| Season | 2011–12 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 5 August 2011 – 5 May 2012 |
| Champions | Borussia Dortmund 5th Bundesliga title 8thGerman title |
| Relegated | Hertha BSC (via play-off) 1. FC Köln 1. FC Kaiserslautern |
| Champions League | Borussia Dortmund Bayern Munich Schalke 04 Bor. Mönchengladbach |
| Europa League | Bayer Leverkusen VfB Stuttgart Hannover 96 |
| Matches | 306 |
| Goals | 875 (2.86 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (29 goals) |
| Biggest home win | Bayern Munich 7–0Freiburg |
| Biggest away win | Hertha BSC 0–6Bayern Munich |
| Highest scoring | Werder Bremen 5–3Freiburg Bayern Munich 7–1Hoffenheim B. Dortmund 4–4VfB Stuttgart |
| Longest winning run | 8 matches Borussia Dortmund[1] |
| Longest unbeaten run | 28 matches by Borussia Dortmund[1] |
| Longest winless run | 21 matches by 1. FC Kaiserslautern[1] |
| Longest losing run | 6 matches by Hertha BSC 1. FC Kaiserslautern[1] |
| Average attendance | 45,116[2] |
2012–13 → | |
The2011–12 Bundesliga was the 49th season of theBundesliga, Germany's premierfootball league. The season started on 5 August 2011 with the opening match involving defending championsBorussia Dortmund and ended with the last games on 5 May 2012. The traditional winter break was held between the weekends around 17 December 2011 and 20 January 2012.[3]
The league comprised eighteen teams: The best fifteen teams of the2010–11 season, the best two teams from the2010–11 2. Bundesliga, and the winners of therelegation play-off between the 16th-placed Bundesliga team and the third-placed 2. Bundesliga team.
Since Germany climbed from fourth to third place in theUEFA association coefficient rankings at the end of the 2010–11 season,[4][5][6] the league gained an additional group stage berth for theUEFA Champions League.
The league comprised eighteen teams:Eintracht Frankfurt andFC St. Pauli were directly relegated after finishing the2010–11 season in the bottom two places. Frankfurt ended a six-year tenure in the Bundesliga, while St. Pauli only made a cameo one-year appearance in the top flight and directly returned to the second level.
The relegated teams were replaced byHertha BSC, champions of the2010–11 2. Bundesliga, and runners-upFC Augsburg. The Bavarian side made their debut at the highest level of football in Germany, while Hertha directly returned to the Bundesliga after just one year at the second tier.
A further place in the league was decided through a two-legged play-off betweenBorussia Mönchengladbach, the 16th-placed team of the 2010–11 Bundesliga, andVfL Bochum, the third-placed 2. Bundesliga team. Mönchengladbach won the series 2–1 on aggregate and therefore retained its Bundesliga spot.
The most prominent change regarding stadiums occurred at Mainz, whereFSV Mainz 05 moved fromStadion am Bruchweg into their newly builtCoface Arena.[7] Other changes included the completion of works atMercedes-Benz Arena, which was converted to a football-only stadium during the 2009–10 and 2010–11 seasons, and the renaming ofImpuls Arena, the ground of promoted teamFC Augsburg, toSGL Arena effective from the beginning of the season afterSGL Carbon acquired the naming rights for the structure in May 2011.[8]
In addition to the individual sponsorships of each club listed below, all teams used a league-wide ball named "Torfabrik" (goal factory), provided by Adidas; the ball was updated to a new design for the 2011–12 season.[9]
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bayer Leverkusen | End of contract | 30 June 2011[16] | Off-season | 1 July 2011[17] | ||
| Bayern Munich | End of tenure as caretaker | 30 June 2011[18] | 1 July 2011[16] | |||
| SC Freiburg | Bayer Leverkusen purchased rights | 30 June 2011[17] | 1 July 2011[19] | |||
| 1899 Hoffenheim | Mutual consent | 30 June 2011[20] | 1 July 2011[21] | |||
| 1. FC Köln | End of tenure as caretaker | 30 June 2011[22] | 1 July 2011[22] | |||
| Hamburger SV | Sacked | 19 September 2011[23] | 18th | 19 September 2011[23] | ||
| FC Schalke 04 | Resigned | 22 September 2011[24] | 9th | 27 September 2011[25] | ||
| Hamburger SV | End of tenure as caretaker | 10 October 2011[26] | 18th | 13 October 2011[26] | ||
| Hertha BSC | Sacked | 18 December 2011[27] | 11th | 22 December 2011[28] | ||
| SC Freiburg | Sacked | 29 December 2011[29] | 18th | 29 December 2011[29] | ||
| 1899 Hoffenheim | Sacked | 9 February 2012[30] | 8th | 10 February 2012[31] | ||
| Hertha BSC | Sacked | 12 February 2012[32] | 15th | 18 February 2012[33] | ||
| 1. FC Kaiserslautern | Sacked | 20 March 2012[34] | 18th | 22 March 2012[35] | ||
| Bayer Leverkusen | Sacked | 1 April 2012[36] | 6th | 1 April 2012[36] | ||
| 1. FC Köln | Sacked | 12 April 2012[37] | 16th | 12 April 2012[37] |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Borussia Dortmund(C) | 34 | 25 | 6 | 3 | 80 | 25 | +55 | 81 | Qualification toChampions League group stage |
| 2 | Bayern Munich | 34 | 23 | 4 | 7 | 77 | 22 | +55 | 73 | |
| 3 | Schalke 04 | 34 | 20 | 4 | 10 | 74 | 44 | +30 | 64 | |
| 4 | Borussia Mönchengladbach | 34 | 17 | 9 | 8 | 49 | 24 | +25 | 60 | Qualification toChampions League play-off round |
| 5 | Bayer Leverkusen | 34 | 15 | 9 | 10 | 52 | 44 | +8 | 54 | Qualification toEuropa League group stage[a] |
