The 2011–12 Primeira Liga (also known as Liga ZON Sagres for sponsorship reasons) was the 78th season of the

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (; English: Premier League, also written as Liga Portugal 1), also known as Liga Portugal Bwin for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga Portugal, ...

, the top professional league for Portuguese

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

clubs. It began on 14 August 2011 and ended on 13 May 2012. A total of 16 teams contested the league, 14 of which already took part in the previous season and two of which were promoted from the

Liga de Honra The Liga Portugal 2 (), also known as Liga Portugal 2 SABSEG for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division of the Portuguese football league system. At the end of each season, the two top-finishing teams are promoted to the top-tier Prim ...

Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...

were the defending champions and secured their 26th and second consecutive league title.

Óscar Cardozo Óscar René Cardozo Marín (; born 20 May 1983) is a Paraguayan professional footballer who plays as a striker for Club Libertad and the Paraguay national team. Known for his powerful left-foot shot and free-kick skills, he first gained att ...

and

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...

, respectively Benfica's and

Braga Braga ( , ; cel-x-proto, Bracara) is a city and a municipality, capital of the northwestern Portuguese district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality has a resident population of 193,333 inhabitants (in ...

's strikers, were the joint top scorers with 20 goals.

Teams

Sixteen teams contested the league, fourteen of which already contested in the 2010–11 season and two of which were promoted from the 2010–11 Liga de Honra. The two teams relegated following the 2010–11 season were

Portimonense Portimonense Sporting Clube is a Portuguese sports club based in Portimão. Founded on 14 August 1914, it is most notable for its professional football team, which currently plays in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese football. It al ...

, which returned to the Liga de Honra just a year after promotion, and

Naval A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

, returning to the second tier after a six-year stay. Replacing them in the top flight were Liga de Honra champions

Gil Vicente Gil Vicente (; c. 1465c. 1536), called the Trobadour, was a Portuguese playwright and poet who acted in and directed his own plays. Considered the chief dramatist of Portugal he is sometimes called the "Portuguese Plautus," often refe ...

, competing in their 14th Liga season after returning from a five-year absence, and Feirense, who were in the top division for the fourth time and the first since the 1989–90 season.

Stadia and locations

Personnel and kits

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

eligibility rules. Players and Managers may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Managerial changes

League table

Positions by round

Results

Season statistics

Top goalscorers

*Last updated: 13 May 2012, 00:25 UTC

Assists table

*Last updated: 7 May 2012, 12:48 UTC

Hat-tricks

Awards

Monthly awards

SJPF Player of the Month The SJPF Player of the Month (often called Portuguese League Player of the Month) is an association football award that recognizes the best Primeira Liga, Portuguese League player each month of the season and is conceived by the SJPF (syndicate of ...

SJPF Young Player of the Month The SJPF Young Player of the Month (often called Portuguese League Young Player of the Month) is an association football award that recognizes the best Portuguese League young player each month of the season and is conceived by the SJPF (syndicat ...

Annual awards

Portuguese Golden Ball

The

Portuguese Golden Ball The Portuguese Golden Ball (known in Portuguese as ''A Bola de Ouro'') is an annual award given, by Portuguese newspaper ''A Bola'', to the player who is adjudged to have been the best of the year in the Primeira Liga. The first winner of the award ...

was given to

James Rodríguez James David Rodríguez Rubio (born 12 July 1991) is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or a winger for Super League Greece club Olympiacos and the Colombia national team. He has been praised in the past ...

, the youngest player (21) to ever receive the award.FIFA.com
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LPFP Primeira Liga Player of the Year

The LPFP Primeira Liga Player of the Year was awarded to

Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk' ...

. He became the first player to win the award twice.

LPFP Primeira Liga Breakthrough Player of the Year

The LPFP Primeira Liga Breakthrough Player of the Year was awarded to

LPFP Primeira Liga Goalkeeper of the Year

The LPFP Primeira Liga Goalkeeper of the Year was awarded to

Rui Patrício Rui Pedro dos Santos Patrício (; born 15 February 1988) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Serie A team Roma and the Portugal national team. He is often nicknamed "São Patrício" (''Saint Patrício'') for ...

LPFP Primeira Liga Manager of the Year

The LPFP Primeira Liga Coach of the Year was awarded to Vítor Pereira.

LPFP Primeira Liga Fairplay Award

The LPFP Primeira Liga Fairplay Award was awarded to

Rio Ave Rio Ave Futebol Clube, commonly known as Rio Ave (), is a Football in Portugal, Portuguese professional Association football, football club based in Vila do Conde, that competes in the Primeira Liga. The club is named after the Ave River, which ...

Transfers

Notes

* Baba moved to

Sevilla Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Gua ...

during the winter transfer window.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2011-12 Primeira Liga Primeira Liga seasons

Port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...