2011–12 Belgian Pro League

The 2011–12 season of the Belgian Pro League (also known as Jupiler Pro League for sponsorship reasons) was the 109th season of top-tier football in Belgium. 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 were Genk, who this time ended in third position, while the competition was won by Anderlecht, who clenched the title after a 1–1 draw against Club Brugge with two games left to play in the Championship Playoff.

Jupiler Pro League
Season2011–12
ChampionsAnderlecht
31st league title
RelegatedSint-Truiden
Westerlo
Champions LeagueAnderlecht
Club Brugge
Europa LeagueLokeren
Genk
Gent
Matches played302
Goals scored892 (2.95 per match)
Top goalscorerJérémy Perbet (25 goals)
Biggest home winGent 6–0 Sint-Truiden
Biggest away winKortrijk 0–4 Gent, Genk 0–4 Anderlecht
Highest scoringCercle Brugge 6–4 OH Leuven
Longest winning run7 matches[1]
Anderlecht
Longest unbeaten run16 matches[2]
Anderlecht
Longest winless run13 matches[3]
Zulte Waregem
Longest losing run6 matches[4]
Sint-Truiden
Westerlo

Teams

Team changes

During the previous season, on 23 April 2011, Charleroi were relegated as a result of a 2–2 draw at home to Eupen in the relegation 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 only Anderlecht, Club Brugge and Standard Liège being present for more years.[5] As winner of the relegation playoff, Eupen avoided direct relegation, but was still forced to play the Second Division Final Round together with second division teams Lommel United, Waasland-Beveren and Mons 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 the Second Division and as a result, the city of Leuven now has a first division team again for the first time in 61 years.[8]

Stadia and locations
Location of teams in Belgian Pro League 2011-12
Club Location Venue Capacity
R.S.C. Anderlecht Anderlecht Constant Vanden Stock Stadium 28,063
Beerschot AC Antwerp Olympisch Stadion 13,132
Cercle Brugge K.S.V. Brugge Jan Breydel Stadium 29,945
Club Brugge KV Brugge Jan Breydel Stadium 29,945
K.R.C. Genk Genk Cristal Arena 24,900
K.A.A. Gent Ghent Jules Ottenstadion 12,919
K.V. Kortrijk Kortrijk Guldensporen Stadion 9,500
Lierse S.K. Lier Herman Vanderpoortenstadion 14,538
K.S.C. Lokeren Oost-Vlaanderen Lokeren Daknamstadion 10,000
KV Mechelen Mechelen Argosstadion Achter de Kazerne 13,123
R.A.E.C. Mons Mons Stade Charles Tondreau 12,000
Oud-Heverlee Leuven Leuven Den Dreef 8,519
K. Sint-Truidense V.V. Sint-Truiden Staaienveld 11,250
Standard Liège Liège Stade Maurice Dufrasne 30,000
K.V.C. Westerlo Westerlo Het Kuipje 7,982
S.V. Zulte-Waregem Waregem Regenboogstadion 8,500

Personnel and sponsoring
Club Chairman Current manager Team captain Shirt sponsor
R.S.C. Anderlecht Roger Vanden Stock Ariël Jacobs Lucas Biglia BNP Paribas Fortis
Beerschot AC Jos Verhaegen no manager at end of season Gary Kagelmacher Quick
Cercle Brugge K.S.V. Frans Schotte Bob Peeters Hans Cornelis A D M B
Club Brugge KV Bart Verhaeghe Christoph Daum Carl Hoefkens Belfius
K.R.C. Genk Herbert Houben Mario Been David Hubert Euphony
K.A.A. Gent Ivan De Witte Trond Sollied César Arzo VDK
K.V. Kortrijk Jozef Allijns Hein Vanhaezebrouck Nebojša Pavlović Digipass by VASCO
Lierse S.K. Maged Samy Chris Janssens Eiji Kawashima Wadi Degla
K.S.C. Lokeren Oost-Vlaanderen Roger Lambrecht Peter Maes Killian Overmeire Q-Team VP Lambrecht
KV Mechelen Johan Timmermans Marc Brys Julien Gorius Telenet
R.A.E.C. Mons Dominique Leone Enzo Scifo Tom Van Imschoot Holcim
Oud-Heverlee Leuven Jan Callewaert Ronny Van Geneugden Bjorn Ruytinx Option
K. Sint-Truidense V.V. Bart Lammens Franky Van der Elst Peter Delorge Belisol
Standard Liège Roland Duchâtelet José Riga Jelle Van Damme Nationale Loterij
K.V.C. Westerlo Herman Wijnants Jan Ceulemans Jef Delen Willy Naessens
S.V. Zulte-Waregem Willy Naessens Francky Dury Karel D'Haene Enfinity, Petrus

