The 2012–13 Ligue 1 was the 75th season since its establishment. Montpellier were the defending champions. The league schedule was announced in April 2012 and the fixtures were determined on 30 May. The season began on 10 August and ended on 26 May 2013. A winter break was in effect from 24 December to 12 January 2013.
The season marked the 80th anniversary of professional football in France. In addition, German sportswear company Adidas became the official provider of match balls for the season after agreeing to a long-term partnership with the Ligue de Football Professionnel. To commemorate the 80th anniversary, adidas unveiled an exclusive ball, known as Le 80, for the new season.
Since France dropped from fifth to sixth place in the UEFA association coefficient rankings at the end of the 2011–12 season, the league's third place team, Lyon qualified for the third qualifying round of the 2013–14 UEFA Champions League, having previously been placed in the playoff round.
On 12 May, Paris Saint-Germain won the league title after a 1–0 away win against Lyon.
Teams There were three promoted teams from Ligue 2, replacing the three teams that were relegated from Ligue 1 following the 2011–12 season. A total of 20 teams competed in the league with three clubs suffering relegation to the second division, Ligue 2. All clubs that secured Ligue 1 status for the season were subject to approval by the DNCG before becoming eligible to participate.The DNCG is responsible for overseeing the legal and financial accounts of professional football clubs in France. If clubs operating in French football didn't meet the DNCG's expectations, they would face sanctions, such as relegation.
Bastia became the first club to achieve promotion to Ligue 1. The club clinched the second division title on 1 May 2012 with three matches to spare after defeating Metz 3–0 at the Stade Armand Cesari. Bastia is making its return to the first division after a seven-year absence and is entering Ligue 1 on a run of two consecutive promotions. The club had earned promotion to Ligue 2 after winning the 2010–11 edition of the Championnat National.
Reims and Troyes became the second and third clubs, respectively, to earn promotion to Ligue 1 alongside the champions Bastia. Both clubs achieved promotion with one game to spare following league victories on 11 May 2012, which positioned each club in second and third place permanently. Reims, which is a six-time Ligue 1 champion, is returning to the first division after over 33 years playing in the lower divisions. During those 33 years, the club underwent liquidation and had all aspects of the club (its records, trophies, etc.) auctioned off. Troyes is returning to Ligue 1 after spending four years playing in Ligue 2. During its five-year spell outside the first division, Troyes also played in the Championnat National, the third level of French football.
Stadia and locations
Club Location Venue Capacity Av. Att.AjaccioStade François Coty 10,660 7,060BastiaStade Armand Cesari 16,480 13,619BordeauxStade Chaban-Delmas 34,462 19,683BrestStade Francis-Le Blé 15,931 11,936AnnecyParc des Sports 15,660 9,697Villeneuve-d'Ascq Grand Stade Lille Métropole 50,186 40,326LorientStade du Moustoir 18,890 14,784LyonStade de Gerland 41,842 29,210MarseilleStade Velodrome1 42,000 34,083MontpellierStade de la Mosson 32,939 18,141TomblaineStade Marcel Picot 20,085 15,098NiceStade du Ray 17,415 9,590ParisParc des Princes 48,712 42,289ReimsStade Auguste-Delaune II 21,684 14,696RennesStade de la Route de Lorient 31,127 17,185Saint-ÉtienneStade Geoffroy-Guichard2 26,747 22,554MontbéliardStade Auguste Bonal 20,005 12,163ToulouseStadium Municipal 35,470 18,140TroyesStade de l'Aube 21,877 12,833ValenciennesStade du Hainaut 24,926 15,513
Personnel and kits 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 Manager Captain Kit Manufacturer Shirt sponsors (front)Shirt sponsors (back)Shirt sponsors (sleeve)Shorts sponsorsAjaccio Duarig Restaurants du Cœur, Collectivité Territoriale de Corse, Conseil Général Corse du SudEuropcarGéant CasinoCorse-MatinBastia Kappa Oscaro, Collectivité Territoriale de Corse, Odalys Vacances, Corsica FerriesVocalcomAfflelou, Haute-CorseGéant Casino, Kaporal 5 JeansBordeaux Puma KiaGroupamaNoneNoneBrest Nike Quéguiner Matériaux (H)/Yaourt Malo (A & 3)/La Potagère (A & 3), Geodis Calberson, Breizh ColaCasino SupermarchésGUYOT EnvironnementCentre Dépannage Gaz, Oceania HotelsEvian Kappa Evian, Pilot, Danette, Geodis Calberson, Sword GroupSamsicAgence de Voyages SATVEKALille Umbro PartouchePartoucheNord-Pas-de-CalaisNoneLorient