2018–19 Liga Panameña de Fútbol

Liga Panameña de Fútbol
Season 2018–19
Champions Apertura: Tauro
Clausura: Independiente
Relegated Santa Gema
CONCACAF League Tauro
Independiente
San Francisco
Matches played 65
Goals scored 134 (2.06 per match)
Biggest home win Plaza Amador 3-0 Chorrillo
Chorrillo 3-0 Atletico Veraguense
Highest scoring San Francisco 2-3 Atletico Veraguense
2019–20 →

The 2018–19 Liga Panameña de Fútbol (also known as the Liga Cable Onda) was the 28th season of the Liga Panameña de Fútbol, the top-flight football league in Panama. The season began on 17 July 2017 and was scheduled to end in May 2018. Ten teams competed throughout the entire season.

Teams

Chorrillo formed with Deportivo Centenario de Coclé and la Universidad Latina de Panamá to become Unión Deportivo Universitario therefore there was no need for a relegation. [1] Taking their place for this season are the overall champions of last season's Liga Nacional de Ascenso, Costa del Este F.C.

Club Home city Stadium
Alianza Panama City Cancha de Entrenamiento Luis Tapia
Árabe Unido Colón Armando Dely Valdes
Unión Deportivo Universitario Santiago de Veraguas Aristocles "Toco" Castillo
Costa del Este F.C. Panama City Estadio Maracaná
Independiente La Chorrera Estadio Maracaná
Plaza Amador Panama City Estadio Maracaná
San Francisco La Chorrera Estadio Agustín Sánchez
Santa Gema Arraiján Estadio Agustín Sánchez
Sporting San Miguelito San Miguelito Cancha de Entrenamiento Luis Tapia
Tauro Panama City Estadio Rommel Fernandez

Managerial changes

Before the start of the season

Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Replaced by Date of appointment Position in table
Plaza Amador Juan Carlos García Sacked May 2018 Jorge Santos May 2018 th (TBD)
Tauro FC Sergio Angulo Contract Finished June 2018 Juan Carlos García June 2018 th (TBD)
Arabe Unido Sergio Guzman Contract Finished June 2018 Carlos Ruiz June 2018 th (TBD)

During the Apertura season

Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Replaced by Date of appointment Position in table
Tauro F.C. Juan Carlos García Sacked September 2018 Saúl Maldonado September 2018 10th (Apertura 2017)
Sporting San Miguelito Noel Gutierrez Mutual Agreement September 2018 Gustavo Avila September 2018 9th (Apertura 2017)
San Francisco FC Andres Dominguez Mutual Agreement September 2018 Sergio Angulo September 2018 9th (Apertura 2017)
Arabe Unidos Carlos Ruiz Sacked September 2018 José 'Chicho' Pérez September 2018 th (Apertura 2017)
UD Universitario Óscar Upegui Sacked September 2018 Julio Medina September 2018 th (Apertura 2017)

Between Apertura and Clausura seasons

Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Replaced by Date of appointment Position in table
Independiente FC Donaldo Gonzales Sacked December 2018 Francisco Perlo December 2018 9th (Apertura 2018)
Plaza Amador Jorge Santos Sacked December 2018 Javier Alvarez December 2018 th (Apertura 2018)
Alianza Jair Palacios Sacked December 2018 Alberto Nino Valencia December 2018 th (Apertura 2018)
CD Universitario Julio Medina Sacked December 2018 Gustavo Onaindia December 2018 th (Apertura 2018)
San Francisco FC Sergio Angulo Contract not renewed December 2018 Gonzalo Soto December 2018 th (Apertura 2018)
Costa Del Este FC Angel Sanchez Contract finished December 2018 Carlos Pérez Porras December 2018 th (Apertura 2018)
Sporting San Miguelito Gustavo Avila Sacked December 2018 Jair Palacios December 2018 th (Pre Season)

