# 2011–12 Bundesliga
The 2011–12 [Bundesliga](https://www.edgepedia.org/bundesliga) was the 49th season of Germany's top football division, contested by 18 clubs playing 34 matches each from August 2011 to May 2012. [Borussia Dortmund](https://www.edgepedia.org/borussia-dortmund) won the title, their fifth, with 81 points, and completed a league and cup double under [Jürgen Klopp](https://www.edgepedia.org/jurgen-klopp).[1](https://fbref.com/en/comps/20/2011-2012/2011-2012-Bundesliga-Stats) • [2](https://www.bundesliga.com/en/bundesliga/news/iconic-teams-borussia-dortmund-double-winners-2011-12-klopp-lewandowski-gundogan-24944)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Champion | Borussia Dortmund, 81 points (25 wins, 6 draws, 3 losses; 80 goals for, 25 against), their fifth Bundesliga title[1](https://fbref.com/en/comps/20/2011-2012/2011-2012-Bundesliga-Stats) • [3](https://www.bundesliga.com/en/bundesliga/news/german-champions-in-the-bundesliga-bayern-munich-borussia-dortmund-24221) |
| Runners-up | Bayern Munich, 73 points; Schalke 04 third on 64, Borussia Mönchengladbach fourth on 60[4](https://rsssf.org/tablesd/duit2012.html) |
| Top scorer | Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (Schalke), 29 goals, equaling Schalke's club record set by Fischer in 1975/76[5](https://www.bundesliga.com/en/bundesliga/news/all-top-scorers-bundesliga-muller-lewandowski-dzeko-nkunku-klinsmann-heynckes-fullkrug-24227) |
| Relegated | 1. FC Köln (30 points) and 1. FC Kaiserslautern (23 points)[4](https://rsssf.org/tablesd/duit2012.html) |
| Playoff | Fortuna Düsseldorf beat 16th-placed Hertha BSC 4-3 on aggregate (1-2, 2-2) and were promoted[4](https://rsssf.org/tablesd/duit2012.html) • [6](https://www.bundesliga.com/en/bundesliga/news/how-does-promotion-and-relegation-work-in-the-bundesliga-10645) |
| Cup double | Dortmund beat Bayern Munich 5-2 in the DFB Cup final to complete the 2011/12 double[2](https://www.bundesliga.com/en/bundesliga/news/iconic-teams-borussia-dortmund-double-winners-2011-12-klopp-lewandowski-gundogan-24944) |
## Title race
Dortmund, the defending champion, opened the season on 5 August 2011 with a 3-1 home win over [Hamburger SV](https://www.edgepedia.org/hamburger-sv), while Bayern Munich lost 0-1 at home to [Borussia Mönchengladbach](https://www.edgepedia.org/borussia-monchengladbach) on the same opening weekend.[7](https://datencenter.dfb.de/en/competitions/bundesliga/seasons/2011-2012/matchday?datacenter_name=data-center) The two title contenders met on matchday 13, when Bayern lost 0-1 at home to the reigning champion in a tactically shaped game.[8](https://www.kicker.de/bayern-gegen-dortmund-2011-bundesliga-1143395/analyse)
**Head-to-head dominance.** Across the 2010/11 and 2011/12 seasons the clubs met five times in competitive matches, and Dortmund won all five on the way to consecutive titles.[9](https://www.bundesliga.com/en/bundesliga/news/what-is-der-klassiker-why-bayern-munich-vs-borussia-dortmund-is-important-7942/) The decisive league meeting came on matchday 30, on 11 April 2012, when Dortmund beat Bayern 1-0 at home; [Robert Lewandowski](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-lewandowski) scored, [Roman Weidenfeller](https://www.edgepedia.org/roman-weidenfeller) saved, and [Arjen Robben](https://www.edgepedia.org/arjen-robben) missed a chance in a match later framed as the title-decider.