In Panamanian football, the ANAPROF Apertura 2008 season (officially "Torneo Apertura 2008") started on February 22, 2008. On May 31, 2008, the Apertura 2008 finalized with San Francisco F.C. crowned five time ANAPROF champion after beating Tauro F.C. 3–1.
| Season | Apertura 2008 |
|---|---|
| Champions | - |
| Relegated | - |
| - | - |
← 2007(C) 2008(C) → | |
Changes for Apertura 2008
- The league was split into two groups for the regular season with a 4-team playoff after the season was completed. The semifinals are two-leg playoffs, and the final is a single match. The 4 teams qualified for the playoff are decided based in an aggregate table.
- Group A is integrated by Atlético Chiriquí, Atletico Veragüense, San Francisco F.C., Plaza Amador and Municipal Chorrillo and Group B is integrated by Tauro F.C., Arabe Unido, Chepo F.C., Sporting San Miguelito and Alianza.
- The last team in the general standings will play a playoff against the champion of Primera A instead of facing direct relegation.
- The total numbers of games was reduced to 13 game weeks because the Panamanian football federation wanted to end the season as soon as possible in order to have all national team players ready for the 2010 World Cup qualification.
Teams
Standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tauro F.C. | 13 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 21 | 18 | +3 | 23 | Semifinal |
| 2 | San Francisco F.C. | 13 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 19 | 15 | +4 | 21 | |
| 3 | Chepo F.C. | 13 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 19 | 12 | +7 | 20 | |
| 4 | Sporting San Miguelito | 13 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 18 | 16 | +2 | 20 | |
| 5 | Árabe Unido | 13 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 15 | 14 | +1 | 20 | |
| 6 | Plaza Amador | 13 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 13 | 9 | +4 | 19 | |
| 7 | Chorrillo F.C. | 13 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 14 | 13 | +1 | 16 | |
| 8 | Atlético Chiriquí | 13 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 14 | 22 | −8 | 15 | |
| 9 | Atlético Veragüense | 13 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 15 | 28 | −13 | 11 | |
| 10 | Alianza | 13 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 25 | 27 | −2 | 10 |
Source: [citation needed]
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco F.C. | 13 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 19 | 15 | +4 | 21 | Semifinal |
| 2 | Plaza Amador | 13 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 13 | 9 | +4 | 19 | |
| 3 | Chorrillo F.C. | 13 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 14 | 13 | +1 | 16 | |
| 4 | Atlético Chiriquí | 13 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 14 | 22 | −8 | 15 | |
| 5 | Atlético Veragüense | 13 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 15 | 28 | −13 | 11 |
Source: [citation needed]
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tauro F.C. | 13 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 21 | 18 | +3 | 23 | Semifinal |
| 2 | Chepo F.C. | 13 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 19 | 12 | +7 | 20 | |
| 3 | Sporting San Miguelito | 13 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 18 | 16 | +2 | 20 | |
| 4 | Árabe Unido | 13 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 15 | 14 | +1 | 20 | |
| 5 | Alianza | 13 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 25 | 27 | −2 | 10 |
Source: [citation needed]
Results table
Final round
| Semifinals (agg) | Final | ||||||||
| Tauro F.C. | 3 | ||||||||
| Sporting San Miguelito | 0 | ||||||||
| Tauro F.C. | 1 | ||||||||
| San Francisco F.C. | 3 | ||||||||
| San Francisco F.C. | 2 | ||||||||
| Chepo F.C. | 2 | ||||||||
Semifinals 1st Leg (Semifinales - Juego de ida)
| Chepo F.C. | 2-0 | San Francisco F.C. |
|---|---|---|
Carlos Martinez  65' 69' |
Semifinals 2nd Leg (Semifinales - Juego de vuelta)
| San Francisco F.C. | 2-0 | Chepo F.C. |
|---|---|---|
| Manuel Torres 15' Eduardo Jiménez 51' | ||
| Penalties | ||
| Alberto Zapata: scored Eduardo Jiménez: post Temistocles Perez: scored Juan Ramón Solís: José Calderón saves Manuel Torres: scored | 3-1 | Luis Jaramillo: scored Carlos Martinez: Carlos Valdes saves Jose Luis Gonzalez: missed Delano Welch: Carlos Valdes saves |
San Francisco advances to final 3–1 on penalties
| Tauro F.C. | 2-0 | Sporting San Miguelito |
|---|---|---|
| Rolando Blackburn 11' Eric Quiroz 47' |
Estadio Giancarlo Gronchi de Pedregal
Final
| San Francisco F.C. | 3-1 | Tauro F.C. |
|---|---|---|
| Manuel Torres 50' Angel Lombardo 99'Temistocles Perez 103' | Dorian Lopez 33' |
| Apertura 2008 champion |
|---|
| San Francisco 5th title |
Since San Francisco already qualified for 2008–09 CONCACAF Champions League, Tauro also qualified.
