 The National Stadium in Tokyo hosted the final. | |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | Qualifying: 18 – 25 February 2009 Competition proper: 10 March – 7 November 2009 |
| Teams | Competition proper: 32 Total: 35 (from 13 associations) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | .svg/1280px-Flag_of_South_Korea_(1997%E2%80%932011).svg.png) Pohang Steelers (3rd title) |
| Runners-up |  Al-Ittihad |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 111 |
| Goals scored | 329 (2.96 per match) |
| Attendance | 1,396,226 (12,579 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |  Leandro(10 goals) |
| Best player | No Byung-jun |
| Fair play award | Pohang Steelers[1] |
← 2008 2010 → | |
The 2009 AFC Champions League was the 28th edition of the top-level Asian club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 7th under the current AFC Champions League title. The final was held at the National Stadium in Tokyo on 7 November 2009, with Pohang Steelers defeating Al-Ittihad and securing a record-breaking third title. As winners, Pohang Steelers, qualified as the AFC's representative at the 2009 FIFA Club World Cup in the United Arab Emirates.
The Champions League featured a number of changes to its structure this season. Qualifying rounds were introduced, with both finalists of the previous years AFC Cup automatically earning a place in the qualifiers. The group stage was expanded from 28 to 32 teams. The first and second-placed teams in each group advanced to the knockout stage, which now included a Round of 16. The final was played as a single-legged tie at a neutral venue. The defending champions no longer received a bye to the knockout stage, nor did they automatically qualify for the tournament.
Each team was allowed to field a maximum of four foreign players this season, one of whom had to be from an AFC Member Association.
Gamba Osaka were the defending champions, but were eliminated by Kawasaki Frontale in the Round of 16.
Qualification
A total of 35 teams participated in the 2009 AFC Champions League.[2]
AFC assessment ranking
|
† One of the A-League clubs, Wellington Phoenix, is based in New Zealand, an OFC member country, therefore not being eligible to compete in the ACL. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Allocation of entries
Below is the qualification scheme for the 2009 AFC Champions League:
Qualifying play-off: (5 teams)
United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, India each have 1 team qualify
Group stage: (32 teams)
- 2 qualifying play-off entries
- 4 teams qualified: Japan, China, Iran, South Korea, Saudi Arabia
- 3 teams qualified: United Arab Emirates
- 2 teams qualified: Australia, Uzbekistan, Qatar
- 1 team qualified: Indonesia
Teams
In the following table, the number of appearances and last appearance count only those since the 2002–03 season (including qualifying rounds), when the competition was rebranded as the AFC Champions League. TH means title holders.
- Notes.
- ^ AFC Criteria (AFC): Clubs that had initially qualified for qualifying play-off, but were removed and demoted to the 2009 AFC Cup as their respective leagues did not meet the AFC's Champions League criteria.
Schedule
| Stage | Round | Draw date | First leg | Second leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qualifying play-off | Preliminary round | 18 December 2008 | 18 February 2009 | |
| Play-off round | 25 February 2009 | |||
| Group stage | Matchday 1 | 7 January 2009 | 10–11 March 2009 | |
| Matchday 2 | 17–18 March 2009 | |||
| Matchday 3 | 7–8 April 2009 | |||
| Matchday 4 | 21–22 April 2009 | |||
| Matchday 5 | 5–6 May 2009 | |||
| Matchday 6 | 19–20 May 2009 | |||
| Knockout stage | Round of 16[a] | No draw[b] | 27 May[c] and 24 June[d] 2009 | |
| Quarter-finals | 29 June 2009 | 23–24 September 2009 | 30 September 2009 | |
| Semi-finals | 21 October 2009 | 28 October 2009 | ||
| Final | 7 November 2009 at National Stadium, Tokyo | |||
- Notes
- ^ Two-legged ties
- ^ Pre-determined format
- ^ West Asia
- ^ East Asia
Qualifying play-off
Preliminary round
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
|---|---|---|
| East Zone | ||
PEA 
|
1–4 (aet) |  Singapore Armed Forces
|
Play-off round
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
|---|---|---|
| East Zone | ||
| Singapore Armed Forces
|
2–1 (aet) |  PSMS Medan
|
| West Zone | ||
Sharjah 
|
3–0 |  Dempo
|
Group stage
The draw for the group stage was held on 7 January 2009 in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
Each club played double round-robin (home and away) against fellow three group members, a total of 6 matches each. Each team had been numbered from 1 to 4, the numbers determine the order of the fixtures.
