2020 AFC Champions League

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2020 AFC Champions League
File:AFC Champions League Final 2020, 19 December 2020, Persepolis vs Ulsan Hyundai (1-2) (74).jpg
The Ulsan Hyundai team holds the AFC Champions League trophy
Tournament details
Dates Qualifying:
14–28 January 2020
Competition proper:
10 February – 19 December 2020
Teams Competition proper: 32
Total: 52 (from 23 associations)
Final positions
Champions South Korea Ulsan Hyundai (2nd title)
Runners-up Iran Persepolis
Tournament statistics
Matches played 93
Goals scored 236 (2.54 per match)
Attendance 182,388 (1,961 per match)
Top scorer(s) Morocco Abderrazak Hamdallah
Brazil Júnior Negrão
(7 goals each)[1]
Best player South Korea Yoon Bit-garam[2]
Fair play award South Korea Ulsan Hyundai
2019
2021
(Note: All statistics do not include qualifying play-offs and matches voided by AFC)

The 2020 AFC Champions League was the 39th edition of Asia's premier club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 18th under the current AFC Champions League title.[3]

Ulsan Hyundai won their second Champions League title by defeating Persepolis 2–1 in the final.[4] Ulsan automatically qualify for the 2021 AFC Champions League (although they had already qualified through their domestic performance), the first time since 2008 that the AFC Champions League holders were guaranteed automatic qualification in the following year.[5][6] They also earned the right to play in the 2020 FIFA Club World Cup in Qatar.

The tournament was the last to involve 32 teams during the group stage, which increased to 40 teams in 2021.[7]

The competition was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Asia after group stage matches on 4 March 2020,[8] and restarted on 14 September 2020.[9] All matches after the restart were played in Qatar,[10][11][12] with the final played at the Al Janoub Stadium.

Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia were the defending champions, but the club effectively withdrew from the competition when they could not name the required 13 players for their final group stage match, as all but 11 players had tested positive for COVID-19.[13][14] For the first time, the video assistant referee (VAR) system was in use from the quarter-finals onwards.[15]

Association team allocation

The 46 AFC member associations (excluding the associate member Northern Mariana Islands) were ranked based on their national team's and clubs' performance over the last four years in AFC competitions, with the allocation of slots for the 2019 and 2020 editions of the AFC club competitions determined by the 2017 AFC rankings (Entry Manual Article 2.3):[16]

  • The associations were split into two regions:
  • In each region, there were four groups in the group stage, including a total of 12 direct slots, with the 4 remaining slots filled through play-offs.
  • The top 12 associations in each region as per the AFC rankings were eligible to enter the AFC Champions League, as long as they fulfilled the AFC Champions League criteria.
  • The top six associations in each region got at least one direct slot in the group stage, while the remaining associations got only play-off slots (as well as AFC Cup group stage slots):
    • The associations ranked 1st and 2nd each got three direct slots and one play-off slot.
    • The associations ranked 3rd and 4th each got two direct slots and two play-off slots.
    • The associations ranked 5th each got one direct slot and two play-off slots.
    • The associations ranked 6th each got one direct slot and one play-off slot.
    • The associations ranked 7th to 12th each got one play-off slot.
  • The maximum number of slots for each association was one-third of the total number of eligible teams in the top division.
  • If any association gave up its direct slots, they were redistributed to the highest eligible association, with each association limited to a maximum of three direct slots.
  • If any association gave up its play-off slots, they were annulled and not redistributed to any other association.

Association ranking

For the 2020 AFC Champions League, the associations were allocated slots according to their association ranking which was published on 15 December 2017,[17] which took into account their performance in the AFC Champions League and the AFC Cup, as well as their national team's FIFA World Rankings, during the period between 2014 and 2017.[16][18]

Participation for 2020 AFC Champions League
Participating
Not participating
Notes
  1. ^ Australia (AUS): The top division run by the Football Federation Australia, the A-League, only had nine Australia-based teams in the 2018–19 season, so Australia could only get a maximum of three total slots (Entry Manual 5.4).[16]
  2. ^ Syria (SYR): Syria did not have any teams which had an AFC Champions League license.[19]

Teams

The following 52 teams from 23 associations 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.

