| Season | 2006 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 11 February – 29 November 2006 |
| Champions | La Equidad (1st title) |
| Promoted | La Equidad |
| Relegated | None |
| Top goalscorer | Eric Cantillo (22 goals) |
| ← 2005 2007 → | |
The 2006 Categoría Primera B season, officially known as the 2006 Copa Premier for sponsorship reasons, was the 17th season of Colombia's second tier football league Categoría Primera B since its founding. The competition began on 11 February and ended on 29 November 2006. La Equidad were the champions, winning both of the season's short tournaments to claim their first Primera B title as well as promotion to Categoría Primera A.
Format
The season was divided into two tournaments: Torneo I and Torneo II. In both tournaments, the 18 participating teams were drawn into two groups of nine teams each, with teams playing all teams in their group as well as one team from the other group twice. In Torneo I, the groups were formed by geographical criteria, grouping nearby teams, while in the second tournament of the season, geographical rivals were assigned to different groups. The top two teams of each group advanced to a final group stage which was also played in a double round-robin fashion. The winners of both of the season's tournaments would face each other in the season's grand final, with the champion being promoted at the end of the season and the runner-up playing the promotion/relegation playoff, which was implemented starting from this season.
Teams
18 teams took part in the competition in this season. The 2005 Primera B champions Cúcuta Deportivo, who were promoted to Categoría Primera A, were replaced by Unión Magdalena, relegated from the top flight in the previous season. Prior to the start of the season, Florida Soccer was sold and moved to Montería, becoming Córdoba F.C., Bello F.C. was renamed Atlético Bello, and Dépor F.C. relocated from Cartago, Valle del Cauca to Jamundí, in the same department.
Alianza PetroleraAtlético Bello
Bajo CaucaBarranquillaBogotáCentaurosCórdobaCortuluáDéporDep. RionegroExpreso RojoGirardot
La EquidadPatriotasPumas de CasanareUnión MagdalenaValledupar
Bogotá teams:Academia
Bogotáclass=notpageimage| Locations of the 2006 Categoría Primera B teams.
| Club | City | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Academia | Bogotá | Compensar | 4,500 |
| Alianza Petrolera | Barrancabermeja | Daniel Villa Zapata | 8,000 |
| Atlético Bello | Bello | Tulio Ospina | 12,000 |
| Bajo Cauca | Caucasia | Orlando Aníbal Monroy | 4,000 |
| Barranquilla | Barranquilla | Romelio Martínez | 10,000 |
| Bogotá | Bogotá | Alfonso López Pumarejo | 12,000 |
| Centauros | Villavicencio | Manuel Calle Lombana | 15,000 |
| Córdoba | Cereté | Alberto Saibis Saker | 12,000 |
| Cortuluá | Tuluá | Doce de Octubre | 16,000 |
| Dépor | Jamundí | Cacique Jamundí | 3,500 |
| Deportivo Rionegro | Rionegro | Alberto Grisales | 14,000 |
| Expreso Rojo | Sincelejo | Arturo Cumplido Sierra | 5,000 |
| Cartagena | Pedro de Heredia | 10,000 | |
| Girardot | Girardot | Luis Antonio Duque Peña | 15,000 |
| La Equidad | Soacha | Luis Carlos Galán Sarmiento | 8,000 |
| Patriotas | Tunja | La Independencia | 8,500 |
| Pumas de Casanare | Yopal | Santiago de las Atalayas | 10,000 |
| Unión Magdalena | Santa Marta | Eduardo Santos | 22,000 |
| Valledupar | Valledupar | Armando Maestre Pavajeau | 10,000 |
- Notes
- Temporary home stadium for the Torneo I due to remodeling works at Estadio Pedro de Heredia.
Torneo I
First stage
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Unión Magdalena | 18 | 12 | 4 | 2 | 27 | 9 | +18 | 40 | Advance to Cuadrangular Final |
| 2 | Valledupar | 18 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 17 | 18 | −1 | 30 | |
| 3 | Bajo Cauca | 18 | 8 | 3 | 7 | 17 | 19 | −2 | 27 | |
| 4 | Córdoba | 18 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 19 | 22 | −3 | 23 | |
| 5 | Alianza Petrolera | 18 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 19 | 17 | +2 | 22 | |
| 6 | Expreso Rojo | 18 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 18 | 19 | −1 | 22 | |
| 7 | Deportivo Rionegro | 18 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 14 | 21 | −7 | 19 | |
| 8 | Atlético Bello | 18 | 3 | 7 | 8 | 13 | 23 | −10 | 16 | |
| 9 | Barranquilla | 18 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 17 | 21 | −4 | 15 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points, 2) Goal difference, 3) Goals for, 4) Away goals for, 5) Away goals against, 6) Drawing of lots.
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | La Equidad | 18 | 11 | 3 | 4 | 24 | 15 | +9 | 36 | Advance to Cuadrangular Final |
| 2 | Academia | 18 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 29 | 13 | +16 | 34 | |
| 3 | Dépor | 18 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 23 | 19 | +4 | 30 | |
| 4 | Patriotas | 18 | 7 | 8 | 3 | 28 | 17 | +11 | 29 | |
| 5 | Cortuluá | 18 | 7 | 8 | 3 | 26 | 23 | +3 | 29 | |
| 6 | Centauros | 18 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 12 | 15 | −3 | 21 | |
| 7 | Girardot | 18 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 21 | 28 | −7 | 17 | |
| 8 | Bogotá | 18 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 12 | 26 | −14 | 14 | |
| 9 | Pumas de Casanare | 18 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 22 | 33 | −11 | 13 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points, 2) Goal difference, 3) Goals for, 4) Away goals for, 5) Away goals against, 6) Drawing of lots.
