2009–10 UEFA Champions League explained

Tourney Name:UEFA Champions League
Year:2009–10
Size:275px
Dates:Qualifying:
30 June – 26 August 2009
Competition proper:
15 September 2009 – 22 May 2010
Num Teams:Competition proper: 32
Total: 76
Associations:52
Champion Other: Inter Milan
Count:3
Second Other: Bayern Munich
Matches:125
Goals:318
Attendance:5193947
Top Scorer:Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
8 goals
Prevseason:2008–09
Nextseason:2010–11

The 2009–10 UEFA Champions League was the 55th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 18th under the current UEFA Champions League format. The final was played on 22 May 2010 at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid, Spain, the first time the final was played on a Saturday.[1] [2] The final was won by Italian club Inter Milan, who beat German side Bayern Munich 2–0.

Inter Milan went on to represent Europe in the 2010 FIFA Club World Cup, beating Congolese side TP Mazembe 3–0 in the final, and played in the 2010 UEFA Super Cup against Europa League winners Atlético Madrid, losing 2–0.

Barcelona were the defending champions, but they were eliminated by eventual winners Inter Milan in the semi-finals.[3] [4]

Association team allocation

A total of 76 teams participated in the 2009–10 Champions League, from 52 UEFA associations (Liechtenstein organises no domestic league competition). Associations were allocated places according to their 2008 UEFA country coefficient, which took into account their performance in European competitions from 2003–04 to 2007–08.[5]

Below is the qualification scheme for the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League:[6]

Association ranking

RankAssociationCoeff.Teams
175.7494
275.266
360.410
452.6683
548.722
643.750
740.5992
839.927
938.213
1033.375
1131.725
1230.100
1326.700
1425.831
1525.750
1624.2251
1723.166
1822.425
RankAssociationCoeff.Teams
1920.4501
2017.700
2116.750
2215.750
2313.691
2412.332
2512.041
2611.999
2711.624
2810.082
299.915
309.623
318.831
328.498
337.999
347.499
357.332
366.331
RankAssociationCoeff.Teams
375.9991
385.831
395.5000
405.3321
414.332
423.832
433.666
443.665
452.582
462.332
472.331
481.832
491.498
500.832
510.500
520.500
530.250

Distribution

Since the winners of the 2008–09 UEFA Champions League, Barcelona, obtained a place in the group stage through their domestic league placing, the reserved title holder spot in the group stage was effectively vacated. To compensate:[7]

Teams entering in this roundTeams advancing from previous round
First qualifying round
(4 teams)
  • 4 champions from associations 50–53
Second qualifying round
(34 teams)
  • 32 champions from associations 17–49 (except Liechtenstein)
  • 2 winners from the first qualifying round
Third qualifying roundChampions
(20 teams)
  • 3 champions from associations 14–16
  • 17 winners from the second qualifying round
Non-champions
(10 teams)
  • 9 runners-up from associations 7–15
  • 1 third-placed team from association 6
Play-off roundChampions
(10 teams)
  • 10 winners from the third qualifying round for champions
Non-champions
(10 teams)
  • 2 third-placed teams from associations 4 and 5
  • 3 fourth-placed teams from associations 1–3
  • 5 winners from the third qualifying round for non-champions
Group stage
(32 teams)
  • 13 champions from associations 1–13
  • 6 runners-up from associations 1–6
  • 3 third-placed teams from associations 1–3
  • 5 winners from the play-off round for champions
  • 5 winners from the play-off round for non-champions
Knockout phase
(16 teams)
  • 8 group winners from the group stage
  • 8 group runners-up from the group stage

Teams

League positions of the previous season shown in parentheses.[8]

