2008–09 UEFA Champions League

The 2008–09 UEFA Champions League was the 54th edition of Europe's premier club football tournament and the 17th edition under the current UEFA Champions League format. The final was played at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy, on 27 May 2009.[1] It was the eighth time the European Cup final has been held in Italy and the fourth time it has been held at the Stadio Olimpico. The final was contested by the defending champions, Manchester United, and Barcelona, who had last won the tournament in 2006. Barcelona won the match 2–0, with goals from Samuel Eto'o and Lionel Messi, securing The Treble in the process. In addition, both UEFA Cup finalists, Werder Bremen and Shakhtar Donetsk featured in the Champions League group stage.

2008–09 UEFA Champions League
The Stadio Olimpico in Rome hosted the final
Tournament details
DatesQualifying:
15 July – 27 August 2008
Competition proper:
16 September 2008 – 27 May 2009
TeamsCompetition proper: 32
Total: 76
Final positions
ChampionsSpain Barcelona (3rd title)
Runners-upEngland Manchester United
Tournament statistics
Matches played125
Goals scored329 (2.63 per match)
Attendance5,004,467 (40,036 per match)
Top scorer(s)Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
9 goals

Anorthosis of Cyprus and BATE Borisov of Belarus were the first teams from their respective countries to qualify for the group stage. Romanian side CFR Cluj and Russian champions Zenit Saint Petersburg also made their Champions League debuts.

Association team allocation

edit

A total of 76 teams from 52 UEFA associations (Liechtenstein organises no domestic league competition) participated in the 2008–09 Champions League. Countries are allocated places according to the 2007 UEFA league co-efficient ranking.

Below is the qualification scheme for the 2008–09 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 (except Liechtenstein) each have one team qualify.

Association ranking

edit

For the 2008–09 UEFA Champions League, the associations are allocated places according to their 2007 UEFA country coefficients, which takes into account their performance in European competitions from 2002–03 to 2006–07.[2]

Rank Association Coeff. Teams
1   Spain 76.891 4
2   England 68.540
3   Italy 66.088
4   France 53.656 3
5   Germany 44.364
6   Portugal 42.749
7   Romania 40.165 2
8   Netherlands 39.379
9   Russia 36.125
10   Scotland 30.500
11   Ukraine 29.475
12   Belgium 29.075
13   Czech Republic 26.825
14   Turkey 26.641
15   Greece 25.497
16   Bulgaria 24.582 1
17   Switzerland 23.850
18   Norway 19.725
Rank Association Coeff. Teams
19   Israel 19.208 1
20   Serbia 18.958
21   Denmark 18.575
22   Austria 18.500
23   Poland 17.000
24   Hungary 14.165
25   Slovakia 10.832
26   Croatia 10.708
27   Cyprus 10.582
28   Sweden 10.541
29   Slovenia 9.915
30   Bosnia and Herzegovina 9.665
31   Latvia 8.664
32   Lithuania 7.332
33   Finland 7.331
34   Moldova 7.166
35   Republic of Ireland 6.498
36   Georgia 6.164
Rank Association Coeff. Teams
37   Liechtenstein 6.000 0
38   Macedonia 5.831 1
39   Iceland 4.999
40   Belarus 4.665
41   Albania 3.832
42   Estonia 3.665
43   Armenia 3.498
44   Azerbaijan 3.166
45   Kazakhstan 2.332
46   Northern Ireland 2.165
47   Wales 1.998
48   Faroe Islands 1.665
49   Luxembourg 1.665
50   Malta 1.665
51   San Marino 0.000
52   Andorra 0.000
53   Montenegro 0.000

Distribution

edit

Since the title holders (Manchester United) qualified for the Champions League group stage through their domestic league, the group stage spot reserved for the title holders is vacated, and the following changes to the default access list are made:[3]

  • The champions of association 10 (Scotland) are promoted from the third qualifying round to the group stage.
  • The champions of association 16 (Bulgaria) are promoted from the second qualifying round to the third qualifying round.
  • The champions of associations 23 (Poland) and 24 (Hungary) are promoted from the first qualifying round to the second qualifying round.
Teams entering in this round Teams advancing from previous round
First qualifying round
(28 teams)
  • 28 champions from associations 25–53
Second qualifying round
(28 teams)
  • 8 champions from associations 17–24
  • 6 runners-up from associations 10–15
  • 14 winners from the first qualifying round
Third qualifying round
(32 teams)
  • 6 champions from associations 11–16
  • 3 runners-up from associations 7–9
  • 6 third-place finishers from associations 1–6
  • 3 fourth-place finishers from associations 1–3
  • 14 winners from the second qualifying round
Group stage
(32 teams)
  • 10 champions from associations 1–10
  • 6 runners-up from associations 1–6
  • 16 winners from the third qualifying round
Knockout phase
(16 teams)
  • 8 group winners from the group stage
  • 8 group runners-up from the group stage

