2018–19 Liga Primera de Nicaragua

The 2018–19 Liga Primera de Nicaragua season was divided into two tournaments (Apertura and Clausura) and determined the 71st and 72nd champions in the history of the Liga Primera de Nicaragua, the top division of football in Nicaragua. The Apertura tournament was played in the second half of 2018, while the Clausura was played in the first half of 2019.

Liga Primera de Nicaragua
Season2018–19
ChampionsApertura:
Managua
Clausura:
Real Estelí
RelegatedUNAN Managua
CONCACAF LeagueManagua
Real Estelí
Matches played65
Goals scored181 (2.78 per match)
Top goalscorerApertura:
Lucas Dos Santos (15 goals) –
Clausura:
TBD
Biggest home winApertura: Real Estelí 5-0 Ocotal
Clausura: TBD TBD
Biggest away winApertura: Real Madriz 1-6 Managua
Clausura: TBD TBD
Highest scoringApertura: Ocotal 4-3 Real Estelí
Real Madriz 1-6 Managua
Clausura: TBD TBD
Longest unbeaten runApertura: TBD
Clausura: TBD
Longest losing runApertura: TBD
Clausura: TBD

Format

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The Apertura play-off format was changed from previous years, while the Clausura will use the same 4-team play-off format. For the Apertura, the top four teams from the regular stage advanced to a "quadrangular" double-round robin instead of a play-off stage. The regular stage and quadrangular winners would have played to decide the tournament's champion, but ultimately the same team won both and the final was not necessary. The same format was recently adopted by the Costa Rican Primera División, but for both half seasons.

Team information

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A total of ten teams contested the league, including eight sides from the 2017–18 Primera División, and two sides from the 2017–18 Segunda División.

FC San Francisco Masachapa finished last in the aggregate table and were relegated to the Segunda División. The champions from the Segunda División, ART Municipal Jalapa were promoted in their place.

The 9th place team in the aggregate table, Chinandega FC, faced the second place team from the Segunda División, Deportivo Sebaco, in a playoff for a spot in the Primera División. However, due to Sebaco's financial problems, they were not allowed in the playoff, meaning Chinandega remained in Primera División.

Promotion and relegation

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Promoted from Segunda División as of July, 2018.

Relegated to Segunda División as of July, 2018.

Managerial changes

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Before the start of the season

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Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Replaced by Date of appointment Position in table
Walter Ferretti   Flavio da Silva Resigned June 2018   Henry Urbina June 29, 2018 3rd & Semifinalist (Clausura 2018)
Real Esteli   Ramon Otenel Contract finished June 2018   Washington Fernando Araújo July 22, 2018 4th & Quarterfinalist (Clausura 2018)
Juventus Managua   Héctor Mediana Resigned June 2018   Roberto Chanampe July 2018 3rd & Semifinalist (Clausura 2018)
Ocotal   Randall Moreno Resigned June 2018   Jorge Luis Vanegas July 2018 TBD (Clausura 2018)
Real Madriz   Tyrone Acevedo Resigned June 2018   Carlos Matamoros July 2018 TBD (Clausura 2018)

During the Apertura season

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Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Replaced by Date of appointment Position in table
Real Madriz   Carlos Matamoros TBD 2018   Miguel Ángel Sánchez 2018 TBD (Apertura 2018)

Between Apertura and Clausura seasons

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Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Replaced by Date of appointment Position in table
Ocotal   Jorge Luis Vangeas Sacked December 2018   Mario Alfaro December 2018 9th (Apertura 2018)
Real Esteli   Washington Fernando Araújo Resigned December 2018   Sergio Ivan Rodríguez December 2018 2nd & finalist (Apertura 2018)
Real Madriz   Miguel Ángel Sánchez Resigned December 2018   Sindulio Castellanos January 2019 7th (Apertura 2018)
UNAN Managua   Luis Vega resigned December 2018   Daniel García January 2019

Clausura 2019 seasons

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Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Replaced by Date of appointment Position in table
Real Madriz   Sindulio Castellanos Sacked February 2019   Angel Orellana February 2019 9th (Clausura 2019)

Apertura

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Personnel and sponsoring

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Team Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Kit sponsors
ART Municipal Jalapa   Leonidas Rodríguez   Victor Zavala Joma Agrotris
Chinandega   Reyna Espinoza   Lester Espinoza Nil Nil
Diriangén FC   Mauricio Cruz   Jason Coronel Joma Claro, Ocal, Victoria frost
Juventus Managua   Roberto Chanampe   Darwin Guity TBD TBD
Managua   Emilio Aburto   Erling Méndez Nil Nil
Ocotal   Jorge Luis Vanegas   Guillermo Espino Nil Alcadia Ocotal
Real Estelí   Washington Fernando Araújo   Jason Casco Kappa Beco, Movistar, La Curaçao, Banpro, Vitalsis
Real Madriz   Carlos Matamoros x   Alvaro Bermúdez TBD Alcadia Somoto
UNAN Managua   Luis Vega   Marvin Fletes Joma Nil
Walter Ferretti   Henry Urbina   René Huete Umbro Claro, Iniser, Disnorte Dissur

