2014 AFC Champions League

2014 AFC Champions League

Tournament details
Dates	29 January – 1 November 2014
Teams	47 (from 19 associations)
Final positions
Champions	Western Sydney Wanderers (1st title)
Runners-up	Al-Hilal
Tournament statistics
Matches played	141
Goals scored	374 (2.65 per match)
Attendance	1,975,439 (14,010 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Asamoah Gyan (12 goals)
Best player	Ante Covic

The 2014 AFC Champions League was the 33rd edition of the top-level Asian club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 12th under the current AFC Champions League title. Guangzhou Evergrande were the defending champions, but were eliminated by Western Sydney Wanderers in the quarter-finals. As in previous years, Nike provided the official ball for all matches with a new Nike Incyte model used throughout the season.

In the final, Western Sydney Wanderers of Australia defeated Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia 1–0 on aggregate, to become the first Australian team to win the title,^[1] and in doing so qualified for the 2014 FIFA Club World Cup.^[2] The Australian club were making their debut in the competition, having won entry to the competition by winning the 2012–13 A-League Premiership in their first year of existence.

Allocation of entries per association

The AFC laid out the procedure for deciding the participating associations and the allocation of slots, with inspection of the associations interested in participating in the AFC Champions League to be done in 2013, and the final decision to be made by the AFC on 26 November 2013.^[3]

The AFC Competitions Committee proposed the following participating criteria for the 2014–2016 editions of the AFC Champions League on 12 March 2013:^[4]

• The top 23 member associations (MAs) as per the AFC rankings can apply either for direct slots or play-off slots.^[5] The interested MAs are given points and ranked according to the AFC evaluating system.
• In both the East and West zones, there are a total of 14 direct slots in the group stage, with the 2 remaining slots filled through play-offs.
• The top five MAs in both the East and West zones, if they acquire a minimum of 600 points, get direct slots in the group stage, while the remaining MAs, if they meet the minimum requirements, get play-off slots. The following scheme of allocating slots was approved by the AFC for the 2014–16 tournaments:^[6]
  • The top two ranked MAs in both the East and West zones get four direct slots each.
  • The third-ranked MAs get three direct and one play-off slot.
  • The fourth-ranked MAs get two direct and two play-off slots.
  • The fifth-ranked MAs get one direct and two play-off slots.
  • The sixth- to eleventh-ranked MAs each get one play-off slot.
• The maximum number of slots for each MA is one-third of the total number of clubs in the top division (e.g., Australia can only get a maximum of three total slots as there are only nine Australia-based clubs in the A-League).
• The AFC Cup winners and runners-up are given a play-off slot, regardless of their respective MA's rank, as long as the club meets the minimum criteria. If they have already qualified based on domestic performance, the slot is given to the next eligible club in its MA, as long as the club meets the minimum criteria.

On 26 November 2013, the AFC Executive Committee approved the slots for the 2014 edition of the AFC Champions League.^[7][8]

Evaluation for 2014 AFC Champions League
	Fulfills criteria (> 600 points)
	Does not fulfill criteria, but allocated slots
	Not assessed, but allocated slots

Notes

Teams

The following teams entered the competition.

In the following table, the number of appearances and last appearance count only those since the 2002–03 season (including qualifying rounds), when the competition was rebranded as the AFC Champions League.

Notes

Schedule

The schedule of the competition was as follows (all draws held at AFC headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia).^[12]

Phase	Round	Draw date	First leg	Second leg
Qualifying play-off	Round 1	N/A	2 February 2014
	Round 2		8 February 2014
	Round 3		15 February 2014
Group stage	Matchday 1	10 December 2013[13]	25–26 February 2014
	Matchday 2		11–12 March 2014
	Matchday 3		18–19 March 2014
	Matchday 4		1–2 April 2014
	Matchday 5		15–16 April 2014
	Matchday 6		22–23 April 2014
Knock-out stage	Round of 16		6–7 May 2014	13–14 May 2014
	Quarter-finals	28 May 2014[14]	19–20 August 2014	26–27 August 2014
	Semi-finals		16–17 September 2014	30 September–1 October 2014
	Final		25 October 2014	1 November 2014

On 25 November 2013, the AFC Competitions Committee proposed to continue to play the final over two legs on a home-and-away basis (instead of reverting to playing the final as a single match as original proposed),^[4][15] and to split the competition on zonal basis to guarantee an East vs West final for the next three years.^[16]

