The League started with figures that returned and millionaire investment in the VAR

Colombian soccer 2022 started with a League agitated by the arrival of renowned reinforcements who returned from abroad to get a second wind and who generate good expectations for the championship; Also, it started with Junior, Tolima and Nacional as protagonists of the transfer market, and with other teams that, to their extent, moved to renew their payrolls and try to be competitive.

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This is how the league starts

The League, which started on Thursday, begins with the attraction of the luxury signings that came from abroad. Poster players like Giovanni Moreno, who came from China to Atlético Nacional; Miguel Borja, from Guild of Brazil to Junior; Yesus Cabrera, from Cuiabá in Brazil, also to Junior; Michael Rangel, from Mazatlán in Mexico to Tolima, and Wilson Morelo, from Colón in Argentina, to Santa Fe, among others, start as the main figures for the championship.

Borja, forward of the Colombian National Team, leads the list of the players with the most value in the championship, with 4 million euros, and his escort is Jarlan Barrera, from Atlético Nacional, with 3.40, according to the figures provided by the specialized portal Transfermarkt.

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These movements and numerous others that have taken place for the championship at a lower level have allowed the Colombian League to position itself as the fifth with the most value on the continent, behind the powerful Brazil, the United States MLS, the Argentina and Mexico (see graph). The Colombian League reaches a market figure of 244.83 million euros, also according to Transfermarkt. And although it is far from the figures that the Brazilians manage, for example (1.11 billion euros), it surpasses leagues such as the Chilean, Paraguayan and Uruguayan.

Among the Colombian teams, Junior, which in addition to Borja and Yesus incorporated important players such as midfielder Daniel Giraldo and attacker Fernando Uribe, who came from Millonarios, is the one with the highest value in the local market, with 23.73 million euros. euros, followed by Atlético Nacional (23.25), Tolima (22.98) and Millonarios (18.80). Cali, the current champion, is in seventh place, with 14.75 million euros. Its most valuable player is striker Harold Preciado, top scorer in the last league and who is worth 1.50 million euros.

One of the clubs that has surprised by its investment is Tolima, which not only hired Rangel, but also brought in players like Alexánder Domínguez (Ecuadorian goalkeeper) and Andrés Ibargüen (winger, from Santos Laguna), among others. Millonarios is one of the ‘greats’ who moved the least, but hired goalkeeper Álvaro Montero, who is also one of the star signings.

And it’s not just those who arrive, those who leave have also given status to the League. Fifa’s recent study on transfers ranks Colombia in fifth place with the most transfers in the last decade, behind Brazil, Argentina, Great Britain and France.

All with VAR

Another of the novelties that the League will have this year is the implementation of video arbitration (VAR) in all the matches of the two semesters. Dimayor fulfilled the promise made by President Fernando Jaramillo and that was approved by the assembly. Jaramillo confirmed to EL TIEMPO that the budget for this is “approximately 12 billion pesos for all the League games in the two semesters.”

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If in the year a total of 452 games will be played in the League (226 in each semester), it means that each of the games has an approximate VAR cost of 26 million pesos.

This semester’s League will be played with an all-against-all phase of 20 dates, including a day of classics, and then with semifinal home runs to define finalists.

There will also be a large presence of foreigners. There are 50 registered (not counting those with dual nationality), and 6 foreign coaches, starting with the Venezuelan Rafael Dudamel, with Cali. There are also Martín Cardetti, an Argentine who arrived in Santa Fe; Juan Cruz Real, Argentine Junior; Néstor Craviotto, another Argentine who assumes in Bucaramanga; Manuel Suárez, Chilean from Jaguares (Chile), and the Colombian-Uruguayan Julio Comesaña, from Medellín. Only four teams changed DT, Junior, Santa Fe, Águilas and Cortuluá.

Regarding relegation, the promoted Unión Magdalena and Cortuluá do not inherit the average of the relegated ones, but start from 0 and will have to build their own average in 40 games.

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