2009 AFC Champions League

2009 AFC Champions League
The National Stadium in Tokyo hosted the final.
Tournament details
DatesQualifying:
18 – 25 February 2009
Competition proper:
10 March – 7 November 2009
TeamsCompetition proper: 32
Total: 35 (from 13 associations)
Final positions
Champions Pohang Steelers (3rd title)
Runners-up Al-Ittihad
Tournament statistics
Matches played111
Goals scored329 (2.96 per match)
Attendance1,396,226 (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

Allocation of entries

Below is the qualification scheme for the 2009 AFC Champions League:

Qualifying play-off: (5 teams)

Group stage: (32 teams)

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.

Entry round Teams
West Asia East Asia
Group stage Al-Hilal 2007–08 Saudi Premier League champions 5th (2007) Gamba OsakaTH 2008 AFC Champions League champions
2008–09 Emperor's Cup winners
3rd (2008)
Al-Shabab 2008 King Cup of Champions winners 4th (2007) Kashima Antlers 2008 J. League Division 1 champions 3rd (2008)
Al-Ittihad 2007–08 Saudi Premier League runners-up 5th (2008) Kawasaki Frontale 2008 J. League Division 1 runners-up 2nd (2007)
Al-Ettifaq 2007–08 Saudi Premier League fourth place 1st Nagoya Grampus 2008 J. League Division 1 third place 1st
Al-Shabab 2007–08 UAE Football League champions 1st Suwon Samsung Bluewings 2008 K-League champions 2nd (2005)
Al-Ahli 2007–08 UAE President Cup winners 3rd (2005) Pohang Steelers 2008 Korean FA Cup winners 2nd (2008)
Al-Jazira 2007–08 UAE Football League runners-up 1st FC Seoul 2008 K-League runners-up 1st
Persepolis 2007–08 Persian Gulf Cup champions 2nd (2002–03) Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i 2008 K-League third place 2nd (2006)
Esteghlal 2007–08 Hazfi Cup winners 2nd (2002–03) Shandong Luneng Taishan 2008 Chinese Super League champions 3rd (2007)
Sepahan 2007–08 Persian Gulf Cup runners-up 5th (2008) Shanghai Shenhua 2008 Chinese Super League runners-up 5th (2007)
Saba Qom 2007–08 Persian Gulf Cup third place 2nd (2006) Beijing Guoan 2008 Chinese Super League third place 2nd (2008)
Bunyodkor 2008 Uzbek League champions
2008 Uzbekistan Cup winners
2nd (2008) Tianjin Teda 2008 Chinese Super League fourth place 1st
Pakhtakor 2008 Uzbek League runners-up 7th (2008) Central Coast Mariners 2007–08 A-League premiers 1st
Al-Gharafa 2007–08 Qatar Stars League champions 4th (2008) Newcastle United Jets 2008 A-League Grand Final winners 1st
Umm-Salal 2008 Emir of Qatar Cup winners 1st Sriwijaya 2007–08 Liga Indonesia Premier Division champions 1st
Qualifying play-off Sharjah 2007–08 UAE Football League fourth place 2nd (2004) PSMS Medan 2007–08 Liga Indonesia Premier Division runners-up 1st
Dempo 2007–08 I-League champions 1st Singapore Armed Forces 2008 S.League champions 1st
Muharraq 2008 AFC Cup winners[Note AFC] 1st PEA 2008 Thailand Premier League champions 1st
Safa 2008 AFC Cup runners-up[Note AFC] 1st Bình Dương 2008 V-League champions[Note AFC] 2nd (2008)
Notes.
  1. ^
    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
  1. ^ Two-legged ties
  2. ^ Pre-determined format
  3. ^ West Asia
  4. ^ 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:

  1. Greater number of points obtained in the group matches between the teams concerned;
  2. Goal difference resulting from the group matches between the teams concerned; (Away goals do not apply)
  3. Greater number of goals scored in the group matches between the teams concerned; (Away goals do not apply)
  4. Goal difference in all the group matches;
  5. Greater number of goals scored in all the group matches;
  6. Kicks from the penalty mark if only two teams are involved and they are both on the field of play;
  7. 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)
  8. 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 3–1
2 Al-Shabab 4 2 1 1 4 2 +2 7 0–0 1–0 5–0
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] 1–3 0–2
Source: WorldFootball.net
Notes:
  1. ^ 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]
  2. ^ 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 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

  1. ^ "Triple treat for Steelers". AFC. Asian Football Confederation. 7 November 2009. Archived from the original on 15 September 2018. Retrieved 7 November 2009.
  2. ^ "2009 ACL draw – thrilling match-ups". AFC. 7 January 2009. Retrieved 7 January 2009.
  3. ^ Sharjah found guilty of fielding an ineligible player
  4. ^ "Sharjah SC withdraw from ACL". AFC. 4 May 2009. Archived from the original on 7 May 2009. Retrieved 6 May 2009.