The 2011–12 season was Oud-Heverlee Leuvens 10th competitive season since the 2002 fusion between Stade Leuven, Daring Club Leuven and Zwarte Duivels Oud-Heverlee. It was their first season in the Belgian Pro League after being promoted from the

Belgian Second Division The Belgian Second Division (known as the Proximus League for sponsorship reasons) was the second-highest division in the Belgian football league system, one level below the Belgian Pro League. It was founded by the Royal Belgian Football Associa ...

and the first time in 61 years a team from the city of

Leuven Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic ...

played in the highest division. OH Leuven finished in 14th place, one place clear of the relegation zone, thereby prolonging their stay at the top flight. Their cup run was unsuccessful, losing out to Rupel Boom form the

third division In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...

in round 6, which was the round where the team entered the cup.

Key dates

Pre-season

* 05.05.2011: During the official celebration of the promotion at the Leuven city hall, it is announced that coach Ronny Van Geneugden has signed a new contract agreement, linking him to Oud-Heverlee Leuven for the next four seasons. * 30.05.2011:

Jordan Remacle Jordan Remacle (born 14 February 1987) is a retired Belgian footballer who last played for La Calamine in the Belgian Provincial Leagues. Remacle is a forward who was born in Verviers and made his debut in professional football, being part of ...

, one of the key players for OHL during the previous season with 16 goals and 20 assists, signs a new contract until 2014. * 15.06.2011: OHL signs 28-year-old midfielder and 2-time Belgian international

Kevin Roelandts Kevin Roelandts (born 27 August 1982) is a retired Belgium, Belgian midfielder who last played for K.S.K. Maldegem, Maldegem. He is a technical, clever, and hard-working central midfielder. He also plays a fullback. He has played for the Belgium ...

from

Zulte Waregem Sportvereniging Zulte Waregem (), commonly known as Zulte Waregem or by their nickname Essevee (), is a Belgian professional football club based in Waregem, West Flanders. Zulte Waregem plays in the Belgian First Division A. Their highest finish a ...

and also announces on the official website that an agreement has been found to sign Frederik Boi from Cercle Brugge. Cercle Brugge fans react surprised to see Boi leave after he has spent the last 22 years with the club and soon after Cercle Brugge officially denies that an agreement has been found and states that Boi has a contract running for two more years at Cercle. * 20.06.2011: After more than a month of rumours and false transfer announcements, it is finally confirmed that Tunisian forward

Hamdi Harbaoui Hamdi Harbaoui ( ar, حمدي الحرباوي; born 5 January 1985) is a Tunisian footballer who plays as a striker. Club career Harbaoui started his career in his home country with Espérance Tunis. In the winter transfer window in season 2 ...

is leaving Oud-Heverlee Leuven. Harbaoui was the top scorer in the

2010–11 Belgian Second Division The 2010–11 season of the Belgian Second Division (also known as EXQI League for sponsorship reasons) started on Wednesday 18 August 2010 and finished in May 2011. OH Leuven won the title on the penultimate matchday after a 2–2 draw away to ...

with 25 goals, but decided to move to

Lokeren Lokeren () is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality located in the Belgian Provinces of Belgium, province of East Flanders, and belongs to the Waasland, also called ''Land van Waas'', of which it is the second ...

. Later on the same day, OHL announced three new signings: defender Jorn Vermeulen from

Club Brugge (), known simply as Club Brugge (in English also: ''Club Bruges''), is a Belgian professional football club based in Bruges, Belgium. It was founded in 1891 and its home ground is the Jan Breydel Stadium, which has a capacity of 29,062.

and midfielders Thomas Azevedo and

Emmerik De Vriese Emmerik De Vriese (born 14 February 1985) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Antonia in the Belgian Provincial Leagues. Career Before joining OH Leuven, De Vriese played three seasons at BV Veendam in the second d ...

from second division teams Lommel United and

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

respectively. * 22.06.2011: Belgian Pro League fixtures for the 2011–12 season are announced. Oud-Heverlee Leuven opens the season with a home match against

Anderlecht Anderlecht (, ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, and Saint-Gilles, as well as the ...