Teams

edit

League positions of the previous season shown in parentheses (TH: Title holders).[4]

Group stage
  Real Madrid (1st)   Internazionale (1st)   Bayern Munich (1st)   CFR Cluj (1st)
  Villarreal (2nd)   Roma (2nd)   Werder Bremen (2nd)   PSV Eindhoven (1st)
  Manchester United (1st)TH   Lyon (1st)   Porto (1st)[Note POR]   Zenit Saint Petersburg (1st)
  Chelsea (2nd)   Bordeaux (2nd)   Sporting CP (2nd)   Celtic (1st)
Third qualifying round
  Barcelona (3rd)   Fiorentina (4th)   Twente (PO)   Slavia Prague (1st)
  Atlético Madrid (4th)   Marseille (3rd)   Spartak Moscow (2nd)   Galatasaray (1st)
  Arsenal (3rd)   Schalke 04 (3rd)   Shakhtar Donetsk (1st)   Olympiacos (1st)
  Liverpool (4th)   Vitória de Guimarães (3rd)   Standard Liège (1st)   Levski Sofia (2nd)[Note BUL]
  Juventus (3rd)   Steaua București (2nd)
Second qualifying round
  Rangers (2nd)   Fenerbahçe (2nd)   Beitar Jerusalem (1st)   Rapid Wien (1st)
  Dynamo Kyiv (2nd)   Panathinaikos (PO)   Partizan (1st)   Wisła Kraków (1st)
  Anderlecht (2nd)   Basel (1st)   AaB (1st)   MTK Budapest (1st)
  Sparta Prague (2nd)   Brann (1st)
First qualifying round
  Artmedia Petržalka (1st)   Kaunas (1st)   BATE Borisov (1st)   Llanelli (1st)
  Dinamo Zagreb (1st)   Tampere United (1st)   Dinamo Tirana (1st)   NSÍ Runavík (1st)
  Anorthosis Famagusta (1st)   Sheriff Tiraspol (1st)   Levadia (1st)   F91 Dudelange (1st)
  IFK Göteborg (1st)   Drogheda United (1st)   Pyunik Yerevan (1st)   Valletta (1st)
  Domžale (1st)   Dinamo Tbilisi (1st)   Inter Baku (1st)   Santa Coloma (1st)
  Modriča (1st)   Rabotnički (1st)   Aktobe (1st)   Murata (1st)
  Ventspils (1st)   Valur (1st)   Linfield (1st)   Budućnost Podgorica (1st)
Notes
  1. ^
    Portugal (POR): On 4 June 2008, a decision was taken to exclude Portuguese champions Porto from this year's competition, after the club was found guilty of bribing referees in the Primeira Liga during the 2003–04 season.[5] As a result, Vitória de Guimarães were promoted from the third qualifying round to the group stage, and Benfica from the UEFA Cup into the third qualifying round. After Porto appealed the decision, however, it was referred by UEFA's Appeals Body back to the Control & Disciplinary Body for re-assessment.[6] The meeting to re-assess the situation took place on 16 June 2008, with the decision being reversed and Porto being allowed back into the 2008–09 Champions League. The decision was taken due to Porto's disciplinary process in Portugal not yet being complete.[7]
  2. ^
    Bulgaria (BUL): Bulgarian champions CSKA Sofia failed to obtain UEFA license due to unpaid debts and were replaced by league runners-up Levski Sofia.[8][9]

Round and draw dates

edit
Phase Round Draw date First leg Second leg
Qualifying First qualifying round 1 July 2008 15–16 July 2008 22–23 July 2008
Second qualifying round 29–30 July 2008 5–6 August 2008
Third qualifying round 1 August 2008 12–13 August 2008 26–27 August 2008
Group stage Matchday 1 28 August 2008 16–17 September 2008
Matchday 2 30 September–1 October 2008
Matchday 3 21–22 October 2008
Matchday 4 4–5 November 2008
Matchday 5 25–26 November 2008
Matchday 6 9–10 December 2008
Knockout phase Round of 16 19 December 2008 24–25 February 2009 10–11 March 2009
Quarter-finals 20 March 2009 7–8 April 2009 14–15 April 2009
Semi-finals 28–29 April 2009 5–6 May 2009
Final 27 May 2009 at Stadio Olimpico, Rome

Qualifying rounds

edit

First qualifying round

edit

The draw for the first qualifying round took place on 1 July 2008 in Nyon, Switzerland. The first legs were held on 15 and 16 July, while the second legs were played on 22 and 23 July 2008.