Cuadrangular Final
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | EQU | VAL | ACA | MAG | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | La Equidad | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 12 | Advance to the Finals | — | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | |
| 2 | Valledupar | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 8 | 1–1 | — | 3–1 | 2–0 | ||
| 3 | Academia | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 7 | 0–1 | 3–0 | — | 2–0 | ||
| 4 | Unión Magdalena | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 8 | −4 | 5 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | — |
Rules for classification: 1) Points, 2) Goal difference, 3) Goals for, 4) Away goals for, 5) Away goals against, 6) Drawing of lots.
Torneo II
First stage
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Centauros | 18 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 28 | 17 | +11 | 34 | Advance to Cuadrangular Final |
| 2 | Deportivo Rionegro | 18 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 24 | 17 | +7 | 29 | |
| 3 | Valledupar | 18 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 23 | 18 | +5 | 28 | |
| 4 | Academia | 18 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 22 | 21 | +1 | 25 | |
| 5 | Bajo Cauca | 18 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 28 | 25 | +3 | 23 | |
| 6 | Unión Magdalena | 18 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 23 | 29 | −6 | 23 | |
| 7 | Dépor | 18 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 17 | 25 | −8 | 21 | |
| 8 | Bogotá | 18 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 22 | 26 | −4 | 20 | |
| 9 | Girardot | 18 | 3 | 9 | 6 | 25 | 25 | 0 | 18 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points, 2) Goal difference, 3) Goals for, 4) Away goals for, 5) Away goals against, 6) Drawing of lots.
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cortuluá | 18 | 12 | 4 | 2 | 31 | 14 | +17 | 40 | Advance to Cuadrangular Final |
| 2 | La Equidad | 18 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 30 | 19 | +11 | 35 | |
| 3 | Barranquilla | 18 | 10 | 3 | 5 | 39 | 26 | +13 | 33 | |
| 4 | Pumas de Casanare | 18 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 28 | 22 | +6 | 29 | |
| 5 | Patriotas | 18 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 21 | 21 | 0 | 21 | |
| 6 | Alianza Petrolera | 18 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 16 | 26 | −10 | 19 | |
| 7 | Córdoba | 18 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 16 | 33 | −17 | 19 | |
| 8 | Atlético Bello | 18 | 3 | 4 | 11 | 19 | 35 | −16 | 13 | |
| 9 | Expreso Rojo | 18 | 2 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 29 | −13 | 11 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points, 2) Goal difference, 3) Goals for, 4) Away goals for, 5) Away goals against, 6) Drawing of lots.
Cuadrangular Final
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | EQU | COR | CEN | RIO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | La Equidad | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 6 | +6 | 11 | Advance to the Finals | — | 3–0 | 3–0 | 4–3 | |
| 2 | Cortuluá | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 10 | 1–0 | — | 1–2 | 2–0 | ||
| 3 | Centauros | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 9 | −4 | 8 | 1–1 | 1–1 | — | 1–0 | ||
| 4 | Deportivo Rionegro | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 9 | −2 | 4 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 3–0 | — |
Rules for classification: 1) Points, 2) Goal difference, 3) Goals for, 4) Away goals for, 5) Away goals against, 6) Drawing of lots.
Finals
The final series was canceled after La Equidad won the season's two short tournaments, promoting directly to Categoría Primera A.
| Copa Premier 2006 champions |
|---|
| La Equidad 1st title |
Runners-up playoff
Given the cancellation of the final series, a playoff series between Valledupar and Cortuluá, runners-up of the Torneo I and Torneo II, respectively, was played to decide the team that would advance to the promotion/relegation playoff.
| Valledupar | 3–2 | Cortuluá |
|---|---|---|
| Cortuluá | 0–0 | Valledupar |
|---|---|---|
Valledupar won 3–2 on aggregate and advanced to the promotion/relegation playoff.
Promotion/relegation playoff
As the second worst team in the 2006 Categoría Primera A season's relegation table, Atlético Huila had to play a two-legged tie against Valledupar, the runners-up playoff winner. Atlético Huila played the second leg at home as the Primera A team. The winner would be promoted or remain in Primera A for the 2007 season, while the loser would be relegated or remain in Primera B.
| Valledupar | 0–1 | Atlético Huila |
|---|---|---|
| Atlético Huila | 2–0 | Valledupar |
|---|---|---|
Atlético Huila won 3–0 on aggregate and both teams remained in their respective leagues.
Top scorers
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Eric Cantillo
|
Pumas de Casanare | 22 |
| 2 | Fredys Arrieta
|
Barranquilla | 21 |
| 3 | Roberto Polo
|
Cortuluá | 19 |
| 4 | Mario Sergio Angulo
|
Unión Magdalena | 16 |
Source: Historia del Fútbol Profesional Colombiano 70 Años
References
- "La Equidad, ascendió a la primera división de fútbol de Colombia" [La Equidad, promoted to the first division of Colombian football] (in Spanish). La Nación. 4 November 2006. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
- "¿Qué pasó con Florida Soccer antes y después de jugar en La Ceja?" [What happened to Florida Soccer before and after playing in La Ceja?] (in Spanish). Mística Deportiva. 22 August 2019. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
- Ruiz Bonilla, Guillermo (2018). Historia del Fútbol Profesional Colombiano 70 Años. Mundo Fútbol SAS. p. 620. ISBN 9-789584-852731.