Within the years 1931-1966, the Campeonato de Primera División (First Division Championship) of Argentina included only the clubs from Capital Federal and most important cities of the province of Buenos Aires (Avellaneda, La Plata, Lanús, etc.). In 1939, the clubs from Rosario, Newell's and Central, entered in the championship. Meanwhile, other league championships played in the rest of the country, such as those which were competed for in Córdoba, Tucumán or Santiago del Estero.
Finally, in 1967, the first and true national championship was created, named Torneo Nacional. The old Campeonato de Primera División was renamed Torneo Metropolitano and played in the first half of the year. The clubs that finished in the top places of Metropolitano, qualified automatically to the Torneo Nacional. The Nacional was played within the second half of the year. After a complicated process of playoffs, diverse clubs from "Interior", aggregated to the Metropolitano's qualifieds.
In the beginning, the tournament had a league format. But later that format was replaced, and the play system was likely of a Coup, with a first stage divided in groups, and a system of playoffs in the second stage.
Several clubs won its first championship in the Torneo Nacional: Vélez Sarsfield (1968), Rosario Central (1971), Quilmes (1978), Ferro Carril Oeste (1982), Argentinos Juniors (1985).
With the re-organization of Argentinean football championship system in 1985, the Nacional disappeared.
List of Champions and Runners-up
Año | Champion | Runner-up |
---|---|---|
1967 | Independiente | ? |
1968 | Vélez Sarsfield | River Plate |
1969 | Boca Juniors | River Plate |
1970 | Boca Juniors | Rosario Central |
1971 | Rosario Central | San Lorenzo de Almagro |
1972 | San Lorenzo de Almagro | River Plate |
1973 | Rosario Central | River Plate |
1974 | San Lorenzo de Almagro | Rosario Central? |
1975 | River Plate | Estudiantes (La Plata)? |
1976 | Boca Juniors | River Plate |
1977 | Independiente | Talleres (Córdoba) |
1978 | Independiente | River Plate |
1979 | River Plate | Unión (Santa Fe) |
1980 | Rosario Central | Racing (Córdoba) |
1981 | River Plate | Ferro Carril Oeste |
1982 | Ferro Carril Oeste | Quilmes |
1983 | Estudiantes (La Plata) | Independiente |
1984 | Ferro Carril Oeste | River Plate |
1985 | Argentinos Juniors | Vélez Sarsfield |