# 2011–12 Saudi Pro League

The 2011–12 Saudi Professional League (known as the Zain Professional League for sponsorship reasons) was the 36th season of the Saudi Professional League, the top Saudi professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1976. The season began on 9 September 2011, and ended on 18 April 2012. Al-Hilal were the defending champions. The league was contested by the 12 teams from the 2010–11 season as well as Al-Ansar and Hajer, who joined as the promoted clubs from the 2010–11 First Division. They replace Al-Hazem and Al-Wehda who were relegated to the 2011–12 First Division.
On 14 April, Al-Shabab won their sixth League title on the final matchday after a 1–1 draw away to runners-up Al-Ahli. Al-Shabab ended the season without a single defeat becoming the second team to ever do so in a 26-game league season and the third team overall.
Al-Ansar were the first team to be relegated following a 1–0 home defeat against Al-Raed on 31 March. Al-Qadsiah became the second and final team to be relegated following a 3–2 defeat away to Al-Nassr on 13 April.

## Teams

Fourteen teams competed in the league – the twelve teams from the previous season and the two teams promoted from the First Division. The promoted teams were Al-Ansar (returning after an absence of six years) and Hajer (returning after an absence of twelve years). They replaced Al-Hazem (ending their six-year top-flight spell) and Al-Wehda (ending their eight-year top-flight spell).

### Stadiums and locations

    Note: Table lists in alphabetical order.
| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
| Al-Ahli | Jeddah | Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium | 25,000 |
| Al-Ansar | Medina | Prince Mohammed bin Abdul Aziz Stadium | 24,000 |
| Al-Ettifaq | Dammam | Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium | 21,701 |
| Al-Faisaly | Harmah | Prince Salman Sport City Stadium | 5,200 |
| Al-Fateh | Al-Hasa | Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi Stadium | 19,096 |
| Al-Hilal | Riyadh | King Fahd International Stadium Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium | 62,685 22,500 |
| Al-Ittihad | Jeddah | Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium | 25,000 |
| Al-Nassr | Riyadh | King Fahd International Stadium Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium | 62,685 22,500 |
| Al-Qadsiah | Khobar | Prince Saud bin Jalawi Stadium | 11,000 |
| Al-Raed | Buraidah | King Abdullah Sport City Stadium | 23,600 |
| Al-Shabab | Riyadh | King Fahd International Stadium Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium | 62,685 22,500 |
| Al-Taawoun | Buraidah | King Abdullah Sport City Stadium | 23,600 |
| Hajer | Al-Hasa | Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi Stadium | 19,096 |
| Najran | Najran | Al Akhdoud Club Stadium | 3,200 |

### Personnel and kits

| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| Al-Ahli | Karel Jarolím | Mohammad Massad | Adidas | STC |
| Al-Ansar | Jalel Kadri | Abdoh Besisi | Adidas | |
| Al-Ettifaq | Branko Ivanković | Sayaf Al-Bishi | Hattrick | |
| Al-Faisaly | Zlatko Dalić | Omar Abdulaziz | Hattrick | |
| Al-Fateh | Fathi Al-Jabal | Jaber Hagawi | Lotto | Fuchsia$^1$ |
| Al-Hilal | Ivan Hašek | Osama Hawsawi | Adidas | Mobily |
| Al-Ittihad | Raúl Caneda | Mohammed Noor | Nike | STC |
| Al-Nassr | Francisco Maturana | Hussein Abdulghani | Nike | STC |
| Al-Qadsiah | Mariano Barreto | Ali Al-Shehri | Hattrick | |
| Al-Raed | Ammar Souayah | Mohammed Al-Khojali | Hattrick | Al-Remeikhany |
| Al-Shabab | Michel Preud'homme | Ahmed Otaif | Adidas | STC |
| Al-Taawoun | Khalid Kamal | Ahmed Al-Harbi | Jako | |
| Hajer | Ednaldo Patricio | Khaled Al-Rejaib | Hattrick | Al-Ghadeer |
| Najran | Gjoko Hadžievski | Jehad Al-Hussain | Hattrick | |
* $^1$ On the back of the strip.