. * 24.06.2011: it is announced that supporters of OHL are massively buying season tickets, with already 4050 sold over a month before the start of the new season, a club record. The stadium expansion will eventually allow 9000 spectators. On the same day,

comes to an agreement with Oud-Heverlee Leuven to loan out Senegalese midfielder Christophe Diandy for one season, at that point already the fifth incoming transfer for OHL. * 27.06.2011: With second division top scorer Harbaoui transferring to Lokeren, OHL decides to buy a replacement as they sign third division top scorer

Patrick Amoah Patrick Amoah (born 18 August 1986) is a Swedish footballer who plays as a defender for Segeltorp in the Swedish Fifth Division. Club career Djurgårdens IF and Assyriska FF (loan) Amoah joined the Swedish Allsvenskan side Djurgårdens IF f ...

from WS Woluwe. The 24-year-old Swedish forward with roots in Ghana scored 27 goals during the previous season. * 30.06.2011: The transfer of Frederik Boi from Cercle Brugge to OHL is finally concluded as both clubs find an agreement.

Regular season in 2011

* 29.07.2011: OHL immediately causes a major upset by beating

2-1 at home on the first matchday due to an injury time winner by

. * 31.07.2011: The news is released that

Kenneth Van Goethem Kenneth Van Goethem (born 13 February 1984) is a Belgian footballer who plays for Heist, on loan from OH Leuven. In March 2016, the news was announced Van Goethem would move to SC Aarschot playing the Belgian Provincial leagues from the 2016-1 ...

suffered a severe

knee In humans and other primates, the knee joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two joints: one between the femur and tibia (tibiofemoral joint), and one between the femur and patella (patellofemoral joint). It is the largest joint in the hu ...

-injury during the opening match, ruling him out of contention for at least 6 months. * 04.08.2011: Belgian defensive midfielder Floribert N'Galula is signed from Finnish team TPS Turku to replace the injured Van Goethem. * 10.08.2011: After a week of testing, OH Leuven signs Nigerian striker Derick Ogbu. Ogbu had already tested twice with PSV Eindhoven after being recommended by Henk ten Cate. Eventually he could not be signed by PSV as his visa expired and eventually he ended up at OHL. * 19.08.2011: OH Leuven confirms the signing of Belgian goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski from Beerschot AC. Contrary to earlier reports, Kaminski is not on loan from

, but has made a deal with both clubs that he will play one season for Leuven, before moving to Anderlecht. * 23.08.2011: The draw for the

2011–12 Belgian Cup The 2011–12 Belgian Cup (also known as ''Cofidis Cup'' because of sponsoring purposes) is the 57th season of the main knockout football competition in Belgium. It commenced on 31 July 2011 with the first matches of Round 1 and concluded on 24 Mar ...

is made, giving OH Leuven a home draw against the winner of the match between Cappellen ( 4th division) and Rupel Boom ( 3rd division). Should Leuven win the match, then they will play the next round away to Lommel United, Neerpelt or

. * 30.08.2011: Although his contract continued until 2012, Yannick Euvrard moves to second division team Roeselare. Euvrard was part of the team that became

champions, but seemed not to fit into the plans. After 5 matches without being on the pitch, he decided it was better to leave. On the same day, OH Leuven announced the coming of Czech defender

Radek Dejmek Radek Dejmek (born 2 February 1988) is a Czech former footballer who played as defender. He is currently managing the under-15 side of Slovan Liberec FC Slovan Liberec (), commonly referred to as Slovan Liberec or simply Slovan, is a Czech ...

, on loan from

Slovan Liberec FC Slovan Liberec (), commonly referred to as Slovan Liberec or simply Slovan, is a Czech football club based in the city of Liberec. The club is one of the most successful in the Czech Republic, having won three league titles and the domestic c ...

until the end of the season. The contract also includes an option to buy. * 31.08.2011: On the last day of the transfer period, Olympia Wijgmaal loans yet another OHL player as

Simon Vermeiren Simon Vermeiren (born 22 December 1990) is a Belgian former professional footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, Ame ...

leaves the team for one season at the third division team. Later that day the signing of Belgian international

Karel Geraerts Karel Geraerts (; born 5 January 1982) is a Belgian former footballer and current head coach of Union SG. Career Geraerts played for Club Brugge from 1998 to December 2003. In 2004 Club Brugge lent him to Lokeren where he scored his first goa ...

is confirmed, after the news had already spread through various media the day before. No transfer sum was paid, as Geraerts did no longer fit into the plans at

and was allowed to leave for free * 10.09.2011: During training

suffers an ankle injury, ruling him out of contention for at least 3 months. * 21.09.2011: In the Belgian Cup, OH Leuven is immediately eliminated after a 1–2 home loss against

Third Division In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...

team Rupel Boom. The fact that OH Leuven loses at home, that it is the only team from the Belgian Pro League to be eliminated at that point and that the team missed out on an away match in the next round against

causes coach Ronny Van Geneugden to state that "this is my biggest deception in a very long time". * 24.09.2011: During the final minutes of the 1–1 home draw against reigning champions Genk, experienced defender