Managerial changes
Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position Replaced by Date of appointment
Gent Francky Dury Mutual Consent 17 May 2011[9] Pre-season Trond Sollied 7 June 2011[10]
Zulte-Waregem Hugo Broos Sacked 23 May 2011[11] Pre-season Darije Kalezić 25 May 2011[12]
Lierse Trond Sollied Contract Ended End of 2010-11 season[13] Pre-season Chris Janssens 1 June 2011[13]
Standard Liège Dominique D'Onofrio Contract Ended 6 June 2011[14] Pre-season José Riga 28 June 2011[15]
Genk Franky Vercauteren Signed for Al Jazira Club 18 August 2011[16][17] 5th Mario Been 30 August 2011[18]
Sint-Truiden Guido Brepoels Sacked 30 August 2011[19] 15th Franky Van der Elst 2 September 2011[20]
Club Brugge Adrie Koster Sacked 30 October 2011[21] 4th Christoph Daum 9 November 2011[22]
Zulte-Waregem Darije Kalezić Sacked 27 December 2011[23] 14th Francky Dury 30 December 2011[24]
Mons Dennis van Wijk Mutual agreement 28 February 2012[25] 11th Enzo Scifo 28 February 2012[26]
Beerschot Jacky Mathijssen Mutual agreement 26 March 2012[27] 11th Adrie Koster 1 June 2012[28]

Regular season

League table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Anderlecht 30 20 7 3 61 26 +35 67 Qualification to Championship 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 to Europa 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 the Relegation play-offs
16 Sint-Truiden 30 3 10 17 32 61 −29 19
Source: soccerway.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) number of matches won; if teams are still tied a playoff is organised.

Positions by round

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 the real evolution in standings.

Only one match has been postponed during the season:

  • On matchday 18: Cercle Brugge vs. Gent of 16 December because of a rain-drenched pitch, was played two days later on 18 December.[29]
Team ╲ Round123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930
Anderlecht1262584221111111111111111111111
Club Brugge111243113234443323333333222222
Gent14138311432322222232222222333333
Standard Liège6210375875657554464554444445544
Genk23510109658986767877676666766665
Kortrijk61069610786765676545445555577776
Cercle Brugge5411622344443335656767777654457
Lokeren10151412131313131310101210101010111212121111119899888
Mechelen383136910101211101211111110101010108881088999
Beerschot151491111111111118911999989998991091010101010
Mons694758567578888798889101011111111111111
Lierse61013141414141415141414141414141413131313131212121212121212
Zulte Waregem104781212121212131313131313131314141414141413141313131313
OH Leuven37121397109911129111212121211111112121314131414141414
Westerlo161616161616151514151515161616161615151515151515151515161515
Sint-Truiden121215151515161616161616151515151516161616161616161616151616
Source: soccerassociation.com

Results
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
Source: Soccerway
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Championship playoff

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.

Playoff table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Anderlecht (C) 10 5 3 2 16 8 +8 52 Qualification to Champions 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 to Europa League third qualifying round
4 Gent 10 4 0 6 16 16 0 40 Qualification to Europa League Testmatch
5 Standard Liège 10 2 3 5 10 17 −7 35
6 Kortrijk 10 3 2 5 16 20 −4 34
Source: soccerway.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) points after deduction of (possible) half points added due to rounding; 3) number of wins; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) number of away goals scored; 7) number of away wins.
(C) Champion; (Q) Qualified to the phase indicated.

Positions by round

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 ╲ RoundInitial12345678910
Anderlecht11111111111
Club Brugge22222222222
Genk56643343333
Gent33334434444
Standard Liège44555555555
Kortrijk65466666666
Source:

Results
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
Source:
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Europa League playoff

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.

Group A
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
Source:

Group B
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
Source:

Europa League playoff final

The winners of both playoff groups competed in a two-legged match to play the fourth-placed team of the championship playoff, called Testmatch. The winners of this Testmatch were granted entry to the second qualifying round of the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League.

