2011–12 La Liga


The 2011–12 La Liga season was the 81st season of the top level Spanish association football competition. The campaign began on 27 August 2011, and ended on 13 May 2012. Real Madrid won the league for a record 32nd time in La Liga history after beating Athletic Bilbao on 2 May 2012. The club broke a number of records including: 100 points in a single season, 121 goals scored, a goal difference of +89, 16 away wins, and 32 overall wins. This season also saw Lionel Messi score a record 50 league goals in 37 games, making him the first and only player to score 50 goals in any of the major European leagues, behind him was Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo with 46 goals which made another record of 2 players scoring 96 goals together in the same league for the first time in any of the major European leagues.
The season was scheduled to start on 20 August 2011, but was delayed due to a strike called by the Association of Spanish Footballers.

Teams

, 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

TeamClub home cityStadiumStadium capacity
Athletic BilbaoBilbaoSan Mamés39,750
Atlético MadridMadridVicente Calderón54,851
BarcelonaBarcelonaCamp Nou99,354
BetisSevilleBenito Villamarín52,745
EspanyolBarcelonaCornellà-El Prat40,500
GetafeGetafeColiseum Alfonso Pérez17,700
GranadaGranadaNuevo Los Cármenes22,524
LevanteValenciaCiutat de València25,534
MálagaMálagaLa Rosaleda28,963
MallorcaPalmaIberostar Stadium23,142
OsasunaPamplonaEl Sadar19,553
Racing SantanderSantanderEl Sardinero22,271
Rayo VallecanoMadridCampo de Vallecas15,489
Real MadridMadridSantiago Bernabéu85,454
Real SociedadSan SebastiánAnoeta32,076
SevillaSevilleRamón Sánchez Pizjuán45,500
Sporting de GijónGijónEl Molinón29,800
ValenciaValenciaMestalla55,000
VillarrealVila-realEl Madrigal25,000
ZaragozaZaragozaLa Romareda34,596

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.
TeamHead CoachCaptainKitmakerShirt sponsor
Athletic Bilbao Marcelo Bielsa Carlos GurpeguiUmbroPetronor
Atlético Madrid Diego Simeone Antonio LópezNikeRixos Hotels, Huawei, and Kyocera
Barcelona Pep Guardiola Carles PuyolNikeQatar Foundation and UNICEF
Espanyol Mauricio Pochettino Cristian ÁlvarezLi-NingCancún
Getafe Luis García Javier CasqueroJomaBurger King and Confremar
Granada Abel Resino Manuel LucenaLegeaCaja Granada
LevanteLuanviComunitat Valenciana
Málaga Manuel Pellegrini Jesús GámezNikeUNESCO
Mallorca Joaquín Caparrós José NunesMacronbet-at-home.com
Osasuna José Luis Mendilibar Francisco PuñalAstoreCAN
Álvaro Cervera Pedro MunitisSlamPalacios
Rayo Vallecano MíchelErreàLos Vengadores
Real Betis Pepe Mel IrineyRBbCirsa
Real Madrid José Mourinho Iker CasillasAdidasBwin
Real Sociedad Philippe Montanier Mikel AranburuNikeGipuzkoa Euskararekin Bat
Sevilla Míchel Andrés PalopLi NingInterwetten
Sporting de Gijón Javier Clemente David BarralKappaGijón / Asturias
Valencia Unai Emery David AlbeldaJoma
Villarreal Miguel Ángel Lotina Marcos SennaXtepComunitat Valenciana
Zaragoza Manolo Jiménez Javier ParedesAdidasProniño

  1. For 8 matches in round 20, 31–32, 34–38.
  2. Only against Real Madrid match in round 33.
  3. On the back of shirt.
  4. Barcelona makes a donation to UNICEF in order to display the charity's logo on the club's kit.
  5. Club's own brand.
  6. Málaga makes a donation to UNESCO in order to display the charity's logo on the club's kit.
  7. On the shoulders.
  8. Since 31 January 2012.
  9. On the shorts.
  10. On the sleeves.

    Managerial changes

League table


Positions by round

Results

Awards

LFP Awards

La Liga's governing body, the Liga de Fútbol Profesional, honoured the competition's best players and coach with the LFP Awards.
Recipient
Best Player Lionel Messi
Best Coach José Mourinho
Best Goalkeeper Iker Casillas
Best Defender Sergio Ramos
Best Midfielder Xabi Alonso
Andrés Iniesta
Best Forward Lionel Messi

Top goalscorers

The Pichichi Trophy is awarded by the newspaper Marca to the player who scores the most goals in a season.
RankPlayerClubGoals
1 Lionel MessiBarcelona50
2 Cristiano RonaldoReal Madrid46
3 Radamel FalcaoAtlético Madrid24
4 Gonzalo HiguaínReal Madrid22
5 Karim BenzemaReal Madrid21
6 Fernando LlorenteAthletic Bilbao17
6 Roberto SoldadoValencia17
8 Rubén CastroBetis16
9 MichuRayo Vallecano15
9 Arouna KonéLevante15

