The 2011–12 Ligue 1 season was the 74th since its establishment.

Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Pref ...

were the defending champions. The league schedule was announced on 31 March 2011 and the fixtures were determined on 10 June. The season began on 6 August 2011 and ended on 20 May 2012. The winter break was in effect from 22 December 2011 to 14 January 2012. On 20 May 2012, the final day of the league season,

Montpellier Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of ...

clinched its first-ever league title after defeating

Auxerre Auxerre ( , ) is the capital of the Yonne department and the fourth-largest city in Burgundy. Auxerre's population today is about 35,000; the urban area (''aire d'attraction'') comprises roughly 113,000 inhabitants. Residents of Auxerre are r ...

2–1 at the

Stade de l'Abbé-Deschamps The Stade Abbé-Deschamps is the home of AJ Auxerre football club in Auxerre, France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas reg ...

. Montpellier was the fifth different club to win Ligue 1 since the 2006–07 season and qualified for the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

for the first time in its history.

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain, Paris, Paris SG or simply PSG is a professional football club based in Paris, France. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. As Fr ...

and

were the country's other Champions League participants, while

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

, and

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

represented France in the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

. Lyon did not participate in

UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...

's top football club competition for the first time in 12 years.

Dijon Dijon (, , ) (dated) * it, Digione * la, Diviō or * lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920. The earlies ...

, and

Caen Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by Balkrishna Industries, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions ...

. Auxerre returned to the second division after 32 consecutive years playing in Ligue 1. Prior to the 2011–12 season, the club had never suffered relegation from the country's top division. Dijon returned to the second division after only one season in

Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. A ...

, while Caen fell to the second tier after two years in the first division.

Teams

There were three promoted teams from

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by Balkrishna Industries, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions ...

, replacing the three teams that were relegated from Ligue 1 following the 2010–11 season. A total of 20 teams competed in the league with three clubs suffering relegation to the second division, Ligue 2. All clubs that secured Ligue 1 status for the season were subject to approval by the DNCG before becoming eligible to participate.The DNCG is responsible for overseeing the legal and financial accounts of professional football clubs in France. If clubs operating in

French football Association football is the most popular sport in France. The French Football Federation (FFF, Fédération Française de Football) is the national governing body and is responsible for overseeing all aspects of association football in the cou ...

don't meet the DNCG's expectations, they can face sanctions, such as relegation. Arles-Avignon was the first club to suffer relegation from the first division to Ligue 2. The club's impending drop occurred on 17 April 2011 following the team's 2–0 defeat to

AS Monaco Association Sportive de Monaco Football Club SA, commonly referred to as AS Monaco () or Monaco, is a professional football club based in Monaco that is member of French Football Federation (FFF) and competes in Ligue 1, the top tier of Fre ...

. The negative result made it mathematically impossible for Arles to seize the 17th position in the table, which would have allowed the club to remain in Ligue 1. Arles-Avignon made its return to Ligue 2 after only a year's spell in the top division of French football. On 15 May,

Lens A lens is a transmissive optical device which focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements''), ...

were relegated from the first division to Ligue 2 after its 1–1 draw with Monaco. Lens returned to Ligue 2 for the first time since the 2008–09 season when the club finished as champions of the league. On the final day of the Ligue 1 season, Monaco suffered relegation to the second division after losing 2–0 to

. The club's appearance in Ligue 2 was its first since 1976.

Evian Evian ( , ; , stylized as evian) is a French company that bottles and commercialises mineral water from several sources near Évian-les-Bains, on the south shore of Lake Geneva. It produces over 2 billion plastic bottles per year. Today, Evia ...

became the first club from Ligue 2 to achieve promotion to Ligue 1 after its 2–1 victory over

Reims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by ...

on 20 May 2011. Evian made its debut in the first division and, similar to Arles-Avignon the previous season, the club's ascension to the first division is notable due in part to the fact that it has achieved successive promotions in four straight seasons. On the final day of the Ligue 2 season, both

and

Ajaccio Ajaccio (, , ; French: ; it, Aiaccio or ; co, Aiacciu , locally: ; la, Adiacium) is a French commune, prefecture of the department of Corse-du-Sud, and head office of the ''Collectivité territoriale de Corse'' (capital city of Corsica). ...

earned berths in the first division after posting positive results in their respective matches. Dijon was promoted despite losing on the match day and, similar to Évian, made its debut in the top division of French football. Ajaccio returned to Ligue 1 after five seasons in the second division.

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. ¹ Subject to change during the season.

