# 2011–12 A-League

The 2011–12 A-League was the 35th season of top-flight soccer in Australia, and the seventh season of the Australian A-League soccer competition since its establishment in 2004. At the end of the previous season, the North Queensland Fury were cut from the competition by the governing body, Football Federation Australia, due to financial reasons.

## Clubs

| Team | City | Home Ground | Capacity |
| Adelaide United | Adelaide | Hindmarsh Stadium | 17,000 |
| Brisbane Roar | Brisbane | Suncorp Stadium | 52,500 |
| Central Coast Mariners | Gosford | Bluetongue Stadium | 20,119 |
| Gold Coast United | Gold Coast | Skilled Park | 27,400 |
| Melbourne Heart | Melbourne | AAMI Park | 30,050 |
| Melbourne Victory | Melbourne | Etihad Stadium AAMI Park | 55,000 30,050 |
| Newcastle Jets | Newcastle | Ausgrid Stadium | 33,000 |
| Perth Glory | Perth | NIB Stadium | 20,500 |
| Sydney FC | Sydney | Sydney Football Stadium | 45,500 |
| Wellington Phoenix | Wellington | Westpac Stadium | 36,000 |

### Personnel and kits

| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Jersey sponsor |
| Adelaide United | John Kosmina | Eugene Galeković | Erreà | Coopers |
| Brisbane Roar | Ange Postecoglou | Matt Smith | Puma | The Coffee Club |
| Central Coast Mariners | Graham Arnold | Alex Wilkinson | Hummel | Soccer5s |
| Gold Coast United | Mike Mulvey | Michael Thwaite | Fi-ta | Hyatt Regency Coolum |
| Melbourne Heart | John van 't Schip | Fred | ISC | Westpac |
| Melbourne Victory | Jim Magilton | Adrian Leijer | Adidas | Adecco |
| Newcastle Jets | Gary van Egmond | Jobe Wheelhouse | ISC | Hunter Ports |
| Perth Glory | Ian Ferguson | Jacob Burns | X-blades | QBE Insurance |
| Sydney FC | Vítězslav Lavička | Terry McFlynn | Adidas | UNICEF |
| Wellington Phoenix | Ricki Herbert | Andrew Durante | Adidas | Sony |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| Newcastle Jets | Branko Čulina | Sacked | 4 October 2011 | Pre-season | Gary van Egmond | 20 October 2011 |
| Adelaide United | Rini Coolen | Sacked | 18 December 2011 | 9th | John Kosmina | 18 December 2011 |
| Melbourne Victory | Mehmet Durakovic | Sacked | 6 January 2012 | 8th | Jim Magilton | 7 January 2012 |
| Gold Coast United | Miron Bleiberg | Sacked/Resigned | 19 February 2012 | 10th | Mike Mulvey | 20 February 2012 |

### Foreign players

| Club | Visa 1 | Visa 2 | Visa 3 | Visa 4 | Visa 5 | Non-Visa foreigner(s) | Former player(s) |
| Adelaide United | Cássio | Sergio van Dijk | Yevhen Levchenko | Francisco Usúcar | | Ricardo$^1$ | |
| Brisbane Roar | Besart Berisha | Sayed Mohamed Adnan | Henrique | Issey Nakajima-Farran | Thomas Broich | Jack Hingert$^2$ | |
| Central Coast Mariners | John Sutton | Patrick Zwaanswijk | Michael McGlinchey | | | John Hutchinson$^2$ Brad McDonald$^2$ | |
| Gold Coast United | Robson | Adama Traoré | Paul Beekmans | Peter Jungschläger | Maceo Rigters | Ante Rožić$^2$ Samuel Tesfagabr$^1$ Ambesager Yosief$^1$ Glen Moss$^2$ | Jonas Salley$^1$ Alex Smith |
| Melbourne Heart | Jonatan Germano | Fred | Maycon | Alex Terra | Rutger Worm | | |
| Melbourne Victory | Fábio | Carlos Hernández | Jean Carlos Solórzano | Marco Rojas | Ubay Luzardo | Grant Brebner$^1$ | |
| Newcastle Jets | Tiago | Michael Bridges | Francis Jeffers | Jeremy Brockie | Byun Sung-hwan | Ali Abbas$^1$ | |
| Perth Glory | Billy Mehmet | Liam Miller | Bas van den Brink | Victor Sikora | Steven McGarry | Andrezinho$^3$ Shane Smeltz$^2$ Ndumba Makeche$^1$ | |
| Sydney FC | Bruno Cazarine | Juho Mäkelä | Hirofumi Moriyasu | Pascal Bosschaart | Karol Kisel | Terry McFlynn$^1$ | |
| Wellington Phoenix | Paul Ifill | Chris Greenacre | Dani Sánchez | Tony Warner | Alex Smith | Daniel$^1$ Manny Muscat$^2$ | |
The following do not fill a Visa position: $^1$Those players who were born and started their professional career abroad but have since gained Australian Residency (and New Zealand Residency, in the case of Wellington Phoenix); $^2$Australian residents (and New Zealand residents, in the case of Wellington Phoenix) who have chosen to represent another national team; $^3$Injury Replacement Players, or National Team Replacement Players; $^4$Guest Players (eligible to play a maximum of ten games)

