The 1996–97 Argentine Torneo Argentino A[1] was the second season of third division professional football in Argentina. A total of 22 teams competed; the champion was promoted to Primera B Nacional.
| Season | 1996–97 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Almirante Brown (A) (1st divisional title) San Martín (M) (1st divisional title) |
| Promoted | Almirante Brown (A) San Martín (M) |
| Relegated | Alvarado CAI Central Norte Desamparados Germinal Grupo Universitario San Martín (F) Unión Santiago |
← 1995–96 1997–98 → | |
Club information
editZone A
edit| Club | City | Stadium |
|---|---|---|
 Almirante Brown
|
Arrecifes | Estadio Municipal |
 Alvarado
|
Mar del Plata1 | (None) 1 |
 Ferrocarril
|
Concordia | Professor Mariano Amable |
 Grupo Universitario
|
Tandil | Municipal General San Martín |
 Patronato
|
Paraná | Presbítero Bartolomé Grella |
 San Martín
|
Formosa | 17 de Octubre |
Play their home games at Estadio José María Minella.
Zone B
edit| Club | City | Stadium |
|---|---|---|
 Desamparados
|
San Juan | El Serpentario |
 Huracán
|
San Rafael | Pretel Hermanos |
 Independiente Rivadavia
|
Mendoza | Bautista Gargantini |
 Juventud Alianza
|
Santa Lucía | Bosque del Bajo Grande |
 San Martín
|
Mendoza | San Martín |
Zone C
edit| Club | City | Stadium |
|---|---|---|
 CAI
|
Comodoro Rivadavia | Estadio Municipal |
 Cultural Argentino
|
General Pico | El Volcán |
 Deportivo Patagones
|
Carmen de Patagones | Tricolor |
 General Belgrano
|
Santa Rosa | Nuevo Rancho Grande |
| Germinal
|
Rawson | El Fortín |
 Villa Mitre
|
Bahía Blanca | El Fortín |
Zone D
edit| Club | City | Stadium |
|---|---|---|
 Central Norte
|
Salta | Dr. Luis Güemes |
| Concepción
|
Concepción | Stewart Shipton |
 Estudiantes
|
Río Cuarto | Ciudad de Río Cuarto |
| General Paz Juniors
|
Córdoba | General Paz Juniors |
 Unión Santiago
|
Santiago del Estero | Roberto Molinari |
Teams from Argentino B that played the Final Stage
edit| Club | City | Stadium |
|---|---|---|
 Ben Hur
|
Rafaela | Parque Barrio Ilolay |
 Ex Alumnos Escuela N°185
|
Oberá | Juan Areco |
| San Martín
|
Monte Comán | Ovidio Bernues |
 Unión
|
Villa Krause | 12 de Octubre |
First stage
editZone A
edit| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Almirante Brown (A) | 10 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 23 | 3 | +20 | 26 | Second Stage |
| 2 | Patronato | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 9 | +1 | 15 | |
| 3 | Ferrocarril (C) | 10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 18 | 18 | 0 | 14 | |
| 4 | Grupo Universitario | 10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 16 | 11 | +5 | 13 | |
| 5 | San Martín (F) | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 15 | 29 | −14 | 11 | Relegation Playoffs |
| 6 | Alvarado | 10 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 6 | 18 | −12 | 5 |
Source: [citation needed]
Zone B
edit| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huracán (SR) | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 10 | +3 | 16 | Second Stage |
| 2 | Juventud Alianza | 8 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 13 | |
| 3 | San Martín (M) | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 9 | −1 | 12 | |
| 4 | Independiente Rivadavia | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 6 | +4 | 11 | |
| 5 | Desamparados | 8 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 17 | −9 | 2 | Relegation Playoffs |
Source: [citation needed]
Zone C
edit| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Deportivo Patagones | 10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 17 | 18 | −1 | 19 | Second Stage |
| 2 | General Belgrano | 10 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 18 | 13 | +5 | 18 | |
| 3 | Cultural Argentino | 10 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 8 | +1 | 18 | |
| 4 | Villa Mitre | 10 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 23 | 14 | +9 | 17 | |
| 5 | Germinal | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 12 | −4 | 11 | Relegation Playoffs |
| 6 | CAI | 10 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 8 | 18 | −10 | 4 |
Source: [citation needed]
Zone D
edit| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Estudiantes (RC) | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 14 | 7 | +7 | 12 | Second Stage |
| 2 | Concepción FC | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 16 | 12 | +4 | 12 | |
| 3 | Central Norte | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 12 | 18 | −6 | 11 | |
