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.
In the final, Chinese team Guangzhou Evergrande defeated South Korean team FC Seoul on away goals to win their first title, 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 a Chinese team after Dalian Shide lost to Pohang Steelers in the final of the 1997–98 Asian Club Championship), and qualified for the 2013 FIFA Club World Cup.
Allocation of entries per association 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.
The following criteria for participation in the AFC Champions League were proposed by the AFC in July 2012: 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. However, this final allocation of slots did not fully follow the proposal above.
Evaluation for 2013 AFC Champions LeagueFulfills criteria (> 600 points)Does not fulfill criteria, but allocated slotsDoes not fulfill criteria, not allocated slots
+West ZoneRankMemberAssociationPointsSlotsGroup stagePlay-off1 Saudi Arabia860.5402 Qatar838.2403 Iran813.5314 United Arab Emirates750.2225 Uzbekistan680.8216 India−106.4007 Jordan−128.700Total144
+East ZoneRankMemberAssociationPointsSlotsGroup stagePlay-off1 Japan946.8402 South Korea886.6403 China PR796.7404 Australia567.0115 Thailand177.2116 Singapore−135.1007 Vietnam−815.700Total152
Notes
Teams 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.
+West ZoneTeamQualifying methodAppLast AppGroup stage direct entrants (Groups A–D) Al-Shabab2011–12 Saudi Professional League champions7th2011 Al-Ahli2012 King Cup of Champions winners2011–12 Saudi Professional League runners-up6th2012 Al-Hilal2011–12 Saudi Professional League 3rd place9th2012 Al-Ettifaq2011–12 Saudi Professional League 4th place3rd2012 Lekhwiya2011–12 Qatar Stars League champions2nd2012 Al-Gharafa2012 Emir of Qatar Cup winners8th2012 El Jaish2011–12 Qatar Stars League runners-up1stnone Al-Rayyan2011–12 Qatar Stars League 3rd place5th2012 Sepahan2011–12 Iran Pro League champions super cup Iran 2012 9th2012 Esteghlal2011–12 Hazfi Cup winners2011–12 Iran Pro League 3rd place super cup Iran 2012 6th2012 Tractor2011–12 Iran Pro League runners-up1stnone Al-Ain2011–12 UAE Pro-League champions8th2011 Al-Jazira2011–12 UAE President's Cup winners5th2012 Pakhtakor2012 Uzbek League champions11th2012Qualifying play-off participants Saba Qom2011–12 Iran Pro League 4th place3rd2009 Al-Nasr2011–12 UAE Pro-League runners-up2nd2012 Al-Shabab Al-Arabi2011–12 UAE Pro-League 3rd place3rd2012 Lokomotiv Tashkent2012 Uzbek League 3rd place1stnone
+East ZoneTeamQualifying methodAppLast AppGroup stage direct entrants (Groups E–H) Sanfrecce Hiroshima2012 J. League Division 1 champions2nd2010 Kashiwa Reysol2012 Emperor's Cup winners2nd2012 Vegalta Sendai2012 J. League Division 1 runners-up1stnone Urawa Red Diamonds2012 J. League Division 1 3rd place3rd2008 FC Seoul2012 K-League champions3rd2011 Pohang Steelers2012 Korean FA Cup winners2012 K-League 3rd place5th2012 Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors2012 K-League runners-up7th2012 Suwon Samsung Bluewings2012 K-League 4th place5th2011 Guangzhou Evergrande2012 Chinese Super League champions2012 Chinese FA Cup winners2nd2012 Jiangsu Sainty2012 Chinese Super League runners-up1stnone Beijing Guoan2012 Chinese Super League 3rd place5th2012 Guizhou Renhe2012 Chinese Super League 4th place1stnone Bunyodkor2012 Uzbekistan Cup winners2012 Uzbek League runners-up6th2012 Central Coast Mariners2011–12 A-League premiers3rd2012 Muangthong United2012 Thai Premier League champions3rd2011Qualifying play-off participants Brisbane Roar2012 A-League Grand Final winners2nd2012 Buriram United2012 Thai FA Cup winners3rd2012
Schedule The schedule of the competition was as follows (all draws held at AFC headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia).