- Match Day 1: 1 vs 4, 3 vs 2
- Match Day 2: 2 vs 1, 4 vs 3
- Match Day 3: 1 vs 3, 4 vs 2
- Match Day 4: 3 vs 1, 2 vs 4
- Match Day 5: 4 vs 1, 2 vs 3
- Match Day 6: 1 vs 2, 3 vs 4
Clubs receive 3 points for a win, 1 point for a tie, 0 points for a loss. The clubs are ranked according to points and tie breakers are in following order:
- Greater number of points obtained in the group matches between the teams concerned;
- Goal difference resulting from the group matches between the teams concerned; (Away goals do not apply)
- Greater number of goals scored in the group matches between the teams concerned; (Away goals do not apply)
- Goal difference in all the group matches;
- Greater number of goals scored in all the group matches;
- Kicks from the penalty mark if only two teams are involved and they are both on the field of play;
- Fewer score calculated according to the number of yellow and red cards received in the group matches; (1 point for each yellow card, 3 points for each red card as a consequence of two yellow cards, 3 points for each direct red card, 4 points for each yellow card followed by a direct red card)
- Drawing of lots.
Winners and runners-up of each group qualified for the next round.
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | HIL | PAK | SAB | AHL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Al-Hilal
|
6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 4 | +6 | 14 | Advance to knockout stage | — | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | |
| 2 |  Pakhtakor
|
6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 5 | +4 | 13 | 1–1 | — | 2–1 | 2–0 | ||
| 3 |  Saba Qom
|
6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 9 | −2 | 5 | 0–1 | 1–2 | — | 0–0 | ||
| 4 | Al-Ahli
|
6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 14 | −8 | 1 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 3–5 | — |
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | PRS | SHB | GHA | SHA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Persepolis
|
4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 6 | −1 | 7 | Advance to knockout stage | — | 1–0 | 3–1 | ||
| 2 | Al-Shabab
|
4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 7 | 0–0 | — | 1–0 | |||
| 3 |  Al-Gharafa
|
4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 8 | −1 | 3 | 5–1 | 1–3 | — | |||
| 4 | Sharjah[a]
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Withdrew[b] | — |
Notes:
- ^ Sharjah were found guilty of fielding an ineligible player Abdelaziz Mohamed Al Mazam during the team’s AFC Champions League match against Al Shabab of Saudi Arabia on 8.4.09. Thus, Al Sharjah were fined USD 4000 and the match was awarded to Al Shabab 3-0.[3]
- ^ Sharjah withdrew from the competition with two games remaining. Their results were expunged.[4]
Group C
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | ITT | UMS | JAZ | EST | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Al-Ittihad
|
6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 14 | 4 | +10 | 12 | Advance to knockout stage | — | 7–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | |
| 2 | Umm-Salal
|
6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 13 | −7 | 8 | 1–3 | — | 2–2 | 1–0 | ||
| 3 | Al-Jazira
|
6 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 7 | −1 | 5 | 0–0 | 0–1 | — | 2–2 | ||
| 4 | Esteghlal
|
6 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 8 | −2 | 4 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | — |
Group D
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | ETT | BUN | SEP | SHB | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Al-Ettifaq
|
6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 8 | +7 | 12 | Advance to knockout stage | — | 4–0 | 2–1 | 4–1 | |
| 2 | Bunyodkor
|
6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 9 | −4 | 8 | 2–1 | — | 2–2 | 0–0 | ||
| 3 | Sepahan
|
6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 7 | +2 | 7 | 3–0 | 0–1 | — | 2–0 | ||
| 4 | Al-Shabab
|
6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 11 | −5 | 7 | 1–4 | 2–0 | 2–1 | — |
Group E
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | NAG | NEW | ULS | BEI | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Nagoya Grampus
|
6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 4 | +6 | 12 | Advance to knockout stage | — | 1–1 | 4–1 | 0–0 | |
| 2 | .svg/1280px-Flag_of_Australia_(converted).svg.png) Newcastle Jets
|
6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 10 | 0–1 | — | 2–0 | 2–1 | ||
