The 2011–12 La Liga season (known as the Liga BBVA for sponsorship reasons) was the 81st season of the top level Spanish association football competition. The campaign began on 27 August 2011, and concluded on 13 May 2012. Real Madrid won a record 32nd title following victory over Athletic Bilbao on 2 May 2012.
Real Madrid broke a number of league records, including most points in a single season (100), most goals scored (121), best goal difference (+89), most away wins (16), and most overall wins (32). This season also saw Lionel Messi score a record 50 league goals in 37 games. Behind Messi was Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored 46 goals; the pair's combined tally of 96 goals was the most ever by two players playing in the same major European league in the same season.
Teams Deportivo de La Coruña, Hércules CF from Alicante and UD Almería were relegated to the 2011–12 Segunda División after finishing in the bottom three spots of the table at the end of the 2010–11 season. Deportivo were relegated to the Segunda División after 20 seasons of continuous membership in the top football league of Spain, while Almería ended a four-year tenure in La Liga and Hércules made their immediate return to the second level.
The three relegated teams were replaced by three 2010–11 Segunda División sides. Champions Betis, who terminated their second-level status after two years, runners-up Rayo Vallecano, who returned to the top flight after eight seasons at lower levels, earned direct promotion.
The third promoted team was decided in the promotion play-offs where Granada CF returned to the league for the first time in 35 years, having spent 26 of them in Segunda División B and Tercera División.
Stadiums and locations
Team Club home city Stadium Stadium capacity Athletic Bilbao Bilbao San Mamés 39,750 Atlético Madrid Madrid Vicente Calderón 54,851 Barcelona Barcelona Camp Nou 99,354 Betis Seville Benito Villamarín 52,745 Espanyol Barcelona Cornellà-El Prat 40,500 Getafe Getafe Coliseum Alfonso Pérez 17,700 Granada Granada Nuevo Los Cármenes 22,524 Levante Valencia Ciutat de València 25,534 Málaga Málaga La Rosaleda 28,963 Mallorca Palma Iberostar Stadium 23,142 Osasuna Pamplona El Sadar 19,553 Racing Santander Santander El Sardinero 22,271 Rayo Vallecano Madrid Campo de Vallecas 15,489 Real Madrid Madrid Santiago Bernabéu 85,454 Real Sociedad San Sebastián Anoeta 32,076 Sevilla Seville Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán 45,500 Sporting de Gijón Gijón El Molinón 29,800 Valencia Valencia Mestalla 55,000 Villarreal Vila-real El Madrigal 25,000 Zaragoza Zaragoza La Romareda 34,596
Personnel and sponsorship As in the previous years, Nike provided the official ball for all matches, with a new T90 Seitiro model which was used throughout the season.
Team Head coach Captain Kitmaker Shirt sponsorAthletic Bilbao Marcelo Bielsa Carlos GurpeguiUmbroPetronorAtlético Madrid Diego Simeone Antonio LópezNikeRixos Hotels, Huawei, and KyoceraBarcelona Pep Guardiola Carles Puyol NikeQatar Foundation, UNICEF and TV3Espanyol Mauricio Pochettino Cristian ÁlvarezLi-NingCancúnGetafe Luis García Javier CasqueroJomaBurger King and ConfremarGranada Abel Resino Manuel LucenaLegeaCaja GranadaLevanteLuanviComunitat ValencianaMálaga Manuel Pellegrini Jesús GámezNikeUNESCOMallorca Joaquín Caparrós José NunesMacronbet-at-home.comOsasuna José Luis Mendilibar Francisco PuñalAstoreCAN Álvaro Cervera Pedro MunitisSlamPalaciosRayo Vallecano MíchelErreàLos VengadoresAS MagazineDiario MarcaReal Betis Pepe Mel IrineyRBbCirsaReal Madrid José Mourinho Iker CasillasAdidasBwinReal Sociedad Philippe Montanier Mikel AranburuNikeGipuzkoa Euskararekin BatSevilla Míchel Andrés PalopLi NingPont Grup / InterwettenSporting de Gijón Javier Clemente David BarralKappaGijón, Asturias and Doyen GroupValencia Unai Emery David AlbeldaJomaVillarreal Miguel Ángel Lotina Marcos SennaXtepComunitat ValencianaZaragoza Manolo Jiménez Javier ParedesAdidasProniño For 8 matches in round 20, 31–32, 34–38. Only against Real Madrid in round 33. On the back of shirt. Barcelona makes a donation to UNICEF in order to display the charity's logo on the club's kit. On the left sleeve. Club's own brand. Málaga makes a donation to UNESCO in order to display the charity's logo on the club's kit. On the shoulders. Since 31 January 2012. On the shorts. On the left sleeve.
