Venezuela. There was no Second Division championship this year, so the 10 members of the top league did not have to worry about relegation. Mineros Guayana did not for sure – they won only 1 match and finished last with 6 points. The three teams above them did not put much effort either:
Estudiantes finished 8th with 14 points.
Deportivo Tachira – 7th with 15 points, and Atletico San Cristobal, which played very well in the previous season, was 6th with 16 points.
Atletico San Cristobal, posing here with a fake goalkeeper – one of the cheerleaders. In the spirit of beauty or carelessness, take your pick.
Atletico Zamora ended 5th with 20 points, Deportivo Lara was 4th with 21, and three teams competed for the title – 1 point separated them at the finish.
Deportivo Italia took the bronze with 24 points.
Portuguesa FC clinched 2nd place by a single goal better goal-difference – 24 points. Portuguesa lost only a single match this season.
9 wins, 7 ties, and 2 losses gave 25 points to Unidersidad de Los Andes (Merida) – a point more than their rivals. So, they won the title – a difficult victory, thus sweeter. The new champions excelled in defense, allowing only 12 goals, but they won most matches as well – 9. Perhaps not attacking minded, but pragmatic team – Portuguesa, Deportivo Italia, and Atletico Zamora outscored them, but their scoring power was not matched by similarly strong defense. In the case of Portuguesa, too many ties – 10! Almost half of the total games played. ULA managed to extract wins and that made them champions at the end. Well done.