2008–09 Argentine Primera División season
The 2008-09 Primera División season was the 118th season of top-flight professional football in Argentina and the nineteenth season in which the Apertura and Clausura system is used.
Boca Juniors won the Apertura championship for their 29th national title after a three team playoff with Tigre and San Lorenzo. The Clausura championship was won by Vélez Sársfield for their 7th national title. Gimnasia y Esgrima and San Martín were relegated to the Primera B Nacional.
Format
The format for the 2008-09 season remained unchanged. The season was split into two tournaments called Apertura and Clausura. Each tournament was contested by the same 20 teams in a single round-robin format. The champions of each tournament is determined by points. If the tops teams would be tied at points at the end of each tournament, a playoff would be held at a neutral site. Relegation was determined at the end of the season.Club information
Promotion and relegation
and San Martín were relegated at the end of the 2007–08 Primera División season. They were replaced by Godoy Cruz and San Martín, both of whom were promoted from the Primera B Nacional.Gimnasia y Esgrima and Racing played the relegation/promotion playoffs against Unión and Belgrano, respectively. Both Gimnasia and Esgrima and Racing won their playoff matches and retained their status in top-flight football.
| Club | City | Stadium | Capacity |
| Argentinos Juniors | Buenos Aires | Diego Armando Maradona | 24,800 |
| Arsenal | Sarandí | Julio H. Grondona | 16,300 |
| Banfield | Banfield | Florencio Sola | 40,500 |
| Boca Juniors | Buenos Aires | Alberto J. Armando | 49,000 |
| Colón | Santa Fe | Brigadier General Estanislao López | 32,500 |
| Estudiantes | La Plata | Jorge Luis Hirschi | 23,000 |
| Gimnasia y Esgrima | San Salvador de Jujuy | 23 de Agosto | 24,000 |
| Gimnasia y Esgrima | La Plata | Juan Carlos Zerillo | 24,544 |
| Godoy Cruz | Godoy Cruz | Malvinas Argentinas | 40,268 |
| Huracán | Buenos Aires | Tomás Adolfo Ducó | 48,314 |
| Independiente | Avellaneda | Libertadores de América | 52,823 |
| Lanús | Lanús | Ciudad de Lanús - Néstor Díaz Pérez | 46,619 |
| Newell's Old Boys | Rosario | Newell's Old Boys | 38,095 |
| Racing | Avellaneda | Presidente Juan Domingo Perón | 51,000 |
| River Plate | Buenos Aires | Monumental Antonio V. Liberti | 65,645 |
| Rosario Central | Rosario | Dr. Lisandro de la Torre | 41,824 |
| San Lorenzo | Buenos Aires | Pedro Bidegain | 43,494 |
| San Martín | Tucumán | La Cuidadela | 35,000 |
| Tigre | Victoria | Monumental de Victoria | 26,282 |
| Vélez Sársfield | Buenos Aires | José Amalfitani | 49,540 |
Personnel
Managerial changes
Transfers
Torneo Apertura
The Torneo Apertura was played between August 6 to December 14, 2008. The champions earned a spot in the 2009 Copa Libertadores.Standings
Results
Championship playoff
Since San Lorenzo, Tigre and Boca Juniors ended the tournament with the same number of points, a three-way playoff was played to determine the champions.----
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Top Goalscorers
Source:Torneo Clausura
The Torneo Clausura began on February 6, 2009 and ended on July 5, 2009. The champions earned a spot in the 2010 Copa Libertadores.Standings
Results
Top Goalscorers
Source:Relegation
Relegation from the Primera Division was determined on the basis of performance over the last three seasons. Every club had its points earned divided by the number of matches played and an average was determined. The clubs who finished in 17th and 18th played a relegation play-off against the 3rd and 4th placed clubs in Primera B Nacional. The clubs who finished in 19th and 20th were directly relegated to Primera B Nacional.| Team | Relegation | |||||||
| 1 | Boca Juniors | 83 | 70 | 61 | 214 | 114 | 1.877 | - |
| 2 | Estudiantes | 81 | 69 | 57 | 207 | 114 | 1.815 | - |
| 3 | San Lorenzo | 73 | 64 | 63 | 200 | 114 | 1.754 | - |
| 4 | Lanús | 59 | 56 | 73 | 190 | 114 | 1.666 | - |
| 5 | Vélez Sarsfield | 56 | 59 | 66 | 181 | 114 | 1.587 | - |
| 6 | River Plate | 71 | 66 | 41 | 178 | 114 | 1.561 | - |
| 7 | Tigre | — | 56 | 62 | 118 | 76 | 1.552 | - |
| 8 | Huracán | — | 52 | 58 | 110 | 76 | 1.447 | - |
| 9 | Arsenal | 62 | 51 | 46 | 159 | 114 | 1.394 | - |
| 10 | Independiente | 57 | 59 | 39 | 155 | 114 | 1.359 | - |
| 11 | Colón | 46 | 45 | 57 | 148 | 114 | 1.298 | - |
| 12 | Godoy Cruz | — | — | 49 | 49 | 38 | 1.289 | - |
| 13 | Argentinos Juniors | 46 | 61 | 38 | 145 | 114 | 1.271 | - |
| 14 | Newell's Old Boys | 35 | 56 | 52 | 143 | 114 | 1.254 | - |
| 15 | Racing | 49 | 40 | 52 | 141 | 114 | 1.236 | - |
| 16 | Banfield | 39 | 54 | 46 | 139 | 114 | 1.219 | - |
| 17 | Rosario Central | 52 | 41 | 40 | 133 | 114 | 1.166 | Relegation Playoff Matches |
| 18 | Gimnasia y Esgrima | 40 | 36 | 55 | 131 | 114 | 1.149 | Relegation Playoff Matches |
| 19 | San Martín | — | — | 40 | 40 | 38 | 1.052 | Relegation to Primera B Nacional |
| 20 | Gimnasia y Esgrima | 43 | 35 | 38 | 116 | 114 | 1.017 | Relegation to Primera B Nacional |
Source:
Relegation/promotion playoffs
!colspan="5"|Relegation/promotion playoff 1!colspan="5"|Relegation/promotion playoff 2
Gimnasia y Esgrima remained in the Argentine First Division after a 3–3 aggregate tie by virtue of a "sports advantage". In case of a tie in goals, the team from the First Division gets to stay in it.
Rosario Central won 2–1 and stayed in the Argentine First Division, while Belgrano does not get promoted and remains in Argentine Nacional B.