| 3 |  Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i
|
6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 10 | −6 | 6 | 1–3 | 0–1 | — | 1–0 | ||
| 4 |  Beijing Guoan
|
6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 5 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | — |
Group F
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | OSA | SEO | SHA | SRI | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gamba Osaka
|
6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 17 | 4 | +13 | 15 | Advance to knockout stage | — | 1–2 | 3–0 | 5–0 | |
| 2 | FC Seoul
|
6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 14 | 11 | +3 | 10 | 2–4 | — | 1–1 | 5–1 | ||
| 3 | Shandong Luneng
|
6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 9 | +1 | 7 | 0–1 | 2–0 | — | 5–0 | ||
| 4 | Sriwijaya
|
6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 24 | −17 | 3 | 0–3 | 2–4 | 4–2 | — |
Group G
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | KAS | SUW | SHA | SAF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kashima Antlers
|
6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 6 | +10 | 13 | Advance to knockout stage | — | 3–0 | 2–0 | 5–0 | |
| 2 | Suwon Samsung Bluewings
|
6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 8 | +4 | 12 | 4–1 | — | 2–1 | 3–1 | ||
| 3 | Shanghai Shenhua
|
6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 8 | +1 | 8 | 1–1 | 2–1 | — | 4–1 | ||
| 4 | Singapore Armed Forces
|
6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 19 | −15 | 1 | 1–4 | 0–2 | 1–1 | — |
Group H
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | POH | KAW | TIA | CCM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pohang Steelers
|
6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 3 | +4 | 12 | Advance to knockout stage | — | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–2 | |
| 2 | Kawasaki Frontale
|
6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 7 | +3 | 10 | 0–2 | — | 1–0 | 2–1 | ||
| 3 | Tianjin Teda
|
6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 8 | 0–0 | 3–1 | — | 2–2 | ||
| 4 | Central Coast Mariners
|
6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 13 | −8 | 2 | 0–0 | 0–5 | 0–1 | — |
Knockout stage
Bracket
| Round of 16 | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||||||||||
| Al-Ettifaq
| 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Pakhtakor
| 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Pakhtakor
| 1 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| Al-Ittihad
| 1 | 4 | 5 | ||||||||||||||||
| Al-Ittihad
| 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Al-Shabab
| 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Al-Ittihad
| 6 | 2 | 8 | ||||||||||||||||
| Nagoya Grampus
| 2 | 1 | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| Gamba Osaka
| 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Kawasaki Frontale
| 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Kawasaki Frontale
| 2 | 1 | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| Nagoya Grampus
| 1 | 3 | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| Nagoya Grampus
| 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Suwon Samsung Bluewings
| 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Al-Ittihad
| 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Pohang Steelers
| 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Persepolis
| 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Bunyodkor
| 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Bunyodkor
| 3 | 1 | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| Pohang Steelers (aet)
| 1 | 4 | 5 | ||||||||||||||||
| Pohang Steelers
| 6 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Newcastle Jets
| 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Pohang Steelers
| 2 | 2 | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| Umm-Salal
| 0 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| Al-Hilal
| 0 (3) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Umm-Salal (p)
| 0 (4) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Umm-Salal
| 3 | 1 | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| FC Seoul
| 2 | 1 | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| Kashima Antlers
| 2 (4) | ||||||||||||||||||
| FC Seoul (p)
| 2 (5) | ||||||||||||||||||
Round of 16
The draw for the round of 16 of the 2009 AFC Champions League was held on 7 January 2009, along with the draw for the group stage. The West Asian matches were played on 26 and 27 May. The East Asian matches were played on 24 June.