[10](https://www.kicker.de/dortmund-gegen-bayern-2012-bundesliga-1143548/analyse) With five games remaining, Dortmund led the standings by three points over Bayern.[11](https://www.bundesliga.com/en/bundesliga/news/bayern-munich-vs-borussia-dortmund-top-5-matches-in-klassiker-history-reus-lewandowski-3242)
Dortmund finished on 81 points, eight clear of Bayern's 73, with a league-best goal difference of +55 from 80 goals scored and 25 conceded. Bayern's coach that season was [Jupp Heynckes](https://www.edgepedia.org/jupp-heynckes).[1](https://fbref.com/en/comps/20/2011-2012/2011-2012-Bundesliga-Stats) • [10](https://www.kicker.de/dortmund-gegen-bayern-2012-bundesliga-1143548/analyse)
## Final table and European places
The final table placed Schalke 04 third on 64 points and Borussia Mönchengladbach fourth on 60, with Bayer Leverkusen fifth on 54 and [VfB Stuttgart](https://www.edgepedia.org/vfb-stuttgart) sixth on 53. [Hannover 96](https://www.edgepedia.org/hannover-96) took fourth-place European qualification in the UEFA listing, entering the Europa League.[4](https://rsssf.org/tablesd/duit2012.html) • [12](https://www.uefa.com/MultimediaFiles/Download/FirstDiv/uefaorg/Publications/01/67/03/93/1670393_DOWNLOAD.pdf) At the other end, Hamburger SV survived in 15th place on 36 points, three ahead of the playoff spot.[4](https://rsssf.org/tablesd/duit2012.html)
Robert Lewandowski led Dortmund's attack with 22 league goals, and Franck Ribéry of Bayern Munich led the league in assists with 12.[1](https://fbref.com/en/comps/20/2011-2012/2011-2012-Bundesliga-Stats)
## Relegation and the playoff
1. FC Köln finished 17th with 30 points and 1. FC [Kaiserslautern](https://www.edgepedia.org/kaiserslautern) 18th with 23 points, both relegated automatically.[4](https://rsssf.org/tablesd/duit2012.html) [Hertha BSC](https://www.edgepedia.org/hertha-bsc) finished 16th on 31 points and faced [Fortuna Düsseldorf](https://www.edgepedia.org/fortuna-dusseldorf), the third-placed team of the 2. Bundesliga, in the two-legged promotion/relegation playoff in May 2012.[4](https://rsssf.org/tablesd/duit2012.html)
Düsseldorf won the first leg 2-1 in Berlin and drew the second leg 2-2 at home, taking the tie 4-3 on aggregate. Fortuna Düsseldorf were promoted to the Bundesliga and Hertha BSC relegated.[4](https://rsssf.org/tablesd/duit2012.html) The format, in which the 16th-placed Bundesliga club plays the 2. Bundesliga's third-placed club over two legs, has remained part of the league's promotion and relegation system.[6](https://www.bundesliga.com/en/bundesliga/news/how-does-promotion-and-relegation-work-in-the-bundesliga-10645)
## The cup double
Dortmund's league title was paired with the DFB Cup. In the final they beat Bayern Munich 5-2, completing the 2011/12 Bundesliga-DFB Cup double under Klopp; Robert Lewandowski scored a hat-trick in that match, by which point he had already made a telling impact on the season.[2](https://www.bundesliga.com/en/bundesliga/news/iconic-teams-borussia-dortmund-double-winners-2011-12-klopp-lewandowski-gundogan-24944) • [14](https://fcbayern.com/en/news/matchreports/2012/05/out-of-sorts-fcb-downed-by-effective-bvb) The cup run had included a 2-0 second-round win over [Dynamo Dresden](https://www.edgepedia.org/dynamo-dresden).[4](https://rsssf.org/tablesd/duit2012.html)
