2013 AFC Champions League

The 2013 AFC Champions League was the 32nd edition of the top-level Asian club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 11th under the current AFC Champions League title. The defending champions, Ulsan Hyundai, failed to qualify for the tournament.

2013 AFC Champions League
Tournament details
Dates9 February – 9 November 2013
Teams35 (from 10 associations)
Final positions
ChampionsChina Guangzhou Evergrande (1st title)
Runners-upSouth Korea FC Seoul
Tournament statistics
Matches played126
Goals scored342 (2.71 per match)
Attendance1,996,166 (15,843 per match)
Top scorer(s)Brazil Muriqui
(13 goals)
Best player(s)Brazil Muriqui
2012
2014

In the final, Chinese team Guangzhou Evergrande defeated South Korean team FC Seoul on away goals to win their first title,[1] becoming the first Chinese team to win the AFC Champions League (and the second Chinese team to be crowned Asian club champions after Liaoning FC and Third Final of Chinese team after Liaoning F.C. lost against Esteghlal F.C. of Iran at 1990–91 AFC Club Championship, and qualified for the 2013 FIFA Club World Cup.[2]

Allocation of entries per association

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The AFC laid out the procedure for deciding the participating associations and the allocation of slots, with inspection of the associations interested in participating in the AFC Champions League to be done in 2012, and the final decision to be made by the AFC in November 2012.[3]

The following criteria for participation in the AFC Champions League were proposed by the AFC in July 2012:[4]

  • The member association (MA) has to acquire a minimum number of 600 points out of a possible 1000 according to the AFC evaluating system to qualify for participation.
  • The slots for each eligible MA are decided based on the points ranking of the MAs:
    • The top two ranked MAs in both the East and West zones get four direct slots each.
    • The third-ranked MAs get three direct and one play-off slot.
    • The fourth-ranked MAs get two direct and one play-off slot.
    • The fifth-ranked MAs get one direct and one play-off slot.
    • The sixth, seventh and eighth-ranked MAs get only a play-off slot each.
  • The maximum number of slots for each MA is one-third of the total number of clubs in the top division (e.g., Australia can only get a maximum of three total slots as there are only nine Australia-based clubs in the A-League).

On 29 November 2012, the AFC Executive Committee approved the slots for the 2013 edition of the AFC Champions League.[5] However, this final allocation of slots did not fully follow the proposal above.[6]

Evaluation for 2013 AFC Champions League
Fulfills criteria (> 600 points)
Does not fulfill criteria, but allocated slots
Does not fulfill criteria, not allocated slots
Notes
  1. ^ a b c
    One of the two group stage direct entrants from Uzbekistan was moved to the East Zone.

Teams

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The following teams entered the competition.

In the following table, the number of appearances and last appearance count only those since the 2002–03 season (including qualifying rounds), when the competition was rebranded as the AFC Champions League.

Schedule

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The schedule of the competition was as follows (all draws held at AFC headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia).[7]

Phase Round Draw date First leg Second leg
Qualifying play-off Round 1 6 December 2012 9 February 2013
Group stage Matchday 1 26–27 February 2013
Matchday 2 12–13 March 2013
Matchday 3 2–3 April 2013
Matchday 4 9–10 April 2013
Matchday 5 23–24 April 2013
Matchday 6 30 April–1 May 2013
Knock-out stage Round of 16 14–15 May 2013 21–22 May 2013
Quarter-finals 20 June 2013 21 August 2013 18 September 2013
Semi-finals 25 September 2013 2 October 2013
Final 25 or 26 October 2013 8 or 9 November 2013

Format changes

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The following changes in the format of the competition were made compared with the previous year:

  • Losers of the AFC Champions League qualifying play-off did not participate in the AFC Cup.
  • The round of 16 was played over two legs on a home-and-away basis instead of as a single match.[5]
  • The final was played over two legs on a home-and-away basis instead of as a single match.[8]

Qualifying play-off

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The draw for the qualifying play-off was held on 6 December 2012.[9] Each tie was played as a single match, with extra time and penalty shoot-out used to decide the winner if necessary. The winners of each tie advanced to the group stage to join the 29 automatic qualifiers.[2]

Team 1  Score  Team 2
West Zone
Saba Qom   1–1
(aet)(3–5p)
  Al-Shabab Al-Arabi
Al-Nasr   3–2   Lokomotiv Tashkent
East Zone
Buriram United   0–0 (a.e.t.)
(3–0p)[B]
  Brisbane Roar
Notes
  1. ^
    Brisbane Roar was given home advantage in the original draw, but the match was later switched to be hosted by Buriram United per agreement between the two teams due to rescheduling of the match from the original date.[10]

Group stage

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The draw for the group stage was held on 6 December 2012.[9] The 32 teams were drawn into eight groups of four. Teams from the same association could not be drawn into the same group. Each group was played on a home-and-away round-robin basis. The winners and runners-up of each group advanced to the round of 16.