Nicky Hayen Nicky Hayen (born 16 August 1980) is a Belgian football manager and former professional footballer who is currently head coach at Challenger Pro League club Club NXT. Career From 1999 on, Hayen played nine seasons at the highest level of Belgian ...

suffers a serious injury as he tears one of his anterior cruciate ligaments. Later that evening it is confirmed that it will keep him out of contention for around 6 months. After

and

, Hayen is the third key player to suffer a major injury during the season. * 10.11.2011: After suffering an injury earlier in a match with the Belgium national under-17 football team during the

2012 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship qualifying round 2012 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship (qualifying round) was the first round of qualifications for the Final Tournament of UEFA U-17 Championship 2012. Matches were played between September 21–November 2, 2011. All times are CET/CEST. ...

, promising youngster Joren Dehond is diagnosed with a torn meniscus. Joren will need to undergo

surgery Surgery ''cheirourgikē'' (composed of χείρ, "hand", and ἔργον, "work"), via la, chirurgiae, meaning "hand work". is a medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a person to investigate or treat a pat ...

and will be out for 6 tot 8 weeks. A status update of the other long-term injured players is also given: the revalidation of

goes well, he is starting with individual running exercises.

is already training individually and plans to rejoin the group in about two weeks, while

is still at the very beginning of his revalidation period, he is not yet allowed to use his right leg. * 12.12.2011: OHL is hit by a fourth major first-team injury as left-back Koen Weuts tears a part of his medial collateral ligament during the home match against

. It is estimated that Weuts will probably be sidelined for four to six weeks. In recovery he joins first team players

and

and youngster Joren Dehond. Meanwhile,

is scheduled to play in a friendly match on 14 December, which will be his first match after his ankle injury. * 27.12.2011: At the start of the winter break, after a streak of four unbeaten matches, OHL is in 11th position with 20 points out of 19 matches. Coach Ronny Van Geneugden is very happy with the results, stating that the 11th place is magnificent seeing the number of long term injuries the team had to undergo. Negative points are the early elimination in the Belgian Cup and the fact that OHL could only score few points against direct competitors. Van Geneugden also mentions the huge support from the home fans and how this has helped the team to take points from big teams Anderlecht, Club Brugge and Genk. Finally, he states the end goal is to score 30 points after 30 matches, which should be enough to avoid the relegation playoffs. * 27.12.2011: The 19-year-old nephew of former OHL player

Toni Brogno Antonio ("Toni") Brogno (born 19 July 1973) is a retired Belgium, Belgian football (soccer), football Striker (association football), striker who was last on the books of R.O.C. de Charleroi-Marchienne, Olympic Charleroi. Before that he also pla ...

signs for OHL. Belgian youngster

Loris Brogno Loris Brogno (born 18 September 1992) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Italian club Sangiuliano City. Career Brogno started his professional career with Charleroi and played his first official match in the Belgia ...

is a left-footed striker, signed from

Charleroi Charleroi ( , , ; wa, Tchålerwè ) is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. By 1 January 2008, the total population of Charleroi was 201,593.

and regarded as a prospect for the future. * 28.12.2011: OHL and Swedish striker

mutually agree to terminate their contract. Amoah was the match winner in the opening match against Anderlecht, scoring the 2-1 goal in injury time. However, after sending the OHL supporters into delirium during this first match, Amoah had faded away and mostly featured in the reserve matches only. Amoah immediately rejoined his former team WS Woluwe.

Regular season in 2012

* 10.01.2012: Icelandic defensive midfielder

Stefán Gíslason Stefán Gíslason (born 15 March 1980 in Fjarðabyggð) is an Icelandic retired footballer and manager who last played for Breiðablik in the Icelandic Premier League as a defensive midfielder. He is currently managing Søgne in the Norwegian Fo ...

signs a 1.5 year contract after he was released from Lillestrøm. Gíslason, a former youth player of

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

, is expected to immediately make an impact in the first team and is signed to take over the role of the injured

. * 20.01.2012: Thirty-two-year-old striker Ibrahim Salou returns to Belgium as he signs for OHL. After leaving

in 2008, Salou had spells in Germany with Duisburg, Denmark with Vejle and USA with the New York Red Bulls. After being released in New York, he had been looking for a club in Belgium and ended up with Oud-Heverlee Leuven. * 26.01.2012: After days of speculating, attacking midfielder Sacha Iakovenko of Anderlecht joins OHL on loan as he had to make a decision over which club to join, either Oud-Heverlee Leuven or Westerlo. Iakovenko had worked with coach Ronny Van Geneugden before at Genk and is delighted to be able to do so again. * 29.01.2012: Club monument

