Contents

2011–12 in Belgian football

Football in Belgium

Season	2011–12
← 2010–11 2012–13 →

The 2011–12 football season in Belgium, which is the 109th season of competitive football in the country and runs from July 2011 until June 2012.

National team football[edit]

Men's national football team[edit]

The Belgian national team started the 2011–12 season knowing they were still undefeated in 2011, but also knowing that they needed to make up for earlier mistakes during the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying campaign. With Germany topping the qualifying group with the maximum number of points after seven matches, the battle for second place and the resulting play-offs place was between Belgium and Turkey. Turkey was one point down, but had a game in hand.

On 2 September 2011, all looked fine for the Belgians until the last few minutes, as Rauf Aliyev scored the equalizer for Azerbaijan against Belgium in Baku, while on the same day, Turkey scored a 96th-minute winner against Kazakhstan. Turkey now lead Belgium by one point and had a game in hand. Four days later, Belgium partially recovered mentally by beating the United States in a friendly, while Turkey dropped points away to Austria, only drawing 0–0.

Turkey lost second place again as they were beaten 1–3 at home to Germany, while Belgium successfully put Kazakhstan away 4–1. On the last matchday, however, Belgium needed to match the result of Turkey and while Turkey hosted Azerbaijan, Belgium played an away game in Germany, who had won all their matches so far. The miracle did not happen for Belgium as they lost 3–1 and Turkey won 1–0, causing Belgium to miss out on yet another major tournament, still waiting for one since the 2002 FIFA World Cup. The general feeling in Belgium was one of a missed chance, as the Belgian team had shown promising football throughout the campaign, but often were not able to get or hold on to a needed result. Too many mistakes were made during the campaign, with many citing the 4–4 home draw with Austria, the 1–1 home draw with Turkey and the 1–1 away draw with Azerbaijan, which all should have been won. Coach Georges Leekens, however, not blamed, as his goal was to qualify for the 2014 World Cup.

After the unsuccessful Euro 2012 qualifying campaign, Belgium continued with a series of friendlies to bridge the gap until the start of the 2014 World Cup qualification matches in September 2012. In November, Belgium overpowered Romania in a friendly in Liège, but only won 2–1 before drawing 0–0 with FranceinParis. In February, a mediocre match in and against Greece resulted in a 1–1 draw.

On 13 May, the Belgian soccer fans were shocked as head coach Georges Leekens decided to quit his position and become the head coach at Club Brugge. Assistant coach Marc Wilmots was persuaded to take over the position as caretaker, while the Royal Belgian Football Association looked for a new candidate. Wilmots led the team in a 2–2 friendly draw at home against Montenegro and a 1–0 loss against EnglandatWembley Stadium. In the week following these matches, Wilmots was appointed as the head coach of the national team.

UEFA Euro 2012 qualification[edit]

Azerbaijan v Belgium

2 September 2011	Azerbaijan	1 – 1	Belgium	Tofik Bakhramov Stadium, Baku
21:00 UTC+5	R. Aliyev 86'	Report	Simons 55' (pen.)	Attendance: 8,000 Referee: Lee Probert (England)

Belgium v Kazakhstan

7 October 2011	Belgium	4 – 1	Kazakhstan	King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels
	Simons 40' (pen.) Hazard 43' Kompany 49' Yevstigneyev 84' (o.g.)	Report	Nurdauletov 86' (pen.)	Attendance: 29,578 Referee: Milorad Mažić (Serbia)

Germany v Belgium

11 October 2011	Germany	3 – 1	Belgium	Esprit Arena, Düsseldorf
19:00 CET	Özil 30' Schürrle 33' Gómez 48'	Report	Fellaini 86'	Attendance: 48,483 Referee: Svein Oddvar Moen (Norway)

Friendlies[edit]

Slovenia v Belgium

10 August 2011	Slovenia	0 – 0	Belgium	Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana
20:45 CEST		Report		Referee: Marijo Strahonja (Croatia)

