| Event | 1990–91 Argentine Primera División | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| (onaggregate). Newell's won 3–1 onpenalties | |||||||
| First leg | |||||||
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| Date | 6 Jul 1991 | ||||||
| Venue | Gigante de Arroyito,Rosario | ||||||
| Referee | Crespi | ||||||
| Second leg | |||||||
| |||||||
| Date | 9 Jul 1991 | ||||||
| Venue | La Bombonera,Buenos Aires | ||||||
| Referee | Francisco Lamolina | ||||||
The1990–91 Argentine Primera División finals were the matches to define the1990–91 season ofArgentine Primera División. It was played betweenNewell's Old Boys (winners of 1990 Apertura) andBoca Juniors (winners of 1991 Clausura).[1]
The 1990–91 season was the first played under theApertura and Clausura format, a singleround-robin tournament format that lasted for several years in Primera División. Both finalists played atwo-legged tie series in order to decide the champion of the whole season.
It was the 5th. league final contested by Boca Juniors after1923 (won a four-matches series vHuracán[2]) and1929 (lost vGimnasia y Esgrima La Plata),[3][4]1970, and1976. On the other hand, it was the 1st league final played by Newell's Old Boys.
The matches were held in theEstadio Gigante de Arroyito, andLa Bombonera. Newell's won their 3rd. league title after defeating Boca Juniors 3–1 onpenalties.[1]
| Team | Qualification | Previous finals app. |
|---|---|---|
| Newell's Old Boys | 1990 Apertura winners | (none) |
| Boca Juniors | 1991 Clausura winners | 1923,1929,1970,1976 |
Bold indicates winning years
| Rosario | Buenos Aires |
| Gigante de Arroyito Stadium | La Bombonera |
| Capacity:46,955 | Capacity:57,200 |
 |  |
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Boca Juniors and Newell's Old Boys had already played a decisive match when both teams met in the1986 Liguilla Pre-Libertadores final.[5] TheLiguilla was a small tournament played by the best placed teams of both, Primera División and regional Torneo del Interior, in order to qualify a second Argentine representative toCopa Libertadores.[6] In the 1986 edition, Boca Juniors defeated Newell's 4–3 onaggregate. Therefore Boca Juniors was the 2nd. team qualified to the1986 Copa Libertadores.[5]
Diego Latorre andGabriel Batistuta had been the most notable players for Boca Juniors during the 1991 Clausura, when they formed one of the most notable offensive teams in the history of the club. Boca had finished the tournament unbeaten, with 13 wins and 6 draws out of 19 matches played.[1][7]
Nevertheless, after both players were called up to play forArgentina national football team in the1991 Copa America, they could not play the series with Boca Juniors. As replacements, the club hired midfielderGerardo Reinoso and Brazilian strikerRenato Gaúcho, just to play those two matches.[8] On the other side, Newell's playersDarío Franco andFernando Gamboa were also called up for Argentina so they could not play the finals with Newell's.[7]
| Newell's Old Boys | 1–0 | Boca Juniors |
|---|---|---|
Berizzo 47' | Report |
          Newell's O.B. |      Boca Juniors |
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| Boca Juniors | 1–0 (a.e.t.) | Newell's Old Boys |
|---|---|---|
| Reinoso 81' | Report | |
| Penalties | ||
| 1–3 |
|
Boca Juniors | Newell's O.B. |
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Newell's and Boca Juniors had celebrated the 1990 Clausura and 1991 Apertura as indidivual titles for them, although in June 1991 the AFA's Executive Committee decided (with all the PD clubs agreeing to the decision) that the 1990–91 season would have only one champion so a final would be conducted in order to decide a winner of the season.[7]
The controversy caused AFA to recognise Apertura and Clausura tournaments as individual (and official) titles for their winners. From then on (starting with the1991–92 season), winners of the following editions were recognised as official champions with no need to play a final.[7]
According to that, Boca Juniors have claimed the 1991 Apertura be recognised as another league title for the club,[9][10] as AFA did with the titles win in1936 (the first season to be split into two tournaments, "Copa Campeonato" and "Copa de Honor") bySan Lorenzo andRiver Plate). Both teams played a final (named "Copa de Oro") to define the champion of the season.[11] In June 2013 (77 years after the match was played) AFA cited on its website the "Copa Campeonato" as a league title for River Plate. The "Copa de Honor" was also included as a league title for San Lorenzo de Almagro.[12][13][14]
