# 2011–12 Primera División de Nicaragua

The 2011–12 season in Primera División de Nicaragua will be divided into two tournaments (Apertura and Clausura) and will determine the 59th and 60th champions in the history of the league. It will also provide the sole berth for the 2012–13 CONCACAF Champions League. The Apertura tournament will be played in the second half of 2011, while the Clausura will be played in the first half of 2012.

## Promotion and relegation

Promoted from Segunda División de Fútbol Nicaragua.
* Champions: Juventus
* Winner of promotion/relegation playoff: Chinandega FC
Relegated to Segunda División de Fútbol Nicaragua.
* Last place: América Managua (although they didn't finish last they had to replay a game, which the team refused to play and forfeited the match meaning they were relegated).
* Loser of promotion/relegation playoff: Xilotepelt

## Team information

Last updated: July 7, 2011

### Stadia and locations

| Team | Home city | Stadium | Capacity |
| Chinandega FC | Chinandega | TBA | |
| Diriangén | Diriamba | Estadio Cacique Diriangén | 7,500 |
| Juventus | Managua | Estadio Olímpico del IND Managua | 9,000 |
| Managua F.C. | Managua | Estadio Olímpico del IND Managua | 9,000 |
| Ocotal | Ocotal | Estadio Roy Fernandez | 3,000 |
| Real Estelí | Estelí | Estadio Independencia | 4,800 |
| Real Madriz | Somoto | Estadio Municipal de Somoto | 3,000 |
| Walter Ferretti | Managua | Estadio Olímpico del IND Managua | 9,000 |

### Personnel and sponsoring (2011 Apertura)

| Team | Chairman | Head Coach | Kitmaker | Shirt sponsor |
| Chinandega FC | TBA | Vidal Alonso | | |
| Diriangén | Tulio López | Glen Blanco | Joma | Movistar |
| Juventus | | Douglas Urbina | | |
| Managua F.C. | Napoleón Zeledón | Mario Alfaro | | Managua F.C. |
| Ocotal | Oscar Mendoza | Omar Zambrana | | Marlon Anthony |
| Real Estelí | Fidel Moreno | Ramón Otoniel Olivas | Galaxia | Movistar, Grupo Bimbo, Yahoo, La Curaçao |
| Real Madriz | Adolfo Marenco | Sindulio Adolfo Castellanos | | Roylan Moylan |
| Walter Ferretti | Carlos Palacios | José Valladares | | Policia, Cierro, Banco |

## Managerial changes
### Before the start of the season

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Replaced by | Date of appointment | Position in table |
| Diriangén | Rolando Méndez | sacked | TBA | Glen Blanco | August, 2011 | 3rd |
| Chinandega FC | Reyna Espinoza Morán | replaced moved to assistant manager | TBA | Vidal Alonso | August, 2011 | promoted |

### During the regular season

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Replaced by | Date of appointment | Position in table |
| Walter Ferretti | José Valladares | Resigned | August 9, 2011 | Henry Urbina | TBA | TBA |

## Apertura

The 2011 Apertura was the first tournament of the season. It began on 6 August 2011.

### Regular season

The regular season began on 6 August 2011. The top four finishers will move on to the next stage of the competition.

#### Standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Real Esteli | 14 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 21 | 8 | +13 | 33 | Semi-finals Group |
| 2 | Managua | 14 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 22 | 15 | +7 | 25 | Semi-finals Group |
| 3 | Walter Ferretti | 14 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 28 | 18 | +10 | 23 | Semi-finals Group |
| 4 | Chinandega | 14 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 16 | 15 | +1 | 23 | Semi-finals Group |
| 5 | Diriangén | 14 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 19 | 16 | +3 | 22 | |
| 6 | Juventus Managua | 14 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 22 | 29 | −7 | 13 | |
| 7 | Real Madriz | 14 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 20 | 33 | −13 | 10 | |
| 8 | Ocotal | 14 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 17 | 31 | −14 | 9 | |

#### Results

| Home \ Away | CHI | DIR | JUV | MAN | OCO | RES | RMD | WFE |
| Chinandega | | 0–2 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 |
| Diriangén | 0–1 | | 3–3 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 2–1 |
| Juventus Managua | 3–2 | 1–2 | | 0–1 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–5 |
| Managua | 0–3 | 1–3 | 0–0 | | 6–0 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 2–1 |
| Ocotal | 1–1 | 0–2 | 3–3 | 1–2 | | 1–2 | 3–2 | 1–2 |
| Real Esteli | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | | 3–0 | 2–1 |
| Real Madriz | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–4 | 1–4 | | 2–3 |
| Walter Ferretti | 6–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 4–1 | 0–0 | 3–2 | |

#### Positions by round

| Team ╲ Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
| Real Esteli | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Managua | 8 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| Walter Ferretti | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| Chinandega | 1 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
| Diriangén | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 |
| Juventus Managua | 5 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Real Madriz | 6 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 |
| Ocotal | 7 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 |

### Finals round

The top two finishers in the Semi-finals Group will move on to the final.

#### Semi-finals Group

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | RES | WFE | MAN | CHI |
| 1 | Real Esteli | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 3 | +5 | 13 | | 2–1 | 0–0 | 3–0 |
| 2 | Walter Ferretti | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 10 | +2 | 8 | 1–2 | | 1–1 | 3–2 |
| 3 | Managua | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 7 | −2 | 8 | 1–0 | 1–4 | | 1–2 |
| 4 | Chinandega | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 11 | −5 | 4 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 0–1 | |

### Final
#### Second leg

* Primera División de Nicaragua 2011 Apertura champion
* Real Estelí 11th title

## Clausura

The 2012 Clausura was the second tournament of the season.

