| Season | 2011–12 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 20 August 2011 – 12 May 2012 |
| Champions | Ironi Kiryat Shmona 1st Premier League title 1stIsrael title overall |
| Relegated | Maccabi Petah Tikva Hapoel Rishon LeZion Hapoel Petah Tikva |
| Champions League | Ironi Kiryat Shmona |
| Europa League | Hapoel Tel Aviv Bnei Yehuda Maccabi Netanya |
| Matches | 296 |
| Goals | 749 (2.53 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Achmad Saba'a (20) |
| Average attendance | 3,667[1] |
2012–13 → | |
The2011–12 Israeli Premier League was the thirteenth season since its introduction in 1999 and the 70th season of top-tier football inIsrael. It began on 20 August 2011 and ended on 12 May 2012.[2]Maccabi Haifa were the defending champions.
Ironi Kiryat Shmona secured the title with a 0–0 draw againstHapoel Tel Aviv on 2 April 2012. This was their first Israeli league title, This draw gave Ironi Kiryat Shmona a 16-point advantage over the second-place team Hapoel Tel Aviv with five more rounds to go.
There was three structural changes:[3][4]
A total of sixteen teams are competing in the league, including fourteen sides from the2010–11 season and two promoted teams from the2010–11 Liga Leumit.
Hapoel Ashkelon andHapoel Ramat Gan were directly relegated to the2011–12 Liga Leumit after finishing the2010–11 season in the bottom two places.
Two teams were directly promoted from the2010–11 Liga Leumit. These were championsIroni Ramat HaSharon and the runners-upHapoel Rishon LeZion.
^A WhileTeddy Stadium was in renovation.Beitar Jerusalem hosted their home games in alternative stadia until the stadium was completed on 20 November 2011. Beitar chose to host its games inRamat Gan Stadium.[5]
^BHapoel Acre played their first home game at theIlut Stadium while their stadium was under construction.
^C ThePetah Tikva Municipal Stadium was demolished.Hapoel andMaccabi Petah Tikva hosted their home games in alternative stadia until the newPetah Tikva Stadium was fully constructed in December 2011. Both Hapoel and Maccabi hosted its games inRamat Gan Stadium.[6]
^DIroni Ramat HaSharon played their home games at theWinter Stadium until March 2012 while their stadium was under construction.
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment | Table |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maccabi Petah Tikva | End of contract | 8 May 2011[7] | 7th (10–11) | 28 May 2011[8] | Pre-Season | ||
| Hapoel Tel Aviv | End of contract | 25 May 2011[9] | 2nd (10–11) | 4 June 2011[10] | Pre-Season | ||
| Bnei Yehuda | End of contract | 4 June 2011[10] | 4th (10–11) | 14 June 2011[11] | Pre-Season | ||
| Beitar Jerusalem | Resigned | 10 June 2011[12] | 11th (10–11) | 10 June 2011[12] | Pre-Season | ||
| Beitar Jerusalem | Resigned | 15 August 2011[13] | Pre-Season | 17 August 2011[14] | Pre-Season | ||
| Hapoel Petah Tikva | Resigned | 16 August 2011[15] | 14th (10–11) | 17 August 2011[16] | Pre-Season | ||
| Hapoel Be'er Sheva | Resigned | 1 October 2011[17] | 14th | 3 October 2011[18] | 14th | ||
| Maccabi Petah Tikva | Resigned | 15 October 2011[19] | 9th | 18 October 2011[20] | 11th | ||
| Ironi Ramat HaSharon | Sacked | 13 November 2011[21] | 9th | 13 November 2011[21] | 9th | ||
| Hapoel Haifa | Resigned | 26 November 2011[22] | 14th | 27 November 2011[23] | 14th | ||
| Ironi Ramat HaSharon | End of caretaker spell | 5 December 2011[24] | 4th | 5 December 2011[24] | 4th | ||
| Maccabi Tel Aviv | Sacked | 5 December 2011[25] | 9th | 6 December 2011[26][27] | 9th | ||
| Hapoel Tel Aviv | Sacked | 9 January 2012[28] | 3rd | 9 January 2012[28] | 3rd | ||
| Hapoel Tel Aviv | End of caretaker spell | 11 January 2012[29] | 3rd | 11 January 2012[29] | 3rd | ||
| Maccabi Petah Tikva | Resigned | 21 January 2012[30] | 12th | 22 January 2012[31] | 12th | ||
| Hapoel Rishon LeZion | Sacked | 29 January 2012[32] | 15th | 30 January 2012[33] | 15th | ||
| Beitar Jerusalem | Resigned | 8 February 2012[34] | 12th | 9 February 2012[35] | 12th | ||
| Beitar Jerusalem | End of caretaker spell | 13 February 2012[36] | 12th | 13 February 2012[36] | 12th |
^E Gili Landau refused to reduce his salary and was resigned, he was appointed the following day after his salary was intact.
^F Nir Levine was acted as caretaker manager for a month until his appointment as manager on 9 January 2012.