| 4 | General Paz Juniors | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 15 | 16 | −1 | 10 | |
| 5 | Unión Santiago | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 12 | 16 | −4 | 10 | Relegation Playoffs |
Source: [citation needed]
Second stage
editChampionship Stage
editZone A
edit| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Villa Mitre | 14 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 27 | 17 | +10 | 31 | Third Stage |
| 2 | Almirante Brown (A) | 14 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 22 | 8 | +14 | 27 | |
| 3 | Cultural Argentino | 14 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 23 | 19 | +4 | 21 | |
| 4 | Ferrocarril (C) | 14 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 28 | 24 | +4 | 20 | |
| 5 | Patronato | 14 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 15 | 16 | −1 | 17 | |
| 6 | Deportivo Patagones | 14 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 17 | 24 | −7 | 16 | |
| 7 | General Belgrano | 14 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 15 | 27 | −12 | 14 | |
| 8 | Grupo Universitario | 14 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 14 | 26 | −12 | 7 | Torneo Argentino B |
Source: [citation needed]
Zone B
edit| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huracán (SR) | 14 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 17 | 15 | +2 | 27 | Third Stage |
| 2 | San Martín (M) | 14 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 16 | 8 | +8 | 26 | |
| 3 | Independiente Rivadavia | 14 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 20 | 16 | +4 | 23 | |
| 4 | Concepción FC | 14 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 22 | 20 | +2 | 17 | |
| 5 | Estudiantes (RC) | 14 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 23 | 24 | −1 | 17 | |
| 6 | General Paz Juniors | 14 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 19 | 24 | −5 | 16 | |
| 7 | Juventud Alianza | 14 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 21 | 23 | −2 | 15 | |
| 8 | Central Norte | 14 | 2 | 7 | 5 | 10 | 18 | −8 | 13 | Torneo Argentino B |
Source: [citation needed]
Relegation Playoffs
editFirst stage
edit| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Relegation/promotion playoff 1 | ||||
| Germinal | 2–1 | CAI | 1–1 | 1–0 |
| Relegation/promotion playoff 2 | ||||
| Alvarado | 3–2 | Desamparados | 2–1 | 1–1 |
| Relegation/promotion playoff 3 | ||||
| Unión Santiago | – | San Martín (F) | – | – |
- CAI is relegated to 1997–98 Torneo Argentino B and Germinal advances to Second Stage by winning the playoff.
- Desamparados is relegated to 1997–98 Torneo Argentino B and Alvarado advances to Second Stage by winning the playoff.
- San Martín (F) withdrew and is relegated to 1997–98 Torneo Argentino B and Unión Santiago advances to Second Stage by winning the playoff.
Second stage
edit| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Germinal | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 | −2 | 7 | Third Stage |
| 2 | Unión Santiago | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 1 | +5 | 1[a] | Torneo Argentino B |
| 3 | Alvarado | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 7 | −3 | 2 |
Source: [citation needed]
Notes:
Notes:
- ^ 3 points deducted
Third stage
editChampionship Stage
editZone A
edit| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Almirante Brown (A) | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 21 | 4 | +17 | 22 | Primera B Nacional |
| 2 | Villa Mitre | 8 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 8 | +8 | 18 | |
| 3 | Ben Hur | 8 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 12 | 8 | +4 | 12 | |
| 4 | Germinal | 8 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 8 | 17 | −9 | 4 | Torneo Argentino B |
| 5 | Ex Alumnos Escuela N°185 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 26 | −20 | 3 |
Source: [citation needed]
Zone B
edit| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Martín (M) | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 13 | 7 | +6 | 17 | Primera B Nacional |
| 2 | Independiente Rivadavia | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 16 | 7 | +9 | 16 | |
| 3 | Unión (VK) | 8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 11 | −5 | 9 | |
| 4 | Huracán (SR) | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 9 | −2 | 7 | |
| 5 | San Martín (MC) | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 14 | −8 | 7 |
Source: [citation needed]