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
|---|---|---|
| West Zone | ||
| Al-Hilal
|
0–0 (a.e.t.) (3–4 p) |
Umm-Salal
|
| Persepolis
|
0–1 | Bunyodkor
|
| Al-Ittihad
|
2–1 | Al-Shabab
|
| Al-Ettifaq
|
1–2 | Pakhtakor
|
| East Zone | ||
| Nagoya Grampus
|
2–1 | Suwon Samsung Bluewings
|
| Gamba Osaka
|
2–3 | Kawasaki Frontale
|
| Kashima Antlers
|
2–2 (a.e.t.) (4–5 p) |
FC Seoul
|
| Pohang Steelers
|
6–0 | Newcastle Jets
|
Quarter-finals
The draw for the quarter-finals and the remaining knockout rounds took place at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 29 June 2009. The first leg matches were played on 23–24 September, with the second leg matches were played on 30 September.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Umm-Salal
|
4–3 | FC Seoul
|
3–2 | 1–1 |
| Kawasaki Frontale
|
3–4 | Nagoya Grampus
|
2–1 | 1–3 |
| Pakhtakor
|
1–5 | Al-Ittihad
|
1–1 | 0–4 |
| Bunyodkor
|
4–5 | Pohang Steelers
|
3–1 | 1–4 (a.e.t.) |
Semi-finals
The first leg matches were played on 21 October, with the second leg matches were played on 28 October 2009.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al-Ittihad
|
8–3 | Nagoya Grampus
|
6–2 | 2–1 |
| Pohang Steelers
|
4–1 | Umm-Salal
|
2–0 | 2–1 |
Final
The 2009 AFC Champions League Final was played on 7 November at National Stadium, Tokyo, Japan.
| Al-Ittihad | 1–2 | Pohang Steelers |
|---|---|---|
Noor  74' |
Report | No Byung-jun 57' Kim Hyung-il 66' |
Top scorers
Note: Goals scored in qualifying round not counted.
| Rank | Player | Club | MD1 | MD2 | MD3 | MD4 | MD5 | MD6 | R16 | QF1 | QF2 | SF1 | SF2 | F | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leandro
|
Gamba Osaka
|
1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 10 | ||||||
| 2 |  Prince Tagoe
|
Al-Ettifaq
|
2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 8 | ||||||||
| 3 | Denilson
|
Pohang Steelers
|
3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | ||||||||
| 4 | Nasser Al-Shamrani
|
Al-Shabab
|
1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 6 | ||||||||
| 5 | Mohammed Noor
|
Al-Ittihad
|
1 | 3 | 1 | 5 | |||||||||
| Yoshizumi Ogawa
|
Nagoya Grampus
|
1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | |||||||||
 Hicham Aboucherouane
|
Al-Ittihad
|
1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||||||||
 Dejan Damjanović
|
FC Seoul
|
3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||||||||||
| Renatinho
|
Kawasaki Frontale
|
1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||||||||
| Zaynitdin Tadjiyev
|
Pakhtakor
|
1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||||||||
| Araújo
|
Al-Gharafa
|
1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | ||||||||||
See also
References
- ^ "Triple treat for Steelers". AFC. Asian Football Confederation. 7 November 2009. Archived from the original on 15 September 2018. Retrieved 7 November 2009.
- ^ "2009 ACL draw – thrilling match-ups". AFC. 7 January 2009. Retrieved 7 January 2009. [dead link]
- ^ Sharjah found guilty of fielding an ineligible player
- ^ "Sharjah SC withdraw from ACL". AFC. 4 May 2009. Archived from the original on 7 May 2009. Retrieved 6 May 2009.
External links
- AFC Champions League Official Page (in English)