# 2011–12 Primeira Liga

The 2011–12 Primeira Liga (also known as Liga ZON Sagres for sponsorship reasons) was the 78th season of the Primeira Liga, the top professional league for Portuguese association football clubs. It began on 14 August 2011 and ended on 13 May 2012. A total of 16 teams contested the league, 14 of which already took part in the previous season and two of which were promoted from the Liga de Honra. Porto were the defending champions and secured their 26th and second consecutive league title. Óscar Cardozo and Lima, respectively Benfica's and Braga's strikers, were the joint top scorers with 20 goals.

## Teams

Sixteen teams contested the league, fourteen of which already contested in the 2010–11 season and two of which were promoted from the 2010–11 Liga de Honra. The two teams relegated following the 2010–11 season were Portimonense, which returned to the Liga de Honra just a year after promotion, and Naval, returning to the second tier after a six-year stay. Replacing them in the top flight were Liga de Honra champions Gil Vicente, competing in their 14th Liga season after returning from a five-year absence, and Feirense, who were in the top division for the fourth time and the first since the 1989–90 season.

### Stadia and locations

| Team | Home city | Stadium | Capacity | 2010–11 | Current Spell |
| Académica | Coimbra | Estádio Cidade de Coimbra | 30,210 | 14th | 2002–03 |
| Beira-Mar | Aveiro | Estádio Municipal de Aveiro | 30,127 | 13th | 2010–11 |
| Benfica | Lisbon | Estádio da Luz | 65,467 | Runner-up | 1934–35 |
| Braga | Braga | Estádio Municipal de Braga | 30,152 | 3rd | 1974–75 |
| Feirense | Santa Maria da Feira | Estádio Marcolino de Castro | 4,667 | Liga de Honra Runner-up | 2011–12 |
| Gil Vicente | Barcelos | Estádio Cidade de Barcelos | 12,374 | Liga de Honra Champion | 2011–12 |
| Marítimo | Funchal | Estádio dos Barreiros | 8,922 | 9th | 1985–86 |
| Nacional | Funchal | Estádio da Madeira | 5,132 | 6th | 2002–03 |
| Olhanense | Olhão | Estádio José Arcanjo | 11,622 | 11th | 2009–10 |
| Paços de Ferreira | Paços de Ferreira | Estádio da Mata Real | 5,255 | 7th | 2005–06 |
| Porto | Porto | Estádio do Dragão | 50,399 | Champion | 1934–35 |
| Rio Ave | Vila do Conde | Estádio dos Arcos | 12,815 | 8th | 2008–09 |
| Sporting CP | Lisbon | Estádio José Alvalade | 50,080 | 4th | 1934–35 |
| União de Leiria | Leiria | Estádio Municipal da Marinha Grande | 8,378 | 10th | 2009–10 |
| Vitória de Guimarães | Guimarães | Estádio D. Afonso Henriques | 30,165 | 5th | 2007–08 |
| Vitória de Setúbal | Setúbal | Estádio do Bonfim | 18,692 | 12th | 2004–05 |