Standings

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Managua 18 14 2 2 40 17 +23 44 Advance to Playoffs
(Semifinals)
2 Real Estelí 18 10 6 2 33 12 +21 36
3 Walter Ferretti 18 7 7 4 21 18 +3 28 Advance to Playoffs
(Quarterfinals)
4 Real Madriz 18 7 6 5 25 29 −4 27
5 Diriangén 18 7 5 6 23 19 +4 26
6 Juventus Managua 18 7 3 8 25 20 +5 24
7 ART Jalapa 18 5 4 9 15 30 −15 19
8 Chinandega 18 4 6 8 24 33 −9 18
9 Ocotal 18 3 6 9 17 32 −15 15
10 UNAN Managua 18 2 3 13 19 32 −13 9
Source: Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.


Results

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Home \ Away ART CHI DIR JUV MAN OCO RES RMA UNA WAL
ART Jalapa 2–0 0–3 1–3 0–3 1–2 1–0 1–1 1–0 0–0
Chinandega 4–1 1–3 0–1 1–3 0–0 3–3 3–0 2–2 2–2
Diriangén 0–2 1–2 0–0 1–0 3–1 0–0 1–1 3–1 0–0
Juventus Managua 0–1 3–0 2–1 1–2 1–0 1–2 2–3 2–1 4–0
Managua 5–1 1–2 2–0 3–2 2–0 2–1 4–2 1–0 1–0
Ocotal 1–0 0–0 1–2 0–0 2–5 1–1 2–2 0–0 1–2
Real Estelí 1–1 6–1 1–0 2–1 1–1 3–0 4–0 1–0 0–0
Real Madriz 1–1 3–2 2–1 1–0 0–0 3–2 0–2 2–1 1–2
UNAN Managua 4–0 2–1 1–2 2–2 2–3 2–3 0–4 0–2 0–1
Walter Ferretti 2–1 0–0 2–2 1–0 1–2 5–1 0–1 1–1 2–1
Updated to match(es) played on completed. Source: Soccerway
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
For upcoming matches, an "a" indicates there is an article about the rivalry between the two participants.

Records

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Top goalscorers

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No. Player Club Goals
1   Lucas Dos Santos Managua 15
2   Luis Coronel Diriangén 11
3   Yeiner Vivas Chinandega 10
4   Luis Galeano Real Esteli 8
5   Bruno De Morais Walter Ferretti 7
6   Marcos Rivera TBD 5
7   Isaac Sequeira TBD 5
8   Edward Morillo Managua 5
9   Ulises Rayo TBD 5
10   Marlon Barrios Real Madriz 5

Playoffs

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Quarterfinals

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Walter Ferretti1 – 2Juventus Managua
Bruno de Morais   77' Junior Arteaga   36'
David Castrillón   93'
Estadio Nacional, Managua

Juventus Managua progressed.


Real Madriz0 – 1Diriangén
None Erick Tellez   45'
Estadio Solidaridad, Somoto

Diriangén progressed.

Semifinals

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Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Real Esteli 7 – 3 Juventus Managua 2 – 1 5 – 2
Managua F.C. 4 – 1 Diriangén 2 – 1 2 – 0

^ TBD wins on away goals

First leg
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Juventus Managua1 – 2Real Esteli
Nasser Valverde   84' Jorge Betancur   3'
Luis Galeano   79'
Estadio Nacional, Managua
Referee: Miller Lopez

Diriangén1 – 2Managua F.C.
Jorge Garcia   9' Lucas dos Santos  13'
Agenor Báez   72'
Estadio Cacique, Diriangén
Referee: Rodolfo Paiz
Second leg
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Real Esteli5 – 2Juventus Managua
Luis Galeano   3'   38'
Nasser Valverde own   45'
Vinicius de Souza   59'
Alexis Somarriba   85'
Nasser Valverde   15'
Brandon Ayerdis   86'
Estadio Independencia, Esteli

Real Esteli won 7-3 on aggregate.


Managua F.C.2 – 0Diriangén
Edward Murillo   28'
Jeffery Araica   62'
Nil
Estadio Nacional, Managua

Managua won 4-1 on aggregate.

