The 2011–12 Liga I was the ninety-fourth season of

Liga I The Liga I (; ''First League''), also spelled as Liga 1, is a Romanian professional league for men's association football clubs. Currently sponsored by betting company Superbet, it is officially known as the SuperLiga. It is the country's top ...

, the top-level football league of

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, a ...

. It began on 22 July 2011 and ended on 19 May 2012. The defending champions are Oțelul Galați. Since Romania dropped from eighth to fourteenth place in the

UEFA association coefficient rankings In European football, the UEFA coefficients are statistics based in weighted arithmetic means used for ranking and seeding teams in club and international competitions. Introduced in 1979 for men's football tournaments, and after applied in wome ...

at the end of the 2010–11 season, the league has lost its

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...

playoff round berth. Further, the champions will not directly be entered into the group stage of the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...

any more, but rather have to begin in the third qualification round.

Teams

The league was originally expected to comprise eighteen teams, fourteen teams from the 2010–11 season and four teams eligible for promotion from the 2010–11 Liga II. However, the exact composition of the league was further affected by the licensing controversies, see below. Four teams from the 2010–11 season were relegated to their respective

2011–12 Liga II The 2011–12 Liga II was the 72nd season of the Liga II, the second tier of the Romanian football league system. The league structure had two series of 16 teams each. The first two teams in each series were promoted and the last three in each ser ...

division; these teams are Universitatea Craiova, Unirea Urziceni, Victoria Brănești and Sportul Studențesc. Unirea Urziceni were relegated just two seasons after they won the 2008–09 Liga I. It was the fastest relegation of a former champion, Unirea being also the 2009–10 Liga I runners-up. After the relegation, the team was disbanded. Universitatea Craiova was relegated for the second time in club history, ending a five-year tenure in the highest football league of Romania. After the relegation, the team was temporary excluded by FRF from all internal competitions. Victoria and Sportul was supposed to make their immediate return to the second level, but Sportul remained in Liga I after the relegation of

Timișoara ), City of Roses ( ro, Orașul florilor), City of Parks ( ro, Orașul parcurilor) , image_map = Timisoara jud Timis.svg , map_caption = Location in Timiș County , pushpin_map = Romania#Europe , pushpin_ ...

and Gloria Bistrița on licensing problems, see below. The teams promoted from 2010–11 Liga II are Seria I winners Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț, Seria II winners Petrolul Ploiești and Seria I runners-up Concordia Chiajna. Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț is returning to the first division after one year, Petrolul Ploiești after seven years, while Concordia Chiajna promoted for the first time in Liga I. After Seria II runners-up Bihor Oradea were denied a Liga I licence ( see below), Mioveni, third placed in Liga II respective series, was promoted instead.

Venues

Personnel and kits

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Managerial changes

Season events

Licensing controversies

The start of the 2011–12 season was affected by multiple licensing controversies involving

, Gloria Bistrița and Bihor Oradea. On 30 May 2011, the

Romanian Football Federation Romanian Football Federation (), also known by its acronym FRF, is the governing body of football in Romania. They are headquartered in the capital city of Bucharest and affiliated to FIFA and UEFA since 1923 and 1955 respectively. The Federati ...

denied licences to four 2010–11 Liga I teams, Timișoara, Gloria Bistrița, Universitatea Craiova and Victoria Brănești, while a fifth team, Unirea Urziceni, did not apply for a licence. Of these five teams, Timișoara and Gloria Bistrița had achieved qualification for the 2011–12 season on competitional grounds. A final decision by the executive committee of the FRF on the matter, particularly on the question to which league both teams will be incorporated, was scheduled for 2 June 2011, but eventually postponed to 20 June 2011. As a direct consequence from the licence denial, Timișoara were not allowed to participate in the

2011–12 UEFA Champions League The 2011–12 UEFA Champions League was the 57th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 20th season in its current Champions League format. As part of a trial that started in the 2009–10 UEFA Europa Lea ...