### Salary cap exemptions and captains

| Club | Australian Marquee | International Marquee | Junior Marquee | Captain | Vice-Captain |
| Adelaide United | Dario Vidosic | Sergio van Dijk | None | Jon McKain Eugene Galekovic | Cássio |
| Brisbane Roar | None | None | None | Matt Smith | Shane Stefanutto |
| Central Coast Mariners | None | None | Oliver Bozanic | Alex Wilkinson | None |
| Gold Coast United | None | None | Tahj Minniecon | Michael Thwaite | Paul Beekmans Glen Moss |
| Melbourne Heart | None | Fred | None | Fred | Matt Thompson |
| Melbourne Victory | Archie Thompson | Harry Kewell | None | Adrian Leijer | Archie Thompson |
| Newcastle Jets | None | None | None | Jobe Wheelhouse | Kasey Wehrman |
| Perth Glory | Mile Sterjovski | Shane Smeltz | None | Jacob Burns | Chris Coyne |
| Sydney FC | Nick Carle | Brett Emerton | None | Terry McFlynn | Alex Brosque |
| Wellington Phoenix | None | None | None | Andrew Durante | Tim Brown |

## Regular season
### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Central Coast Mariners | 27 | 15 | 6 | 6 | 40 | 24 | +16 | 51 | Qualification for 2013 AFC Champions League group stage and finals series |
| 2 | Brisbane Roar (C) | 27 | 14 | 7 | 6 | 50 | 28 | +22 | 49 | Qualification for 2013 AFC Champions League qualifying play-off and finals series |
| 3 | Perth Glory | 27 | 13 | 4 | 10 | 40 | 35 | +5 | 43 | Qualification for Finals series |
| 4 | Wellington Phoenix | 27 | 12 | 4 | 11 | 34 | 32 | +2 | 40 | Qualification for Finals series |
| 5 | Sydney FC | 27 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 37 | 42 | −5 | 38 | Qualification for Finals series |
| 6 | Melbourne Heart | 27 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 35 | 34 | +1 | 37 | Qualification for Finals series |
| 7 | Newcastle Jets | 27 | 10 | 5 | 12 | 38 | 41 | −3 | 35 | |
| 8 | Melbourne Victory | 27 | 6 | 11 | 10 | 35 | 43 | −8 | 29 | |
| 9 | Adelaide United | 27 | 5 | 10 | 12 | 26 | 44 | −18 | 25 | |
| 10 | Gold Coast United | 27 | 4 | 9 | 14 | 30 | 42 | −12 | 21 | |
* ↑ First place qualifies for the 2013 AFC Champions League group stage. Winning the 2012 A-League Grand Final automatically earns qualification for the 2013 AFC Champions League qualifying play-off, unless first place are champions.