Qualifying play-off

The bracket for the qualifying play-off was determined by the AFC based on the association ranking of each team, with teams from the higher-ranked associations entering at later rounds.^[8] Teams from the same association may not play each other in the qualifying play-off.^[17] Each tie was played as a single match, with the team from the higher-ranked association hosting the match. Extra time and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary. The winners of each tie in round 3 advanced to the group stage to join the 28 automatic qualifiers. All losers of each round from associations with only play-off slots entered the 2014 AFC Cup group stage.^[2]

Round 1

Team 1	Score	Team 2
West Asia Zone
Al-Suwaiq	0–1	Al-Qadsia
Shabab Al-Ordon	1–3 (a.e.t.)	Al-Hidd
Al-Kuwait	1–0	Al-Shorta
East Asia Zone
Tampines Rovers	1–2 (a.e.t.)	South China
Pune	0–3	Hà Nội T&T

Round 2

Team 1	Score	Team 2
West Asia Zone
Baniyas	0–4	Al-Qadsia
El Jaish	5–1	Nasaf Qarshi
Lekhwiya	2–1	Al-Hidd
Lokomotiv Tashkent	1–3	Al-Kuwait
East Asia Zone
Chonburi	3–0	South China
Muangthong United	2–0	Hà Nội T&T

Round 3

Team 1	Score	Team 2
West Asia Zone
El Jaish	3–0	Al-Qadsia
Lekhwiya	4–1	Al-Kuwait
East Asia Zone
Beijing Guoan	4–0	Chonburi
Melbourne Victory	2–1	Muangthong United

Group stage

The draw for the group stage was held on 10 December 2013.^[18] The 32 teams were drawn into eight groups of four. Teams from the same association could not be drawn into the same group. Each group was played on a home-and-away round-robin basis. The winners and runners-up of each group advanced to the round of 16.

Tiebreakers

The teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers are applied in the following order:^[2]

1. Greater number of points obtained in the group matches between the teams concerned
2. Goal difference resulting from the group matches between the teams concerned
3. Greater number of goals scored in the group matches between the teams concerned (away goals do not apply)
4. Goal difference in all the group matches
5. Greater number of goals scored in all the group matches
6. Penalty shoot-out if only two teams are involved and they are both on the field of play
7. Fewer score calculated according to the number of yellow and red cards received in the group matches (1 point for a single yellow card, 3 points for a red card as a consequence of two yellow cards, 3 points for a direct red card, 4 points for a yellow card followed by a direct red card)
8. Drawing of lots

Group A

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Al-Shabab 6 5 0 1 12 8 +4 15 Al-Jazira 6 3 1 2 12 10 +2 10 Esteghlal 6 2 1 3 7 7 0 7 Al-Rayyan 6 1 0 5 9 15 −6 3

JAZ RAY SHB EST Al-Jazira — 3–2 1–2 0–1 Al-Rayyan 2–3 — 0–2 1–0 Al-Shabab 1–3 4–3 — 2–1 Esteghlal 2–2 3–1 0–1 —

Group B

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Foolad 6 4 2 0 11 3 +8 14 Bunyodkor 6 2 2 2 7 7 0 8 El Jaish 6 2 2 2 6 6 0 8 Al-Fateh 6 0 2 4 3 11 −8 2

FAT BUN JSH FLD Al-Fateh — 0–0 0–0 1–5 Bunyodkor 3–2 — 1–2 1–1 El Jaish 2–0 1–2 — 0–0 Foolad 1–0 1–0 3–1 —

Tiebreakers

• Bunyodkor and El-Jaish are tied on head-to-head record and overall goal difference, and so are ranked on overall goals scored.

Group C

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Al-Ain 6 3 2 1 14 7 +7 11 Al-Ittihad 6 3 1 2 8 6 +2 10 Lekhwiya 6 2 1 3 5 10 −5 7 Tractor Sazi 6 1 2 3 4 8 −4 5

AIN ITT LEK TRA Al-Ain — 1–1 2–1 3–1 Al-Ittihad 2–1 — 3–1 2–0 Lekhwiya 0–5 2–0 — 0–0 Tractor Sazi 2–2 1–0 0–1 —

Group D

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Al-Hilal 6 2 3 1 12 7 +5 9 Al-Sadd 6 2 2 2 8 14 −6 8 Al-Ahli 6 1 4 1 6 6 0 7 Sepahan 6 2 1 3 9 8 +1 7

AHL HIL SAD SEP Al-Ahli — 0–0 1–1 0–0 Al-Hilal 2–2 — 5–0 1–0 Al-Sadd 2–1 2–2 — 3–1 Sepahan 1–2 3–2 4–0 —

Tiebreakers

• Al-Ahli and Sepahan are ranked on head-to-head record.

