2011 AFC Champions League
Al-Sadd players celebrate after winning the final
Tournament details
Dates12 February – 5 November 2011
Teams36 (from 13 associations)
Final positions
ChampionsQatar Al-Sadd (2nd title)
Runners-upSouth Korea Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
Tournament statistics
Matches played117
Goals scored323 (2.76 per match)
Attendance1,264,547 (10,808 per match)
Top scorer(s)South Korea Lee Dong-gook
(9 goals)
Best player(s)South Korea Lee Dong-gook

The 2011 AFC Champions League was the 30th edition of the top-level Asian club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 9th under the current AFC Champions League title. The winners, Al-Sadd qualified for the 2011 FIFA Club World Cup in Japan.

Allocation of entries per association

The AFC approved criteria for participation in the 2011 and 2012 seasons.[1] The final decision date was set after the Executive Committee meeting in November 2010.[2]

On 30 November 2009, the AFC announced 12 more MA's that were keen to join the ACL, in addition to ten participating national associations. Singapore later withdrew. The full list of candidate associations were as follows:

East Asia
West Asia

Note: Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and India have clubs taking part in play-offs to qualify for the group stages of ACL in 2010.

Entrants per association

The allocation for entry to the 2011 ACL stayed the same as the previous two seasons with the exception of Vietnam who were disqualified and their previous playoff slot was awarded to Qatar.[4]

The finalists of the 2010 AFC Cup also participated in the play-off, provided that they meet the Champions League criteria.

Teams

The following is the list of direct entrants for the group stage confirmed by the AFC.[6]

* Number of appearances (including qualifying rounds) since the 2002/03 season, when the competition was rebranded as the AFC Champions League

The following is the list of participants for the playoff stage confirmed by the AFC.[7] The committee further proposed that one team be shifted by the means of a draw from the West to the East for sake of balance.

Schedule

Schedule of dates for 2011 competition.[8]

Phase Round Draw date First leg Second leg
Qualifying play-offs Semi-finals 7 December 2010 12–13 February 2011
Finals 19 February 2011
Group stage Matchday 1 1–2 March 2011
Matchday 2 15–16 March 2011
Matchday 3 5–6 April 2011
Matchday 4 19–20 April 2011
Matchday 5 3–4 May 2011
Matchday 6 10–11 May 2011
Knockout phase Round of 16 24–25 May 2011
Quarter-finals 7 June 2011 14 September 2011 27–28 September 2011
Semi-finals 19 October 2011 26 October 2011
Final 4 or 5 November 2011

Qualifying play-off

The draw for the qualifying play-off was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 7 December 2010.[9] In order to create balance another draw was held, moving one of the teams (Al-Ain) from the West into the East side of the play-offs.[10]

The two winners from the qualifying play-off (one from West Asia and one from East Asia) advanced to the group stage. All losers from the qualifying play-off entered the 2011 AFC Cup group stage.[11]

West Asia

Team 1  Score  Team 2
Semi-final
Al-Sadd Qatar 5–1 Syria Al-Ittihad
Final
Al-Sadd Qatar 2–0 India Dempo

East Asia

Team 1  Score  Team 2
Semi-final
Sriwijaya Indonesia 2–2
(aet)(7–6p)		 Thailand Muangthong United
Final
Sriwijaya Indonesia 0–4 United Arab Emirates Al-Ain

Group stage

The draw for the group stage was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 7 December 2010.[9][12] Clubs from the same country may not be drawn into the same group.[10] The winners and runners-up of each group advanced to the knockout stage.[11]

Group A

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification SEP HIL GHA JAZ
1 Iran Sepahan 6 4 1 1 14 5 +9 13[lower-alpha 1] Advance to knockout stage — 1–1 2–0 5–1
2 Saudi Arabia Al-Hilal 6 4 1 1 11 6 +5 13[lower-alpha 1] 1–2 — 2–0 3–1
3 Qatar Al-Gharafa 6 2 1 3 6 7 −1 7 1–0 0–1 — 5–2
4 United Arab Emirates Al-Jazira 6 0 1 5 7 20 −13 1 1–4 2–3 0–0 —
Source:
Notes:
  1. 1 2 Tiebreakers: Sepahan and Al-Hilal are ranked by their head-to-head records: Sepahan (4 pts), Al-Hilal (1 pt).