Managerial changes Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Replaced by Date of appointment Position in table Atlético Madrid Quique Sánchez Flores End of contract 24 May 2011 Gregorio Manzano 8 June 2011 7th (2010–11) Real Sociedad Martín Lasarte Sacked Philippe Montanier 4 June 2011 15th (2010–11) Sevilla Gregorio Manzano End of contract 25 May 2011 Marcelino 3 June 2011 5th (2010–11) Getafe Míchel 30 May 2011 Luis García 4 June 2011 16th (2010–11) Racing Santander Marcelino Mutual consent 3 June 2011 Héctor Cúper 29 June 2011 12th (2010–11) Levante Luis García Juan Ignacio Martínez 9 June 2011 14th (2010–11) Athletic Bilbao Joaquín Caparrós End of contract 7 July 2011 Marcelo Bielsa 7 July 2011 6th (2010–11) Mallorca Michael Laudrup Resigned 27 September 2011 Miguel Ángel Nadal (as caretaker) 28 September 2011 11th Miguel Ángel Nadal End of tenure as caretaker 3 October 2011 Joaquín Caparrós 3 October 2011 Racing Santander Héctor Cúper Mutual consent 29 November 2011 Juanjo González 30 November 2011 20th Villarreal Juan Carlos Garrido Sacked 22 December 2011 José Molina 22 December 2011 17th Atlético Madrid Gregorio Manzano Diego Simeone 23 December 2011 10th Zaragoza Javier Aguirre 30 December 2011 Manolo Jiménez 31 December 2011 20th Granada Fabri 22 January 2012 Abel Resino 23 January 2012 18th Sporting de Gijón Manolo Preciado 31 January 2012 Iñaki Tejada (as caretaker) 31 January 2012 19th Sevilla Marcelino 6 February 2012 Míchel 7 February 2012 11th Sporting de Gijón Iñaki Tejada End of tenure as caretaker 13 February 2012 Javier Clemente 13 February 2012 19th Racing Santander Juanjo González Sacked 7 March 2012 Álvaro Cervera 9 March 2012 18th Villarreal José Molina 18 March 2012 Miguel Ángel Lotina 19 March 2012 17th
League table
Results
Awards
La Liga Awards La Liga's governing body, the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional, honoured the competition's best players and coach with the La Liga Awards.
AwardRecipientBest Player Lionel Messi (Barcelona)Best Coach Pep Guardiola (Barcelona)Best Goalkeeper Iker Casillas (Real Madrid) Best Defender Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid)Best Midfielder(s) Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid) Andrés Iniesta (Barcelona)Best Forward Lionel Messi (Barcelona) Team of the Year
Team of the Year Goalkeeper Víctor Valdés (Barcelona) Defenders Carles Puyol (Barcelona) Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid) Jordi Alba (Valencia) Midfielders Santi Cazorla (Málaga) Óscar de Marcos (Athletic Bilbao) Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid) Mesut Özil (Real Madrid) Forwards Lionel Messi (Barcelona) Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) Radamel Falcao (Atlético Madrid)
Top goalscorers The Pichichi Trophy is awarded by the newspaper Marca to the player who scores the most goals in a season.
Rank Player Club Goals1 Lionel MessiBarcelona502 Cristiano RonaldoReal Madrid463 Radamel FalcaoAtlético Madrid244 Gonzalo HiguaínReal Madrid225 Karim BenzemaReal Madrid216 Fernando LlorenteAthletic Bilbao17 Roberto SoldadoValencia8 Rubén CastroReal Betis169 Arouna KonéLevante15 MichuRayo Vallecano Source: Liga BBVA
Top assists RankPlayerClubAssists1 Mesut ÖzilReal Madrid172 Ángel Di MaríaReal Madrid16 Lionel MessiBarcelona4 Jesús NavasSevilla12 Cristiano RonaldoReal Madrid6 Dani AlvesBarcelona117 Xabi AlonsoReal Madrid9 Chory CastroMallorca Andrés IniestaBarcelona Source: LFP
Zamora Trophy The Ricardo Zamora Trophy is awarded by newspaper Marca to the goalkeeper with the lowest ratio of goals conceded to matches played. A goalkeeper had to play at least 28 matches of 60 or more minutes to be eligible for the trophy.