Notes
  1. ^ Title holders (TH): Al-Hilal were the title holders.
  2. ^ Singapore (SIN): DPMM, the 2019 Singapore Premier League champions, were a team from Brunei and thus ineligible to represent Singapore in AFC club competitions. As a result, Tampines Rovers, the league runners-up, entered the qualifying play-offs.
  3. ^ Vietnam (VIE): Hà Nội, the 2019 V.League 1 champions, failed to obtain an AFC license as their U15 team did not participate in Vietnam National U-15 Youth League.[20] As a result, Ho Chi Minh City, the league runners-up, entered the qualifying play-offs.
2020 AFC Champions League is located in Asian Football Confederation
DSA Metropolitan
DSA Metropolitan
Riyadh
Riyadh
Qatar
Qatar
Tehran
Tehran
Tashkent
Tashkent
Baghdad
Baghdad
Seoul Capital Area
Seoul Capital Area
Shanghai
Shanghai
West Kanto
West Kanto
JDT
Baghdad teams  Al-Shorta  Al-Zawraa  Tehran teams  Persepolis  Esteghlal  Qatar teams  Al-Sadd  Al-Duhail  Al-Sailiya  Al-Rayyan
Riyadh teams  Al-Nassr  Al-Hilal  DSA Metropolitan teams  Sharjah  Shabab Al-Ahli  Tashkent teams  Pakhtakor Tashkent  Lokomotiv Tashkent  Bunyodkor
Riyadh teams

Yellow pog.svg Al-Nassr
Red pog.svg Al-Hilal

DSA Metropolitan teams
Orange pog.svg Sharjah
Red pog.svg Shabab Al-Ahli

Tashkent teams
Red pog.svg Pakhtakor Tashkent
White pog.svg Lokomotiv Tashkent

White pog.svg Bunyodkor
Shanghai teams  Shanghai Shenhua  Shanghai SIPG  West Kanto teams  Yokohama F. Marinos  FC Tokyo  Seoul Capital Area teams  Suwon Samsung Bluewings  FC Seoul
Shanghai teams

Blue pog.svg Shanghai Shenhua
Pink pog.svg Shanghai SIPG

West Kanto teams
Pink pog.svg Yokohama F. Marinos
Blue pog.svg FC Tokyo

Seoul Capital Area teams
Purple pog.svg Suwon Samsung Bluewings

Green pog.svg FC Seoul
Location of teams of the 2020 AFC Champions League group stage.
Brown pog.svg Brown: Group A; Red pog.svg Red: Group B; Orange pog.svg Orange: Group C; Yellow pog.svg Yellow: Group D;
Green pog.svg Green: Group E; Blue pog.svg Blue: Group F; Purple pog.svg Purple: Group G; Pink pog.svg Pink: Group H; White pog.svg Qualifying play-offs

Schedule

The schedule of the competition was as follows.[21] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, only some of the group stage matches on matchdays 1–3 in February and March were played as scheduled, and all matches on matchdays 4–6 were postponed until further notice.[8] The round of 16, quarter-finals and semi-finals were also initially moved to 10–12 and 24–26 August, 14–16 and 28–30 September, and 20–21 and 27–28 October.[22][23]

The AFC announced the calendar of the remaining matches on 9 July 2020, with all matches before the final played at centralised venues, and all knockout ties played as a single match.[9] On 10 September 2020, the AFC announced the new dates for the East Region matches and the final.[24]

Notes:

  • W: West Region
  • E: East Region
  • Italics: new dates after restart
Stage Round Draw date Match dates
Preliminary stage Preliminary round 1 No draw 14 January 2020
Preliminary round 2 21 January 2020
Play-off stage Play-off round 28 January 2020
Group stage Matchday 1 10 December 2019 10–12 February 2020, 18–19 November 2020 (E)
Matchday 2 17–19 February 2020, 21–22 November 2020 (E)
Matchday 3 3–4 March 2020 (E), 14–15 September 2020 (W), 24–25 November 2020 (E)
Matchday 4 17–18 September 2020 (W), 27–28 November 2020 (E)
Matchday 5 20–21 September 2020 (W), 30 November – 1 December 2020 (E)
Matchday 6 23–24 September 2020 (W), 3–4 December 2020 (E)
Knockout stage Round of 16 26–27 September 2020 (W), 6–7 December 2020 (E)
Quarter-finals 28 September 2020 (W)
8 December 2020 (E)
30 September 2020 (W), 10 December 2020 (E)
Semi-finals 3 October 2020 (W), 13 December 2020 (E)
Final 19 December 2020

The original schedule of the competition, as planned before the pandemic, was as follows.

