The 2011–12

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...

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 ended 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 Lionel Andrés Messi (; born 24 June 1987), also known as Leo Messi, is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Paris Saint-Germain and captains the Argentina national team. Widely regarded as one of the ...

score a record 50 league goals in 37 games. Behind Messi was Real Madrid's

Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward and captains the Portugal national team. He is currently a free agent. Widely regarded as one of the greatest p ...

, 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. The season was scheduled to start on 20 August 2011, but was delayed due to a strike called by the

Association of Spanish Footballers The Spanish Footballers' Association ( es, Asociación de Futbolistas Españoles, AFE) is the association for professional footballers in Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (m ...

(AFE).

Teams

Deportivo de La Coruña Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña (), commonly known as Deportivo La Coruña (), Deportivo or simply Dépor, is a professional football club based in the city of A Coruña, Galicia, Spain. They currently play in the Primera División RFEF – ...

, Hércules CF from

Alicante Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in t ...

and

UD Almería Unión Deportiva Almería, S.A.D. () is a Spanish professional football club based in Almería, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded on 26 July 1989 and known as ''Almería Club de Fútbol'' until 2001, when it was renamed ''Unión D ...

were relegated to the

2011–12 Segunda División The 2011–12 Segunda División season (known as the Liga Adelante for sponsorship reasons) was the 81st since its establishment. The first matches of the season were played on 26 August 2011 after the Association of Spanish Footballers (AFE) cal ...

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 The 2010–11 Segunda División season (known as the Liga Adelante for sponsorship reasons) was the 80th since its establishment. The first matches of the season were played on 27 August 2010, the regular league ended on 4 June 2011, and the seas ...

sides. Champions Betis, who terminated their second-level status after two years, runners-up

Rayo Vallecano Rayo Vallecano de Madrid, S.A.D. (), often abbreviated to Rayo (Spanish for "thunderbolt"), is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid, in the neighbourhood of Vallecas. Rayo was founded on 29 May 1924, and currently compete in La Li ...

, 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 Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

where

Granada CF Granada Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. (), known simply as Granada, is a Spanish football club based in the city of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, that plays in the Segunda División, after being relegated from La Liga in the 2021� ...

returned to the league for the first time in 35 years, having spent 26 of them in Segunda División B and

Tercera División Tercera División ( en, Third Division) was the fourth tier of the Spanish football league system. Founded in 1929, it was below the ''Primera División'' (also known as La Liga), the '' Segunda División'', and the semi-professional '' Segunda ...

Stadiums and locations

Personnel and sponsorship

As in the previous years,

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine give ...

provided the official ball for all matches, with a new T90 Seitiro model which was used throughout the season. # For 8 matches in round 20, 31–32, 34–38. # Only against Real Madrid match 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. # 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 sleeves.

Managerial changes

League table

Results

Awards

LaLiga Awards

La Liga's governing body, the

Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional The Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional (), also known as LaLiga (the abbreviation LFP was also used until the 2015-16 season), is a sports association responsible for administering the two professional football leagues in Spain, the Primera Div ...

, honoured the competition's best players and coach with the LaLiga Awards.

Top goalscorers

The

Pichichi Trophy In Spanish football, the Trofeo Pichichi is awarded by the sports newspaper '' Marca'' to the top goalscorer of each La Liga season. Named after the Athletic Bilbao striker Rafael "Pichichi" Moreno, the trophy has been awarded annually since the ...

is awarded by the newspaper '' Marca'' to the player who scores the most goals in a season. Source
Liga BBVA
/small>

Zamora Trophy

The

Zamora Trophy The Zamora Trophy ( es, Trofeo Ricardo Zamora, link=no) is a football award, established by Spanish newspaper '' MARCA'' in 1958. The award goes to the goalkeeper who has the lowest "goals-to-games" ratio.Similar to goals against average in ...

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.

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. Source: 2011–12 Fair Play Rankings Season Sources of cards and penalties
Referee's reportsCompetition Committee's SanctionsAppeal Committee Resolutions
an
RFEF's Directory about Fair Play Rankings
/small>

Pedro Zaballa award

Comité Técnico de Árbitros de Fútbol de Las Palmas

Scoring

*First goal of the season:

Imanol Agirretxe Imanol Agirretxe Arruti (born 24 February 1987) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a striker. Aside from a short loan spell at Castellón, his entire professional career was spent at Real Sociedad. At the latter club, he amassed c ...

for Real Sociedad against

Sporting de Gijón Real Sporting de Gijón, S.A.D. (), commonly known as Real Sporting, Sporting Gijón, or simply Sporting (although in an international context this can lead to confusion with Sporting Clube de Portugal) is a Spanish football club from Gijón, ...

(27 August 2011) *Last goal of the season:
Rovérsio for

Osasuna Club Atlético Osasuna (, ''Osasuna Athletic Club''), or simply Osasuna, is a Spanish professional football club in Pamplona, Navarre. Founded on 24 October 1920, the club currently plays in La Liga, holding home games at the 23,576-capacity El ...

against

Racing Santander Real Racing Club de Santander, S.A.D. (), also known as Racing de Santander () or simply Racing, is a football club based in Santander, Spain, Santander, Cantabria, Spain, that currently competes in Segunda División, the second tier of the Span ...

(13 May 2012)

Hat-tricks

⁴ Player scored four goals
(H) - Home ; (A) - Away

References

External links

LigaBBVA.comsportYou.esInside Spanish Football
{{DEFAULTSORT:La Liga, 2011-12 2011-12 1 Spa