Tiebreakers

The teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a tie, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers are applied in the following order:[2]

  1. Greater number of points obtained in the group matches between the teams concerned
  2. Goal difference resulting from the group matches between the teams concerned
  3. Greater number of goals scored in the group matches between the teams concerned (away goals do not apply)
  4. Goal difference in all the group matches
  5. Greater number of goals scored in all the group matches
  6. Penalty shoot-out if only two teams are involved and they are both on the field of play
  7. Fewer score calculated according to the number of yellow and red cards received in the group matches (1 point for a single yellow card, 3 points for a red card as a consequence of two yellow cards, 3 points for a direct red card, 4 points for a yellow card followed by a direct red card)
  8. Drawing of lots

Group A

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification SHB JSH JAZ TRA
1   Al-Shabab 6 4 1 1 7 5 +2 13 Advance to knockout stage 2–0 2–1 1–0
2   El Jaish 6 3 2 1 14 9 +5 11 3–0 3–1 3–3
3   Al-Jazira 6 1 2 3 7 10 −3 5 1–1 1–1 2–0
4   Tractor Sazi 6 1 1 4 8 12 −4 4 0–1 2–4 3–1
Source: [citation needed]

Group B

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification LEK SHA ETT PAK
1   Lekhwiya 6 3 2 1 10 7 +3 11 Advance to knockout stage 2–1 2–0 3–1
2   Al-Shabab Al-Arabi 6 3 0 3 8 9 −1 9 3–1 1–0 0–1
3   Al-Ettifaq 6 2 1 3 6 5 +1 7 0–0 4–1 2–0
4   Pakhtakor 6 2 1 3 6 9 −3 7 2–2 1–2 1–0
Source: [citation needed]
Tiebreakers
  • Al-Ettifaq are ranked ahead of Pakhtakor on head-to-head record.

Group C

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification AHL GHA SEP NAS
1   Al-Ahli 6 4 2 0 16 8 +8 14 Advance to knockout stage 2–0 4–1 2–2
2   Al-Gharafa 6 3 1 2 13 11 +2 10 2–2 3–1 3–1
3   Sepahan 6 3 0 3 12 13 −1 9 2–4 3–1 3–0
4   Al-Nasr 6 0 1 5 7 16 −9 1 1–2 2–4 1–2
Source: [citation needed]

Group D

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification EST HIL AIN RAY
1   Esteghlal 6 4 1 1 11 5 +6 13 Advance to knockout stage 0–1 2–0 3–0
2   Al-Hilal 6 4 0 2 10 6 +4 12 1–2 2–0 3–1
3   Al-Ain 6 2 0 4 6 9 −3 6 0–1 3–1 2–1
4   Al-Rayyan 6 1 1 4 7 14 −7 4 3–3 0–2 2–1
Source: ScoresPro

Group E

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification SEO BUR JIA SEN
1   FC Seoul 6 3 2 1 11 5 +6 11 Advance to knockout stage 2–2 5–1 2–1
2   Buriram United 6 1 4 1 6 6 0 7 0–0 2–0 1–1
3   Jiangsu Sainty 6 2 1 3 5 10 −5 7 0–2 2–0 0–0
4   Vegalta Sendai 6 1 3 2 5 6 −1 6 1–0 1–1 1–2
Source: [citation needed]
Tiebreakers
  • Buriram United and Jiangsu Sainty are tied on head-to-head record, and so are ranked by overall goal difference.

Group F

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification GUA JEO URA MUA
1   Guangzhou Evergrande 6 3 2 1 14 5 +9 11 Advance to knockout stage 0–0 3–0 4–0
2   Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 6 2 4 0 10 6 +4 10 1–1 2–2 2–0
3   Urawa Red Diamonds 6 3 1 2 11 11 0 10 3–2 1–3 4–1
4   Muangthong United 6 0 1 5 4 17 −13 1 1–4 2–2 0–1
Source: [citation needed]
Tiebreakers
  • Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors are ranked ahead of Urawa Red Diamonds on head-to-head record.

