Peru Regional Tournament

Top level. The first phase of the season was the Regional Tournament. 30 teams started in it, divided into 4 groups. Strange groups... The Metropolitan Group had 12 teams and contrary to logic, not just teams from Lima and Callao, but also clubs from Ica, Iquitos, Chancay, Huaral, and Huacho. There were also 3 properly provincial groups – Northern, Central, and Southern – of 6 teams each. The teams in the Metropolitan Group played twice against each other to the tune of 22 games in total. The small provincial groups had different schedule – against each other, the participants played 3 games, 15 games each in total. The idea of this stage was sifting out those going ahead to the next stage – the top 4 of Metropolitan Group plus the winners of the provincial groups. That is 7 teams... so additional rule pops up: the winner of the Metropolitan Group got a bye in the ¼ finals, qualifying directly to the semi-finals. Eventually, the tournament proceeds to its final and the winner, by the rules, got a place in the Libertadores Cup. Rules are one thing, reality another – it did not mean much, if the winner of this phase became also champion of Peru, for this winner was still going to play at the championship final. As Peruvian champions, they automatically got a spot at Libertadores Cup. However, it would not do it to play a full championship just for that – to reach a spot in Libertadores Cup: the winner was also proclaimed Regional champion. It was relatively clear at the top... what about the bottom? The top teams in the 4 groups also qualified to play in the next phase of the championship, the Descentralised Tournament. The next in the initial final tables also qualified for the next phase: 7 teams from Metropolitan Group and 2 from each provincial group. That makes 16 teams... but the 16th was decided in a play-off between the 8th in the Metropolitan Group and the weakest of the 3rd placed teams in the provincial groups. As for those unable to qualify during the first phase, they played against some teams from Second Division in the so-called Intermediary Division to gain places in the next year's top level championship. Wait a minute... there was quite separate Second Division championship, ending with champion, which was also getting promotion – well, this was seemingly something else, as well as the eventual relegation play-off in the top level. This relegation play-off involved the weakest 2 teams in the first and the second phase of the top championship. Confused? Better be... the weakest in the first phase seemingly was playing in both the Intermediary championship and later in the relegation play-off. There was very good chance relatively strong teams to be out of top level, if unlucky in the Intermediary Championship and not so-good lower level teams actually promoted from the same tournament. Not to mention the possibility of a team obviously stronger than many others in the first phase to be relegated, having been last in the second phase. Never mind... let's go ahead. The top 4 teams of Metropolitan Group and winners of the provincial groups qualified to the next stage of Regional Tournament. After the end of group stage of first phase the following teams were out of the game, going to the Intermediary Championship: from Metropolitan Group:

Union Huaral (Huaral) – 9th. Standing from left: Cesar Caseres, ?, 'Toronjo' Paredes, Oscar Quintana, Carillo Carty, Santiago Carty. First row: Victor 'Pichicho' Benavides, Alejandro Luces, Jose Canamero, Roberto Zevallos, Luis Redher.

Juventud La Palma (Huacho) – 10th,

San Agustin (Lima) – 11th. Well.. let put question mark here. San Agustin or Huracan San Agustin? May be one and the same club, may be not...

Atletico Chalaco (Callao) – 12th. Standing from left: Victor Requena, Dante Novaro, Augusto Prado, Jorge Zavala, Luis Goyzueta, Chicho Espinoza. First row: Juan Sanchez, Jorge Simic, Willy Quevedo, Jose Pajuelo, 'Agujita' Bassa. Question mark here as well – the same formation sometimes is given as 1988 squad, sometimes as 1985's. From the Northern Group: Sport Pilsen (Guadalupe) – 4th. Never ending mystery and confusion: a team from Guadalupe or from Callao? Even its emblem lists both names, so what was this club doing in the Northern Group? Callao clubs play in the Metropolitan Group... Jose Galvez (Chimbote) - 5th and Atletico Torino (Talara) – 6th. From the Central Group: Defensor ANDA (Aucayacu) – 4th, Leon (Huanuco) - 5th and Chachamayo FC (La Merced) – 6th. From the Southern Group: Cienciano (Cusco) – 4th,

Atletico Huracan (Moquegua) – 5th. This obscure club deserves a mote: it is named after Huracan (Buenos Aires), using even the same emblem. Which celebrates the birth of aviation in Argentina and its father Jorge Newberry – name and picture of his balloon 'Huracan'. Lastly, Diablos Rojos (Juliaca) – 6th. Poor 'Red Devils'... they had the worst record at this stage with their 3 points and for this went to the relegation play-off. Did they, however, played in the Intermediary Championship as well? Only next year championship could tell – if they appear in it, then they played successfully in the Intermediary Championship and the relegation play-off was a joke. This stage properly ends with the qualification play-off for a berth in the second phase: Juventud La Joya (Chancay), 8th in the Metropolitan Group, vs Deportivo COOPTRIP (Pucallpa), 3rd in the Central Group. So... it was not direct qualification to the Descentralised Tournament for the top 3 of each provincial group after all. But why Deportivo COOPTRIP was selected for the qualification play-off? Apparently, for having less points than the other provincial 3rd placed teams. As for class... there was not much in them: Juventud La Joya destroyed them mercilessly 2-0 and 8-0 and joined the Descentralised Tournament. Meantime the Regional Tournament went ahead: Colegio Nacional (3rd Metropolitan) eliminated Coronel Bolognesi (1st Southern) 3-1. Universitario de Deportes (4th Metropolitan) eliminated Carlos Manucci (1st Northern) 4-1. Deportivo Municipal (2nd Metropolitan) had some difficulties against Asociacon Deportiva (1st Central), but eventually prevailed: 1-1 and 3-1 in the penalty shoot-out. Alianza qualified directly to the semi-finals as Metropolitan Group winner and some of the fog cleared: no matter how much effort to get provincial clubs on the national footing, the Metropolitan cluster of mostly Lima clubs was much, much stronger. In the semi-finals, Colegio Nacional eliminated Deportivo Municipal 3-0 and Alinaza lost the derby against Universitario de Deportes – 0-0 and 7-8 in the penalty shoot-out. Colegio Nacional (Iquitos) and Universitario de Deportes (Lima) played the final of Regional Tournament.

Colegio Nacional – or CNI, as is often written – lost the final 1-3.

Universitario de Deportes – usually known as just Universitario – won the first phase of the marathon. Standing from left: Miguel Gutierrez, Javier Chirinos, Freddy Ternero, Hugo Gastulo, Samuel Eugenio, Ramon Quiroga. First row: Eduardo Rey Munoz, Luis Reyna, Kai Rasmussen, Miguel Seminario, Juan Carlos Oblitas. So, what exactly this victory gave Universitario? Regional Championship title – meaning almost nothing; a guaranteed spot in Copa Libertadores – in case something goes wrong in the next phase; 1 bonus point to carry over to the second stage of Descentralised Tournament – also the final stage of 1985 championship where the national title was decided at last. Not much, overall...