### Personnel and sponsoring (2011 Apertura)

| Team | Chairman | Head Coach | Kitmaker | Shirt sponsor |
| Chinandega FC | Ortencia Marin | Luis Olivares | adidas | |
| Diriangén | Tulio López | Martín Mena | Joma | Movistar |
| Juventus | | Douglas Urbina | | |
| Managua F.C. | Napoleón Zeledón | Mario Alfaro | cebjus | Managua F.C. |
| Ocotal | Oscar Mendoza | Omar Zambrana | Galaxia | None |
| Real Estelí | Fidel Moreno | Ramón Otoniel Olivas | Galaxia | Movistar, Grupo Bimbo, Yahoo, La Curaçao |
| Real Madriz | Adolfo Marenco | Sindulio Adolfo Castellanos | | Roylan Moylan |
| Walter Ferretti | Carlos Palacios | Henry Urbina | | Policia, Cierro, Banco |

## Managerial changes
### Before the start of the season

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Replaced by | Date of appointment | Position in table |
| Chinandega FC | Vidal Alonso | sacked | TBA | Luis Olivares | January, 2012 | 4th |

### During the regular season

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Replaced by | Date of appointment | Position in table |
| Deportivo Ocotal | Omar Zambrana | Resigned | 11 February 2012 | Carlos Walcott | 12 February 2012 | TBA |
| Managua F.C. | Mario Alfaro | Resigned | February 15, 2012 | Emilio Aburto | TBA | TBA |
| Diriangen FC | Martin Mena | Resigned Personal Issues | February 19, 2012 | Angel Eugenio Orellana | February 20, 2012 | 3rd |
| Chinandega FC | Luis Olivares | Sacked | February, 2012 | Reyna Espinizo | February, 2012 | 8th |
* ↑ She has become the first women to coach a men's first division club

### Regular season

The top four finishers will move on to the next stage of the competition.

#### Standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Real Esteli | 14 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 27 | 8 | +19 | 32 | Semi-finals Group |
| 2 | Walter Ferretti | 14 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 17 | 12 | +5 | 21 | Semi-finals Group |
| 3 | Diriangén | 14 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 15 | 12 | +3 | 21 | Semi-finals Group |
| 4 | Managua | 14 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 19 | 17 | +2 | 21 | Semi-finals Group |
| 5 | Ocotal | 14 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 22 | 24 | −2 | 20 | |
| 6 | Juventus Managua | 14 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 19 | 22 | −3 | 15 | |
| 7 | Real Madriz | 14 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 18 | 23 | −5 | 15 | |
| 8 | Chinandega | 14 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 11 | 30 | −19 | 8 | |

#### Results

| Home \ Away | CHI | DIR | JUV | MAN | OCO | RES | RMD | WFE |
| Chinandega | | 0–0 | 2–4 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 0–1 |
| Diriangén | 0–0 | | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 0–0 |
| Juventus Managua | 0–1 | 1–3 | | 2–2 | 4–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 0–2 |
| Managua | 4–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | | 0–2 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 0–3 |
| Ocotal | 4–0 | 3–1 | 3–3 | 3–1 | | 0–2 | 1–3 | 0–1 |
| Real Esteli | 3–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 5–1 | | 3–0 | 1–1 |
| Real Madriz | 5–0 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | | 2–1 |
| Walter Ferretti | 3–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | |

#### Positions by round

| Team ╲ Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
| Chinandega | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Diriangén | 4 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| Juventus Managua | 5 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 |
| Managua | 2 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| Ocotal | 8 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Real Esteli | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Real Madriz | 3 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 |
| Walter Ferretti | 6 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |

### Finals round

The top two finishers in the Semi-finals Group will move on to the final.

#### Semi-finals Group

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | RES | DIR | MAN | WFE |
| 1 | Real Esteli | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 3 | +6 | 14 | | 3–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 |
| 2 | Diriangén | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 5 | +7 | 12 | 0–1 | | 3–0 | 1–0 |
| 3 | Managua | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 11 | −5 | 7 | 0–1 | 0–3 | | 2–1 |
| 4 | Walter Ferretti | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 13 | −7 | 1 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 2–3 | |

### Final
#### Second leg

Real Esteli won 6-1 on aggregate.
* Primera División de Nicaragua 2012 Clausura champion
* Real Estelí 12th title

## Aggregate table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Real Esteli | 28 | 20 | 5 | 3 | 48 | 16 | +32 | 65 | Qualification for 2012–13 CONCACAF Champions League Group Stage |
| 2 | Managua | 28 | 13 | 7 | 8 | 41 | 32 | +9 | 46 | |
| 3 | Walter Ferretti | 28 | 13 | 5 | 10 | 45 | 30 | +15 | 44 | |
| 4 | Diriangén | 28 | 11 | 10 | 7 | 34 | 28 | +6 | 43 | |
| 5 | Chinandega | 28 | 8 | 7 | 13 | 27 | 45 | −18 | 31 | |
| 6 | Ocotal | 28 | 8 | 5 | 15 | 39 | 55 | −16 | 29 | |
| 7 | Juventus Managua | 28 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 41 | 51 | −10 | 28 | Relegation playoffs |
| 8 | Real Madriz | 28 | 7 | 4 | 17 | 38 | 56 | −18 | 25 | Relegation to Segunda División de Fútbol Nicaragua |

## List of foreign players in the league

This is a list of foreign players in Clausura 2012. The following players:
* have played at least one apertura game for the respective club.
* have not been capped for the Nicaragua national football team on any level, independently from the birthplace
A new rule was introduced a few season ago, that clubs can only have four foreign players per club and can only add a new player if a player/s is released.