2011–12 La Liga


The 2011–12 La Liga season was the 81st season of the top level Spanish association football competition. The campaign began on 27 August 2011, and concluded 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, most goals scored, best goal difference, most away wins, and most overall wins. This season also saw Lionel Messi score a record 50 league goals in 37 games. Behind Messi was Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo, 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.
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Teams

Deportivo de La Coruña, Hércules CF from Alicante and UD Almería were relegated to the 2011–12 Segunda División 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 sides. Champions Betis, who terminated their second-level status after two years, runners-up Rayo Vallecano, 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 where Granada CF returned to the league for the first time in 35 years, having spent 26 of them in Segunda División B and Tercera División.

Stadiums and locations

TeamClub home cityStadiumStadium capacity
Athletic BilbaoBilbaoSan Mamés39,750
Atlético MadridMadridVicente Calderón54,851
BarcelonaBarcelonaCamp Nou99,354
BetisSevilleBenito Villamarín52,745
EspanyolBarcelonaCornellà-El Prat40,500
GetafeGetafeColiseum Alfonso Pérez17,700
GranadaGranadaNuevo Los Cármenes22,524
LevanteValenciaCiutat de València25,534
MálagaMálagaLa Rosaleda28,963
MallorcaPalmaIberostar Stadium23,142
OsasunaPamplonaEl Sadar19,553
Racing SantanderSantanderEl Sardinero22,271
Rayo VallecanoMadridCampo de Vallecas15,489
Real MadridMadridSantiago Bernabéu85,454
Real SociedadSan SebastiánAnoeta32,076
SevillaSevilleRamón Sánchez Pizjuán45,500
Sporting de GijónGijónEl Molinón29,800
ValenciaValenciaMestalla55,000
VillarrealVila-realEl Madrigal25,000
ZaragozaZaragozaLa Romareda34,596

Personnel and sponsorship

As in the previous years, Nike provided the official ball for all matches, with a new T90 Seitiro model which was used throughout the season.
TeamHead coachCaptainKitmakerShirt sponsor
Athletic Bilbao

League table



Awards

La Liga Awards

La Liga's governing body, the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional, honoured the competition's best players and coach with the La Liga Awards.
AwardRecipient
Best Player

Top goalscorers

The Pichichi Trophy is awarded by the newspaper Marca to the player who scores the most goals in a season.
RankPlayerClubGoals
1

Top assists

  • Source:

Zamora Trophy

The Ricardo Zamora Trophy is awarded by newspaper Marca to the goalkeeper with the lowest ratio of goals conceded to matches played. A goalkeeper had to play at least 28 matches of 60 or more minutes to be eligible for the trophy.
RankPlayerClubGoals
against		MatchesAverage
1

Fair Play award

This award was 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.
RankClubMatches Total Points
1Barcelona387921–19––91
1Málaga387024––1 Mild29–91
3Villarreal388642–38,13,21––115
4Real Sociedad387363–224,293 Milds7,9,27–119
5Athletic Bilbao3810161–161 Mild20–126
6Real Madrid389132–415,25,29,291 Mild28–128
7Levante3812050––1 Mild35–135
8Racing Santander3811733–12––137
9Osasuna389842–420,27,31,341 Serious27–138
10Sporting Gijón3811750–1202 Milds15,20–142
11Rayo Vallecano3812512–1111 Mild5–143
12Mallorca3811824–1191 Mild30–144
13Atlético Madrid3813122––1 Mild33–146
14Real Betis3810434–1355 Milds1,5,14,18,36–152
14Valencia3812716–128––152
16Getafe3812044–33,15,23––155
17Sevilla3811263––5 Milds8,13,19,20,35–158
18Espanyol3813042–26, 171 Mild18–159
19Zaragoza3812653–226,321 Mild20–160
20Granada381074518372371 Very Serious13–165

Source: 2011–12 Fair Play Rankings Season
Sources of cards and penalties:,, and

Pedro Zaballa award

Comité Técnico de Árbitros de Fútbol de Las Palmas

Scoring

Imanol Agirretxe for Real Sociedad against Sporting de Gijón
  • Last goal of the season:
Rovérsio for Osasuna against Racing Santander

Hat-tricks

PlayerForAgainstResultDateReference