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| Al-Ansar | Djamel Belkacem | End of contract | 18 May 2011 | Pre-season | Blaž Slišković | 30 May 2011 |
| Al-Nassr | Dragan Skočić | Sacked | 26 May 2011 | Pre-season | Eurico Gomes (caretaker) | 26 May 2011 |
| Al-Qadsiah | Dimitar Dimitrov | End of contract | 1 June 2011 | Pre-season | Mariano Barreto | 12 June 2011 |
| Hajer | Zuhair Al-Louati | End of contract | 1 June 2011 | Pre-season | Ednaldo Patricio | 27 June 2011 |
| Najran | José Rachão | End of contract | 1 June 2011 | Pre-season | Gjoko Hadžievski | 1 July 2011 |
| Al-Shabab | Enzo Trossero | End of contract | 12 June 2011 | Pre-season | Michel Preud'homme | 14 June 2011 |
| Al-Hilal | Gabriel Calderón | Sacked | 18 June 2011 | Pre-season | Thomas Doll | 20 July 2011 |
| Al-Ahli | Aleksandar Ilić | End of contract | 30 June 2011 | Pre-season | Karel Jarolím | 5 August 2011 |
| Al-Ettifaq | Youssef Zouaoui | End of contract | 30 June 2011 | Pre-season | Branko Ivanković | 22 July 2011 |
| Al-Nassr | Eurico Gomes (caretaker) | End of caretaker period | 30 June 2011 | Pre-season | Gustavo Costas | 18 July 2011 |
| Al-Raed | Eurico Gomes | Sacked | 17 October 2011 | 13th | Hafez Al-Hoarbi (caretaker) | 17 October 2011 |
| Al-Ansar | Blaž Slišković | Sacked | 26 October 2011 | 14th | Ayoub Ghulam (caretaker) | 26 October 2011 |
| Al-Raed | Hafez Al-Hoarbi (caretaker) | End of caretaker period | 28 October 2011 | 13th | Ammar Souayah | 28 October 2011 |
| Al-Ansar | Ayoub Ghulam (caretaker) | End of caretaker period | 10 November 2011 | 14th | Jalel Kadri | 10 November 2011 |
| Al-Ittihad | Dimitri Davidović | Sacked | 28 November 2011 | 5th | Abdullah Ghurab (caretaker) | 28 November 2011 |
| Al--Nassr | Gustavo Costas | Sacked | 30 November 2011 | 6th | Ali Komaikh (caretaker) | 30 November 2011 |
| Al-Nassr | Ali Komaikh (caretaker) | End of caretaker period | 4 December 2011 | 6th | Francisco Maturana | 4 December 2011 |
| Al-Ittihad | Abdullah Ghurab (caretaker) | End of caretaker period | 16 December 2011 | 6th | Matjaž Kek | 16 December 2011 |
| Al-Taawoun | Florin Motroc | Resigned | 29 December 2011 | 13th | Srećko Juričić | 30 December 2011 |
| Al-Taawoun | Srećko Juričić | Sacked | 20 January 2012 | 12th | Grigore Sichitiu | 20 January 2012 |
| Al-Hilal | Thomas Doll | Sacked | 22 January 2012 | 4th | Ivan Hašek | 22 January 2012 |
| Al-Ittihad | Matjaž Kek | Sacked | 8 February 2012 | 6th | Abdullah Ghurab (caretaker) | 8 February 2012 |
| Al-Ittihad | Abdullah Ghurab (caretaker) | End of caretaker period | 27 February 2012 | 7th | Raúl Caneda | 27 February 2012 |
| Al-Taawoun | Grigore Sichitiu | Sacked | 2 April 2012 | 12th | Khalid Kamal (caretaker) | 2 April 2012 |

