| Season | 2011–12 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Anderlecht 31st league title |
| Relegated | Sint-Truiden Westerlo |
| Champions League | Anderlecht Club Brugge |
| Europa League | Lokeren Genk Gent |
| Matches | 302 |
| Goals | 892 (2.95 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Jérémy Perbet (25 goals) |
| Biggest home win | Gent 6–0Sint-Truiden |
| Biggest away win | Kortrijk 0–4Gent,Genk 0–4Anderlecht |
| Highest scoring | Cercle Brugge 6–4OH Leuven |
| Longest winning run | 7 matches[1] Anderlecht |
| Longest unbeaten run | 16 matches[2] Anderlecht |
| Longest winless run | 13 matches[3] Zulte Waregem |
| Longest losing run | 6 matches[4] Sint-Truiden Westerlo |
2012–13 → | |
The2011–12 season of theBelgian Pro League (also known asJupiler Pro League for sponsorship reasons) was the 109th season of top-tier football inBelgium. It began on 29 July 2011 with the first match of the regular season and ended in May 2012 with the last matches of the playoff rounds. The defending champions wereGenk, who this time ended in third position, while the competition was won byAnderlecht, who clenched the title after a 1–1 draw againstClub Brugge with two games left to play in the Championship Playoff.
During theprevious season, on 23 April 2011,Charleroi were relegated as a result of a 2–2 draw at home toEupen in therelegation playoff, making it impossible to overtake them in the standings. This ended a spell of 26 consecutive seasons of being at the top level of Belgian football, with onlyAnderlecht,Club Brugge andStandard Liège being present for more years.[5] As winner of the relegation playoff,Eupen avoided direct relegation, but was still forced to play theSecond Division final round together with second division teamsLommel United,Waasland-Beveren andMons for the final spot in first division. However, after losing four matches in a row, Eupen was also relegated on 19 May 2011[6] after just one season at the top level. In the final match between Mons and Waasland-Beveren, Mons eventually came out as winner of the final round and took the place of Eupen.[7]
On 24 April 2011, just one day after the relegation of Charleroi,Oud-Heverlee Leuven was promoted after securing the title in theSecond Division and as a result, the city ofLeuven now has a first division team again for the first time in 61 years.[8]
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position | Replaced by | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gent | Mutual Consent | 17 May 2011[9] | Pre-season | 7 June 2011[10] | ||
| Zulte-Waregem | Sacked | 23 May 2011[11] | Pre-season | 25 May 2011[12] | ||
| Lierse | Contract Ended | End of 2010-11 season[13] | Pre-season | 1 June 2011[13] | ||
| Standard Liège | Contract Ended | 6 June 2011[14] | Pre-season | 28 June 2011[15] | ||
| Genk | Signed for | 18 August 2011[16][17] | 5th | 30 August 2011[18] | ||
| Sint-Truiden | Sacked | 30 August 2011[19] | 15th | 2 September 2011[20] | ||
| Club Brugge | Sacked | 30 October 2011[21] | 4th | 9 November 2011[22] | ||
| Zulte-Waregem | Sacked | 27 December 2011[23] | 14th | 30 December 2011[24] | ||
| Mons | Mutual agreement | 28 February 2012[25] | 11th | 28 February 2012[26] | ||
| Beerschot | Mutual agreement | 26 March 2012[27] | 11th | 1 June 2012[28] |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anderlecht | 30 | 20 | 7 | 3 | 61 | 26 | +35 | 67 | Qualification toChampionship play-offs |
| 2 | Club Brugge | 30 | 19 | 4 | 7 | 51 | 32 | +19 | 61 | |
| 3 | Gent | 30 | 17 | 5 | 8 | 63 | 35 | +28 | 56 | |
| 4 | Standard Liège | 30 | 14 | 9 | 7 | 43 | 33 | +10 | 51 | |
| 5 | Genk | 30 | 13 | 7 | 10 | 60 | 44 | +16 | 46 | |
| 6 | Kortrijk | 30 | 13 | 7 | 10 | 39 | 36 | +3 | 46 | |
| 7 | Cercle Brugge | 30 | 13 | 7 | 10 | 36 | 37 | −1 | 46 | Qualification toEuropa League play-offs |
| 8 | Lokeren | 30 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 48 | 40 | +8 | 44 | |
| 9 | Mechelen | 30 | 10 | 7 | 13 | 40 | 50 | −10 | 37 | |
| 10 | Mons | 30 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 50 | 55 | −5 | 36 | |
| 11 | Beerschot | 30 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 45 | 51 | −6 | 36 | |
| 12 | Lierse | 30 | 6 | 13 | 11 | 24 | 36 | −12 | 31 | |
| 13 | Zulte Waregem | 30 | 6 | 12 | 12 | 32 | 38 | −6 | 30 | |
| 14 | OH Leuven | 30 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 38 | 58 | −20 | 29 | |
| 15 | Westerlo | 30 | 5 | 5 | 20 | 29 | 59 | −30 | 20 | Qualification to theRelegation play-offs |
| 16 | Sint-Truiden | 30 | 3 | 10 | 17 | 32 | 61 | −29 | 19 |
Note: The classification was made after the weekend (or midweek) of each matchday, so postponed matches were only processed at the time they were played to represent thereal evolution in standings.