. On 6 June 2011, the FRF announced that Bihor Oradea, runners-up in the 2010–11 Liga II Seria II and therefore having earned promotion, did not meet requirements for a Liga I licence. On 11 June 2011, a FRF communique stated that the executive committee doesn't have the power to change the Licensing Commission decisions. However, on 20 June, the FRF Executive Committee decided that for the next three years the licences will not matter for Liga I promotion. Therefore, Timișoara, Gloria Bistrița and Bihor Oradea could play in the 2011–12 Liga I season. The decision was reverted on the same day, after an intervention of FRF president, Mircea Sandu. The only chance for the three teams to play in the next season would be a favorable decision from

Court of Arbitration for Sport The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS; french: Tribunal arbitral du sport, ''TAS'') is an international body established in 1984 to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration. Its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland and its c ...

for their appeals. On 22 June 2011, FRF announced that Sportul Studențesc will retain their Liga I place and Mioveni will promote instead of Bihor Oradea. FRF decided also that a play-off round will be played between Săgeata Năvodari and Voința Sibiu for the last remaining place in Liga 1. On 2 July, in Săgeata Năvodari, the first match of the play-off was a goalless draw. Voința Sibiu promoted for the first time in history in Liga I after a 2–0 victory in the second match of the play-off. On 8 July, Court of Arbitration for Sport announced that the appeals from Timișoara, Bihor and Bistrița will be heard in an expedited manner in order to have a decision before the start of the season. On 18 July, CAS announced that the appeals were dismissed. The challenged decisions taken by the competent authorities in Romania and by UEFA were confirmed in their entirety.

Home ground dilemmas

Two of the most supported teams, Steaua București and Rapid București started the season without a contract with their traditional home grounds, Ghencea and Giulești. The Ministry of National Defense, owner of Ghencea, denounced the contract with Steaua for unpaid debts. A new agreement is expected to be signed. Meanwhile, because Steaua's home ground was suspended for the first two stages because of the incidents in the 2010–11 Romanian Cup final and the 2011 Romanian Supercup, the team played the first two home matches at

Constanța Constanța (, ; ; rup, Custantsa; bg, Кюстенджа, Kyustendzha, or bg, Констанца, Konstantsa, label=none; el, Κωνστάντζα, Kōnstántza, or el, Κωνστάντια, Kōnstántia, label=none; tr, Köstence), histo ...

and

Ploiești Ploiești ( , , ), formerly spelled Ploești, is a city and county seat in Prahova County, Romania. Part of the historical region of Muntenia, it is located north of Bucharest. The area of Ploiești is around , and it borders the Blejoi commun ...

. Further matches was played in Ploiești and Buzău. Numerous other stadiums were considered by the Steaua owner George Becali for a new home: the new

Arena Națională Arena Națională () is a retractable roof football stadium in Bucharest, Romania. It opened in 2011 on the site of the original National Stadium, which was demolished between 2007 and 2008. The stadium hosts major football matches including ho ...

, CFR Cluj stadium,

Buzău The city of Buzău (formerly spelled ''Buzeu'' or ''Buzĕu''; ) is the county seat of Buzău County, Romania, in the historical region of Muntenia. It lies near the right bank of the Buzău River, between the south-eastern curvature of the Carp ...

and Astra stadium. Ghencea owners invited Steaua to return to Ghencea, but only after the debts (around 560.000 euro) will be fully paid. However, Steaua played further matches on Astra and Buzău stadiums and National Arena. George Becali declared at the beginning of November that the team will settle on the National Arena until the end of 2011. Rapid played the first game match on Regie, because they were suspended for the incidents created by fans during the last match of the 2010–11 Liga I. Because of debts towards

CS Rapid București Clubul Sportiv Rapid București is a Romanian multi-sport club based in Bucharest, Romania. History The club was founded as ''Asociația Culturală și Sportivă CFR'' in 1923. Men's Football section Domestic *Liga I **Winners (3): 1966 ...

, owners of Giulești, they were still unable to use their traditional home stadium. CS Rapid București agreed to sign a new contract if a part of the debts were paid until the coming match of the fourth stage against Concordia Chiajna. The match was eventually played on the

Nicolae Dobrin Stadium Nicolae may refer to: * Nicolae (name), a Romanian name * ''Nicolae'' (novel), a 1997 novel See also *Nicolai (disambiguation) Nicolai may refer to: *Nicolai (given name) people with the forename ''Nicolai'' *Nicolai (surname) people with the s ...

in Pitești. Before the sixth stage, Rapid president

Dinu Gheorghe People with the given name * Dinu Brătianu (1866–1951), Romanian politician * Dinu Cocea (1929–2013), Romanian actor, film director and screenwriter *Dinu Ghezzo (1941–2011), Romanian conductor *Dinu C. Giurescu (born 1927), Romanian historia ...

announced there is not yet an agreement and thus the match with FC Brașov will be played on Regie. On 12 September, a temporary accord was signed between the two parts, meaning that Rapid will return to their traditionally home ground for at least two matches. On 11 October 2011, was signed a contract for the entire season.

