2011–12 FC Barcelona season facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Barcelona

2011–12 season
President	Sandro Rosell
Head coach	Pep Guardiola
Stadium	Camp Nou
La Liga	2nd
Copa del Rey	Winners
Supercopa de España	Winners
UEFA Champions League	Semi-finals
UEFA Super Cup	Winners
FIFA Club World Cup	Winners
Top goalscorer	League: Lionel Messi (50) All: Lionel Messi (73)
Highest home attendance	99,252 vs Real Madrid (21 April 2012)
Lowest home attendance	37,374 vs BATE Borisov (6 December 2011)
Average home attendance	75,212 (including Joan Gamper Trophy)
Home Away Third
← 2010–11 2012–13 →

The 2011–12 season was a very important year for FC Barcelona. It was their 113th season as a club and their 81st year in a row playing in Spain's top football league, La Liga. This season, Barcelona wore a new shirt sponsor, Qatar Foundation, for the first time. They had a five-and-a-half-year deal worth €170 million. The UNICEF logo, which was also on their shirts, moved to the lower back.

Barcelona also introduced a new black away kit. Their third kit was the same as the one from the previous season. Even though they won several trophies, they couldn't win La Liga or the UEFA Champions League. They finished second in La Liga, behind Real Madrid. In the Champions League, they lost in the semi-finals to Chelsea.

At the end of the season, their coach, Pep Guardiola, decided to leave. But the team finished strong by winning the Copa del Rey final against Athletic Bilbao with a 3–0 score.

Season Highlights

New Players and Changes

Before the season started, Barcelona made some changes to their team. On July 21, they signed Alexis Sánchez, a talented winger from Chile. He joined for €26 million. A day later, Bojan, a player who grew up in Barcelona's youth system, moved to Roma in Italy.

In August, Cesc Fàbregas, a Spanish midfielder, returned to Barcelona from Arsenal. This was a big signing for the club. Also, Gabriel Milito, an Argentine defender, left the team.

Winning Early Trophies

Barcelona started the season by winning two important trophies. On August 17, they won the Supercopa de España against their rivals, Real Madrid. It was an exciting match that ended 3–2, making the total score 5–4 over two games. Lionel Messi scored the winning goal.

On August 26, Barcelona won the UEFA Super Cup by beating Porto 2–0 in Monaco. This was their fourth time winning this cup. Fàbregas scored his first goal for Barcelona in this match.

Key Moments in the League

The league season had its ups and downs. On September 10, Barcelona drew 2–2 with Real Sociedad. They also lost Alexis Sánchez to an injury for several weeks. A few days later, they drew 2–2 in the Champions League against Milan, and Andrés Iniesta got injured.

However, Barcelona showed their strength on September 17, when they beat Osasuna 8–0. Lionel Messi scored three goals in that game. On October 2, they took first place in La Liga for the first time that season after beating Sporting de Gijón 1–0.

A tough game happened on October 22, when Barcelona drew 0–0 with Sevilla. Messi missed a penalty kick in injury time.

Milestones and Challenges

November was a big month for records. On November 1, Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick against Viktoria Plzeň in the Champions League, reaching over 200 goals for Barcelona. Goalkeeper Víctor Valdés also set a new club record for not letting in a goal for 877 minutes.

On November 26, Barcelona lost their first league match of the season, 1–0 to Getafe. This put them six points behind Real Madrid in the league.

Important Victories

December started with a huge win. On December 10, Barcelona beat Real Madrid 3–1 in their first el Clásico match of the season at the Santiago Bernabéu. Alexis Sánchez, Xavi, and Cesc Fàbregas scored for Barcelona.

Unfortunately, David Villa broke his leg on December 15 during a FIFA Club World Cup semi-final match. This meant he would miss a lot of games. Despite this, Barcelona went on to win the Club World Cup on December 18, beating Santos 4–0 in Japan. Messi scored two goals, and Xavi and Fàbregas also scored. This was Barcelona's fifth trophy in 2011.

Continuing the Fight

In January, Barcelona continued their strong performance in the Copa del Rey. They beat Osasuna 4–0 and then Real Madrid 2–1 in the quarter-finals. The second leg against Real Madrid ended in a 2–2 draw, meaning Barcelona won 4–3 overall and moved to the semi-finals.

