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Primera División (First Division) is the top category of Argentine Football (soccer) , and it is organized by the Argentine Football Association . Currently, there are 20 teams in the first division. The Argentine league has been ranked among the top five (1999-2003) and is consistently in the top 10 in the world per the International Federation of Football History and Statistics . It is one of the most prolific sources of players for the world's other top leagues such as La Liga ( Spain ), Serie A ( Italy ), Série A ( Brazil ), FA Premier League ( England ), Bundesliga ( Germany ), and the Superliga ( Portugal ). THE LEAGUE TOURNAMENT The 20 teams play two single-round tournaments each year: the Clausura (February to June), and the Apertura (August to December). Thus, there are two champions each season. Unlike most European countries, Argentina has no official Cup competition. The names of the tournaments (''Closing'' and ''Opening'', respectively) reflect Northern Hemisphere Sports Seasons . This scheme was introduced in 1990, and was at the time alien to Argentines - who live in the Southern Hemisphere and are used to sports seasons that span a single calendar year (for example 2004, as opposed to 2004/05). Since then, many South and Central American leagues adopted the format, including Uruguay and Mexico . 2007-08 TEAMS RELEGATION AND PROMOTION Relegation is based on an Averaging system. At the end of each season, the two teams with the worst three-year averages are relegated, and the best two teams in the Second Division are promoted. The teams placed 17th and 18th in the averages table play a best-of-three playoff (called "promoción") with the 4th and 3rd second division teams, respectively. Thus, the number of teams promoted each year varies between two and four. Newly-promoted teams only average the seasons since their last promotion. Averaging was instituted in 1983, two years after was also struggling at that time and had a dismal 1984 season. These facts have led some to speculate that the averaging system was instituted to minimize the chance of large clubs being relegated. HISTORY Professionalism was instituted in 1931 . In the early years, only teams from Buenos Aires , Greater Buenos Aires (notably Avellaneda ) and La Plata were affiliated to the national association. Teams from Rosario and Santa Fé joined in later years. A single tournament was played each year, and the team with the most points was crowned as champion. This arrangement lasted until 1966 (in 1936 only, the winners of ''Copa de Honor'' and the ''Campeonato'' played a match for the championship title). Starting in 1967 , two championships were played each year: the ''Metropolitano'', with the same structure as the old tournament, and the ''Nacional'', which was open to teams from the provinces. This change brought about a revolution in Argentine football, as small teams (first Estudiantes , then Vélez Sársfield , Chacarita and others) broke down the hegemony of the five clubs who had won all the championships up to that date. Originally, the ''Nacional'' was a regular one-group championship, from which the six best teams would advance to the ''Metropolitano''. In 1970 the tournaments were separated; the ''Metropolitano'' had its own qualifying groups, and the ''Nacional'' two groups and play-offs. In 1977 the ''Metropolitano'' became a one-group, two-round league championship. The ''Metropolitano'' was always played first, until the order of the tournaments was reversed in 1982 . Following the advice of Argentina National Football Team 's then coach Carlos Salvador Bilardo , the structure of play was modified in 1985 . That year, after the ''Nacional'' was played, the new single tournament (1985/86) was played for the first time. Five years later, it was split into two single-round tournaments, giving birth to the current arrangement. In 1991 the two champions played winner-take-all matches. This practice was very controversial, especially since one of the biggest teams Boca Juniors lost the finals against Newell's Old Boys after an unbeaten run in the ''Clausura''. In 1992 the game was held as well (This time between Newell's Old Boys and River Plate ), but regardless of the result (which favored River Plate ) both teams were awarded the title of ''Champion''. After 1992, the practice was quickly abandoned, so that two champions (on equal footing) are crowned every season and no deciding game is played. Even though the current structure provides provincial teams a road to promotion, the dominance of Boca Juniors and River Plate has increased since the mid-90s (though River Plate won its last title in 2004 ). Only one team from outside the Buenos Aires-Rosario axis has ever won a title ( Estudiantes LP , 4 times), and a reversal of this trend is not likely to occur in the foreseeable future. International Competition Traditionally, two teams from Argentina have played in the Copa Libertadores each year. Since 1987 , CONMEBOL sponsors other competitions (first the now-extinct Supercopa , Copa CONMEBOL , Copa Mercosur ), all replaced by actual Copa Sudamericana , and the number of Argentine teams playing the Libertadores has gone up to five. Thus, at least five teams have an international schedule in addition to their league compromises. The Copa Libertadores remains the most prestigious competition in South America; Independiente has a record seven wins, followed by Boca with six, Estudiantes with three, River Plate with two, and Racing Club, Argentinos Juniors and Vélez Sársfield with one apiece. Champions of Argentine Football 1: During the 1990/91 season the Apertura and Clausura were won by Newell's Old Boys and Boca Juniors , respectively. The AFA decided prior to the start to decide the champion between the winner of each tournament in two finals. These finals were held at the same time the national team was in Chile playing that year's Copa America and each team was allowed to bring in new players to substitute those playing for the national team. Newell's won the home-and-away series on penalty kicks and was then crowned the only champion for that season. Due to the controversy that this generated (especially since Boca could've ended an 11-year drought) starting in the 1991/92 season each tournament crowned an official Champion. After the 91-92 season River Plate (Apertura Champion) beat Newell's Old Boys (Clausura Champion) in three matches but these games didn't decide the title, only who was the first team to qualify for the Libertadores Cup 1993 (Newell's Old Boys then beat Octogonal Tournament winner Vélez Sársfield for the second spot).http://www.rsssf.com/tablesa/arg92.html Top-Three Finishes TOPSCORERS A full list of topscorers in the professional era of Argentine football can be found at; Primera División Argentina Topscorers . RECORDS
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