# 2012–13 Ligue 2

The 2012–13 Ligue 2 season was the 74th season since its establishment. The league schedule was announced in April 2012 and the fixtures were determined on 30 May. The season began on 27 July and ended on 24 May 2013. The winter break was in effect from 22 December to 12 January 2013. In addition, German sportswear company Uhlsport became the official provider of match balls for the season after agreeing to a long-term partnership with the Ligue de Football Professionnel.

## Teams

There were three promoted teams from the Championnat National, replacing the three teams that were relegated from Ligue 2 following the 2011–12 season. A total of 20 teams are currently competing in the league with three clubs suffering relegation to the third division, Championnat National. All clubs that secured Ligue 2 status for the season were subject to approval by the DNCG before becoming eligible to participate.
Auxerre was the first club to suffer relegation to Ligue 2 in the 2011–12 Ligue 1 season. The club's drop was confirmed on 13 May 2012 following the team's 3–0 loss to Marseille; a defeat that made it impossible for the club to finish safe. Auxerre returned to the second division after 32 consecutive years playing in Ligue 1. Prior to the 2011–12 season, the club had never suffered relegation from the country's top division. On the final day of the 2011–12 Ligue 1 season, Dijon and Caen were both relegated to Ligue 2 following defeats to Rennes and Valenciennes, respectively. Dijon returned to the second division after only one season in Ligue 1, while Caen fell to the second-tier after two years in the first division.
On 18 May 2012, both Nîmes and Gazélec Ajaccio were promoted to Ligue 2 after each club achieved results that made it impossible for the league's fourth-placed team to surpass them. Nîmes returned to the second division after only one year at semi-professional level, while Gazélec will play in Ligue 2 for the first time since the 1992–93 season. On the final day of the 2011–12 National season, Niort became the final club to earn promotion to Ligue 2 after beating already-promoted Gazélec Ajaccio 1–0. Niort returned to the second division for the first time since the 2007–08 season.

### DNCG rulings

On 11 July 2012, following a preliminary review of each club's administrative and financial accounts in Ligue 2, the DNCG ruled that Le Mans would be relegated to the Championnat National. Following the announcement, Le Mans president Henri Legarda announced that the club would appeal the decision stating the "shareholders will play their part and the club will go after every possible step to restore its rightful place in the sport." On 25 July, Le Mans confirmed on its official website that the DNCG had reversed it decision to relegate the club.

### Stadia and locations

| Club | Location | Venue | Capacity | Av. Att. |
| Angers | Angers | Stade Jean Bouin | 17,100 | 6,850 |
| Arles-Avignon | Avignon | Parc des Sports | 17,518 | 1,968 |
| Auxerre | Auxerre | Stade de l'Abbé-Deschamps | 24,493 | 5,789 |
| Caen | Caen | Stade Michel d'Ornano | 21,500 | 10,129 |
| Châteauroux | Châteauroux | Stade Gaston Petit | 17,173 | 5,416 |
| Clermont | Clermont-Ferrand | Stade Gabriel Montpied | 10,363 | 4,069 |
| Dijon | Dijon | Stade Gaston Gérard | 15,998 | 8,321 |
| Gazélec Ajaccio | Ajaccio | Stade Ange Casanova | 5,000 | 2,471 |
| Guingamp | Guingamp | Stade du Roudourou | 18,126 | 9,507 |
| Istres | Istres | Stade Parsemain | 17,468 | 2,024 |
| Laval | Laval | Stade Francis Le Basser | 18,739 | 4,424 |
| Le Havre | Le Havre | Stade Océane | 25,000 | 8,397 |
| Le Mans | Le Mans | MMArena | 25,000 | 6,029 |
| Lens | Lens | Stade Félix-Bollaert | 41,233 | 16,179 |
| AS Monaco | Monaco | Stade Louis II | 18,500 | 5,293 |
| Nantes | Nantes | Stade de la Beaujoire | 38,285 | 18,171 |
| Nîmes | Nîmes | Stade des Costières | 18,482 | 5,509 |
| Niort | Niort | Stade René Gaillard | 10,898 | 4,572 |
| Sedan | Sedan | Stade Louis Dugauguez | 23,189 | 5,530 |
| Tours | Tours | Stade de la Vallée du Cher | 13,500 | 4,059 |