| 6 | VfB Stuttgart | 34 | 15 | 8 | 11 | 63 | 46 | +17 | 53 | Qualification toEuropa League play-off round[a] |
| 7 | Hannover 96 | 34 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 41 | 45 | −4 | 48 | Qualification toEuropa League third qualifying round[a] |
| 8 | VfL Wolfsburg | 34 | 13 | 5 | 16 | 47 | 60 | −13 | 44 | |
| 9 | Werder Bremen | 34 | 11 | 9 | 14 | 49 | 58 | −9 | 42 | |
| 10 | 1. FC Nürnberg | 34 | 12 | 6 | 16 | 38 | 49 | −11 | 42 | |
| 11 | 1899 Hoffenheim | 34 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 41 | 47 | −6 | 41 | |
| 12 | SC Freiburg | 34 | 10 | 10 | 14 | 45 | 61 | −16 | 40 | |
| 13 | FSV Mainz 05 | 34 | 9 | 12 | 13 | 47 | 51 | −4 | 39 | |
| 14 | FC Augsburg | 34 | 8 | 14 | 12 | 36 | 49 | −13 | 38 | |
| 15 | Hamburger SV | 34 | 8 | 12 | 14 | 35 | 57 | −22 | 36 | |
| 16 | Hertha BSC(R) | 34 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 38 | 64 | −26 | 31 | Qualification torelegation play-offs |
| 17 | 1. FC Köln(R) | 34 | 8 | 6 | 20 | 39 | 75 | −36 | 30 | Relegation to2. Bundesliga |
| 18 | 1. FC Kaiserslautern(R) | 34 | 4 | 11 | 19 | 24 | 54 | −30 | 23 |
| Home \ Away | FCA | BSC | SVW | BVB | SCF | HSV | H96 | TSG | FCK | KOE | B04 | M05 | BMG | FCB | FCN | S04 | VFB | WOB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FC Augsburg | — | 3–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–4 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–0 |
| Hertha BSC | 2–2 | — | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 3–3 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–6 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–4 |
| Werder Bremen | 1–1 | 2–1 | — | 0–2 | 5–3 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 2–0 | 4–1 |
| Borussia Dortmund | 4–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | — | 4–0 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 5–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 4–4 | 5–1 |
| SC Freiburg | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–4 | — | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 3–0 |
| Hamburger SV | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 1–5 | 1–3 | — | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–4 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 0–4 | 1–1 |
| Hannover 96 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | — | 2–1 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 4–2 | 2–0 |
| 1899 Hoffenheim | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 0–0 | — | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 3–1 |
| 1. FC Kaiserslautern | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–5 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | — | 0–1 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 0–2 | 1–4 | 0–2 | 0–0 |
| 1. FC Köln | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–6 | 4–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | — | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 1–4 | 1–2 | 1–4 | 1–1 | 0–3 |
| Bayer Leverkusen | 4–1 | 3–3 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–4 | — | 3–2 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 |
| Mainz 05 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 4–0 | 4–0 | 2–0 | — | 0–3 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 2–4 | 3–1 | 0–0 |
| Borussia Mönchengladbach | 0–0 | 0–0 | 5–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | — | 3–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 4–1 |
| Bayern Munich | 2–1 | 4–0 | 4–1 | 0–1 | 7–0 | 5–0 | 2–1 | 7–1 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | — | 4–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 |
| 1. FC Nürnberg | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–4 | 3–3 | 1–0 | 0–1 | — | 4–1 | 2–2 | 1–3 |
| Schalke 04 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 5–0 | 1–2 | 4–2 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 5–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 4–0 | — | 3–1 | 4–0 |
| VfB Stuttgart | 2–1 | 5–0 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 4–1 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 3–0 | — | 3–2 |
| VfL Wolfsburg | 1–2 | 2–3 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | — |
Hertha BSC as 16th-placed team faced third-placed2011–12 2. Bundesliga sideFortuna Düsseldorf in a two-legged play-off. Fortuna Düsseldorf won 4–3 on aggregate and thus were promoted for the2012–13 Bundesliga season. Hertha BSC were relegated to the2012–13 2. Bundesliga.
Following the second leg, which was marred by several incidents of crowd disturbances, Hertha appealed the result.[38] On 21 May theDFB Sports Court rejected this appeal, having considered that these crowd disturbances did not psychologically impinge the Hertha players and that the referee's handling of the situation was sound. However, Hertha appealed again, this time to the Federal Court of the German FA.[39] On 25 May, the Federal Court of the German FA also rejected the appeal.[40] On 19 June, Hertha BSC decided not to appeal the decision, marking their immediate return to the 2. Bundesliga.[41]
| Hertha BSC | 1–2 | Fortuna Düsseldorf |
|---|---|---|
| Hubník | Report | Bröker Ramos |
| Fortuna Düsseldorf | 2–2 | Hertha BSC |
|---|---|---|
| Beister Jovanović | Report | Ben-Hatira Raffael |