### Home and away season

The 2011–12 season saw each team play 27 games, host 13 and play 1 regional game over 25 rounds. On 4 January, over 11 hours of soccer was broadcast with all matches aired back to back starting in Wellington and ending in Perth. The season began on 8 October 2011 and concluded on 22 April 2012. All times are local unless otherwise stated.

#### Round 9

Midweek Fixture

#### Round 10

Midweek Fixture

#### Round 15

Midweek Fixture

#### Round 16

Midweek Fixture

#### Round 17

Midweek Fixture

#### Round 20

Postponed Round 17 Fixture

#### Round 25
### Table of results

Abbreviation and Color Key:
Adelaide United – AU
Brisbane Roar – BR
Central Coast Mariners – CCM
Gold Coast United – GCU
Melbourne Heart – MH
Melbourne Victory – MV
Newcastle Jets – NJ
Perth Glory – PG
Sydney FC – SFC
Wellington Phoenix – WP
Win
Loss
Draw
Home :
| Club | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match |
| Club | 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 |
| Adelaide United | PG | MV | SFC | BR | MH | GCU | WP | NUJ | CCM | MV | GCU | SFC | WP | MH | BR | MV | CCM | NUJ | PG | WP | GCU | SFC | NUJ | PG | BR | CCM | MH | | | |
| Adelaide United | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 7–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | | | | | | |
| Brisbane Roar | CCM | SFC | GCU | AU | MV | WP | NUJ | PG | SFC | MH | WP | CCM | GCU | MV | PG | AU | SFC | MH | NUJ | CCM | WP | MV | PG | MH | AU | NUJ | GCU | | | |
| Brisbane Roar | 1–0 | 0–2 | 3–0 | 7–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 3–2 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | | | | | | |
| Central Coast Mariners | BR | GCU | NUJ | PG | WP | MV | SFC | MH | AU | NUJ | BR | PG | GCU | MV | SFC | NUJ | MH | AU | GCU | BR | MV | WP | MH | SFC | PG | AU | WP | | | |
| Central Coast Mariners | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 3–1 | 0–4 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 3–3 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | | | | | | |
| Gold Coast United | WP | CCM | BR | NUJ | SFC | AU | MH | MV | PG | SFC | AU | BR | CCM | NUJ | MH | WP | SFC | CCM | MV | PG | AU | MH | MV | WP | NUJ | PG | BR | | | |
| Gold Coast United | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–2 | | | | | | |
| Melbourne Heart | NUJ | PG | MV | SFC | AU | NUJ | GCU | CCM | WP | BR | PG | MV | SFC | AU | GCU | PG | CCM | BR | WP | MV | NUJ | GCU | CCM | BR | WP | SFC | AU | | | |
| Melbourne Heart | 3–2 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 0–4 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | | | | | | |
| Melbourne Victory | SFC | AU | MH | WP | BR | CCM | PG | GCU | NUJ | AU | WP | MH | BR | CCM | NUJ | AU | PG | SFC | GCU | MH | CCM | BR | GCU | NUJ | SFC | WP | PG | | | |
| Melbourne Victory | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 4–2 | | | | | | |
| Newcastle Jets | MH | WP | CCM | GCU | PG | MH | BR | AU | MV | CCM | SFC | WP | PG | GCU | MV | CCM | WP | AU | BR | SFC | MH | PG | AU | MV | GCU | BR | SFC | | | |
| Newcastle Jets | 3–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 5–2 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–5 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 3–2 | | | | | | |
| Perth Glory | AU | MH | WP | CCM | NUJ | SFC | MV | BR | GCU | SFC | WP | MH | CCM | NUJ | BR | WP | MH | MV | AU | GCU | SFC | NUJ | BR | AU | CCM | GCU | MV | | | |
| Perth Glory | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 4–1 | 0–3 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–3 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 4–2 | | | | | | |
| Sydney FC | MV | BR | AU | MH | GCU | PG | CCM | WP | BR | PG | GCU | NUJ | AU | MH | WP | CCM | BR | GCU | MV | NUJ | PG | AU | WP | CCM | MV | MH | NUJ | | | |
| Sydney FC | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 0–4 | 4–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 2–5 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 3–2 | | | | | | |
| Wellington Phoenix | GCU | NUJ | PG | MV | CCM | BR | AU | SFC | MH | PG | BR | MV | NUJ | AU | SFC | PG | GCU | NUJ | MH | AU | BR | CCM | SFC | GCU | MH | MV | CCM | | | |
| Wellington Phoenix | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 5–2 | 2–0 | 4–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–2 | | | | | | |

