UEFA Champions League 2008–09
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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This article documents a current UEFA Champions League season. Information may change as the event progresses. |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Teams | 32 |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 96 |
| Goals scored | 220 (2.29 per match) |
| Attendance | 3,183,457 (33,161 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |  Karim Benzema Steven Gerrard Miroslav Klose Lionel Messi(5 goals) |
| Infobox last updated on: 13:58 , 13 December 2008 (UTC) | |
The UEFA Champions League 2008–09 is the 54th edition of Europe's premier club football tournament and the 17th edition under the current UEFA Champions League format. The final will be played at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome on 27 May 2009.[1] It is the eighth time the European Cup final has been held in Italy and the fourth time it has been held at the Stadio Olimpico. Manchester United are the defending champions.
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[edit] Qualification
A total of 76 teams from 52 UEFA associations (Liechtenstein organises no domestic league competition) will participate in the 2008-09 Champions League. Countries are allocated places according to their UEFA league co-efficient. The title holder entry is not used since Manchester United qualified for the group stage as the Premier League (Association 2) champions.
Below is the qualification scheme for the 2008-09 Champions League:
- Associations 1-3 (Spain, England, and Italy) each have four teams qualify
- Associations 4-6 (France, Germany, and Portugal) each have three teams qualify
- Associations 7-15 (Romania, Netherlands, Russia, Scotland, Ukraine, Belgium, Czech Republic, Turkey, and Greece) each have two teams qualify
- Associations 16-53 (except Liechtenstein) each have one team qualify
First qualifying round: (28 teams)
- 28 champions from associations 25-53
Second qualifying round: (28 teams)
- 14 winners from the first qualifying round
- 8 champions from associations 17-24 (Switzerland, Norway, Israel, Serbia, Denmark, Austria, Poland and Hungary)
- 6 runners-up from associations 10-15
Third qualifying round: (32 teams)
- 14 winners from the second qualifying round
- 6 champions from associations 11-16
- 3 runners-up from associations 7-9 (the Netherlands enter the winners of a series of play-off games rather than the runners-up automatically qualifying)
- 6 third-place finishers from associations 1-6
- 3 fourth-place finishers from associations 1-3
Group stage: (32 teams)
- 16 winners from the third qualifying round
- 10 champions from associations 1-10
- 6 runners-up from associations 1-6
[edit] Excluded teams
[edit] Porto
On 4 June 2008, a decision was taken to exclude Portuguese champions Porto from this year's competition, after the club was found guilty of bribing referees in the Portuguese Liga during the 2003-04 season.[2] As a result, Vitória Guimarães were promoted from the 3rd qualifying round to the group stage and Benfica from the UEFA Cup into the 3rd qualifying round. However, after Porto appealed the decision, the decision was referred by UEFA's Appeals Body back to the Control & Disciplinary Body for re-assessment.[3] The meeting to re-assess the situation took place on 16 June 2008, with the decision being reversed and Porto being allowed back into the 2008-09 Champions League. The decision was taken due to Porto's disciplinary process in Portugal not yet being complete.[4]
[edit] CSKA Sofia
Bulgarian champions CSKA Sofia were excluded from the tournament having failed to secure a UEFA licence due to the club being in debt to various government bodies and creditors.[5] Levski Sofia took their place in the 3rd qualifying round.
[edit] Round and draw dates
The calendar shows the dates of the rounds and draw.
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[edit] Qualifying rounds
[edit] First qualifying round
The draw for the first and second qualifying rounds was held on Tuesday, 1 July 2008 in Nyon, Switzerland. The first leg matches were held on 15 July and 16 July, while the second legs were played on 22 July and 23 July 2008.
| Team #1 | Agg. | Team #2 | Home leg | Away leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Linfield  |
1–3 |  Dinamo Zagreb |
0–2 | 1–1 |
Valletta  |
0–3 |  Artmedia Petržalka |
0–2 | 0–1 |
Dinamo Tbilisi  |
3–1 |  NSÍ Runavík |
3–0 | 0–1 |
Santa Coloma  |
2–7 |  Kaunas |
1–4 | 1–3 |
Murata  |
0–9 |  IFK Göteborg |
0–5 | 0–4 |
Llanelli  |
1–4 |  Ventspils |
1–0 | 0–4 |
Anorthosis  |
3–0 |  Pyunik Yerevan |
1–0 | 2–0 |
Inter Baku  |
(a)1–1 |  Rabotnički |
0–0 | 1–1 |
Tampere United  |
3–2 |  Budućnost |
2–1 | 1–1 |
F91 Dudelange  |
0–3 |  Domžale |
0–1 | 0–2 |
Dinamo Tirana  |
1–4 |  Modriča |
0–2 | 1–2 |
Aktobe  |
1–4 |  Sheriff Tiraspol |
1–0 | 0–4 |
Drogheda United  |
3–1 |  Levadia |
2–1 | 1–0 |
BATE  |
3–0 |  Valur |
2–0 | 1–0 |
In the draw for the first qualifying round, teams were divided into two pots, on the basis of UEFA coefficients. The lower pot contained the 14 teams from associations 40-53: none of these teams had a team ranking.
Two of the 14 ties were won by the lower ranked team: Inter Baku (Azerbaijan, country rank 42) beat Rabotnički (Macedonia, 36); and BATE (Belarus, 40) beat Valur (Iceland, 37).
Of the 28 teams in the first qualifying round, two would survive as far as the group stage: Anorthosis and BATE. Each then finished in fourth place.
