| Season | 1979 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 1 April 1979 – 26 January 1980 |
| Champions | Sporting Cristal |
| Relegated | León de Huánuco |
| Copa Libertadores | Sporting Cristal Sporting Cristal |
| Top goalscorer | José Leyva (28 goals) |
←1978 1980 → | |
The1979Torneo Descentralizado, the top category ofPeruvianfootball (soccer), was played by 16 teams. The national champion wasSporting Cristal.
The season was divided into 2 stages. On the first stage, top 8 teams qualified to play for the championship with a points bonus of 3, 2 and 1 for the top 3; bottom eight qualified to play for relegation with a points penalty of -1, -2 and -3 for bottom three. Teams entered the second stage without carrying their whole season records. As three teams tied on points the last place of Relegation Group they had to enter a Relegation Playoff that was played in Lima.
| Promoted from 1978 Copa Perú | Relegated from 1978 Primera División |
|---|---|
 Juventud La Palma(1st) |  Defensor Lima(16th) |
| Team | City | Stadium | Capacity | Field |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alfonso Ugarte | Puno | Enrique Torres Belón | 20,000 | Grass |
| Alianza Lima | La Victoria,Lima | Alejandro Villanueva | 35,000 | Grass |
| Atlético Chalaco | Callao | Miguel Grau | 15,000 | Grass |
| Atlético Torino | Talara | Campeonísimo | 8,000 | Grass |
| CNI | Iquitos | Max Augustín | 24,000 | Grass |
| Coronel Bolognesi | Tacna | Jorge Basadre | 19,850 | Grass |
| Deportivo Junín | Huancayo | Huancayo | 20,000 | Grass |
| Deportivo Municipal | Cercado de Lima | Nacional | 45,750 | Grass |
| Juan Aurich | Chiclayo | Elías Aguirre | 24,500 | Grass |
| Juventud La Palma | Huacho | Segundo Aranda Torres | 12,000 | Grass |
| León de Huánuco | Huánuco | Heraclio Tapia | 15,000 | Grass |
| Melgar | Arequipa | Mariano Melgar | 20,000 | Grass |
| Sport Boys | Callao | Miguel Grau | 15,000 | Grass |
| Sporting Cristal | Rímac,Lima | Nacional | 45,750 | Grass |
| Unión Huaral | Huaral | Julio Lores Colan | 10,000 | Grass |
| Universitario | Breña,Lima | Nacional | 45,750 | Grass |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Universitario | 30 | 16 | 9 | 5 | 44 | 19 | +25 | 41 | Liguilla Final, Bonus +3 |
| 2 | Juan Aurich | 30 | 13 | 12 | 5 | 30 | 24 | +6 | 38 | Liguilla Final, Bonus +2 |
| 3 | Sporting Cristal | 30 | 10 | 15 | 5 | 46 | 26 | +20 | 35 | Liguilla Final, Bonus +1 |
| 4 | Alianza Lima | 30 | 12 | 9 | 9 | 48 | 26 | +22 | 33 | Liguilla Final |
| 5 | Alfonso Ugarte | 30 | 14 | 5 | 11 | 42 | 43 | −1 | 33 | |
| 6 | Unión Huaral | 30 | 8 | 15 | 7 | 32 | 29 | +3 | 31 | |
| 7 | Atlético Chalaco | 30 | 9 | 13 | 8 | 28 | 27 | +1 | 31 | |
| 8 | Deportivo Junín | 30 | 11 | 8 | 11 | 39 | 43 | −4 | 30 | |
| 9 | León de Huánuco | 30 | 12 | 6 | 12 | 32 | 42 | −10 | 30 | Liguilla Descenso |
| 10 | Sport Boys | 30 | 11 | 7 | 12 | 35 | 37 | −2 | 29 | |
| 11 | Deportivo Municipal | 30 | 11 | 6 | 13 | 30 | 34 | −4 | 28 | |
| 12 | CNI | 30 | 10 | 8 | 12 | 33 | 45 | −12 | 28 | |
| 13 | Coronel Bolognesi | 30 | 11 | 5 | 14 | 36 | 40 | −4 | 27 | |
| 14 | Atlético Torino | 30 | 7 | 10 | 13 | 25 | 37 | −12 | 24 | Liguilla Descenso, Penalty -1 |
| 15 | Juventud La Palma | 30 | 6 | 10 | 14 | 21 | 32 | −11 | 22 | Liguilla Descenso, Penalty -2 |
| 16 | Melgar | 30 | 6 | 8 | 16 | 26 | 43 | −17 | 20 | Liguilla Descenso, Penalty -3 |
| Home \ Away | UGA | ALI | CHA | TOR | CNI | BOL | JUN | MUN | AUR | JLP | LEO | MEL | SBA | CRI | HUA | UNI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alfonso Ugarte | 3–1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2–0 | 1–0 | – | 2–0 | |
| Alianza Lima | 8–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 8–0 | 1–2 | 4–0 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 4–1 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | |
| Atlético Chalaco | – | 1–0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1–1 | 0–0 | – | 1–1 | |
| Atlético Torino | – | 1–1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1–1 | 0–0 | – | 0–1 | |
| CNI | – | 2–0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1–0 | 2–2 | – | 0–1 | |
| Coronel Bolognesi | – | 0–2 | – | – | – | – | – | 1–1 | – | – | – | 1–0 | 0–0 | – | 1–0 | |
