1978–79 Honduran Liga Nacional

The 1978–79 Honduran Liga Nacional season was the 13th edition of the Honduran Liga Nacional. The format of the tournament remained the same as the previous season. C.D. Motagua won the title after defeating Real C.D. España in the finals.^[1] It's unclear why no Honduran representation was sent to the 1979 CONCACAF Champions' Cup. Nevertheless, Motagua, Real España, Olimpia and Broncos obtained berths to the 1979 Copa Fraternidad.^[2]

Liga Nacional

Season	1978–79
Champions	Motagua (4th)
Relegated	Tiburones
CONCACAF Champions' Cup	None
Copa Fraternidad	Motagua Real España Olimpia Broncos
Matches played	158
Goals scored	281 (1.78 per match)
Top goalscorer	Bernárdez (15)
← 1977–78 1979–80 → All statistics correct as of 28 January 1979.

1978–79 teams

• Broncos (Choluteca)
• Marathón (San Pedro Sula)
• Motagua (Tegucigalpa)
• Olimpia (Tegucigalpa)
• Platense (Puerto Cortés)
• Real España (San Pedro Sula)
• Tiburones (Choluteca, promoted)
• Universidad (Tegucigalpa)
• Victoria (La Ceiba)
• Vida (La Ceiba)

Regular season

Standings

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Motagua[a]	27	13	12	2	34	15	+19	38	Qualified to the Final round[b]
2	Olimpia	27	13	7	7	29	17	+12	33
3	Real España	27	8	11	8	20	17	+3	27
4	Marathón	27	7	12	8	26	26	0	26
5	Platense	27	8	10	9	21	23	−2	26	Qualified to the repechage[c]
6	Broncos	27	5	16	6	17	19	−2	26
7	Universidad	27	8	10	9	17	20	−3	26
8	Vida	27	7	12	8	23	27	−4	26
9	Victoria	27	5	14	8	20	29	−9	24
10	Tiburones	27	4	10	13	20	34	−14	18	Relegated to Segunda División[d]

Source: ^{[citation needed]}
Notes:

1. Motagua secured final spot as regular season winner.
2. Top five qualify to final round.
3. Extra match required between Platense and Broncos to decide fifth place.
4. Tiburones relegated.

Fifth place playoff

Broncos v Platense

12 October 1978 Playoff	Broncos	0–1	Platense	El Progreso, Yoro
(UTC−06:00)		Awarded to Broncos[3]	Flores	Stadium: Estadio Humberto Micheletti

• Broncos advanced to Pentagonal on awarded points.

Final round

Pentagonal standings

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Real España	8	5	3	0	14	6	+8	13	Qualified to the Final[a]
2	Motagua	8	4	1	3	12	8	+4	9
3	Olimpia	8	2	4	2	6	5	+1	8
4	Broncos	8	2	4	2	12	13	−1	8
5	Marathón	8	0	2	6	3	15	−12	2

Source: ^{[citation needed]}
Notes:

1. Real España qualified to final as winner of Pentagonal.

Final

Motagua v Real España

25 January 1979 1st leg	Motagua	1–0	Real España	Tegucigalpa, Francisco Morazán
	Bernárdez			Stadium: Estadio Tiburcio Carías Andino

Real España v Motagua

28 January 1979 2nd leg	Real España	1–4	Motagua	San Pedro Sula, Cortés
	Bailey		Reyes Maradiaga	Stadium: Estadio Francisco Morazán Referee: Carlos Ortiz

