The 2011–12 season was the 80th season in
NK Varaždin (1931–2015) history and their twenty-first in the
Prva HNL
The Hrvatska nogometna liga () ( en, Croatian football league), also known as HNL or for sponsorship reasons the SuperSport HNL, is the top Croatian professional football league competition, established in 1992. Previously, it was called Prva H ...
. Their 11th-place finish in the
2010–11
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
season means it was their 21st successive season playing in the Prva HNL.
This was a season of highs and lows for the club. A year earlier, in mid-2010, the club had lost its sponsor of 52 years, the Varteks clothing factory, and had changed its name from NK Varteks to NK Varaždin. The loss of their main sponsor severely impacted the club's finances. Offsetting this was their success in the first two Qualifying Rounds of the
2011–12 UEFA Europa League
The 2011–12 UEFA Europa League was the third season of the UEFA Europa League, Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 41st edition overall including its predecessor, the UEFA Cup. It began on 30 June 2011 with t ...
, being knocked out by one goal, on aggregate, in the Third Qualifying Round, played in August 2011. However, as the Prva HNL season progressed, their continued financial difficulties, including missing salary payments to its players, led to it being suspended by the
Croatian Football Federation
The Croatian Football Federation ( hr, Hrvatski nogometni savez, HNS) is the governing body of association football in Croatia. It was originally formed in 1912 and is based in the capital city of Zagreb. The organisation is a member of both FIF ...
, in spring 2012, for their 23rd and 24th matches. This triggered a Federation rule that led to Varaždin being suspended from the Prva HNL for the remaining matches of the 2011–12 season. Under the rules, the club was immediately relegated to the lowest football level possible of the
Croatian football league system, being the seventh-tier Third League of
Varaždin County, for the 2012–13 season.
While the club was reinstated to the
3. HNL
The Druga nogometna liga ( eng, Second football league), commonly Druga NL or 2. NL) is the third tier of the football league system. The league was established in 1991 following the dissolution of the Yugoslav League. It is operated by the Croa ...
for the 2103–14 season, its continued financial woes saw the then 74-year-old organisation declare bankruptcy, and cease to exist, at the end of the 2014–15 season.
First-team squad
Competitions
Overall
Prva HNL
Classification
Results summary
Results by round
Matches
Pre-season
Prva HNL
* Varaždin was suspended and thus unable to play the match so the game was awarded 3–0
† After failing to play two matches in Prva HNL, Varaždin was expelled and all their remaining matches were awarded as a 3–0 forfeit win to opponents
Europa League
Croatian Cup
Player seasonal records
''Competitive matches only. Updated to games played 24 March 2012.''
Top scorers
Source: Competitive matches
Disciplinary record
Includes all competitive matches. Players with 1 card or more included only.
Sources
Prva-HNL.hr
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Appearances and goals
Sources
Prva-HNL.hr
/small>
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Varazdin Season 2011-12
Croatian football clubs 2011–12 season
NK Varaždin (1931–2015) seasons
Varazdin