Group E

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Pohang Steelers 6 3 3 0 11 6 +5 12 Cerezo Osaka 6 2 2 2 10 9 +1 8 Buriram United 6 1 3 2 5 9 −4 6 Shandong Luneng Taishan 6 1 2 3 9 11 −2 5

BUR CER POH SHD Buriram United — 2–2 1–2 1–0 Cerezo Osaka 4–0 — 0–2 1–3 Pohang Steelers 0–0 1–1 — 2–2 Shandong Luneng Taishan 1–1 1–2 2–4 —

Group F

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts FC Seoul 6 3 2 1 9 6 +3 11 Sanfrecce Hiroshima 6 2 3 1 9 8 +1 9 Beijing Guoan 6 1 3 2 7 8 −1 6 Central Coast Mariners 6 2 0 4 4 7 −3 6

BEI CCM SEO HIR Beijing Guoan — 2–1 1–1 2–2 Central Coast Mariners 1–0 — 0–1 2–1 FC Seoul 2–1 2–0 — 2–2 Sanfrecce Hiroshima 1–1 1–0 2–1 —

Tiebreakers

• Beijing Guoan and Central Coast Mariners are tied on head-to-head record, and so are ranked by overall goal difference.

Group G

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Guangzhou Evergrande 6 3 1 2 10 8 +2 10 Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 6 2 2 2 8 7 +1 8 Melbourne Victory 6 2 2 2 9 9 0 8 Yokohama F. Marinos 6 2 1 3 7 10 −3 7

GUA JEO MEL YFM Guangzhou Evergrande — 3–1 4–2 2–1 Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 1–0 — 0–0 3–0 Melbourne Victory 2–0 2–2 — 1–0 Yokohama F. Marinos 1–1 2–1 3–2 —

Tiebreakers

• Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors and Melbourne Victory are tied on head-to-head record, and so are ranked by overall goal difference.

Group H

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Western Sydney Wanderers 6 4 0 2 11 5 +6 12 Kawasaki Frontale 6 4 0 2 7 5 +2 12 Ulsan Hyundai 6 2 1 3 8 10 −2 7 Guizhou Renhe 6 1 1 4 4 10 −6 4

GUI KAW ULS WSW Guizhou Renhe — 0–1 3–1 0–1 Kawasaki Frontale 1–0 — 3–1 2–1 Ulsan Hyundai 1–1 2–0 — 0–2 Western Sydney Wanderers 5–0 1–0 1–3 —

Tiebreakers

• Western Sydney Wanderers and Kawasaki Frontale are tied on head-to-head record, and so are ranked by overall goal difference.

Knock-out stage

In the knock-out stage, the 16 teams played a single-elimination tournament, with the teams split between the two zones until the final. Each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. The away goals rule, extra time (away goals do not apply in extra time) and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary.^[2]

Bracket

	Round of 16						Quarter-finals						Semi-finals						Final
	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	1	0	1
	Pohang Steelers	2	1	3
							Pohang Steelers	0	0	0 (0)
							FC Seoul (p)	0	0	0 (3)
	Kawasaki Frontale	2	2	4
	FC Seoul (a)	3	1	4
													FC Seoul	0	0	0
												Western Sydney Wanderers	0	2	2
	Sanfrecce Hiroshima	3	0	3
	Western Sydney Wanderers (a)	1	2	3
							Western Sydney Wanderers (a)	1	1	2
							Guangzhou Evergrande	0	2	2
	Cerezo Osaka	1	1	2
	Guangzhou Evergrande	5	0	5
																		Western Sydney Wanderers	1	0	1
																			Al-Hilal	0	0	0
	Bunyodkor	0	0	0
	Al-Hilal	1	3	4
							Al-Hilal	1	0	1
							Al-Sadd	0	0	0
	Al-Sadd (a)	0	2	2
	Foolad	0	2	2
													Al-Hilal	3	1	4
												Al-Ain	0	2	2
	Al-Jazira	1	1	2
	Al-Ain	2	2	4
							Al-Ain	2	3	5
							Al-Ittihad	0	1	1
	Al-Ittihad	1	3	4
	Al-Shabab	0	1	1

Round of 16

In the round of 16, the winners of one group played the runners-up of another group in the same zone, with the group winners hosting the second leg.^[2]