### Foreign players

The number of foreign players is restricted to four per team, including a slot for a player from AFC countries.
Players name in bold indicates the player is registered during the mid-season transfer window.
| Club | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 | AFC player | Former players |
| Al-Ahli | Marcelo Camacho | Victor Simões | Jairo Palomino | Amad Al-Hosni | |
| Al-Ansar | Sadick Adams | Diakite Lamine | Radhouane Ben Ouanès | Mohammad Istanbuli | Tatá Mohammad Muneer Nenad Injac Despot Višković |
| Al-Ettifaq | Sebastián Tagliabúe | Bruno Lazaroni | Carlos Santos | Hassan Mudhafar Al-Gheilani | Lee Won-young |
| Al-Faisaly | Leon Benko | Dario Jertec | Amer Deeb | Wael Ayan | Asim Šehić Pero Pejić |
| Al-Fateh | Élton Arábia | Doris Fuakumputu | Kemekho Cissokho | Shadi Abu Hash'hash | |
| Al-Hilal | Youssef El-Arabi | Adil Hermach | Christian Wilhelmsson | Yoo Byung-soo | Achille Emaná |
| Al-Ittihad | Fabrice Ondama | Hosny Abd Rabo | Faouzi Abdelghani | Abdullah Omar | Abdelmalek Ziaya Wendel Fahad Al Enezi Paulo Jorge |
| Al-Nassr | Hadj Bouguèche | Wagner Querino | Vinícius Reche | Kim Byung-suk | Antar Yahia Juan Mercier Juan Pablo Pino |
| Al-Qadsiah | Saïd Bouchouk | Zoran Baldovaliev | Uche Agba | Abdulwahab Al-Safi | Hadj Bouguèche William Kwabena Tiero |
| Al-Raed | Leandrinho | Yves Diba Ilunga | Issam Erraki | Abdul Salam Al-Mukhaini | Reinaldo |
| Al-Shabab | Fernando Menegazzo | Marcelo Tavares | Wendel | Server Djeparov | Ibrahim Yattara |
| Al-Taawoun | Migen Memelli | Vianney Mabidé | Salaheddine Aqqal | Yaseen Al-Bakhit | Šakir Redžepi Abdelrazaq Al-Hussain |
| Hajer | Rico | Moustapha Moctar Belbi | Hazem Jawdat | Abdelatif Bahdari | Rafael Barbosa Franklin Ayodele |
| Najran | Ramzi Bourakba | Farid Cheklam | Reda Benhadj Djillali | Jehad Al-Hussain | Zoran Baldovaliev Dušan Đokić |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Al-Shabab (C) | 26 | 19 | 7 | 0 | 50 | 16 | +34 | 64 | Qualification for the AFC Champions League group stage |
| 2 | Al-Ahli | 26 | 19 | 5 | 2 | 60 | 22 | +38 | 62 | Qualification for the AFC Champions League group stage |
| 3 | Al-Hilal | 26 | 18 | 6 | 2 | 58 | 22 | +36 | 60 | Qualification for the AFC Champions League group stage |
| 4 | Al-Ettifaq | 26 | 13 | 8 | 5 | 41 | 26 | +15 | 47 | Qualification for the AFC Champions League group stage |
| 5 | Al-Ittihad | 26 | 10 | 7 | 9 | 49 | 35 | +14 | 37 | |
| 6 | Al-Fateh | 26 | 10 | 7 | 9 | 37 | 41 | −4 | 37 | Qualification for the UAFA Club Cup |
| 7 | Al-Nassr | 26 | 10 | 5 | 11 | 40 | 37 | +3 | 35 | Qualification for the UAFA Club Cup |
| 8 | Al-Faisaly | 26 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 36 | 41 | −5 | 30 | Qualification for the GCC Champions League |
| 9 | Najran | 26 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 34 | 49 | −15 | 30 | Qualification for the GCC Champions League |
| 10 | Al-Raed | 26 | 8 | 4 | 14 | 28 | 39 | −11 | 28 | |
| 11 | Hajer | 26 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 23 | 45 | −22 | 25 | |
| 12 | Al-Taawoun | 26 | 4 | 7 | 15 | 28 | 52 | −24 | 19 | |
| 13 | Al-Qadsiah (R) | 26 | 4 | 6 | 16 | 34 | 52 | −18 | 18 | Relegation to the First Division |
| 14 | Al-Ansar (R) | 26 | 3 | 1 | 22 | 19 | 60 | −41 | 10 | Relegation to the First Division |
* ↑ Since the winners of the King Cup of Champions, Al-Ahli, qualified for the Champions League, the spot given to the King Cup of Champions winners (Champions League group stage) was passed to the fourth-placed team.

