2012–13 Ligue 1


The 2012–13 Ligue 1 was the 75th season since its establishment. Montpellier were the defending champions. The league schedule was announced in April 2012 and the fixtures were determined on 30 May. The season began on 10 August and ended on 26 May 2013. A winter break was in effect from 24 December to 12 January 2013.
The season marked the 80th anniversary of professional football in France. In addition, German sportswear company Adidas became the official provider of match balls for the season after agreeing to a long-term partnership with the Ligue de Football Professionnel. To commemorate the 80th anniversary, adidas unveiled an exclusive ball, known as Le 80, for the new season.
Since France dropped from fifth to sixth place in the UEFA association coefficient rankings at the end of the 2011–12 season, the league's third place team, Lyon qualified for the third qualifying round of the 2013–14 UEFA Champions League, having previously been placed in the playoff round.
On 12 May, Paris Saint-Germain won the league title after a 1–0 away win against Lyon.

Teams

There were three promoted teams from Ligue 2, replacing the three teams that were relegated from Ligue 1 following the 2011–12 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.
Bastia became the first club to achieve promotion to Ligue 1. The club clinched the second division title on 1 May 2012 with three matches to spare after defeating Metz 3–0 at the Stade Armand Cesari. Bastia is making its return to the first division after a seven-year absence and is entering Ligue 1 on a run of two consecutive promotions. The club had earned promotion to Ligue 2 after winning the 2010–11 edition of the Championnat National.
Reims and Troyes became the second and third clubs, respectively, to earn promotion to Ligue 1 alongside the champions Bastia. Both clubs achieved promotion with one game to spare following league victories on 11 May 2012, which positioned each club in second and third place permanently. Reims, which is a six-time Ligue 1 champion, is returning to the first division after over 33 years playing in the lower divisions. During those 33 years, the club underwent liquidation and had all aspects of the club auctioned off. Troyes is returning to Ligue 1 after spending four years playing in Ligue 2. During its five-year spell outside the first division, Troyes also played in the Championnat National, the third level of French football.

Stadia and locations

ClubLocationVenueCapacityAv. Att.
AjaccioStade François Coty10,6607,060
BastiaStade Armand Cesari16,48013,619
BordeauxStade Chaban-Delmas34,46219,683
BrestStade Francis-Le Blé15,93111,936
AnnecyParc des Sports15,6609,697
Villeneuve-d'AscqGrand Stade Lille Métropole50,18640,326
LorientStade du Moustoir18,89014,784
LyonStade de Gerland41,84229,210
MarseilleStade Velodrome142,00034,083
MontpellierStade de la Mosson32,93918,141
TomblaineStade Marcel Picot20,08515,098
NiceStade du Ray17,4159,590
ParisParc des Princes48,71242,289
ReimsStade Auguste-Delaune II21,68414,696
RennesStade de la Route de Lorient31,12717,185
Saint-ÉtienneStade Geoffroy-Guichard226,74722,554
MontbéliardStade Auguste Bonal20,00512,163
ToulouseStadium Municipal35,47018,140
TroyesStade de l'Aube21,87712,833
ValenciennesStade du Hainaut24,92615,513

Personnel and kits

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players and managers may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
TeamManagerCaptainKit ManufacturerShirt sponsors Shirt sponsors Shirt sponsors Shorts sponsors
Ajacciosortname|Albert|Emon

League table


Season statistics

Top goalscorers

Source:

Scoring

  • First goal of the season: Souleymane Camara for Montpellier against Toulouse
  • Fastest goal of the season: 27 seconds – Zlatan Ibrahimović for Paris Saint-Germain against Lille
  • Latest goal of the season: 90+5 minutes – Ilan for Bastia against Reims
  • Largest winning margin: 5 goals
  • * Valenciennes 6–1 Lorient
  • * Nice 5–0 Valenciennes
  • * Lille 5–0 Lorient
  • Highest scoring game: 8 goals
  • * Lorient 4–4 Ajaccio
  • Most goals scored in a match by a single team: 6 goals
  • * Valenciennes 6–1 Lorient
  • Most goals scored in a match by a losing team: 3 goals
  • * Valenciennes 3–4 Bastia
  • * Toulouse 3–4 Nice

Clean sheets

Discipline

Awards

AwardWinnerClub
Player of the Season