| Deportivo Junín | – | 1–0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1–0 | 0–0 | – | 1–1 | |
| Deportivo Municipal | – | 0–3 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 0–1 | 0–1 | – | 1–2 | |
| Juan Aurich | – | 0–0 | – | – | – | 4–2 | – | – | – | – | – | 0–2 | 0–0 | – | 0–2 | |
| Juventud La Palma | – | 2–0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1–2 | 1–1 | – | 0–2 | |
| León de Huánuco | – | 1–1 | – | – | – | – | 1–1 | – | – | – | – | 1–0 | 1–0 | – | 2–3 | |
| Melgar | – | 1–1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2–3 | 2–7 | – | 0–0 | |
| Sport Boys | 2–2 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 3–2 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 0–0 | |
| Sporting Cristal | 7–0 | 4–2 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | |
| Unión Huaral | – | 0–0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1–1 | 3–0 | 0–1 | |
| Universitario | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 5–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | BP | Pts | Qualification | CRI | CHA | JAU | ALI | ALF | UNI | JUN | HUA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sporting Cristal(C) | 14 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 26 | 8 | +18 | 1 | 23 | 1980 Copa Libertadores | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 6–1 | 2–1 | ||
| 2 | Atlético Chalaco | 14 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 17 | 7 | +10 | 0 | 19 | 1980 Copa Libertadores | 0–0 | – | 0–0 | – | 1–0 | – | – | ||
| 3 | Juan Aurich | 14 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 16 | 11 | +5 | 2 | 18 | 1–0 | – | 2–1 | – | 1–0 | – | – | |||
| 4 | Alianza Lima | 14 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 16 | 13 | +3 | 0 | 17 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–2 | |||
| 5 | Alfonso Ugarte | 14 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 16 | 20 | −4 | 0 | 13 | 1–1 | – | – | 1–1 | 1–0 | – | – | |||
| 6 | Universitario | 14 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 11 | 19 | −8 | 3 | 11 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | |||
| 7 | Deportivo Junín | 14 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 13 | 28 | −15 | 0 | 11 | 1–1 | – | – | 2–2 | – | 1–0 | – | |||
| 8 | Unión Huaral | 14 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 17 | 26 | −9 | 0 | 6 | 1–4 | – | – | 2–2 | – | 1–2 | – |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | BP | Pts | Relegation | SBA | BOL | MEL | TOR | MUN | CNI | JLP | LEÓ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Sport Boys | 14 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 24 | 19 | +5 | 0 | 17 | 5–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–4 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 6–3 | |||
| 10 | Coronel Bolognesi | 14 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 15 | 16 | −1 | 0 | 14 | 0–0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| 11 | Melgar | 14 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 16 | 12 | +4 | −3 | 13 | 4–0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| 12 | Atlético Torino | 14 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 17 | 14 | +3 | −1 | 13 | 3–2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| 13 | Deportivo Municipal | 14 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 15 | 19 | −4 | 0 | 13 | 0–1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| 14 | CNI | 14 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 13 | 12 | +1 | 0 | 12 | Relegation play-off | 1–2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 15 | Juventud La Palma | 14 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 13 | 15 | −2 | −2 | 12 | 0–0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| 16 | León de Huánuco | 14 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 15 | 21 | −6 | 0 | 12 | 0–2 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Relegation | CNI | JLP | LEÓ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CNI | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 4 | 2–1 | ||||
| 2 | Juventud La Palma | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 2 | 2–0 | ||||
| 3 | León de Huánuco(R) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | −4 | 0 | 1980 Copa Perú | 0–2 |
