# 2008 AFC Champions League

The 2008 AFC Champions League was the 27th AFC Champions League, the top-level Asian club football tournament, and the 6th under the current AFC Champions League title. It was the last AFC Champions League before the competition expanded to 32 teams.

## Format
### Group stage

A total of 28 clubs were divided into seven groups of four, based on region, i.e. East Asian and Southeast Asian clubs were drawn in groups E to G, while the rest were grouped in groups A to D. Each club played double round-robin (home and away) against the other three teams in their group, a total of 6 matches each. Clubs received three points for a win, one point for a draw and no points for a loss. The clubs were ranked according to points and tie breakers were in the following order:
* Points earned between the clubs in question
* Goal difference between the clubs in question
* Goal difference within the group
* Goals for within the group
The seven group winners and the defending champion advanced to the quarter-finals.

### Knockout stage

All eight clubs were randomly paired together, with the restriction that clubs from the same country could not face each other in the quarter-finals. The games were played over two legs, home and away; the team with the higher aggregate score was declared the match winner. If the aggregate score could not produce a winner, "away goals rule" was used. If the two teams were still tied, extra time was played, at the end of which the "away goals rule" was again applied if the scores were tied. If still tied, the game would go to penalties.

## Schedule
### Group stage draw - 12 December 2007

* Group round: 12–19 March, 9–23 April, 7–21 May

### Knockout stage draw - 24 May 2008

* Quarter-finals: 17–24 September
* Semi-finals: 8–22 October
* Final: 5 and 12 November

## Participating clubs

Indonesia were initially allocated two entries as per previous years. However, on 12 December 2007, the AFC awarded one to Thailand and the other one to Vietnam because the Indonesian domestic league and cup tournament wouldn't be completed in time for the start of the tournament. Both Thailand and Vietnam therefore effectively recovered the entries they had lost the previous year.
| West Asia | West Asia | East Asia | East Asia |
| Quarter-finals ||||
| Team | Qualifying method | Team | Qualifying method |
| | | Urawa Red Diamonds | Defending champions |
| Group Stage ||||
| Team | Qualifying method | Team | Qualifying method |
| Saipa | 2006–07 Persian Gulf Cup champions | Melbourne Victory | 2006–07 A-League premiers & 2007 A-League Grand Final winners |
| Sepahan | 2006–07 Hazfi Cup winners | Adelaide United | 2006–07 A-League regular season runners-up |
| Erbil SC | 2006–07 Iraqi Premier League champions | Changchun Yatai | 2007 Chinese Super League champions |
| Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya | 2006–07 Iraqi Premier League runners-up | Beijing Guoan | 2007 Chinese Super League runners-up |
| Kuwait SC | 2006–07 Kuwaiti Premier League champions | Kashima Antlers | 2007 J.League Division 1 champions & 2007 Emperor's Cup winners |
| Al Qadisiya | 2007 Kuwait Emir Cup winners | Gamba Osaka | 2007 J.League Division 1 third-place |
| Al Sadd | 2006–07 Qatar Stars League champions & 2006–07 Emir of Qatar Cup winners | Pohang Steelers | 2007 K League champions |
| Al-Gharafa | 2006–07 Qatar Stars League runners-up | Chunnam Dragons | 2007 Korean FA Cup winners |
| Al-Ittihad | 2006–07 Saudi Premier League champions | Chonburi FC | 2007 Thailand Premier League champions |
| Al Ahli | 2006–07 Saudi Crown Prince Cup winners | Krung Thai Bank FC | 2007 Thailand Premier League runners-up |
| Al-Karamah | 2006–07 Syrian Premier League champions & 2006–07 Syrian Cup winners | Bình Dương | 2007 V-League champions |
| Al-Ittihad | 2006–07 Syrian Premier League runners-up | Nam Định | 2007 Vietnamese Cup winners |
| Al Wasl | 2006–07 UAE Football League champions & 2006–07 UAE President's Cup winners |
| Al Wahda | 2006–07 UAE Football League runners-up |
| Pakhtakor | 2007 Uzbek League champions & 2007 Uzbekistan Cup winners |
| FC Bunyodkor | 2007 Uzbek League runners-up |

### Notes

* ^ Japan (JPN): 2007 J.League Division 1 runners-up, Urawa Red Diamonds, had already qualified for the AFC Champions League as defending champions.