Original schedule for 2020 AFC Champions League
Stage Round Draw date First leg Second leg
Preliminary stage Preliminary round 1 No draw 14 January 2020
Preliminary round 2 21 January 2020
Play-off stage Play-off round 28 January 2020
Group stage Matchday 1 10 December 2019 10–12 February 2020
Matchday 2 17–19 February 2020
Matchday 3 2–4 March 2020
Matchday 4 6–8 April 2020
Matchday 5 20–22 April 2020
Matchday 6 4–6 May 2020
Knockout stage Round of 16 18–19 May 2020 (W),
26–27 May 2019 (E)
25–26 May 2020 (W),
16–17 June 2020 (E)
Quarter-finals TBD 24–26 August 2020 14–16 September 2020
Semi-finals 29–30 September 2020 20–21 October 2020
Final 22 November 2020 28 November 2020

Qualifying play-offs

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In the qualifying play-offs, each tie was played as a single match. Extra time and a penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary (Regulations Article 9.2).[3] The bracket of the qualifying play-offs for each region was determined based on the association ranking of each team, with the team from the higher-ranked association hosting the match.[25] Teams from the same association could not be placed into the same tie. The eight winners of the play-off round (four each from both West Region and East Region) advanced to the group stage to join the 24 direct entrants. All losers in each round from associations with only play-off slots entered the AFC Cup group stage.

Preliminary round 1

Team 1  Score  Team 2
West Region
Chennai City India 0–1 Bahrain Al-Riffa
Al-Faisaly Jordan 1–2 (a.e.t.) Kuwait Al-Kuwait
Team 1  Score  Team 2
East Region
Ceres–Negros Philippines 3–2 Myanmar Shan United
Tampines Rovers Singapore 3–5 (a.e.t.) Indonesia Bali United

Preliminary round 2

Team 1  Score  Team 2
West Region
Bunyodkor Uzbekistan 4–1 Iraq Al-Zawraa
Lokomotiv Tashkent Uzbekistan 0–1 Tajikistan Istiklol
Shahr Khodro Iran 2–1 Bahrain Al-Riffa
Esteghlal Iran 3–0 Kuwait Al-Kuwait
Team 1  Score  Team 2
East Region
Kedah Malaysia 5–1 Hong Kong Tai Po
Buriram United Thailand 2–1 Vietnam Ho Chi Minh City
Port Thailand 0–1 Philippines Ceres–Negros
Melbourne Victory Australia 5–0 Indonesia Bali United

Play-off round

Team 1  Score  Team 2
West Region
Al-Ain United Arab Emirates 1–0 Uzbekistan Bunyodkor
Al-Ahli Saudi Arabia 1–0 Tajikistan Istiklol
Al-Sailiya Qatar 0–0 (a.e.t.)
(4–5 p)
Iran Shahr Khodro
Al-Rayyan Qatar 0–5 Iran Esteghlal
Team 1  Score  Team 2
East Region
FC Seoul South Korea 4–1 Malaysia Kedah
Shanghai SIPG China 3–0 Thailand Buriram United
FC Tokyo Japan 2–0 Philippines Ceres–Negros
Kashima Antlers Japan 0–1 Australia Melbourne Victory

Group stage

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2020 AFC Champions League group stage 2020 AFC Champions League group stage

Group A

Template:2020 AFC Champions League group tables

Group B

Template:2020 AFC Champions League group tables

Group C

Template:2020 AFC Champions League group tables

Group D

Template:2020 AFC Champions League group tables

Group E

Template:2020 AFC Champions League group tables

Group F

Template:2020 AFC Champions League group tables

Group G

Template:2020 AFC Champions League group tables

Group H

Template:2020 AFC Champions League group tables

Knockout stage

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2020 AFC Champions League knockout stage

Bracket

2020 AFC Champions League knockout stage

Round of 16

2020 AFC Champions League knockout stage

Quarter-finals

2020 AFC Champions League knockout stage

Semi-finals

2020 AFC Champions League knockout stage

Final

2020 AFC Champions League knockout stage

Awards

Main awards

Award Player Team
Most Valuable Player[2] South Korea Yoon Bit-garam South Korea Ulsan Hyundai
Top Scorer[1] Morocco Abderrazak Hamdallah Saudi Arabia Al-Nassr
Fair Play Award South Korea Ulsan Hyundai

Note: Abderrazak Hamdallah finished ahead of Júnior Negrão to win the Top Scorer award despite scoring the same number of goals, and also having the same number of assists (first tiebreaker), since he played fewer minutes throughout the competition (second tiebreaker).[1]

All Star Squad

Source:[26]

