2011–12 Ligue 2

Ligue 2
Season 2011–12
Champions Bastia
Promoted Bastia
Reims
Troyes
Relegated Metz
Amiens
Boulogne
Matches played 380
Goals scored 872 (2.29 per match)
Top goalscorer Cédric Fauré (15 goals)
Biggest home win Nantes 5–0 Amiens (27 April 2012)[1]
Biggest away win Arles-Avignon 1–5 Istres (20 December 2011)[2]
Highest scoring Metz 2–5 Guingamp (4 May 2012)[3]
Longest winning run 4 games
Reims
(30 July – 19 August)
Bastia
(16 December – 18 January)
Longest unbeaten run 7 games
Clermont
(30 September – 2 December)
Longest winless run 10 games
AS Monaco
(23 September – 20 December)
Longest losing run 4 games
Arles-Avignon
(21 October – 25 November)
Amiens
(16 December – 18 January)
Highest attendance 30,961 – Lens 2–0 Châteauroux (20 December 2011)[4]
Lowest attendance 1,777 – Istres 3–1 Châteauroux (20 September 2011)[5]
Average attendance 7,999[6]

The 2011–12 Ligue 2 season was the 73rd since its establishment.[7] The previous season's champions was Evian. The league schedule was announced on 31 March 2011 and the fixtures were determined on 10 June.[8][9] The season began on 29 July and ended on 18 May 2012.[10] The winter break was in effect from 21 December to 14 January.

Bastia clinched the second division title on 1 May 2012 with three matches to spare after defeating Metz 3–0 at the Stade Armand Cesari.[11] The title is the club's second overall in the division having won the league previously in the 1967–68 season. Bastia will be making its return to the first division after a seven-year absence and will be entering Ligue 1 on a run of two consecutive promotions.[12] 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 club, respectively, to earn promotion to Ligue 1 alongside the champions Bastia.[13] 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, will be returning to the first division after over 33 years playing in the lower divisions.[14] During those 33 years, the club underwent liquidation and had all aspects of the club (its records, trophies, etc.) auctioned off. Troyes will be returning to Ligue 1 after a four-year stint in Ligue 2.[15]

Teams

Location of teams in 2011–12 Ligue 2

There were three promoted teams from the Championnat National, the third division of French football, replacing the three teams that were relegated from Ligue 2 following the 2010–11 season. A total of 20 teams competed in the league with three clubs suffering relegation to the Championnat National. All clubs that secured Ligue 2 status for the season were subject to approval by the DNCG before becoming eligible to participate.[16]

Arles-Avignon was the first club to suffer relegation from the first division to Ligue 2. The club's impending drop occurred on 17 April 2011 following the team's 2–0 defeat to AS Monaco. The negative result made it mathematically impossible for Arles to seize the 17th position in the table, which would have allowed the club to remain in Ligue 1. Arles-Avignon made its return to Ligue 2 after only a year's spell in the top division of French football.[17] On 15 May, Lens were relegated from the first division to Ligue 2 after its 1–1 draw with Monaco. Lens returned to Ligue 2 for the first time since the 2008–09 season when the club finished as champions of the league.[18] On the final day of the Ligue 1 season, Monaco suffered relegation to the second division after losing 2–0 to Lyon. The club's appearance in Ligue 2 was its first since 1976.[19]

Bastia became the first team to achieve promotion to Ligue 2 from the Championnat National after drawing 1–1 with Fréjus Saint-Raphaël on 22 April. Coupled with fourth-place Strasbourg's draw with Luzenac on the same day, the results made it mathematically impossible for the Alsatians to catch Bastia in the standings.[20][21] Amiens achieved promotion from National to Ligue 2 on 13 May following its 2–1 home win against Guingamp. Amiens made its return to the second division after spending two seasons in the Championnat National.[22] Guingamp became the final club to earn promotion to National after its 2–0 away win over Rouen. Similar to Bastia, Guingamp made its return to Ligue 2 after only one season in the third division.[23]