^G Ron Tziblin acted as caretaker manager only once, in the club Toto Cup Al semi-finals against Maccabi Petah Tikva.
In Italic: Players that left the club mid-season
The following do not fill a Visa position:
1Players who were born and started their professional career abroad but have since gained an Israeli passport or permanent residency, allowing them to play with Israeli status;
2Players who were born and started their professional career abroad but are eligible for Israeli citizenship due to Jewish ancestry;
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ironi Kiryat Shmona | 30 | 19 | 9 | 2 | 42 | 15 | +27 | 66 | Qualification for thechampionship round |
| 2 | Hapoel Tel Aviv[a] | 30 | 14 | 10 | 6 | 53 | 27 | +26 | 49 | |
| 3 | Bnei Sakhnin[b] | 30 | 14 | 7 | 9 | 49 | 35 | +14 | 47 | |
| 4 | F.C. Ironi Ashdod | 30 | 12 | 11 | 7 | 39 | 33 | +6 | 47 | |
| 5 | Maccabi Netanya | 30 | 13 | 8 | 9 | 44 | 40 | +4 | 47 | |
| 6 | Maccabi Haifa | 30 | 12 | 9 | 9 | 46 | 39 | +7 | 45 | |
| 7 | Maccabi Tel Aviv | 30 | 13 | 5 | 12 | 41 | 32 | +9 | 44 | |
| 8 | Bnei Yehuda | 30 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 38 | 27 | +11 | 43 | |
| 9 | Hapoel Acre | 30 | 10 | 8 | 12 | 41 | 37 | +4 | 38 | Qualification for therelegation round |
| 10 | Ironi Nir Ramat HaSharon | 30 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 29 | 38 | −9 | 37 | |
| 11 | Beitar Jerusalem[c] | 30 | 10 | 6 | 14 | 22 | 39 | −17 | 34 | |
| 12 | Hapoel Haifa | 30 | 8 | 8 | 14 | 33 | 38 | −5 | 32 | |
| 13 | Hapoel Be'er Sheva | 30 | 9 | 5 | 16 | 33 | 54 | −21 | 32 | |
| 14 | Maccabi Petah Tikva | 30 | 7 | 9 | 14 | 31 | 50 | −19 | 30 | |
| 15 | Hapoel Rishon LeZion | 30 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 34 | 54 | −20 | 27 | |
| 16 | Hapoel Petah Tikva[d] | 30 | 6 | 10 | 14 | 28 | 45 | −17 | 19 |
| Home \ Away | BEI | BnY | BnS | ASH | HAC | HBS | HHA | HPT | HRL | HTA | IKS | IRH | MHA | MNE | MPT | MTA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beitar Jerusalem | — | 2–1 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–4 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| Bnei Yehuda | 3–0 | — | 1–1 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 5–1 | 1–0 | 5–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 0–0 |
| Bnei Sakhnin | 3–0 | 2–2 | — | 1–2 | 2–1 | 4–3 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–3 |
| F.C. Ironi Ashdod | 3–0 | 0–0 | 3–3 | — | 1–1 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 2–1 |
| Hapoel Acre | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | — | 2–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 3–0 |
| Hapoel Be'er Sheva | 0–1 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | — | 2–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–4 |
| Hapoel Haifa | 3–0 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 2–4 | 0–2 | — | 2–2 | 3–2 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 |
| Hapoel Petah Tikva | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | — | 0–1 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 1–3 |
| Hapoel Rishon LeZion | 2–0 | 0–1 | 4–2 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | — | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 0–2 |
| Hapoel Tel Aviv | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 5–0 | 6–0 | — | 2–2 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 7–3 | 4–1 | 0–1 |
| Ironi Kiryat Shmona | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | — | 4–0 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 2–1 |
| Ironi Nir Ramat HaSharon | 2–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | — | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 3–1 |
| Maccabi Haifa | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–4 | 0–3 | 5–0 | — | 2–1 | 4–1 | 2–1 |
| Maccabi Netanya | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 6–2 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–4 | — | 0–1 | 3–0 |