Group B

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification SAD NAS EST PAK
1 Qatar Al-Sadd 6 2 4 0 8 6 +2 10 Advance to knockout stage — 1–0 2–2 2–1
2 Saudi Arabia Al-Nassr 6 2 2 2 10 7 +3 8[lower-alpha 1] 1–1 — 2–1 4–0
3 Iran Esteghlal 6 2 2 2 11 10 +1 8[lower-alpha 1] 1–1 2–1 — 4–2
4 Uzbekistan Pakhtakor 6 1 2 3 8 14 −6 5 1–1 2–2 2–1 —
Source:
Notes:
  1. 1 2 Tiebreakers: Al-Nassr and Esteghlal are also tied on their head-to-head records (3 pts, 0 GD, 3 GF), and so are ranked by their overall goal difference.

Group C

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification ITT BUN WAH PER
1 Saudi Arabia Al-Ittihad Jeddah 6 3 2 1 10 5 +5 11 Advance to knockout stage — 1–1 0–0 3–1
2 Uzbekistan Bunyodkor 6 2 3 1 8 6 +2 9 0–1 — 3–2 0–0
3 United Arab Emirates Al-Wahda 6 1 3 2 6 8 −2 6 0–3 1–1 — 2–0
4 Iran Persepolis 6 1 2 3 6 11 −5 5 3–2 1–3 1–1 —
Source:

Group D

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification ZOB SHA EMI RAY
1 Iran Zob Ahan 6 4 1 1 7 3 +4 13 Advance to knockout stage — 0–1 2–1 1–0
2 Saudi Arabia Al-Shabab 6 3 2 1 8 4 +4 11 0–0 — 4–1 1–0
3 United Arab Emirates Emirates 6 2 0 4 6 10 −4 6 0–1 2–1 — 2–0
4 Qatar Al-Rayyan 6 1 1 4 4 8 −4 4 1–3 1–1 2–0 —
Source:

Group E

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification GAM TIA JEJ MEL
1 Japan Gamba Osaka 6 3 1 2 13 7 +6 10[lower-alpha 1] Advance to knockout stage — 2–0 3–1 5–1
2 China Tianjin Teda 6 3 1 2 8 6 +2 10[lower-alpha 1] 2–1 — 3–0 1–1
3 South Korea Jeju United 6 2 1 3 6 10 −4 7 2–1 0–1 — 1–1
4 Australia Melbourne Victory 6 1 3 2 7 11 −4 6 1–1 2–1 1–2 —
Source:
Notes:
  1. 1 2 Tiebreakers: Gamba Osaka and Tianjin Teda are ranked by their head-to-head records: Gamba Osaka (3 pts, +1 GD), Tianjin Teda (3 pts, –1 GD).

Group F

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification SEO NAG AIN HAN
1 South Korea FC Seoul 6 3 2 1 9 4 +5 11 Advance to knockout stage — 0–2 3–0 3–0
2 Japan Nagoya Grampus 6 3 1 2 9 6 +3 10 1–1 — 4–0 1–0
3 United Arab Emirates Al-Ain 6 2 1 3 4 9 −5 7 0–1 3–1 — 1–0
4 China Hangzhou Greentown 6 1 2 3 3 6 −3 5 1–1 2–0 0–0 —

Group G

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification JEO CER SHL ARE
1 South Korea Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 6 5 0 1 14 2 +12 15 Advance to knockout stage — 1–0 1–0 6–0
2 Japan Cerezo Osaka 6 4 0 2 11 4 +7 12 1–0 — 4–0 2–1
3 China Shandong Luneng 6 2 1 3 9 8 +1 7 1–2 2–0 — 5–0
4 Indonesia Arema 6 0 1 5 2 22 −20 1 0–4 0–4 1–1 —
Source:

Group H

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification SUW KSH SYD SHS
1 South Korea Suwon Samsung Bluewings 6 3 3 0 12 3 +9 12[lower-alpha 1] Advance to knockout stage — 1–1 3–1 4–0
2 Japan Kashima Antlers 6 3 3 0 9 3 +6 12[lower-alpha 1] 1–1 — 2–1 2–0
3 Australia Sydney FC 6 1 2 3 6 11 −5 5 0–0 0–3 — 1–1
4 China Shanghai Shenhua 6 0 2 4 3 13 −10 2 0–3 0–0 2–3 —
Source:
Notes:
  1. 1 2 Tiebreakers: Suwon Samsung Bluewings and Kashima Antlers are also tied on their head-to-head records (2 pts, 0 GD, 2 GF), and so are ranked by their overall goal difference.

Knockout stage

Bracket

Round of 16 Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
            
Saudi Arabia Al-Ittihad 3
Saudi Arabia Al-Hilal 1
Saudi Arabia Al-Ittihad 3 0 3
South Korea FC Seoul 1 1 2
South Korea FC Seoul 3
Japan Kashima Antlers 0
Saudi Arabia Al-Ittihad 2 1 3
South Korea Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 3 2 5
Japan Gamba Osaka 0
Japan Cerezo Osaka 1
Japan Cerezo Osaka 4 1 5
South Korea Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 3 6 9
South Korea Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 3
China Tianjin Teda 0
South Korea Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 2 (2)
Qatar Al-Sadd (p) 2 (4)
South Korea Suwon Samsung Bluewings 2
Japan Nagoya Grampus 0
South Korea Suwon Samsung Bluewings (a.e.t.) 1 2 3
Iran Zob Ahan 1 1 2
Iran Zob Ahan 4
Saudi Arabia Al-Nassr 1
South Korea Suwon Samsung Bluewings 0 1 1
Qatar Al-Sadd 2 0 2
Iran Sepahan 3
Uzbekistan Bunyodkor 1
Iran Sepahan 0 2 2
Qatar Al-Sadd [A] 3 1 4
Qatar Al-Sadd 1
Saudi Arabia Al-Shabab 0

Round of 16

Based on the results from the group stage, the matchups of the round of 16 were decided as below.[13] Each tie was played as one match, hosted by the winners of each group (Team 1) against the runners-up of another group (Team 2).[10]

Team 1  Score  Team 2
West Asia
Sepahan Iran 3–1 Uzbekistan Bunyodkor
Al-Ittihad Saudi Arabia 3–1 Saudi Arabia Al-Hilal
Al-Sadd Qatar 1–0 Saudi Arabia Al-Shabab
Zob Ahan Iran 4–1 Saudi Arabia Al-Nassr
Team 1  Score  Team 2
East Asia
Gamba Osaka Japan 0–1 Japan Cerezo Osaka
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors South Korea 3–0 China Tianjin Teda
FC Seoul South Korea 3–0 Japan Kashima Antlers
Suwon Samsung Bluewings South Korea 2–0 Japan Nagoya Grampus

Quarter-finals

The draw for the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and final was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 7 June 2011.[14] In this draw, the "country protection" rule was applied: if there are exactly two clubs from the same country, they may not face each other in the quarter-finals; however, if there are more than two clubs from the same country, they may face each other in the quarter-finals.

