The 2009–10 UEFA Champions League was the 55th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 18th under the current UEFA Champions League format. The final was played on 22 May 2010 at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid, Spain, the first time the final was played on a Saturday. The final was won by Italian club Inter Milan, who beat German side Bayern Munich 2–0.
Inter Milan went on to represent Europe in the 2010 FIFA Club World Cup, beating Congolese side TP Mazembe 3–0 in the final, and played in the 2010 UEFA Super Cup against Europa League winners Atlético Madrid, losing 2–0.
Barcelona were the defending champions, but they were eliminated by eventual winners Inter Milan in the semi-finals.
Association team allocation A total of 76 teams participated in the 2009–10 Champions League, from 52 UEFA associations (Liechtenstein organises no domestic league competition). Associations were allocated places according to their 2008 UEFA country coefficient, which took into account their performance in European competitions from 2003–04 to 2007–08.
Below is the qualification scheme for the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League: Associations 1–3 each had four teams qualify Associations 4–6 each had three teams qualify Associations 7–15 each had two teams qualify Associations 16–53 each had one team qualify (except Liechtenstein)
Association ranking RankAssociationCoeff.Teams 1 75.749 4 2 75.266 3 60.410 4 52.668 3 5 48.722 6 43.750 7 40.599 2 8 39.927 9 38.213 10 33.375 11 31.725 12 30.100 13 26.700 14 25.831 15 25.750 16 24.225 1 17 23.166 18 22.425RankAssociationCoeff.Teams 19 20.450 1 20 17.700 21 16.750 22 15.750 23 13.691 24 12.332 25 12.041 26 11.999 27 11.624 28 10.082 29 9.915 30 9.623 31 8.831 32 8.498 33 7.999 34 7.499 35 7.332 36 6.331RankAssociationCoeff.Teams 37 5.999 1 38 5.831 39 5.500 0 40 5.332 1 41 4.332 42 3.832 43 3.666 44 3.665 45 2.582 46 2.332 47 2.331 48 1.832 49 1.498 50 0.832 51 0.500 52 0.500 53 0.250
Distribution Since the winners of the 2008–09 UEFA Champions League, Barcelona, obtained a place in the group stage through their domestic league placing, the reserved title holder spot in the group stage was effectively vacated. To compensate: The champions of association 13 (Belgium) were promoted from the third qualifying round to the group stage. The champions of association 16 (Switzerland) were promoted from the second qualifying round to the third qualifying round. The champions of associations 48 and 49 (Faroe Islands and Luxembourg) were promoted from the first qualifying round to the second qualifying round.
Teams entering in this roundTeams advancing from previous roundFirst qualifying round (4 teams)4 champions from associations 50–53Second qualifying round (34 teams)32 champions from associations 17–49 (except Liechtenstein) 2 winners from the first qualifying roundThird qualifying roundChampions (20 teams)3 champions from associations 14–1617 winners from the second qualifying roundNon-champions (10 teams)9 runners-up from associations 7–15 1 third-placed team from association 6Play-off roundChampions (10 teams)10 winners from the third qualifying round for championsNon-champions (10 teams)2 third-placed teams from associations 4 and 5 3 fourth-placed teams from associations 1–35 winners from the third qualifying round for non-championsGroup stage (32 teams)13 champions from associations 1–13 6 runners-up from associations 1–6 3 third-placed teams from associations 1–35 winners from the play-off round for champions 5 winners from the play-off round for non-championsKnockout phase (16 teams)8 group winners from the group stage 8 group runners-up from the group stage
Teams The labels in the parentheses show how each team qualified for the place of its starting round: TH: Champions League title holders 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th: League positions of the previous season
Group stage Barcelona (1st)TH Inter Milan (1st) Bayern Munich (2nd) AZ (1st) Manchester United (1st) Juventus (2nd) Rubin Kazan (1st) Rangers (1st) Liverpool (2nd) AC Milan (3rd) CSKA Moscow (2nd) Beşiktaş (1st) Chelsea (3rd) Bordeaux (1st) Unirea Urziceni (1st) Dynamo Kyiv (1st) Real Madrid (2nd) Marseille (2nd) Porto (1st) Standard Liège (1st) Sevilla (3rd) VfL Wolfsburg (1st)Play-off roundChampionsNon-champions Arsenal (4th) Fiorentina (4th) VfB Stuttgart (3rd) Atlético Madrid (4th) Lyon (3rd)Third qualifying roundChampionsNon-champions Olympiacos (1st) Dynamo Moscow (3rd) Celtic (2nd) Anderlecht (2nd) Slavia Prague (1st) Timișoara (2nd) Sivasspor (2nd) Panathinaikos (2nd) Zürich (1st) Sporting CP (2nd) Shakhtar Donetsk (2nd) Sparta Prague (2nd) Twente (2nd)Second qualifying round Levski Sofia (1st) Wisła Kraków (1st) Ekranas (1st) Baku (1st) Stabæk (1st) Debrecen (1st) Sheriff Tiraspol (1st) Tirana (1st) Copenhagen (1st) Dinamo Zagreb (1st) Bohemians (1st) Pyunik (1st) Red Bull Salzburg (1st) APOEL (1st) Makedonija GP (1st) Aktobe (1st) Partizan (1st) Maribor (1st) FH (1st) Glentoran (1st) Maccabi Haifa (1st) Inter Turku (1st) WIT Georgia (1st) Rhyl (1st) Kalmar FF (1st) Ventspils (1st) BATE Borisov (1st) EB/Streymur (1st) Slovan Bratislava (1st) Zrinjski Mostar (1st) Levadia Tallinn (1st) F91 Dudelange (1st)First qualifying round Hibernians (1st) Mogren (1st) Sant Julià (1st) Tre Fiori (1st)
Round and draw dates All draws held at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland unless stated otherwise.
Phase Round Draw date First leg Second leg Qualifying First qualifying round 22 June 2009 30 June – 1 July 2009 7–8 July 2009 Second qualifying round 14–15 July 2009 21–22 July 2009 Third qualifying round 17 July 2009 28–29 July 2009 4–5 August 2009 Play-off Play-off round 7 August 2009 18–19 August 2009 25–26 August 2009 Group stage Matchday 1 27 August 2009(Monaco) 15–16 September 2009 Matchday 2 29–30 September 2009 Matchday 3 20–21 October 2009 Matchday 4 3–4 November 2009 Matchday 5 24–25 November 2009 Matchday 6 8–9 December 2009 Knockout phase Round of 16 18 December 2009 16–17 & 23–24 February 2010 9–10 & 16–17 March 2010 Quarter-finals 19 March 2010 30–31 March 2010 6–7 April 2010 Semi-finals 20–21 April 2010 27–28 April 2010 Final 22 May 2010 at Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, Madrid
Qualifying rounds
In a new system for the Champions League, there were two separate qualifying tournaments. The Champions Path (which started from the first qualifying round) was for clubs which won their domestic league and did not automatically qualify for the group stage, while the Non-Champions Path (which started from the third qualifying round) was for clubs which did not win their domestic league and did not automatically qualify for the group stage.
In the qualifying phase and the play-off round, teams played against each other over two legs on a home-and-away basis.
The draw for the first and second qualifying rounds, conducted by UEFA President Michel Platini and UEFA General Secretary David Taylor, was held on 22 June 2009, and the draw for the third qualifying round, conducted by UEFA Competitions Director Giorgio Marchetti and Head of Club Competitions Michael Heselschwerdt, was held on 17 July 2009. For the draws, clubs were separated into seeded and unseeded teams based on their club coefficient. Because the draws for the second and third qualifying rounds took place before the previous round was completed, the teams were seeded assuming the seeded side in the previous round would be victorious.
First qualifying round The first legs were played on 30 June and 1 July, and the second legs were played on 7 and 8 July 2009.
Second qualifying round The first legs were played on 14 and 15 July, and the second legs were played on 21 and 22 July 2009.
Partizan's 8–0 win over Rhyl in the second leg equalled the record for the largest margin of victory in the current Champions League format.
, the second leg between Stabæk and Tirana was under investigation by UEFA and German authorities for possible match-fixing.
Third qualifying round The third qualifying round was split into two separate sections: one for champions and one for non-champions. The first legs were played on 28 and 29 July, and the second legs were played on 4 and 5 August 2009. The losing teams in both sections entered the play-off round of the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League.
Play-off round
An extra qualifying round, the play-off round, was introduced from this season. The teams were split into two separate sections: one for champions and one for non-champions. The draw for the play-off round, conducted by UEFA General Secretary David Taylor and UEFA Competitions Director Giorgio Marchetti, was held on 7 August 2009. 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, and 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.
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 phase, and the third-placed teams entered the round of 32 of the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League.
Based on Article 7.06 in the UEFA regulations, if two or more teams were equal on points on completion of the group matches, the following criteria were applied to determine the rankings: higher number of points obtained in the group matches played among the teams in question; superior goal difference from the group matches played among the teams in question; higher number of goals scored away from home in the group matches played among the teams in question; superior goal difference from all group matches played; higher number of goals scored; higher number of coefficient points accumulated by the club in question, as well as its association, over the previous five seasons.
APOEL, AZ, Debrecen, Rubin Kazan, Standard Liège, VfL Wolfsburg, Unirea Urziceni and Zürich all 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
In the knockout phase, 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 and play-off round.
Top goalscorers