Group stage
BarcelonaTH (1st) Inter Milan (1st) Bayern Munich (2nd) AZ (1st)
Manchester United (1st) Juventus (2nd) Rubin Kazan (1st) Rangers (1st)
Liverpool (2nd) Milan (3rd) CSKA Moscow (2nd) Beşiktaş (1st)
Chelsea (3rd) Bordeaux (1st) Unirea Urziceni (1st) Dynamo Kyiv (1st)
Real Madrid (2nd) Marseille (2nd) Porto (1st) Standard Liège (1st)
Sevilla (3rd) VfL Wolfsburg (1st)
Play-off round
ChampionsNon-champions
Arsenal (4th) Fiorentina (4th) VfB Stuttgart (3rd)
Atlético Madrid (4th) Lyon (3rd)
Third qualifying round
ChampionsNon-champions
Olympiacos (1st) Dynamo Moscow (3rd) Celtic (2nd) Anderlecht (2nd)
Slavia Prague (1st) Timișoara (2nd) Sivasspor (2nd) Panathinaikos (2nd)
Zürich (1st) Sporting CP (2nd) Shakhtar Donetsk (2nd) Sparta Prague (2nd)
Twente (2nd)
Second qualifying round
Levski Sofia (1st) Wisła Kraków (1st) Ekranas (1st) Baku (1st)
Stabæk (1st) Debrecen (1st) Sheriff Tiraspol (1st) Tirana (1st)
Copenhagen (1st) Dinamo Zagreb (1st) Bohemians (1st) Pyunik (1st)
Red Bull Salzburg (1st) APOEL (1st) Makedonija (1st) Aktobe (1st)
Partizan (1st) Maribor (1st) FH (1st) Glentoran (1st)
Maccabi Haifa (1st) Inter Turku (1st) WIT Georgia (1st) Rhyl (1st)
Kalmar FF (1st) Ventspils (1st) BATE Borisov (1st) EB/Streymur (1st)
Slovan Bratislava (1st) Zrinjski (1st) Levadia (1st) F91 Dudelange (1st)
First qualifying round
Hibernians (1st) Mogren (1st) Sant Julià (1st) Tre Fiori (1st)
TH Title Holder

Round and draw dates

All draws held at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland unless stated otherwise.

PhaseRoundDraw dateFirst legSecond leg
QualifyingFirst qualifying round22 June 200930 June – 1 July 20097–8 July 2009
Second qualifying round14–15 July 200921–22 July 2009
Third qualifying round17 July 200928–29 July 20094–5 August 2009
Play-offPlay-off round7 August 200918–19 August 200925–26 August 2009
Group stageMatchday 127 August 2009
(Monaco)
15–16 September 2009
Matchday 229–30 September 2009
Matchday 320–21 October 2009
Matchday 43–4 November 2009
Matchday 524–25 November 2009
Matchday 68–9 December 2009
Knockout phaseRound of 1618 December 200916–17 & 23–24 February 20109–10 & 16–17 March 2010
Quarter-finals19 March 201030–31 March 20106–7 April 2010
Semi-finals20–21 April 201027–28 April 2010
Final22 May 2010 at Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, Madrid

Qualifying rounds

See main article: 2009–10 UEFA Champions League qualifying rounds.

In a new system for the Champions League, there were two separate qualifying tournaments.[9] The Champions Path (which started from the first qualifying round) was for clubs which won their domestic league and did not automatically qualify for the group stage, while the Non-Champions Path (which started from the third qualifying round) was for clubs which did not win their domestic league and did not automatically qualify for the group stage.

In the qualifying phase and the play-off round, teams played against each other over two legs on a home-and-away basis.

The draw for the first and second qualifying rounds, conducted by UEFA President Michel Platini and UEFA General Secretary David Taylor, was held on 22 June 2009, and the draw for the third qualifying round, conducted by UEFA Competitions Director Giorgio Marchetti and Head of Club Competitions Michael Heselschwerdt, was held on 17 July 2009. For the draws, clubs were separated into seeded and unseeded teams based on their club coefficient. Because the draws for the second and third qualifying rounds took place before the previous round was completed, the teams were seeded assuming the seeded side in the previous round would be victorious.

First qualifying round

The first legs were played on 30 June and 1 July, and the second legs were played on 7 and 8 July 2009.

Second qualifying round

The first legs were played on 14 and 15 July, and the second legs were played on 21 and 22 July 2009.

Partizan's 8–0 win over Rhyl in the second leg equalled the record for the largest margin of victory in the current Champions League format.

, the second leg between Stabæk and Tirana was under investigation by UEFA and German authorities for possible match-fixing.[10]

Third qualifying round

The third qualifying round was split into two separate sections: one for champions and one for non-champions. The first legs were played on 28 and 29 July, and the second legs were played on 4 and 5 August 2009. The losing teams in both sections entered the play-off round of the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League.

