The 2011–12 UAE Pro League season (known as Etisalat Pro League for sponsorship reasons) was the 37th top-level football season in the UAE, and the fourth Professional season.
Al Jazira were the defending champions, having won their 1st Pro League title in the 2010–11 campaign after being runner-up for three times in a row. Al Dhafra and Ittihad Kalba were relegated from the previous season. Ajman Club and Emirates Club were promoted from the UAE Division 1 Group A. The campaign began on 15 October 2011 and ended on 27 May 2012.
Teams Ittihad Kalba and Al Dhafra were relegated to the 2011–12 UAE Division 1 Group A after finishing in the bottom two spots of the table at the end of the 2010–11 season. The two relegated teams were replaced by 2nd level champions Ajman Club and runners up Emirates Club.
Stadia and locations
Team Home city Stadium Capacity Ajman Ajman Ajman Stadium 10,000 Al Ahli Dubai Rashid Stadium 18,000 Al Ain Al Ain Tahnoun bin Mohammed Stadium 15,000 Al Jazira Abu Dhabi Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium 42,056 Al Nasr Dubai Al Maktoum Stadium 12,000 Al Shabab Dubai Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum Stadium 12,000 Al Wahda Abu Dhabi Al Nahyan Stadium 12,000 Al Wasl Dubai Zabeel Stadium 12,000 Baniyas Abu Dhabi Baniyas Stadium 9,570 Dubai Dubai Police Officers' Club Stadium 6,500 Emirates Ras al-Khaimah Emirates Club Stadium 5,000 Sharjah Sharjah Sharjah Cricket Stadium 18,000
Personnel 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 Chairman Head coach CaptainAjman Humaid bin Rashid Al Nuaimi III Abdul Wahab Abdul Qader Mohamed ZahranAl Ahli Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum Quique Sánchez Flores Mohammed QassimAl Ain Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan Cosmin Olăroiu Rami YaslamAl Jazira Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan Caio Júnior Lucas NeillAl Nasr Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Walter Zenga Abdallah MousaAl Shabab Saeed bin Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum Paulo Bonamigo Hassan Al SharifAl Wahda Saeed bin Zayed Al Nahyan Josef Hickersberger Fahed MasoudAl Wasl Ahmed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Diego Maradona Khalid DarwishBaniyas Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan Gabriel Calderón Fawzi BashirDubai Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Maktoum Ayman El Ramady Jamal AbdullahEmirates Ahmed bin Saqr al-Qassimi Ghazi Ghrairi Karim KerkarSharjah Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Thani Abdulmajeed Al Nimr Nawaf Mubarak
Managerial changes Managerial changes during the 2011–12 campaign.
Pre-season Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Replaced by Al Wasl Khalifa Mubarak Caretaker role ended Diego Maradona Al Jazira Abel Braga Contract finished Franky Vercauteren Al Ain Alexandre Gallo Contract finished Cosmin Olăroiu Baniyas Mahdi Ali Caretaker role ended Jorvan Vieira Al Ahli Abdulhameed Al Mishtiki Caretaker role ended Ivan Hašek Sharjah Carlos Azenha Resigned before season started Valeriu Tiţa
During the season Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Replaced by Dubai Néstor Clausen Resigned Umberto Barberis Dubai Umberto Barberis Caretaker role ended Ion Marin Baniyas Jorvan Vieira Sacked Salem Al-Orfi Al Ahli Ivan Hašek Sacked Quique Sánchez Flores Baniyas Salem Al-Orfi Sacked Gabriel Calderón Dubai Ion Marin Sacked Pierre-André Schürmann Dubai Pierre-André Schürmann Caretaker role ended Ayman El Ramady Sharjah Valeriu Tiţa Sacked Jorvan Vieira Sharjah Jorvan Vieira Sacked Valeriu Tiţa Al Jazira Franky Vercauteren Sacked Caio Júnior Sharjah Valeriu Tiţa Sacked Abdulmajeed Al Nimr
Foreign players The number of foreign players is restricted to four per AGL team. Club Player 1 Player 2 Player 3 AFC player Former players Ajman Karim Kerkar Boris Kabi Olivier Tia Hassan Maatouk Ibrahima Touré Al-Ahli Grafite Achille Emaná Luis Jiménez Youssef Mohamad Jajá Al-Ain Ignacio Scocco Asamoah Gyan Mirel Rădoi Yasser Al-Qahtani Al-Jazira Matías Delgado Baré Ricardo Oliveira Lucas Neill Al-Nasr Léo Lima Luca Toni Amara Diané Mark Bresciano Careca Ismaël Bangoura Al-Shabab Ciel Kieza Carlos Villanueva Azizbek Haydarov Júlio César Sharjah Edinho Marcelinho Lee Sang-ho Timur Kapadze Vandinho Iman Mobali Igor Đurić Al-Wahda Fernando Baiano Hugo Magrão Mohammed Al-Balushi Al-Wasl Mariano Donda Juan Mercier Juan Manuel Olivera Mohammad Reza Khalatbari Edson Puch Richard Porta Baniyas Ismaël Bouzid André Senghor Francisco Yeste Fawzi Bashir David Trezeguet Antonin Koutouan Dubai Nicolas Marin Aboubacar Camara Simon Feindouno Abbas Ahmad Atwi Faouzi Aaish Ulugbek Bakayev Emirates Modibo Kane Diarra Mohsine Moutouali Alexander Geynrikh Jasur Hasanov Alhassane Keita Pejman Nouri Orok Akarandut
Richard Porta has Australian citizenship and was counted as an Asian player.
League table
Results
Goalscorers
22 goals Asamoah Gyan (Al Ain)
16 goals Grafite (Al Ahli) André Senghor (Baniyas)
14 goals Ricardo Oliveira (Al Jazira)
13 goals Luis Jiménez (Al Ahli) Juan Manuel Olivera (Al Wasl)
11 goals Ciel (Al Shabab)
10 goals Mark Bresciano (Al Nasr) Baré (Al Jazira) Edinho (Sharjah) Marcelinho (Sharjah) Modibo Kane Diarra (Emirates)
Source: official site:
See also List of United Arab Emirates football transfers summer 2011 2011–12 UAE President's Cup 2011–12 Etisalat Emirates Cup
References
External links Pro League Official Website Football Association The UAE Football Association