2022–23 Liga Primera de Nicaragua

Football league season
Liga Primera de Nicaragua
Season2022–23
ChampionsApertura:
Real Estelí
Clausura:
Real Estelí
RelegatedJuventus Managua
CONCACAF Central American CupReal Estelí
Diriangén
Matches played196
Goals scored459 (2.34 per match)
Top goalscorerApertura:
Brazil Lucas dos Santos
(16 goals)
Clausura:
Colombia Arly Bonilla
(15 goals)
Biggest home winApertura:
Juventus Managua 9–0 Ocotal
(1 December 2022)
Clausura:
Diriangén 5–1 CS Sebaco
(21 April 2023)
Biggest away winApertura:
TBD 3-5 TBD
Clausura:
Juventus Managua 0–7 Real Esteli F.C.
(6 April 2023)
Highest scoringApertura:
TBD 4-8 TBD
Clausura:
Juventus Managua 0–7 Real Esteli F.C.
(6 April 2023)
All statistics correct as of 28 June 2022.

The 2022–23 Liga Primera de Nicaragua season was to be divided into two tournaments, Apertura and Clausura. The season will determine the 79th and 80th champions in the history of the Liga Primera de Nicaragua, the top division of football in Nicaragua. The Apertura tournament is to be played in the second half of 2022, while the Clausura is to be played in the first half of 2023.

Teams

Team information

A total of ten teams contested the league, including nine sides from the 2021–22 Primera División, and one side from the 2021–22 Segunda División.

Real Madriz finished last in the aggregate table and were relegated to the Segunda División. The champions from the Segunda División, Matagalpa FC, were promoted in their place.

The 9th place team in the aggregate table, ART Jalapa, faced the second-place team from the Segunda División, CD Junior, in a playoff for a spot in the Primera División. ART Jalapa won 4–3 over two legs, meaning ART Jalapa remained in the Primera División.[1]

Promotion and relegation

Promoted from Segunda División as of June, 2022.

Relegated to Segunda División as of June, 2022.

Stadiums and locations

Team Location Stadium Capacity
ART Municipal Jalapa Jalapa Estadio Alejandro Ramos Turcio 2,000
Diriangén Diriamba Estadio Cacique Diriangén 8,500
Juventus Managua Estadio Olímpico del IND Managua 7,000
Sport Sébaco Matagalpa Estadio Municipal de Matagalpa 1,800
Managua Managua Estadio Nacional de Fútbol (UNAN) 15,000
Ocotal Ocotal Estadio Roy Fernando Bermúdez 7,000
Real Estelí Estelí Estadio Independencia 4,800
Matagalpa Matagalpa Estadio Municipal de Matagalpa 1,800
UNAN Managua Managua Estadio Nacional de Fútbol (UNAN) 15,000
Walter Ferretti Managua Estadio Nacional de Fútbol (UNAN) 15,000

Personnel and kits

Team Chairman Head Coach Captain Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor(s)
ART Municipal Jalapa TBD Colombia Luis Javier Londoño * Uruguay Bernardo Laureiro * Keuka AT&T
Diriangén TBD Argentina Roberto Armando Chanampe * Nicaragua TBD Macron AT&T
Juventus TBD Nicaragua Alexis Zepeda * Nicaragua Jhans Mina * Keuka AT&T
HYH Sebaco TBD Costa Rica Glen Blanco * Nicaragua Luis Galeano * Keuka AT&T
Matagalpa TBD Nicaragua Oscar Castillo * Nicaragua Rodolfo Forbes * Keuka AT&T
Managua TBD Nicaragua Emilio Aburto * Nicaragua Kevin Serapio * Keuka AT&T
Ocotal TBD Honduras Nelson Vasquez * Nicaragua TBD Keuka AT&T
Real Estelí TBD Nicaragua Ramon Otoneil Olivas * Nicaragua Josué Quijano * Keuka AT&T
UNAN Managua TBD Nicaragua Eduardo Urroz * Nicaragua Anderson Tremio * Joma AT&T
Walter Ferretti TBD Nicaragua Luis Diaz * Nicaragua Denis Espinoza * Keuka AT&T

News

Shirt sponsorship

Keuka agreed to sponsor 8 teams in the Liga Primera (2 teams not being sponsored is Diriangén and UNAN Managua) starting in the Clausura 2023. [2]

Managerial changes

Pre-season Apertura 2022

Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Replaced by Date of appointment Position in table
Ocotal Nicaragua Mario Alfaro Contract Ended June 2022 Honduras Nelson Vásquez June 2022 TBD (Apertura 2021)
Diriangén Nicaragua Tyrone Leiva Contract Ended May 2022 Argentina Roberto Chanampe June 2022 TBD (Apertura 2021)
Real Estelí Mexico José Luis Trejo Montoya Contract Ended July 2022 Nicaragua Ramon Otoneil Olivas July 2022 TBD (Apertura 2021)