During the Clausura season

Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Replaced by Date of appointment Position in table
Costa Del Este FC Carlos Pérez Porras Sacked February 2019 Juan Carlos Fuentes February 2019 10th (Clausura 2019)
Santa Gema Jose Torres Sacked March 2019 Carlos Rivera March 2019 10th (Clausura 2019)
CD Universitario Gustavo Onaindia Sacked March 2019 Donaldo Gonzales March 2019 10th (Clausura 2019)
Alianza Alberto Nino Valencia Sacked March 2019 Celio Garces March 2019 10th (Clausura 2019)

Apertura

Personnel and sponsoring (2018 Apertura)

Team Chairman Head Coach Kitmaker Shirt sponsor
Alianza TBD Jair Palacios Keuka Balboa
Árabe Unido TBD Carlos Ruiz Kelme Pizza Hut, Panama Colon, Aguaseo
CD Universitario TBD Óscar Upegui Lotto McDonald's
Costa del Este F.C. Angel Sanchez Adidas McDonald's, Cremoso
Independiente Donaldo Gonzales Everlast Cemento Interoceanico, ECO Moda
Plaza Amador TBD Jorge Santos Umbro Páguela Facil, Frosquito, Mercana
Santa Gema Mario Anthony "Chalate" Torres Kelme ShowPro, PSA Panama
San Francisco Julio Quijano Andrés Domínguez Puma KFC, Banco General
Sporting San Miguelito TBD Noel Gutierrez Keuka Los Andes, URBE, pío Pío
Tauro TBD Juan Carlos García Patrick Touritos, Argos, Caja de Ahorros

Standings

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Costa del Este 18 7 8 3 18 12 +6 29 Advance to Playoffs
(Semifinals)
2 Árabe Unido 18 8 4 6 18 17 +1 28
3 Tauro 18 7 6 5 33 20 +13 27 Advance to Playoffs
(Quarterfinals)
4 Plaza Amador 18 6 7 5 15 14 +1 25
5 San Francisco 18 7 4 7 19 19 0 25
6 Alianza 18 5 8 5 16 17 −1 23
7 Santa Gema 18 5 7 6 20 24 −4 22
8 Universitario 18 5 6 7 18 23 −5 21
9 Independiente 18 4 8 6 20 22 −2 20
10 Sporting San Miguelito 18 3 8 7 17 26 −9 17
Source: Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Results

Home \ Away ALI ARA CDE IND PLA SFR SGE SSM TAU UNI
Alianza — 0–2 1–0 2–1 0–0 1–0 2–2 1–1 0–1 2–0
Árabe Unido 1–0 — 0–0 2–0 0–1 2–1 2–2 1–1 0–0 1–0
Costa del Este 2–2 2–0 — 3–0 1–0 0–0 0–1 2–1 0–0 0–3
Independiente 0–0 2–0 0–0 — 1–2 1–1 1–1 1–1 2–2 2–2
Plaza Amador 1–1 1–3 1–1 1–0 — 0–1 1–1 0–1 2–1 1–1
San Francisco 1–0 0–1 1–2 1–2 1–0 — 1–2 2–2 2–3 1–1
Santa Gema 2–0 1–2 1–2 0–2 0–2 0–1 — 1–1 2–1 2–1
Sporting San Miguelito 0–1 1–0 0–0 1–1 1–2 1–2 1–1 — 1–3 1–3
Tauro 2–2 4–1 1–1 1–3 0–0 1–2 3–0 5–0 — 1–2
Universitario 1–1 1–0 0–2 2–1 0–0 0–1 1–1 0–2 0–4 —
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.

