2012–13 Belgian Pro League


The 2012–13 season of the Belgian Pro League was the 110th season of top-tier football in Belgium. It started on 28 July 2012 with the first match of the regular season between Kortrijk and defending champions Anderlecht, and ended on 26 May 2013, which was the return leg of the European playoff.
During the regular season, Club Brugge took the early lead but then started struggling, eventually leading to the sacking of head coach Georges Leekens when they dropped out of the top 6 in November. Anderlecht and overachievers Zulte Waregem took over the top two positions and comfortably held these until the playoffs.
The title playoffs started with Anderlecht on 34 points and Zulte Waregem just behind them on 32. Due to the division of the points by two, they held a smaller lead over Genk, Club Brugge, Lokeren and Standard. To the surprise of many, Zulte Waregem took the lead about halfway through the playoffs and with Anderlecht not performing well and suffering a penalty kick trauma, both Genk, Club Brugge and Standard Liège rapidly close the gap. Anderlecht managed to overtake Zulte Waregem again and went into the final match on 19 May 2013, at home against Zulte Waregem, with a two-point lead. Anderlecht equalized after going down 0-1 and under pressure managed to hold on, even though losing Cheikhou Kouyaté due to a red card. With that, Anderlecht won its 32nd title.
The draw allowed Zulte Waregem to remain just in front of Club Brugge, thereby gaining access to the Champions League. Club Brugge and Genk qualified for the Europa League, due to finishing 3rd and winning the Cup respectively.
The Europa League playoff groups were won by Gent and Oud-Heverlee Leuven, with Gent easily beating OH Leuven for the overall win. Gent had played a disappointing season, initially aiming for the top 6 but eventually finishing 12th. By winning the Europa League playoff, they won the right to play against Standard Liège for the final Europa League ticket. Gent won the first match 1-0 but lost the return 7-0, allowing Standard to take the last European ticket.
In the bottom end of the table, Cercle Brugge faced a miserable season after finishing 7th the previous season, as now only three wins and five draws out of thirty matches caused them to end dead last. Lierse narrowly held of Beerschot, causing Cercle Brugge and Beerschot to play the relegation playoff. Beerschot initially extended their lead, but Cercle Brugge came back and on 20 April 2013, a 2-1 win by Cercle caused Beerschot to be relegated. Beerschot had been playing in the top division since 1989–90, initially as Germinal Ekeren, then as Germinal Beerschot. A few days after the relegation it was announced that Beerschot was in severe financial trouble and was not given a licence for professional football. On 21 May, Beerschot was officially declared bankrupt and dissolved as a whole. Cercle Brugge on the other hand, had to play the Belgian Second Division Final Round with second division teams Mouscron-Péruwelz, Westerlo and WS Woluwe. On 23 May 2013, Cercle Brugge became the first team succeeding in avoiding relegation after playing the relegation playoff, since the installation of the playoffs system in 2009–10.

Teams

Following the 2011–12 Belgian Pro League, Sint-Truiden were relegated to the 2012–13 Belgian Second Division after losing their relegation playoff series against Westerlo, ending a three-season tenure in the league. Sint-Truiden were replaced by 2011–12 Second Division champions Charleroi, who made their immediate comeback to the highest Belgian football league. In the 2012 Belgian Second Division Final Round, Westerlo faced Second Division teams Eupen, Oostende and Waasland-Beveren. On 17 May 2012, Westerlo were relegated after a 0–0 draw away to Oostende. Also in Oostende, Waasland-Beveren secured the promotion one week later after a 1–1 draw.

Stadia and locations

ClubLocationVenueCapacity
AnderlechtConstant Vanden Stock Stadium21,000
AntwerpOlympisch Stadion13,132
BrugesJan Breydel Stadium29,945
CharleroiStade du Pays de Charleroi25,000
BrugesJan Breydel Stadium29,945
GenkCristal Arena24,900
GhentJules Ottenstadion12,919
KortrijkGuldensporen Stadion9,500
LierHerman Vanderpoortenstadion14,538
LokerenDaknamstadion10,000
MechelenArgosstadion Achter de Kazerne13,123
MonsStade Charles Tondreau12,000
LeuvenDen Dreef9,493
LiègeStade Maurice Dufrasne30,000
BeverenFreethiel Stadion13,290
WaregemRegenboogstadion8,500

Managerial changes

Regular season

League table

Positions by round

Note: The classification was made after the weekend of each matchday, so postponed matches were only processed at the time they were played to represent the real evolution in standings.
The following matches were postponed during the season:

Championship Playoff

The points obtained during the regular season were halved before the start of the playoff. As a result, the teams started with the following points before the playoff: Anderlecht 34 points, Zulte Waregem 32, Genk 28, Club Brugge 27, Lokeren 26 and Standard 25. In the event of ties at the end of the playoffs, the half point will be deducted if it was added. Anderlecht, Genk, Lokeren and Zulte Waregem received this type of bonus due to rounding and will thus always be ranked below Club Brugge and Standard in the event of ties.

Playoff table

Positions by round

Below the positions per round are shown. As teams did not all start with an equal number of points, the initial pre-playoffs positions are also given.

Results

Europa League Playoff

Group A contains the teams finishing the regular season in positions 7, 9, 12 and 14. The teams finishing in positions 8, 10, 11 and 13 are placed in Group B.

Group A

Group B

Europa League playoff final

The winners of both playoff groups will compete in a two-legged match to play the fourth-placed team of the championship playoff, called Testmatch. The winners of this Testmatch are granted entry to the second qualifying round of the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League.
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Gent won 8–2 on aggregate.

Testmatches Europa League

The Europa League playoff final winners will compete with the fourth placed team in the Championship playoff for the final European ticket.
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Standard Liège won 7–1 on aggregate.

Relegation Playoff

Beerschot and Cercle Brugge, the teams finishing in the last two positions, faced each other in the relegation playoff. Beerschot initially extended their three-point bonus to a six-point lead, but thereafter Cercle Brugge won three matches in a row. This caused Beerschot to be relegated to the Second Division on 20 April 2013 after playing in the first division since 1989. One month later however, it was announced that Beerschot had gone bankrupt and dissolved.
Cercle Brugge was forced to play the second division playoff with three Belgian Second Division teams, which they won to avoid relegation. It was the first time a team from the Pro League succeeded in surviving the Second Division Final Round since the installment of the Belgian Pro League playoffs.

Season statistics

Source: and

Top scorers

PositionPlayerClubGoals
1 Carlos BaccaClub Brugge25
2 Ilombe MboyoGent20
3 IbouOH Leuven19
3 Dieumerci MbokaniAnderlecht19
5 Maxime LestienneClub Brugge17
5 Mbaye LeyeZulte Waregem17
5 Jelle VossenGenk17
8 Imoh EzekielStandard Liège16
9 Franck BerrierZulte Waregem14
10 Michy BatshuayiStandard Liège12
10 Tom De SutterAnderlecht12
10 Hamdi HarbaouiLokeren12
10 Mustapha JarjuMons12
10 Nicklas PedersenMechelen12
10 Jérémy PerbetMons12

;10 goals
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