Macron La Trinitaine, Armor-LuxSalaun HolidaysNoneLorient AgglomérationLyon Adidas Hyundai/Veolia, MDA Electroménager, UNICEFGroupamaRenault TrucksIntermarchéMarseille Adidas IntersportGroupamaOpusDry (H)/Technitoit (A)GroupamaMontpellier Nike Sud de France, Dyneff, Montpellier Agglomération, PartoucheLa Région Languedoc-RoussillonFAUN-EnvironnementSystème U, Wati BNancy Umbro Groupe DLSI, Sopalin, Geodis Calberson, NetBet SportComarchChaussea, Grand NancyCaisse d'EpargneNice Burrda Mutuelles du Soleil, Métropole Nice Côte d'AzurPizzorno EnvironnementRémanence Hygiène et PropretéVille de NiceParis Saint-Germain Nike Fly EmiratesNoneIndesitNoneReims Hummel Transports Caillot/Epsilon Global/Sanei Ascenseurs, Geodis Calberson, Ace CréditTSO LogistiqueVille de ReimsSanei Ascenseurs/Transports CaillotRennes Romain Danzé Puma Samsic, rennes.frBlot ImmobilierAssociation ELABreizh ColaSaint-Étienne Adidas Winamax, Mister-Auto, Conseil général de la Loire en Rhône-AlpesTriangle IntérimMarkalSaint-Étienne Métropole, Loire, Rapid CroQ'Sochaux Lotto Mobil 1, Franche-ComtéPays de Montbéliard AgglomérationPeugeot 208TérévaToulouse Kappa JD Patrimoine, JD PromotionNewrestNoneNoneTroyes Duarig Afflelou, Colorpro Design (H)/Isolapro (A), IntermarchéAfflelouUrbanéo (H)/Dugain Piscines (A)Troyes, FSE Securite Grand EstValenciennes Uhlsport GDE Recyclage (H)/Prévoir Assurances (A), ToyotaPrévoir Assurances (H)/GDE Recyclage (A)Nord-Pas-de-CalaisKonica Minolta
Managerial changes TeamOutgoing head coachManner ofdepartureDate ofvacancyPositionin tableIncoming head coachDate ofappointmentPositionin table Nice René Marsiglia Sacked Off-season Claude Puel Off-season Brest Corentin Martins Mutual consent Off-season Landry Chauvin Off-season Ajaccio Olivier Pantaloni Resigned Off-season Alex Dupont Off-season Marseille Didier Deschamps Mutual consent Off-season Élie Baup Off-season Evian Pablo Correa Sacked 18th Pascal Dupraz 18th Ajaccio Alex Dupont Sacked 14th Albert Emon 14th Nancy Jean Fernandez Resigned 20th Patrick Gabriel 20th Brest Landry Chauvin Sacked 18th Corentin Martins 18th
League table
Results
Season statistics
Top goalscorers RankPlayerClubGoals1 Zlatan IbrahimovićParis Saint-Germain302 Pierre-Emerick AubameyangSaint-Étienne19 Darío CvitanichNice4 Bafétimbi GomisLyon165 Wissam Ben YedderToulouse15 Jérémie AliadièreLorient Anthony ModesteBastia8 Salomon KalouLille149 André-Pierre GignacMarseille13 Saber KhalifaEvian
Source: Official Goalscorers' Standings
Hat-tricks Player For Against Result Date Evian Montpellier 2–3 Lyon Marseille 1–4 Paris SG Valenciennes 0–4
Scoring First goal of the season: Souleymane Camara for Montpellier against Toulouse (10 August 2012) Fastest goal of the season: 27 seconds – Zlatan Ibrahimović for Paris Saint-Germain against Lille (2 September 2012) Latest goal of the season: 90+5 minutes – Ilan for Bastia against Reims (18 August 2012) Largest winning margin: 5 goals Valenciennes 6–1 Lorient (20 October 2012) Nice 5–0 Valenciennes (13 January 2013) Lille 5–0 Lorient (7 April 2013) Highest scoring game: 8 goals Lorient 4–4 Ajaccio (28 October 2012) Most goals scored in a match by a single team: 6 goals Valenciennes 6–1 Lorient (20 October 2012) Most goals scored in a match by a losing team: 3 goals Valenciennes 3–4 Bastia (30 March 2013) Toulouse 3–4 Nice (6 April 2013)
Clean sheets Most clean sheets: 23 Paris Saint-Germain Fewest clean sheets: 6 Brest Nancy
Discipline Most yellow cards (club): 83 Bastia Most yellow cards (player): 14 Sambou Yatabaré (Bastia) Most red cards (club): 10 Paris Saint-Germain Rennes Most red cards (player): 2 Younès Belhanda (Montpellier) Cheikh M'Bengue (Toulouse) Jamel Saihi (Montpellier) Florian Thauvin (Bastia) Awards
Award Winner Club Player of the Season Zlatan Ibrahimović Paris Saint-Germain Young Player of the Season Florian Thauvin Bastia Goalkeeper of the Season Salvatore Sirigu Paris Saint-Germain Goal of the Season Saber Khalifa Evian Manager of the Season Christophe Galtier Saint-Étienne Carlo AncelottiParis Saint-Germain Team of the Year Goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu (Paris Saint-Germain)Defence Christophe Jallet (Paris Saint-Germain) Thiago Silva (Paris Saint-Germain) Nicolas Nkoulou (Marseille) Maxwell (Paris Saint-Germain)Midfield Dimitri Payet (Lille) Marco Verratti (Paris Saint-Germain) Blaise Matuidi (Paris Saint-Germain) Mathieu Valbuena (Marseille)Attack Zlatan Ibrahimović (Paris Saint-Germain) Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Saint-Étienne)
List of 2012–13 transfers
References
External links