Belgium v United States

6 September 2011	Belgium	1 – 0	United States	King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels
20:45 CEST	Lombaerts 56'	Report		Referee: William Collum (Scotland)

Belgium v Romania

11 November 2011	Belgium	2 – 1	Romania	Stade Maurice Dufrasne, Liège
20:45 CET	Van Buyten 11' Cociș 44' (o.g.)	Report	Niculae 67'	Referee: Saïd Ennjimi (France)

France v Belgium

15 November 2011	France	0 – 0	Belgium	Stade de France, Paris
20:45 CET				Attendance: 60,000 Referee: César Muñiz Fernández (Spain)

Greece v Belgium

29 February 2012	Greece	1 – 1	Belgium	Pankritio Stadium, Greece
20:30 CET	Salpingidis 9'	Summary	Chadli 32'	Referee: Daniel Stalhammar (Sweden)

Belgium v Montenegro

25 May 2012	Belgium	2 – 2	Montenegro	King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels
20:45 CEST	Mirallas 25' Hazard 33' (pen.)	Report	Vučinić 6' Drinčić 75'	Referee: Clement Turpain (France)

England v Belgium

2 June 2012	England	1 – 0	Belgium	Wembley Stadium, England
18:15 CEST	Welbeck 36'	Report		Referee: Peter Rasmussen (Denmark)

Women's national football team[edit]

Euro 2013 qualifying[edit]

Belgium v Hungary

17 September 2011	Belgium	2 – 1	Hungary	Lorzestraat, Dessel
16:00	Wullaert 43' Demoustier 85'	Report	Jakabfi 81'	Attendance: 389 Referee: Saša Ihringová (England)

Iceland v Belgium

21 September 2011	Iceland	0 – 0	Belgium	Laugardalsvollur, Reykjavík
21:30		Report		Attendance: 2,968 Referee: Christine Beck (Germany)

Belgium v Norway

26 October 2011	Belgium	0 – 1	Norway	Lorzestraat, Dessel
16:00		Report	Lund 66'	Attendance: 933 Referee: Kateryna Monzul (Ukraine)

Belgium v Bulgaria

19 November 2011	Belgium	5 – 0	Bulgaria	Lorzestraat, Dessel
16:00	Zeler 5', 56' Wiard 14', 43' Van Gils 70'	Report		Referee: Zuzana Kováčová (Slovakia)

Bulgaria v Belgium

23 November 2011	Bulgaria	0 – 1	Belgium	Lovech Stadium, Lovech
13:00		Report	Demoustier 13'	Referee: Stéphanie Frappart (France)

Belgium v Northern Ireland

15 February 2012	Belgium	2 – 2	Northern Ireland	Lorzestraat, Dessel
20:00	Zeler 44' Wullaert 53'	Report	O'Hagan 51' Nelson 83'	Referee: Sandra Braz Bastos (Portugal)

Belgium v Iceland

4 April 2012	Belgium	1 – 0	Iceland	Lorzestraat, Dessel
19:00	Van Broeck  27' Philtjens  45+1' Wullaert 66'	Summary	Magnusdottir  79'	Referee: Natalia Avdonchenko

Hungary v Belgium

19 June 2012	Hungary	1 – 3	Belgium	Rohonci Street Stadium, Szombathely
17:00	Dombai-Nagy 19'	Report	Mermans 13' Cayman 65' Wiard 77'	Attendance: 225 Referee: Tanja Schett

Men's national under-21 team[edit]

Friendly match[edit]

Belgium v Turkey

9 August 2011	Belgium	2 – 3	Turkey	Den Dreef, Heverlee, Belgium
	Benteke 9', 29'		Gülle 60' Kaplan 70', 87'

U-21 Championship qualifiers[edit]

The Belgium under-21 squad is currently in Group 8 of the qualification process for the 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship.