Source:

Assists table

RankPlayerClubAssists
1 Mesut ÖzilReal Madrid19
2 Ángel Di MaríaReal Madrid16
2 Lionel MessiBarcelona16
4 Cristiano RonaldoReal Madrid12
4 Jesús NavasSevilla12
6 Dani AlvesBarcelona11
7 Xabi AlonsoReal Madrid9
7 Andrés IniestaBarcelona9
7 Chory CastroMallorca9

The Zamora Trophy is awarded by newspaper Marca to the goalkeeper with least goals-to-games ratio. A goalkeeper must play at least 28 games of 60 or more minutes to be eligible for the trophy.
RankNameClubGoals
Against		MatchesAverage
1 Víctor ValdésBarcelona28350.80
2 Iker CasillasReal Madrid31370.84
3 Thibaut CourtoisAtlético Madrid41361.14
4 Dudu AouateMallorca46361.28
5 Miguel Ángel MoyàGetafe48361.33

Fair Play award

This award is 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.
RankTeamGames Total Points
1
Barcelona
38
79
2
1
–
19
–
–
91
1
Málaga
38
70
2
4
–
–
1 Mild29
–
91
2
Villarreal
38
86
4
2
–
38,13,21
–
–
115
3
Real Sociedad
38
73
6
3
–
224,29
3 Milds7,9,27
–
119
4
Athletic Bilbao
38
101
6
1
–
16
1 Mild20
–
126
5
Real Madrid
38
91
3
2
–
415,25,29,29
1 Mild28
–
128
6
Levante
38
120
5
0
–
–
1 Mild35
–
135
7
Racing Santander
38
117
3
3
–
12
–
–
137
8
Osasuna
38
98
4
2
–
420,27,31,34
1 Serious27
–
138
9
Sporting de Gijón
38
117
5
0
–
120
2 Milds15,20
–
142
10
Rayo Vallecano
38
125
1
2
–
111
1 Mild5
–
143
11
Mallorca
38
118
2
4
–
119
1 Mild30
–
144
12
Atlético Madrid
38
131
2
2
–
–
1 Mild33
–
146
13
Betis
38
104
3
4
–
135
5 Milds1,5,14,18,36
–
152
13
Valencia
38
127
1
6
–
128
–
–
152
14
Getafe
38
120
4
4
–
33,15,23
–
–
155
15
Sevilla
38
112
6
3
–
–
5 Milds8,13,19,20,35
–
158
16
Espanyol
38
130
4
2
–
26, 17
1 Mild18
–
159
17
Zaragoza
38
126
5
3
–
226,32
1 Mild20
–
160
18
Granada
38
107
4
5
1837
237
1 Very Serious13
–
165

Source: 2011–12 Fair Play Rankings Season
Sources of cards and penalties: , , and

Pedro Zaballa award

Comité Técnico de Árbitros de Fútbol de Las Palmas

Scoring

Imanol Agirretxe for Real Sociedad against Sporting de Gijón
Rovérsio for Osasuna against Racing Santander

Hat-tricks

PlayerForAgainstResultDateReference
Roberto SoldadoValenciaRacing Santander4–3 27 August 2011
Cristiano RonaldoReal MadridZaragoza6–0 28 August 2011
Lionel MessiBarcelonaOsasuna8–0 17 September 2011
Radamel FalcaoAtlético MadridRacing Santander4–0 18 September 2011
Cristiano RonaldoReal MadridRayo Vallecano6–2 24 September 2011
Lionel MessiBarcelonaAtlético Madrid5–0 24 September 2011
Gonzalo HiguaínReal MadridEspanyol4–0 2 October 2011
Gonzalo HiguaínReal MadridReal Betis4–1 15 October 2011
Cristiano RonaldoReal MadridMálaga4–0 22 October 2011
Lionel MessiBarcelonaMallorca5–0 29 October 2011
Cristiano RonaldoReal MadridOsasuna7–1 6 November 2011
Cristiano Ronaldo4Real MadridSevilla6–2 17 December 2011
Radamel FalcaoAtlético MadridReal Sociedad4–0 21 January 2012
Lionel MessiBarcelonaMalaga4–1 22 January 2012
Fernando LlorenteAthletic BilbaoRayo Vallecano3–2 28 January 2012
Cristiano RonaldoReal MadridLevante4–2 12 February 2012
Lionel Messi4BarcelonaValencia5–1 19 February 2012
Kalu UcheEspanyolRayo Vallecano5–1 11 March 2012
Roberto SoldadoValenciaAthletic Bilbao3–0 18 March 2012
Lionel MessiBarcelonaGranada5–3 20 March 2012
Cristiano RonaldoReal MadridAtlético Madrid4–1 11 April 2012
Lionel MessiBarcelonaMalaga4–1 2 May 2012
Lionel Messi4BarcelonaEspanyol4–0 5 May 2012

4 Player scored four goals
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