UEFA Champions League 2009-10

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. 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. The winner of the tournament qualifies to play in the 2010 FIFA Club World Cup as well as the 2010 UEFA Super Cup.

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 (except 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 (except 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)

Qualifying phase
In a new system for the Champions League, there are two separate qualifying tournaments. The Champions Path (which start from the first qualifying round) is for clubs which won their domestic league and did not automatically qualify for the group stage, while the Non-Champions Path (which start from the third qualifying round) is for clubs which did not win their domestic league and did not automatically qualify for the group stage.

First qualifying round
The draw for the first and second qualifying rounds was held on Monday, 22 June 2009 in Nyon, Switzerland]. For the draw, clubs were separated into seeded and unseeded teams based on their club coefficient. The first legs were played on 30 June and 1 July, while the second legs were played on 7 July and 8 July 2009.


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 * Notes
 * 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 legs were played on 14 July and 15 July, while the second legs were played on 21 July and 22 July 2009.

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

The second leg between Stabæk and Tirana is currently under investigation by UEFA and German authorities for possible match-fixing.


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Third qualifying round
The third qualifying round was split into two separate sections: one for champions and one for non-champions. 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. 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 second qualifying round matches were completed, the teams were seeded as if the higher-ranked side in the previous round would be victorious. The first legs were played on 28 July and 29 July, while the second legs were played on 4 August and 5 August 2009. The losing teams in both sections entered the play-off round of the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League.

!colspan="6"|Champions Path

!colspan="6"|Non-Champions Path


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Play-off round
The play-off round was split into two separate sections: one for champions and one for non-champions. The draw 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 legs were played on 18 and 19 August, while 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.

!colspan="6"|Champions Path

!colspan="6"|Non-Champions Path


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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 stage, and the third-placed teams entered the round of 32 of the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League.

AZ, Wolfsburg, Standard Liège, Zürich, APOEL, Rubin Kazan, Unirea Urziceni and Debrecen made their debut in the group stage.

Tie-breaking criteria
Based on Article 7.05 in the UEFA regulations, if two or more teams are equal on points on completion of the group matches, the following criteria will be 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;
 * 6) higher number of coefficient points accumulated by the club in question, as well as its association, over the previous five seasons.

First knockout round
The draw for the first knockout round was held on 18 December 2009 at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland by UEFA General Secretary Gianni Infantino and UEFA Director of Competitions Giorgio Marchetti. The eight group winners, which play the second leg at home, were drawn against the eight group runners-up, with the restriction that teams from the same group or the same association cannot be drawn with each other. Starting with this season, the first knockout round matches will be held over four weeks, instead of the previous two weeks. The first legs will be played on 16, 17, 23 and 24 February, while the second legs will be played on 9, 10, 16 and 17 March 2010.


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Quarter-finals
The draw for the remaining rounds will be held on 19 March 2010. Starting from this round, the draw is made irrespective of association or previous group status. The first legs will be played on 30 and 31 March, while the second legs will be played on 6 and 7 April 2010.

Semi-finals
The first legs will be played on 20 and 21 April, while the second legs will be played on 27 and 28 April 2010.

Final
The final of the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League will be played at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid, Spain, on 22 May 2010. The stadium, home of Real Madrid, has hosted three previous European Cup finals, in 1957, 1969 and 1980. It will be the first time that a UEFA Champions League final will be played on a Saturday night.

Top goalscorers
The top scorers from the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League (excluding qualifying rounds and play-off round) are as follows (players in bold are still active in the competition):


 * Source: Top Scorers - First Knock-out Round 1st leg - Tuesday 16 February 2010 (after matches) (accessed 17 February 2010)