| Maccabi Petah Tikva | 2–3 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 2–3 | 0–4 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 2–3 | 1–4 | 0–1 | — | 2–1 |
| Maccabi Tel Aviv | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | — |
Key numbers for pairing determination (number marksposition after 30 games):
| Rounds | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31st | 32nd | 33rd | 34th | 35th | 36th | 37th |
| 1 – 8 2 – 7 3 – 6 4 – 5 | 1 – 2 6 – 4 7 – 3 8 – 5 | 2 – 8 3 – 1 4 – 7 5 – 6 | 1 – 4 2 – 3 7 – 5 8 – 6 | 3 – 8 4 – 2 5 – 1 6 – 7 | 1 – 6 2 – 5 3 – 4 8 – 7 | 4 – 8 5 – 3 6 – 2 7 – 1 |
| 9 – 16 10 – 15 11 – 14 12 – 13 | 9 – 10 14 – 12 15 – 11 16 – 13 | 10 – 16 11 – 9 12 – 15 13 – 14 | 9 – 12 10 – 11 15 – 13 16 – 14 | 11 – 16 12 – 10 13 – 9 14 – 15 | 9 – 14 10 – 13 11 – 12 16 – 15 | 12 – 16 13 – 11 14 – 10 15 – 9 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ironi Kiryat Shmona(C) | 37 | 21 | 10 | 6 | 48 | 26 | +22 | 73 | Qualification for theChampions League second qualifying round |
| 2 | Hapoel Tel Aviv[a] | 37 | 16 | 14 | 7 | 63 | 35 | +28 | 59 | Qualification for theEuropa League play-off round[b] |
| 3 | Bnei Yehuda | 37 | 16 | 11 | 10 | 53 | 36 | +17 | 59 | Qualification for theEuropa League second qualifying round[b] |
| 4 | Maccabi Netanya | 37 | 17 | 8 | 12 | 54 | 48 | +6 | 59 | |
| 5 | Maccabi Haifa | 37 | 16 | 10 | 11 | 56 | 44 | +12 | 58 | |
| 6 | Maccabi Tel Aviv | 37 | 16 | 7 | 14 | 55 | 43 | +12 | 55 | |
| 7 | F.C. Ironi Ashdod | 37 | 14 | 12 | 11 | 44 | 44 | 0 | 54 | |
| 8 | Bnei Sakhnin[c] | 37 | 15 | 7 | 15 | 60 | 53 | +7 | 50 |
| Home \ Away | BnY | BnS | ASH | HTA | IKS | MHA | MNE | MTA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bnei Yehuda | — | — | — | — | — | 2–1 | 1–0 | 4–3 |
| Bnei Sakhnin | 0–3 | — | 1–2 | — | 5–0 | 0–2 | — | — |
| F.C. Ironi Ashdod | 2–1 | — | — | 0–2 | — | — | 0–2 | 1–1 |
| Hapoel Tel Aviv | 3–3 | 3–1 | — | — | — | — | 1–3 | 0–0 |
| Ironi Kiryat Shmona | 0–1 | — | 1–0 | 0–0 | — | 0–1 | — | — |
| Maccabi Haifa | — | — | 3–0 | 1–1 | — | — | — | 2–1 |
| Maccabi Netanya | — | 3–2 | — | — | 1–3 | 1–0 | — | — |
| Maccabi Tel Aviv | — | 5–2 | — | — | 3–2 | — | 1–0 | — |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Beitar Jerusalem[a] | 37 | 15 | 7 | 15 | 32 | 44 | −12 | 50 | |
| 10 | Hapoel Acre | 37 | 13 | 9 | 15 | 51 | 45 | +6 | 48 | |
| 11 | Ironi Nir Ramat HaSharon | 37 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 37 | 45 | −8 | 46 | |
| 12 | Hapoel Haifa | 37 | 11 | 11 | 15 | 41 | 43 | −2 | 44 | |
| 13 | Hapoel Be'er Sheva | 37 | 12 | 7 | 18 | 41 | 61 | −20 | 43 | |
| 14 | Maccabi Petah Tikva[b](R) | 37 | 11 | 10 | 16 | 39 | 57 | −18 | 40 | Relegation toLiga Leumit |
| 15 | Hapoel Rishon LeZion(R) | 37 | 6 | 9 | 22 | 39 | 70 | −31 | 27 | |
| 16 | Hapoel Petah Tikva[c](R) | 37 | 8 | 11 | 18 | 36 | 55 | −19 | 26 |
| Home \ Away | BEI | HAC | HBS | HHA | HPT | HRL | IRH | MPT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beitar Jerusalem | — | 1–0 | — | 0–0 | 2–0 | — | — | 3–1 |
| Hapoel Acre | — | — | — | 0–0 | 2–3 | — | 2–0 | 1–2 |
| Hapoel Be'er Sheva | 3–1 | 1–3 | — | — | — | — | — | 1–0 |
| Hapoel Haifa | — | — | 2–1 | — | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | — |
| Hapoel Petah Tikva | — | — | 1–1 | — | — | 2–0 | — | 0–1 |
| Hapoel Rishon LeZion | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Ironi Nir Ramat HaSharon | 0–1 | — | 0–0 | — | 2–1 | 5–2 | — | — |
| Maccabi Petah Tikva | — | — | — | 2–1 | — | 2–1 | 0–0 | — |
| Rank | Scorer | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maccabi Netanya | 20 | |
| 2 | Hapoel Tel Aviv | 17 | |
| 3 | Bnei Yehuda | 16 | |
| 4 | Bnei Sakhnin | 14 | |
| Maccabi Haifa | 14 | ||
| 6 | Ironi Kiryat Shmona /Hapoel Haifa | 13 | |
| Ironi Kiryat Shmona | 13 | ||
| Hapoel Tel Aviv | 13 | ||
| Bnei Sakhnin | 13 | ||
| Maccabi Tel Aviv | 13 | ||
| Total | 749 | ||
| Average per game | 2.53 | ||