Teams relegated to Ligue 2

Teams promoted to Ligue 2

DNCG rulings

On 1 July 2011, following a preliminary review of each club's administrative and financial accounts in Ligue 2, the DNCG ruled that Tours would be relegated to the Championnat National.[24] Tours president, Frédéric Sebag, confirmed the demotion was as a result of the club's failure to "balance its books". Sebag also confirmed that the club would be appealing the ruling.[25] On 13 July, Tours successfully appealed to the DNCG and was subsequently reinstated into Ligue 2.[26]

Stadia and locations

Club Location Venue Capacity Average Attendance[6]
Amiens Amiens Stade de la Licorne 12,097 9,411
Angers Angers Stade Jean Bouin 17,100 5,345
Arles-Avignon Avignon Parc des Sports 17,518 2,678
Bastia Bastia Stade Armand Cesari 10,460 10,406
Boulogne Boulogne-sur-Mer Stade de la Libération 15,004 8,168
Châteauroux Châteauroux Stade Gaston Petit 17,173 5,300
Clermont Clermont-Ferrand Stade Gabriel Montpied 10,363 4,726
Guingamp Guingamp Stade du Roudourou 18,126 7,311
Istres Istres Stade Parsemain 17,468 2,106
Laval Laval Stade Francis Le Basser 18,739 5,748
Le Havre Le Havre Stade Jules Deschaseaux 16,454 6,987
Le Mans Le Mans MMArena 25,000 6,973
Lens Lens Stade Félix-Bollaert 41,233 22,519
Metz Metz Stade Municipal Saint-Symphorien 26,700 9,158
AS Monaco Fontvieille Stade Louis II 18,500 4,936
Nantes Nantes Stade de la Beaujoire 38,285 12,506
Reims Reims Stade Auguste-Delaune II 22,000 11,084
Sedan Sedan Stade Louis Dugauguez 23,189 8,183
Tours Tours Stade de la Vallée du Cher 13,500 5,478
Troyes Troyes Stade de l'Aube 21,877 7,613

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.

Team Manager1 Captain1 Kit Manufacturer1 Main Sponsor1
Amiens France Batelli, LudovicLudovic Batelli France Thomas Mienniel Kappa Amiens Métropole
Angers France Moulin, StéphaneStéphane Moulin France Grégory Malicki Umbro Next Generation
Arles-Avignon France Laurey, ThierryThierry Laurey France Fabien Laurenti Uhlsport Groupe Nicollin
Bastia France Hantz, FrédéricFrédéric Hantz France Yannick Cahuzac Kappa Oscaro
Boulogne France Estevan, MichelMichel Estevan Mali Bakary Soumare Uhlsport Boostyle
Châteauroux France Didier Tholot France Romain Reynaud Nike Le Seyec
Clermont Armenia Der Zakarian, MichelMichel Der Zakarian France Damien Perrinelle Kappa Clermont-Ferrand
Guingamp France Gourvennec, JocelynJocelyn Gourvennec France Lionel Mathis adidas Groupe Stalaven
Istres France Pasqualetti, JoséJosé Pasqualetti France Amor Kehiha Duarig Kertel
Laval France Hinschberger, PhilippePhilippe Hinschberger France Fabrice Levrat Duarig Lactel
Le Havre France Daury, CédricCédric Daury France Julien François Airness System U
Le Mans France Zanko, DenisDenis Zanko France Frédéric Thomas Macron LOUÉ
Lens France Garcia, Jean-LouisJean-Louis Garcia France Yohan Demont adidas Invicta
Metz France Bijotat, DominiqueDominique Bijotat France Ludovic Guerriero Nike Moselle
AS Monaco Italy Simone, MarcoMarco Simone France Ludovic Giuly Macron Fedcom
Nantes France Chauvin, LandryLandry Chauvin Brazil Matheus Vivian Erreà Profil+
Reims France Fournier, HubertHubert Fournier France Mickaël Tacalfred Kappa IDEC
Sedan France Guyot, LaurentLaurent Guyot France Jérôme Lemoigne Duarig Invicta
Tours Germany Peter Zeidler France Julien Cardy Duarig Invicta
Troyes France Furlan, Jean-MarcJean-Marc Furlan Central African Republic Eloge Enza Yamissi Duarig Urbanéo

1Subject to change during the season.