Final

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First leg
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Real Esteli0 – 0Managua F.C.
Nil Nil
Estadio Independencia, Esteli
Referee: Erick Lezama
Second leg
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Managua F.C.1 – 0Real Esteli
Lucas dos Santos  118' Nil
Estadio Nacional, Managua
Referee: Nitzar Sandoval

Managua won 1-0 on aggregate.


 Apertura 2018 champions 
Managua F.C.
1st title

Clausura

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Personnel and sponsoring

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Team Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Kit Sponsors
ART Jalapa   Leonidas Rodríguez   TBD TBD Agrotris
Chinandega   Reyna Espinoza   Lester Espinoza Nil Nil
Diriangén FC   Mauricio Cruz   Carlos Torres Joma Claro, Victoria Frost, Babysec, Sinsa, OCAL, Kelloggs, Flor de Cana
Juventus Managua   Roberto Chanampe   Alexis Somarriba Nil Nil
Managua   Emilio Aburto   Christiano Fernández Nil Managua FC
Ocotal   Mario Alfaro   Marcos Rivera Nil Alcadia de Ocotal
Real Estelí   Sergio Ivan Rodríguez   Manuel Rosas Kappa Movistar, La Curaco, Beco, Vitalsis Health, Banco de la Producción
Real Madriz   Sindulio Castellanos   Alvaro Bermúdez Nil Alcadia de Madriz
UNAN Managua   Daniel García   Diedrich Téllez Joma Nil
Walter Ferretti   Henry Urbina   Denis Espinoza Umbro Claro, Iniser, Disnorte Dissur, Flor de Cana

Standings

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Real Estelí 18 14 3 1 44 13 +31 45 Advance to Playoffs
(Semifinals)
2 Managua 18 13 1 4 51 24 +27 40
3 Walter Ferretti 18 11 3 4 31 15 +16 36 Advance to Playoffs
(Quarterfinals)
4 Juventus Managua 18 8 2 8 40 40 0 26
5 Diriangén 18 7 4 7 36 29 +7 25
6 Ocotal 18 6 5 7 27 25 +2 23
7 UNAN Managua 18 5 3 10 25 38 −13 18
8 Real Madriz 18 3 6 9 16 31 −15 15
9 ART Jalapa 18 4 3 11 22 54 −32 15
10 Chinandega 18 3 2 13 15 38 −23 11
Source: Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.


Results

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Home \ Away ART CHI DIR JUV MAN OCO RES RMA UNA WAL
ART Jalapa 1–0 2–4 4–1 2–2 1–1 0–10 0–2 0–0 1–2
Chinandega 2–3 1–2 2–4 0–4 0–1 0–3 2–0 1–1 0–3
Diriangén 6–2 5–0 3–1 3–1 1–1 2–3 2–2 1–0 1–1
Juventus Managua 6–1 5–0 2–1 2–3 3–0 2–2 3–3 3–2 2–1
Managua 3–0 3–1 5–3 6–1 4–2 0–1 5–1 3–1 1–2
Ocotal 2–1 1–0 3–0 1–2 1–2 1–2 3–2 2–2 1–2
Real Estelí 6–2 1–0 1–0 3–1 2–1 1–1 4–0 3–0 1–0
Real Madriz 0–1 0–0 0–0 3–0 0–3 0–0 0–1 2–1 0–3
UNAN Managua 4–1 3–2 2–1 4–2 1–3 0–5 0–3 3–1 2–3
Walter Ferretti 3–0 4–0 2–1 1–0 1–2 2–1 0–0 0–0 1–2
Updated to match(es) played on 28 April 2019. Source: Soccerway
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
For upcoming matches, an "a" indicates there is an article about the rivalry between the two participants.

Records

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Top goalscorers

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No. Player Club Goals
1   Edward Morillo Managua F.C. 17
2   Lucas Oliveira Managua F.C. 16
3   Douglas Caé Real Esteli 12
4   Robinson Luiz Juventus Managua 10
5   Yeison Esquivel Diriangén FC 8
6   Ervin Aguirre Deportivo Ocotal 7
7   Luis Coronel Diriangén FC 7
8   Jafett Del Portillo ART Municipal Jalapa 7
9   Aaron Chavez UNAN Managua 6
10   Junior Arteaga Juventus Managua 5

Playoffs

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Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
1 Real Estelí 0 3 3
4 Juventus Managua 1 5 Diriangén 1 0 1
5 Diriangén 2 1 Real Estelí (a) 3 0 3
2 Managua 3 0 3
2 Managua (a) 1 0 1
3 Walter Ferretti 1 3 Walter Ferretti 1 0 1
6 Ocotal 0

Quarterfinals

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Walter Ferretti1 – 0Ocotal
Rafael De Almeida   69' Nil
Estadio Nacional de Fútbol, Managua

Walter Ferretti progressed.