During the Apertura season

Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Replaced by Date of appointment Position in table
Matagalpa FC Nicaragua Oscar Castillo [3] Sacked August 2022 Nicaragua Sting Fabricio López August 2022 TBD (Apertura 2022)
Managua FC Spain Juan Cortez Sacked August 2022 Nicaragua Emilio Aburto August 2022 TBD (Apertura 2022)

Pre-season Clausura 2023

Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Replaced by Date of appointment Position in table
Managua Nicaragua Emilio Aburto Contract Ended December 2022 Brazil Flavio Da Silva December 15, 2022 TBD (Apertura 2022)
ART Municipal Jalapa Colombia Luis Javier Londono Contract Ended December 2022 Argentina Carlos Javier Martino 28 December 2022 TBD (Apertura 2022)
HYH Sebaco Costa Rica Glen Blanco Contract Ended December 2022 Honduras Héctor Medina December 28, 2022 TBD (Apertura 2022)
Matagalpa FC Nicaragua Sting Lopez Contract Ended December 2022 Costa Rica Glen Blanco January 3, 2023 TBD (Apertura 2022)
Deportivo Ocotal Honduras Nelson Vasquez Contract Ended December 2022 Nicaragua Sting Lopez January 3, 2023 TBD (Apertura 2022)

During Clausura 2023

Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Replaced by Date of appointment Position in table
Municipal Jalapa Argentina Carlos Javier Martino Sacked February 22, 2023 Nicaragua Ricardo Gaitan February 2023 TBD (Apertura 2022)

Apertura 2022

Finals

Quarterfinals

H&H Sebaco0-5Managua
Nil Kevin Serapio 15'
Oscar Soto 33'
Angel Velásquez 36'
Agenor Báez 64'
Diego Arceo 75'
Estadio Municipal de Matagalpa , Matagalpa

Managua progressed.


Deportivo Walter Ferretti5-1Juventus Managua
Francisco Ramos 9' 56'
Luciano Sanhueza 68' 80'
Alexis Somarriba 90'
Lucas Dos Santos 75'
Estadio Cacique Diriangén, Diriamba

Walter Ferretti progressed.

Semi-finals

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Walter Ferretti 4-3 Diriangén 2–3 2-0
Real Estelí 2-0 Managua 0-0 2–0
Walter Ferretti1-1Diriangén
Francisco Ramos 60' Junio Arteaga 68'
Estadio Independencia, Esteli

Diriangén1-1Walter Ferretti
Junio Arteaga 116' Ezequiel Ugalde 91'
Estadio Cacique, Diriamba

2-2 on aggregate, Walter Ferretti won 5-3 on penalties.

Managua0-0Real Estelí
Nil Nil
Estadio Cacique, Diriamba

Real Estelí2-0Managua
Douglas Caé 66'
Harold Medina 73'
Nil
Estadio Independencia, Esteli

Real Estelí won 2-0 on aggregate.

Final

First leg
Walter Ferretti2-3Real Estelí
Francisco Ramos 28'
Luciano Sanhueza 57'
Douglas Caé 36' 81'
Ewerton Bezerra 50'
Estadio Cacique Diriangén, Diriamba
Referee: Erick Lezama
Second leg
Real Estelí1-2Walter Ferretti
Harold Medina 50' Yeison Mosquera 62'
Ronald Lopez 66'
Estadio Independencia, Esteli
Referee: Willer Lopez

4-4 on Aggregate. Real Esteli won 4-3 on penalties


 Apertura 2022 champions 
Real Estelí
19th title

Clausura 2023

Standings

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Diriangén (Q) 18 12 3 3 36 19 +17 39 Advance to Playoffs
(Semifinals)
2 Real Estelí (Q) 18 10 5 3 37 19 +18 35
3 Managua (Q) 18 8 5 5 26 23 +3 29 Advance to Playoffs
(Quarterfinals)
4 Walter Ferretti (Q) 18 7 5 6 26 24 +2 26
5 Matagalpa (Q) 18 7 4 7 19 19 0 25
6 Deportivo Ocotal (Q) 18 7 3 8 24 24 0 24
7 UNAN Managua 18 5 5 8 24 25 −1 20
8 Municipal Jalapa 18 5 4 9 21 30 −9 19
9 H&H Export Sébaco FC 18 5 4 9 21 32 −11 19
10 Juventus Managua 18 3 4 11 19 38 −19 13
Updated to match(es) played on 2 May 2023. Source: [4]
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored; 4) head-to-head points; 5) head-to-head goal difference; 6) head-to-head goals scored; 7) draw.
(Q) Qualified for the phase indicated

Finals

Quarterfinals

Managua3-1Deportivo Ocotal
Brian Calabrese 26'
Henry Nino 48'
Doslin Garcia 69'
Yubeiquer Arenas 7'
Estadio Nacional de futbol , Managua

Managua progressed.


Deportivo Walter Ferretti1-1Matagalpa
Ezequiel Ugalde 40' Rodolfo Forbes 25'
Estadio Nacional de futbol , Managua

Matagalpa progressed, winning 9-8 penalties.