Top scorer

• Salvador Bernárdez (Motagua) with 15 goals

Squads

Broncos
German "Loco" Guzmán	Carlos Luis "Macho" Arrieta	Cruz Ramón Serrano "Guaya" Cruz
Marathón
Daniel Argelio Romero	Óscar Machigua	René "Maravilla" Suazo
Exequiel "Estupiñán" García	Hernán Santiago "Cortés" García Martínez	Manuel Rodríguez
David Sánchez	Tomás Wood	Manuel Doblado
Leónidas Nolasco	Erick Cabalceta	Rigoberto Castro
Richard Kenneth Payne	Arturo Torres "Pacharaca" Bonilla	Roberto Bailey
Ramón "Albañil" Osorio	Francisco Javier Toledo	Julio "Ruso" Bonilla
Ricardo Nuila	Osman Peña	Óscar Rolando "Martillo" Hernández
Mario López	Carlos "Calín" Morales	Iván Ramos
Félix Concepción Carranza	Jorge Alberto "Cuca" Bueso Iglesias	Celso Fredy Güity
Porfirio Armando Betancourt	Luis Alonso Guzmán Velásquez
Motagua
Roger Mayorga	Alcides Morales	Roberto Abrussezze
Salvador "Pichini" Bernárdez	Carlos Mejía	Marco Tulio "Coyol" López
Francisco "Pantera" Velásquez	Roberto "Muñiña" Escalante	Héctor "Lin" Zelaya
René "Kun Fu" Velásquez	Camilo Mejía	Juan Ramón Aguilar
Rubén "Chamaco" Guifarro	Marco Tulio Andino	Roxne Romero
Ennos Pereira	Rigoberto Sosa	Luis Alberto "Chito" Reyes
Ramón Enrique "Primitivo" Maradiaga	Héctor Ramón "Pecho de Aguila" Zelaya	Antonio Antonio Obando
Samuel Rivera	Edgardo Sosa	José Luis Zelaya
Mario Moncada	Feliciano Guardado	Mariano Godoy
David Bueso	David Medina	Alberto Centurión
Olimpia
Belarmino Rivera	Francisco Zelaya Pastrana	Alejandro "Indio" Ruiz
Vicente Suazo	Óscar García	Héctor Uclés
Víctor Romero	Víctor "Calero" Lozano	Óscar Batíz
Adán Amador	Carlos Figueroa	Manuel Gámez
Arturo Cáceres	Óscar Banegas	José Amador
Joaquín del Arca	Osmán Zelaya	Ramón Antonio "Pilín" Brand
Roger Chavarría	Prudencio "Tecate" Norales	Rigoberto "Shula" Gómez
Jorge Alberto "Perro" González	Samuel Montoya	Walter Chávez
Mario Hernán Juviny Carreño	Ricardo Carreño	Carlos Maldonado
Walter "Estupiñán" Amador	José Antonio García	Jorge Alberto "Indio" Urquía Elvir
Platense
Arnulfo Echeverría	Manuel de Jesús Fuentes	Tomás Cedricks Ewens "Quito" Wagner
Danilo "Pulga" Flores	Arturo Payne	Rubén Rodríguez Peña Llantén
Alex Rodríguez
Real España
Julio César "El Tile" Arzú	Antonio "Gato" Pavón Molina	Walter Jimminson
Julio del Carmen Tapia Callao	José Estanislao "Tanayo" Ortega	Clinton Campbell
Gustavo Portillo	Junior Rashford Costly	Marvin Zúniga
Alberto Ferreira da Silva	José Luis Cruz Figueroa	Jimmy James Bailey
Allan Costly	Julio Roberto "Chino" Ortiz	Jimmy Steward
Edith Hernando Contreras
Tiburones
Juan Jerezano	"Yuyuga" Flores	David Silva
Salustio Pacheco	Alejandro Palacios	"Nilo" Herrera
Edgar Alfaro	Agustín Alemán	Pedro Colón
José Reynaldo Villagra	Domingo Martínez
Universidad
Roger Mayorga	Otoniel Oliva	Joaquín Pavón Sequeira
Mauricio Cruz Jiron	Daniel "Diablo" Sambulá	José Salomón "Turco" Nazzar
Victoria
Óscar Figueroa	Reynaldo Mejía Ortega	Camilo Bonifacio
Roberto Reynaldo "Robot" Bailey Sargent	Efraín Martínez "Diablillo" Amaya	David Goff
Pedro Caetano da Silva	Luis Alonso "Chorompo" Zúniga	Francisco Jiménez
Miguel Ángel "Primitivo" Ortiz	Fausto Humberto "Chiva" Ruiz	Luis Edgardo Meléndez
Vida
Gustavo Adolfo "Gorcha" Collins	Ramón Nectally "Liebre" Guardado	Carlos Humberto "Papeto" Lobo
Edgardo Williams	Abraham Osorio	Peter Buchanan
Hermenegildo Orellana	César "Cesarín" Aguirre	Marco Tulio "Socadito" Zelaya
Carlos Aguirre	Neptally "Liebre" Guardado	Carlos Johnson
Carlos Bejarano	Felipe "Embajador" Sánchez	Juan Dolmo Arzú
Mario Ardón	Roberto "Macho" Figueroa	Carlos Talbot
Manuel Gámez	Enrique "Palanca" Mendoza	Wilfredo Rodríguez
Carlos Orlando Caballero	Dennis "Bomba" Hinds	Arnulfo Ardón
Matilde Selim Lacayo	Carlos "Comay" Flores	Jesús "Bululo" Carías
Jorge Bernárdez	Jaime Morales	Roberto Maradiaga