### 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 | Manager$^1$ | Captain$^1$ | Kit Manufacturer$^1$ | Main Sponsor$^1$ |
| Angers | Stéphane Moulin | Grégory Malicki | Umbro | Scania |
| Arles-Avignon | Noël Tosi | Ludovic Butelle | Uhlsport | Groupe Nicollin |
| Auxerre | Bernard Casoni | Adama Coulibaly | Airness | Maisons Pierre |
| Caen | Patrice Garande | Jérémy Sorbon | Nike | GDE Recyclage |
| Châteauroux | Didier Tholot | Massamba Sambou | Nike | Le Seyec |
| Clermont | Régis Brouard | Jean-François Rivière | Patrick Sport | Crédit Mutuel |
| Dijon | Olivier Dall'Oglio | Cédric Varrault | Nike | Doras,IPS |
| Gazélec Ajaccio | Thierry Laurey | Louis Poggi | Adidas | Carrefour,Casino d'Ajaccio |
| Guingamp | Jocelyn Gourvennec | Lionel Mathis | Patrick Sport | Groupe Stalaven |
| Istres | José Pasqualetti | Nassim Akrour | Duarig | Trust 2 Cloud |
| Laval | Philippe Hinschberger | Fabrice Levrat | Duarig | Lactel |
| Le Havre | Erick Mombaerts | Julien François | Nike | System U |
| Le Mans | Régis Beunardeau | Frédéric Thomas | Macron | LOUÉ |
| Lens | Éric Sikora | Yohan Demont | adidas | Invicta |
| AS Monaco | Claudio Ranieri | Andreas Wolf | Macron | Fedcom |
| Nantes | Michel Der Zakarian | Olivier Veigneau | Erreà | Offset 5 |
| Nîmes | Victor Zvunka | Benoît Poulain | Erreà | Mac Dan |
| Niort | Pascal Gastien | Johan Letzelter | Puma | Restaurant Le Billon (home), Cheminées Poujoulat (away) |
| Sedan | Laurent Guyot | Mamadou Diallo | Nike | Invicta |
| Tours | Bernard Blaquart | Julien Cardy | Duarig | Invicta |
$^1$Subject to change during the season.

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing head coach | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming head coach | Date of appointment | Position in table |
| AS Monaco | Marco Simone | Sacked | 19 May 2012 | Off-season | Claudio Ranieri | 30 May 2012 | Off-season |
| Dijon | Patrice Carteron | Mutual consent | 24 May 2012 | Off-season | Olivier Dall'Oglio | 1 June 2012 | Off-season |
| Nîmes | Thierry Froger | End of contract | 25 May 2012 | Off-season | Victor Zvunka | 1 June 2012 | Off-season |
| Nantes | Landry Chauvin | Joined Brest | 31 May 2012 | Off-season | Michel Der Zakarian | 1 June 2012 | Off-season |
| Clermont | Michel Der Zakarian | Resigned | 30 May 2012 | Off-season | Régis Brouard | 7 June 2012 | Off-season |
| Caen | Franck Dumas | Resigned | 13 June 2012 | Off-season | Patrice Garande | 18 June 2012 | Off-season |
| Gazélec Ajaccio | Dominique Veilex | Mutual consent | 1 August 2012 | 15th | Jean-Michel Cavalli | 6 August 2012 | 18th |
| Tours | Peter Zeidler | Sacked | 21 August 2012 | 20th | Bernard Blaquart | 21 August 2012 | 20th |
| Lens | Jean-Louis Garcia | Sacked | 24 September 2012 | 15th | Éric Sikora | 24 September 2012 | 15th |
| Arles-Avignon | Thierry Laurey | Sacked | 3 November 2012 | 18th | Pierre Mosca (interim) | 3 November 2012 | 18th |
| Le Havre | Cédric Daury | Sacked | 12 November 2012 | 16th | Erick Mombaerts | 21 December 2012 | 9th |
| Auxerre | Jean-Guy Wallemme | Mutual consent | 2 December 2012 | 15th | Bernard Casoni | 3 December 2012 | 15th |
| Arles-Avignon | Pierre Mosca (interim) | End of interim spell | 11 February 2013 | 17th | Noël Tosi | 11 February 2013 | 17th |
| Gazélec Ajaccio | Jean-Michel Cavalli | Sacked | 15 February 2013 | 19th | Thierry Laurey | 19 February 2013 | 19th |
| Le Mans | Denis Zanko | Sacked | 24 April 2013 | 18th | Régis Beunardeau | 24 April 2013 | 18th |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or Relegation |
| 1 | Monaco (C, P) | 38 | 21 | 13 | 4 | 64 | 33 | +31 | 76 | Promotion to Ligue 1 |
| 2 | Guingamp (P) | 38 | 20 | 10 | 8 | 63 | 38 | +25 | 70 | Promotion to Ligue 1 |
| 3 | Nantes (P) | 38 | 19 | 12 | 7 | 54 | 29 | +25 | 69 | Promotion to Ligue 1 |
| 4 | Caen | 38 | 17 | 12 | 9 | 48 | 28 | +20 | 63 | |
| 5 | Angers | 38 | 17 | 10 | 11 | 52 | 39 | +13 | 61 | |
| 6 | Le Havre | 38 | 16 | 11 | 11 | 52 | 47 | +5 | 59 | |
| 7 | Dijon | 38 | 15 | 14 | 9 | 52 | 49 | +3 | 59 | |
| 8 | Nîmes | 38 | 17 | 7 | 14 | 52 | 42 | +10 | 58 | |
| 9 | Auxerre | 38 | 13 | 10 | 15 | 51 | 53 | −2 | 49 | |
| 10 | Tours | 38 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 40 | 49 | −9 | 49 | |
| 11 | Arles-Avignon | 38 | 10 | 16 | 12 | 36 | 48 | −12 | 46 | |
| 12 | Lens | 38 | 9 | 18 | 11 | 39 | 53 | −14 | 45 | |
| 13 | Istres | 38 | 11 | 10 | 17 | 38 | 45 | −7 | 43 | |
| 14 | Clermont | 38 | 9 | 16 | 13 | 33 | 47 | −14 | 43 | |
| 15 | Niort | 38 | 8 | 18 | 12 | 39 | 42 | −3 | 42 | |
| 16 | Châteauroux | 38 | 8 | 18 | 12 | 43 | 47 | −4 | 42 | |
| 17 | Laval | 38 | 10 | 12 | 16 | 47 | 54 | −7 | 42 | |
| 18 | Le Mans (D, R) | 38 | 11 | 7 | 20 | 39 | 62 | −23 | 40 | Voluntary relegation to the Regional 1 |
| 19 | Sedan (D, R) | 38 | 6 | 13 | 19 | 41 | 58 | −17 | 28 | Voluntary relegation to CFA 2 |
| 20 | Gazélec Ajaccio (R) | 38 | 6 | 10 | 22 | 34 | 54 | −20 | 25 | Relegation to Championnat National |

