The 2012–13 Qatari League, also known as Qatari Stars League, was the 40th edition of top level football championship in Qatar. The season started on 15 September 2012 and took a monthlong break from 21 December to 21 January 2013 due to the 21st Arabian Gulf Cup. Lekhwiya were the defending champions. Al Sadd won the league for the 13th time in their history, making them the most successful team in the Qatar Stars League.
Teams Al Ahli were relegated to the second level league after finishing bottom in the last season campaign.
Al-Sailiya were promoted as the 2nd level champions and are back after one season away from the top flight.
Stadia and locations
Club City/Town Stadium Capacity Al-Arabi Doha Grand Hamad Stadium 13,000 Al-Gharafa Al Gharrafa Thani bin Jassim Stadium 22,000 Al Kharaitiyat Al Kharaitiyat Al-Khor SC Stadium 12,000 Al-Khor Al Khor Al-Khor SC Stadium 12,000 Al-Rayyan Al Rayyan Ahmad bin Ali Stadium 22,000 Al Sadd Doha Jassim bin Hamad Stadium 10,000 Al-Sailiya Al Sailiya Ahmad bin Ali Stadium 1 22,000 Al-Wakrah Al Wakrah Al Janoub Stadium 12,000 El Jaish Duhail Suheim bin Hamad Stadium 12,000 Lekhwiya Doha Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium 10,000 Qatar SC Doha Suheim bin Hamad Stadium 12,000 Umm Salal Umm Salal Grand Hamad Stadium 13,000
1 Al-Sailiya do not have a stadium of their own so they share with Al-Rayyan.
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. Team Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsorAl-Arabi Abdelaziz Bennij Masoud ZeraeiAdidasQPMAl-Gharafa Habib Sadegh AlexErreàVodafoneAl Kharaitiyat Bernard Simondi Nabeel AnwarBURRDAAl-Khuratiyat Co.Al-Khor László Bölöni Mustafa JalalAdidasQatar AirwaysAl-Rayyan Diego Aguirre Fábio CésarAdidasRayyan Co.Al Sadd Hussein Ammouta Abdulla KoniBURRDAVodafoneAl-Sailiya Abdullah Mubarak Abdulla DarwishNikeQatar Islamic BankAl-Wakrah Mehmed Baždarević Ali RehemaNikeOpel El Jaish Răzvan Lucescu Karim ZianiNikeMasrat RayanLekhwiya Eric Gerets Dame TraoréBURRDAMasrat RayanQatar SC Sebastião Lazaroni Hussain Al-RomaihiAdidasQatarEnergyUmm Salal Bertrand Marchand Sasa OgnenovskiNikeGlobal Sports
Managerial changes TeamOutgoing managerManner of departureDate of vacancyIncoming managerDate of appointment El Jaish Péricles Chamusca Contract expired 9 May 2012 Răzvan Lucescu 9 May 2012 Al Sadd Jorge Fossati Contract expired 19 May 2012 Hussein Ammouta 1 June 2012 Al-Khor Alain Perrin Signed by Qatar U-23 21 May 2012 László Bölöni 21 June 2012 Al-Wakrah Adnan Dirjal Resigned 23 May 2012 Mehmed Baždarević 23 May 2012 Umm Salal Gérard Gili Contract expired 20 June 2012 Bertrand Marchand 27 June 2012 Qatar SC Saïd Chiba Contract expired 8 July 2012 Sebastião Lazaroni 9 July 2012 Al Kharaitiyat Laurent Banide Contract expired 20 July 2012 Bernard Simondi 23 July 2012 Al-Arabi Pierre Lechantre Sacked 30 September 2012 Hassan Shehata 11 October 2012 Lekhwiya Djamel Belmadi Resigned 8 October 2012 Eric Gerets 8 October 2012 Al-Sailiya Uli Stielike Sacked 8 October 2012 Maher Kanzari 8 October 2012 Al-Gharafa Paulo Silas Sacked 27 November 2012 Habib Sadegh 27 November 2012 Al-Arabi Hassan Shehata Sacked 6 December 2012 Abdelaziz Bennij 6 December 2012 Al-Gharafa Habib Sadegh Temp mandate over 20 December 2012 Alain Perrin 20 December 2012 Al-Sailiya Maher Kanzari Resigned 31 January 2013 Abdullah Mubarak 31 January 2013 Al-Gharafa Alain Perrin Resigned 21 February 2013 Habib Sadegh 21 February 2013
Foreign players Club Player 1 Player 2 Player 3 Player 4 AFC player Former players Al-Arabi Wanderley Youssouf Hadji Đorđe Rakić Matthew Spiranovic Baré Houssine Kharja Al-Gharafa Afonso Alves Alex Nenê Djibril Cissé Harry Kewell Mark Bresciano Diego Tardelli Đorđe Rakić Al Kharaitiyat Domingos Yahia Kébé Dioko Kaluyituka Fábio Paím Andranik Teymourian Jaycee John Al-Khor Bruno Mineiro Júlio César Madson Ali Hasan Kamal Salam Shaker Hassan Abdel-Fattah Pa-Modou Kah Al-Rayyan Nilmar Rodrigo Tabata Álvaro Fernández Cho Yong-hyung Al Sadd Nadir Belhadj Younis Mahmoud Raúl Lee Jung-soo Mamadou Niang Al-Sailiya Keninha Goiano Marcelo Tavares Moumouni Dagano Kim Kee-hee Aruna Dindane Khaled Korbi Al-Wakrah Pierre-Alain Frau Anouar Diba Nabil Daoudi Khaled Korbi Ali Rehema Younis Mahmoud Reimond Manco El Jaish Karim Ziani Adriano Anderson Martins Wagner Ribeiro Go Seul-ki Ahmed Hadid Al-Mukhaini Lekhwiya Madjid Bougherra Dame Traoré Issiar Dia Youssef Msakni Nam Tae-hee Mourad Meghni Marcelo Tavares Simon Dia Idrissa Coulibaly Qatar SC Marcinho Bakari Koné Youssef Safri Hadi Aghily Qusay Munir Umm Salal Caboré Ismaël Bangoura Otmane El Assas Saïd Boutahar Sasa Ognenovski
League expansion
At the end of the season it was announced that the 2013–14 season would feature 14 teams. The decision to increase the numbers of teams means Al-Sailiya – who finished bottom of the league – would avoid relegation. Meanwhile, Muaither – who lost to Al-Arabi in the play-offs – would join as the 14th team.
The Second Division and the reserve league would also merge to create a stronger second tier.
League table
Relegation playoff
Fixtures and results
Top scorers As of 18 April 2013 RankPlayerClubGoals1 Sebastián SoriaLekhwiya192 NilmarAl-Rayyan143 Moumouni DaganoAl-Sailiya134 Júlio CésarAl-Khor10 Rodrigo TabataAl-Rayyan Younis MahmoudAl Sadd Khalfan IbrahimAl Sadd5 Diego TardelliAl-Gharafa9 Mohammed RazakQatar SC RaúlAl Sadd
References