Managerial changes

Team Outgoing head coach Manner of
departure
Date of
vacancy
Position
in table
Incoming head coach Date of
appointment
Position
in table
Sedan France Landry Chauvin End of contract 26 May 2011 Off-season France Laurent Guyot 26 May 2011[27] Off-season
Lens Romania László Bölöni Mutual consent 1 June 2011 France Jean-Louis Garcia 1 June 2011[28]
Nantes France Philippe Anziani 26 May 2011 France Landry Chauvin 1 June 2011[29]
Angers France Jean-Louis Garcia Joined Lens 1 June 2011 France Stéphane Moulin 2 June 2011[30]
Tours France Daniel Sanchez Joined Valenciennes 8 June 2011[31] Germany Peter Zeidler 14 June 2011[32]
AS Monaco France Laurent Banide Fired 12 September 2011[33] 17th Italy Marco Simone 12 September 2011[34] 17th
Arles-Avignon Bosnia and Herzegovina Faruk Hadžibegić 23 November 2011[35] 19th France Thierry Laurey 28 November 2011[36] 19th
Le Mans France Arnaud Cormier 22 December 2011[37] 17th France Denis Zanko 28 December 2011[38] 17th

Ownership changes

Club New owner Previous owner Date
AS Monaco Russia Monaco Sports Invest France AS Monaco[39] 23 December 2011[40]

League table


Pos
Team
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
Qualification or relegation
1 Bastia (C) 38 21 8 9 61 36+25 71 Promotion to 2012–13 Ligue 1
2 Reims (P) 38 18 11 9 54 37+17 65
3 Troyes (P) 38 17 13 8 45 35+10 64
4 Sedan 38 15 14 9 56 45+11 59
5 Clermont 38 15 13 10 48 39+9 58
6 Tours 38 15 11 12 44 43+1 56
7 Guingamp 38 15 10 13 46 43+3 55
8 Monaco 38 13 13 12 41 487 52
9 Nantes 38 14 9 15 51 42+9 51
10 Istres 38 13 12 13 46 44+2 51
11 Angers 38 13 12 13 44 451 51
12 Lens 38 12 12 14 42 486 48
13 Arles-Avignon 38 10 18 10 34 417 48
14 Châteauroux 38 14 6 18 38 5416 48
15 Le Havre 38 11 14 13 38 34+4 47
16 Laval 38 12 11 15 46 504 47
17 Le Mans 38 11 12 15 39 401 45
18 Metz (R) 38 10 12 16 30 4414 42 Relegation to 201213 Championnat National
19 Boulogne (R) 38 7 15 16 40 477 36
20 Amiens (R) 38 4 14 20 29 5728 26

Updated to games played on 18 May 2012.
Source: Ligue de Football Professionnel
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (E) = Eliminated; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
(Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament indicated; (TQ) = Qualified to tournament, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (RQ) = Qualified to the relegation tournament indicated; (DQ) = Disqualified from tournament.

Results

Home ╲ Away[1] AMI ANG ACAABASBOUCHACLRGUIISTLVLHACMFCRCLMETASMNANREISEDTOUTRO
Amiens 20 03 11 00 40 11 00 12 10 01 00 12 11 12 02 02 03 11 11
Angers 00 20 11 21 20 01 10 31 00 12 11 11 20 12 20 00 13 10 23
Arles-Avignon 11 22 00 21 00 02 12 15 10 10 10 30 10 21 00 22 00 22 00
Bastia 21 31 30 20 21 11 31 31 32 10 10 22 30 11 21 10 22 41 51
Boulogne 01 33 11 13 01 11 20 11 30 11 20 02 01 12 21 00 11 00 20
Châteauroux 41 01 12 02 21 21 02 02 31 10 10 10 11 21 22 11 01 13 10
Clermont 21 12 00 21 12 21 01 22 20 21 11 20 10 10 00 10 11 01 11
Guingamp 11 10 11 11 11 11 31 10 10 10 11 30 01 40 20 23 13 00 00
Istres 21 01 00 10 00 31 22 21 12 11 12 21 10 01 21 11 11 10 00
Laval 31 01 21 10 22 11 12 12 21 02 21 22 00 10 20 32 51 12 00
Le Havre 20 30 11 20 00 30 02 31 00 11 11 00 11 22 11 11 00 21 30
Le Mans 32 22 11 30 10 01 02 10 10 13 31 01 01 01 00 01 31 01 11
Lens 11 00 00 13 20 23 21 02 10 00 20 13 02 22 10 02 42 30 21
Metz 10 11 00 01 10 21 22 25 12 22 02 01 20 02 13 10 02 11 22
Monaco 11 13 10 01 00 21 00 10 32 21 10 22 22 02 21 12 22 00 02
Nantes 50 21 30 02 33 30 10 40 31 23 10 11 10 00 30 20 12 10 11
Reims 10 30 32 10 32 20 22 21 21 11 21 11 11 30 20 31 12 23 10
Sedan 31 22 00 20 14 20 12 01 11 21 30 02 11 11 22 20 10 30 12
Tours 11 10 41 21 31 12 21 51 12 00 00 21 03 10 00 21 11 10 02
Troyes 20 21 01 10 21 01 32 11 11 30 10 21 20 10 11 20 10 11 21

