The 2008 Primera División de Chile is the 77th season of top-flight football in Chile, and the 7th under its current format.

Torneo Apertura

The Torneo Apertura "Copa BancoEstado" opened the 2008 season on January 25. The 20 teams were organized into four groups, but played each other in a single round-robin format. The top-two teams from each group advanced to a single elimination play-off, but the best 3rd-place team had to worst 2nd-place team in an advancement play-off match. The winner of the tournament will be crowned the Apertura champion, and will earn a spot in the 2009 Copa Libertadores Group Stage. The champion and runner-up with earn spots in the 2008 Copa Sudamericana.

First phase

PosTeamvtePldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Ñublense1912522814+14412008 Copa Sudamericana First Stage
2Universidad Católica1911353719+18362008 Copa Sudamericana Preliminary
3O'Higgins1910633017+1336
4Audax Italiano1911173525+1034
5Everton1910273430+432
6Cobresal199463526+931
7Universidad de Chile199372823+530
8Santiago Morning199373542−730
9Colo-Colo197663529+627
10Huachipato197662929027
11Deportes La Serena197572929026
12Palestino197392827+124
13Unión Española197392027−724
14Rangers196672325−224
15Cobreloa196582529−423
16Universidad de Concepción1963102733−621
17Deportes Antofagasta1945101629−1317
18Provincial Osorno1951131938−1916
19Deportes Concepción197393337−415
20Deportes Melipilla1931152240−1810

Group standings

Group 1
PosTeamvtePldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Audax Italiano1911173525+1034Playoffs
2Everton1910273430+432
3Cobresal199462929031Play-off Match
4Huachipato197662929027
5Unión Española197392027−724
Group 2
PosTeamvtePldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1O'Higgins1910633017+1336Playoffs
2Universidad de Chile199372823+530
3Santiago Morning199373644−830
4Deportes La Serena197572929026
5Palestino197392827+124
Group 3
PosTeamvtePldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Colo-Colo197663529+627Playoffs
2Cobreloa196582529−423Play-off Match
3Deportes Antofagasta1945101629−1317
4Provincial Osorno1951131928−916
5Deportes Melipilla1931152240−1810
Group 4
PosTeamvtePldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Ñublense1912522913+1641Playoffs
2Universidad Católica1911353719+1836
3Rangers196672325−224
4Universidad de Concepción1963102832−421
5Deportes Concepción197393538−318

Play-off match

Team 1ScoreTeam 2
Cobresal2–2 (2–4 p)Cobreloa

Playoff stage

The clubs were seeded by their first phase standings.

QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinal
5Everton (a)044
4Audax Italiano314
5Everton314
6Universidad de Chile112
6Universidad de Chile426
3O'Higgins213
5Everton033
7Colo-Colo202
2Universidad Católica112
7Colo-Colo314
7Colo-Colo(a)022
1Ñublense112
8Cobreloa213
1Ñublense224

Finals

Colo-Colo2 – 0Everton
Barrios 85' Fierro 90+2'
Everton3 – 0Colo-Colo
Miralles 49', 77' Riveros 70'
Campeonato Nacional 2008 Apertura champion
4th title

Everton qualified to the 2009 Copa Libertadores Second Stage.

Top-five goalscorers

PScorerTeamGoals
1Argentina Lucas BarriosColo-Colo19
2Chile Esteban ParedesSantiago Morning15
3Chile Manuel VillalobosUniversidad de Chile13
Argentina Ezequiel MirallesEverton13
5Chile Gabriel VargasUniversidad de Concepción12

Torneo Clausura

The Torneo Clausura "Copa BancoEstado" began on June 21. The format is the same as the Apertura tournament, but the field was reduced from 20 teams to 19 since Deportes Concepción withdrew before the start of the tournament due to financial problems. The best-placed team in the first stage earned a spot in the First Stage of the 2009 Copa Libertadores. The tournament champion will earn a spot in the 2009 Copa Libertadores Group Stage. Relegation will be determined at the end of this tournament.

First phase

PosTeamvtePldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Universidad de Chile1812243921+18382009 Copa Libertadores First Stage
2Colo-Colo1810353219+1333
3Palestino1810352922+733
4Rangers189362525030
5Universidad Católica189273733+429
6Everton189182825+328
7O'Higgins188463935+428
8Huachipato188373325+827
9Cobreloa188373432+227
10Deportes La Serena187653734+327
11Santiago Morning187563032−226
12Unión Española187472731−425
13Audax Italiano186662525024
14Deportes Antofagasta187292027−723
15Universidad de Concepción185673232021
16Cobresal185672426−221
17Ñublense183872129−817
18Deportes Melipilla1832131938−1911
19Provincial Osorno1831142040−2010

Group standings

Group 1
PosTeamvtePldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Universidad de Chile1812243921+1838Playoffs
2Colo-Colo1810353219+1333
3Unión Española187472832−425
4Ñublense183872129−817
Group 2
PosTeamvtePldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Rangers189362525030Playoffs
2Universidad Católica189273733+429
3Everton189182825+328Play-off Match
4Deportes La Serena187653734+327
5Provincial Osorno1831141838−2010
Group 3
PosTeamvtePldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Palestino1810352922+733Playoffs
2O'Higgins188463935+428
3Santiago Morning187563032−226
4Universidad de Concepción185673232021
5Deportes Melipilla1832131938−1911
Group 4
PosTeamvtePldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Huachipato188373432+227Playoffs
2Cobreloa188373432+227Play-off Match
3Audax Italiano186662525024
4Deportes Antofagasta187292027−723
5Cobresal185672426−221

Play-off match

Team 1ScoreTeam 2
Everton0–3Cobreloa

Knock-out round

The clubs were seeded by their first phase standings.

QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinal
8Cobreloa325
1Universidad de Chile033
8Cobreloa325
2Colo-Colo325
7Huachipato123
2Colo-Colo145
2Colo-Colo134
3Palestino112
6O'Higgins213
3Palestino224
3Palestino022
4Rangers022
5Universidad Católica314
4Rangers314
Primera Division 2008 Clausura champions
28th title

Colo-Colo qualified to the 2009 Copa Libertadores Second Stage.

Top-five goalscorers

PPlayerTeamGoals
1Argentina Lucas BarriosColo-Colo18
2Argentina Gastón CellerinoRangers16
Paraguay Nestor BareiroO'Higgins16
4Chile Julio GutiérrezUniversidad Católica12
5Argentina Gustavo CanalesDeportes La Serena10
Chile Leonardo MonjeHuachipato10
Argentina Gustavo SavoiaCobreloa10

Relegation

Four teams were relegated this year to reduce the field for next season to 18 teams.

Aggregate table

The aggregate table is only a sum of the two first-stages from the Apertura and Clausura tournaments. The bottom-two teams are relegated from the results of this table.

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification or relegation
1Universidad de Chile37215116744+2368
2Universidad Católica37205127452+2265
3O'Higgins37181096952+1764
4Everton37193156255+760
5Colo-Colo37179116748+1960
6Audax Italiano37177136050+1058
7Ñublense37151394943+658
8Palestino37176145749+857
9Santiago Morning37168136574−956
10Huachipato37159136254+854
11Rangers37159134850−254
12La Serena371411126663+353
13Cobresal371410135952+752
14Cobreloa37148155961−250
15Unión Española37147164859−1149Relegation/Promotion Playoff
16Universidad de Concepción37119175965−642
17Antofagasta37117193656−2040Relegated to the Primera B by the Relegation Table
18Provincial Osorno3782273877−3926
19Melipilla3763284178−3721Relegated to the Primera B by the Aggregate Table
20Concepción197393337−418

Relegation table

The next two teams to be relegated were determined through a special aggregate table for the 2007 & 2008 season. The teams' performances were put under a specific formula (shown below) and then ranked. The two worst teams who have not been relegated by this season's aggregate table were relegated.

In the case of Rangers, Provincial Osorno, and Santiago Morning, the following formula was used since they were not in the Primera División in the 2007 season:

In both formulas, Pd is the relegation average; P2007 is the total points earned in the 2007 season; PAp-2008 is the points earned in this season's Apertura tournament; PCl-2008 is the points earned in this season's Clausura tournament.

PosTeamPdescP2007PAp 2008PCl 2008
Pos Team Pdesc P2007 PAp 2008 PCl 2008 1 Universidad Católica 70,37 30,40 21,60 18,37 2 Audax Italiano 70,18 34,58 20,40 15,20 3 Colo-Colo 69,78 32,68 16,20 20,90 4 Universidad de Chile 68,67 26,60 18,00 24,07 5 O'Higgins 62,51 23,18 21,60 17,73 6 Huachipato 58,00 24,70 16,20 16,10 7 Santiago Morning 57,44 0,00 30,00 27,44 8 Ñublense 57,41 22,04 24,60 10,77 9 Cobresal 56,22 24,32 18,60 13,30 10 Cobreloa 55,98 25,08 13,80 16,10 11 Rangers 55,67 0,00 24,00 31,67 12 Palestino 53,92 18,62 14,40 19,90 13 Everton 51,75 14,82 19,20 17,73 14 La Serena 50,94 18,24 15,60 17,10 15 Unión Española 47,33 17,10 14,40 15,83 16 Universidad de Concepción 45,66 19,76 12,60 13,30 17 Antofagasta 42,63 17,86 10,20 14,57 18 Melipilla 33,87 20,90 6,00 6,97 19 Provincial Osorno 26,56 0,00 16,00 10,56Relegated by the Relegation Table Already relegated by the Aggregate Table
1Universidad Católica70,3730,4021,6018,37
2Audax Italiano70,1834,5820,4015,20
3Colo-Colo69,7832,6816,2020,90
4Universidad de Chile68,6726,6018,0024,07
5O'Higgins62,5123,1821,6017,73
6Huachipato58,0024,7016,2016,10
7Santiago Morning57,440,0030,0027,44
8Ñublense57,4122,0424,6010,77
9Cobresal56,2224,3218,6013,30
10Cobreloa55,9825,0813,8016,10
11Rangers55,670,0024,0031,67
12Palestino53,9218,6214,4019,90
13Everton51,7514,8219,2017,73
14La Serena50,9418,2415,6017,10
15Unión Española47,3317,1014,4015,83
16Universidad de Concepción45,6619,7612,6013,30
17Antofagasta42,6317,8610,2014,57
18Melipilla33,8720,906,006,97
19Provincial Osorno26,560,0016,0010,56
Relegated by the Relegation Table
Already relegated by the Aggregate Table

Relegation/promotion play-off

The 15th & 16th place team in the aggregate table have to play two promotion/relegation matches the Segunda División runner-up (Puerto Montt) and the winner of the Segunda División Apertura/Clausura play-off (Coquimbo Unido). The winners will play in the Primera División the next season.

Team 1Agg.Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Coquimbo Unido1–5Universidad de Concepción0–21–3
Puerto Montt4–5Unión Española1–23–3

See also