| Season | 1997 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Alianza Lima 18th Primera División title |
| Relegated | Alcides Vigo Atlético Torino José Gálvez La Loretana |
| Copa Libertadores | Alianza Lima (first stage) Sporting Cristal (first stage) |
| Copa CONMEBOL | Melgar |
| Copa Merconorte | Alianza Lima Sporting Cristal Universitario |
| Top goalscorer | Ricardo Zegarra (17) |
| Biggest home win | Alianza Atlético 8–1Unión Minas Alianza Atlético 8–1La Loretana |
| Biggest away win | Municipal 1–6Sporting Cristal Torino 0–5Alianza Lima |
| Highest scoring | Alianza Atlético 8–1Unión Minas Alianza Atlético 8–1La Loretana Alianza Lima 5–4Sporting Cristal |
←1996 1998 → | |
The1997Torneo Descentralizado was the 82nd season of the top category ofPeruvianfootball (soccer). It was played by 14 teams. The national champion wasAlianza Lima, their first title in 19 years.
The national championship was divided into two half-yeartournaments, theTorneo Apertura and theTorneo Clausura. Each was played on around-robin basis. The winners of each would play for the national title in a playoff. However, since the same club won both tournaments, it won the national championship automatically.
Following-seasonCopa Libertadores berths went to the champion, as well as to the winner of a Liguilla (small league) featuring teams between second and seventh place on the aggregate table. This had a round-robin format, with the team obtaining the best results in matchups during the "regular season" playing at home. The runner-up would qualify for theCopa CONMEBOL. The bottom four teams on the aggregate table were relegated.
| Promoted from 1996 Segunda División | Promoted from 1996 Copa Perú | Relegated from 1996 Primera División |
|---|---|---|
| Team | City | Stadium | Capacity | Field |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alcides Vigo | Lima | Nacional | 45,750 | Grass |
| Alianza Atlético | Sullana | Campeones del 36 | 8,000 | Grass |
| Alianza Lima | Lima | Alejandro Villanueva | 35,000 | Grass |
| Atlético Torino | Talara | Campeonísimo | 8,000 | Grass |
| Cienciano | Cuzco | Garcilaso | 42,056 | Grass |
| Deportivo Municipal | Lima | Nacional | 45,750 | Grass |
| Deportivo Pesquero | Chimbote | Manuel Rivera Sanchez | 25,000 | Grass |
| José Gálvez | Chimbote | Manuel Rivera Sanchez | 25,000 | Grass |
| La Loretana | Pucallpa | Aliardo Soria | 15,000 | Grass |
| Melgar | Arequipa | Mariano Melgar | 20,000 | Grass |
| Sport Boys | Callao | Miguel Grau | 18,000 | Grass |
| Sporting Cristal | Lima | San Martín de Porres | 18,000 | Grass |
| Unión Minas | Cerro de Pasco | Daniel Alcides Carrión | 8,000 | Grass |
| Universitario | Lima | Nacional | 45,750 | Grass |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alianza Lima | 13 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 27 | 9 | +18 | 30 | Copa Libertadores 1998 Group Stage |
| 2 | Sporting Cristal | 13 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 30 | 13 | +17 | 27 | |
| 3 | Universitario | 13 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 19 | 8 | +11 | 25 | |
| 4 | Cienciano | 13 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 18 | 10 | +8 | 24 | |
| 5 | Deportivo Municipal | 13 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 25 | 23 | +2 | 20 | |
| 6 | Sport Boys | 13 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 15 | 18 | −3 | 18 | |
| 7 | Alianza Atlético | 13 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 22 | 18 | +4 | 15 | |
| 8 | Deportivo Pesquero | 13 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 16 | 16 | 0 | 14 | |
| 9 | Melgar | 13 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 16 | 24 | −8 | 14 | |
| 10 | Atlético Torino | 13 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 14 | 19 | −5 | 13 | |
| 11 | Alcides Vigo | 13 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 13 | 18 | −5 | 12 | |
| 12 | Unión Minas | 13 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 28 | −14 | 12 | |
| 13 | José Gálvez | 13 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 12 | 28 | −16 | 12 | |
| 14 | La Loretana | 13 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 18 | −9 | 11 |
| Home \ Away | AVI | AAS | ALI | TOR | CIE | MUN | PES | GAL | LOR | MEL | SBA | CRI | MIN | UNI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alcides Vigo | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 3–2 | ||||||||
| Alianza Atlético | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 8–1 | 1–1 | |||||||
| Alianza Lima | 0–0 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 5–4 | 0–0 | 1–0 | |||||||
| Atlético Torino | 0–0 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | ||||||||
| Cienciano | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 0–0 | ||||||||
| Deportivo Municipal | 2–0 | 1–2 | 5–0 | 3–1 | 1–6 | 4–0 | 1–2 | |||||||
| Deportivo Pesquero | 0–3 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | |||||||
| José Gálvez | 2–1 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 3–2 | ||||||||
| La Loretana | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | ||||||
| Melgar | 5–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | ||||||||
| Sport Boys | 2–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 3–2 | ||||||
| Sporting Cristal | 2–1 | 4–2 | 6–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | |||||||||