Playoffs

Quarterfinals

Plaza Amador 1 – 2 San Francisco
Jose Murillo 90' Guido Rouse 14'
Jhamal Rodriguez 78'
Nuevo Estadio Maracaná de Panamá, Panama City
Referee: Victor Rios
Tauro 1 – 0 Alianza
Enrico Small 88' [2] None
Estadio Rommel Fernández Gutiérrez
Referee: Jose Kellys

Semifinals

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Árabe Unido 1 – 3 Tauro 0 – 2 1 – 1
Costa del Este 4 – 3 San Francisco 3 – 1 0 – 0
First leg
Tauro 2 – 0 Árabe Unido
Enrico Small 34'
Gustavo Chará 93' 		[3] None
Estadio Rommel Fernández Gutiérrez, Panama City
San Francisco 1 – 3 Costa del Este F.C.
Edson Samms 26' Ernesto Sinclair 11' 22' 45'
Estadio Agustín Muquita Sánchez, La Chorrera
Second leg
Árabe Unido 1 – 1 Tauro
Edwin Aguilar 37' Blas Perez 92'
Estadio Armando Dely Valdés, Colón

Tauro won 3-1 on aggregate.

Costa del Este F.C. 1 – 2 San Francisco
Ernesto Sinclair 55' Ervin Zorrila 47'
Guido Rouse 65'
Estadio Rommel Fernandez Gutiérrez, Panama City

Costa del Este won 4-3 on aggregate.

Final

Costa del Este 1-2 Tauro
Edwin Aguilar own 15' [ ] Edwin Aguilar 3'
Jesus Gonzales 119'
Estadio Rommel Fernández
Attendance: TBD
Referee: John Pitti

Clausura

Personnel and sponsoring (2019 Clausura)

Team Chairman Head Coach Kitmaker Shirt sponsor
Alianza TBD Celio Garces Keuka Cemento Interoceanico
Árabe Unido TBD José 'Chicho' Pérez Kelme Pizza Hut
Unión Deportivo Universitario TBD Donaldo Gonzales Keuka EGS, NCO
Costa del Este F.C. Juan Carlos Fuentes Adidas McDonald's, Cremoso
Independiente Francisco Perlo Everlast Cemento Interoces, Eco Moda, Las Anclas, Preval
Plaza Amador TBD Javier Alvarez Umbro Balboa
Santa Gema Carlos Rivera Kelme ShowPro
San Francisco Julio Quijano Gonzalo Soto Puma KFC, Canon, Banco General, Balboa
Sporting San Miguelito TBD Jair Palacios Keuka Pio Pio, Los Andes Mall, GMG, Melo
Tauro TBD Saul Maldonado Patrick Publica Amarias, Dominos, Estrella Azul, Argos, Capital Bank

Standings

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 San Francisco 18 11 5 2 33 15 +18 38 Advance to Playoffs
(Semifinals)
2 Árabe Unido 18 10 5 3 28 17 +11 35
3 Independiente 18 10 4 4 30 18 +12 34 Advance to Playoffs
(Quarterfinals)
4 Tauro 18 8 4 6 24 18 +6 28
5 Sporting San Miguelito 18 8 4 6 21 15 +6 28
6 Universitario 18 7 4 7 22 22 0 25
7 Plaza Amador 18 6 6 6 16 12 +4 24
8 Costa del Este 18 6 5 7 20 18 +2 23
9 Alianza 18 4 3 11 14 30 −16 15
10 Santa Gema 18 0 0 18 7 50 −43 0
Source: Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Results

Home \ Away ALI ARA CDE IND PLA SFR SGE SSM TAU UNI
Alianza — 0–1 1–0 0–2 0–3 0–1 3–1 0–1 0–2 0–3
Árabe Unido 4–1 — 2–0 3–3 1–1 1–4 3–0 1–0 1–0 1–2
Costa del Este 3–0 0–1 — 1–2 0–0 1–1 3–0 1–0 1–0 0–2
Independiente 2–0 0–2 0–0 — 2–1 2–2 2–0 2–1 4–3 0–0
Plaza Amador 1–1 2–1 0–0 1–0 — 0–1 3–0 0–1 0–1 0–0
San Francisco 2–2 1–1 3–0 0–1 2–1 — 3–0 2–1 2–0 0–0
Santa Gema 0–4 2–3 0–3 0–3 0–1 1–3 — 0–1 1–2 2–4
Sporting San Miguelito 1–1 0–0 5–2 1–0 0–0 2–1 3–0 — 1–1 1–0
Tauro 0–1 0–0 1–1 2–1 2–1 1–3 3–0 2–1 — 4–0
Universitario 3–0 1–2 0–4 1–4 0–1 1–2 3–0 2–1 0–0 —
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.

