2011 AFC Champions League
Introduction 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. The final decision date was set after the Executive Committee meeting in November 2010.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* '''Already participating:'''  Australia,  China PR,  Indonesia,  Japan,  Korea Republic* '''Keen to participate:'''  Malaysia,  Myanmar,   Thailand* '''Withdrew:'''  Singapore* '''Disqualified:'''  Vietnam;West Asia* '''Already participating:'''  Iran,  Qatar,  Saudi Arabia,  UAE,  Uzbekistan* '''Keen to participate:'''  Iraq,  Jordan,  Oman,  Pakistan,  Palestine,  Tajikistan,  Yemen,  India'''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.+West AsiaMemberAssociationClubsSpotsGroup stagePlay-off''AFC Cup'' Saudi Arabia14400 Iran18400 UAE12310 Qatar12210 Uzbekistan14202 India14011 Iraq36003 Jordan12002 Oman12002 Yemen14002 Pakistan16000 Palestine22000 Tajikistan10000  Meet the criteria  Do not meet the criteria+East AsiaMemberAssociationClubsSpotsGroup stagePlay-off''AFC Cup'' Japan18400 Korea Republic15*400 China PR16400 Australia9+1**20 Indonesia18111 Thailand18011 Vietnam14002 Singapore12001 Malaysia14000 Myanmar12000* One of the K-League clubs, Sangju Sangmu Phoenix, is unable to qualify for the ACL because the team is not a commercial entity and their players are not professionally contracted. ** One of the A-League clubs, Wellington Phoenix, is based in New Zealand, an OFC member country. They are unable to qualify for the ACL.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.Group stage direct entrants: West Asia (Groups A–D)TeamQualifying methodApp*Last App Sepahan2009–10 Persian Gulf Cup champions7th2010 Persepolis2009–10 Hazfi Cup winners3rd2009 Zob Ahan2009–10 Persian Gulf Cup runners-up3rd2010 Esteghlal2009–10 Persian Gulf Cup 3rd place4th2010 Al-Hilal2009–10 Saudi Professional League champions7th2010 Al-Ittihad Jeddah2009–10 Saudi Professional League runners-up 2010 King Cup of Champions winners7th2010 Al-Nassr2009–10 Saudi Professional League 3rd place1stnone Al-Shabab2009–10 Saudi Professional League 4th place6th2010 Al-Wahda2009–10 UAE Premier League champions6th2010 Emirates2009–10 UAE President's Cup winners1stnone Al-Jazira2009–10 UAE Premier League runners-up3rd2010 Al-Gharafa2009–10 Qatar Stars League champions6th2010 Al-Rayyan2010 Emir of Qatar Cup winners3rd2007 Bunyodkor2010 Uzbek League champions 2010 Uzbekistan Cup winners4th2010 Pakhtakor2010 Uzbek League runners-up9th2010Group stage direct entrants: East Asia (Groups E–H)TeamQualifying methodApp*Last App Nagoya Grampus2010 J. League Division 1 champions2nd2009 Kashima Antlers2010 Emperor's Cup winners5th2010 Gamba Osaka2010 J. League Division 1 runners-up5th2010 Cerezo Osaka2010 J. League Division 1 3rd place1stnone Shandong Luneng Taishan2010 Chinese Super League champions5th2010 Tianjin Teda2010 Chinese Super League runners-up2nd2009 Shanghai Shenhua2010 Chinese Super League 3rd place6th2009 Hangzhou Greentown2010 Chinese Super League 4th place1stnone FC Seoul2010 K-League champions2nd2009 Suwon Samsung Bluewings2010 Korean FA Cup winners4th2010 Jeju United2010 K-League runners-up1stnone Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors2010 K-League 3rd place5th2010 Sydney FC2009–10 A-League premiers2010 A-League Grand Final winners2nd2007 Melbourne Victory2009–10 A-League regular season runners-up3rd2010 Arema2009–10 Indonesia Super League champions2nd2007 Number of appearances (including qualifying rounds) since the 2002/03 season, when the competition was rebranded as the AFC Champions LeagueThe following is the list of participants for the playoff stage confirmed by the AFC. 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.Qualifying play-off participants: West AsiaTeamQualifying methodApp*Last App Dempo2009–10 I-League champions2nd2009 Al-Ain2009–10 UAE Premier League 3rd place7th2010 Al-Ittihad2010 AFC Cup winners5th2008 Al-Sadd2009–10 Qatar Stars League runners-up8th2010Qualifying play-off participants: East AsiaTeamQualifying methodApp*Last App Sriwijaya2010 Piala Indonesia winners3rd2010 Muangthong United2010 Thai Premier League champions2nd2010
Schedule Schedule of dates for 2011 competition.PhaseRoundDraw dateFirst legSecond legQualifying play-offsSemi-finals7 December 201012–13 February 2011Finals19 February 2011Group stageMatchday 11–2 March 2011Matchday 215–16 March 2011Matchday 35–6 April 2011Matchday 419–20 April 2011Matchday 53–4 May 2011Matchday 610–11 May 2011Knockout phaseRound of 1624–25 May 2011Quarter-finals7 June 201114 September 201127–28 September 2011Semi-finals19 October 201126 October 2011Final4 or 5 November 2011
Qualifying play-off The draw for the qualifying play-off was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 7 December 2010.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.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.===West Asia===Semi-finalFinal===East Asia===Semi-finalFinal
Group stage The draw for the group stage was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 7 December 2010.Clubs from the same country may not be drawn into the same group. The winners and runners-up of each group advanced to the knockout stage.===Group A======Group B======Group C======Group D======Group E======Group F======Group G======Group H===
Knockout stage ===Bracket======Round of 16===Based on the results from the group stage, the matchups of the round of 16 were decided as below. 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'').===Quarter-finals===The draw for the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and final was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 7 June 2011.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.===Semi-finals======Final===The final of the 2011 AFC Champions League was hosted by one of the finalists, decided by draw. This format was a change from the 2009 and 2010 editions, where the final was played at a neutral venue.
Awards The following awards were given for the 2011 AFC Champions League:*'''Most Valuable Player Award''':  Lee Dong-Gook (Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors)*'''Top Scorer''':  Lee Dong-Gook (Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors)*'''Fair Play Award''':  Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
Top scorers Note: Goals scored in qualifying round not counted. Rank Player Club             Total 1  Lee Dong-Gook  Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors       1  2     2  4     9 2  Eninho  Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors             2   1  1  2  1 7 3  Ha Tae-Gyun  Suwon Samsung Bluewings   3      1  2         6 4  Bader Al-Mutawa  Al-Nassr 1        2  1  1       5  Farhad Majidi  Esteghlal 1    1    2  1        5  Dejan Damjanović  FC Seoul 1  1      2    1       5  Ibrahima Touré  Sepahan 1  1        2  1       5 8  Yasser Al-Qahtani  Al-Hilal     1  2    1         4  Abdelmalek Ziaya  Al-Ittihad 2    1        1       4  Hiroshi Kiyotake  Cerezo Osaka         1  1    2      4  Takashi Inui  Cerezo Osaka     1    2  1         4  Rodrigo Pimpão  Cerezo Osaka 2        1  1         4  Yeom Ki-Hun  Suwon Samsung Bluewings     1  1  1    1       4  Igor Castro  Zob Ahan 1    1        2       4  Mohammad Ghazi  Zob Ahan         1    1  1  1     4
See also *2011 AFC Cup*2011 AFC President's Cup
References
External links * AFC Champions League Official Website