Two of the 14 ties were won by the team with the lower UEFA coefficient: Inter Baku (Azerbaijan, country rank 42) beat Rabotnički (Macedonia, 36); and BATE Borisov (Belarus, 40) beat Valur (Iceland, 37). Of the 28 teams in the first qualifying round, two survived as far as the group stage: Anorthosis Famagusta and BATE Borisov.

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Linfield   1–3   Dinamo Zagreb 0–2 1–1
Valletta   0–3   Artmedia Petržalka 0–2 0–1
Dinamo Tbilisi   3–1   NSÍ Runavík 3–0 0–1
Santa Coloma   2–7   Kaunas 1–4 1–3
Murata   0–9   IFK Göteborg 0–5 0–4
Llanelli   1–4   Ventspils 1–0 0–4
Anorthosis Famagusta   3–0   Pyunik 1–0 2–0
Inter Baku   1–1 (a)   Rabotnički 0–0 1–1
Tampere United   3–2   Budućnost 2–1 1–1
F91 Dudelange   0–3   Domžale 0–1 0–2
Dinamo Tirana   1–4   Modriča 0–2 1–2
Aktobe   1–4   Sheriff Tiraspol 1–0 0–4
Drogheda United   3–1   Levadia 2–1 1–0
BATE Borisov   3–0   Valur 2–0 1–0

Second qualifying round

edit

The draw for the second qualifying round took place on 1 July 2008 in Nyon, Switzerland, immediately after the draw for the first qualifying round. The first legs were played on 29 and 30 July, while the second legs were played on 5 and 6 August 2008.

Three of the 14 ties were won by the team with the lower UEFA coefficient: Kaunas (unranked, coefficient 2.640) beat Rangers (ranked 24, coefficient 66.013); BATE Borisov (unranked, 1.760) beat Anderlecht (56, 41.810); and Anorthosis (ranked 193) beat Rapid Wien (ranked 166). Of the 28 teams in the second qualifying round, Panathinaikos were the only one to qualify for the knockout phase of the competition.

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Rangers   1–2   Kaunas 0–0 1–2
Brann   2–2 (a)   Ventspils 1–0 1–2
Inter Baku   1–3   Partizan 1–1 0–2
Tampere United   3–7   Artmedia Petržalka 1–3 2–4
Anorthosis Famagusta   4–3   Rapid Wien 3–0 1–3
Domžale   2–6   Dinamo Zagreb 0–3 2–3
Panathinaikos   3–0   Dinamo Tbilisi 3–0 0–0
IFK Göteborg   3–5   Basel 1–1 2–4
Sheriff Tiraspol   0–3   Sparta Prague 0–1 0–2
Drogheda United   3–4   Dynamo Kyiv 1–2 2–2
Anderlecht   3–4   BATE Borisov 1–2 2–2
Beitar Jerusalem   2–6   Wisła Kraków 2–1 0–5
Fenerbahçe   7–0   MTK Budapest 2–0 5–0
AaB   7–1   Modriča 5–0 2–1

Third qualifying round

edit

The draw for the third qualifying round took place on 1 August 2008 in Nyon, Switzerland.[10] The first legs were played on 12 and 13 August, while the second legs were played on 26 and 27 August. The winners of each tie advanced to the group stage, while the losers were seeded into the 2008–09 UEFA Cup first round.

Four of the 16 ties were won by the team with the lower UEFA coefficient: Anorthosis (ranked 193) beat Olympiacos (ranked 44); BATE Borisov (unranked, coefficient 1.760) beat Levski Sofia (ranked 80, coefficient 32.644); Atlético Madrid (ranked 67) beat Schalke 04 (ranked 22) and Dynamo Kyiv (ranked 74) beat Spartak Moscow (ranked 61).