Semifinals

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Diriangén 5-0 Matagalpa 2–0 3-0
Real Estelí 3-3 (pen 4-3) Managua 1-0 2–3
Matagalpa0-2Diriangén
Nil Carlos Torres 39'
Luis Fernando Coronel 52'
Estadio Independencia, Esteli

Diriangén3-0Matagalpa
Junio Arteaga
Carlos Torres Frobes
Dshon Frobes
Nil
Estadio Cacique, Diriamba

Diriangén won 5-0 on aggregate.

Managua0-1Real Estelí
Nil Juan Barrera 23'
Estadio Cacique, Diriamba

Real Estelí2-3Managua
Douglas Caé 66'
Harold Medina 73'
Douglas Caé 66'
Harold Medina 73'
Estadio Independencia, Esteli

3-3 on aggregate, Real Esteli won 4-3 on penalties.

Final

First leg
Real Estelí0-0Diriangén
Nil [5] Nil
Estadio Independencia, Estelí
Referee: Willer Lopez
Second leg
Diriangén0-3Real Estelí
[6] Harold Medina 41' 92'
Byron Bonilla 49'
Estadio Cacique Diriangén, Diriamba
Referee: Ricardo Mendoza

Real Esteli won 3-0 on Aggregate


 Clausura 2023 champions 
Real Estelí
20th title

List of foreign players in the league

This is a list of foreign players in the 2022–23 season. The following players:

  1. Have played at least one game for the respective club.
  2. Have not been capped for the Nicaragua national football team on any level, independently from the birthplace

A new rule was introduced this season, that clubs can have four foreign players per club and can only add a new player if there is an injury or a player/s is released, and it is before the closing of the season transfer window.

ART Jalapa

  • Colombia Jafet del Portillo
  • Honduras Allan Medina
  • Uruguay Bernando Laureiro *
  • Colombia Juan Murillo
  • Colombia Andrés Cortobarria
  • Honduras Denier Bonilla
  • Honduras Alfredo Oscar Rosales
  • Honduras Josué Lozano
  • Cuba Maykel Reyes

Diriangén

  • Brazil Robinson Luiz
  • Colombia Jhon Mosquera *
  • Mexico Taufic Guarch
  • Argentina Jonathan Pacheco
  • Argentina Ramiro Peters
  • Argentina Carlos Tórres
  • Brazil Patrick Torelli

Juventus Managua

  • Brazil Lucas Dos Santos
  • Brazil Rafael Vieira (*)
  • Colombia David Castrillón (*)
  • Mexico Bernardo Gradilla (*)

CS Sebaco

  • Argentina Miguel Pucharella (*)
  • Argentina Franco Rondina
  • Honduras Brayan Zúñiga (*)
  • Venezuela Miguel Soza (*)
  • Colombia Miguel Morales

Managua

  • Colombia Juan Sebastián Arce
  • Paraguay Diego Areco
  • Honduras Ángel Velásquez (*)
  • Honduras Kevin Castro (*)
  • Mexico Carlo Vasquez
  • Brazil Robinson Luiz
  • Brazil Lucas Dos Santos
  • Mexico Taufic Guarch
  • Argentina Brian Calabrese


Matagalpa FC

  • Colombia Willian Morales
  • Costa Rica Sebastián Barquero
  • Costa Rica Bryan Marín
  • Brazil Rafael de Almeida
  • Panama Rogelio Robinson

Ocotal

  • Colombia Juan Castaño
  • Colombia Juan Marín
  • Colombia Jean Rentería
  • Colombia Kenverlen López
  • Colombia New Mena
  • Colombia Dandy Choles
  • Colombia Yubeiquer Arenas
  • Honduras Gabriel Ortiz
  • Honduras Carlos Daniel Duran
  • Honduras Edwin Castro
  • Honduras Allan Medina
  • Honduras Ricardo Medina

Real Estelí

  • Argentina Fabián Monserrat
  • Brazil Vinicius da Souza
  • Brazil Ewerton da Silva
  • Brazil Douglas Caé
  • Colombia José Ortiz Castillo
  • Colombia Alex Chandler
  • Spain Pablo Gállego
  • Argentina Juan Manuel Trejo
  • Brazil Sidney Pages

UNAM Managua

  • Colombia Jerson Lora (*)
  • Colombia Sebastian Alzáte
  • Ghana Joseph Donkor
  • Brazil Robinson Luiz
  • Brazil Lucas Dos Santos
  • Brazil Pedro Dos Santos
  • Cuba Eugenio Palmero

Walter Ferretti

  • Argentina Luciano Sanhueza (*)
  • Colombia Ariel Torregrosa (*)
  • Colombia Yeison Mosquera (*)
  • Colombia Cesar Vente Contención *
  • Colombia Maykel Reyes


(player released during the Apertura season) (player released between the Apertura and Clausura seasons) (player released during the Clausura season)

External links

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