PhaseRoundDraw dateFirst legSecond legQualifying play-offRound 16 December 20129 February 2013Group stageMatchday 126–27 February 2013Matchday 212–13 March 2013Matchday 32–3 April 2013Matchday 49–10 April 2013Matchday 523–24 April 2013Matchday 630 April–1 May 2013Knock-out stageRound of 1614–15 May 201321–22 May 2013Quarter-finals20 June 201321 August 201318 September 2013Semi-finals25 September 20132 October 2013Final25 or 26 October 20138 or 9 November 2013
Format changes 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. The final was played over two legs on a home-and-away basis instead of as a single match.
Qualifying play-off
The draw for the qualifying play-off was held on 6 December 2012. 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.
!colspan=3|West Zone
!colspan=3|East Zone
Notes
Group stage
The draw for the group stage was held on 6 December 2012. 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: Greater number of points obtained in the group matches between the teams concerned Goal difference resulting from the group matches between the teams concerned Greater number of goals scored in the group matches between the teams concerned (away goals do not apply) Goal difference in all the group matches Greater number of goals scored in all the group matches Penalty shoot-out if only two teams are involved and they are both on the field of play 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) Drawing of lots
Group A
Group B
Tiebreakers Al-Ettifaq are ranked ahead of Pakhtakor on head-to-head record.
Group C
Group D
Group E
Tiebreakers Buriram United and Jiangsu Sainty are tied on head-to-head record, and so are ranked by overall goal difference.
Group F
Tiebreakers Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors are ranked ahead of Urawa Red Diamonds on head-to-head record.
Group G
Group H
Knockout stage
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.
Bracket
Round of 16 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.
Quarter-finals The draw for the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and final (to decide the order of two legs) was held on 20 June 2013. 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.
Semi-finals
Final
Awards AwardPlayerTeamMost Valuable Player Muriqui Guangzhou EvergrandeTop Goalscorer Muriqui Guangzhou Evergrande
+AFC Champions League 2013 Dream TeamStarting XIPos.PlayerTeamGK Kim Yong-Dae FC SeoulDF Zhang Linpeng Guangzhou EvergrandeDF Hanif Omranzadeh EsteghlalDF Daisuke Suzuki Kashiwa ReysolDF Sun Xiang Guangzhou EvergrandeMF Zheng Zhi Guangzhou EvergrandeMF Darío Conca Guangzhou EvergrandeMF Javad Nekounam EsteghlalFW Muriqui Guangzhou EvergrandeFW Dejan Damjanović FC SeoulFW Elkeson Guangzhou EvergrandeSubstitutesGK Takanori Sugeno Kashiwa ReysolDF Kwak Tae-Hwi Al-ShababDF Theeraton Bunmathan Buriram UnitedDF Kim Jin-Kyu FC SeoulMF Ha Dae-Sung FC SeoulMF Jorge Wagner Kashiwa ReysolFW Masato Kudo Kashiwa Reysol
Top scorers RankPlayerTeamTotal1 Muriqui Guangzhou Evergrande11121 11 122 132 Darío Conca Guangzhou Evergrande 2 11121 83 Dejan Damjanović FC Seoul2 111 117 Wagner Ribeiro El Jaish 22 3 75 Elkeson Guangzhou Evergrande 12 1116 Masato Kudo Kashiwa Reysol 2 1111 67 Mustafa Al-Bassas Al-Ahli1 2 1 4 Amad Al Hosni Al-Ahli 21 1 4 Djibril Cissé Al-Gharafa 21 1 4 Edgar Al-Shabab Al-Arabi1 11 1 4 Youssef Msakni Lekhwiya1 11 1 4 Sebastián Soria Lekhwiya1 21 4 Sebastián Tagliabué Al-Shabab 1 12 4 Yun Il-Lok FC Seoul2 1 1 4
See also 2013 AFC Cup 2013 AFC President's Cup 2013 FIFA Club World Cup
References
External links