Mons0 – 1Cercle Brugge
Rudy  59'
Cercle Brugge3 – 2Mons
Van Eenoo  54'
Mertens  74'
Gombami  85'		 Jarju  20'
De Belder  90'

Cercle Brugge won 4–2 on aggregate.

Testmatches Europa League

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 the second qualifying round of the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League.

Cercle Brugge1 – 5Gent
Gombami  39' report Maréval  13'
Coulibaly  15'
El Ghanassy  49'
Jørgensen  66', 82'
Gent2 – 1Cercle Brugge
Mboyo  33', 76' report Dompig  9'

Gent won 7–2 on aggregate.

Relegation playoff

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 the Second 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 to 2012–13 Belgian Second Division
Source: soccerway.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head goals scored; 5) goal difference; 6) number of goals scored.
(R) Relegated.
Home \ Away STV WES STV WES STV WES
Sint-Truiden 3–1 1–4
Westerlo 3–2 4–0 –[lower-alpha 1]
Source: soccerway.com
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Notes:
  1. Match not played as Sint-Truiden could no longer overtake Westerlo in the standings

Top goalscorers

Source: sporza.be and Sport.be (in Dutch)

Position Player Club Goals
1 Jérémy Perbet Mons 25
2 Jelle Vossen Genk 21
3 Christian Benteke Genk 16
4 Joseph Akpala Club Brugge 15
Dieumerci Mbokani Anderlecht
Jordan Remacle OH Leuven
7 Guillaume Gillet Anderlecht 14
Julien Gorius Mechelen
9 Hernán Losada Beerschot 13
10 Benjamin De Ceulaer Lokeren 12
Hamdi Harbaoui Lokeren
Ilombe Mboyo Gent
Rudy Cercle Brugge
Matías Suárez Anderlecht
11 goals (5 players)
10 goals (1 player)
9 goals (4 players)
8 goals (8 players)
7 goals (5 players)
6 goals (16 players)
5 goals (10 players)
4 goals (16 players)
3 goals (28 players)
2 goals (36 players)
1 goal (79 players)
2 Own goals (3 players)
1 Own goal (19 players)

See also

References
  1. "Jupiler Pro League". Archived from the original on 2011-12-11. Retrieved 2011-08-22.
  2. "Jupiler Pro League". Archived from the original on 2011-12-11. Retrieved 2011-09-18.
  3. "Jupiler Pro League". Archived from the original on 2011-12-11. Retrieved 2011-08-22.
  4. "Jupiler Pro League". Archived from the original on 2011-12-11. Retrieved 2011-08-22.
  5. "Charleroi relegates to Second Division" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2011-04-23.
  6. "Promotion to First Division gets closer for Mons" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2011-05-19.
  7. "Promotion to First Division gets closer for Mons" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2011-05-29.
  8. "Leuven has a first division team again after 61 years" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2011-04-24.
  9. "AA Gent and Franky Dury split" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2011-05-14.
  10. "Sollied:"I'm coming to AA Gent"" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2011-06-07.
  11. "Coach Hugo Broos leaves Zulte-Waregem" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2011-05-23.
  12. "New coach of Zulte Waregem is from Bosnia" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2011-05-14.
  13. "Samy:"Not Sollied, but Chris Janssens"" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2011-06-01.
  14. "D'Onofrio and Conceiçao leave Standard" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2011-06-06.
  15. "José Riga is the new Standard coach" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2011-06-28.
  16. "Genk confirms:Vercauteren is leaving" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2011-08-09.
  17. "Frank vercauteren says goodbye to Genk" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2011-08-18.
  18. "Genk to present Been tonight as new head coach" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2011-08-30.
  19. "STVV does not continue with Brepoels" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2011-08-30.
  20. "Van der Elst succeeds Brepoels at STVV" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2011-09-02.
  21. "Club Brugge fires coach Koster" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2011-10-30.
  22. "Daum becomes new Club Brugge coach" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2011-11-09.
  23. "Zulte Waregem fires Kalezić" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2011-12-27.
  24. "Zulte Waregem brings back Francky Dury" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2011-12-30.
  25. "Van Wijk immediately leaves at Mons" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2012-02-28.
  26. "Scifo is the successor of van Wijk at Mons" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2012-02-28.
  27. "Jacky Mathijssen no longer Beerschot coach" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2012-03-26.
  28. "Adrie Koster becomes new Beerschot coach" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2012-04-13.
  29. "Cercle Brugge-AA Gent is afgelast door de regen" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2011-12-16.
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