Investigations and arrests

On 25 September 2011, Vasile Avram, the president of Romanian Referees Commission (CCA), has been arrested on suspicion of taking bribes from a businessman close to

Târgu Mureș Târgu Mureș (, ; hu, Marosvásárhely ) is the seat of Mureș County in the historical region of Transylvania, Romania. It is the 16th largest Romanian city, with 134,290 inhabitants as of the 2011 census. It lies on the Mureș River, th ...

. Further information revealed that in the same investigation are involved the presidents of other two clubs, Dinamo București and

Vaslui Vaslui (), a city in eastern Romania, is the seat of Vaslui County, in the historical region of Western Moldavia. The city administers five villages: Bahnari, Brodoc, Moara Grecilor, Rediu, and Viișoara. History Archaeological surveys indicate ...

, and the heads of Romanian Football Federation,

Mircea Sandu Mircea Traian Sandu (born 22 October 1952 in Bucharest) is a retired Romanian footballer and president of the Romanian Football Federation. Career Mircea Sandu, nicknamed "Nașul" (The Godfather) was born on 22 October 1952 in Bucharest and sta ...

, and Romanian Professional Football League, Dumitru Dragomir. It is still unclear how the 2011–12 Liga 1 season will be affected by these investigations. Vasile Avram was released after 58 days of arrest with some restrictions, but the process will continue. However, he was already replaced as the president of CCA with Ion Crăciunescu. Also, in October 2011

National Anticorruption Directorate The National Anticorruption Directorate ( ro, Direcția Națională Anticorupție (DNA)), formerly National Anticorruption Prosecution Office ( ro, Parchetul Național Anticorupție), is the Romanian agency tasked with preventing, investigating ...

(DNA) started the investigation of the members of Romanian Football Federation Execute Committee, accusing them of abuse in the Universitatea Craiova temporary exclusion of all competition after last season relegation. Following the exclusion, all the Craiova's players was declared free of contract.

League table

Positions by round

Results

Top goalscorers

Source
Liga1.ro

Champion squad

Season statistics

Scoring

*First goal of the season: Ciprian Deac for

Rapid București Rapids are sections of a river where the river bed has a relatively steep gradient, causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence. Rapids are hydrological features between a ''run'' (a smoothly flowing part of a stream) and a ''cascad ...

against

(''22 July 2011'') *100th goal of the season:

Dan Săndulescu Dan Săndulescu (born 1 April 1985, Pitesti) is a Romanian footballer. He is currently playing for Moscardó Moscardó is an administrative neigborhood (''barrio'') of Madrid belonging to the district of Usera Usera is a district of Madrid, ...

for Mioveni against Gaz Metan Mediaș (''29 August 2011'') *200th goal of the season: Wesley for

against Mioveni (''2 October 2011'') *300th goal of the season:

Paul Batin Paul Ştefan Batin (born 29 June 1987) is a Romanian footballer who plays as a striker Striker or The Strikers may refer to: People *A participant in a strike action *A participant in a hunger strike *Blacksmith's striker, a type of blacksmi ...

for Pandurii Târgu Jiu against

(''20 November 2011'') *400th goal of the season:

Paíto Martinho Martins Mukana (born 5 July 1982), known as Paíto, is a Mozambican former professional footballer who played as a left-back. Club career Born in Maputo, Paíto began his senior career at Sporting CP. He became a regular in the 20 ...

for

against Concordia Chiajna (''9 March 2012'') *500th goal of the season: Dan Alexa for

against

CFR Cluj Fotbal Club CFR 1907 Cluj, commonly known as CFR Cluj ( or ), is a Romanian professional football club based in the city of Cluj-Napoca, Cluj County, which competes in the Liga I. It was founded in 1907 as ''Kolozsvári Vasutas Sport Club'', wh ...

(''7 April 2012'') *600th goal of the season: Wesley for

against

(''2 May 2012'') *700th goal of the season: Wesley for

against Oțelul Galați (''16 May 2012'') *Fastest goal of the season: 11 seconds – Cristian Irimia for Sportul Studențesc against Concordia Chiajna (''25 July 2011'') *First own goal of the season: Rui Duarte (

) for

Universitatea Cluj Fotbal Club Universitatea Cluj (), commonly known as Universitatea Cluj or simply as U Cluj, is a Romanian professional football club based in the city of Cluj-Napoca, Cluj County, that competes in the Liga I, the first tier of the Romanian ...