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Anorthosis Famagusta   3–1   Olympiacos 3–0 0–1
Vitória de Guimarães   1–2   Basel 0–0 1–2
Shakhtar Donetsk   5–1   Dinamo Zagreb 2–0 3–1
Schalke 04   1–4   Atlético Madrid 1–0 0–4
AaB   4–0   Kaunas 2–0 2–0
Barcelona   4–1   Wisła Kraków 4–0 0–1
Levski Sofia   1–2   BATE Borisov 0–1 1–1
Standard Liège   0–1   Liverpool 0–0 0–1 (a.e.t.)
Partizan   3–4   Fenerbahçe 2–2 1–2
Twente   0–6   Arsenal 0–2 0–4
Spartak Moscow   2–8   Dynamo Kyiv 1–4 1–4
Juventus   5–1   Artmedia Petržalka 4–0 1–1
Brann   1–3   Marseille 0–1 1–2
Fiorentina   2–0   Slavia Prague 2–0 0–0
Galatasaray   2–3   Steaua București 2–2 0–1
Sparta Prague   1–3[A]   Panathinaikos 1–2 0–1
  1. ^ Order of legs reversed after original draw.

Group stage

edit
Location of teams of the 2008–09 UEFA Champions League group stage.
  Brown: Group A;   Red: Group B;   Orange: Group C;   Yellow: Group D;
  Green: Group E;   Blue: Group F;   Purple: Group G;   Pink: Group H.

The draw for the group stage took place on 28 August 2008 at the Grimaldi Forum, Monaco, prior to the 2008 UEFA Super Cup the following day.[11]

The top two teams in each group advanced to the knockout phase, and the third-placed teams entered the round of 32 of the UEFA Cup. Based on paragraph 6.05 in the UEFA regulations for the current season, if two or more teams are equal on points on completion of the group matches, the following criteria are applied to determine the rankings:

  1. higher number of points obtained in the group matches played among the teams in question;
  2. superior goal difference from the group matches played among the teams in question;
  3. higher number of goals scored away from home in the group matches played among the teams in question;
  4. superior goal difference from all group matches played;
  5. higher number of goals scored in all group matches played;
  6. higher number of coefficient points accumulated by the club in question, as well as its association, over the previous five seasons.

Zenit St. Petersburg, BATE Borisov, CFR Cluj and Anorthosis were making their debuts in the group stage.[12]

Group A

edit

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification ROM CHE BOR CLJ
1   Roma 6 4 0 2 12 6 +6 12 Advance to knockout phase 3–1 2–0 1–2
2   Chelsea 6 3 2 1 9 5 +4 11 1–0 4–0 2–1
3   Bordeaux 6 2 1 3 5 11 −6 7 Transfer to UEFA Cup 1–3 1–1 1–0
4   CFR Cluj 6 1 1 4 5 9 −4 4 1–3 0–0 1–2
Source: RSSSF

Group B

edit

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification PAN INT BRM ANO
1   Panathinaikos 6 3 1 2 8 7 +1 10 Advance to knockout phase 0–2 2–2 1–0
2   Internazionale 6 2 2 2 8 7 +1 8 0–1 1–1 1–0
3   Werder Bremen 6 1 4 1 7 9 −2 7 Transfer to UEFA Cup 0–3 2–1 0–0
4   Anorthosis Famagusta 6 1 3 2 8 8 0 6 3–1 3–3 2–2
Source: RSSSF

Group C

edit

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification BAR SPO SHK BSL
1   Barcelona 6 4 1 1 18 8 +10 13 Advance to knockout phase 3–1 2–3 1–1
2   Sporting CP 6 4 0 2 8 8 0 12 2–5 1–0 2–0
3   Shakhtar Donetsk 6 3 0 3 11 7 +4 9 Transfer to UEFA Cup 1–2 0–1 5–0
4   Basel 6 0 1 5 2 16 −14 1 0–5 0–1 1–2
Source: RSSSF

Group D

edit

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification LIV ATM MAR PSV
1   Liverpool 6 4 2 0 11 5 +6 14 Advance to knockout phase 1–1 1–0 3–1
2   Atlético Madrid 6 3 3 0 9 4 +5 12 1–1 2–1 2–1
3   Marseille 6 1 1 4 5 7 −2 4 Transfer to UEFA Cup 1–2 0–0 3–0
4   PSV Eindhoven 6 1 0 5 5 14 −9 3 1–3 0–3 2–0
Source: RSSSF