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Cerezo Osaka Japan 5–9 South Korea Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 4–3 1–6
Al-Ittihad Saudi Arabia 3–2 South Korea FC Seoul 3–1 0–1
Sepahan Iran 2–4 Qatar Al-Sadd 0–3[A] 2–1
Suwon Samsung Bluewings South Korea 3–2 Iran Zob Ahan 1–1 2–1 (aet)
Notes
  1. ^
    The AFC Disciplinary Committee decided to award the quarter-final first leg to Al-Sadd against Sepahan as a 3–0 forfeit win after Sepahan were found guilty of fielding an ineligible player. The match originally ended 1–0 to Sepahan.[15]

Semi-finals

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Suwon Samsung Bluewings South Korea 1–2 Qatar Al-Sadd 0–2 1–0
Al-Ittihad Saudi Arabia 3–5 South Korea Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 2–3 1–2

Final

The final of the 2011 AFC Champions League was hosted by one of the finalists, decided by draw.[11] This format was a change from the 2009 and 2010 editions, where the final was played at a neutral venue.[16]

Awards

The following awards were given for the 2011 AFC Champions League:[17]

Top scorers

Note: Goals scored in qualifying round not counted.

Rank Player Club MD1 MD2 MD3 MD4 MD5 MD6 R16 QF1 QF2 SF1 SF2 F Total
1 South Korea Lee Dong-Gook South Korea Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 1224 9
2 Brazil Eninho South Korea Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 21121 7
3 South Korea Ha Tae-Gyun South Korea Suwon Samsung Bluewings 312 6
4 Kuwait Bader Al-Mutawa Saudi Arabia Al-Nassr 1211 5
Iran Farhad Majidi Iran Esteghlal 1121 5
Montenegro Dejan Damjanović South Korea FC Seoul 1121 5
Senegal Ibrahima Touré Iran Sepahan 1121 5
8 Saudi Arabia Yasser Al-Qahtani Saudi Arabia Al-Hilal 121 4
Algeria Abdelmalek Ziaya Saudi Arabia Al-Ittihad 211 4
Japan Hiroshi Kiyotake Japan Cerezo Osaka 112 4
Japan Takashi Inui Japan Cerezo Osaka 121 4
Brazil Rodrigo Pimpão Japan Cerezo Osaka 211 4
South Korea Yeom Ki-Hun South Korea Suwon Samsung Bluewings 1111 4
Brazil Igor Castro Iran Zob Ahan 112 4
Iran Mohammad Ghazi Iran Zob Ahan 1111 4

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Criteria for Participation in AFC Club Competitions for 2011–2012 seasons" (PDF). AFC. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 August 2012.
  2. ↑ "12 MAs keen to join ACL". AFC. 30 November 2009.
  3. ↑ "Singapore seek to pull out of ACL". AFC. 4 October 2010.
  4. 1 2 3 "ACL slots maintained". AFC. 21 November 2010. Archived from the original on 12 September 2012.
  5. ↑ "Ad hoc Committee for Professional Clubs". AFC. 27 July 2010.
  6. ↑ "ACL, AFCC 2010 teams". AFC. 29 November 2010.
  7. ↑ "AFC Competitions Committee". AFC. 23 November 2010.
  8. ↑ "AFC Calendar of Competitions 2011" (PDF). AFC. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 July 2010.
  9. 1 2 "Stage set for ACL, AFC Cup draws". AFC. 6 December 2010.
  10. 1 2 3 "AFC Champions League 2011 Draw Mechanism for Play-off Stage & Preliminary Stage (Group & Round of 16)" (PDF). AFC. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 December 2010. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
  11. 1 2 3 "AFC Champions League 2011 Competitions Regulations" (PDF). AFC. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 December 2010. Retrieved 7 December 2010.
  12. ↑ "Mouth-watering matches on the ACL agenda". AFC. 7 December 2010.
  13. ↑ "ACL: Juicy encounters in offing". AFC. 12 May 2011.
  14. ↑ "Korea challenge for former champions". AFC. 7 June 2011.
  15. ↑ AFC Disciplinary Committee sanctions Sepahan
  16. ↑ "AFC Competitions Committee decisions". AFC. 31 July 2010.
  17. ↑ "Double delight for Lee". The-AFC.com. Asian Football Confederation. 5 November 2011. Retrieved 5 November 2011.
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