Iceland v Belgium

1 September 2011	Iceland	2 – 1	Belgium	Hlíðarendi, Reykjavík
19:00	Sigurðarson 25', 87'	Report	Benteke 42'	Referee: Miroslav Zelinka (Czech Republic)

Belgium v Azerbaijan

6 September 2011	Belgium	4 – 1	Azerbaijan	Olympisch Stadion, Antwerp
18:00	Bruno 2' Mertens 35' Meunier 81' Benteke 83'	Report	Imamverdiyev 24'	Referee: Ivan Kružliak (Slovakia)

Azerbaijan v Belgium

10 October 2011	Azerbaijan	2 – 2	Belgium	Dalga Arena, Baku
15:00	Imamverdiyev 22' Özkara 31'	Report	De Pauw 40' De Jonghe 76'	Referee: Marius Avram (Romania)

Norway v Belgium

10 November 2011	Norway	2 – 2	Belgium	Viking Stadion, Stavanger
19:00	Pedersen 57' de Lanlay 70'	Report	Bruno 2' Badibanga 60'	Referee: Ilias Spathas (Greece)

Belgium v England

14 November 2011	Belgium	2 – 1	England	Stade Charles Tondreau, Mons
20:45	Naessens 72' El Kaddouri 90+1'	Report	Kelly 14'	Referee: Harald Lechner (Austria)

England v Belgium

29 February 2012	England	4 - 0	Belgium	Riverside Stadium
18:00	Lansbury 9', 53' Caulker 36' Oxlade-Chamberlain 90+4' (pen.)	Summary		Referee: Liran Liany

This leaves two matches, home to Norway and home to Iceland to be played in the next season.

Promotion and relegation[edit]

Team promoted to 2011–12 Belgian Pro League

• Belgian Second Division Champions: OH Leuven
• Playoff winners: Mons

Teams relegated from 2010–11 Belgian Pro League

• 15th Place: Eupen (lost playoff)
• 16th Place: Charleroi

Teams promoted to 2011–12 Belgian Second Division

• Belgian Third Division A Champions: Aalst
• Belgian Third Division B Champions: WS Woluwe
• Playoff winners: Sint-Niklaas

Teams relegated from 2010-11 Belgian Second Division

• 16th Place, lost playoff: Turnhout
• 17th Place: Rupel Boom
• 18th Place: Tournai

League competitions[edit]

Belgian First Division[edit]

Belgian Second Division[edit]

European Club results[edit]

Genk and Standard Liège participated in the qualifying rounds of the Champions League, while Westerlo, Club Brugge and Anderlecht started respectively in the second qualifying round, third qualifying round and playoff round of the Europa League.

