2012–13 UEFA Champions League qualifying was the preliminary phase of the 2012–13 UEFA Champions League, prior to the competition proper. Qualification consisted of the qualifying phase (first to third rounds) and the play-off round, and decided 10 of the 32 teams which played in the group stage.
All times are CEST (UTC+2).
Round and draw dates All draws were held at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.
RoundDraw date and timeFirst legSecond legFirst qualifying round25 June 2012, 12:003–4 July 201210–11 July 2012Second qualifying round17–18 July 201224–25 July 2012Third qualifying round20 July 2012, 12:0031 July – 1 August 20127–8 August 2012Play-off round10 August 2012, 12:0021–22 August 201228–29 August 2012
Format There were two routes which the teams were separated into during qualifying: Champions Route, which included all domestic champions which did not automatically qualify for the group stage. League Route (also called the Non-champions Path or the Best-placed Path), which included all domestic non-champions which did not automatically qualify for the group stage.
Each tie was played over two legs, with each team playing one leg at home. The team that scored more goals on aggregate over the two legs advanced to the next round. In the event that aggregate score finished level, the away goals rule would be applied, i.e., the team that scored more goals away from home over the two legs advanced. If away goals were also equal, then thirty minutes of extra time would be played, divided into two fifteen-minutes halves. The away goals rule would again be applied after extra time, i.e., if there were goals scored during extra time and the aggregate score was still level, the visiting team would advance by virtue of more away goals scored. If no goals were scored during extra time, the tie would be decided by penalty shootout.
In the draws for each round, teams were seeded based on their 2012 UEFA club coefficients, with the teams divided into seeded and unseeded pots. A seeded team was drawn against an unseeded team, with the order of legs in each tie decided randomly. Due to the limited time between matches, the draws for the second and third qualifying rounds took place before the results of the previous round were known. The seeding in these draws (or in any cases where the results of a tie in the previous round were not known at the time of draw) was carried out under the assumption that the higher-ranked teams of the previous round would advance to this round, which means if a lower-ranked team were to advance, it would simply take the seeding of its defeated opponent. Prior to the draws, UEFA may form "groups" in accordance with the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee, but they were purely for convenience of the draw and for ensuring that teams from the same association were not drawn against each other, and did not resemble any real groupings in the sense of the competition.
Teams Below were the 54 teams (40 in Champions Route, 14 in League Route) involved in the qualifying phase and play-off round, grouped by their starting rounds. The 10 winners of the play-off round (5 in Champions Route, 5 in League Route) qualified for the group stage to join the 22 automatic qualifiers. The losing teams from the third qualifying round and the play-off round dropped down to the Europa League play-off round and group stage respectively.
Key to coloursQualified for the group stageEliminated in the play-off round; entered the Europa League group stageEliminated in the third qualifying round; entered the Europa League play-off round
Champions Route +Third qualifying roundTeam Anderlecht48.480 Celtic32.728 CFR Cluj18.764+Second qualifying roundTeam Basel53.360 BATE Borisov29.641 Red Bull Salzburg29.225 Dinamo Zagreb24.774 Žilina14.974 Partizan14.350 Helsingborgs IF12.680 Sheriff Tiraspol9.849 Debrecen7.950 Maribor6.424 Ventspils5.674 Slovan Liberec5.570 Śląsk Wrocław5.483 HJK5.326 AEL Limassol5.099 Ekranas4.875 Zestaponi4.733 Shamrock Rovers4.475 Ironi Kiryat Shmona4.400 Molde3.935 Željezničar3.683 KR3.566 Ludogorets Razgrad2.850 The New Saints2.799 Budućnost Podgorica2.375 Flora2.283 Neftçi2.241 Shakhter Karagandy1.816 Skënderbeu1.783 Vardar1.133 Ulisses0.941+First qualifying roundTeam Linfield2.766 F91 Dudelange2.716 Valletta2.616 Tre Penne0.933 Lusitanos0.700 B360.533
League Route +Play-off roundTeam Braga63.069 Spartak Moscow46.066 Udinese38.996 Lille38.835 Málaga16.837 Borussia Mönchengladbach15.037+Third qualifying roundTeam Dynamo Kyiv62.026 Panathinaikos50.920 Copenhagen46.505 Fenerbahçe41.310 Club Brugge35.480 Vaslui13.764 Feyenoord12.603 Motherwell6.728
First qualifying round
Seeding SeededUnseeded Linfield F91 Dudelange Valletta Tre Penne Lusitanos B36
Summary
Matches
F91 Dudelange won 11–0 on aggregate.
Valletta won 9–0 on aggregate.
0–0 on aggregate; Linfield won 4–3 on penalties.
Second qualifying round
Seeding Group 1Group 2Group 3SeededUnseededSeededUnseededSeededUnseeded BATE Borisov Žilina Debrecen Maribor AEL Limassol Ironi Kiryat Shmona Željezničar Linfield Skënderbeu Vardar Basel Red Bull Salzburg Helsingborgs IF Ventspils HJK Ekranas Shamrock Rovers Molde KR The New Saints F91 Dudelange Flora Dinamo Zagreb Partizan Sheriff Tiraspol Slovan Liberec Śląsk Wrocław Zestaponi Ludogorets Razgrad Valletta Budućnost Podgorica Neftçi Shakhter Karagandy Ulisses
Notes
Summary
Matches
Debrecen won 3–1 on aggregate.
Maribor won 6–2 on aggregate.
Ironi Kiryat Shmona won 2–1 on aggregate.
BATE Borisov won 3–2 on aggregate.
AEL Limassol won 3–0 on aggregate.
Ekranas won 2–1 on aggregate.
Basel won 5–0 on aggregate.
Helsingborgs IF won 3–0 on aggregate.
HJK won 9–1 on aggregate.
Molde won 4–1 on aggregate.
4–4 on aggregate; F91 Dudelange won on away goals.
Slovan Liberec won 2–1 on aggregate.
Dinamo Zagreb won 4–3 on aggregate.
Neftçi won 5–2 on aggregate.
Sheriff Tiraspol won 2–0 on aggregate.
Partizan won 7–2 on aggregate.
Śląsk Wrocław won 2–1 on aggregate.
Third qualifying round
Seeding Champions RouteLeague RouteGroup 1Group 2SeededUnseededSeededUnseededSeededUnseeded Anderlecht BATE Borisov F91 Dudelange CFR Cluj Helsingborgs IF Debrecen Maribor Slovan Liberec Śląsk Wrocław Ekranas Basel Celtic Dinamo Zagreb Ironi Kiryat Shmona Partizan Sheriff Tiraspol Molde HJK AEL Limassol Neftçi Dynamo Kyiv Panathinaikos Copenhagen Fenerbahçe Club Brugge Vaslui Feyenoord Motherwell
Notes
Summary
Champions Route matches
Maribor won 5–1 on aggregate.
BATE Borisov won 3–1 on aggregate.
CFR Cluj won 3–1 on aggregate.
Anderlecht won 11–0 on aggregate.
Helsingborgs IF won 6–1 on aggregate.
Dinamo Zagreb won 5–0 on aggregate.
Basel won 2–1 on aggregate.
Celtic won 4–1 on aggregate.
Ironi Kiryat Shmona won 6–2 on aggregate.
AEL Limassol won 2–0 on aggregate.
League Route matches
Fenerbahçe won 5–2 on aggregate.
Panathinaikos won 5–0 on aggregate.
Copenhagen won 3–2 on aggregate.
Dynamo Kyiv won 3–1 on aggregate.
Play-off round
Seeding Champions RouteLeague RouteSeededUnseededSeededUnseeded Basel Anderlecht Celtic BATE Borisov Dinamo Zagreb CFR Cluj Helsingborgs IF Maribor AEL Limassol Ironi Kiryat Shmona Braga Dynamo Kyiv Panathinaikos Copenhagen Spartak Moscow Fenerbahçe Udinese Lille Málaga Borussia Mönchengladbach
Summary
Champions Route matches
CFR Cluj won 3–1 on aggregate.
Celtic won 4–0 on aggregate.
BATE Borisov won 3–1 on aggregate.
Anderlecht won 3–2 on aggregate.
Dinamo Zagreb won 3–1 on aggregate.
League Route matches
2–2 on aggregate; Braga won 5–4 on penalties.
Spartak Moscow won 3–2 on aggregate.
Málaga won 2–0 on aggregate.
Dynamo Kyiv won 4–3 on aggregate.
Lille won 2–1 on aggregate.
Statistics There were 226 goals in 88 matches in the qualifying phase and play-off round, for an average of 2.57 goals per match.
Top goalscorers RankPlayerTeamGoalsMinutes played1 Aurélien Joachim F91 Dudelange7509'2 Michael Mifsud Valletta6360'3 Dieumerci Mbokani Anderlecht4270' Thomas Sørum Helsingborgs IF4389' Vitali Rodionov BATE Borisov4514'6 Jhonnattann Valletta3161' Jacques Zoua Basel3231' Juho Mäkelä HJK3240' Ante Rukavina Dinamo Zagreb3314' Nemanja Tomić Partizan3328' Julius Wobay Neftçi3345' Sofian Benzouien F91 Dudelange3348' Dirk Kuyt Fenerbahçe3356' Dejan Mezga Maribor3359' Brown Ideye Dynamo Kyiv3360' Modou Sougou CFR Cluj3360' Robert Berić Maribor3515' Marcos Tavares Maribor3540'
Top assists RankPlayerTeamAssistsMinutes played1 Alfreð Finnbogason Helsingborgs IF4340'2 Ivan Stoyanov Ludogorets Razgrad3164' Denys Harmash Dynamo Kyiv3181' Kanu Anderlecht3242' Stefan Babović Partizan3292' Georgios Samaras Celtic3335' William Valletta3360' Roderick Briffa Valletta3360' Charlie Mulgrew Celtic3360' Goran Cvijanović Maribor3517'
Notes
References
External links , UEFA.com