## Finals series

| Elimination finals | Elimination finals | Elimination finals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Preliminary final | Preliminary final | Grand final | Grand final | Grand final |
| | | | 1 | Central Coast Mariners | 0 | 2 | | | Brisbane Roar | Brisbane Roar | 2 |
| | | | 2 | Brisbane Roar | 2 | 3 | | | Perth Glory | Perth Glory | 1 |
| | | | | | | | Central Coast Mariners | 1 (3) | | |
| 3 | Perth Glory | 3 | | | | | Central Coast Mariners | 1 (3) | | |
| 3 | Perth Glory | 3 | | | | | Perth Glory (pen.) | Perth Glory (pen.) | 1 (5) | | |
| 6 | Melbourne Heart | 0 | | | | | Perth Glory (pen.) | Perth Glory (pen.) | 1 (5) | | |
| 6 | Melbourne Heart | 0 | Perth Glory | Perth Glory | Perth Glory | 3 | | | | | |
| | | | Wellington Phoenix | Wellington Phoenix | Wellington Phoenix | 2 | | | | | |
| 4 | Wellington Phoenix | 3 | Wellington Phoenix | Wellington Phoenix | Wellington Phoenix | 2 | | | | | |
| 5 | Sydney FC | 2 | | | | | | | | | |

### Semi-finals

Brisbane Roar won 5–2 on aggregate.

### Grand Final
## Season statistics
### Top scorers

    As of end of regular season
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Besart Berisha | Brisbane Roar | 19 |
| 2 | Shane Smeltz | Perth Glory | 13 |
| 3 | Carlos Hernández | Melbourne Victory | 10 |
| 4 | Eli Babalj | Melbourne Heart | 9 |
| 4 | Jeremy Brockie | Newcastle Jets | 9 |
| 4 | Ryan Griffiths | Newcastle Jets | 9 |
| 4 | Mitch Nichols | Brisbane Roar | 9 |
| 8 | Bruno Cazarine | Sydney FC | 8 |
| 8 | Harry Kewell | Melbourne Victory | 8 |
| 8 | Sergio van Dijk | Adelaide United | 8 |

#### Own goals

    As of end of regular season
| Player | Team | Against | Week |
| Nigel Boogaard | Adelaide United | Wellington Phoenix | 7 |
| Vince Lia | Wellington Phoenix | Melbourne Victory | 11 |
| Byun Sung-Hwan | Newcastle Jets | Melbourne Victory | 14 |
| Byun Sung-Hwan | Newcastle Jets | Melbourne Victory | 14 |
| Adama Traoré | Gold Coast United | Perth Glory | 18 |
| Nigel Boogaard | Adelaide United | Gold Coast United | 19 |

### Attendances

These are the attendance records of each of the teams at the end of the home and away season. The table does not include finals series attendances.
| Team | Hosted | Average | High | Low | Total |
| Melbourne Victory | 13 | 20,281 | 40,351 | 11,231 | 263,648 |
| Brisbane Roar | 13 | 13,387 | 19,339 | 9,293 | 174,033 |
| Newcastle Jets | 13 | 12,117 | 17,245 | 9,311 | 157,518 |
| Sydney FC | 14 | 11,861 | 18,180 | 5,505 | 166,052 |
| Central Coast Mariners | 13 | 9,607 | 14,838 | 6,883 | 124,892 |
| Melbourne Heart | 14 | 9,082 | 26,579 | 2,951 | 127,142 |
| Adelaide United | 14 | 8,797 | 14,573 | 2,363 | 123,160 |
| Wellington Phoenix | 14 | 8,691 | 20,078 | 3,898 | 121,677 |
| Perth Glory | 13 | 8,315 | 12,358 | 6,484 | 108,101 |
| Gold Coast United | 14 | 3,546 | 6,927 | 1,141 | 49,649 |
| {{{T11}}} | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| {{{T12}}} | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| League total | 135 | 10,488 | 40,351 | 1,141 | 1,415,872 |
Updated to the 25 March 2012 note: Adelaide United's lowest crowd was at Bathurst's Carrington Park(NSW) as part of the regional round fixtures.