### 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 | Head coach | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| Académica | Pedro Emanuel | Orlando | Lacatoni | EFAPEL |
| Beira-Mar | Rui Bento | Hugo Vieira | Joma | Diatosta |
| Benfica | Jorge Jesus | Luisão | Adidas | TMN (H) / MEO (A) |
| Braga | Leonardo Jardim | Alan | Macron | AXA |
| Feirense | Quim Machado | Luciano | Adidas | E.Leclerc / BetClic |
| Gil Vicente | Paulo Alves | Paulo Arantes | Madsport | GIVEC / Águas de Barcelos / Glassdrive |
| Marítimo | Pedro Martins | João Guilherme | Lacatoni | Banif |
| Nacional | Pedro Caixinha | Felipe Lopes | Joma | Banif |
| Olhanense | Sérgio Conceição | Rui Duarte | Lacatoni | Ria Shopping |
| Paços de Ferreira | Henrique Calisto | Filipe Anunciação | Lacatoni | Capital do Móvel |
| Porto | Vítor Pereira | Helton | Nike | MEO (H) / TMN (A) |
| Rio Ave | Carlos Brito | José Gaspar | Lacatoni | Nassica |
| Sporting CP | Ricardo Sá Pinto | Daniel Carriço | Puma | TMN (H) / MEO (A) |
| União de Leiria | José Dominguez | Marco Soares | Joma | Kia |
| Vitória de Guimarães | Rui Vitória | João Alves | Lacatoni | Finibanco |
| Vitória de Setúbal | Bruno Ribeiro | Ricardo Silva | Lacatoni | Kia |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Replaced by | Date of appointment | Position in table |
| Porto | André Villas-Boas | Resigned/Signed by Chelsea | 21 June 2011 | Vítor Pereira | 22 June 2011 | Pre-season |
| Vitória de Guimarães | Manuel Machado | Resigned | 26 August 2011 | Rui Vitória | 30 August 2011 | 16th |
| Paços de Ferreira | Rui Vitória | Signed by Vitória de Guimarães | 30 August 2011 | Luís Miguel | 30 August 2011 | 9th |
| União de Leiria | Pedro Caixinha | Sacked | 6 September 2011 | Vítor Pontes | 8 September 2011 | 16th |
| União de Leiria | Vítor Pontes | Resigned | 26 September 2011 | Manuel Cajuda | 26 September 2011 | 16th |
| Nacional | Ivo Vieira | Resigned | 31 October 2011 | Pedro Caixinha | 31 October 2011 | 12th |
| Paços de Ferreira | Luís Miguel | Sacked | 27 November 2011 | Henrique Calisto | 30 November 2011 | 16th |
| Olhanense | Daúto Faquirá | Resigned | 30 December 2011 | Sérgio Conceição | 1 January 2012 | 10th |
| Sporting CP | Domingos Paciência | Sacked | 13 February 2012 | Ricardo Sá Pinto | 13 February 2012 | 4th |
| Beira-Mar | Rui Bento | Resigned | 26 February 2012 | Ulisses Morais | 27 February 2012 | 13th |
| Feirense | Quim Machado | Sacked | 2 April 2012 | Henrique Nunes | 2 April 2012 | 16th |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Porto (C) | 30 | 23 | 6 | 1 | 69 | 19 | +50 | 75 | Qualification to Champions League group stage |
| 2 | Benfica | 30 | 21 | 6 | 3 | 66 | 27 | +39 | 69 | Qualification to Champions League group stage |
| 3 | Braga | 30 | 19 | 5 | 6 | 59 | 29 | +30 | 62 | Qualification to Champions League play-off round |
| 4 | Sporting CP | 30 | 18 | 5 | 7 | 47 | 26 | +21 | 59 | Qualification to Europa League play-off round |
| 5 | Marítimo | 30 | 14 | 8 | 8 | 41 | 38 | +3 | 50 | Qualification to Europa League third qualifying round |
| 6 | Vitória de Guimarães | 30 | 14 | 3 | 13 | 40 | 40 | 0 | 45 | |
| 7 | Nacional | 30 | 13 | 5 | 12 | 48 | 50 | −2 | 44 | |
| 8 | Olhanense | 30 | 9 | 12 | 9 | 36 | 38 | −2 | 39 | |
| 9 | Gil Vicente | 30 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 31 | 42 | −11 | 34 | |
| 10 | Paços de Ferreira | 30 | 8 | 7 | 15 | 35 | 53 | −18 | 31 | |
| 11 | Vitória de Setúbal | 30 | 8 | 6 | 16 | 24 | 49 | −25 | 30 | |
| 12 | Beira-Mar | 30 | 8 | 5 | 17 | 26 | 38 | −12 | 29 | |
| 13 | Académica | 30 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 27 | 38 | −11 | 29 | Qualification to Europa League group stage |
| 14 | Rio Ave | 30 | 7 | 7 | 16 | 33 | 42 | −9 | 28 | |
| 15 | Feirense (R) | 30 | 5 | 9 | 16 | 27 | 49 | −22 | 24 | Relegation to Segunda Liga |
| 16 | União de Leiria (R) | 30 | 5 | 4 | 21 | 25 | 56 | −31 | 19 | Relegation to Segunda Liga |
* 1 2 Beira-Mar ahead of Académica on head-to-head record; Académica–Beira-Mar 0–1, Beira-Mar–Académica 2–1
* ↑ Académica qualified for the group stage of 2012–13 UEFA Europa League after winning the 2011–12 Taça de Portugal.

### Positions by round

| 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 |
| Porto | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Benfica | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Braga | 8 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Sporting CP | 6 | 9 | 12 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Marítimo | 8 | 14 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Vitória de Guimarães | 16 | 6 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 13 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Nacional | 8 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 13 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 15 | 14 | 10 | 11 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| Olhanense | 6 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 11 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Gil Vicente | 4 | 12 | 7 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
| Paços de Ferreira | 14 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 11 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 10 | 10 |
| Vitória de Setúbal | 1 | 5 | 8 | 12 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 11 |
| Beira-Mar | 8 | 10 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 13 | 11 | 12 | 12 |
| Académica | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 13 |
| Rio Ave | 8 | 11 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 14 | 15 | 13 | 15 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 14 |
| Feirense | 8 | 13 | 13 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 15 |
| União de Leiria | 14 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 11 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 |
* Leader
* 2012–13 UEFA Champions League Group stage
* 2012–13 UEFA Champions League Third qualifying round
* 2012–13 UEFA Europa League Play-off round
* 2012–13 UEFA Europa League Third qualifying round
* Relegation to 2012–13 Liga de Honra