[edit] Second qualifying round
The first leg matches were played on 29 July and 30 July, while the second legs were played on 5 August and 6 August 2008.
| Team #1 | Agg. | Team #2 | Home leg | Away leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Rangers  |
1–2 | Kaunas |
0–0 | 1–2 |
Brann  |
(a)2–2 | Ventspils |
1–0 | 1–2 |
| Inter Baku |
1–3 |  Partizan |
1–1 | 0–2 |
| Tampere United |
3–7 | Artmedia Petržalka |
1–3 | 2–4 |
| Anorthosis |
4–3 |  Rapid Wien |
3–0 | 1–3 |
| Domžale |
2–6 | Dinamo Zagreb |
0–3 | 2–3 |
Panathinaikos  |
3–0 | Dinamo Tbilisi |
3–0 | 0–0 |
| IFK Göteborg |
3–5 |  Basel |
1–1 | 2–4 |
| Sheriff Tiraspol |
0–3 |  Sparta Prague |
0–1 | 0–2 |
| Drogheda United |
3–4 |  Dynamo Kyiv |
1–2[B] | 2–2 |
Anderlecht .svg){kind=small} |
3–4 | BATE |
1–2 | 2–2 |
Beitar Jerusalem  |
2–6 |  Wisła Kraków |
2–1 | 0–5 |
Fenerbahçe  |
7–0 |  MTK Hungária |
2–0 | 5–0 |
Aalborg BK  |
7–1 | Modriča |
5–0 | 2–1 |
In the draw for the second qualifying round, teams were divided into two pots, on the basis of UEFA coefficients. The higher pot contained teams ranked 166 or higher: so each tie contained exactly one team ranked in the top 166.
Three of the 14 ties were won by the lower ranked team: Kaunas (unranked, coefficient 2.640) beat Rangers (ranked 24, coefficient 66.013); BATE (unranked, 1.760) beat Anderlecht (56, 41.810); and Anorthosis (ranked 193) beat Rapid Wien (ranked 166).
Of the 28 teams in the second qualifying round, Panathinaikos would be the only one to remain in the competition after the group stage.
[edit] Third qualifying round
The draw for the third qualifying round took place on 1 August 2008 in Nyon, Switzerland.[6] The first leg matches were played on 12 August and 13 August, while the second leg matches took place on 26 August and 27 August. The losing team of each match are being seeded into the UEFA Cup 2008-09 first round; while the winning teams advance into the UEFA Champions League 2008-09 group stage.
| Team #1 | Agg. | Team #2 | Home leg | Away leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anorthosis |
3–1 | Olympiacos |
3–0 | 0–1 |
Vitória Guimarães  |
1–2 | Basel |
0–0 | 1–2 |
| Shakhtar Donetsk |
5–1 | Dinamo Zagreb |
2–0 | 3–1 |
| Schalke 04 |
1–4 |  Atlético Madrid |
1–0 | 0–4 |
| Aalborg BK |
4–0 | Kaunas |
2–0 | 2–0 |
| Barcelona |
4–1 | Wisła Kraków |
4–0 | 0–1 |
Levski Sofia  |
1–2 | BATE |
0–1 | 1–1 |
| Standard Liège |
0–1 | Liverpool |
0–0 | 0–1 (aet) |
| Partizan |
3–4 | Fenerbahçe |
2–2 | 1–2 |
Twente  |
0–6 | Arsenal |
0–2 | 0–4 |
Spartak Moscow  |
2–8 | Dynamo Kyiv |
1–4 | 1–4 |
Juventus  |
5–1 | Artmedia Petržalka |
4–0 | 1–1 |
| Brann |
1–3 | Marseille |
0–1 | 1–2 |
| Fiorentina |
2–0 | Slavia Prague |
2–0 | 0–0 |
| Galatasaray |
2–3 |  Steaua |
2–2 | 0–1 |
| Sparta Prague |
1–3[C] | Panathinaikos |
1–2 | 0–1 |
In the draw for the third qualifying round, teams were divided into two pots, on the basis of UEFA coefficients. The higher pot contained teams ranked 61 or higher. However, the draw was held before the second qualifying round was played, which meant that Kaunas and BATE effectively moved into the higher pot, replacing the teams they eliminated.
Four of the 16 ties were won by the lower ranked team: Anorthosis (ranked 193) beat Olympiacos (ranked 44); BATE (unranked, coefficient 1.760) beat Levski Sofia (ranked 80, coefficient 32.644); Atlético Madrid (ranked 67) beat Schalke 04 (ranked 22) and Dynamo Kyiv (ranked 74) beat Spartak Moscow (ranked 61).
[edit] Group stage
The draw for the group stage took place on 28 August 2008 at the Grimaldi Forum, Monaco, prior to the 2008 UEFA Super Cup the following day.[7]
[edit] Tie-breaking criteria
Based on paragraph 4.05 in the UEFA regulations for the current season, if two or more teams are equal on points on completion of the group matches, the following criteria are applied to determine the rankings:
- higher number of points obtained in the group matches played among the teams in question;
- superior goal difference from the group matches played among the teams in question;
- higher number of goals scored away from home in the group matches played among the teams in question;
- superior goal difference from all group matches played;
- higher number of goals scored in all group matches played;
- higher number of coefficient points accumulated by the club in question, as well as its association, over the previous five seasons.
| Key to colours in group tables |
|---|
| Teams that progressed to the first knockout round are indicated in bold type |
| Teams that progressed to the UEFA Cup are indicated in bold italics |
| Teams eliminated from European competitions for the season are indicated in plain italics |
[edit] Group A
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[edit] Group B
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[edit] Group C
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