## Results

| Home \ Away | ANG | ACAA | AUX | CAE | CHA | CLR | DIJ | GAZ | GUI | IST | LVL | LHA | MFC | RCL | ASM | NAN | NMS | NRT | SED | TOU |
| Angers | | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 3–3 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 |
| Arles-Avignon | 2–0 | | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 |
| Auxerre | 2–2 | 2–1 | | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 4–2 | 1–0 | 3–2 |
| Caen | 1–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | | 1–0 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 |
| Châteauroux | 2–3 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | | 0–0 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 |
| Clermont | 1–2 | 2–4 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 |
| Dijon | 0–0 | 2–3 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 1–0 |
| Gazélec Ajaccio | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | | 0–1 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 |
| Guingamp | 2–1 | 0–0 | 4–3 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | | 1–0 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 6–1 | 7–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 4–3 | 2–0 | 0–0 |
| Istres | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 0–4 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 2–0 | 2–0 | | 2–2 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 4–1 |
| Laval | 1–4 | 1–3 | 4–5 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2–2 |
| Le Havre | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 |
| Le Mans | 0–2 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 0–4 | | 2–1 | 2–3 | 0–3 | 0–3 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| Lens | 1–3 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 4–3 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | | 0–4 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 0–0 |
| Monaco | 2–2 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 4–0 |
| Nantes | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 1–1 | | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 |
| Nîmes | 3–0 | 4–1 | 4–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | | 3–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 |
| Niort | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | | 1–3 | 3–1 |
| Sedan | 2–2 | 4–2 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 4–1 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 0–2 | | 1–1 |
| Tours | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | |

## Season statistics
### Hat-tricks

| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
| Ibrahima Touré | AS Monaco | Lens | 0–4 | 21 September 2012 |
| Claudiu Keșerü$^4$ | Angers | Le Mans | 4–0 | 28 September 2012 |
| Claudio Beauvue | Châteauroux | Gazélec Ajaccio | 3–1 | 19 October 2012 |
| Fernando Aristeguieta | Nantes | Châteauroux | 0–4 | 15 April 2013 |
| Mustapha Yatabaré | Guingamp | Lens | 7–0 | 10 May 2013 |
| Raphaël Cacérès | Arles-Avignon | Dijon | 2–3 | 17 May 2013 |
* $^4$ Player scored 4 goals

### Scoring

* First goal of the season: Steeven Langil for Auxerre against Nîmes (27 July 2012)