# 2011–12 Athletic Bilbao season

The 2011–12 season was the 111th season in Athletic Bilbao's history and their 81st consecutive season in La Liga, the top division of Spanish football. It covers a period from 1 July 2011 to 30 June 2012.
Athletic Bilbao competed for their ninth La Liga title and participated in the UEFA Europa League, entering in the play-off round due to their sixth-place finish in the 2010–11 La Liga. They also entered the Copa del Rey in the Round of 32.

## Players
### Squad information

| N | Pos. | Name | Age | EU | Since | App | Goals | Ends | Transfer fee | Notes |
| 1 | GK | Gorka Iraizoz | 43 | EU | 2007 | 150 | 0 | 2015 | €4.6M | Originally from Youth system |
| 2 | FW | Gaizka Toquero | 40 | EU | 2008 | 103 | 20 | 2012 | Free | |
| 3 | DF | Jon Aurtenetxe | 32 | EU | 2010 | 13 | 0 | 2014 | Youth system | |
| 5 | CB | Fernando Amorebieta | 39 | EU | 2005 | 187 | 1 | 2013 | Youth system | Second nationality: Spain |
| 6 | CB | Mikel San José | 35 | EU | 2010 | 64 | 5 | 2015 | €2.5M | Originally from Youth system |
| 7 | MF | David López | 42 | EU | 2007 | 125 | 14 | 2013 | €6M | |
| 8 | DM | Ander Iturraspe | 35 | EU | 2008 | 42 | 0 | 2012 | Youth system | |
| 9 | ST | Fernando Llorente | 39 | EU | 2004 | 244 | 84 | 2013 | Youth system | |
| 10 | FW | Óscar de Marcos | 35 | EU | 2009 | 44 | 3 | 2013 | €0.35M | |
| 11 | LM | Igor Gabilondo | 45 | EU | 2006 | 154 | 21 | 2012 | Free | |
| 12 | LB | Koikili | 43 | EU | 2007 | 98 | 2 | 2012 | Free | |
| 13 | GK | Raúl | 36 | EU | 2010 | 1 | 0 | 2012 | Youth system | |
| 14 | RW | Markel Susaeta | 36 | EU | 2007 | 151 | 12 | 2013 | Youth system | |
| 15 | RB | Andoni Iraola | 41 | EU | 2003 | 334 | 34 | 2014 | Youth system | |
| 18 | DM | Carlos Gurpegui | 44 | EU | 2001 | 256 | 17 | 2014 | Youth system | |
| 19 | LW | Iker Muniain | 31 | EU | 2009 | 73 | 11 | 2015 | Youth system | |
| 20 | CB | Aitor Ocio | 47 | EU | 2007 | 119 | 2 | 2012 | €3.5M | |
| 21 | MF | Ander Herrera | 35 | EU | 2011 | 0 | 0 | 2016 | €7.5M | |
| 22 | LB | Xabi Castillo | 38 | EU | 2009 | 45 | 0 | 2013 | €1M | Originally from Youth system |
| 23 | CB | Borja Ekiza | 36 | EU | 2010 | 21 | 0 | 2013 | Youth system | |
| 24 | CM | Javi Martínez | 36 | EU | 2006 | 197 | 23 | 2016 | €6M | |
| 26 | AM | Igor Martínez | 35 | EU | 2010 | 10 | 0 | 2013 | €0.2M | |
| 28 | FW | Ibai | 36 | EU | 2010 | 3 | 0 | | €0.2M (estimate) | |
* Last updated: 6 July 2011
* Source: Athletic-Club.net, Players transfer, Wikipedia players' articles (for player numbers, appearances, and goals)
* Ordered by squad number.

### Transfers
#### In

| Pos. | Name | Age | EU | Moving from | Type | Transfer window | Ends | Transfer fee | Source |
| RB | Iban Zubiaurre | 28 | EU | Albacete | Loan return | Summer | 2014 | N/A | |
| FW | Ion Vélez | 26 | EU | Numancia | Loan return | Summer | 2012 | N/A | |
| MF | Ander Herrera | 21 | EU | Zaragoza | Transfer | Summer | 2016 | Unknown | Marca.com |
| MF | Iñigo Pérez | 23 | EU | Huesca | Loan return | Summer | 2012 | N/A | |
Total expenditure: €0 million

#### Out

| N | Pos. | Nat. | Name | Age | EU | Moving to | Type | Transfer window | Transfer fee | Source |
Total income: €0 million

## Club
### Coaching staff

| Position | Staff |
| Head coach | Marcelo Bielsa |
| 2nd coach | Luciano Martín |
| Physical coaches | Javier Reyes, Bernardo Requena, Xabier Clemente |
| Goalkeepers coach | Luis Llopis |
| Representative | Iñaki Morán |
| Medical services | Joxean Lekue, Paco Angulo |
| Physiotherapists | Juan Manuel Ipiña, Alfonso Ruiz, Álvaro Campa, Beñat Azula |
| Chiropractor | Kepa Galardi |
| Material managers | José Antonio Narváez, Txetxu Gallego |
Source: Athletic-Club.net

## La Liga
### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 8 | Mallorca | 38 | 14 | 10 | 14 | 42 | 46 | −4 | 52 | |
| 9 | Sevilla | 38 | 13 | 11 | 14 | 48 | 47 | +1 | 50 | |
| 10 | Athletic Bilbao | 38 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 49 | 52 | −3 | 49 | Qualification for the Europa League third qualifying round |
| 11 | Getafe | 38 | 12 | 11 | 15 | 40 | 51 | −11 | 47 | |
| 12 | Real Sociedad | 38 | 12 | 11 | 15 | 46 | 52 | −6 | 47 | |
* ↑ Athletic Bilbao qualified for the third qualifying round of the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League as runners-up of the 2011–12 Copa del Rey to Barcelona, who have qualified for the 2012–13 UEFA Champions League. Consequently, Levante entered the play-off round.
* 1 2 GET: 8 pts; RSO: 5 pts; BET: 2 pts

### Results by round

| Round | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 1 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 29 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 20 | 37 | 38 |
| Ground | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A |
| Result | D | L | L | L | D | W | W | D | W | D | D | W | L | D | D | W | D | W | L | W | D | L | W | D | W | L | L | L | D | L | W | D | W | W | L | L | D | L |
| Position | 8 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 19 | 16 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |

### Matches

Win  Draw  Loss  Postponed

## UEFA Europa League
### Play-off round
### Group stage

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Athletic Bilbao | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 8 | +3 | 13 | Advance to knockout phase |
| 2 | Red Bull Salzburg | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 8 | +3 | 10 | Advance to knockout phase |
| 3 | Paris Saint-Germain | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 7 | +1 | 10 | |
| 4 | Slovan Bratislava | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 11 | −7 | 1 | |
* 1 2 Tied on head-to-head points (3) and head-to-head goal difference (0). Head-to-head away goals: Red Bull Salzburg 1, Paris Saint-Germain 0.