Venezuela. First Division was going to be increased to 16 teams, so one was relegated and three promoted this season. The top 3 of the Second Division went up: Deportivo Galicia – champion, Minerven FC – second, and Arroceros.
First Division – championship in 2 stages. In the first the top 8 qualified to the second final stage and the bottom 6 ended the season – the last was relegated. It was UCV – Universidad Central de Venezuela (Caracas). They were absolute outsiders, finishing with 8 points and winning only a single match.
Peninsulares de Araya was 13th with 21 points, Deportivo Italia – 12th with 21 points,
Estudiantes (Merida) – 11th with 21 pointa.
Atletico Anzoategui – 10th with 24 points and ULA (Merida) – 9th with 27 points.
The top 8 continued as mini-league from scratch and the final table here was real final. In brackets teams positions in the first stage are given.
Mineros de Guayana (3rd with 31 points) finished 8th with 8 points.
Portuguesa (4th with 30 points) – 7th with 8 points.
Pepeganga Margarita (7th with 29 points) – 6th with 9 points.
Union Deportiva Lara (5th with 30 points) – 5th with 11 points.
Atletico Zamora (6th with 30 points) – 4th with 14 points.
Caracas FC (2nd with 31 points) – 3rd with 17 points.
UA Tachira (8th with 28 points) – 2nd with 20 points.
CS Maritimo (Caracas) (1st with 33 points) – 1st with 25 points. Grand season for Maritimo – they were supreme in both stages of the championship, winning the first stage with 11 wins, 11 ties and 4 losses. 28-10 goal-difference. But in the final stage they did not allowed anybody to come close – 12 wins, 1 tie, 1 lost match, 20-4 goal-difference. UA Tachira, seemingly saving their strength for the final phase, still finished 5 points behind. But most important was that Maritimo won its very first title!
First title won in such superior way deserves a second picture. Girls included.
Not played – or played in 1989? At least records state missing year.
When one looks at the records, it is impressive – Defence Force reached the CONCACAF final regularly, even won the Cup once. In terms of Carribean football, no doubt they were best for a long time, but in a larger picture it was not so. And the club was quite aware of that – otherwise why deciding to play both legs away?
Olimpia (Tegucigalpa) won the trophy without trouble and the victory was great – it was the second time they won it, having to wait a long time, for the first time they won was in 1972. Yes, their opponents were very weak and yes, the Mexicans kind of neglected the tournament, but winners are winners and it was not their fault that the others were weak or not serious. Again, in their own continental terms, Olimpia was one of the strongest clubs – perhaps only the Costarican Alajuelense was equal to them and in the direct clash Olimpia prevailed. Joy in Tegucigalpa and rightly so.
Correcaminos UAT was the relegated team this season, finishing with 29 points, but they were relegated only on worse goal-difference. Atletico Potosino survived, having better goal-difference.
Atlante – 7th in the ‘Tabla General’ with 40 points, but 3rd in Group 1 and
Cruz Azul – 8th in the general table also with 40 points, but 3rd in Group 2.
Angeles de Puebla, 5th.
Atlas, 4th and Atletico Potosino, 5th.
Necaxa, 3rd, Neza, 4th, and
Irapuato, 5th.
Tigres UANL, 3rd and Monterrey, 4th.
Toluca (2nd Group 4) lost to U de G (1st Group 2) 0-1 and 0-1.
Atletico Morelia was eliminated by America 2-2, 3-3, 1-3 penalty shoot-out, and
UNAM ended with silver – not bad, but still disappointing.
America won its 7th title and really deserved it: they were the best team all the way. Was just a regular championship, they would have been champions, leaving the rest well behind with their 55 points. Apart from the first leg of the final, they did not lose any game during the direct elimination stages. Atletico Morelia gave them the fright, but still America prevailed in the shoot-out. Their best squad played exciting football, using 4-4-2 scheme: A. Chavez – E. Herrera, G. Huerta, A. Tena, G. Naranjo – J. Luna, C. Ortega, A.C. Santos, G. Farfan – C. Hermosillo, L. R. Alves.
Admiration for their coach Jorge Vieira – he made very attractive and successful squad and won the championship.
Leon was the best team in the regular season by far – 21 wins, 9 ties, 8 losses, 82-46, 67 points. In the combined ‘final’ table they were 4 points ahead of the 2nd, Santos Laguna, and 13 points ahead of the 3rd – Cobras Ciudad Juarez. Unfortunately, the regular season was only the first phase of the championship -Leon won its Group 4, of course, and qualified to the next stage. Cobras was 2nd in the same group.
Santos Laguna suffered more – they were 2nd overall, much stronger than Cobras in the regular season and won their Group 1. And that pretty much the end of them…
Unfortunate Leon – they were best the whole long season, but lost by a single goal at the end.
Cobras Ciudad Juarez were champions of Second Division and promoted back to First Division, from which they were relegated in the previous season. They won the match which mattered most, what could you say… as for their return, it was the return of the franchise – Cobras played in the top league before they were Cobras, then the franchise was sold and renamed, then moved to Ciudad Juarez. A typical journey of a Mexican club from name to name and from city to city. Just for that one may not care much for the winners – but they had cute kit.
The picture says Herediano won. So the existing record – the final ended 1-0 Herediano, with a goal scored by Mario Orta in the 87th minute.
However, in the list of Costa Rican champions Deportivo Sapirssa stays. Who was the champion and why?
Kalusha Bwalya (Zambia and Cercle Brugge) won without any doubt with 111 points.
May be playing for smallish Belgian club, but also the star of exciting and unfortunate Zambian national team. If Milla was established star for years, he also represented the old by now – 25-years old Bwalya was the current wave of players not just struggling to establish themselves in Europe, but players recognized for talent and much in demand. Players more or less on equal footing with native European professionals. Bwalya was by no means one-time wonder: his best and most famous years were yet to come.
Here is a moment from the finals – hard to tell what is celebrated: looks like a goal scored, but in the official records there is no goal scored in the 23rd minute in any leg.
Iwuanyanwu Nationale (Owerri) confirmed the steady ascent of Nigerian football. They lost, but still reaching the final was a triumph.
ES Setif was the second Algerian club winning African cup. Back in 1976 Mouloudia d’Algiers won after penalty shoot-out drama – ES Setif bettered that with a clean victory.
In the home leg they were supreme, leaving no doubt who deserves the trophy. Their first! And in the year when they were relegated from First Division, as it happened.
Ranchers Bees – or Rancher’s Bees – from Kaduna lost the final by a single goal. It was great success for one of the less known African clubs.
Exotic name, no doubt, but also very hard to find – little chance this photo is from their may be greatest season. Not sure even if it was from the period – but, conditionally, let have it.
Club Athletique Bizertin, usually known just as CA Bizerte, achieved its greatest success in their already 60-years of existence.
It was great historic success on two accounts – not only CA Bizerte won its first continental trophy, but it was the first time Tunisian club won. And it was just the second time Tunisian team reached a final – in the previous year in the same tournament Esperance Sportive lost. Great and proud moment for both club and country.
MC Alger finished 13th with 34 points and escaped relegation only because… who knows because. They finished with absolutely identical record with unfortunate EP Setif. Unless head-to-head results were considered, it was a mystery.
The other mystery concerns Entente Setif – there was only EP Setif, but not ES Setif in the league. For lack of other indications, this team should be considered the one and the same which concurred Africa this year – and was strangely relegated from the Algerian First Division, taking 14th place.
Standing from left: Benmimoun – Belatoui – Bott – Meziane – Belabbès – Drid. First row: Mecheri – Sebbah – Belloumi – Foussi – Chérif El-Ouazzani.