| Unión Minas | 3–1 | 2–4 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | ||||||||
| Universitario | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 5–0 | 2–0 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alianza Lima | 13 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 33 | 7 | +26 | 32 | Copa Libertadores 1998 Group Stage |
| 2 | Universitario | 13 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 19 | 7 | +12 | 28 | |
| 3 | Sporting Cristal | 13 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 25 | 16 | +9 | 22 | |
| 4 | Alianza Atlético | 13 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 24 | 13 | +11 | 21 | |
| 5 | Melgar | 13 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 17 | 16 | +1 | 21 | |
| 6 | Cienciano | 13 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 17 | 13 | +4 | 20 | |
| 7 | Unión Minas | 13 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 15 | 15 | 0 | 20 | |
| 8 | Deportivo Municipal | 13 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 18 | 24 | −6 | 19 | |
| 9 | Deportivo Pesquero | 13 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 17 | 16 | +1 | 15 | |
| 10 | Sport Boys | 13 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 13 | 15 | −2 | 15 | |
| 11 | Alcides Vigo | 13 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 19 | 23 | −4 | 13 | |
| 12 | Atlético Torino | 13 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 13 | 30 | −17 | 10 | |
| 13 | José Gálvez | 13 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 12 | 27 | −15 | 9 | |
| 14 | La Loretana | 13 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 10 | 30 | −20 | 9 |
| Home \ Away | AVI | AAS | ALI | TOR | CIE | MUN | PES | GAL | LOR | MEL | SBA | CRI | MIN | UNI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alcides Vigo | 0–1 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | |||||||
| Alianza Atlético | 0–2 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 8–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 | ||||||||
| Alianza Lima | 2–0 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 5–0 | 2–2 | 0–0 | |||||||
| Atlético Torino | 2–5 | 0–2 | 0–5 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | |||||||
| Cienciano | 2–1 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | |||||||
| Deportivo Municipal | 4–3 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 2–0 | ||||||||
| Deportivo Pesquero | 4–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | ||||||||
| José Gálvez | 4–2 | 0–2 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | |||||||
| La Loretana | 0–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | |||||||||
| Melgar | 3–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | |||||||
| Sport Boys | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | |||||||||
| Sporting Cristal | 1–1 | 2–3 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 4–1 | 4–1 | 0–1 | ||||||
| Unión Minas | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | |||||||
| Universitario | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 |
No finals were held after Alianza Lima won both the Apertura and Clausura tournaments, thus automatically obtaining the national title.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alianza Lima(C) | 26 | 19 | 5 | 2 | 60 | 16 | +44 | 62 | Qualification for1998 Copa Libertadores and1998 Copa Merconorte |
| 2 | Universitario | 26 | 15 | 8 | 3 | 49 | 15 | +34 | 53 | Qualification forLiguilla Pre-Libertadores |
| 3 | Sporting Cristal | 26 | 14 | 7 | 5 | 55 | 29 | +26 | 49 | |
| 4 | Cienciano | 26 | 12 | 8 | 6 | 35 | 23 | +12 | 44 | |
| 5 | Deportivo Municipal | 26 | 12 | 3 | 11 | 43 | 47 | −4 | 39 | |
| 6 | Alianza Atlético | 26 | 10 | 6 | 10 | 46 | 31 | +15 | 36 | |
| 7 | Melgar | 26 | 10 | 5 | 11 | 33 | 40 | −7 | 35 | |
| 8 | Sport Boys | 26 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 28 | 33 | −5 | 33 | |
| 9 | Unión Minas | 26 | 9 | 5 | 12 | 29 | 43 | −14 | 32 | |
| 10 | Deportivo Pesquero | 26 | 7 | 8 | 11 | 33 | 32 | +1 | 29 | |
| 11 | Alcides Vigo(R) | 26 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 32 | 41 | −9 | 25 | Relegation to1998 Segunda División |
| 12 | Atlético Torino(R) | 26 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 27 | 49 | −22 | 23 | Relegation to1998 Copa Perú |
| 13 | José Gálvez(R) | 26 | 6 | 3 | 17 | 24 | 55 | −31 | 21 | |
| 14 | La Loretana(R) | 26 | 4 | 8 | 14 | 19 | 48 | −29 | 20 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation | SC | UNI | MEL | CIE | AAS | MUN | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sporting Cristal | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 1 | +8 | 13 | 1998 Copa Libertadores and1998 Copa Merconorte | 1–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | ||||
| 2 | Universitario | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 4 | +8 | 8 | 1998 Copa Merconorte | 0–0 | 0–0 | 4–0 | ||||
| 3 | Melgar | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 1998 Copa CONMEBOL | 0–3 | 2–0 | |||||
| 4 | Cienciano | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 10 | −2 | 6 | 3–1 | 3–2 | ||||||
| 5 | Alianza Atlético | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 11 | −3 | 5 | 1–1 | 4–2 | ||||||
| 6 | Deportivo Municipal | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 16 | −11 | 1 | 1–7 | 0–1 | 2–2 |
Source:RSSSF