2009_AFC_Champions_League
2009 AFC Champions League
28th edition of premier club football tournament organized by the AFC
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.
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 18 February – 7 November 2009 |
| Teams | 35 (from 13 associations) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  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(s) | No Byung-jun |
← 2008 2010 → | |
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.
A total of 35 teams participated in the 2009 AFC Champions League.[1]
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
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 |
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.
- Number of appearances (including qualifying rounds) since the 2002/03 season, when the competition was rebranded as the AFC Champions League
|
|
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 |
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[lower-alpha 1] |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Withdrew[lower-alpha 2] | — |
Notes:
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 | — |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
|---|---|---|
| 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' |
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 | ||||||||||
- "2009 ACL draw – thrilling match-ups". AFC. 7 January 2009. Retrieved 7 January 2009. [dead link]
- "Sharjah SC withdraw from ACL". AFC. 4 May 2009. Archived from the original on 7 May 2009. Retrieved 6 May 2009.
- "Triple treat for Steelers". AFC. Asian Football Confederation. 7 November 2009. Archived from the original on 15 September 2018. Retrieved 7 November 2009.
- AFC Champions League Official Page (in English)