Known results

Round 1

Real España	2–0	Tiburones
Pavón

Pentagonal place playoff

Platense	1–0	Broncos

Pentagonal

1978-10-22

Marathón	1–1	Olimpia

San Pedro Sula

1978-10-26

Real España	0–0	Olimpia

San Pedro Sula

1978-10-28

Real España	4–3	Broncos
Costly Bailey Jiminson		Altamirano Arzú Cruz

San Pedro Sula

1978-10-29

Motagua	2–0	Marathón
Bernárdez López

Danlí

1978-11-05

Real España	4–2	Motagua

San Pedro Sula

1978-11-09

Marathón	2–3	Broncos

San Pedro Sula

1978-11-12

Marathón	0–1	Real España
		Bailey

San Pedro Sula

1978-11-12

Olimpia	1–0	Motagua
Gámez

Tegucigalpa

1978-11-19

Marathón	0–3	Motagua
		Escalante Godoy Obando

San Pedro Sula

1979-01-07

Olimpia	0–0	Real España

Tegucigalpa

1979-01-10

Real España	3–0	Marathón
Bailey Jimminson

San Pedro Sula

1979-01-14

Olimpia	2–0	Marathón

Tegucigalpa

1979-01-17

Motagua	1–0	Olimpia
Obando

Tegucigalpa

1979-01-21

Motagua	0–1	Real España

Tegucigalpa

Broncos	0–0	Marathón

Broncos	1–1	Real España

Unknown rounds

Victoria v Vida

19 February 1978	Victoria	1–1	Vida	La Ceiba
CST	Meléndez			Stadium: Estadio Nilmo Edwards

Broncos v Tiburones

5 March 1978	Broncos	0–1	Tiburones	Choluteca
CST			Herrera	Stadium: Estadio Fausto Flores Lagos

Marathón v Olimpia

29 March 1978	Marathón	3–1	Olimpia	San Pedro Sula
CST				Stadium: Estadio General Francisco Morazán

Platense v Motagua

9 April 1978	Platense	2–0	Motagua	Puerto Cortés
CST				Stadium: Estadio Excélsior

Tiburones v Marathón

9 April 1978	Tiburones	1–2	Marathón	Tegucigalpa
CST				Stadium: Estadio Tiburcio Carías Andino

Platense v Marathón

23 April 1978	Platense	1–1	Marathón	Puerto Cortés
CST				Stadium: Estadio Excélsior

Motagua v Tiburones

23 April 1978	Motagua	v	Tiburones
CST	Obando

Motagua v Universidad

30 April 1978	Motagua	v	Universidad
CST	Obando

Tiburones v Broncos

7 May 1978	Tiburones	1–1	Broncos	Choluteca
CST	Arzú		Martínez	Stadium: Estadio Fausto Flores Lagos

Marathón v Real España

7 May 1978	Marathón	1–0	Real España	El Progreso
CST	Peña			Stadium: Estadio Humberto Micheletti

Motagua v Olimpia

14 May 1978	Motagua	1–0	Olimpia	Tegucigalpa
CST	Bernárdez			Stadium: Estadio Tiburcio Carías Andino

Motagua v Broncos

21 May 1978	Motagua	v	Broncos
CST	Obando

Platense v Real España

4 June 1978	Platense	1–2	Real España	Puerto Cortés
CST				Stadium: Estadio Excélsior

Olimpia v Marathón

25 June 1978	Olimpia	0–1	Marathón	Tegucigalpa
CST			Osorio	Stadium: Estadio Tiburcio Carías Andino

Motagua v Vida

2 July 1978	Motagua	v	Vida
CST	Obando

Motagua v Vida

23 July 1978	Motagua	v	Vida
CST	Obando

Motagua v Universidad

31 July 1978	Motagua	2–1	Universidad	Danlí
CST				Stadium: Estadio Marcelo Tinoco

Broncos v Motagua

6 August 1978	Broncos	1–1	Motagua	Choluteca
CST	Guardado		Bernárdez	Stadium: Estadio Fausto Flores Lagos

Platense v Marathón

6 August 1978	Platense	1–0	Marathón	Puerto Cortés
CST	Castillo			Stadium: Estadio Excélsior

Olimpia v Universidad

6 August 1978	Olimpia	0–0	Universidad	Danlí
CST				Stadium: Estadio Marcelo Tinoco

Motagua v Platense

27 August 1978	Motagua	4–0	Platense	Danlí
CST	Reyes Maradiaga Bernárdez			Stadium: Estadio Marcelo Tinoco

Broncos v Tiburones

10 September 1978	Broncos	1–1	Tiburones	Choluteca
CST	Altamirano		Palacios	Stadium: Estadio Fausto Flores Lagos

Real España v Marathón

10 September 1978	Real España	3–0	Marathón	El Progreso
CST	Bailey Tapia Portillo			Stadium: Estadio Humberto Micheletti

Motagua v Olimpia

10 September 1978	Motagua	0–0	Olimpia	Danlí
CST				Stadium: Estadio Marcelo Tinoco

Vida v Universidad

15 September 1978	Vida	2–2	Universidad	La Ceiba
CST	Figueroa		Fernández Zavala	Stadium: Estadio Nilmo Edwards

24 September 1978

Tiburones	0–3	Motagua
		Maradiaga Reyes Centurión

Choluteca

1 October 1978

Real España	0–2	Olimpia
		Norales González

San Pedro Sula

3 October 1978

Motagua	4–2	Victoria
López Reyes Bernárdez		Amaya Zelaya 0' (a.g.)

Danlí

12 October 1978

Platense	2–1	Broncos

El Progreso

Marathón	0–1	Universidad

San Pedro Sula