Playoffs

Quarterfinals

Independiente 2–1 Universitario
Aguilar 23'
Torres 40' 		Report Dinalos 78'
Referee: Ameth Sánchez
Tauro 1–0 Sporting San Miguelito
Catuy 15' Report
Referee: Victor Rios

Semifinals

First leg
Tauro 1–1 San Francisco
Ariano 58' Zúñiga 34'
Referee: John Pitti
Independiente 2–1 Árabe Unido
Negrete 41'
Aguilar 65' 		Arroyo 31'
Referee: Oliver Vergara
Second leg
Árabe Unido 2–1 Independiente
  • Heraldez 7'
  • Cox 63'
  • Negrete 5'
Penalties
 4-5
Referee: Ameth Sánchez
San Francisco 1–0 Tauro
Jhamal Rodríguez 42' (pen.)
Referee: Victor Rios

Final

San Francisco 1–1 (a.e.t.) Independiente
Guido Rouse 120+4' Abdiel Ayarza 117'
Penalties
1-4
Referee: John Pitti

Aggregate table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 San Francisco (Q) 36 18 9 9 52 34 +18 63 CONCACAF League preliminary round
2 Árabe Unido 36 18 9 9 46 34 +12 63
3 Tauro (Q) 36 15 10 11 57 38 +19 55 CONCACAF League round of 16
4 Independiente (Q) 36 14 12 10 50 40 +10 54 CONCACAF League round of 16
5 Costa del Este 36 13 13 10 38 30 +8 52
6 Plaza Amador 36 12 13 11 31 26 +5 49
7 Universitario 36 12 10 14 40 45 −5 46
8 Sporting San Miguelito 36 11 12 13 38 41 −3 45
9 Alianza 36 9 11 16 30 47 −17 38
10 Santa Gema (R) 36 5 7 24 27 74 −47 22 Relegated to Liga de Ascenso
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 runners-up with better aggregate record (PAN3)
  2. As Apertura champions (PAN1)
  3. As Clausura champions (PAN2)

List of foreign players in the league

This is a list of foreign players for the 2018-2019. The following players:

  1. have played at least one game for the respective club.
  2. have not been capped for the Panama national football team on any level, independently from the birthplace [4]
Alianza
  • Robyn Pertuz
  • Adrian Ararat
  • Edwin Grueso
  • Mike Campaz
  • Yeferson Paz
  • Mauricio Castaño
  • Giandemir Jaen Ríos
Arabe Unido
  • Faber Gil
  • Raul Peñaranda
  • Mauricio Castaño
  • Miguel Lloyd
  • Johnatan Mosquera
Chosta del Este FC
  • Daniel Blanco
  • Ariel Bonilla x
  • Andres Escobar x
  • David Loaiza x
  • Julian Munoz x
Independiente
  • David Uribe x
  • Gerardo Negrete x
  • Arichel Hernandez x
  • Gustavo Bolivar
  • Abel Marcovecchio x
Plaza Amador
  • Nicolás Parodi
  • José Tamburell
Santa Gema
  • Juan Cano x
  • Jhoan Romero x
  • Milton Segura x
San Francisco FC
Sporting San Miguelito
  • Wilmer Largacha
  • Jorge Sandoval x
  • Daniel Cano
Tauro FC
  • Alexander Amut
  • Gustavo Chara
  • Juan Andrés Balanta
  • Santiago Feuillassier
UD Universitario

(player released mid season) (player released during Apertura and Clausura)