## Results

| Home \ Away | AHL | ANS | ETT | FSY | FAT | HIL | ITT | NSR | QAD | RAE | SHB | TWN | HJR | NAJ |
| Al-Ahli | | 5–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 3–3 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 4–3 | 4–0 |
| Al-Ansar | 0–1 | | 0–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 |
| Al-Ettifaq | 0–4 | 1–1 | | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 5–1 | 0–0 | 3–3 |
| Al-Faisaly | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–4 | | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 4–1 |
| Al-Fateh | 2–2 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | | 0–5 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 1–6 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 |
| Al-Hilal | 4–0 | 6–1 | 3–3 | 2–1 | 3–2 | | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 |
| Al-Ittihad | 1–3 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 4–2 | 1–2 | 0–2 | | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 5–3 | 7–0 | 2–2 |
| Al-Nassr | 1–3 | 4–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 1–3 | | 3–2 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 5–0 | 0–0 | 3–2 |
| Al-Qadsiah | 0–3 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 4–5 | 0–8 | 2–1 | | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 |
| Al-Raed | 1–5 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 1–4 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–4 | 1–0 | | 1–2 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 |
| Al-Shabab | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 3–2 | | 1–0 | 6–1 | 4–0 |
| Al-Taawoun | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 3–3 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 1–2 | | 2–1 | 1–4 |
| Hajer | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–4 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | | 1–0 |
| Najran | 0–4 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–4 | 1–1 | 1–1 | |

## Season statistics
### Scoring
#### Top scorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Victor Simões | Al-Ahli | 21 |
| 1 | Nasser Al-Shamrani | Al-Shabab | 21 |
| 3 | Amad Al-Hosni | Al-Ahli | 15 |
| 3 | Mohammad Al-Sahlawi | Al-Nassr | 15 |
| 5 | Hadj Bouguèche | Al-Qadsiah / Al-Nassr | 12 |
| 5 | Youssef El-Arabi | Al-Hilal | 12 |
| 5 | Bader Al-Kharashi | Al-Faisaly | 12 |
| 8 | Yousef Al-Salem | Al-Ettifaq | 11 |
| 9 | Doris Fuakumputu | Al-Fateh | 10 |
| 10 | Sebastián Tagliabué | Al-Ettifaq | 9 |
| 10 | Wendel | Al-Ittihad / Al-Shabab | 9 |
| 10 | Hamdan Al-Hamdan | Al-Fateh | 9 |
| 10 | Taisir Al-Jassim | Al-Ahli | 9 |
| 10 | Jehad Al-Hussain | Najran | 9 |

#### Hat-tricks

| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
| Hadj Bouguèche | Al-Qadsiah | Al-Fateh | 6–1 (A) | 14 October 2011 |
| Victor Simões | Al-Ahli | Al-Taawoun | 4–2 (H) | 15 October 2011 |
| Youssef El-Arabi | Al-Hilal | Al-Qadsiah | 5–4 (A) | 20 October 2011 |
| Wendel | Al-Ittihad | Al-Qadsiah | 8–0 (A) | 2 November 2011 |
| Victor Simões | Al-Ahli | Al-Ansar | 5–1 (H) | 29 December 2011 |
| Nasser Al-Shamrani | Al-Shabab | Al-Ansar | 3–0 (H) | 8 April 2012 |

##### Notes

(H) – Home team (A) – Away team

### Clean sheets

| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
| 1 | Waleed Abdullah | Al-Shabab | 13 |
| 1 | Yasser Al-Mosailem | Al-Ahli | 13 |
| 3 | Fayz Al-Sabiay | Al-Ettifaq | 11 |
| 4 | Khalid Sharahili | Al-Hilal | 7 |
| 5 | Hassan Al-Otaibi | Al-Hilal | 6 |
| 6 | Mohammed Al-Khojali | Al-Raed | 5 |
| 6 | Mohammad Sharifi | Al-Fateh | 5 |
| 8 | Abdullah Al-Enezi | Al-Nassr | 4 |
| 8 | Ali Al-Mazyadi | Al-Ittihad | 4 |
| 8 | Mustafa Malayekah | Hajer | 4 |