Group G

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification BUN BEI POH HIR
1   Bunyodkor 6 2 4 0 6 3 +3 10 Advance to knockout stage 0–0 2–2 0–0
2   Beijing Guoan 6 2 3 1 4 2 +2 9 0–1 2–0 2–1
3   Pohang Steelers 6 1 4 1 5 6 −1 7 1–1 0–0 1–1
4   Sanfrecce Hiroshima 6 0 3 3 2 6 −4 3 0–2 0–0 0–1
Source: [citation needed]

Group H

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification KSW CCM GUI SUW
1   Kashiwa Reysol 6 4 2 0 14 4 +10 14 Advance to knockout stage 3–1 1–1 0–0
2   Central Coast Mariners 6 2 1 3 5 9 −4 7 0–3 2–1 0–0
3   Guizhou Renhe 6 1 3 2 6 7 −1 6 0–1 2–1 2–2
4   Suwon Samsung Bluewings 6 0 4 2 4 9 −5 4 2–6 0–1 0–0
Source: [citation needed]

Knockout stage

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In the knock-out stage, the 16 teams played a single-elimination tournament. Each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. The away goals rule, extra time (away goals do not apply in extra time) and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary.[2]

Bracket

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Round of 16 Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
                
  El Jaish 1 0 1
  Al-Ahli 1 2 3
  Al-Ahli 1 0 1
  FC Seoul 1 1 2
  Beijing Guoan 0 1 1
  FC Seoul 0 3 3
  FC Seoul 2 2 4
  Esteghlal 0 2 2
  Al-Shabab Al-Arabi 2 0 2
  Esteghlal 4 0 4
  Esteghlal 1 2 3
  Buriram United 0 1 1
  Buriram United 2 0 2
  Bunyodkor 1 0 1
  FC Seoul 2 1 3
  Guangzhou Evergrande (a) 2 1 3
  Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 0 2 2
  Kashiwa Reysol 2 3 5
  Kashiwa Reysol (a) 1 2 3
  Al-Shabab 1 2 3
  Al-Gharafa 1 0 1
  Al-Shabab 2 3 5
  Kashiwa Reysol 1 0 1
  Guangzhou Evergrande 4 4 8
  Central Coast Mariners 1 0 1
  Guangzhou Evergrande 2 3 5
  Guangzhou Evergrande 2 4 6
  Lekhwiya 0 1 1
  Al-Hilal 0 2 2
  Lekhwiya 1 2 3

Round of 16

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In the round of 16, the winners of one group played the runners-up of another group in the same zone, with the group winners hosting the second leg.[2]

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
West Zone
Al-Gharafa   1–5   Al-Shabab 1–2 0–3
El Jaish   1–3   Al-Ahli 1–1 0–2
Al-Hilal   2–3   Lekhwiya 0–1 2–2
Al-Shabab Al-Arabi   2–4   Esteghlal 2–4 0–0
Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
East Zone
Beijing Guoan   1–3   FC Seoul 0–0 1–3
Buriram United   2−1   Bunyodkor 2–1 0−0
Central Coast Mariners   1–5   Guangzhou Evergrande 1–2 0–3
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors   2–5   Kashiwa Reysol 0–2 2–3

Quarter-finals

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The draw for the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and final (to decide the order of two legs) was held on 20 June 2013.[11] In this draw, teams from different zones could play each other, and the "country protection" rule was applied: if there are exactly two teams from the same association, they may not play each other in the quarter-finals; however, if there are more than two teams from the same association, they may play each other in the quarter-finals.

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Al-Ahli   1–2   FC Seoul 1–1 0–1
Esteghlal   3–1   Buriram United 1–0 2–1
Kashiwa Reysol   3–3 (a)   Al-Shabab 1–1 2–2
Guangzhou Evergrande   6–1   Lekhwiya 2–0 4–1

Semi-finals

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Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
FC Seoul   4–2   Esteghlal 2–0 2–2
Kashiwa Reysol   1–8   Guangzhou Evergrande 1–4 0–4

Final

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FC Seoul  2–2  Guangzhou Evergrande
Escudero   11'
Damjanović   83'
Report Elkeson   30'
Gao Lin   58'
Guangzhou Evergrande  1–1  FC Seoul
Elkeson   58' Report Damjanović   63'
Attendance: 55,847

3–3 on aggregate. Guangzhou Evergrande won on away goals.