Managerial changes

Ownership changes

League table

Results

Statistics

Top goalscorers

Last updated: 20 May 2012
Source
Official Goalscorers' Standings
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Hat-tricks

Scoring

*First goal of the season:

Anthony Mounier Anthony Mounier (born 27 September 1987) is a French professional footballer who plays as a left winger for Greek Super League 2 club Kallithea. Club career Olympique Lyonnais Born in Aubenas, France, Mounier began playing football when he was ...

for Nice against Lyon (''6 August 2011'') *Fastest goal of the season: 18 seconds –

Jaroslav Plašil Jaroslav Plašil (; born 5 January 1982) is a Czech former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He spent most of his career in France with Monaco and Bordeaux, making 411 Ligue 1 appearances. He played 367 total times for the la ...

for Bordeaux against Nancy (''4 December 2011'') *Latest goal of the season: 90+4 minutes –

François Clerc François Jacques Clerc (born 18 April 1983) is a French former professional footballer who played as a right back. Club career Born in Bourg-en-Bresse, Clerc joined Olympique Lyonnais at the age of 14. After spending his first years as a sen ...

for Nice against Lille (''21 December 2011'') *First own goal of the season:

Abdoulaye Bamba Abdoulaye Bamba (born 25 April 1990) is an Ivorian professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Ligue 1 cub Angers SCO and the Ivory Coast national team. Club career Youth Bamba began his career in Italy after moving to the country a ...

(Dijon) for Lyon (''10 September 2011'') *Widest winning margin: 5 goals **Paris Saint-Germain 6–1 Sochaux (''22 April 2012'') *Highest scoring game: 9 goals **Lille 4–5 Bordeaux *Most goals scored in a match by a single team: 6 goals **Sochaux 2–6 Rennes (''21 September 2011'') **Paris Saint-Germain 6–1 Sochaux (''22 April 2012'')

Discipline

*Worst overall disciplinary record (1 pt per yellow card, 3 pts per red card): 119 points **Ajaccio (92 yellow & 9 red cards) *Best overall disciplinary record: 66 points ** Sochaux (60 yellow & 2 red cards) *Most yellow cards (club): 92 **Ajaccio *Most yellow cards (player): 13 ** Mehdi Mostefa (Ajaccio) *Most red cards (club): 9 **Ajaccio *Most red cards (player): 3 **

Jean-Pascal Mignot Jean-Pascal Mignot (born 26 February 1981) is a French former professional footballer who played as defender. He made the international sporting headlines on 21 October 2010 when he was the first player in the history of the UEFA Champions Leag ...

(Saint-Étienne)

Awards

Monthly awards

Annual awards

UNFP Ligue 1 Player of the Year

The UNFP Ligue 1 Player of the Year was awarded to

Eden Hazard Eden Michael Walter Hazard (born 7 January 1991) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a winger or attacking midfielder for La Liga club Real Madrid. Known for his creativity, dribbling, passing and vision, Hazard is considered o ...

UNFP Young Player of the Year

The UNFP Young Player of the Year was awarded to Younès Belhanda.

UNFP Ligue 1 Goalkeeper of the Year

The UNFP Goalkeeper of the Year was awarded to

Hugo Lloris Hugo Hadrien Dominique Lloris (born 26 December 1986) is a French professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Tottenham Hotspur and the France national team. He is a three-time winner of the National Union of Professional Footbal ...

UNFP Team of the Year

Goalkeeper:

(Lyon)
Defence:

Mathieu Debuchy Mathieu Debuchy (born 28 July 1985) is a French professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Ligue 2 club Valenciennes. Debuchy started his senior career at Lille, where he won a Ligue 1 and Coupe de France double in the 2010–11 se ...

(Lille), Hilton (Montpellier),

Henri Bedimo Henri Bedimo Nsamé (born 4 June 1984) is a retired Cameroonian professional footballer who played as a left-back. He represented the Cameroon national team internationally from 2009 to 2016 making 51 appearances and scoring once. Club caree ...

(Montpellier), Nicolas N'Koulou (Marseille)
Midfield:

Rio Mavuba Rio Antonio Zoba Mavuba (born 8 March 1984) is a French former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He works as assistant manager at Bordeaux II. He spent most of his professional career with Bordeaux and Lille, winning the 201 ...

(Lille),

Étienne Capoue Étienne René Capoue (born 11 July 1988) is a French professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for La Liga club Villarreal. He is a French youth international, having earned caps at under-18, under-19, and under-21 level, ...

(Toulouse), Younès Belhanda (Montpellier),

(Lille)
Attack:

Olivier Giroud Olivier Jonathan Giroud (born 30 September 1986) is a French professional footballer who plays as a striker for club AC Milan and the France national team. Regarded for his work-rate, strength, acrobatic strikes, shot power, consistent goal-s ...

(Montpellier),

Nenê Nenê (; born Maybyner Rodney Hilário; September 13, 1982) is a Brazilian former professional basketball player. Known previously as Nenê Hilario, he legally changed his name to simply Nenê in 2003. Early life Born Maybyner Rodney Hilário i ...

(Paris Saint-Germain)

UNFP Ligue 1 Manager of the Year

The UNFP Manager of the Year was awarded to

René Girard René Noël Théophile Girard (; ; 25 December 1923 – 4 November 2015) was a French polymath, historian, literary critic, and philosopher of social science whose work belongs to the tradition of philosophical anthropology. Girard was the aut ...

of Montpellier.

Number of teams by region

List of 2011–12 transfers

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ligue 1, 2011-12 2011-12 1

Fra A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the ol ...