• Partizan twice took the lead against Genk in the Third qualifying round, but Genk managed to overcome the deficit with a 2-1 victory at home and a 1–1 draw in Belgrade. After a 2–1 loss in Haifa and a 2–1 win in Genk, Genk needed penalty kicks to get past Maccabi Haifa in the Play-off round. Genk was drawn together with Bayer Leverkusen, Chelsea and Valencia and started with a promising 0-0 home draw against Valencia, followed by a 2–0 loss away to Leverkusen. After a 5–0 loss in London, supporters feared the worst when Chelsea came to play in Genk, but surprisingly, Chelsea was held to a 1–1 draw. Hopes were shattered on the next match day however, as Valencia humiliated Genk with a 7–0 victory, thereby eliminating Genk from European football with still one matchday to go. In the final match against already qualified Leverkusen, Genk maintained their unbeaten status at home, drawing for the third time.
• Unlike Genk, Standard was not able to qualify for the group stage of the Champions League, as they lost out 2–1 on aggregate to Zürich, thereby dropping into the Play-off round of the UEFA Europa League, where they were paired with Helsingborgs IF. After both a home and an away win, Standard moved on to Group B of the Group stage where they were coupled with Copenhagen, Hannover and Vorskla Poltava. After three wins and two draws, Standard qualified for the knockout phase and was sure of winning the group with still one match to go. In the knockout stages, Standard first beat Wisła Kraków on the away goals rule after drawing twice, before being paired again with Hannover 96 in the round of 16. Although Standard kept Hannover to a 2–2 draw at home, they were well beaten 4–0 in the return leg in Germany.
• Westerlo qualified for the third qualifying round of the Europa League by putting aside TPS Turku, where they lost out 5–1 on aggregate to Young Boys.
• Starting in the third qualifying round of the Europa League, Club Brugge needed to get past two opponents to qualify for the group stage. Club Brugge was twice given an unattractive draw in a far away region, as they first beat Qarabağ from Azerbaijan before eliminating Zestafoni from Georgia. Twice they secured the qualification at home and had trouble in their away match, losing 1–0 in Baku and only drawing 3–3 in Tbilisi. In the group stage, both Maribor (at home) and Braga (away) were beaten in the first two matches, before Club Brugge lost 1–2 at home to Birmingham City due to a 99th-minute winner from Chris Wood. After a 2–2 draw in Birmingham and the "miracle of Maribor" (3–4 win in Maribor when they were 3–0 down after 70 minutes), Club Brugge needed only a draw in their final home match against Braga to qualify as group winners. In the knockout stages, they were eliminated by Hannover 96 after losing both legs.
• Anderlecht qualified relatively easily for the group stage of the Europa League after eliminating Bursaspor 4–3 on aggregate, but their engine only started running properly during the group stage, where they scored a perfect six out of six victories. After putting away AEK Athens 4–1 at home, they stole the points away to Lokomotiv Moscow, winning 0–2. Then followed two wins against Sturm Graz, resulting in an early qualification already after four matchdays. In the last two matches, Anderlecht won away to AEK Athens and managed to finish the group with the maximum number of points after a final 5–3 home win against Lokomotiv. However, Anderlecht were then paired with AZ and lost both legs 1–0 in the round of 32. During the group stage, Anderlecht had equalled three records:
  • They were only the third team to score the maximum number of points in the group stage of the UEFA Europa League after Red Bull Salzburgin2009–10 and Zenit Saint Petersburgin2010–11.
  • Matías Suárez scored seven goals during the group stage, equalling the record set the previous season by Radamel Falcao with Porto.
  • A total of 18 goals were scored, which equals the record set by CSKA Moscow and Zenit in 2010–11.