Joeri Vastmans Joeri Vastmans (born 5 December 1983) is a retired Belgian professional footballer, who last played for Bocholt. Vastmans started career with Patro Maasmechelen in the Belgian Second Division in 2003. After the 2004-05 season Maasmechelen was r ...

leaves the club as both parties agree to terminate the contract. Vastmans, at OHL for 6 seasons and still popular with many of the fans, had only been subbed on once during the season and since he was not guaranteed more opportunities, opted to look for a new club. * 31.01.2012: With several players returning from injury and with the signings of Ibrahim Salou and Sacha Iakovenko, 25-year-old midfielder

Tail Schoonjans Tail Schoonjans (born 19 August 1986) is a retired Belgian professional footballer, who last played for Grimbergen in the Belgian Third Division. Career Schoonjans started his youth career with Stade Leuven, before it merged into OH Leuven in ...

is deemed surplus and therefore loaned out to second division team Sint-Niklaas. Although Schoonjans only has a contract until the end of the season, OHL has an option to prolong his contract. * 11.02.2012: In a direct relegation battle away to Westerlo, OHL secures a crucial 1-3 victory, moving 8 points clear of the relegation playoffs with only 5 matches to go. Goals came from

Wim Raymaekers Wim Raymaekers (born 4 April 1985) is a Belgians, Belgian football player who last played as a professional for Delhi Dynamos FC, Delhi Dynamos. In 2016, he announced signing for amateur team KVV Zonhoven, playing in the Belgian Provincial leagu ...

and Sacha Iakovenko. Iakovenko remained calm after his goal and did not celebrate his goal, as between 2009 and 2011 he nearly played two full seasons for Westerlo. In the media, it is now assumed that 15th and 16th placed teams Westerlo and Sint-Truiden will face each other in the relegation playoffs. * 03.03.2012: After a dull 0-0 draw at home against

Lierse Koninklijke Lierse Sportkring (), often simply known as Lierse, was a Belgian professional football club from the city of Lier in the Antwerp province. Lierse have won four championship titles and two Belgian Cups. Lierse was one of the six Be ...

, OHL can no longer finishing lower than 14th, thereby avoiding the relegation playoffs and thus qualifying for the

2012–13 Belgian Pro League The 2012–13 season of the Belgian Pro League (also known as ''Jupiler Pro League'' for sponsorship reasons) was the 110th season of top-tier football in Belgium. It started on 28 July 2012 with the first match of the regular season between Kor ...

. For the first time in Belgian football, a team form the city of

manages to spend more than one consecutive season at the highest level. * 13.03.2012: After a successful season as

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of the team in which he also scored three goals, 31-year-old club-icon

Bjorn Ruytinx Bjorn 'El Toro' Ruytinx (born 18 August 1980) is a retired Belgian professional football player who last played for Halen in the Belgian Provincial Leagues as a forward. Career Ruytinx spent most of his career with OH Leuven, where he was sig ...

is rewarded with a new one-year contract.

Playoffs

* 22.03.2012: After finishing the regular season in 14th place, OHL was paired with Cercle Brugge, Mechelen en Lierse in playoff 2. The draw is released, with OHL starting at home against Lierse. * 27.04.2012: A first transfer for the new season is announced, as Belgian Lierse defender

Kenny Thompson Kenny Thompson (born 26 April 1985) is a retired Belgian football player who last played for Nijlen in the Belgian Third Amateur Division. Honours ; K.A.A. Gent * Belgian Cup (1): 2009–10 References External links * 1985 births ...

signs for OHL. * 05.05.2012: The season ends for OH Leuven as the playoffs conclude with OH Leuven ending in second place behind Cercle Brugge. Leuven ends the playoffs with 10 points out of 18 after losing twice, drawing once and winning three matches.

Team kit

The team kits for the 2011–12 season were produced by Vermarc and the main shirt sponsor was

Option Option or Options may refer to: Computing *Option key, a key on Apple computer keyboards *Option type, a polymorphic data type in programming languages *Command-line option, an optional parameter to a command *OPTIONS, an HTTP request method ...

First team squad

:''As of 6 May 2012.''

Transfers

In

Summer

Winter

Loan In

Summer

Winter

Out

Summer

Winter

Loan Out

Summer

Winter

Statistics

Appearances and goals

:''Last updated on 6 May 2012.'' , - , colspan="10", ''Players who are out on loan'' , - , colspan="10", ''Players who have left the club''

Top scorers

Includes all competitive matches. The list is sorted by league goals when total goals are equal.