Group E

edit

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification MUN VIL AAB CEL
1   Manchester United 6 2 4 0 9 3 +6 10 Advance to knockout phase 0–0 2–2 3–0
2   Villarreal 6 2 3 1 9 7 +2 9 0–0 6–3 1–0
3   AaB 6 1 3 2 9 14 −5 6 Transfer to UEFA Cup 0–3 2–2 2–1
4   Celtic 6 1 2 3 4 7 −3 5 1–1 2–0 0–0
Source: RSSSF

Group F

edit

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification BAY LYO FIO STE
1   Bayern Munich 6 4 2 0 12 4 +8 14 Advance to knockout phase 1–1 3–0 3–0
2   Lyon 6 3 2 1 14 10 +4 11 2–3 2–2 2–0
3   Fiorentina 6 1 3 2 5 8 −3 6 Transfer to UEFA Cup 1–1 1–2 0–0
4   Steaua București 6 0 1 5 3 12 −9 1 0–1 3–5 0–1
Source: RSSSF

Group G

edit

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification POR ARS DKV FEN
1   Porto 6 4 0 2 9 8 +1 12 Advance to knockout phase 2–0 0–1 3–1
2   Arsenal 6 3 2 1 11 5 +6 11 4–0 1–0 0–0
3   Dynamo Kyiv 6 2 2 2 4 4 0 8 Transfer to UEFA Cup 1–2 1–1 1–0
4   Fenerbahçe 6 0 2 4 4 11 −7 2 1–2 2–5 0–0
Source: RSSSF

Group H

edit

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification JUV RMA ZEN BATE
1   Juventus 6 3 3 0 7 3 +4 12 Advance to knockout phase 2–1 1–0 0–0
2   Real Madrid 6 4 0 2 9 5 +4 12 0–2 3–0 2–0
3   Zenit Saint Petersburg 6 1 2 3 4 7 −3 5 Transfer to UEFA Cup 0–0 1–2 1–1
4   BATE Borisov 6 0 3 3 3 8 −5 3 2–2 0–1 0–2
Source: RSSSF

Knockout phase

edit

In the knockout stage, 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

edit

Round of 16

edit

The draw for the round of 16 was held on 19 December 2008, and conducted by UEFA General Secretary David Taylor and Bruno Conti, the ambassador for the 2009 UEFA Champions League Final.[13] The first legs of the round of 16 were played on 24 and 25 February 2009, while the second legs were played on 10 and 11 March.[14]

Bayern Munich defeated Sporting CP by 12–1 on aggregate in the first knockout round; the biggest two-leg win in Champions League era. Manchester United's 2–0 victory against Internazionale in the first knockout round was their 21st consecutive undefeated match, a record surpassing Ajax's 20 undefeated matches, set between 1985–86 and 1995–96. The record was extended to 25 matches, ending with a 2–0 defeat to Barcelona in the final.

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Chelsea   3–2   Juventus 1–0 2–2
Villarreal   3–2   Panathinaikos 1–1 2–1
Sporting CP   1–12   Bayern Munich 0–5 1–7
Atlético Madrid   2–2 (a)   Porto 2–2 0–0
Lyon   3–6   Barcelona 1–1 2–5
Real Madrid   0–5   Liverpool 0–1 0–4
Arsenal   1–1 (7–6 p)   Roma 1–0 0–1 (a.e.t.)
Internazionale   0–2   Manchester United 0–0 0–2

Quarter-finals

edit

The draw for the quarter-finals took place in Nyon, Switzerland, on 20 March 2009. [15] The first legs were played on 7 and 8 April while the second legs were played on 14 and 15 April. Due to the 20th anniversary of Hillsborough Disaster, Liverpool were granted their request that their return leg not be played on 15 April; the match was played on 14 April.[16][17]

Porto's 1–0 loss to Manchester United in the second leg of the quarter-finals was the club's first ever home defeat to English opposition.

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Villarreal   1–4   Arsenal 1–1 0–3
Manchester United   3–2   Porto 2–2 1–0
Liverpool   5–7   Chelsea 1–3 4–4
Barcelona   5–1   Bayern Munich 4–0 1–1

Semi-finals

edit

The draw for the semi-finals took place on 20 March 2009, immediately after the draw for the quarter-finals. The first legs were played on 28 and 29 April and the second legs on 5 and 6 May.

