2008–09 UEFA Champions League

Association team allocation

A total of 76 teams from 52 UEFA associations (Liechtenstein organises no domestic league competition) participated in the 2008–09 Champions League. Countries are allocated places according to the 2007 UEFA league co-efficient ranking.

Below is the qualification scheme for the 2008–09 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 (except Liechtenstein) each have one team qualify.

Association ranking

For the 2008–09 UEFA Champions League, the associations are allocated places according to their 2007 UEFA country coefficients, which takes into account their performance in European competitions from 2002–03 to 2006–07.

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Distribution

Since the title holders (Manchester United) qualified for the Champions League group stage through their domestic league, the group stage spot reserved for the title holders is vacated, and the following changes to the default access list are made:

• The champions of association 10 (Scotland) are promoted from the third qualifying round to the group stage.
• The champions of association 16 (Bulgaria) are promoted from the second qualifying round to the third qualifying round.
• The champions of associations 23 (Poland) and 24 (Hungary) are promoted from the first qualifying round to the second qualifying round.

Teams

League positions of the previous season shown in parentheses (TH: Title holders).

;Notes

Round and draw dates

Qualifying rounds

Main article: 2008–09 UEFA Champions League qualifying rounds

First qualifying round

Second qualifying round

Third qualifying round

Group stage

Main article: 2008–09 UEFA Champions League 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.

The top two teams in each group advanced to the knockout phase, and the third-placed teams entered the round of 32 of the UEFA Cup. Based on paragraph 6.05 in the 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:

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 in all group matches played;
6. higher number of coefficient points accumulated by the club in question, as well as its association, over the previous five seasons.

Anorthosis Famagusta, BATE Borisov, CFR Cluj and Zenit Saint Petersburg made their debuts in the group stage.

Group A

Group B

Group C

Group D

Group E

Group F

Group G

Group H

Knockout phase

Main article: 2008–09 UEFA Champions League knockout phase

In the knockout stage, 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:

• In the draw for the round of 16, the eight group winners were seeded, and the eight group runners-up were unseeded. The seeded teams were drawn against the unseeded teams, with the seeded teams hosting the second leg. Teams from the same group or the same association could not be drawn against each other.
• In the draws for the quarter-finals and semi-finals, there were no seedings, and teams from the same group or the same association could be drawn against each other. As the draws for the quarter-finals and semi-finals were held together before the quarter-finals were played, the identity of the quarter-final winners was not known at the time of the semi-final draw. A draw was also held to determine which semi-final winner was designated as the "home" team for the final (for administrative purposes as it was played at a neutral venue).

Bracket

Round of 16

Quarter-finals

Semi-finals

Final

Statistics

Statistics exclude qualifying rounds.

Top goalscorers

References

References

1. (5 October 2006). "Moscow and Rome feast on finals". Union of European Football Associations.
2. "UEFA Country Ranking 2007". Bert Kassies.
3. (22 December 2008). "2008/09 UEFA Champions League access list and calendar".
4. (February 2024). "Qualification for European Cup Football 2007/2008". Bert Kassies}}{{Dead link.
5. (4 June 2008). "Porto lose Champions League place". BBC Sport.
6. (13 June 2008). "FC Porto case deferred". Union of European Football Associations.
7. (16 June 2008). "Porto admission confirmed". Union of European Football Associations.
8. (3 June 2008). "CSKA without UEFA license, Tomov takes the guilt".
9. (5 June 2008). "CSKA Sofia banned from Champions League over unpaid debts".
10. (5 August 2008). "UEFA sets Monaco agenda". Union of European Football Associations.
11. (2008). "Regulations of the UEFA Champions League 2008/09". [[UEFA]].
12. (28 August 2008). "Europe's finest set for group stage draw". [[UEFA]].
13. (27 May 2009). "Top Scorers – Final – Wednesday 27 May 2009 (after match)". [[UEFA]].