#### Top 10 Season Attendances

| Attendance | Round | Date | Home | Score | Away | Venue | Weekday | Time of Day |
| 50,334 | GF | 22 April 2012 | Brisbane Roar | 2–1 | Perth Glory | Suncorp Stadium | Sunday | Afternoon |
| 40,351 | 1 | 8 October 2011 | Melbourne Victory | 0–0 | Sydney FC | Etihad Stadium | Saturday | Night |
| 39,309 | 3 | 22 October 2011 | Melbourne Victory | 0–0 | Melbourne Heart | Etihad Stadium | Saturday | Night |
| 26,579 | 12 | 23 December 2011 | Melbourne Heart | 3–2 | Melbourne Victory | AAMI Park | Friday | Night |
| 26,395 | 18 | 4 February 2012 | Melbourne Heart | 0–0 | Melbourne Victory | AAMI Park | Saturday | Night |
| 24,820 | 5 | 5 November 2011 | Melbourne Victory | 2–2 | Brisbane Roar | Etihad Stadium | Saturday | Night |
| 20,959 | 15 | 13 January 2012 | Melbourne Victory | 1–1 | Adelaide United | AAMI Park | Friday | Night |
| 20,078 | 7 | 19 November 2011 | Wellington Phoenix | 1–1 | Adelaide United | Eden Park | Saturday | Afternoon |
| 20,053 | 17 | 26 January 2012 | Melbourne Victory | 2–2 | Sydney FC | AAMI Park | Thursday | Afternoon |
| 19,339 | 8 | 26 November 2011 | Brisbane Roar | 4–0 | Perth Glory | Suncorp Stadium | Saturday | Night |

### Discipline

Updated to end of Week 17, 2 February 2012 The Fair Play Award will go to the team with the lowest points on the fair play table at the conclusion of the home and away season.
| 1 point | Yellow Card |
| 2 points | Second Caution Red Card |
| 3 points | Direct Red Card |
| Team | | | | Points |
| Adelaide United | 44 | 2 | 0 | 48 |
| Brisbane Roar | 30 | 0 | 1 | 33 |
| Central Coast Mariners | 33 | 0 | 0 | 33 |
| Gold Coast United | 38 | 2 | 0 | 42 |
| Melbourne Heart | 35 | 1 | 0 | 37 |
| Melbourne Victory | 34 | 2 | 4 | 50 |
| Newcastle Jets | 41 | 1 | 1 | 46 |
| Perth Glory | 35 | 0 | 3 | 44 |
| Sydney FC | 48 | 0 | 1 | 51 |
| Wellington Phoenix | 32 | 2 | 2 | 42 |
| Melbourne Heart | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sydney Rovers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 370 | 10 | 12 | |
* Wellington Phoenix's Nick Ward was given a straight red card that was later rescinded by the Match Review Panel.

## Awards
### End-of-season awards

* Johnny Warren Medal – Thomas Broich, Brisbane Roar
* NAB Young Footballer of the Year – Mathew Ryan, Central Coast Mariners
* Nike Golden Boot Award – Besart Berisha, Brisbane Roar, 19 Goals
* Goalkeeper of the Year – Mathew Ryan, Central Coast Mariners
* Manager of the Year – Graham Arnold, Central Coast Mariners
* Fair Play Award – Brisbane Roar
* Referee of the Year – Jarred Gillett
* Foreign Player of the Year – Thomas Broich, Brisbane Roar
* Solo Goal of the Year – Carlos Hernández, Melbourne Victory FC (Melbourne Victory v Central Coast Mariners, 10-Feb-12)

### All-Star team

Formation: 3–4–3