2009 AFC Champions League

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. The winners, South Korean club Pohang Steelers, qualified for the 2009 FIFA Club World Cup in the United Arab Emirates.

2009 AFC Champions League
Tournament details
Dates18 February – 7 November 2009
Teams35 (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(s) No Byung-jun

The champions league was expanded to 35 clubs this year, with 5 teams starting from a knockout qualifying stage. An extra stage in the knockout phase was added so that the runners up as well as the winners from the group stage would progress. The previous season winner no longer got a bye through to the knockout round. 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 country.

Qualification

A total of 35 teams participated in the 2009 AFC Champions League.[1]

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)

The following teams had qualified for qualifying play-off, but were removed as their leagues did not meet the Champions League criteria:

Team Original qualification
Binh Duong 2008 V-League champions
Muharraq 2008 AFC Cup winners
Safa 2008 AFC Cup runners-up

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.

West Asia (Group A-D)
Team Qualification App*
Group stage
Persepolis 2007–08 Persian Gulf Cup champions 2nd
Esteghlal 2007–08 Hazfi Cup winners 2nd
Sepahan 2007–08 Persian Gulf Cup runners-up 5th
Saba Qom 2007–08 Persian Gulf Cup 3rd place 2nd
Al-Hilal 2007–08 Saudi Premier League champions 5th
Al-Shabab 2008 King Cup of Champions winners 4th
Al-Ittihad 2007–08 Saudi Premier League runners-up 5th
Al-Ettifaq 2007–08 Saudi Premier League 4th place 1st
Al-Shabab 2007–08 UAE Football League champions 1st
Al-Ahli 2007–08 UAE President Cup winners 3rd
Al-Jazira 2007–08 UAE Football League runners-up 1st
Al-Gharafa 2007–08 Qatar Stars League champions 4th
Umm-Salal 2008 Emir of Qatar Cup winners 1st
Bunyodkor 2008 Uzbek League champions
2008 Uzbekistani Cup winners
2nd
Pakhtakor 2008 Uzbek League runners-up 7th
Qualifying play-off participants
Dempo 2007–08 I-League champions 1st
Sharjah 2007–08 UAE Football League 4th place 2nd
East Asia (Group E-H)
Team Qualification App*
Group stage
Shandong Luneng Taishan 2008 Chinese Super League champions 3rd
Shanghai Shenhua 2008 Chinese Super League runners-up 5th
Beijing Guoan 2008 Chinese Super League 3rd place 2nd
Tianjin Teda 2008 Chinese Super League 4th place 1st
Kashima Antlers 2008 J. League Division 1 champions 3rd
Gamba OsakaTH 2008–09 Emperor's Cup winners 3rd
Kawasaki Frontale 2008 J. League Division 1 runners-up 2nd
Nagoya Grampus 2008 J. League Division 1 3rd place 1st
Suwon Samsung Bluewings 2008 K-League champions 2nd
Pohang Steelers 2008 Korean FA Cup winners 2nd
FC Seoul 2008 K-League runners-up 1st
Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i 2008 K-League 3rd place 2nd
Central Coast Mariners 2007–08 A-League premiers 1st
Newcastle United Jets 2008 A-League Grand Final winners 1st
Sriwijaya 2007–08 Liga Indonesia Premier Division champions 1st
Qualifying play-off participants
PSMS Medan 2007–08 Liga Indonesia Premier Division runners-up 1st
Singapore Armed Forces 2008 S.League champions 1st
PEA 2008 Thailand Premier League champions 1st
  • Number of appearances (including qualifying rounds) since the 2002/03 season, when the competition was rebranded as the AFC Champions League

Schedule

Date Event
18 December Draw for qualifying play-off
7 January Draw for group stage
18 February Qualifying play-off semi-final
25 February Qualifying play-off finals
10–11 March Group stage Match Day 1
17–18 March Group stage Match Day 2
7–8 April Group stage Match Day 3
21–22 April Group stage Match Day 4
5–6 May Group stage Match Day 5
Date Event
19–20 May Group stage Match Day 6
27 May Round of 16, West Asia
24 June Round of 16, East Asia
29 June Draw for remaining rounds
23–24 September Quarter-finals 1st leg
30 September Quarter-finals 2nd leg
21 October Semi-finals 1st leg
28 October Semi-finals 2nd leg
7 November Final (National Stadium, Tokyo, Japan)

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[lower-alpha 1] 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Withdrew[lower-alpha 2] 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. [2]
  2. Sharjah withdrew from the competition with two games remaining. Their results were expunged.[3]

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 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 SAFFC 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 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 Asia
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 Asia
Nagoya Grampus 2–1 Suwon 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. 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. 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 132112 10
2 Prince Tagoe Al-Ettifaq 2321 8
3 Denilson Pohang Steelers 3112 7
4 Nasser Al-Shamrani Al-Shabab 1131 6
5 Mohammed Noor Al-Ittihad 131 5
Yoshizumi Ogawa Nagoya Grampus 1211 5
Hicham Aboucherouane Al-Ittihad 11111 5
Dejan Damjanović FC Seoul 311 5
Renatinho Kawasaki Frontale 11111 5
Zaynitdin Tadjiyev Pakhtakor 11111 5
Araújo Al-Gharafa 113 5

Fair Play Award

Pohang Steelers[4]

See also

References

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