Play-off round

An extra qualifying round, the play-off round, was introduced from this season. The teams were split into two separate sections: one for champions and one for non-champions. The draw for the play-off round, conducted by UEFA General Secretary David Taylor and UEFA Competitions Director Giorgio Marchetti, was held on 7 August 2009. For the draw, clubs were separated into seeded and unseeded teams based on their club coefficient. The first legs were played on 18 and 19 August, and the second legs were played on 25 and 26 August 2009. The losing teams in both sections entered the group stage of the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League.

Group stage

See main article: 2009–10 UEFA Champions League group stage.

The draw for the group stage was held at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco on 27 August 2009. A total of 32 teams were drawn into eight groups of four. Teams were divided into four pots, based on their club coefficient. Clubs from the same pot or the same association cannot be drawn into the same group.

In each group, teams played against each other home-and-away. The matchdays were 15–16 September, 29–30 September, 20–21 October, 3–4 November, 24–25 November, and 8–9 December 2009. The top two in each group advanced to the knockout phase, and the third-placed teams entered the round of 32 of the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League.

Based on Article 7.06 in the UEFA regulations, if two or more teams were equal on points on completion of the group matches, the following criteria were applied to determine the rankings:[6]

  1. higher number of points obtained in the group matches played among the teams in question;
  2. superior goal difference from the group matches played among the teams in question;
  3. higher number of goals scored away from home in the group matches played among the teams in question;
  4. superior goal difference from all group matches played;
  5. higher number of goals scored;
  6. higher number of coefficient points accumulated by the club in question, as well as its association, over the previous five seasons.

AZ, VfL Wolfsburg, Standard Liège, Zürich, APOEL, Rubin Kazan, Unirea Urziceni and Debrecen all made their debuts in the group stage.[11]

Group H

Knockout phase

See main article: 2009–10 UEFA Champions League knockout phase. In the knockout phase, teams played against each other over two legs on a home-and-away basis, except for the one-match final.The mechanism of the draws for each round was as follows:

Final

Statistics

Statistics exclude qualifying rounds and play-off round.

Top goalscorers

RankPlayerTeamGoalsMinutes played
1 Lionel Messi Barcelona81033
2 Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid7477
Ivica Olić Bayern Munich721
4 Diego Milito Inter Milan6966
5 Nicklas Bendtner Arsenal5461
Wayne Rooney Manchester United508
Marouane Chamakh Bordeaux852
8 Michael Owen Manchester United4293
Stevan Jovetić Fiorentina302
Edin Džeko VfL Wolfsburg560
Cesc Fàbregas Arsenal633
Radamel Falcao Porto660
Pedro Barcelona677
Arjen Robben Bayern Munich717
Miralem Pjanić Lyon780
Zlatan Ibrahimović Barcelona790
Miloš Krasić CSKA Moscow812

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: UEFA.com . 28 March 2008 . Madrid and Hamburg awarded 2010 finals Inside UEFA . 14 March 2024 . UEFA.com . en.
  2. Web site: UEFA Executive Committee approves changes to UEFA club competitions . 24 February 2024 . UEFA.com.
  3. News: Sam . Lyon . Barcelona 1-0 Inter Milan (agg 2-3) . BBC Sport . British Broadcasting Corporation . 28 April 2010 . 24 May 2010 .
  4. News: Sam . Lyon . Bayern Munich 0–2 Inter Milan . BBC Sport . British Broadcasting Corporation . 22 May 2010 . 24 May 2010 .
  5. Web site: Country coefficients 2007/08. UEFA.com.
  6. Web site: Regulations of the UEFA Champions League 2009/10 . uefa.com . Union of European Football Associations. 7 August 2009 .
  7. Web site: 2009/10 Champions League access list and calendar . UEFA.com . Union of European Football Associations . 17 July 2009.
  8. Web site: 2009/10 UEFA Champions League list of participants . UEFA.com. 7 September 2009.
  9. News: 2009/10 Competition format . UEFA . 18 December 2008 . 18 December 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20081221132024/http://www.uefa.com/competitions/ucl/format/newsid%3D788373.html . 21 December 2008 . dead.
  10. Web site: UEFA, FAs discuss match-fixing inquiry. UEFA.com. 25 November 2009. 12 June 2011 .
  11. Web site: Group-stage rivals ready for draw . UEFA.com. 27 August 2009.