Updated to games played on 18 May 2012.
Source: Ligue de Football Professionnel
1 ^ The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
For coming matches, an a indicates there is an article about the match.

Statistics

Top goalscorers

Rank Player Club Goals
1 France Cédric Fauré Reims 15
2 Algeria Kamel Ghilas Reims 14
3 France Toifilou Maoulida Bastia 13
Cape Verde Ryan Mendes Le Havre 13
4 France Nicolas Fauvergue Sedan 12
France Alexis Allart Boulogne 12
France Gaëtan Charbonnier Angers 12
Brazil Marcos Troyes 12
9 France Anthony Knockaert Guingamp 11
France Jean-François Rivière Clermont 11

Last updated: 18 May 2012
Source: Official Goalscorers' Standings

Assists table

Rank Player Club Assists
1 France Akim Orinel Châteauroux 11
Argentina Diego Gómez Angers 11
3 France Julien Faussurier Troyes 8
4 Cape Verde Odaïr Fortes Reims 7
France Wahbi Khazri Bastia 7
France Thibault Giresse Guingamp 7
Tunisia Chaouki Ben Saada Lens 7
Morocco Mounir Obbadi Troyes 7
Brazil Diego Rigonato Tours 7
France Jérôme Rothen Bastia 7

Last updated: 18 May 2012
Source: Official Assists' Table

Scoring

Discipline

Awards

Annual awards

UNFP Player of the Year

The nominees for the UNFP Ligue 2 Player of the Year award was awarded to Bastia midfielder Jérôme Rothen.[42]

UNFP Goalkeeper of the Year

The UNFP Goalkeeper of the Year award was awarded to Macedo Novaes of Bastia.[42]

UNFP Manager of the Year

The UNFP Manager of the Year award went to Frédéric Hantz of Bastia.[42]

UNFP Team of the Year

The UNFP selected the following 11 players for the Ligue 2 Team of the Year:[43]

