All statistics correct as of 11:14, 4 November 2009 (UTC).
International football competition
The 2009–10 UEFA Champions League is the 55th edition of Europe's premier club football tournament and the eighteenth edition under the current UEFA Champions League format. It is also the first edition under the new qualifying format. Barcelona are the defending champions. The final will be played on 22 May 2010, at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, home ground of Real Madrid, in Madrid, Spain.[1] This year's final will be the first to be played on a Saturday night, and the matches from the first knockout round will be spread over four weeks instead of two.
Association team allocation
A total of 76 teams will participate in the 2009–10 Champions League, from 52 UEFA associations (Liechtenstein organizes no domestic league competition). Countries are allocated places according to the 2008 UEFA league coefficient.[2] The UEFA ranking determines the number of teams competing in the season after the next, not in the first season after the publication of the ranking. Thus, the 2008 ranking determines the proportion in 2009–10, not 2008–09.
Since Barcelona, the Champions League title holder, have obtained a place in the group stage through their domestic league placing, the reserved defending champion spot will not be used. To compensate, the champion of association 13 (Belgium) will be entered into the group stage, the champion of association 16 (Switzerland) will be promoted to the third qualifying round and the champions of associations 48 and 49 (Faroe Islands and Luxembourg, respectively) to the second qualifying round.[3]
Below is the qualification scheme for the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League:
Associations 1–3 each have four teams qualify
Associations 4–6 each have three teams qualify
Associations 7–15 each have two teams qualify
Associations 16–53 each have one team qualify (excluding Liechtenstein)
Distribution
First qualifying round (4 teams)
4 champions from associations 50–53
Second qualifying round (34 teams)
2 winners from the first qualifying round
32 champions from associations 17–49 (excluding Liechtenstein)
Third qualifying round for champions (20 teams)
17 winners from the second qualifying round
3 champions from associations 14–16
Third qualifying round for non-champions (10 teams)
9 runners-up from associations 7–15
1 third-placed team from association 6
Play-off round for champions (10 teams)
10 winners from the third qualifying round for champions
Play-off round for non-champions (10 teams)
5 winners from the third qualifying round for non-champions
2 third-placed teams from associations 4 and 5
3 fourth-placed teams from associations 1–3
Group stage (32 teams)
5 winners from the play-off round for champions
5 winners from the play-off round for non-champions
13 champions from associations 1–13
6 runners-up from associations 1–6
3 third-placed teams from associations 1–3
Teams
League positions of the previous season shown in parentheses. (Panathinaikos qualified for the Champions League by winning the Greek end-of-season play-offs)
In a new system for the Champions League,[4] there are two separate qualifying tournaments. One is for the Champion clubs who did not automatically qualify for the group stage. The other one is for teams who did not win their domestic league and did not automatically qualify for the group stage.
For both sections, the losing teams from the third qualifying round are entered into the UEFA Europa Leagueplay-off round and the losing teams from the play-off round are entered into the UEFA Europa League group stage.
First qualifying round
The draw for the first and second qualifying rounds was held on Monday, 22 June 2009 in Nyon, Switzerland. The first leg matches were played on 30 June and 1 July, while the second legs were played on 7 July and 8 July 2009.
Note 1: Sant Julià was originally drawn to play the first leg at home, but the tie was reversed and Tre Fiori hosted the first leg instead.
Second qualifying round
For the draw clubs were separated into seeded and unseeded teams based on their club coefficient, and because the draw for this round took place before the first qualifying round matches were played, the teams were seeded as if the higher-ranked side in the previous round would be victorious. The first leg matches were played on 14 July and 15 July, while the second legs were played on 21 July and 22 July 2009.
The third qualifying round was split into two separate sections: one for champions and one for non-champions. The losing teams in both sections were entered into the play-off round of the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League. The draw for the third qualifying round, which was conducted by UEFA Competitions Director Giorgio Marchetti and Michael Heselschwerdt, Head of Club Competitions, was held on Friday, 17 July 2009 in Nyon, Switzerland. The first leg matches were played on 28 July and 29 July, while the second legs were played on 4 August and 5 August 2009.
The play-off round was split into two separate sections: one for champions and one for non-champions. The losing teams in both sections were entered into the group stage of the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League. The draw ceremony for the play-off round, which was conducted by UEFA General Secretary David Taylor and UEFA Competitions Director Giorgio Marchetti, was held on Friday, 7 August 2009 in Nyon, Switzerland. For the draw, clubs were separated into seeded and unseeded teams based on their club coefficient. The first leg matches were played on 18 August and 19 August, while the second legs were played on 25 August and 26 August 2009.
The draw for the group stage took place 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 UEFA coefficients. Clubs from the same pot or the same association cannot be drawn into the same group.
Each team will play against each other in its group twice. The top two in each group will proceed to the knockout stage, and the third-placed teams will enter the UEFA Europa League Round of 32.
The eight group winners and eight runners-up from the group stage are drawn into eight pairs of home-and-away matches. In this round, group winners may not be paired with the runner-up from the same group, nor with another team from the same country. Group runners-up play the first leg at home.
Quarter-finals
The eight winners from the first knockout round are drawn into four pairs of home-and-away matches, regardless of association or previous group status.
Semi-finals
The four quarter-final winners are drawn into two pairs of home-and-away matches.
The 2010 UEFA Champions League Final is scheduled to be played at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid on 22 May 2010. If the scores are level after 90 minutes, two 15-minute periods of extra time will be played. If the game remains tied after extra time has been played, a penalty shootout will determine the winner. It will be the first time that a UEFA Champions League final will be played on a Saturday night.
Statistics
Top goalscorers
The top scorers from the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League (excluding qualifying rounds and play-off round) are as follows:
Sant Julià
Mogren
Stabæk
Maribor
APOEL
Kalmar FF
BATE
Aktobe
Dinamo Zagreb
F91 Dudelange
Baku
Bohemians
Slovan Bratislava
Sheriff Tiraspol
Partizan
Levadia
Glentoran
Olympiacos
Slavia Prague
Twente
Dynamo Moscow
Sivasspor
Arsenal
Stuttgart
Fiorentina
Atlético Madrid