Juventus Managua1 – 2Diriangén
Allan Mercado   82' Luis Coronel   57'
Yeison Esquivel   62'
Estadio Nacional, Managua

Diriangén progressed.

Semifinals

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First leg
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Diriangén1 – 0Real Esteli
Luis Coronel   7' Nil
Referee: Nitzar Sandoval

Walter Ferretti1 – 1Managua F.C.
Rodrigo Hernandez   62' Christiano Fernandez   73'
Second leg
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Real Esteli3 – 0Diriangén
Oscar López   11'
Henry García   64'
Luis Lopez   76'
Nil
Referee: Ricardo Mendoza

Real Esteli progressed 3-1 on aggregate.


Managua F.C.0 – 0Walter Ferretti
Nil Nil

Managua F.C. advances 1-0 on away goals.

Final

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First leg
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Managua F.C.3 – 3Real Esteli
Kevin Serpio   74'
Lucas Dos Santos   42'   66'
Cristian Gutierrez   45'
Ricardo Rivas   39'
Vinicius da Souza   90'
Estadio Nacional, Managua
Referee: Oscar Davila
Second leg
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Real Esteli0 – 0Managua F.C.
Estadio Independencia, Esteli
Referee: Nitzar Sandoval

3-3, Real Esteli won on away goal.


 Clausura 2019 champions 
Real Esteli
15th title

Aggregate table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Managua (Q) 36 27 3 6 91 41 +50 84 CONCACAF League round of 16[a]
2 Real Estelí (Q) 36 24 9 3 77 25 +52 81 CONCACAF League preliminary round[b]
3 Walter Ferretti 36 18 10 8 52 33 +19 64
4 Diriangén 36 14 9 13 59 48 +11 51
5 Juventus Managua 36 15 5 16 65 60 +5 50
6 Real Madriz 36 10 12 14 41 60 −19 42
7 Ocotal 36 9 11 16 44 57 −13 38
8 ART Jalapa 36 9 7 20 37 84 −47 34
9 Chinandega (Q) 36 7 8 21 39 71 −32 29 Relegation playoffs
10 UNAN Managua (R) 36 7 6 23 44 70 −26 27 Relegated to Segunda División
Source: Soccerway Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(Q) Qualified for the phase indicated; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ As Apertura champions (NCA1)
  2. ^ As Clausura champions (NCA2)


List of foreign players in the league

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This is a list of foreign players in the 2018–19 season. The following players:

  1. Have played at least one game for the respective club.
  2. Have not been capped for the Nicaragua national football team on any level, independently from the birthplace

A new rule was introduced this season, that clubs can have four foreign players per club and can only add a new player if there is an injury or a player/s is released and it is before the close of the season transfer window.

ART Jalapa
  •   Cristhian Cabria  
  •   Evaristo González
  •   Erwin Cabrera
  •   Alexis Hernández
  •   Jafet Del Portillo
Chinandega
  •   Johan Hurtado
  •   Brayan Cañate
  •   Richard Charris
  •   Yeiner Vivas  
  •   José Mendoza
Diriangén
  •   Pedro Dos Santos
  •   Carlos Tórres
  •   Yeison Esquivel
  •     Juan Pablo Fernández
  •     Jesús Cervantes
  •   Dahan Virgen
Juventus Managua
  •   Darwin Guity
  •   Herbert Cabrera
  •   David Castrillón
  •   Robinson Luiz
  •   Yeison Díaz  
  •   Ezequiel Góngora  
Managua
  •   Marel Álvarez
  •   Lucas Dos Santos
  •   Cristiano Fernández da Lima
  •   Edward Morillo
Ocotal
  •   Aldair Niño
  •   Jafet Del Portillo  
  •   Edgard Hernández
  •   Lancelott Devenish
  •   Nelson Maldonado
  •   Gerson Díaz
  •   Cristopher Aguilar
  •   Kevin Meraz
Real Estelí
Real Madriz
  •   Erlyn Ruiz
  •   Jose Estrada
  •   Edder Mondragón
  •   Marlon Barrios
  •   Cristhian Cabria
  •   Nahun Martínez  
UNAN
  •   Jesus Guerrero  
  •   Allan Gutiérrez
Walter Ferretti
  •   Rafael De Almeida
  •   Bruno de Morais
  •   Rodrigo Hernández
  •   Johan Bonilla  
  •   Paulo Cézar

  (player released during the Apertura season)   (player released between the Apertura and Clausura seasons)   (player released during the Clausura season)

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