Date	Team	Competition	Round	Leg	Opponent	Location	Score	Belgian Team Goalscorers
14 July 2011	Westerlo	Europa League	Qual. Round 2	Leg 1, Away	TPS Turku	Veritas Stadion, Turku	0-1	Cabeke
21 July 2011	Westerlo	Europa League	Qual. Round 2	Leg 2, Home	TPS Turku	Het Kuipje, Westerlo	0-0
26 July 2011	Genk	Champions League	Qual. Round 3	Leg 1, Home	Partizan Belgrade	Cristal Arena, Genk	2-1	Vossen, Ogunjimi
27 July 2011	Standard Liège	Champions League	Qual. Round 3	Leg 1, Home	Zürich	Stade Maurice Dufrasne, Liège	1-1	González
28 July 2011	Club Brugge	Europa League	Qual. Round 3	Leg 1, Home	Qarabağ	Jan Breydel Stadium, Bruges	4-1	Vleminckx, Vázquez, Donk, Dirar
28 July 2011	Westerlo	Europa League	Qual. Round 3	Leg 1, Away	Young Boys	Stade de Suisse, Bern	3-1	Brüls
3 August 2011	Genk	Champions League	Qual. Round 3	Leg 2, Away	Partizan	Stadion FK Partizan, Belgrade	1-1	Vossen
3 August 2011	Standard Liège	Champions League	Qual. Round 3	Leg 2, Away	Zürich	Letzigrund, Zürich	1-0
4 August 2011	Club Brugge	Europa League	Qual. Round 3	Leg 2, Away	Qarabağ	Tofiq Bahramov Stadium, Baku	1-0
4 August 2011	Westerlo	Europa League	Qual. Round 3	Leg 2, Home	Young Boys	Het Kuipje, Westerlo	0-2
17 August 2011	Genk	Champions League	Playoff Round	Leg 1, Away	Maccabi Haifa	Kiryat Eliezer Stadium, Haifa	2-1	Barda
18 August 2011	Anderlecht	Europa League	Play-off Round	Leg 1, Away	Bursaspor	Bursa Atatürk Stadium, Bursa	1-2	Legear, Jovanović
18 August 2011	Club Brugge	Europa League	Play-off Round	Leg 1, Away	Zestafoni	David Abashidze Stadium, Zestafoni	3-3	Akpala, Refaelov, Hoefkens
18 August 2011	Standard Liège	Europa League	Play-off Round	Leg 1, Home	Helsingborgs IF	Stade Maurice Dufrasne, Liège	1-0	Tchité
23 August 2011	Genk	Champions League	Playoff Round	Leg 2, Home	Maccabi Haifa	Cristal Arena, Genk	2-1 (aet) (pen 4–1)	Vossen, Buffel
25 August 2011	Anderlecht	Europa League	Play-off Round	Leg 2, Home	Bursaspor	Constant Vanden Stock Stadium, Anderlecht	2-2	Juhász, Jovanović
25 August 2011	Club Brugge	Europa League	Play-off Round	Leg 2, Home	Zestafoni	Jan Breydel Stadium, Bruges	2-0	Akpala (2)
25 August 2011	Standard Liège	Europa League	Play-off Round	Leg 2, Away	Helsingborgs IF	Olympia, Helsingborg	1-3	Leye, Berrier, Kanu
13 September 2011	Genk	Champions League	Group Stage	Matchday 1, Home	Valencia	Cristal Arena, Genk	0-0
15 September 2011	Anderlecht	Europa League	Group Stage	Matchday 1, Home	AEK Athens	Constant Vanden Stock Stadium, Anderlecht	4-1	Suárez (3), Jovanović
15 September 2011	Club Brugge	Europa League	Group Stage	Matchday 1, Home	Maribor	Jan Breydel Stadium, Bruges	2-0	Odjidja, Dirar
15 September 2011	Standard Liège	Europa League	Group Stage	Matchday 1, Away	Hannover 96	AWD-Arena, Hanover	0-0
28 September 2011	Genk	Champions League	Group Stage	Matchday 2, Away	Bayer Leverkusen	BayArena, Leverkusen	2-0
29 September 2011	Anderlecht	Europa League	Group Stage	Matchday 2, Away	Lokomotiv Moscow	Lokomotiv Stadium, Moscow	0-2	Suárez, Mbokani
29 September 2011	Club Brugge	Europa League	Group Stage	Matchday 2, Away	Braga	Estádio Municipal, Braga	1-2	Akpala, Donk
29 September 2011	Standard Liège	Europa League	Group Stage	Matchday 2, Home	Copenhagen	Stade Maurice Dufrasne, Liège	3-0	Seijas, Felipe, Kanu
