 3–1 0–0 2–0 1–0 2–2 1–0 0–1 2–1 4–3
Updated to match(es) played on 2017. Source: [5]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Playoffs

Quarterfinals Semifinals Final
Sanarate 1 1 2
4 Antigua GFC 0 0 0 Xelajú MC 2 1 3
5 Xelajú MC 2 1 3 Xelaju MC 1 0 1
Guastatoya 1 2 3
Cobán Imperial 0 0 0
3 Guastatoya 1 4 5 Guastatoya 1 0 1
6 Siquinalá 1 0 1

Quarterfinals

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Antigua GFC 0 – 3 Xelajú MC 0 – 2 0 – 1
Guastatoya 5 – 1 Siquinalá 1 – 1 4 – 0


First leg

Xelajú MC2 – 0Antigua GFC
Mario Castellanos 14'
Jorge Mario Ortiz 18'		 None
Estadio Mario Camposeco, Quetzaltenango
Siquinalá1 – 1Guastatoya
Oscar Martinez 72' Jose Corena 14'

Second leg

Antigua GFC0 – 1Xelaju MC
None Juan Carlos Silva 90'
Estadio Pensativo, Antigua

Xelaju won 3-0 on aggregate.

Guastatoya4 – 0Siquinalá
Angel Rodriguez 13' 65'
Fredy Orellana 74'
Jorge Vargas 84'		 None
Estadio David Cordón Hichos, Guastatoya

Guastatoya won 5-1 on aggregate.

Semifinals

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Sanarate 2 – 3 Xelajú MC 1 – 2 1 – 1
Cobán Imperial 0 – 1 Guastatoya 0 – 1 0 – 0

First leg

Xelajú MC2 – 1Sanarate
Mario Castellanos 39'
Jorge Mario Ortiz 44'		 Erickson Pinzon 76'
Estadio Mario Camposeco, Quetzaltenango
Guastatoya1 – 0Cobán Imperial
Omar Dominguez 88' None
Estadio David Cordón Hichos, Guastatoya

Second leg

Sanarate1 – 1Xelajú MC
Kevin Elias 60' Jorge Mario Ortiz 70'
Estadio Municipal de Sanarate, Sanarate

Xelajú MC won 3-2 on aggregate.

Cobán Imperial0 – 0Guastatoya
None None
Estadio Verapaz Jose Angel Rossi, Cobán

Guastatoya won 1-0 on aggregate.

Finals

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Xelaju MC 1 – 3 Guastatoya 1 – 1 0 – 2


First leg

Xelaju MC1 – 1Guastatoya
Héctor Moreira 47' [6] Ángel Rodriguez 64'
Estadio Mario Camposeco, Quetzaltenango

Second leg

Guastatoya2 – 0Xelaju MC
Jorge Vargas 23'
Fredy Orellana 70'		 [7] None
Estadio David Cordón Hichos, Guastatoya


 Clausura 2018 champions 
Guastatoya
1st title

List of foreign players in the league

This is a list of foreign players in 2017-2018 season. The following players:

  1. have played at least one apertura game for the respective club.
  2. have not been capped for the Guatemala national football team on any level, independently from the birthplace

A new rule was introduced a few season ago, that clubs can only have five foreign players per club and can only add a new player if there is an injury or player/s is released.

Aggregate table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Antigua GFC 44 22 9 13 77 50 +27 75
2 Cobán Imperial 44 21 11 12 60 46 +14 74
3 Guastatoya 44 20 12 12 60 39 +21 72 2019 CONCACAF Champions League
4 Petapa 44 20 7 17 62 52 +10 67
5 Sanarate 44 18 12 14 43 36 +7 66
6 Xelajú MC 44 19 9 16 61 58 +3 66
7 Municipal 44 17 12 15 58 46 +12 63
8 Comunicaciones 44 17 12 15 50 46 +4 63
9 Malacateco 44 14 9 21 54 61 −7 51
10 Siquinalá 44 14 9 21 39 60 −21 51
11 Suchitepéquez 44 13 8 23 53 79 −26 47 Relegation to 2017-2018 Primera División de Ascenso
12 Marquense 44 9 10 25 34 78 −44 37
Updated to match(es) played on May 7, 2018. Source: [8]
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

CONCACAF Champions League playoff

After the suspension of the National Football Federation of Guatemala was lifted by FIFA in June 2018, it was decided that the representative of Guatemala in the 2019 CONCACAF Champions League would be decided by a two-legged playoff between the 2017 Apertura champions (Antigua GFC) and the 2018 Clausura champions (Guastatoya).[1] The draw for the order of legs was held on 27 June 2018.

Antigua GFC0–1Guastatoya
Rodríguez 85'
Guastatoya0–0Antigua GFC

References

  1. ^ "Antigua y Guastatoya jugarán la "serie definitiva" para ir a la Liga de Concacaf 2019". publinews.gt. 27 June 2018.