Goalkeeper

Defenders

Midfielders

Forwards

List of 2011–12 transfers

References

  1. "Nantes v. Amiens Report". Ligue de Football Professionnel (in French). 27 April 2012. Retrieved 27 April 2012.
  2. "Arles-Avignon v. Istres Match Report". Ligue de Football Professionnel (in French). 20 December 2011. Retrieved 20 December 2011.
  3. "Metz v. Guingamp Report". Ligue de Football Professionnel (in French). 4 May 2012. Retrieved 4 May 2012.
  4. "Lens v. Châteauroux Report". Ligue de Football Professionnel (in French). 20 December 2011. Retrieved 2 March 2012.
  5. "Istres v. Châteauroux Report". Ligue de Football Professionnel (in French). 20 September 2011. Retrieved 26 September 2011.
  6. 6.0 6.1 "Affluences". Ligue de Football Professionnel (in French). Retrieved 11 August 2011.
  7. "Palmarès: Les champions de France depuis 1934/1935". Ligue de Football Professionnel (in French). Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  8. "Le calendrier dévoilé le 10 juin". L'Equipe (in French). 30 May 2011. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
  9. "Les calendriers 2011/2012". Ligue de Football Professionnel (in French). 10 June 2011. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
  10. "Le calendrier général 2011-2012 validé". Ligue de Football Professionnel (in French). 31 March 2011. Retrieved 22 April 2011.
  11. "Le SC Bastia champion!". Ligue de Football Professionnel (in French). 1 May 2012. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
  12. "Bastia, sept ans de réflexion...". National Union of Professional Footballers (in French). 2 May 2012. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
  13. "Football: Troyes et Reims promus en Ligue 1". 20 Minutes (in French). 11 May 2012. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  14. "Football: Reims et Troyes promus en Ligue 1". Le Monde (in French). 11 May 2012. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  15. "Troyes une montée en Ligue 1 qui a surpris tout le monde". Voila (in French). 11 May 2012. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  16. The DNCG is responsible for overseeing the legal and financial accounts of professional football clubs in France. If clubs operating in French football don't meet the DNCG's expectations, they can face sanctions, such as relegation.
  17. "Arles-Avignon relégué en Ligue 2" (in French). Yahoo!. 17 April 2011. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  18. "Marseille lâche prise, Lens relégué en L2" (in French). 20 Minutes. 15 May 2011. Retrieved 17 May 2011.
  19. "Monaco relégué en L2" (in French). Eurosport. 29 May 2011. Retrieved 29 May 2011.
  20. "Bastia en Ligue 2!" (in French). French Football Federation. 23 April 2011. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  21. "Bastia retrouve la Ligue 2" (in French). L'Equipe. 22 April 2011. Retrieved 22 April 2011.
  22. "Amiens retrouve la L2" (in French). Eurosport. 13 May 2011. Retrieved 17 May 2011.
  23. "Guingamp est de retour en Ligue 2!" (in French). Ouest-France. 27 May 2011. Retrieved 27 May 2011.
  24. "Tours, relégué, va faire appel" (in French). L'Equipe. 1 July 2011. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
  25. "Tours va faire appel" (in French). Eurosport. 1 July 2011. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
  26. "L2: Tours réintégré" (in French). Sport365. 13 July 2011. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
  27. "Guyot, nouvel entraîneur du CSSA" (in French). L'Union. 26 May 2011. Retrieved 26 May 2011.
  28. "Garcia appointed Lens coach" (in French). Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 1 June 2011. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  29. "Stéphane Moulin nouvel entraîneur" (in French). L'Union. 1 June 2011. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
  30. "Stéphane Moulin nouvel entraîneur" (in French). Sport.fr. 2 June 2011. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  31. "D. Sanchez au VAFC pour 2 ans" (in French). Valenciennes FC. 8 June 2011. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  32. "Le TFC choisit Ziedler" (in French). La Nouvelle République. 14 June 2011. Retrieved 14 June 2011.
  33. "Communiqué de presse" (in French). Valenciennes FC. 12 September 2011. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
  34. "Simone remplace Banide" (in French). L'Equipe. 12 September 2011. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
  35. "Arles-Avignon: Hadzibegic limogé" (in French). Le Figaro. 23 November 2011. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  36. "Arles-Avignon: Laurey succède à Hadzibegic" (in French). Sport France TV. 28 November 2011. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  37. "Le Mans limoge Cormier" (in French). Le Figaro. 22 December 2011. Retrieved 22 December 2011.
  38. "Le Mans privilégie la solution interne" (in French). Spors.fr. 28 December 2011. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
  39. AS Monaco will still maintain 33% of the club representing the interests of the Principality of Monaco.
  40. "Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev completes takeover of Monaco’s soccer club". Washington Post. 23 December 2011. Retrieved 23 December 2011.
  41. 41.0 41.1 41.2 41.3 "Classement du Fair-Play". Ligue de Football Professionnel (in French). Retrieved 11 August 2011.
  42. 42.0 42.1 42.2 "UNFP: Trophées UNFP du football: Tous les nommés..." (in French). National Union of Professional Footballers. 2 May 2012. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
  43. Toufik O. (14 May 2012). "Ghilas et Harek dans l'équipe-type de Ligue 2" (in French). DZfoot. Retrieved 15 May 2012.

External links