| Competition: | Segunda División |
| Season: | 2011–12 |
| Winners: | Deportivo La Coruña |
| Promoted: | Deportivo La Coruña Celta Valladolid |
| Relegated: | Villarreal B Alcoyano Cartagena Gimnàstic de Tarragona |
| League Topscorer: |  Leonardo Ulloa |
| Biggest Home Win: | Elche 6–0 Alcorcón (16 December 2011) |
| Biggest Away Win: | Xerez 0–6 Barcelona B (3 June 2012) |
| Highest Scoring: | Girona 5–3 Xerez (10 March 2012) Murcia 2–6 Hércules (14 April 2012) Cartagena 6–2 Villarreal B (27 May 2012) |
| Matches: | 462 |
| Total Goals: | 1218 |
| Prevseason: | 2010–11 |
| Nextseason: | 2012–13 |
The 2011–12 Segunda División season (known as the Liga Adelante for sponsorship reasons) was the 81st since its establishment. The first matches of the season were played on 26 August 2011 after the Association of Spanish Footballers (AFE) called a strike,[1] the regular league ended on 3 June 2012, while the entire season ended on 16 June 2012 with the promotion play-off finals.
The first goal of the season was scored by Xabier Etxeita, who scored a ninth-minute goal for Elche against Girona in the early kick-off. The first red card of the season was given to Richy from Girona in their opening game against Elche. The first hat-trick was scored by Joselu in the match between Villarreal B and Gimnàstic de Tarragona.
Deportivo La Coruña, Hércules and Almería are the teams which were relegated from La Liga the previous season. Deportivo were relegated after 20 years in La Liga, Hércules made their immediate return to the second level after just one season in the top division, while Almería ended a four-year tenure in La Liga. Betis were promoted after two consecutive seasons in the second level, Rayo Vallecano after eight years in lower divisions and Granada after playing in lower divisions for 35 years.
The teams which were relegated the previous season were Salamanca, Tenerife, Ponferradina and Albacete. These four were replaced by Real Murcia (group 4 champions and 2ªB champions), Sabadell (group 3 champions and 2ªB runners-up), Alcoyano and Guadalajara.
| Team | Home city | Stadium | Stadium capacity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alcorcón | Alcorcón | Santo Domingo | 5,400 | |
| Alcoyano | Alcoy | El Collao | 4,500 | |
| Almería | Almería | Estadio del Mediterráneo | 22,000 | |
| Barcelona B | Barcelona | Mini Estadi | 15,276 | |
| Cartagena | Cartagena | Cartagonova | 14,500 | |
| Celta de Vigo | Vigo | Balaídos | 31,800 | |
| Córdoba | Córdoba | Nuevo Arcángel | 18,280 | |
| Deportivo La Coruña | A Coruña | Riazor | 34,600 | |
| Elche | Elche | Martínez Valero | 36,017 | |
| Gimnàstic | Tarragona | Nou Estadi | 14,500 | |
| Girona | Girona | Montilivi | 9,500 | |
| Guadalajara | Guadalajara | Pedro Escartín | 8,000 | |
| Hércules | Alicante | Estadio José Rico Pérez | 30,000 | |
| Huesca | Huesca | El Alcoraz | 5,300 | |
| Las Palmas | Las Palmas de Gran Canaria | Gran Canaria | 31,250 | |
| Murcia | Murcia | Nueva Condomina | 31,179 | |
| Numancia | Soria | Los Pajaritos | 9,025 | |
| Recreativo | Huelva | Nuevo Colombino | 21,670 | |
| Sabadell | Sabadell | Nova Creu Alta | 20,000 | |
| Valladolid | Valladolid | José Zorrilla | 26,512 | |
| Villarreal B | Vila-real | Ciudad Deportiva | 5,000 | |
| Xerez | Jerez de la Frontera | Chapín | 20,523 |
| Team | Chairman | Head Coach | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alcorcón |  Julián Villena | Juan Antonio Anquela | Erreà | ||
| Alcoyano | Juan Serrano Morillas | Luis César Sampedro | Rasán | Unión Alcoyana Seguros, Grupo Realsa | |
| Almería | Alfonso García Gabarrón | Esteban Vigo | Rasán | Urcisol.com | |
| Barcelona B | Sandro Rosell | Eusebio Sacristán | Nike | Qatar Foundation and UNICEF | |
| Cartagena | Francisco Gómez | Carlos Ríos | Kelme | Bodegas Francisco Gómez | |