19 October 2011	Genk	Champions League	Group Stage	Matchday 3, Away	Chelsea	Stamford Bridge, London	5-0
20 October 2011	Anderlecht	Europa League	Group Stage	Matchday 3, Away	Sturm Graz	UPC-Arena, Graz	0-2	Gillet, Suárez
20 October 2011	Club Brugge	Europa League	Group Stage	Matchday 3, Home	Birmingham City	Jan Breydel Stadium, Bruges	1-2	Akpala
20 October 2011	Standard Liège	Europa League	Group Stage	Matchday 3, Home	Vorskla Poltava	Stade Maurice Dufrasne, Liège	0-0
1 November 2011	Genk	Champions League	Group Stage	Matchday 4, Home	Chelsea	Cristal Arena, Genk	1-1	Vossen
3 November 2011	Club Brugge	Europa League	Group Stage	Matchday 4, Away	Birmingham City	St Andrew's, Birmingham	2-2	Meunier, Akpala
3 November 2011	Anderlecht	Europa League	Group Stage	Matchday 4, Home	Sturm Graz	Constant Vanden Stock Stadium, Anderlecht	3-0	Gillet, Suárez, De Sutter
3 November 2011	Standard Liège	Europa League	Group Stage	Matchday 4, Away	Vorskla Poltava	Butovsky Vorskla Stadium, Poltava	1-3	Seijas, Kanu, Tchité
23 November 2011	Genk	Champions League	Group Stage	Matchday 5, Away	Valencia	Mestalla Stadium, Valencia	7-0
30 November 2011	Club Brugge	Europa League	Group Stage	Matchday 5, Away	Maribor	Ljudski vrt, Maribor	3-4	Dirar (2), Akpala, Donk
30 November 2011	Standard Liège	Europa League	Group Stage	Matchday 5, Home	Hannover 96	Stade Maurice Dufrasne, Liège	2-0	Tchité, Cyriac
1 December 2011	Anderlecht	Europa League	Group Stage	Matchday 5, Away	AEK Athens	Olympic Stadium, Athens	1-2	Gillet (2)
6 December 2011	Genk	Champions League	Group Stage	Matchday 6, Home	Bayer Leverkusen	Cristal Arena, Genk	1-1	Vossen
14 December 2011	Anderlecht	Europa League	Group Stage	Matchday 6, Home	Lokomotiv Moscow	Constant Vanden Stock Stadium, Anderlecht	5-3	Kljestan, Canesin, Wasilewski, Suárez, Gillet
15 December 2011	Club Brugge	Europa League	Group Stage	Matchday 6, Home	Braga	Jan Breydel Stadium, Bruges	1-1	Vleminckx
15 December 2011	Standard Liège	Europa League	Group Stage	Matchday 6, Away	Copenhagen	Parken Stadium, Copenhagen	0-1	Batshuayi
16 February 2012	Anderlecht	Europa League	Round of 32	Leg 1, Away	AZ	AFAS Stadion, Alkmaar	1-0
16 February 2012	Club Brugge	Europa League	Round of 32	Leg 1, Away	Hannover 96	AWD-Arena, Hanover	2-1	Lestienne
16 February 2012	Standard Liège	Europa League	Round of 32	Leg 1, Away	Wisła Kraków	Stadion im. Henryka Reymana	1-1	Cyriac
23 February 2012	Anderlecht	Europa League	Round of 32	Leg 2, Home	AZ	Constant Vanden Stock Stadium, Anderlecht	0-1
23 February 2012	Club Brugge	Europa League	Round of 32	Leg 2, Home	Hannover 96	Jan Breydel Stadium, Bruges	0-1
23 February 2012	Standard Liège	Europa League	Round of 32	Leg 2, Home	Wisła Kraków	Stade Maurice Dufrasne, Liège	0-0
8 March 2012	Standard Liège	Europa League	Round of 16	Leg 1, Home	Hannover 96	Stade Maurice Dufrasne, Liège	2-2	Buyens, Tchité
15 March 2012	Standard Liège	Europa League	Round of 16	Leg 2, Away	Hannover 96	AWD-Arena, Hanover	4-0

Other honours[edit]

European qualification for 2012-13 summary[edit]

See also[edit]

• 2011–12 Belgian Pro League
• 2011–12 Belgian Cup
• 2012 Belgian Super Cup
• Belgian Second Division
• Belgian Third Division: divisions A and B
• Belgian Promotion: divisions A, B, C and D

References[edit]