### Discipline
#### Player

* Most yellow cards: 10
** Mishaal Al-Saeed (Al-Ittihad)
* Most red cards: 2
** Bandar Musaad (Najran)
** Abdoh Hakami (Al-Raed)

#### Club

* Most yellow cards: 69
** Al-Ittihad
* Most red cards: 6
** Al-Ahli

## Attendances
### By team

| Pos | Team | Total | High | Low | Average | Change |
| 1 | Al-Ahli | 143,486 | 17,200 | 4,110 | 11,037 | +46.7%$^†$ |
| 2 | Al-Hilal | 97,112 | 22,996 | 352 | 7,470 | −14.5%$^†$ |
| 3 | Al-Raed | 92,903 | 22,523 | 1,831 | 7,146 | +4.0%$^†$ |
| 4 | Al-Ittihad | 91,318 | 16,195 | 2,620 | 7,024 | −6.9%$^†$ |
| 5 | Al-Taawoun | 90,672 | 19,658 | 2,058 | 6,975 | +4.2%$^†$ |
| 6 | Al-Ansar | 56,669 | 18,400 | 33 | 4,359 | n/a$^†$ † |
| 7 | Al-Nassr | 53,748 | 17,945 | 588 | 4,134 | −35.1%$^†$ |
| 8 | Al-Ettifaq | 52,653 | 18,016 | 203 | 4,050 | −7.8%$^†$ |
| 9 | Al-Shabab | 35,248 | 8,123 | 725 | 2,711 | +56.8%$^†$ |
| 10 | Al-Qadsiah | 19,026 | 6,711 | 28 | 1,464 | −28.2%$^†$ |
| 11 | Al-Fateh | 18,584 | 4,672 | 164 | 1,430 | −31.5%$^†$ |
| 12 | Hajer | 17,921 | 4,225 | 247 | 1,379 | n/a$^†$ † |
| 13 | Al-Faisaly | 15,657 | 3,223 | 395 | 1,204 | −8.9%$^†$ |
| 14 | Najran | 11,161 | 2,330 | 271 | 859 | −17.7%$^†$ |
| | League total | 796,158 | 22,996 | 28 | 4,374 | +4.0%$^†$ |
Updated to games played on 18 April 2012 Source: Notes: $^†$ Teams played previous season in First Division.

## Awards
### Arriyadiyah Awards for Sports Excellence

After a partnership of five years, it was announced that Mobily would no longer sponsor the award. The Arriyadiyah Awards for Sports Excellence were awarded for the sixth time since its inception in 2007. The awards were sponsored by Saudi newspaper Arriyadiyah and Saudi marketing company RPM. The awards were presented on 16 December 2012.
| Award | Winner | Club |
| Player of the Season | Taisir Al-Jassim Nasser Al-Shamrani Amad Al-Hosni | Al-Ahli Al-Shabab Al-Ahli |
| Young Player of the Season | Yasser Al-Fahmi Abdulellah Al-Nassar Ayman Fadel | Al-Ahli Al-Nassr Al-Ittihad |
| Golden Boot | Victor Simões Nasser Al-Shamrani | Al-Ahli Al-Shabab |

### Al-Riyadiya Awards

The Al-Riyadiya Awards were awarded for the third time since its inception in 2010. The awards were presented on 13 May 2012.
* Best Goalkeeper: Waleed Abdullah (Al-Shabab)
* Best defender: Osama Al-Muwallad (Al-Ittihad)
* Best Midfielder: Taisir Al-Jassim (Al-Ahli)
* Best attacker: Nasser Al-Shamrani (Al-Shabab)
* Player of the Year: Nasser Al-Shamrani (Al-Shabab)
* Young Player of the Year: Salem Al-Dawsari (Al-Hilal)