| Celta de Vigo | Carlos Mouriño | Paco Herrera | Li-Ning | Citroën, Estrella Galicia | |
| Córdoba | Carlos González | Paco Jémez | Printing Dimension | CCF | |
| Deportivo La Coruña | Augusto Lendoiro | José Luis Oltra | Lotto | Estrella Galicia, Leyma Natura | |
| Elche | José Sepulcre | César Ferrando | Acerbis | Comunitat Valenciana | |
| Gimnàstic | Antonio Vallverdú | Jorge D'Alessandro | N | Tarragona 2017 | |
| Girona | Joaquim Boadas | Javi Salamero | Nike | Grup Disbesa Darnés | |
| Guadalajara | Germán Retuerta Sánchez | Carlos Terrazas | Joma | Caja Guadalajara, Piscinas Polifibra | |
| Hércules | Valentín Botella Ros | Juan Carlos Mandiá | Nike | Comunitat Valenciana | |
| Huesca | Fernando Losfablos | Quique Hernández | Bemiser | CAI | |
| Las Palmas | Miguel Ángel Ramírez | Juan Manuel Rodríguez | KS | La Caja de Canarias | |
| Murcia | Miguel Álvarez Benítez | Iñaki Alonso | Joma | No-typical | |
| Numancia | Francisco Rubio | Pablo Machín | Erreà | Caja Rural | |
| Recreativo | Susana Duque | Juan Manuel Rodríguez | Cejudo | Cajasol | |
| Sabadell | Joan Soteras | Lluís Carreras | Kelme | Maderas Rojas, Estrella Damm | |
| Valladolid | Carlos Suárez | Miroslav Đukić | Kappa | ||
| Villarreal B | Fernando Roig | Julio Velázquez | Xtep | ||
| Xerez | Jesús Gómez | Vicente Moreno | Cejudo | Cajasol |
1. Barcelona B makes a donation to UNICEF in order to display the charity's logo on the club's kit.
2. Club's own brand.
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Replaced by | Date of appointment | Position in table | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deportivo La Coruña | Miguel Ángel Lotina | End of contract | 23 May 2011 | José Luis Oltra | 27 May 2011 | 18th (in La Liga) | |
| Almería | Roberto Olabe | Sacked | 24 May 2011 | Lucas Alcaraz | 25 June 2011 | 20th (in La Liga) | |
| Hércules | Miroslav Đukić | End of contract | 26 May 2011 | Juan Carlos Mandiá | 22 June 2011 | 19th (in La Liga) | |
| Cartagena | Juan Ignacio Martínez | End of contract | 28 May 2011 | Paco López | 28 May 2011 | 13th (2010–11) | |
| Numancia | Juan Carlos Unzué | End of contract | 31 May 2011 | Pablo Machín | 31 May 2011 | 10th (2010–11) | |
| Córdoba | Lucas Alcaraz | End of contract | 2 June 2011 | Paco Jémez | 8 June 2011 | 16th (2010–11) | |
| Huesca | Onésimo Sánchez | End of contract | 2 June 2011 | Ángel Royo | 8 June 2011 | 14th (2010–11) | |
| Barcelona B | Luis Enrique | Resigned | 3 June 2011 | Eusebio Sacristán | 28 June 2011 | 3rd (2010–11) | |
| Xerez | Javi López | End of contract | 4 June 2011 | Juan Merino | 14 June 2011 | 8th (2010–11) | |
| Valladolid | Abel Resino | End of contract | 17 June 2011 | Miroslav Đukić | 6 July 2011 | 7th (2010–11) | |
| Recreativo | Carlos Ríos | Mutual consent | 22 June 2011 | Álvaro Cervera | 24 June 2011 | 12th (2010–11) | |
| Cartagena | Paco López | Sacked | 19 September 2011 | Javi López | 20 September 2011 | 22nd | |
| Huesca | Ángel Royo | Sacked | 3 October 2011 | Quique Hernández | 3 October 2011 | 20th | |
| Gimnàstic | Juan Carlos Oliva | Sacked | 30 October 2011 | Jorge D'Alessandro | 31 October 2011 | 22nd | |
| Xerez | Juan Merino | Sacked | 4 December 2011 | Vicente Moreno | 4 December 2011 | 16th | |
| Villarreal B | José Francisco Molina | Mutual consent | 22 December 2011 | Julio Velázquez | 22 December 2011 | 18th | |
| Cartagena | Javi López | Sacked | 23 December 2011 | Carlos Ríos | 23 December 2011 | 22nd | |
| Girona | Raül Agné | Sacked | 15 January 2012 | Josu Uribe | 15 January 2012 | 21st | |
| Recreativo | Álvaro Cervera | Mutual consent | 9 March 2012 | Juan Manuel Rodríguez | 9 March 2012 | 11th | |
| Alcoyano | David Porras | Sacked | 18 March 2012 | Luis César Sampedro | 21 March 2012 | 19th | |
| Girona | Josu Uribe | Sacked | 25 March 2012 | Javi Salamero | 25 March 2012 | 21st | |