Top goalscorers
| Position | Player | Scored for | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  César Medina | Alianza | 12 |
| 2 | Edwin Aguilar | Tauro | 9 |
| 3 | Alberto Zapata | San Francisco | 7 |
| 4 | Alcibiades Rojas | Veragüense | 6 |
| 5 | Carlos Martinez | Chepo | 5 |
| - |  Rúsvel Saravia | San Francisco | 5 |
| 7 | Manuel Torres | San Francisco | 4 |
| - | Luis Moreno | Tauro | 4 |
| - | Luis Angel Rodriguez | Sporting | 4 |
| - | Delano Welch | Chepo | 4 |
Goalscorers by team
| Club | Club goals | Goals | Nat. | Player |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alianza F.C. | 24 | 12 | | César Medina |
| 2 | | Miguel Castillo | ||
| 2 | | Ricardo Palomino | ||
| 2 | | Javier Gonzalez | ||
| 1 | | Jonathan Aviles | ||
| 1 |  | Diego Maier | ||
| 1 | | Ramon Romero (OG) | ||
| 1 | | Julio Carpetta | ||
| 1 | | Lucio Lopez | ||
| 1 | | Adolfo Machado | ||
| 1 | | Carlos Dixon | ||
| Árabe Unido | 15 | 4 | | Eduardo McTaggart |
| 4 | | Publio Rodriguez | ||
| 2 | | Luis Gondola | ||
| 1 |  | Juan Sergio Guzman | ||
| 1 | | Andres Corpete | ||
| 1 | | Anthony Basil | ||
| 1 | | Armando Cooper | ||
| 1 | | Antonio Leslie | ||
| Atlético Chiriquí | 14 | 3 | | Catalino Smith |
| 2 | | Anthony Valdes | ||
| 1 | | Antonio Ortega | ||
| 1 | | Richard Peralta | ||
| 1 | | Oscar Vargas | ||
| 1 | | Clive Trotman | ||
| 1 | | Eybir Bonaga | ||
| 1 | | Rodman Gonzalez | ||
| 1 | | Omar Navarro | ||
| 1 | | Manuel Torres | ||
| 1 | | José Ortega | ||
| Atlético Veragüense | 15 | 6 | | Alcibiades Rojas |
| 4 | | Neftali Diaz | ||
| 2 | | Cristian Vega | ||
| 1 | | Enzo Salazar | ||
| 1 | | Jesús González | ||
| 1 | | Miguel González | ||
| Chepo F.C. | 21 | 5 | | Carlos Martinez |
| 4 | | Delano Welch | ||
| 4 | | Gerardo Barrios | ||
| 2 | | Cesar Aguilar | ||
| 2 | | Ismael Menal | ||
| 2 | | Luis Jaramillo | ||
| 1 | | Armando Gun | ||
| 1 | | José Luis González | ||
| Chorrillo F.C. | 14 | 3 | | Anel Canales |
| 3 | | Julio Medina III | ||
| 2 | | Silvio Morelos | ||
| 1 | | Johnny Ruiz | ||
| 1 | | Alberto Skinner | ||
| 1 | | Derek James | ||
| 1 | | Roberto Stewart | ||
| 1 | | Jean Carlos Cedeño | ||
| 1 | | Leonel Parrish | ||
| Plaza Amador | 13 | 4 | | Ricardo Buitrago |
| 2 | | Cesar Blackman | ||
| 2 | | Engie Mitre | ||
| 2 | | José Moreno | ||
| 1 | | Jean Estribi | ||
| 1 | | Richard Dixon | ||
| 1 | | Alfredo Hernandez | ||
| San Francisco F.C. | 24 | 7 | | Alberto Zapata |
| 5 | | Rúsvel Saravia | ||
| 4 | | Manuel Torres | ||
| 3 | | Angel Lombardo | ||
| 2 | | Eduardo Jiménez | ||
| 1 | | Victor Suarez | ||
| 1 | | Carlos Rivera | ||
| 1 | | Temistocles Perez | ||
| Sporting San Miguelito | 18 | 4 | | Luis Angel Rodriguez |
| 3 | | Luis Morales | ||
| 2 | | Edwin Antero | ||
| 2 | | Federico Marines | ||
| 2 | | Luis Valderrama | ||
| 1 | | Luis Mendoza | ||
| 1 | | Francisco Garcia | ||
| 1 | | Cristobal Tenorio | ||
| 1 | | Ricardo Phillips | ||
| 1 | | Osvaldo Solanilla | ||
| Tauro F.C. | 25 | 9 | | Edwin Aguilar |
| 4 | | Luis Moreno | ||
| 3 | | Brunet Hay | ||
| 3 | | Eric Quiroz | ||
| 2 | | Gabriel Ríos | ||
| 1 | | Alexis King | ||
| 1 | | Reggie Arosemena | ||
| 1 | | Rolando Blackburn | ||
| 1 | | Dorian Lopez |
Local derby statistics
El Super Clasico Nacional - Tauro v Plaza Amador
| Tauro | 0–1 | Plaza Amador |
|---|---|---|
| Jean Estribi 22' |
Giancarlo Gronchi
Clasico del Pueblo - Plaza Amador v Chorillo
| Plaza Amador | 1–1 | Chorrillo F.C. |
|---|---|---|
| Ricardo Buitrago 12' | Anel Canales 4' |
| Chorrillo F.C. | 1–4 | Plaza Amador |
|---|---|---|
| Jean Carlos Cedeño 80' | Jose Moreno 8' 34' Ricardo Buitrago 60'Engie Mitre 63' |
Clasico Interiorano - Atlético Chiriquí v Atlético Veragüense
| Atlético Chiriquí | 1–2 | Atlético Veragüense |
|---|---|---|
| Richard Peralta 6' | Neftali Diaz 61' 76' |
Benigno Argote
| Atlético Veragüense | 1–1 | Atlético Chiriquí |
|---|---|---|
| Alcibiades Rojas 41' | Catalino Smith 44' |