Only one match has been postponed during the season:
| Team ╲ Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anderlecht | 12 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Club Brugge | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Gent | 14 | 13 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Standard Liège | 6 | 2 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
| Genk | 2 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 |
| Kortrijk | 6 | 10 | 6 | 9 | 6 | 10 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 |
| Cercle Brugge | 5 | 4 | 11 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 7 |
| Lokeren | 10 | 15 | 14 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Mechelen | 3 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
| Beerschot | 15 | 14 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| Mons | 6 | 9 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 |
| Lierse | 6 | 10 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 |
| Zulte Waregem | 10 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 |
| OH Leuven | 3 | 7 | 12 | 13 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 |
| Westerlo | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 15 |
| Sint-Truiden | 12 | 12 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 16 |
| Home \ Away | AND | BEE | CER | BRU | GNK | GNT | KVK | LIE | LOK | KVM | MON | OHL | STV | STA | WES | ZWA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anderlecht | 3–2 | 4–0 | 3–0 | 4–2 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 5–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | |
| Beerschot | 0–0 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–0 | |
| Cercle Brugge | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | |
| Club Brugge | 1–1 | 5–1 | 1–0 | 4–5 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 5–0 | 1–0 | |
| Genk | 0–1 | 3–1 | 4–2 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 5–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 2–2 | |
| Gent | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 6–2 | 2–0 | 6–1 | 6–0 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 0–0 | |
| Kortrijk | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 2–5 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | |
| Lierse | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 2–1 | |
| Lokeren | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 0–0 | |
| Mechelen | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 4–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | |
| Mons | 1–1 | 4–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 3–3 | 5–1 | 2–2 | 4–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–1 | |
| OH Leuven | 2–1 | 3–2 | 2–3 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 2–2 | |
| Sint-Truiden | 2–2 | 2–4 | 0–1 | 3–3 | 3–4 | 3–4 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 1–0 | |
| Standard Liège | 1–2 | 6–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | |
| Westerlo | 1–2 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 2–3 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 2–4 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | |
| Zulte Waregem | 2–3 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 4–2 | 3–1 |
The points obtained during the regular season were halved (and rounded up) before the start of the playoff. As a result, the teams started with the following points before the playoff: Anderlecht 34 points, Club Brugge 31, Gent 28, Standard 26, Genk 23 and Kortrijk 23.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anderlecht(C) | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 16 | 8 | +8 | 52 | Qualification toChampions League third qualifying round |
| 2 | Club Brugge(Q) | 10 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 14 | 11 | +3 | 48 | |
| 3 | Genk(Q) | 10 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 19 | 19 | 0 | 41 | Qualification toEuropa League third qualifying round |
| 4 | Gent | 10 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 16 | 16 | 0 | 40 | Qualification toEuropa League Testmatch |
| 5 | Standard Liège | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 17 | −7 | 35 | |
| 6 | Kortrijk | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 16 | 20 | −4 | 34 |
Below the positions per round are shown. As teams did not all start with an equal number of points, the initial pre-playoffs positions are also given.
| Team ╲ Round | Initial | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anderlecht | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Club Brugge | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Genk | 5 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Gent | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Standard Liège | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Kortrijk | 6 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Home \ Away | AND | BRU | GNT | STA | GNK | KVK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anderlecht | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1–3 | 1–1 | |
| Club Brugge | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 3–2 | |
| Gent | 1–4 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 2–3 | |
| Standard Liège | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 2–0 | |
| Genk | 0–4 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 2–0 | |
| Kortrijk | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–4 | 1–1 | 3–4 |
Group A contains the teams finishing the regular season in positions 7, 9, 12 and 14. The teams finishing in positions 8, 10, 11 and 13 were placed in Group B.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | CER | OHL | LIE | KVM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cercle Brugge | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 16 | 10 | +6 | 11 | Playoff Final | 6–4 | 0–0 | 3–1 | ||
| 2 | OH Leuven | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 14 | +1 | 10 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 4–2 | |||
| 3 | Lierse | 6 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 2–1 | |||
| 4 | Mechelen | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 14 | −7 | 4 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 1–1 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | MON | ZWA | BEE | LOK | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mons | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 4 | +4 | 11 | Playoff Final | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | ||
| 2 | Zulte-Waregem | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 8 | −1 | 8 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–2 | |||
| 3 | Beerschot | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 10 | −1 | 7 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 4–1 | |||
| 4 | Lokeren | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 11 | −2 | 6 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 |
The winners of both playoff groups competed in a two-legged match to play the fourth-placed team of the championship playoff, calledTestmatch. The winners of this Testmatch were granted entry to thesecond qualifying round of the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League.
Cercle Brugge won 4–2 on aggregate.
Europa League playoff final winners Cercle Brugge competed with fourth placed team Gent for the final European ticket. After a 7-2 aggregate win,Gent qualified for thesecond qualifying round of the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League.
| Cercle Brugge | 1 – 5 | Gent |
|---|---|---|
| Gombami | report | Maréval Coulibaly El Ghanassy Jørgensen |
| Gent | 2 – 1 | Cercle Brugge |
|---|---|---|
| Mboyo | report | Dompig |
Gent won 7–2 on aggregate.
The teams finishing in the last two positions Westerlo and Sint-Truiden, faced each other in the relegation playoff. Westerlo started with a three-point bonus and home advantage for finishing above Sint-Truiden during the regular season. Although the teams were scheduled to play each other 5 times, Westerlo forced the decision already after four matches making the last match obsolete. Thereby, Sint-Truiden was relegated and Westerlo was allowed to play the relegation playoffs with the teams from theSecond Division.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Westerlo(R) | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 6 | +6 | 12 | Belgian Second Division final round |
| 2 | Sint-Truiden(R) | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 12 | −6 | 3 | Relegation to2012–13 Belgian Second Division |
Source:sporza.be andSport.be(in Dutch)