# 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.
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.

### AFC assessment ranking

* Meet the criteria
* Do not meet the criteria

### 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 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 Osaka | 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:
* 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 | Teamvte | 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 | Advance to knockout stage | 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 | Teamvte | 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 | Advance to knockout stage | 0–0 | — | 1–0 | 5–0 |
| 3 | Al-Gharafa | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 8 | −1 | 3 | | 5–1 | 1–3 | — | |
| 4 | Sharjah | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Withdrew | | 1–3 | 0–2 | — |
* ↑ 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.
* ↑ Sharjah withdrew from the competition with two games remaining. Their results were expunged.

### Group C

| Pos | Teamvte | 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 | Advance to knockout stage | 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 | Teamvte | 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 | Advance to knockout stage | 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 | Teamvte | 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 | Advance to knockout stage | 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 | Teamvte | 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 | Advance to knockout stage | 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 | Teamvte | 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 | Advance to knockout stage | 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 | Teamvte | 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 | Advance to knockout stage | 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 | Round of 16 | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | | Final | Final | |
| Al-Ettifaq | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Pakhtakor | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Pakhtakor | 2 | Pakhtakor | 1 | 0 | 1 | | | | | | | | |
| | | Al-Ittihad | 1 | 4 | 5 | | | | | | | | |
| Al-Ittihad | 2 | Al-Ittihad | 1 | 4 | 5 | | | | | | | | |
| Al-Shabab | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Al-Shabab | 1 | | | | | Al-Ittihad | 6 | 2 | 8 | | | | |
| | | | | | | Nagoya Grampus | 2 | 1 | 3 | | | | |
| Gamba Osaka | 2 | | | | | | | | | Nagoya Grampus | 2 | 1 | 3 | | |
| Kawasaki Frontale | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Kawasaki Frontale | 3 | Kawasaki Frontale | 2 | 1 | 3 | | | | | | | | |
| | | Nagoya Grampus | 1 | 3 | 4 | | | | | | | | |
| Nagoya Grampus | 2 | Nagoya Grampus | 1 | 3 | 4 | | | | | | | | |
| Suwon Samsung Bluewings | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Suwon Samsung Bluewings | 1 | | | | | | | | | | Al-Ittihad | 1 | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | Pohang Steelers | 2 | |
| Persepolis | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | Pohang Steelers | 2 |
| Bunyodkor | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Bunyodkor | 1 | Bunyodkor | 3 | 1 | 4 | | | | | | | | |
| | | Pohang Steelers (aet) | 1 | 4 | 5 | | | | | | | | |
| Pohang Steelers | 6 | Pohang Steelers (aet) | 1 | 4 | 5 | | | | | | | | |
| Newcastle Jets | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Newcastle Jets | 0 | | | | | Pohang Steelers | 2 | 2 | 4 | | | | |
| | | | | | | Umm-Salal | 0 | 1 | 1 | | | | |
| Al-Hilal | 0 (3) | | | | | | | | | Umm-Salal | 0 | 1 | 1 | | |
| Umm-Salal (p) | 0 (4) | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Umm-Salal (p) | 0 (4) | Umm-Salal | 3 | 1 | 4 | | | | | | | | |
| | | FC Seoul | 2 | 1 | 3 | | | | | | | | |
| Kashima Antlers | 2 (4) | FC Seoul | 2 | 1 | 3 | | | | | | | | |
| 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.
West Asia :
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
East Asia :
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |

### 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.

## Top scorers

Note: Goals scored in qualifying round not counted.
| Rank | Player | Club | MD1 | MD2 | MD3 | MD4 | MD5 | MD6 | R16 | QF2 | SF1 | 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 |
| 5 | Yoshizumi Ogawa | Nagoya Grampus | | | | 1 | 2 | | 1 | 1 | | | 5 |
| 5 | Hicham Aboucherouane | Al-Ittihad | 1 | 1 | | | 1 | | 1 | 1 | | | 5 |
| 5 | Dejan Damjanović | FC Seoul | | | | | 3 | 1 | | 1 | | | 5 |
| 5 | Renatinho | Kawasaki Frontale | 1 | | 1 | 1 | 1 | | 1 | | | | 5 |
| 5 | Zaynitdin Tadjiyev | Pakhtakor | 1 | 1 | 1 | | 1 | | 1 | | | | 5 |
| 5 | Araújo | Al-Gharafa | 1 | 1 | | 3 | | | | | | | 5 |

## Fair Play Award

Pohang Steelers