Team 1	Agg.	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
West Asia Zone
Al-Ittihad	4–1	Al-Shabab	1–0	3–1
Al-Jazira	2–4	Al-Ain	1–2	1–2
Al-Sadd	2–2 (a)	Foolad	0–0	2–2
Bunyodkor	0–4	Al-Hilal	0–1	0–3
East Asia Zone
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	1–3	Pohang Steelers	1–2	0–1
Cerezo Osaka	2–5	Guangzhou Evergrande	1–5	1–0
Kawasaki Frontale	4–4 (a)	FC Seoul	2–3	2–1
Sanfrecce Hiroshima	3–3 (a)	Western Sydney Wanderers	3–1	0–2

Quarter-finals

The draw for the quarter-finals was held on 28 May 2014.^[19] The "country protection" rule was not applied, so teams from the same association could be drawn into the same tie.^[20]

Team 1	Agg.	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
West Asia Zone
Al-Hilal	1–0	Al-Sadd	1–0	0–0
Al-Ain	5–1	Al-Ittihad	2–0	3–1
East Asia Zone
Pohang Steelers	0–0 (a.e.t.) (0–3p)	FC Seoul	0–0	0–0 (a.e.t.)
Western Sydney Wanderers	2–2 (a)	Guangzhou Evergrande	1–0	1–2

Semi-finals

Team 1	Agg.	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
West Asia Zone
Al-Hilal	4–2	Al-Ain	3–0	1–2
East Asia Zone
FC Seoul	0–2	Western Sydney Wanderers	0–0	0–2

Final

The draw to decide the order of two legs of the final was held after the quarter-final draw.^[19]

Western Sydney Wanderers won 1–0 on aggregate.

Winners

AFC Champions League 2014 Winners
Western Sydney Wanderers First Title

Awards

Award	Player	Team
Most Valuable Player[21]	Ante Covic	Western Sydney Wanderers
Top Goalscorer	Asamoah Gyan	Al-Ain
Fair Play Award	—	Al-Hilal

AFC Champions League 2014 Dream Team^[22]

Starting XI
Pos.	Player	Team
GK	Ante Covic	Western Sydney Wanderers
DF	Shannon Cole	Western Sydney Wanderers
DF	Nikolai Topor-Stanley	Western Sydney Wanderers
DF	Kwak Tae-Hwi	Al-Hilal
DF	Abdullah Al-Zori	Al-Hilal
MF	Nadir Belhadj	Al-Sadd
MF	Omar Abdulrahman	Al-Ain
MF	Thiago Neves	Al-Hilal
MF	Elkeson	Guangzhou Evergrande
FW	Asamoah Gyan	Al-Ain
FW	Nasser Al-Shamrani	Al-Hilal
Substitutes
GK	Abdullah Al-Sudairy	Al-Hilal
DF	Kim Ju-Young	FC Seoul
DF	Cha Du-Ri	FC Seoul
MF	Lee Myung-Joo	Al-Ain
MF	Yun Il-Lok	FC Seoul
FW	Tomi Juric	Western Sydney Wanderers

Top scorers

Rank	Player	Team	MD1	MD2	MD3	MD4	MD5	MD6	2R1	2R2	QF1	QF2	SF1	SF2	F1	F2	Total
1	Asamoah Gyan	Al-Ain	1	1	2	1	2		1	2	1	1					12
2	Nasser Al-Shamrani	Al-Hilal	2			3		1		1			2	1			10
3	Elkeson	Guangzhou Evergrande	1					2	2			1					6
	Mokhtar Fallatah	Al-Ittihad		2		1	1		1	1							6
	Luciano	Foolad					1	3		2							6
6	Kim Seung-dae	Pohang Steelers		1	1	1	1			1							5
	Vágner Love	Shandong Luneng Taishan		2	2			1									5
8	Abdelaziz Barrada	Al-Jazira	1		2		1										4
	Nadir Belhadj	Al-Sadd	1	1	1					1							4
	Tomi Juric	Western Sydney Wanderers							1		1	1			1		4
	Yoichiro Kakitani	Cerezo Osaka	1	1	1			1									4
	Thiago Neves	Al-Hilal		1	2								1				4
	Nilmar	El Jaish		2		1	1										4
	Mehdi Sharifi	Sepahan	1	1			2										4
	Kalu Uche	Al-Rayyan	1	1	2												4

Note: Goals scored in qualifying play-off not counted (see regulations, Article 74c).^[23]

Source:^[24][25]

See also

• 2014 AFC Cup
• 2014 AFC President's Cup
• 2014 FIFA Club World Cup

References

External links

• AFC Champions League, the-AFC.com