The 1997 tournament of the Primera División de Chile was based in the typical Apertura-Clausura scheme used in many football leagues in Latin-America, similar to the Argentinian First Division. For the first time, this format, with two champions, was used. This tournament format was dropped for the next season (1998), but came back, from 2002 to 2017.
| Season | 1997 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Universidad Católica (Apertura), Colo-Colo (Clausura) |
| Relegated | Unión Española Deportes Antofagasta |
| Copa Libertadores | Quarterfinals: Universidad Católica Semifinals: Colo-Colo |
| Supercopa Sudamericana | Semifinals: Colo-Colo |
| Copa CONMEBOL | First Round: Universidad de Chile |
| Top goalscorer | Apertura: David Bisconti (15)Clausura:  Richard Báez (10) |
← 1996 1998 → | |
Both champions qualified for the Copa Libertadores, while the two teams with fewest points overall relegated. The season started on 16 February 1997 and ended on 21 December 1997.
Overall table edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Colo-Colo | 30 | 22 | 6 | 2 | 60 | 31 | +29 | 72 | Qualified for the 1998 Copa Libertadores |
| 2 | Universidad Católica | 30 | 20 | 7 | 3 | 61 | 28 | +33 | 67 | |
| 3 | Universidad de Chile | 30 | 15 | 11 | 4 | 67 | 31 | +36 | 56 | |
| 4 | Cobreloa | 30 | 13 | 8 | 9 | 54 | 39 | +15 | 47 | |
| 5 | Audax Italiano | 30 | 12 | 8 | 10 | 51 | 40 | +11 | 44 | |
| 6 | Coquimbo Unido | 30 | 11 | 8 | 11 | 43 | 39 | +4 | 41 | |
| 7 | Provincial Osorno | 30 | 8 | 14 | 8 | 35 | 33 | +2 | 38 | |
| 8 | Deportes La Serena | 30 | 10 | 7 | 13 | 44 | 45 | −1 | 37 | |
| 9 | Deportes Temuco | 30 | 11 | 4 | 15 | 44 | 49 | −5 | 37 | |
| 10 | Huachipato | 30 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 33 | 39 | −6 | 36 | |
| 11 | Palestino | 30 | 9 | 6 | 15 | 25 | 45 | −20 | 33 | |
| 12 | Deportes Concepción | 30 | 8 | 9 | 13 | 36 | 58 | −22 | 33 | |
| 13 | Deportes Puerto Montt | 30 | 8 | 8 | 14 | 39 | 49 | −10 | 32 | |
| 14 | Santiago Wanderers | 30 | 6 | 13 | 11 | 37 | 50 | −13 | 31 | |
| 15 | Unión Española | 30 | 8 | 4 | 18 | 37 | 62 | −25 | 28 | Relegated to Segunda División Chilena |
| 16 | Deportes Antofagasta | 30 | 7 | 4 | 19 | 29 | 58 | −29 | 25 |
Source: [citation needed]
Torneo de Apertura edit
Table edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Universidad Católica | 15 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 36 | 13 | +23 | 37 | Qualified for the Championship play-off |
| 2 | Colo-Colo | 15 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 27 | 12 | +15 | 37 | |
| 3 | Universidad de Chile | 15 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 31 | 14 | +17 | 30 | |
| 4 | Deportes Temuco | 15 | 7 | 1 | 7 | 26 | 18 | +8 | 22 | |
| 5 | Cobreloa | 15 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 26 | 22 | +4 | 22 | |
| 6 | Deportes Concepción | 15 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 21 | 26 | −5 | 22 | |
| 7 | Huachipato | 15 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 20 | 17 | +3 | 20 | |
| 8 | Coquimbo Unido | 15 | 6 | 2 | 7 | 28 | 26 | +2 | 20 | |
| 9 | Santiago Wanderers | 15 | 4 | 8 | 3 | 24 | 24 | 0 | 20 | |
| 10 | Deportes La Serena | 15 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 23 | 25 | −2 | 18 | |
| 11 | Provincial Osorno | 15 | 3 | 8 | 4 | 16 | 18 | −2 | 17 | |
| 12 | Palestino | 15 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 12 | 24 | −12 | 16 | |
| 13 | Audax Italiano | 15 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 21 | 24 | −3 | 15 | |
| 14 | Unión Española | 15 | 4 | 1 | 10 | 15 | 35 | −20 | 13 | |
| 15 | Deportes Puerto Montt | 15 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 18 | 29 | −11 | 10 | |
| 16 | Deportes Antofagasta | 15 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 14 | 31 | −17 | 8 |
Source: [citation needed]
Championship play-off edit
| Colo-Colo | 1 – 0 | Universidad Católica |
|---|---|---|
Basay  87' |
| Universidad Católica | 3 – 0 | Colo-Colo |
|---|---|---|
| Acosta 2' Bisconti 23' Lunari 78' |
Topscorers edit
| Pos | Name | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Bisconti |
Universidad Católica | 15 |
| 2 | Walter Otta |
Deportes Puerto Montt | 11 |
| 3 | Alberto Acosta |
Universidad Católica | 10 |
| 4 | Sergio Gioino |
Provincial Osorno | 9 |
 Rodrigo Barrera |
Universidad de Chile | 9 |
Torneo de Clausura edit
Table edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Colo-Colo | 15 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 33 | 19 | +14 | 35 |
| 2 | Universidad Católica | 15 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 25 | 15 | +10 | 30 |
| 3 | Audax Italiano | 15 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 31 | 16 | +15 | 29 |
| 4 | Universidad de Chile | 15 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 36 | 17 | +19 | 26 |
| 5 | Cobreloa | 15 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 28 | 17 | +11 | 25 |
| 6 | Deportes Puerto Montt | 15 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 21 | 20 | +1 | 22 |
| 7 | Provincial Osorno | 15 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 19 | 15 | +4 | 21 |
| 8 | Coquimbo Unido | 15 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 15 | 13 | +2 | 21 |
| 9 | Deportes La Serena | 15 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 21 | 20 | +1 | 19 |
| 10 | Palestino | 15 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 13 | 21 | −8 | 17 |
| 11 | Deportes Antofagasta | 15 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 15 | 27 | −12 | 17 |
| 12 | Huachipato | 15 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 13 | 22 | −9 | 16 |
| 13 | Unión Española | 15 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 22 | 27 | −5 | 15 |
| 14 | Deportes Temuco | 15 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 18 | 31 | −13 | 15 |
| 15 | Santiago Wanderers | 15 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 26 | −13 | 11 |
| 16 | Deportes Concepción | 15 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 15 | 32 | −17 | 11 |
Source: [citation needed]
Topscorers edit
| Pos | Name | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Richard Báez |
Universidad de Chile | 10 |
| Rubén Vallejos |
Deportes Puerto Montt | 10 | |
| 3 | Hugo Brizuela |
Audax Italiano | 9 |