## Results

| Home \ Away | ACA | BEM | BEN | BRA | FEI | GVI | MAR | NAC | OLH | PAÇ | POR | RAV | SCP | ULE | VGU | VSE |
| Académica | | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 4–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 |
| Beira-Mar | 2–1 | | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–3 |
| Benfica | 4–1 | 3–1 | | 2–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 4–1 | 4–1 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 2–3 | 5–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 4–1 |
| Braga | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | | 3–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 5–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 3–0 |
| Feirense | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 1–4 | | 0–0 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 1–0 |
| Gil Vicente | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 0–3 | 3–1 | | 0–0 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 0–1 |
| Marítimo | 3–2 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 3–2 | | 2–4 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 |
| Nacional | 4–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2–2 | | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 1–4 | 1–1 |
| Olhanense | 0–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 3–4 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 4–4 | | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 |
| Paços de Ferreira | 2–0 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 1–5 | 2–1 |
| Porto | 1–1 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 5–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | | 2–0 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 3–0 |
| Rio Ave | 0–0 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–5 | | 2–3 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 3–0 |
| Sporting CP | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 6–1 | 2–3 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | | 3–1 | 5–0 | 3–0 |
| União de Leiria | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–4 | 1–0 | 0–4 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 2–3 | 1–3 | 2–4 | 2–5 | 1–0 | 0–1 | | 1–0 | 2–0 |
| Vitória de Guimarães | 1–2 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 3–2 | | 3–0 |
| Vitória de Setúbal | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | |

## Season statistics
### Top goalscorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Óscar Cardozo | Benfica | 20 |
| 1 | Lima | Braga | 20 |
| 3 | Hulk | Porto | 16 |
| 4 | Ricky van Wolfswinkel | Sporting CP | 14 |
| 5 | James Rodríguez | Porto | 13 |
| 6 | João Tomás | Rio Ave | 11 |
| 6 | Edgar | Vitória de Guimarães | 11 |
| 6 | Nolito | Benfica | 11 |
| 9 | Baba Diawara | Marítimo | 10 |
| 9 | Claudemir | Nacional | 10 |
| 9 | Bruno César | Benfica | 10 |
| 9 | Lorenzo Melgarejo | Paços de Ferreira | 10 |
| 9 | Mario Rondón | Nacional | 10 |
* Last updated: 13 May 2012, 00:25 UTC

### Assists table

| Rank | Player | Club | Assists |
| 1 | Hulk | Porto | 10 |
| 2 | Pablo Aimar | Benfica | 9 |
| 2 | Danilo Dias | Marítimo | 9 |
| 4 | James Rodríguez | Porto | 8 |
| 5 | Nicolás Gaitán | Benfica | 7 |
| 5 | Nolito | Benfica | 7 |
| 5 | Alan | Braga | 7 |
| 5 | Wilson Eduardo | Olhanense | 7 |
| 5 | Lima | Braga | 7 |
* Last updated: 7 May 2012, 12:48 UTC

### Hat-tricks

| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
| Edgar | Vitória de Guimarães | Paços de Ferreira | 5–1 | 4 November 2011 |
| Lima | Braga | Gil Vicente | 3–0 | 18 February 2012 |
| Kléber | Porto | Rio Ave | 5-2 | 12 May 2012 |
| Ricky van Wolfswinkel | Sporting CP | Braga | 3-2 | 12 May 2012 |

## Awards
### Annual awards
#### Portuguese Golden Ball

The Portuguese Golden Ball was given to James Rodríguez, the youngest player (21) to ever receive the award.

#### LPFP Primeira Liga Player of the Year

The LPFP Primeira Liga Player of the Year was awarded to Hulk. He became the first player to win the award twice.

#### LPFP Primeira Liga Breakthrough Player of the Year

The LPFP Primeira Liga Breakthrough Player of the Year was awarded to James Rodríguez.

#### LPFP Primeira Liga Goalkeeper of the Year

The LPFP Primeira Liga Goalkeeper of the Year was awarded to Rui Patrício.

#### LPFP Primeira Liga Manager of the Year

The LPFP Primeira Liga Coach of the Year was awarded to Vítor Pereira.

#### LPFP Primeira Liga Fairplay Award

The LPFP Primeira Liga Fairplay Award was awarded to Rio Ave.