Awards

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Award Player Team
Most Valuable Player[12]   Muriqui   Guangzhou Evergrande
Top Goalscorer[13]   Muriqui   Guangzhou Evergrande
AFC Champions League 2013 Dream Team[14]
Starting XI
Pos. Player Team
GK   Kim Yong-Dae   FC Seoul
DF   Zhang Linpeng   Guangzhou Evergrande
DF   Hanif Omranzadeh   Esteghlal
DF   Daisuke Suzuki   Kashiwa Reysol
DF   Sun Xiang   Guangzhou Evergrande
MF   Zheng Zhi   Guangzhou Evergrande
MF   Darío Conca   Guangzhou Evergrande
MF   Javad Nekounam   Esteghlal
FW   Muriqui   Guangzhou Evergrande
FW   Dejan Damjanović   FC Seoul
FW   Elkeson   Guangzhou Evergrande
Substitutes
GK   Takanori Sugeno   Kashiwa Reysol
DF   Kwak Tae-Hwi   Al-Shabab
DF   Theeraton Bunmathan   Buriram United
DF   Kim Jin-Kyu   FC Seoul
MF   Ha Dae-Sung   FC Seoul
MF   Jorge Wagner   Kashiwa Reysol
FW   Masato Kudo   Kashiwa Reysol

Top scorers

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Rank Player Team MD1 MD2 MD3 MD4 MD5 MD6 2R1 2R2 QF1 QF2 SF1 SF2 F1 F2 Total
1   Muriqui   Guangzhou Evergrande 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 2 2 13
2   Darío Conca   Guangzhou Evergrande 2 1 1 1 2 1 8
3   Dejan Damjanović   FC Seoul 2 1 1 1 1 1 7
  Wagner Ribeiro   El Jaish 2 2 3 7
5   Elkeson   Guangzhou Evergrande 1 2 1 1 1 6
  Masato Kudo   Kashiwa Reysol 2 1 1 1 1 6
7   Mustafa Al-Bassas   Al-Ahli 1 2 1 4
  Amad Al Hosni   Al-Ahli 2 1 1 4
  Djibril Cissé   Al-Gharafa 2 1 1 4
  Edgar   Al-Shabab Al-Arabi 1 1 1 1 4
  Youssef Msakni   Lekhwiya 1 1 1 1 4
  Sebastián Soria   Lekhwiya 1 2 1 4
  Sebastián Tagliabué   Al-Shabab 1 1 2 4
  Yun Il-Lok   FC Seoul 2 1 1 4

Note: Goals scored in qualifying play-off not counted.[15]

Source:[16][17]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Guangzhou win 2013 AFC Champions League". AFC. 9 November 2013. Archived from the original on 9 November 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  2. ^ a b c d e "AFC Champions League 2013 Competition Regulations" (PDF). AFC. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 March 2013.
  3. ^ "Decision by Competitions Committee & Executive Committee for AFC Club Competitions" (PDF). AFC.
  4. ^ "New direction for AFC club action". AFC. 17 July 2012.
  5. ^ a b "Solidarity marks AFC ExCo meeting". AFC. 29 November 2012.
  6. ^ "ACL 2013 Slot Allocation" (PDF). AFC. 4 December 2012.
  7. ^ "AFC Calendar of Competitions 2013" (PDF). AFC.
  8. ^ "Maldives to host 2014 AFC Challenge Cup". AFC. 28 November 2012.
  9. ^ a b "ACL 2013 – Group Stage Draw". AFC. 6 December 2012.
  10. ^ "AFC confirm play-off date". Football Federation Australia. 19 December 2012. Archived from the original on 21 January 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2012.
  11. ^ "Al Ahli renew Korean acquaintances in quarter-finals". AFC. 20 June 2013.
  12. ^ "Triple delight for Muriqui". AFC. 10 November 2013. Archived from the original on 9 November 2013.
  13. ^ "Triple delight for Yanto Basna". AFC. 10 November 2013. Archived from the original on 9 November 2013.
  14. ^ "AFC Champions League 2013 Dream Team". AFC Champions League (Official) Facebook Page. 15 November 2013.
  15. ^ "Top Goal Scorers (by Stage) – 2013 AFC Champions League Play-off". AFC.com.
  16. ^ "Top Goal Scorers (by Stage) – 2013 AFC Champions League Group Stage". AFC.com.
  17. ^ "Top Goal Scorers (by Stage) – 2013 AFC Champions League Knock-out Stage". AFC.com.
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