RankPlayerClubGoals againstMatchesAverage1 Víctor Valdés Barcelona 28350.802 Iker CasillasReal Madrid31370.843 Thibaut CourtoisAtlético Madrid41361.144 Dudu AouateMallorca46361.285 Miguel Ángel MoyàGetafe48361.33
Fair Play award This award was given annually since 1999 to the team with the best fair play during the season. This ranking takes into account aspects such as cards, suspension of matches, audience behaviour and other penalties. This section not only aims to determine the best fair play, but also serves to break the tie in teams that are tied in all the other rules: points, head-to-head, goal difference and goals scored.
RankClubMatches Total Points1Barcelona387921–19––91Málaga387024––1 Mild29–3Villarreal388642–38,13,21––1154Real Sociedad387363–224,293 Milds7,9,27–1195Athletic Bilbao3810161–161 Mild20–1266Real Madrid389132–415,25,29,291 Mild28–1287Levante3812050––1 Mild35–1358Racing Santander3811733–12––1379Osasuna389842–420,27,31,341 Serious27–13810Sporting Gijón3811750–1202 Milds15,20–14211Rayo Vallecano3812512–1111 Mild5–14312Mallorca3811824–1191 Mild30–14413Atlético Madrid3813122––1 Mild33–14614Real Betis3810434–1355 Milds1,5,14,18,36–152Valencia3812716–128––16Getafe3812044–33,15,23––15517Sevilla3811263––5 Milds8,13,19,20,35–15818Espanyol3813042–26, 171 Mild18–15919Zaragoza3812653–226,321 Mild20–16020Granada381074518372371 Very Serious13–165
Source: 2011–12 Fair Play Rankings Season
Sources of cards and penalties: Referee's reports, Competition Committee's Sanctions, Appeal Committee Resolutions and RFEF's Directory about Fair Play Rankings
Pedro Zaballa award Comité Técnico de Árbitros de Fútbol de Las Palmas
Scoring First goal of the season: Imanol Agirretxe for Real Sociedad against Sporting de Gijón (27 August 2011) Last goal of the season: Rovérsio for Osasuna against Racing Santander (13 May 2012)
Hat-tricks
Player For Against Result Date Reference Roberto Soldado Valencia Racing Santander 4–3 (H) 27 August 2011 Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid Zaragoza 6–0 (A) 28 August 2011 Lionel Messi Barcelona Osasuna 8–0 (H) 17 September 2011 Radamel Falcao Atlético Madrid Racing Santander 4–0 (H) 18 September 2011 Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid Rayo Vallecano 6–2 (H) 24 September 2011 Lionel Messi Barcelona Atlético Madrid 5–0 (H) Gonzalo Higuaín Real Madrid Espanyol 4–0 (A) 2 October 2011 Gonzalo Higuaín Real Madrid Real Betis 4–1 (H) 15 October 2011 Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid Málaga 4–0 (A) 22 October 2011 Lionel Messi Barcelona Mallorca 5–0 (H) 29 October 2011 Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid Osasuna 7–1 (H) 6 November 2011 Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid Sevilla 6–2 (A) 17 December 2011 Radamel Falcao Atlético Madrid Real Sociedad 4–0 (A) 21 January 2012 Lionel Messi Barcelona Málaga 4–1 (A) 22 January 2012 Fernando Llorente Athletic Bilbao Rayo Vallecano 3–2 (A) 28 January 2012 Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid Levante 4–2 (H) 12 February 2012 Lionel Messi4 Barcelona Valencia 5–1 (H) 19 February 2012 Kalu Uche Espanyol Rayo Vallecano 5–1 (H) 11 March 2012 Roberto Soldado Valencia Athletic Bilbao 3–0 (A) 18 March 2012 Lionel Messi Barcelona Granada 5–3 (H) 20 March 2012 Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid Atlético Madrid 4–1 (A) 11 April 2012 Lionel Messi Barcelona Málaga 4–1 (H) 2 May 2012 Lionel Messi4 Barcelona Espanyol 4–0 (H) 5 May 2012 4 Player scored four goals(H) – Home; (A) – Away
Attendances
See also List of Spanish football transfers summer 2011 List of Spanish football transfers winter 2011–12 2011–12 Segunda División
References
External links
LigaBBVA.com sportYou.es Inside Spanish Football