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 took place at National Stadium in Tokyo, Japan on November 7. The winners, the K-League club Pohang Steelers, qualified for the 2009 FIFA Club World Cup in United Arab Emirates. The most valuable player of the 2009 AFC Champions League was Al-Ittihad's Mohammed Noor.
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. On 5 November 2008 it was announced that Qatar's leading telecom company Qtel will sponsor the AFC Champions League from 2009-2012.[1]
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 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:
Qualified teams
- Number of appearances (including qualifying rounds) since the 2002/03 season, when the competition was rebranded as the AFC Champions League
Schedule
| Date |
Event |
| Dec 18 |
Draw for qualifying play-off |
| Jan 07 |
Draw for group stage |
| Feb 18 |
Qualifying play-off semi-final |
| Feb 25 |
Qualifying play-off finals |
| Mar 10 & 11 |
Group stage Match Day 1 |
| Mar 17 & 18 |
Group stage Match Day 2 |
| Apr 07 & 08 |
Group stage Match Day 3 |
| Apr 21 & 22 |
Group stage Match Day 4 |
| May 5 & 06 |
Group stage Match Day 5 |
|
| Date |
Event |
| May 19 & 20 |
Group stage Match Day 6 |
| May 27 |
Round of 16, West Asia |
| Jun 24 |
Round of 16, East Asia |
| Jun 29 |
Draw for remaining rounds |
| Sep 23 & 24 |
Quarter-finals 1st leg |
| Sep 30 |
Quarter-finals 2nd leg |
| Oct 21 |
Semi-finals 1st leg |
| Oct 28 |
Semi-finals 2nd leg |
| Nov 07 |
Final (National Stadium, Tokyo, Japan) |
|
Qualifying play-off
Preliminary round
Play-off round
Group stage
The draw for the group stage was held on January 7, 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
Group B
Sharjah withdrew from the competition with two games remaining. Their results were expunged.[3]
Group C
Group D
Group E
Group F
Group G
Group H
Knockout stage
Bracket
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.
Quarter-finals
The draw for the quarter-finals and the remaining knockout rounds took place at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on June 29, 2009. The first leg matches were played on 23–24 September, with the second leg matches were played on 30 September.
Semi-finals
The first leg matches were played on 21 October, with the second leg matches were played on 28 October 2009.
Final
The 2009 AFC Champions League Final was played on November 7 at National Stadium, Tokyo, Japan.
Winners
Top scorers
Note: Goals scored in qualifying round not counted.
Fair Play Award
Pohang Steelers[4]
See also
References
External links
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| Asian Champion Club Tournament era, 1967–1971 | | | Seasons | |
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| | Finals | |
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| | Asian Club Championship era, 1985–2002 | | | Seasons | |
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| | Finals |
- 1985
- 1986
- 1987
- 1989
- 1990
- 1991
- 1991
- 1993
- 1994
- 1995
- 1995
- 1997
- 1998
- 1999
- 2000
- 2001
- 2002
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| | Champions League era, 2002–present | | | Seasons | |
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| | Finals | |
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| | Other merges with the Champions League |
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| | | | Domestic leagues | |
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| | Domestic cups |
- Bahrain
- Hong Kong
- India
- Iran
- Japan
- Jordan
- Korea Republic
- Kuwait
- Lebanon
- Malaysia
- Maldives
- Oman
- Pakistan
- Qatar
- Singapore
- Saudi Arabia
- Syria
- Thailand
- Turkmenistan
- UAE
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| | Regional club competitions | |
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| | AFC club competitions | |
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Al-Ittihad
Umm-Salal
Nagoya Grampus
Leandro
Indonesia, 
Singapore, 
Thailand, 
India each have 1 team qualify
China, 
Iran, 
Australia, 
Uzbekistan, 
Binh Duong
Muharraq
Safa
Prince Tagoe
Hicham Aboucherouane
Dejan Damjanović