2013 AFC Champions League

2013 AFC Champions League

Tournament details
Dates	9 February – 9 November 2013
Teams	35 (from 10 associations)
Final positions
Champions	Guangzhou Evergrande (1st title)
Runners-up	FC Seoul
Tournament statistics
Matches played	129
Goals scored	349 (2.71 per match)
Attendance	2,021,025 (15,667 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Muriqui (13 goals)
Best player	Muriqui

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. As in previous years, Nike provided the official ball for all matches with a new Nike Maxim model used throughout the season.

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 qualified for the 2013 FIFA Club World Cup.^[2]

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.^[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

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.

Schedule

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[8]	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[9]	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

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.^[10]

Qualifying play-off

The draw for the qualifying play-off was held on 6 December 2012.^[11] 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 Asia Zone
Saba Qom	1–1 (aet)(3–5p)	Al-Shabab Al-Arabi
Al-Nasr	3–2	Lokomotiv Tashkent
East Asia Zone
Buriram United	0–0 (a.e.t.) (3–0p)[B]	Brisbane Roar

Notes

Group stage

The draw for the group stage was held on 6 December 2012.^[11] 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

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Al-Shabab 6 4 1 1 7 5 +2 13 El Jaish 6 3 2 1 14 9 +5 11 Al-Jazira 6 1 2 3 7 10 −3 5 Tractor Sazi 6 1 1 4 8 12 −4 4

JAZ SHB JSH TRA Al-Jazira — 1–1 1−1 2–0 Al-Shabab 2–1 — 2–0 1–0 El Jaish 3–1 3–0 — 3–3 Tractor Sazi 3–1 0−1 2–4 —

Group B

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Lekhwiya 6 3 2 1 10 7 +3 11 Al-Shabab Al-Arabi 6 3 0 3 8 9 −1 9 Al-Ettifaq 6 2 1 3 6 5 +1 7 Pakhtakor 6 2 1 3 6 9 −3 7

ETT SHA LEK PAK Al-Ettifaq — 4–1 0–0 2–0 Al-Shabab Al-Arabi 1−0 — 3–1 0–1 Lekhwiya 2−0 2–1 — 3−1 Pakhtakor 1–0 1−2 2–2 —

Tiebreakers

• Al-Ettifaq are ranked ahead of Pakhtakor on head-to-head record.

Group C

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Al-Ahli 6 4 2 0 16 8 +8 14 Al-Gharafa 6 3 1 2 13 11 +2 10 Sepahan 6 3 0 3 12 13 −1 9 Al-Nasr 6 0 1 5 7 16 −9 1

AHL GHA NAS SEP Al-Ahli — 2–0 2−2 4−1 Al-Gharafa 2–2 — 3−1 3–1 Al-Nasr 1–2 2–4 — 1–2 Sepahan 2–4 3–1 3–0 —

Group D

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Esteghlal 6 4 1 1 11 5 +6 13 Al-Hilal 6 4 0 2 10 6 +4 12 Al-Ain 6 2 0 4 6 9 −3 6 Al-Rayyan 6 1 1 4 7 14 −7 4

AIN HIL RAY EST Al-Ain — 3–1 2–1 0–1 Al-Hilal 2–0 — 3–1 1–2 Al-Rayyan 2–1 0–2 — 3–3 Esteghlal 2–0 0–1 3–0 —

Group E

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts FC Seoul 6 3 2 1 11 5 +6 11 Buriram United 6 1 4 1 6 6 0 7 Jiangsu Sainty 6 2 1 3 5 10 −5 7 Vegalta Sendai 6 1 3 2 5 6 −1 6

BUR SEO JIA SEN Buriram United — 0–0 2–0 1–1 FC Seoul 2–2 — 5–1 2–1 Jiangsu Sainty 2–0 0–2 — 0–0 Vegalta Sendai 1–1 1–0 1–2 —

Tiebreakers

• Buriram United and Jiangsu Sainty are tied on head-to-head record, and so are ranked by overall goal difference.

Group F

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Guangzhou Evergrande 6 3 2 1 14 5 +9 11 Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 6 2 4 0 10 6 +4 10 Urawa Red Diamonds 6 3 1 2 11 11 0 10 Muangthong United 6 0 1 5 4 17 −13 1

GUA JEO MUA URA Guangzhou Evergrande — 0–0 4–0 3–0 Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 1–1 — 2–0 2–2 Muangthong United 1–4 2–2 — 0–1 Urawa Red Diamonds 3–2 1–3 4–1 —

Tiebreakers

• Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors are ranked ahead of Urawa Red Diamonds on head-to-head record.

Group G

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Bunyodkor 6 2 4 0 6 3 +3 10 Beijing Guoan 6 2 3 1 4 2 +2 9 Pohang Steelers 6 1 4 1 5 6 −1 7 Sanfrecce Hiroshima 6 0 3 3 2 6 −4 3

BEI BUN POH HIR Beijing Guoan — 0–1 2–0 2–1 Bunyodkor 0–0 — 2–2 0–0 Pohang Steelers 0–0 1–1 — 1–1 Sanfrecce Hiroshima 0–0 0–2 0–1 —

Group H

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Kashiwa Reysol 6 4 2 0 14 4 +10 14 Central Coast Mariners 6 2 1 3 5 9 −4 7 Guizhou Renhe 6 1 3 2 6 7 −1 6 Suwon Samsung Bluewings 6 0 4 2 4 9 −5 4

CCM GUI KSW SUW Central Coast Mariners — 2–1 0–3 0–0 Guizhou Renhe 2–1 — 0–1 2–2 Kashiwa Reysol 3–1 1–1 — 0–0 Suwon Samsung Bluewings 0–1 0–0 2–6 —

Knock-out 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.^[2]

Bracket

	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

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.	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
West Asia 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
East Asia 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

The draw for the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and final (to decide the order of two legs) was held on 20 June 2013.^[13] 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.	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

Team 1	Agg.	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

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

Winners

AFC Champions League 2013 Winners
Guangzhou Evergrande First Title

Awards

Award	Player	Team
Most Valuable Player[14]	Muriqui	Guangzhou Evergrande
Top Goalscorer[14]	Muriqui	Guangzhou Evergrande
Fair Play Award	—	FC Seoul

AFC Champions League 2013 Dream Team^[15]

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

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.^[16]

Source:^[17][18]

See also

• 2013 AFC Cup
• 2013 AFC President's Cup
• 2013 FIFA Club World Cup

References

External links

• AFC Champions League