## Group stage
### Group A

| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| Bunyodkor | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 2 | +6 | 13 |
| Al-Ittihad | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 9 |
| Sepahan | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 8 | −3 | 7 |
| Al-Ittihad | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 8 | −4 | 6 |

### Group B

| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| Saipa | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 3 | +4 | 12 |
| Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 8 |
| Al Wasl | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 7 | −2 | 7 |
| Al Kuwait | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 6 | −2 | 5 |

### Group C

| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| Al-Karamah | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 3 | +5 | 11 |
| Al-Wahda | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 7 | −1 | 9 |
| Al-Sadd | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 8 | −2 | 6 |
| Al-Ahli | 6 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 7 | −2 | 4 |

### Group D

| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| Al Qadisiya | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 7 | +1 | 11 |
| Pakhtakor | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 13 | 6 | +7 | 11 |
| Erbil | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 11 | −3 | 8 |
| Al-Gharafa | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 8 | −5 | 2 |

### Group E

| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| Adelaide United | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 2 | +7 | 14 |
| Changchun Yatai | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 3 | +7 | 12 |
| Pohang Steelers | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 7 | −1 | 5 |
| Bình Dương | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 17 | −13 | 1 |

### Group F

| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| Kashima Antlers | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 28 | 3 | +25 | 15 |
| Beijing Guoan | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 9 | +5 | 12 |
| Krung Thai Bank | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 20 | 27 | −7 | 7 |
| Nam Định | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 27 | −23 | 1 |

#### Notes

* Note 2: Nam Định played their home matches at Mỹ Đình National Stadium, Hanoi as their own Thiên Trường Stadium did not meet AFC criteria.

### Group G

| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| Gamba Osaka | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 8 | +6 | 14 |
| Melbourne Victory | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 11 | −1 | 7 |
| Chunnam Dragons | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 10 | −2 | 6 |
| Chonburi | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 10 | −3 | 5 |

#### Notes

* Note 3: Chonburi played their home matches at Supachalasai Stadium, Bangkok as their own Chonburi Municipality Stadium did not meet AFC criteria.

## Knock-out stage
### Bracket

| Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final | Final | Final |
| 1 | Al-Karamah | 1 | 0 | 1 | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Gamba Osaka | 2 | 2 | 4 | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Gamba Osaka | 2 | 2 | 4 | Gamba Osaka | 1 | 3 | 4 | | | | |
| | | | | | Urawa Red Diamonds | 1 | 1 | 2 | | | | |
| 4 | Al Qadisiya | 3 | 0 | 3 | Urawa Red Diamonds | 1 | 1 | 2 | | | | |
| 5 | Urawa Red Diamonds (2007 Champion) | 2 | 2 | 4 | | | | | | | | |
| 5 | Urawa Red Diamonds (2007 Champion) | 2 | 2 | 4 | | | | | Gamba Osaka | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| | | | | | | | | | Adelaide United | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Kashima Antlers | 1 | 0 | 1 | | | | | | | | | Adelaide United | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | Adelaide United | 1 | 1 | 2 | | | | | | | | |
| 6 | Adelaide United | 1 | 1 | 2 | Adelaide United | 3 | 0 | 3 | | | | |
| | | | | | Bunyodkor | 0 | 1 | 1 | | | | |
| 2 | Saipa | 2 | 1 | 3 | Bunyodkor | 0 | 1 | 1 | | | | |
| 7 | Bunyodkor | 2 | 5 | 7 | | | | | | | | |

### Quarter-finals

The first leg matches were played on 17 September, and the second leg matches were played on 24 September 2008.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Al-Karamah | 1–4 | Gamba Osaka | 1–2 | 0–2 |
| Al Qadisiya | 3–4 | Urawa Red Diamonds (2007 Champion) | 3–2 | 0–2 |
| Kashima Antlers | 1–2 | Adelaide United | 1–1 | 0–1 |
| Saipa | 3–7 | Bunyodkor | 2–2 | 1–5 |

### Semi-finals

The first leg matches were played on 8 October, and the second leg matches were played on 22 October 2008.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Gamba Osaka | 4–2 | Urawa Red Diamonds | 1–1 | 3–1 |
| Adelaide United | 3–1 | Bunyodkor | 3–0 | 0–1 |

### Final

The first and second legs of the final were played on 5 and 12 November 2008, respectively.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Gamba Osaka | 5–0 | Adelaide United | 3–0 | 2–0 |

## Top scorers

The top scorers from the 2008 AFC Champions League are as follows:
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Nantawat Thansopa | Krung Thai Bank | 9 |
| 2 | Lucas | Gamba Osaka | 6 |
| 3 | Marquinhos | Kashima Antlers | 5 |
| 3 | Masato Yamazaki | Gamba Osaka | 5 |
| 3 | Kone Kassim | Krung Thai Bank | 5 |
| 3 | Yuzo Tashiro | Kashima Antlers | 5 |
| 3 | Danilo | Kashima Antlers | 5 |
| 8 | Takuya Nozawa | Kashima Antlers | 4 |
| 8 | Tiago | Beijing Guoan | 4 |
| 8 | Villanueva | Bunyodkor | 4 |
| 8 | Diego Walsh | Adelaide United | 4 |

## Fair Play Award

Gamba Osaka