2008–09 Honduran Liga Nacional
Template:Cleanup-articletitle The 2008-09 Apertura will be the first part of the 2008-09 season of Liga Nacional de Fútbol de Honduras, the first division national football league in Honduras. The season is set to start 26 July, 2008 and will be set to finish on December 14, 2008.[1] It will follow the 2007-08 Clausura season. The winner will compete in the 2009-10 CONCACAF Champions League.
2008-09 teams
| Club | City | Stadium | 2007-08 Clausura season |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deportes Savio | Santa Rosa de Copán/Catacamas | Miraflores/Avila1 | 7th |
| Hispano FC | Comayagua | Carlos Miranda | 5th |
| C.D. Marathón | San Pedro Sula | Olímpico | 2nd |
| C.D. Motagua | Tegucigalpa/Danli | Nacional/Tinoco1 | 4th |
| C.D. Olimpia | Tegucigalpa/Comayagua | Nacional/Miranda1 | Champions |
| C.D. Platense | Puerto Cortés/San Pedro Sula | Excelsior/Olimpico2 | 10th |
| Real España | San Pedro Sula | Morazan | 3rd |
| Real Juventud | Santa Bárbara | Argelio Sabillon | Promoted |
| C.D. Victoria | La Ceiba | Municipal Ceibeño | 6th |
| CDS Vida | La Ceiba | Municipal Ceibeño | 9th |
1 Alternate stadium due to field renovations.
2 Alternate stadium due to a dispute between Platense and the city of Puerto Cortes.
Scouting Reports
In the Clausura 2007/08 tournament, Platense suffered great adversity avoiding relegation in their last match. Their manager Nahúm Espinoza is the mastermind for which the 'dogfish' have changed their form of play and have transformed into a dangerous team aiming for great things. A key benchmarks for Platense is midfielder Carlos Will Mejia, with his talent will try to carry the team on a good path and hopefully a fight for the title. Platense has not fallen behind in signing new players for this tournament. New arrivals include Edilson Pereira, who played previously with Deportes Savio, Willian Veloso, who has shown in preseason matches to be a prominent goalscorer, and Evandro Ferreira, with his speed will try to unbalance the opposing defenses. To add to this is the experience of Walter López,who will be in charge of creating plays and give dynamism to the goalkeepers.
Despite Victoria's manager Javier Padilla insisting the main objective is save their position, the fans think the opposite because they know they have a good lineup to aspire for more. The fans think of nothing more than to lift another trophy, considering that Victoria maintains the fundamental parts of the team from the previous tournaments. They have reinforced the squad with talented and nationally experienced players like José Luis Pineda, Juan Manuel Cárcamo, and Carlos Discua. They also signed the uruguayans Richard Pérez and Mauricio Webber and have promoted from their reserves forwards Erick Natividad Ayala and Victor Leonel Maldonado. With their current squad, Victoria can reach at the least the playoff round to satisfy their fans, who expected something more dignified in the the previous tournament but finished in sixth place despite the strong investment from their patroness. The team had a good preseason. The team aims to bring honor to their name.
Recently promoted Real Juventud have prepared for one goal: to maintain the position in the league. Since their establishment on May 30, 1965, the team never had the opportunity to be able to ascend and play in the Liga Nacional but they now find the opportunity to assemble their own history. Their manager Emilio Umanzor have stated in addition to staying in the league, the team will try to classify as one of the best four in the league and not playing a relegation battle like the majority of the sporting people and press have insisted. Real Juventud arrives with great expectations for the Apertura tournament. Real Juventud will fall upon the success of their Liga de Ascenso campaign and aim for decent position.
A team with the squad and budget of Deportes Savio obviously won't compete for the title. This does not stop them from causing harm to other clubs with greater aspiration. They will be playing their home matches on an unfamiliar field: Stadium Roberto Martinéz Ávila in Siguatepeque, since their stadium is being remodeled. A key loss for the team is the brazilian Edilson Pereira who signed with Platense. On the other hand, important arrivals include goalie Hugo Caballero, the midfielders Marco Antonio Mejía and Elmer Marín, and forward Edgar Núñez. Deportes Savio will seek to grab points early on to avoid suffering like the previous tournament and with that seek, maybe not the playoff rounds, but their permanency in the league.
Vida will participate in the tournament with a modest team filled with prospects that intend to shine in the league. The directive administration will wage at their inferior categories that they intend to remain in the league. The challenges their manager Alberto Romero faces are difficult because he must erase the frustration from the fans and support the team's president character, who at the moment of saying things says it first and then thinks. The team president and manager have clashed before with Romero threatening to quit the team due to some unilateral decision but soon was resolved. Vida had a good preseason with many matches in the US and Guatemala.
Regular season
Results
| Home / Away | SAV | HIS | MAR | MOT | OLI | PLA | ESP | JUV | VIC | VID |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deportes Savio | / | 2:1 | 2:1 | 13 Nov | 0:1 | 5 Oct | 1:1 | 2 Nov | 28 Sep | 1:1 |
| Hispano | 19 Oct | / | 1:2 | 1:3 | 3:1 | 1 Nov | 8 Nov | 2:0 | 5:3 | 2:0 |
| Marathón | 25 Oct | 13 Nov | / | 4:0 | 18 Oct | 2:1 | 27 Sep | 1:0 | 8 Nov | 1:1 |
| Motagua | 0:2 | 2:1 | 2 Nov | / | 2:0 | 1:0 | 0:0 | 28 Sep | 0:4 | 19 Oct |
| Olimpia | 2:0 | 0:0 | 0:1 | 26 Oct | / | 2:2 | 2:1 | 8 Nov | 5 Oct | 13 Nov |
| Platense | 1:1 | 2:2 | 1:2 | 8 Nov | 28 Sep | / | 19 Oct | 2:1 | 2:1 | 26 Oct |
| Real España | 2:0 | 2:2 | 2:2 | 4 Oct | 1 Nov | 4:0 | / | 3:1 | 1:1 | 2:0 |
| Real Juventud | 0:3 | 5 Oct | 0:1 | 1:1 | 0:0 | 13 Nov | 26 Oct | / | 2:0 | 0:1 |
| Victoria | 1:0 | 25 Oct | 2:2 | 0:4 | 1:1 | 1:2 | 13 Nov | 18 Oct | / | 1:0 |
| Vida | 8 Nov | 27 Sep | 4 Oct | 1:1 | 0:1 | 1:1 | 2:3 | 1:2 | 1 Nov | / |
- On 12 August, Real España obtained 2 additional points and Deportes Savio had 1 deducted for fielding an ineligible player in round 1; the goal records of both clubs remain unchanged.
Standings
As of September 21
Final roundSemifinalsFinalGoal scorersAs of 24 September, 2008
Squads
International Competition
References
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