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
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.

Qualification

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

AFC assessment ranking

West Asia Pos Member Association Points (total 500) Clubs Spots Group stage Play-off AFC Cup 4 Saudi Arabia 365 12 4 0 0 5 UAE 356 12 3 1 0 7 Iran 340 18 4 0 0 9 Uzbekistan 289 16 2 0 1 10 Qatar 270 10 2 0 0 13 India 202 10 0 1 1 Meet the criteria Do not meet the criteria

East Asia Pos Member Association Points (total 500) Clubs Spots Group stage Play-off AFC Cup 1 Japan 470 18 4 0 0 2 Korea Republic 441 14 4 0 0 3 China PR 431 16 4 0 0 6 Australia 343 7+1† 2 0 0 8 Indonesia 296 18 1 1 0 11 Singapore 279 12 0 1 1 12 Thailand 221 16 0 1 1 14 Vietnam 191 14 0 0 2 † 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

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 Uzbekistan 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 Gamba OsakaTH 2008 AFC Champions League champions 2008–09 Emperor's Cup winners 3rd Kashima Antlers 2008 J. League Division 1 champions 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

Location of the 2009 AFC Champions League group stage teams

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

Main article: 2009 AFC Champions League 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

Main article: 2009 AFC Champions League 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 v t e	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	—

Source: WorldFootball.net

Group B

Pos	Team v t e	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.^[2]
2. Sharjah withdrew from the competition with two games remaining. Their results were expunged.^[3]

Group C

Pos	Team v t e	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	—

Source: WorldFootball.net

Group D

Pos	Team v t e	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	—

Source: WorldFootball.net

Group E

Pos	Team v t e	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	—

Source: WorldFootball.net

Group F

Pos	Team v t e	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	—

Source: WorldFootball.net

Group G

Pos	Team v t e	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	—

Source: WorldFootball.net

Group H

Pos	Team v t e	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	—

Source: WorldFootball.net

Knockout stage

Main article: 2009 AFC Champions League 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

Main article: 2009 AFC Champions League Final

The 2009 AFC Champions League Final was played on 7 November at National Stadium, Tokyo, Japan.

7 November 2009

19:00 (JST)

Al-Ittihad	1–2	Pohang Steelers
Noor 74'	Report	No Byung-jun 57' Kim Hyung-il 66'

National Olympic Stadium, Tokyo

Attendance: 25,743

Referee: Matthew Breeze (Australia)

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

Fair Play Award

Pohang Steelers^[4]

See also

• 2009 AFC Champions League Final
• 2009 FIFA Club World Cup