2014 Categoría Primera A season


The 2014 Categoría Primera A season is the 67th season of Colombia's top-flight football league. Atlético Nacional come in as the defending champions having won both titles in the 2013 season.

Format

The format for the Apertura tournament will have a variation due to the 2014 FIFA World Cup and will be similar to the format used in 2011. It will be divided into three stages. The First Stage will be contested on a home-and-away basis, with each team playing the other teams once and playing a regional rival once more. The top eight teams after eighteen rounds will advance to a knockout round, where they will be pitted into four ties to be played on a home-and-away basis, with the four winners advancing to the semifinals and the winner of each semifinal advancing to the final of the tournament, which will be played on a home-and-away basis as well. The winner of the final will be declared the tournament champion and will participate in the 2015 Copa Libertadores. The Finalización tournament will keep the format used in the 2013 season.

Teams

TeamCityStadium2013 season
Alianza PetroleraFloridablancaÁlvaro Gómez Hurtado16th
Atlético HuilaNeivaGuillermo Plazas Alcid15th
Atlético NacionalMedellínAtanasio Girardot1st
Boyacá ChicóTunjaLa Independencia12th
Deportes TolimaIbaguéManuel Murillo Toro4th
Deportivo CaliCaliPascual Guerrero7th
Deportivo PastoPastoDepartamental Libertad10th
EnvigadoEnvigadoPolideportivo Sur11th
FortalezaZipaquiráMetropolitano de TechoPrimera B runners-up
Independiente MedellínMedellínAtanasio Girardot13th
Itagüí/Águilas PereiraApertura: Itagüí
Finalización: Pereira
Apertura: Ciudad de Itagüí
Finalización: Hernán Ramírez Villegas
2nd
JuniorBarranquillaMetropolitano6th
La EquidadBogotáMetropolitano de Techo9th
MillonariosBogotáNemesio Camacho3rd
Once CaldasManizalesPalogrande8th
PatriotasTunjaLa Independencia14th
Santa FeBogotáNemesio Camacho5th
UniautónomaBarranquillaMetropolitanoPrimera B champions

Torneo Apertura

First stage

The First Stage began on January 24 and consisted of eighteen rounds and a series of regional rivalries on the ninth round. The top eight teams out of this stage will advance to the knockout stage. The first stage ended on April 20.

Standings

Results

Knockout round bracket

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Finals

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Top goalscorers

Source:

Torneo Finalización

First stage

The First Stage began on July 18 and consisted of eighteen rounds and a series of regional rivalries on the ninth round. The top eight teams out of this stage advanced to the knockout stage. The first stage ended on November 9. Starting from this tournament, Itagüí will compete under the name Águilas Doradas since the club was expelled from Itagüí in May 2014, and will move to Pereira, playing their home games at Estadio Hernán Ramírez Villegas. The club eventually changed its name to Águilas Pereira in order to reflect this move.

Standings

Results

Semifinals

The Semifinal stage began on November 13 and ended on December 7. The eight teams that advanced were sorted into two groups of four teams. The winner of each group advanced to the finals.

Group A

Group B

Finals

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Top goalscorers

Source:

Relegation

A separate table is kept to determine the teams that get relegated to the Categoría Primera B for the next season. The table includes an average of all first stage games played for the current season and the previous two seasons.

Team
Relegation
1Atlético Nacional526963184108'-
2Águilas Pereira615857176108'-
3Santa Fe526161174108'-
4Millonarios575953169108'-
5Junior575255164108'-
6Deportes Tolima655045160108'-
7Deportivo Cali495847154108'-
8La Equidad614541147108'-
9Once Caldas335657146108'-
10Deportivo Pasto525338143108'-
11Independiente Medellín434751141108'-
12Alianza Petrolera413854133108'-
13Envigado443948131108'-
14Boyacá Chicó493447130108'-
15Atlético Huila414046127108'-
16Patriotas443445123108'-
17Uniautónoma '443435113108'Relegation/promotion playoff
18Fortaleza '353938112108'Categoría Primera B

Rules for classification: 1st average; 2nd goal difference; 3rd number of goals scored; 4th away goals scored.

Promotion/relegation Playoff

The second worst team in the relegation table, Uniautónoma played Quindío, the 2014 Categoría Primera B runner-up, for a berth in the 2015 Categoría Primera A season. As the Primera A team, Uniautónoma played the second leg at home. The winner was determined by points, followed by goal difference, then a penalty shootout. Uniautónoma defeated Quindío 2-0 on aggregate score and will remain in the top tier for the 2015 season.

Aggregate table

An aggregate table including all games that a team plays during the year is used to determine First Stage berths to both the Copa Libertadores and the Copa Sudamericana. The best-placed non-champion will go to the first stage of the 2015 Copa Libertadores and the 2nd and 3rd best-placed non-champions will go to the first stage of the 2015 Copa Sudamericana.