| Almería | Lucas Alcaraz | Sacked | 4 April 2012 | Esteban Vigo | 4 April 2012 | 5th | |
| Elche | José Bordalás | Sacked | 8 April 2012 | César Ferrando | 11 April 2012 | 8th |
See main article: 2012 Segunda División play-offs. This promotion phase (known as Promoción de ascenso) was to determine the third team which was promoted to 2012–13 La Liga. Teams placed between third and sixth position (excluding reserve teams) took part in the promotion play-offs. Fifth placed faced against the fourth, while the sixth positioned team faced against the third. The first leg of the semi-finals was played on 6 June with the best positioned team playing at home the second leg was played on 10 June.[2] The final was also two-legged, with the first leg on 13 June and the second leg on 16 June, with the best positioned team also playing at home the second leg. This season was introduced the rule in which if a tie was drawn on aggregate and was still drawn after extra time, round of penalties was not used, instead the best positioned team advanced to next round.[3] Valladolid and Alcorcón played the final phase, where Valladolid was winner and promoted to La Liga after a two-year absence. Córdoba and Hércules were eliminated in semi-finals.
This is the list of goalscorers in accordance with LFP as organising body.
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leonardo Ulloa | Almería | |
| 2 | Iago Aspas | Celta de Vigo | |
| 3 | Coro | Girona | |
| 4 | Borja García | Córdoba | |
| Javi Guerra | Valladolid | ||
| 6 | Manuel Gato | Alcoyano | |
 Lassad Nouioui | Deportivo | ||
| 8 | Ángel | Elche | |
| Míchel | Hércules | ||
| Fabián Orellana | Celta de Vigo | ||
| Óscar | Valladolid | ||
| Quini | Alcorcón | ||
| Riki | Deportivo |
The Zamora Trophy is awarded to the goalkeeper with least goals to games ratio.
| Goalkeeper | Goals | Matches | Average | Team | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jaime | Valladolid | ||||
| Manu | Alcorcón | ||||
| Esteban | Almería | ||||
| Ismael Falcón | Hércules | ||||
| Alberto García | Córdoba | ||||
| Daniel Aranzubia | Deportivo | ||||
| Manu | Recreativo | ||||
| Juan Carlos | Elche | ||||
| Rubén Pérez | Gimnàstic | ||||
| Diego Mariño | Villarreal B |
This award is given annually since 1999 to the team with the best fair play during the season. This ranking takes into account aspects[4] such as cards, suspension of matches, audience behaviour and other penalties. This section not only aims to know this aspect, but also serves to break the tie in teams that are tied in all the other rules: points, head-to-head, goal difference and goals scored.
| Rank | Team | Games | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 42 | 91 | ||
| 2 | 42 | 113 | ||
| 3 | 42 | 117 | ||
| 4 | 42 | 123 | ||
| 5 | 42 | 128 | ||
| 6 | 42 | 130 | ||
| 7 | 42 | 131 | ||
| 8 | 42 | 133 | ||
| 9 | 42 | 137 | ||
| 10 | 42 | 143 | ||
| 10 | 42 | 144 | ||
| 12 | 42 | 148 | ||
| 13 | 42 | 156 | ||
| 14 | 42 | 158 | ||
| 15 | 42 | 164 | ||
| 16 | 42 | 179 | ||
| 42 | 179 | |||
| 18 | 42 | 180 | ||
| 19 | 42 | 185 | ||
| 42 | 185 | |||
| 21 | 42 | 198 | ||
| 22 | 42 | 211 |
Source: 2011–12 Fair Play Rankings Season[5]
| Autonomous community | Number of teams | Teams | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andalusia | 4 | Almería, Córdoba, Recreativo and Xerez |
| Catalonia | 4 | Barcelona B, Gimnàstic, Girona and Sabadell | |
| Valencian Community | 4 | Alcoyano, Elche, Hércules and Villarreal B | |
| 4 | Castile and León | 2 | Numancia and Valladolid |
| Galicia | 2 | Celta de Vigo and Deportivo La Coruña | |
| Region of Murcia | 2 | Cartagena and Murcia | |
| 7 | Aragon | 1 | Huesca |
| Canary Islands | 1 | Las Palmas | |
| Castile-La Mancha | 1 | Guadalajara | |
| Community of Madrid | 1 | Alcorcón |