Liga Deportiva Universitaria de Quito's 2011 season was the club's 81st year of existence, the 58th year in professional football, and the 50th in the top level of professional football in Ecuador. Liga came in as the defending Serie A champion and having qualified to the 2011 Copa Libertadores and the 2011 Copa Sudamericana, but failed to win a title for the first time since 2006.
Liga's squad for the season is allowed a maximum of four foreign players at any one time, and a maximum of eight throughout the season. During the off season, Norberto Araujo changed his nationality from Argentine to Ecuadorian. At the start of the season, Liga was mandated to start one under-18 player in each match. Since the Ecuadorian national U-20 team qualified to the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup, that was changed to have an under-20 player start in each game. The jersey numbers in the main table (directly below) refer to the number on their domestic league jersey. The under-18/under-20 players will wear a jersey number of at least #50. For each CONMEBOL competition, Liga must register 25 players, whose jerseys will be numbered 1–25. Because of this, some players may have different jersey numbers while playing in CONMEBOL matches.
Note: Caps and goals are of the national league and are current as of the beginning of the season.
Winter transfers
During the off-season, Liga saw a number of high-profile players leave the squad. Veterans Carlos Espínola,[1] Renan Calle,[2] and Christian Lara[3] left the team to look for more playing time, while Juan Manuel Salgueiro returned to Estudiantes after Liga could not secure a permanent move. Víctor Estupiñán and Joao Plata and went to the United States to take part in the MLS SuperDraft.[4] They were drafted by Chivas USA and Toronto FC. Franklin Salas attempted to move abroad, but failed to find a suitor. After a prolonged process, he was loaned to Imbabura.[5] Other loaned out players were Pedro Romo[6] and Manuel Mendoza to Aucas and Universidad Católica, respectively. Ángel Cheme, better known as Gonzalo Chila, was suspended for two-year due to aggravated identity theft.[7]
To reinforce the squad, Liga signed former stars Luis Bolaños[8] and Enrique Vera,[9][10] with Daniel Viteri returning after a season on loan.[11] Argenis Moreira,[12][13] Fernando Hidalgo,[11] and Geovanny Caicedo[13] were also signed. Liga's highest profile transfer was Ezequiel González from Fluminense.[14][15] This also filled their squad's foreign player quota. Ángel Ledesma was loaned form Macará should the squad need U-18 down the line.[16]
On May 16, 2011, veteran goalkeeper José Francisco Cevallos announced his retirement from professional football.[17] He played his last game on May 22.[18] In late July, the club announced that Carlos Luna was loaned to a club to be determined at a later date. Youth-player Nelson Martínez was loaned to Aucas in mid June.[19] That was followed by the late-July loan of forward Luis Batioja to Universidad Católica.[20]
In late July, Liga reinforced their squad with two players transferring from Argentina. Forward Claudio Bieler returned to the club after a year-and-a-half on a loan from Racing. In the time in between, he became a naturalized Ecuadorian, freeing up a foreign-player spot in the team.[21] The remaining foreign-player spot was filled by midfielder Lucas Acosta, who was transferring in from San Martín de San Juan.[22]
Liga played three friendly matches in addition to La Noche Blanca, the club's official presentation for the season. Their opponent for La Noche Blanca was Once Caldas, the defending Colombian champion.[25]
The 2011 season is Liga's 50th season in the Serie A and their tenth consecutive. The league season will run from late January to early December, with a short break for the 2011 Copa América. The format is identical to the previous season. They came in as the defending league champion.
First stage
The First Stage of the season ran from January 30 to June 19.[26] Liga finished 2nd and failed to qualify to the season-ending Finals and the 2012 Copa Libertadores during this stage.
Source: [27] Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored. Notes:
^Since LDU Quito was already qualified to the 2011 Copa Sudamericana First Stage as the winner of the 2010 Serie A Second Stage, Deportivo Quito also qualified to the 2011 Copa Sudamericana First Stage.
Note: The match was originally scheduled for March 9, but was postponed because it was scheduled on the same date of Liga's Copa Libertadores match at Peñarol.
Stadium: Estadio Olímpico Attendance: 12,653 Referee: Miguel Hidalgo
Note: This game was postponed at the request of both teams.[28] The match was played in Ibarra since Liga's home stadium was suspended for one match due to objects being thrown on the pitch during the game versus Emelec.[29]
LDU Quito qualified to the 2011 Copa Libertadores—their 15th participation in the continental tournament—as the winner of the 2010 Serie A Second Stage and were given the Ecuador 1 berth as the league champion. They entered the competition in the Second Stage and were placed in Group 8 with Godoy Cruz, Independiente, Peñarol. They won their group and advance to the Round of 16 where they were eliminated by Vélez Sársfield.
^"El Paraguarí se va a Sporting Cristal" [The 'Paraguarí' is going to Sporting Cristal] (in Spanish). futbolecuador.com. November 27, 2010. Retrieved December 11, 2010.
^"Blanca Navidad fue la del Patón" [White Christmas for el Patón] (in Spanish). futbolecuador.com. December 25, 2010. Archived from the original on 29 December 2010. Retrieved December 26, 2010.
^"Se adelantan los Reyes en la casa del Patón" [The Kings move forward in Paton's house] (in Spanish). futbolecuador.com. December 29, 2010. Archived from the original on 30 December 2010. Retrieved December 29, 2010.
^"Cuelgan guantes Las Manos del Ecuador" [Las Manos del Ecuador hangs his gloves] (in Spanish). futbolecuador.com. May 16, 2011. Archived from the original on 10 June 2011. Retrieved May 17, 2011.
^"Gracias Pepe Pancho" [Thank you Pepe Pancho] (in Spanish). futbolecuador.com. May 22, 2011. Retrieved May 22, 2011.
^"Sociedad Deportiva Aucas se refuerza" [Sociedad Deportiva Aucas reinforces themselves] (in Spanish). futbolecuador.com. June 23, 2011. Retrieved August 19, 2011.
^"Duelo de Campeones en la Noche Blanca" [Duel of Champions for the Noche Blanca] (in Spanish). futbolecuador.com. January 12, 2011. Retrieved January 13, 2011.
^"Table de Posiciones" [Standings] (in Spanish). Ecuadorian Football Federation. Archived from the original on 2012-04-20. Retrieved September 13, 2011.