As in 2007–08, the semi-final teams consisted of three Premier League sides and Barcelona. This was the third consecutive season in which three of the four semi-final teams were English. Manchester United were the first defending champions to reach the semi-finals since the introduction of the first knockout round in the 2003–04 season. Chelsea were knocked out by Barcelona after a highly controversial performance by referee Tom Henning Øvrebø,[18] while Arsenal's 3–1 loss to Manchester United in the second leg of the semi-finals was the club's first defeat at the Emirates Stadium in a European competition.[19]

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Manchester United   4–1   Arsenal 1–0 3–1
Barcelona   1–1 (a)   Chelsea 0–0 1–1

Final

edit

The final was played on 27 May 2009 at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy. Barcelona won the match 2–0, with goals from Samuel Eto'o and Lionel Messi. Barcelona's victory also meant that they became the first Spanish team to win the Treble. Manchester United were the first defending champions to reach the final of the competition since Juventus in 1997, but they failed to become the first club to defend the European Cup since Milan in 1990.

Barcelona  2–0  Manchester United
Eto'o   10'
Messi   70'
Report


Statistics

edit

Statistics exclude qualifying rounds.

Top goalscorers

edit
Rank Player Team Goals Minutes played
1   Lionel Messi   Barcelona 9 982
2   Steven Gerrard   Liverpool 7 580
  Miroslav Klose   Bayern Munich 680
4   Lisandro López   Porto 6 943
5   Emmanuel Adebayor   Arsenal 5 627
  Alessandro Del Piero   Juventus 688
  Didier Drogba   Chelsea 702
  Robin van Persie   Arsenal 716
  Thierry Henry   Barcelona 717
  Karim Benzema   Lyon 731

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ Ravdin, Eugene; Menicucci, Paolo (5 October 2006). "Moscow and Rome feast on finals". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Archived from the original on 20 September 2008. Retrieved 25 May 2007.
  2. ^ "UEFA Country Ranking 2007". Bert Kassies. Archived from the original on 2020-09-03. Retrieved 2019-10-10.
  3. ^ "2008/09 UEFA Champions League access list and calendar". UEFA.com. 22 December 2008. Archived from the original on 20 January 2016. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
  4. ^ "Qualification for European Cup Football 2007/2008". Bert Kassies.[permanent dead link]
  5. ^ "Porto lose Champions League place". BBC Sport. 4 June 2008. Archived from the original on 11 November 2020. Retrieved 4 June 2008.
  6. ^ "FC Porto case deferred" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 13 June 2008. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 September 2008. Retrieved 16 June 2008.
  7. ^ "Porto admission confirmed". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 16 June 2008. Archived from the original on 29 August 2008. Retrieved 16 June 2008.
  8. ^ "CSKA without UEFA license, Tomov takes the guilt". 3 June 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-06-06. Retrieved 2019-09-22.
  9. ^ "CSKA Sofia banned from Champions League over unpaid debts". 5 June 2008. Archived from the original on 8 June 2008. Retrieved 5 June 2008.
  10. ^ "Draws for UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 22 July 2008. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 September 2020. Retrieved 22 July 2008.
  11. ^ "UEFA sets Monaco agenda". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 5 August 2008. Archived from the original on 29 August 2008. Retrieved 13 August 2008.
  12. ^ "Europe's finest set for group stage draw". UEFA.com. 28 August 2008. Archived from the original on 20 January 2016. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  13. ^ "Man Utd to face Mourinho's Inter". BBC Sport. BBC. 19 December 2009. Retrieved 25 February 2009.
  14. ^ 2008/09 Draw and match calendar. uefa.com Archived 22 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  15. ^ "Liverpool draw Chelsea in Europe". BBC Sport. BBC. 20 March 2009. Retrieved 7 April 2009.
  16. ^ "UEFA statement on Hillsborough anniversary". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 16 March 2009. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
  17. ^ "Reds won't play on Hillsborough date". liverpoolfc.tv. Liverpool FC. 20 March 2009. Archived from the original on 22 March 2009. Retrieved 20 March 2009.
  18. ^ "Chelsea 1-1 Barcelona (agg 1-1)". BBC Sport. 6 May 2009. Archived from the original on 28 November 2010. Retrieved 30 April 2011.
  19. ^ "Arsenal 1-3 Manchester United (agg 1-4)". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 6 May 2009. Archived from the original on 9 May 2019. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
  20. ^ "Full Time Report" (PDF). UEFA. 27 May 2009. Retrieved 27 May 2009.
  21. ^ "Busacca to referee Rome final". UEFA. 25 May 2009. Retrieved 24 March 2010.
edit