On January 9, Lionel Messi won his third straight FIFA Ballon d'Or award, and Pep Guardiola was named FIFA Coach of the Year.

February saw Barcelona reach the Copa del Rey final by beating Valencia 3–1 over two games. However, they lost 3–2 to Osasuna in the league, which made it harder to catch Real Madrid.

Record-Breaking Performances

March was a month of amazing goal-scoring. On March 7, Lionel Messi became the first player to score five goals in a single Champions League match as Barcelona beat Bayer Leverkusen 7–1.

On March 20, Messi scored another hat-trick against Granada, making him Barcelona's all-time top scorer in competitive matches with 234 goals.

The End of an Era

April brought some tough news. On April 18, Barcelona lost 1–0 to Chelsea in the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals. Then, on April 21, they lost 2–1 to Real Madrid in a crucial league match at Camp Nou.

On April 24, Barcelona drew 2–2 with Chelsea in the second leg of the Champions League semi-finals. This meant Chelsea won 3–2 on total goals, and Barcelona was out of the competition.

On April 27, coach Pep Guardiola announced he would leave the club at the end of the season. He had won 13 trophies in four years, making him Barcelona's most successful coach ever. His assistant, Tito Vilanova, was announced as the new coach.

A Strong Finish

Despite the Champions League exit and Guardiola's departure, Barcelona finished the season well. On May 2, Messi scored another hat-trick against Málaga, reaching 68 goals in all competitions. This broke a record set by Gerd Müller in 1972–73.

On May 5, in Guardiola's last home game, Messi scored four goals against Espanyol, becoming the first player in La Liga history to score 50 goals in a season.

The season ended on May 25 with Barcelona winning the Copa del Rey by beating Athletic Bilbao 3–0. Pedro scored twice, and Messi added another goal. This was a great way to end a memorable season.

Players

Squad information

N	Pos.	Nat.	Name	Age	EU	Since	App	Goals	Ends	Transfer fee	Notes
1	GK		Víctor Valdés (2nd VC)	30	EU	2002	457	0	2014	Youth system
2	RB		Dani Alves	29	EU	2008	208	15	2015	€32M	Second nationality: Spain
3	CB		Gerard Piqué	25	EU	2008	183	13	2015	€5M	Originally from youth system
4	CM		Cesc Fàbregas	25	EU	2011	49	15	2016	€29M	Originally from youth system
5	CB		Carles Puyol (captain)	34	EU	1999	559	14	2013	Youth system
6	CM		Xavi (vice-captain)	32	EU	1998	629	73	2016	Youth system
7	ST		David Villa	30	EU	2010	76	32	2015	€40M
8	LW		Andrés Iniesta (3rd VC)	28	EU	2002	408	41	2015	Youth system
9	RW		Alexis Sánchez	23	Non-EU	2011	41	15	2016	€26M
10	FW		Messi	24	EU	2004	268	179	2016	Youth system	Second nationality: Spain
11	CM		Thiago	21	EU	2009	65	8	2015	Youth system	Second nationality: Brazil
13	GK		José Manuel Pinto	36	EU	2008	48	0	2013	€0.5M
14	CB		Javier Mascherano	27	EU	2010	97	0	2014	€19M	Second nationality: Italy
15	CM		Seydou Keita	32	EU	2008	188	22	2014	€14M	Second nationality: France
16	DM		Sergio Busquets	23	EU	2008	191	7	2015	Youth system
17	FW		Pedro	24	EU	2008	169	58	2016	Youth system
20	AM		Ibrahim Afellay	26	EU	2011	34	2	2015	€3M	Second nationality: Morocco
21	LB		Adriano	27	EU	2010	71	4	2014	€9.5M	Second nationality: Spain
22	LB		Eric Abidal	32	EU	2007	188	2	2013	€9M
23	ST		Isaac Cuenca	21	EU	2012	30	4	2015	Youth system
24	CB		Andreu Fontàs	22	EU	2009	16	1	2015	Youth system

Club Staff

Coaching Team

Images for kids

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  The FC Barcelona team in 2011.

See also

In Spanish: Anexo:Temporada 2011-12 del Fútbol Club Barcelona para niños