finishing in the top half of the table for most of the rest of the 1980s and never fearing relegation, although Argentinos also never really challenged as title contender. By 1988 the majority of the Libertadores champions had gone and Argentinos were a vastly different team. On 20 November 1988 the club set a world record for the longest penalty shootout, which occurred in a league match against Racing Club, the shootout finished 20–19 to Argentinos after 44 penalties were taken. The rules of the time granted an extra point for the winner on penalties after a drawn match. 1990 saw the introduction of the Apertura and Clausura system in Argentina, Argentinos enjoyed a number of decent finishes, although the team finished 19th in Apertura 1992 and was saved from relegation by the points averaging system. Relegation and return to Primera Argentinos finished 20th and last in 1995 Clausura and was again saved by the points averaging system, the next year squad finished bottom of the Clausura and was relegated from the Primera División only eleven years after being champions of South America. In the 1996–1997 season Argentinos won the second division under manager Osvaldo Sosa to bounce back into the Primera at the first attempt. The team remained in the top flight until it was relegated again after another sequence of poor finishes. The best finish Argentinos managed in that period was 4th in the 2001 Clausura. Argentinos spent two seasons in the 2nd division before returning in 2004 through a playoff with Talleres de Córdoba who had finished the season in 3rd place in the Primera, but had to play in the relegation playoff due to effect of their poor form in the previous 2 seasons on their standings in the points averaging table. Argentinos spent a couple of nervous seasons narrowly avoiding relegation in 2005 by beating Atlético de Rafaela in a playoff. The following season it survived a playoff against Huracán. The 2006–2007 season saw Argentinos finally claw its way clear from the relegation places after over two years of flirting with relegation. In 2008 Argentinos earned the right to play in an international tournament for the first time in 12 years by qualifying for the Copa Sudamericana 2008. The team eventually progressed to the semi-final where it was eliminated by Estudiantes de La Plata over two legs despite beating them 5–0 in the league game