Goals

Last updated: 6 May 2012
Source: Match reports in Competitive matches

Penalties Taken

Goals conceded

Includes all competitive matches. Sorted by shirt number. :''Last updated on 6 May 2012''

Penalties Conceded

Disciplinary record

Includes all competitive matches. Players with 1 card or more included only. :''Last updated on 6 May 2012''

Suspensions during the season

Includes suspensions for competitive matches. :''Last updated on 6 May 2012''

Severe injuries during the season

:''Last updated on 6 May 2012''

Starting 11

:''Only considering Belgian Pro League starts.''

Overall

{, class="wikitable" , - , Games played , , 37 (36 Belgian Pro League, 1 Belgian Cup) , - , Games won , , 10 (10 Belgian Pro League, 0 Belgian Cup) , - , Games drawn , , 9 (9 Belgian Pro League, 0 Belgian Cup) , - , Games lost , , 18 (17 Belgian Pro League, 1 Belgian Cup) , - , Goals scored , , 54 , - , Goals conceded , , 74 , - , Goal difference , , -20 , - , Clean sheets , , 3 , - , Yellow cards , , 75 , - , Red cards , , 3 , - , Worst discipline , ,

13 0 , - , Best result(s) , , W 3 - 1 (H) v

Mons Mons (; German and nl, Bergen, ; Walloon and pcd, Mont) is a city and municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the province of Hainaut, Belgium. Mons was made into a fortified city by Count Baldwin IV of Hainaut in the 12th century. T ...

- Belgian Pro League - 10 September 2011
W 3 - 1 (H) v

- Belgian Pro League - 18 December 2011
W 3 - 1 (A) v Westerlo - Belgian Pro League - 11 February 2012
W 3 - 1 (H) v Sint-Truiden - Belgian Pro League - 21 March 2012
W 4 - 2 (H) v

Mechelen Mechelen (; french: Malines ; traditional English name: MechlinMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical contex ...

- Belgian Pro League - 21 April 2012 , - , Worst result(s) , , L 6 - 1 (A) v Gent - Belgian Pro League - 1 October 2011 , - , Most appearances , ,

(36) , - , Top scorer , ,

(16) , -

Club

Coaching staff

{, class="wikitable" !Position !Staff , - , - , Head Coach, , Ronny Van Geneugden , - , Assistant First Team Coach, ,

Hans Vander Elst Hans may refer to: __NOTOC__ People * Hans (name), a masculine given name * Hans Raj Hans, Indian singer and politician ** Navraj Hans, Indian singer, actor, entrepreneur, cricket player and performer, son of Hans Raj Hans ** Yuvraj Hans, Punjabi ...

, - , Goalkeeping coach, , Jurgen De Braekeleer

Other information

Competitions

Friendly matches

Pre-season

During the season

Belgian Pro League

OHL's first season in the Belgian Pro League began on 29 July 2011.

Regular season

=League table

= Results summary

=Points breakdown

= Points at home: 20
Points away from home: 9
Points against 2010/11 Playoff 1 teams (6): 12
Points against 2010/11 Playoff 2 teams (8): 13
Points against newly promoted teams (1): 4
:6 points: none :4 points: Anderlecht, Lokeren, Mons, Westerlo :3 points: Beerschot, Club Brugge, Sint-Truiden :2 points: none :1 point: Genk, Lierse, Mechelen, Zulte Waregem :0 points: Cercle Brugge, Gent, Kortrijk, Standard Liège

=Biggest & smallest

= Biggest home win: 3–1 vs. Mons; 3–1 vs. Club Brugge; 3–1 vs. Sint-Truiden
Biggest home defeat: 1–3 vs. Standard Liège; 0–2 vs. Kortrijk
Biggest away win: 1–3 vs. Westerlo
Biggest away defeat: 6–1 vs. Gent; 5–0 vs. Genk
Biggest home attendance: 8,519 vs. Club Brugge and vs. Standard Liège
Smallest home attendance: 5,672 vs. Mons
Biggest away attendance: 24,806 vs. Club Brugge
Smallest away attendance: 4,000 vs. Mons

= Results by round

Playoffs

After finishing 14th during the regular season, OHL was placed in Group A of the Europa League Playoff together with Cercle Brugge,

and

=Table

Matches

Belgian Cup

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oud-Heverlee Leuven Season 2011-12 2011-12 Belgian football clubs 2011–12 season Oud-Heverlee Leuven seasons