First Division. Simple, straight-forward championship – after playing normal league season everything was done, except for the lowly team going to promotion/relegation playoffs against the second-placed teams in the Second Division Zones. And that was the only mystery this year: seemingly, the 14th in the final table should have been the team going to promotion/relegation stage, but who knows why it was the 13th in the final table. Apart from that – the last 2 were directly relegated and the the 1st was the country champion. A big surprise this year, but not of the pleasant kind.
Universidad de Chile finished 15th with 26 points and became the second relegated team this year. U de Chile – who would believe it? It was easier to allow for very weak season by Palestino, yet, it happened. True, only worse goal-difference and that by a single goal, relegated them, but it was shocking season.
Union Espanola – barely survived with their 26 points. Just a goal better goal-difference placed them above Universidad de Chile. Lucky. Double lucky – they somehow escaped the risky promotion/relegation playoffs.
O’Higgins – 13th with 26 points. Coming ahead of U de Chile was still on better goal-difference, but it was not enough to place them above Union Espanola – the three teams with 26 points had pretty much the same goal-difference: -8 U de Chile and Union Espanola and O’Higgins -7 each. So, the final separation was due to either more goal scored (Union scored 34, O’Higgins 36), or more wins (Union had 9, O’Higgins 10). But… O’Higgins finished ahead of Union Espanola and should have been safely relieved – nothing like that: somehow, they were the team which to the promotion/relegation playoffs and luckily they won their games with the Second Division opponents and preserved their precarious place in the top league. Happy end.
Naval – 12th with 27 points. The fact of this season was that many clubs really battled only for survival – up to the 7-placed team, may be even higher. Naval escaped relegation by 1 point. If they earned 4 more points, they would have been either 6th or 7th. Such was this season.
Everton – 11th with 28 points.
Deportes Valdivia – 10th with 28 points.
Deportes Concepcion – 9th with 29 points.
Huachipato – 8th with 29 points.
Fernandez Vial – 7th with 30 points.
Colo-Colo – 6th with 31 points. Very weak season for them too, but at least they were not relegated like Universidad de Chile. 6th place does not look so terrible, but consider the points: only 5 more than the relegated rivals!
Very good season for Deportes La Serena – 5th with 32 points. Must have been from free pisco suplly by their sponsor…
Universidad Catolica – 4th with 33 points. They must have been quite happy, for usual stayed in the shadows of Colo-Colo and Universdiad de Chile. The photo, however, is suspect – very possibly from the first half of the 1990s, although the given year is 1988.
It may been the quirks of a strange season, but Deportes Iquique ended with bronze medals – 34 points was not much. But most teams finished with less and who can blame them for having more than the most, including the big names? Great year for the club and its supporters, even if Deportes was far behind the leaders.
Cobresal – getting stronger and stronger. 2nd with 37 points and the only team rivaling the winners. 10 years earlier nobody would have believed Cobresal would be a candidate for a title, for they were still an obscure young club in the lower leagues.
Cobreloa – champions after 17 wins, 6 ties, 7 losses, 47-27 goal-difference and 40 points. By now – established leaders. 4th title already. Provincials ruled – Cobreloa first, Cobresal – 2nd. Mining towns ruled, not the capital, which was in terrible shape at the moment.