## Aftermath
The season marked the peak of Klopp's Dortmund side before Bayern's long run of dominance: from the 2012/13 season onward, no club other than Bayern won the Bundesliga for years, and Bayern's leadership acknowledged after 2011/12 that a better team existed in Germany and that the gap had to be corrected quickly.[13](https://as.com/us/2017/12/26/futbol/1514294406_833678.html) Bayern went on to sign Dortmund players Mario Götze and Robert Lewandowski in later seasons, and the 2011/12 campaign is remembered as the high point of the Dortmund-Bayern rivalry of the early 2010s.[2](https://www.bundesliga.com/en/bundesliga/news/iconic-teams-borussia-dortmund-double-winners-2011-12-klopp-lewandowski-gundogan-24944) • [9](https://www.bundesliga.com/en/bundesliga/news/what-is-der-klassiker-why-bayern-munich-vs-borussia-dortmund-is-important-7942/)
## References
1. [2011-2012 Bundesliga Stats, FBref.com](https://fbref.com/en/comps/20/2011-2012/2011-2012-Bundesliga-Stats)
2. [Iconic Bundesliga teams: Borussia Dortmund 2011/12, Bundesliga.com](https://www.bundesliga.com/en/bundesliga/news/iconic-teams-borussia-dortmund-double-winners-2011-12-klopp-lewandowski-gundogan-24944)
3. [German champions in the Bundesliga, Bundesliga.com](https://www.bundesliga.com/en/bundesliga/news/german-champions-in-the-bundesliga-bayern-munich-borussia-dortmund-24221)
4. [Germany 2011/12, RSSSF](https://rsssf.org/tablesd/duit2012.html)
5. [The top scorers from over 60 years of the Bundesliga, Bundesliga.com](https://www.bundesliga.com/en/bundesliga/news/all-top-scorers-bundesliga-muller-lewandowski-dzeko-nkunku-klinsmann-heynckes-fullkrug-24227)
6. [How does promotion and relegation work in the Bundesliga?, Bundesliga.com](https://www.bundesliga.com/en/bundesliga/news/how-does-promotion-and-relegation-work-in-the-bundesliga-10645)
7. [Bundesliga 2011/12, Matchday 1, DFB data center](https://datencenter.dfb.de/en/competitions/bundesliga/seasons/2011-2012/matchday?datacenter_name=data-center)
8. [Spielanalyse: Bayern München – Borussia Dortmund 0:1, 13. Spieltag, kicker](https://www.kicker.de/bayern-gegen-dortmund-2011-bundesliga-1143395/analyse)
9. [A Klassiker explainer, Bundesliga.com](https://www.bundesliga.com/en/bundesliga/news/what-is-der-klassiker-why-bayern-munich-vs-borussia-dortmund-is-important-7942/)
10. [Spielanalyse: Borussia Dortmund – Bayern München 1:0, 30. Spieltag, kicker](https://www.kicker.de/dortmund-gegen-bayern-2012-bundesliga-1143548/analyse)
11. [Borussia Dortmund vs. Bayern Munich: The top 5 matches in Der Klassiker history, Bundesliga.com](https://www.bundesliga.com/en/bundesliga/news/bayern-munich-vs-borussia-dortmund-top-5-matches-in-klassiker-history-reus-lewandowski-3242)
12. [First division clubs in Europe 2011/12, UEFA](https://www.uefa.com/MultimediaFiles/Download/FirstDiv/uefaorg/Publications/01/67/03/93/1670393_DOWNLOAD.pdf)
13. [La Bundesliga busca alternativas a la dictadura del Bayern, AS](https://as.com/us/2017/12/26/futbol/1514294406_833678.html)
14. [Out of Sorts Fcb Downed by Effective Bvb, fcbayern.com](https://fcbayern.com/en/news/matchreports/2012/05/out-of-sorts-fcb-downed-by-effective-bvb)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Association football › Football competitions and records › Competitions and recurring events › Domestic leagues and league seasons › Major continental European leagues › Bundesliga (men's German top flight)*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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