2016 Argentine Primera División
The 2016 Argentine Primera División - Copa Axion Energy was the 126th season of top-flight professional football in Argentina. The season began on February 5 and ended on May 29. Thirty teams competed in the league, twenty eight returning from the 2015 and two promoted from the 2015 Primera B Nacional. Two teams were relegated to the Primera B Nacional Championship in the previous tournament.
Lanús won their second title after defeating San Lorenzo 4–0 in the [|final].
Competition format
The tournament for the 2016 season was composed of two zones of 15 teams. Each team played the other 14 teams in its zone in a round-robin tournament and also played two interzonal matches against its rival team in the other zone, once home and once away. In the end, the winner of each played a final match on a neutral ground to determine the champion.Club information
Stadia and locations
| Club | City | Stadium | Capacity |
| Aldosivi | Mar del Plata | José María Minella | 35,354 |
| Argentinos Juniors | Buenos Aires | Diego Armando Maradona | 25,500 |
| Arsenal | Sarandí | Julio Humberto Grondona | 16,300 |
| Atlético de Rafaela | Rafaela | Nuevo Monumental | 16,000 |
| Atlético Tucumán | Tucumán | Monumental José Fierro | 32,700 |
| Banfield | Banfield | Florencio Solá | 34,901 |
| Belgrano | Córdoba | Julio César Villagra | 28,000 |
| Belgrano | Córdoba | Mario Alberto Kempes | 57,000 |
| Boca Juniors | Buenos Aires | Alberto J. Armando | 49,000 |
| Colón | Santa Fe | Brigadier General Estanislao López | 40,000 |
| Defensa y Justicia | Florencio Varela | Norberto "Tito" Tomaghello | 12,000 |
| Estudiantes | La Plata | Ciudad de La Plata | 53,000 |
| Gimnasia y Esgrima | La Plata | Juan Carmelo Zerillo | 24,544 |
| Godoy Cruz | Godoy Cruz | Malvinas Argentinas | 40,268 |
| Huracán | Buenos Aires | Tomás Adolfo Ducó | 48,314 |
| Independiente | Avellaneda | Libertadores de América | 52,853 |
| Lanús | Lanús | Ciudad de Lanús - Néstor Díaz Pérez | 46,619 |
| Newell's Old Boys | Rosario | Marcelo Bielsa | 38,095 |
| Olimpo | Bahía Blanca | Roberto Natalio Carminatti | 20,000 |
| Patronato | Paraná | Presbítero Bartolomé Grella | 22,000 |
| Quilmes | Quilmes | Centenario | 30,200 |
| Racing | Avellaneda | Presidente Juan Domingo Perón | 55,389 |
| River Plate | Buenos Aires | Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti | 61,321 |
| Rosario Central | Rosario | Dr. Lisandro de la Torre | 41,654 |
| San Lorenzo | Buenos Aires | Pedro Bidegain | 39,494 |
| San Martín | San Juan | Ingeniero Hilario Sánchez | 19,000 |
| San Martín | San Juan | Estadio del Bicentenario | 25,286 |
| Sarmiento | Junín | Eva Perón | 22,000 |
| Temperley | Temperley | Alfredo Beranger | 13,800 |
| Tigre | Victoria | José Dellagiovanna | 26,282 |
| Unión | Santa Fe | 15 de Abril | 22,852 |
| Vélez Sarsfield | Buenos Aires | José Amalfitani | 45,540 |
Personnel
Managerial changes
Interim ManagersLeague table
Zone 1
Zone 2
Final
Results
Copa Libertadores playoff
The second-place team in each zone qualified to the 2017 Copa Libertadores and played a match at a neutral stadium to determine at which stage each team entered. The winner of this playoff qualified directly to the second stage, and the loser entered the first stage of the tournament.Several months after the playoff, CONMEBOL expanded the 2017 Copa Libertadores from 38 to 47 teams with Argentina gaining one additional berth. So, Godoy Cruz also qualified directly to the second stage and AFA had to choose between the third places in each zone, Atlético Tucumán and Independiente, to determine the team qualified as Argentine 6 berth. Finally, AFA gave the extra berth to Atlético Tucumán by sporting criteria.
Season statistics
Top Goalscorers
Top Assists
Source:Relegation
Relegation at the end of the season is based on coefficients, which take into consideration the points obtained by the clubs during the present season and the two previous seasons. The total tally is then divided by the total number of games played in the top flight on those three season and an average is calculated. The team with the worst average at the end of the season is relegated to Primera B Nacional.| Team | Relegation | ||||||||
| 1 | Atlético Tucumán | — | — | — | 30 | 30 | 16 | ' | - |
| 2 | San Lorenzo | 60 | 26 | 61 | 34 | 181 | 103 | ' | - |
| 3 | Independiente | — | 33 | 54 | 27 | 114 | 65 | ' | - |
| 4 | Boca Juniors | 61 | 31 | 64 | 20 | 176 | 103 | ' | - |
| 5 | Lanús | 59 | 35 | 42 | 38 | 174 | 103 | ' | - |
| 6 | Estudiantes | 59 | 31 | 51 | 32 | 173 | 103 | ' | - |
| 7 | River Plate | 58 | 39 | 49 | 18 | 164 | 103 | ' | - |
| 8 | Racing | 33 | 41 | 57 | 24 | 155 | 103 | ' | - |
| 9 | Rosario Central | 54 | 21 | 59 | 20 | 154 | 103 | ' | - |
| 10 | Gimnasia y Esgrima | 57 | 24 | 44 | 25 | 150 | 103 | ' | - |
| 11 | Godoy Cruz | 56 | 21 | 32 | 33 | 142 | 103 | ' | - |
| 12 | Unión | — | — | 41 | 22 | 63 | 46 | ' | - |
| 13 | Tigre | 49 | 26 | 46 | 20 | 141 | 103 | ' | - |
| 14 | Belgrano | 49 | 25 | 51 | 16 | 141 | 103 | ' | - |
| 15 | Vélez Sarsfield | 61 | 25 | 29 | 24 | 139 | 103 | ' | - |
| 16 | Newell's Old Boys | 56 | 25 | 40 | 16 | 137 | 103 | ' | - |
| 17 | Banfield | — | 20 | 50 | 15 | 85 | 65 | ' | - |
| 18 | San Martín | — | — | 37 | 23 | 60 | 46 | ' | - |
| 19 | Patronato | — | — | — | 20 | 20 | 16 | ' | - |
| 20 | Arsenal | 48 | 26 | 27 | 27 | 128 | 103 | ' | - |
| 21 | Aldosivi | — | — | 40 | 17 | 57 | 46 | ' | - |
| 22 | Huracán | — | — | 30 | 25 | 55 | 46 | ' | - |
| 23 | Defensa y Justicia | — | 20 | 32 | 25 | 77 | 65 | ' | - |
| 24 | Olimpo | 50 | 19 | 36 | 13 | 118 | 103 | ' | - |
| 25 | Quilmes | 45 | 12 | 45 | 15 | 117 | 103 | ' | - |
| 26 | Colón | — | — | 34 | 17 | 51 | 46 | ' | - |
| 27 | Atlético de Rafaela | 49 | 25 | 23 | 9 | 106 | 103 | ' | - |
| 28 | Sarmiento | — | — | 30 | 17 | 47 | 46 | ' | - |
| 29 | Temperley | — | — | 30 | 16 | 46 | 46 | ' | - |
| 30 | Argentinos Juniors ' | — | — | 33 | 12 | 45 | 46 | Relegation to Primera B Nacional |
Source: