2011–12 UEFA Champions League
Introduction The '''2011–12 UEFA Champions League''' was the 57th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 20th season in its current Champions League format. As part of a trial that started in the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League, two extra officials – one behind each goal – were used in all matches of the competition from the play-off round.The final was held at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany. Chelsea's caretaker manager Roberto Di Matteo led the club to win their first Champions League title after beating Bayern Munich 4–3 on penalties in the final. As tenants of the Allianz Arena (known as Fußball Arena München for the final), this meant that Bayern were the first finalists to have home advantage since 1984.By winning the tournament, Chelsea earned a berth at the 2012 FIFA Club World Cup and 2012 UEFA Super Cup. Barcelona were the defending champions, but were eliminated by the eventual winners Chelsea in the semi-finals.
Association team allocation A total of 76 teams participated in the 2011–12 Champions League from 52 UEFA associations (Liechtenstein organises no domestic league competition). Associations are allocated places according to their 2010 UEFA country coefficients, which takes into account their performance in European competitions from 2005–06 to 2009–10.Below is the qualification scheme for the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League:*Associations 1–3 each have four teams qualify*Associations 4–6 each have three teams qualify*Associations 7–15 each have two teams qualify*Associations 16–53 each have one team qualify (excluding Liechtenstein)===Association ranking===RankAssociationCoeff.Teams 1  England 81.856 4  2  Spain 79.757 3  Italy 64.338 4  Germany 64.207 3 5  France 53.740 6  Russia 43.791 7  Ukraine 39.550 2 8  Romania 39.491 9  Portugal 38.296 10  Netherlands 36.546 11  Turkey 34.450 12  Greece 29.899 13  Switzerland 28.375 14  Belgium 27.900 15  Denmark 27.350 16  Scotland 25.791 1 17  Bulgaria 22.000 18  Czech Republic 21.975RankAssociationCoeff.Teams 19  Austria 19.575 1 20  Israel 18.875 21  Cyprus 17.999 22  Norway 17.400 23  Slovakia 15.832 24  Sweden 14.191 25  Serbia 14.000 26  Poland 12.541 27  Croatia 12.332 28  Belarus 11.541 29  Republic of Ireland 9.541 30  Finland 9.499 31  Bosnia and Herzegovina 8.749 32  Lithuania 8.416 33  Latvia 8.248 34  Moldova 7.290 35  Slovenia 6.957 36  Hungary 6.750RankAssociationCoeff.Teams 37  Georgia 5.748 1 38  Azerbaijan 5.498 39  Iceland 5.415 40  Macedonia  5.332 41  Liechtenstein 4.500 0 42  Kazakhstan 4.499 1 43  Estonia 4.374 44  Albania 3.999 45  Armenia 2.999 46  Wales 2.581 47  Montenegro 2.125 48  Faroe Islands 1.832 49  Northern Ireland 1.624 50  Luxembourg 1.249 51  Andorra 1.000 52  Malta 0.916 53  San Marino 0.750===Distribution===Since the winners of the 2010–11 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 (Switzerland) were promoted from the third qualifying round to the group stage. * The champions of association 16 (Scotland) were promoted from the second qualifying round to the third qualifying round. * The champions of associations 48 and 49 (Faroe Islands and Northern Ireland) 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 Route(20 teams)*3 champions from associations 14–16*17 winners from the second qualifying roundLeague Route(10 teams)*9 runners-up from associations 7–15*1 third-placed team from association 6Play-off roundChampions Route(10 teams)*10 winners from the third qualifying round Champions RouteLeague Route(10 teams)*2 third-placed teams from associations 4 and 5*3 fourth-placed teams from associations 1–3*5 winners from the third qualifying round League RouteGroup stage(32 teams)*13 champions from associations 1–13*6 runners-up from associations 1–6*3 third-placed teams from associations 1–3*5 winners from the play-off round Champions Route*5 winners from the play-off round League RouteKnockout phase(16 teams)*8 group winners from the group stage*8 group runners-up from the group stage===Teams===League positions of the previous season shown in parentheses.Group stage BarcelonaTH (1st) Milan (1st) Marseille (2nd) Porto (1st) Manchester United (1st) Internazionale (2nd) Zenit St. Petersburg (1st) Ajax (1st) Chelsea (2nd) Napoli (3rd) CSKA Moscow (2nd) Trabzonspor (2nd)Note TUR Manchester City (3rd) Borussia Dortmund (1st) Shakhtar Donetsk (1st) Olympiacos (1st) Real Madrid (2nd) Bayer Leverkusen (2nd) Oțelul Galați (1st) Basel (1st) Valencia (3rd) Lille (1st)Play-off roundChampions RouteLeague Route Arsenal (4th) Udinese (4th) Lyon (3rd) Villarreal (4th) Bayern Munich (3rd)Third qualifying roundChampions RouteLeague Route Genk (1st) Rubin Kazan (3rd) Twente (2nd) Zürich (2nd) Copenhagen (1st) Dynamo Kyiv (2nd) Trabzonspor (2nd)Note TUR Standard Liège (2nd) Rangers (1st) Vaslui (3rd)Note ROU Panathinaikos (2nd) Odense (2nd) Benfica (2nd)Second qualifying round Litex Lovech (1st) Partizan (1st) Skonto (1st) Tobol Kostanay (1st) Viktoria Plzeň (1st) Wisła Kraków (1st) Dacia Chişinău (1st) Flora Tallinn (1st) Sturm Graz (1st) Dinamo Zagreb (1st) Maribor (1st) Skënderbeu (1st) Maccabi Haifa (1st) BATE Borisov (1st) Videoton (1st) Pyunik (1st) APOEL (1st) Shamrock Rovers (1st) Zestafoni (1st) Bangor City (1st) Rosenborg (1st) HJK (1st) Neftchi Baku (1st) Mogren (1st) Slovan Bratislava (1st) Borac Banja Luka (1st) Breiðablik (1st) HB Tórshavn (1st) Malmö FF (1st) Ekranas (1st) Shkëndija (1st) Linfield (1st)First qualifying round F91 Dudelange (1st) FC Santa Coloma (1st) Valletta (1st) Tre Fiori (1st);Notes*th Title Holder*'''Romania (ROU)''': Because Politehnica Timișoara, the 2010–11 Liga I runners-up, were denied a domestic licence for the 2011–12 season, Vaslui, the third-placed team of the league, claimed the Champions League spot in the third qualifying round League Route. *'''Turkey (TUR)''': Fenerbahçe, the 2010–11 Süper Lig champions, was banned by the Turkish Football Federation on 24 August 2011 from participating in the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League due to the ongoing investigation into match-fixing. UEFA decided to replace them in the group stage with Trabzonspor, the league runners-up, who had lost in the Champions League third qualifying round and were participating in the Europa League play-off round at that time.
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 20 June 2011 28 June 2011 5–6 July 2011 Second qualifying round 12–13 July 2011 19–20 July 2011 Third qualifying round 15 July 2011 26–27 July 2011 2–3 August 2011 Play-off Play-off round 5 August 2011 16–17 August 2011 23–24 August 2011 Group stage Matchday 1 25 August 2011(Monaco) 13–14 September 2011 Matchday 2 27–28 September 2011 Matchday 3 18–19 October 2011 Matchday 4 1–2 November 2011 Matchday 5 22–23 November 2011 Matchday 6 6–7 December 2011 Knockout phase Round of 16 16 December 2011 14–15 & 21–22 February 2012 6–7 & 13–14 March 2012 Quarter-finals 16 March 2012 27–28 March 2012 3–4 April 2012 Semi-finals 17–18 April 2012 24–25 April 2012 Final 19 May 2012 at Allianz Arena, Munich
Qualifying rounds In the qualifying rounds and the play-off round, teams were divided into seeded and unseeded teams based on their 2011 UEFA club coefficients, and then drawn into two-legged home-and-away ties. Teams from the same association cannot be drawn against each other.===First qualifying round===The draw for the first and second qualifying rounds was held on 20 June 2011.The first legs were played on 28 June, and the second legs were played on 5 and 6 July 2011.===Second qualifying round===The first legs were played on 12 and 13 July, and the second legs were played on 19 and 20 July 2011.HJK's 10–0 win over Bangor City in the second leg broke the record for the largest margin of victory in the current Champions League format.===Third qualifying round===The draw for the third qualifying round was held on 15 July 2011.The first legs were played on 26 and 27 July, and the second legs were played on 2 and 3 August 2011.The third qualifying round was split into two separate sections: one for champions (called the Champions Route) and one for non-champions (called the League Route). The losing teams in both sections entered the play-off round of the 2011–12 UEFA Europa League.
Play-off round The draw for the play-off round was held on 5 August 2011.The first legs were played on 16 and 17 August, and the second legs were played on 23 and 24 August 2011.The play-off round was split into two separate sections: one for champions (called the Champions Route) and one for non-champions (called the League Route). The losing teams in both sections entered the group stage of the 2011–12 UEFA Europa League.
Group stage The group stage features 32 teams, which were allocated into pots based on their 2011 UEFA club coefficients (except the title holders, Barcelona, who were placed in Pot 1 automatically), and then drawn into eight groups of four. Teams from the same association cannot be drawn against each other. The draw was held on 25 August 2011 in Monaco.In each group, teams play against each other home-and-away in a round-robin format. The matchdays are 13–14 September, 27–28 September, 18–19 October, 1–2 November, 22–23 November, and 6–7 December 2011.The group winners and runners-up advanced to the round of 16, while the third-placed teams entered the round of 32 of the 2011–12 UEFA Europa League.If two or more teams are equal on points on completion of the group matches, the following criteria are applied to determine the rankings (in descending order):#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 in 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;#If, after applying criteria 1) to 4) to several teams, two teams still have an equal ranking, the criteria 1) to 4) will be reapplied to determine the ranking of these teams;#superior goal difference from all group matches played;#higher number of goals scored from all group matches played;#higher number of coefficient points accumulated by the club in question, as well as its association, over the previous five seasons.The 32 teams comprise 11 former winners of the European Cup/Champions League (40 titles combined), and five teams (Manchester City, Napoli, Trabzonspor, Viktoria Plzeň and Oțelul Galați) making their debut appearance in the group stage. Eighteen UEFA member associations are represented in this group stage: England and Spain by four clubs, Italy, Germany and France by three, Russia and Portugal by two, while eleven associations are represented by one club, which are all domestic champions except Trabzonspor, which replaced Fenerbahçe due to match-fixing allegations.===Group A======Group B======Group C======Group D======Group E======Group F======Group G======Group H===
Knockout phase In the knockout phase, teams play against each other over two legs on a home-and-away basis, except for the one-match final. The draw for the round of 16 was held on 16 December 2011.The draws for the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final (to determine the "home" team) were held on 16 March 2012.Both draws were assisted by German footballer Paul Breitner, the ambassador for the 2012 final.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 team 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 onwards, there are no seedings, and teams from the same group or the same association may be drawn with each other.===Bracket======Round of 16===The first legs were played on 14, 15, 21 and 22 February, and the second legs were played on 6, 7, 13 and 14 March 2012.===Quarter-finals===The first legs were played on 27 and 28 March, and the second legs were played on 3 and 4 April 2012.===Semi-finals===The first legs were played on 17 and 18 April, and the second legs were played on 24 and 25 April 2012.===Final===The final was played on 19 May 2012 at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany.
Statistics Statistics exclude qualifying rounds and play-off round.===Top goalscorers===RankPlayerTeamGoalsMinutes played1 Lionel Messi Barcelona149902 Mario Gómez Bayern Munich121,0033 Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid109304 Karim Benzema Real Madrid77605 Didier Drogba Chelsea66706 José Callejón Real Madrid5307 Roberto Soldado Valencia515 Bafétimbi Gomis Lyon530 Alexander Frei Basel611 Seydou Doumbia CSKA Moscow611 Roman Shirokov Zenit Saint Petersburg658 Edinson Cavani Napoli701 Zlatan Ibrahimović Milan720Source:===Top assists===RankPlayerTeamAssistsMinutes played1 Kaká Real Madrid5440 Karim Benzema Real Madrid760 Nicolás Gaitán Benfica810 Lionel Messi Barcelona990 Franck Ribéry Bayern Munich1,0306 Isaac Cuenca Barcelona4347 Marcelo Real Madrid539 Fernando Torres Chelsea635 Zlatan Ibrahimović Milan72010 Vágner Love CSKA Moscow3540 Aly Cissokho Lyon660 Cesc Fàbregas Barcelona661 Ezequiel Lavezzi Napoli700 Constantinos Charalambidis APOEL769 Mesut Özil Real Madrid806 Frank Lampard Chelsea843 Dani Alves Barcelona855 Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid930 Juan Mata Chelsea948 Toni Kroos Bayern Munich1,073Source:
See also * 2011–12 UEFA Europa League* 2012 FIFA Club World Cup* 2012 UEFA Super Cup* 2011–12 UEFA Women's Champions League
References
External links * 2011–12 All matches – season at UEFA website* 2011–12 UEFA Champions League, UEFA.com*All scorers 2011–12 UEFA Champions League (excluding qualifying round) according to  protocols UEFA + all scorers  qualifying round* 2011/12 UEFA Champions League – results and line-ups (archive)