(''30 July 2011'') *First penalty kick of the season: Cristian Tănase (

Steaua București Steaua or Steaua București may refer to: * CSA Steaua București, a Romanian multi-sports club * CSA Steaua București (football), the football team of the multi-sports club * Fotbal Club FCSB, a football team that used this name between 2003 ...

) against Mioveni (''31 July 2011'') (not scored) *First scored penalty kick of the season: Cătălin Munteanu ( Dinamo București) against Gaz Metan Mediaș (''31 July 2011'') *First hat-trick of the season: Adrian Cristea (

) against Gaz Metan Mediaș (''1 October 2011'') *Fastest hat-trick of the season: 11 minutes – Wesley (

) against

(''30 October 2011'') *All-time top scorers (second place): 202 – Ionel Dănciulescu ( Dinamo București) (''6 November 2011'') *All-time top scorer (foreign player): 44 – Wesley ''(

)'' (''4 December 2011'') *Hat-tricks of the season: ** Adrian Cristea (

) against Gaz Metan Mediaș (''1 October 2011'') ** Wesley (

) against Mioveni (''2 October 2011'') ** Daniel Oprița ( Petrolul Ploiești) against Voința Sibiu (''15 October 2011'') ** Marius Niculae ( Dinamo București) against Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț (''17 October 2011'') ** Wesley (

) against

(''30 October 2011'') ** Cardoso ( Pandurii Târgu Jiu) against Concordia Chiajna (''12 December 2011'') ** Wesley (

) against Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț (''19 March 2012'') ** Hamza Younés ( Petrolul Ploiești) against Concordia Chiajna (''21 March 2012'') **

Mike Temwanjera Mike Temwanjera (born 21 May 1982) is a Zimbabwean former professional footballer who usually played as a centre forward, but also as a second striker. A member of FC Vaslui from January 2007 until summer 2014, he was one of the team's longes ...

(

) against Gaz Metan Mediaș (''7 May 2012'') ** Bojan Golubović ( Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț) against

(''17 May 2012'')

Discipline

*First yellow card of the season: Dan Alexa for

(against

) (''22 July 2011'') *First red card of the season: Zhivko Milanov for

(against

) (''22 July 2011'') *Most red cards by a team: 7 –

(''updated on 19 November 2011'') *Fewest red cards by a team: 0 – Dinamo București *Most red cards by a player: 3 – Ionuț Voicu ( Mioveni) (''updated on 18 December 2011'') *Most yellow cards by a team: 60 –

(''updated on 9 December 2011'') *Fewest yellow cards by a team: 37 –

Brașov Brașov (, , ; german: Kronstadt; hu, Brassó; la, Corona; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Kruhnen'') is a city in Transylvania, Romania and the administrative centre of Brașov County. According to the latest Romanian census ( 2011), Brașov has a po ...

(''updated on 9 December 2011'') *Most yellow cards by a player: 8 – Žarko Marković ( Gaz Metan Mediaș), Miloš Pavlović (

Milan Perendija Milan Perendija (; born 5 January 1986) is a Serbian former professional footballer who played as a defender. Club career Perendija progressed through the youth ranks of Partizan, before spending time out on loan at Teleoptik (2004–2006), V ...

( Oțelul Galați) (''updated on 11 December 2011'') *Fastest red card of the season: 22 seconds – Ciprian Tănasă for Mioveni (against Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț) (''4 November 2011'')

Penalties

*Most penalties awarded for a team: 7 – Dinamo București *Most penalties awarded against a team: 5 – Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț, Concordia Chiajna *Most penalties scored by a team: 6 –

*Most penalties scored against a team: 5 – Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț *Most penalties missed by a team: 3 –

*Most penalties saved by a team: 2 –

, Petrolul Ploiești

Miscellaneous

*Highest transfer fee: 6 mil. Euro – Gabriel Torje from Dinamo București to Udinese ''(26 August 2011)'' *All-time matches in Liga I (fifth place): 469 – Ionel Dănciulescu ( Dinamo București) (''17 December 2011'') *All-time matches in Liga I (sixth place): 468 – Petre Marin ( Concordia Chiajna) (retired in the midseason) *Winter champions: Dinamo București

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:2011-12 Liga I Liga I seasons