| Season | 1972 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 1 April 1972– 4 January 1973 |
| Champions | Sporting Cristal |
| Relegated | Carlos A. Mannucci Defensor Arica |
| 1973 Copa Libertadores | Sporting Cristal Universitario |
| ← 1971 1973 → | |
The 1972 Torneo Descentralizado, the top category of Peruvian football, was played by 16 teams. The season was divided into 3 stages. The first stage was contested in two groups: Metropolitan (teams from Lima and Callao) and Regional (teams from the rest of the country); each group winner qualified for the Championship Group. The second stage was the Descentralised (league tournament); the top 4 qualified for the Championship Group and the bottom 2 were relegated. Championship Group was contested by 6 teams in Lima; neither team carried their previous records. The national champion was Sporting Cristal.
Teams
Team changes
| Promoted from 1971 Segunda División |
Promoted from 1972 Copa Perú |
Relegated from 1971 Primera División |
|---|---|---|
 Deportivo SIMA (1st)
|
Atlético Grau (1st) León de Huánuco (2nd)
|
 ADO (14th) Octavio Espinosa (15th) Porvenir Miraflores (15th)
|
Stadia locations
GrauTorinoLeón de Huánuco
Juan AurichUnión Tumán
MannucciJosé GálvezMelgar
Alianza LimaDefensor Arica
Defensor Lima
SIMA
Municipal
Sporting Cristal
Sport Boys
Universitarioclass=notpageimage| Locations of the 1972 Primera División teams
| Team | City | Stadium | Capacity | Field |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alianza Lima | La Victoria, Lima | Nacional | 45,750 | Grass |
| Atlético Grau | Piura | Miguel Grau (Piura) | 25,000 | Grass |
| Atlético Torino | Talara | Campeonísimo | 8,000 | Grass |
| Carlos A. Mannucci | Trujillo | Mansiche | 24,000 | Grass |
| Defensor Arica | Breña, Lima | Nacional | 45,750 | Grass |
| Defensor Lima | Breña, Lima | Nacional | 45,750 | Grass |
| Deportivo Municipal | Cercado de Lima | Nacional | 45,750 | Grass |
| Deportivo SIMA | Callao | Miguel Grau | 15,000 | Grass |
| José Gálvez | Chimbote | Manuel Rivera Sánchez | 25,000 | Artificial |
| Juan Aurich | Chiclayo | Elías Aguirre | 24,500 | Grass |
| León de Huánuco | Huánuco | Heraclio Tapia | 15,000 | Grass |
| Melgar | Arequipa | Mariano Melgar | 20,000 | Grass |
| Sport Boys | Callao | Miguel Grau | 15,000 | Grass |
| Sporting Cristal | Rímac, Lima | Nacional | 45,750 | Grass |
| Unión Tumán | Tumán | Eugenio Zapata Mingoya | 8,000 | Grass |
| Universitario | Breña, Lima | Nacional | 45,750 | Grass |
Torneo Preliminar
Grupo Metropolitano
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sporting Cristal | 14 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 21 | 13 | +8 | 20 | Liguilla Final |
| 2 | Defensor Lima | 14 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 28 | 16 | +12 | 19 | |
| 3 | Sport Boys | 14 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 28 | 22 | +6 | 15 | |
| 4 | Deportivo Municipal | 14 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 19 | 18 | +1 | 14 | |
| 5 | Universitario | 14 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 17 | 17 | 0 | 13 | |
| 6 | Alianza Lima | 14 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 18 | 28 | −10 | 12 | |
| 7 | Defensor Arica | 14 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 16 | 25 | −9 | 10 | |
| 8 | Deportivo SIMA | 14 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 16 | 24 | −8 | 9 |
Grupo Regional
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | José Gálvez | 14 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 18 | 11 | +7 | 20 | First place play-off |
| 2 | Unión Tumán | 14 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 23 | 13 | +10 | 20 | |
| 3 | Atlético Torino | 14 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 19 | 13 | +6 | 17 | |
| 4 | Melgar | 14 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 23 | 18 | +5 | 15 | |
| 5 | Juan Aurich | 14 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 26 | 23 | +3 | 15 | |
| 6 | Atlético Grau | 14 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 24 | 24 | 0 | 11 | |
| 7 | Carlos A. Mannucci | 14 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 13 | 29 | −16 | 8 | |
| 8 | León de Huánuco | 14 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 27 | −15 | 6 |
First place play-off
José Gálvez v Unión Tumán| José Gálvez | 1–0 | Unión Tumán |
Torneo Descentralizado
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alianza Lima | 30 | 17 | 7 | 6 | 55 | 26 | +29 | 41 | Liguilla Final |
| 2 | Defensor Lima | 30 | 16 | 8 | 6 | 60 | 35 | +25 | 40 | |
| 3 | Deportivo Municipal | 30 | 16 | 8 | 6 | 45 | 30 | +15 | 40 | |
| 4 | Universitario | 30 | 12 | 11 | 7 | 61 | 34 | +27 | 35 | |
| 5 | Juan Aurich | 30 | 15 | 5 | 10 | 55 | 44 | +11 | 35 | |
| 6 | Sporting Cristal | 30 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 41 | 34 | +7 | 32 | |
| 7 | Atlético Grau | 30 | 11 | 7 | 12 | 38 | 47 | −9 | 29 | |
| 8 | José Gálvez | 30 | 8 | 12 | 10 | 32 | 34 | −2 | 28 | |
| 9 | Deportivo SIMA | 30 | 6 | 16 | 8 | 33 | 37 | −4 | 28 | |
| 10 | Melgar | 30 | 12 | 3 | 15 | 38 | 43 | −5 | 27 | |
| 11 | Atlético Torino | 30 | 10 | 7 | 13 | 35 | 47 | −12 | 27 | |
| 12 | Unión Tumán | 30 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 40 | 41 | −1 | 26 | |
| 13 | Sport Boys | 30 | 9 | 8 | 13 | 38 | 45 | −7 | 26 | |
| 14 | León de Huánuco | 30 | 7 | 12 | 11 | 33 | 47 | −14 | 26 | |
| 15 | Carlos A. Mannucci | 30 | 7 | 10 | 13 | 30 | 53 | −23 | 24 | 1973 Copa Perú |
| 16 | Defensor Arica | 30 | 4 | 8 | 18 | 24 | 61 | −37 | 16 |
Liguilla Final
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sporting Cristal | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 8 | 1973 Copa Libertadores |
| 2 | Universitario | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 7 | +3 | 7 | 1973 Copa Libertadores |
| 3 | Deportivo Municipal | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 7 | +1 | 5 | |
| 4 | José Gálvez | 5 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 6 | −1 | 4 | |
| 5 | Alianza Lima | 5 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 7 | −3 | 3 | |
| 6 | Defensor Lima | 5 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 6 | −3 | 3 |
Top scorers
| Player | Nationality | Goals | Club |
|---|---|---|---|
| Francisco Gonzales |  Peru |
20 | Defensor Lima |
| Vinha de Souza |  Brazil |
20 | Sporting Cristal |