Position Player Team
Goalkeeper South Korea Jo Su-huk South Korea Ulsan Hyundai
Iran Hamed Lak Iran Persepolis
Defenders Netherlands Dave Bulthuis South Korea Ulsan Hyundai
Iran Saeid Aghaei Iran Persepolis
Iran Hossein Kanaanizadegan Iran Persepolis
Saudi Arabia Sultan Al-Ghanam Saudi Arabia Al-Nassr
Uzbekistan Anzur Ismailov Uzbekistan Pakhtakor Tashkent
Midfielders Iran Ahmad Nourollahi Iran Persepolis
Iran Siamak Nemati Iran Persepolis
Iraq Bashar Resan Iran Persepolis
Brazil Renato Augusto China Beijing Guoan
South Korea Yoon Bit-garam South Korea Ulsan Hyundai
South Korea Kim In-sung South Korea Ulsan Hyundai
South Korea Sin Jin-ho South Korea Ulsan Hyundai
South Korea Ko Seung-beom South Korea Suwon Samsung Bluewings
Japan Hotaru Yamaguchi Japan Vissel Kobe
Forwards Iran Mehdi Abdi Iran Persepolis
Syria Omar Al Somah Saudi Arabia Al-Ahli
Brazil Douglas Japan Vissel Kobe
Japan Gotoku Sakai Japan Vissel Kobe
Morocco Abderazak Hamdallah Saudi Arabia Al-Nassr
Norway Bjørn Maars Johnsen South Korea Ulsan Hyundai
Brazil Júnior Negrão South Korea Ulsan Hyundai

Opta Best XI

Source:[27]

Position Player Team
Goalkeeper Australia Brad Jones Saudi Arabia Al-Nassr
Defenders China Wang Gang China Beijing Guoan
China Yu Yang China Beijing Guoan
South Korea Min Sang-gi South Korea Suwon Samsung Bluewings
Thailand Theerathon Bunmathan Japan Yokohama F. Marinos
Midfielders South Korea Yoon Bit-garam South Korea Ulsan Hyundai
Japan Teruhito Nakagawa Japan Yokohama F. Marinos
Spain Jonathan Viera China Beijing Guoan
Forwards Japan Ado Onaiwu Japan Yokohama F. Marinos
Morocco Abderrazak Hamdallah Saudi Arabia Al-Nassr
Brazil Alan China Beijing Guoan

Fans' awards

The AFC took polls of fans in its website after the tournament.

Single awards
Award Player Team
Fans' Best Player Iran Hamed Lak Iran Persepolis
Best Goal Iran Mehdi Abdi Iran Persepolis
Fans' Best XI[28]
Position Player Team
Goalkeeper Iran Hamed Lak Iran Persepolis
Defenders Saudi Arabia Sultan Al-Ghanam Saudi Arabia Al-Nassr
Iran Shojae Khalilzadeh Iran Persepolis
Iran Hossein Kanaanizadegan Iran Persepolis
Iran Saeid Aghaei Iran Persepolis
Midfielders Japan Teruhito Nakagawa Japan Yokohama F. Marinos
Iraq Bashar Resan Iran Persepolis
Japan Takuya Kida Japan Yokohama F. Marinos
Forwards Morocco Abderrazak Hamdallah Saudi Arabia Al-Nassr
Brazil Júnior Negrão South Korea Ulsan Hyundai
Iran Mehdi Abdi Iran Persepolis

Statistics

Statistical leaders

Category[29] Player Team Figure
Goals Morocco Abderrazak Hamdallah Saudi Arabia Al-Nassr 7
Brazil Júnior Negrão South Korea Ulsan Hyundai 7
Chances created South Korea Yoon Bit-garam South Korea Ulsan Hyundai 22
Clearances Brazil Maicon Pereira Roque Saudi Arabia Al-Nassr 34
Duels won Serbia Dragan Ćeran Uzbekistan Pakhtakor Tashkent 54
Shooting accuracy Algeria Baghdad Bounedjah Qatar Al-Sadd 61.1%
Passing accuracy Iran Kamal Kamyabinia Iran Persepolis 91.6%
Saves South Korea Jo Su-huk South Korea Ulsan Hyundai 26

Top scorers

  Team eliminated / inactive for this round.
  Player is not in the team but team still active for this round.
Rank Player Team MD1 MD2 MD3 MD4 MD5 MD6 R16 QF SF F Total
1 Morocco Abderrazak Hamdallah Saudi Arabia Al-Nassr 1 1 2 1 1 1 7
Brazil Júnior Negrão South Korea Ulsan Hyundai 1 1 2 1 2
3 Australia Trent Buhagiar Australia Sydney FC 1 1 2 1 5
Norway Bjørn Maars Johnsen South Korea Ulsan Hyundai 2 2 1
5 China Alan China Beijing FC 1 1 1 1 4
Iran Issa Alekasir Iran Persepolis 1 1 2
Algeria Baghdad Bounedjah Qatar Al-Sadd 1 2 1
Japan Ado Onaiwu Japan Yokohama F. Marinos 2 1 1
South Korea Yoon Bit-garam South Korea Ulsan Hyundai 2 2
10 Iran Mehdi Abdi Iran Persepolis 1 1 1 3
Qatar Akram Afif Qatar Al-Sadd 1 1 1
Qatar Almoez Ali Qatar Al-Duhail 1 1 1
Qatar Hassan Al-Haydos Qatar Al-Sadd 1 2
South Korea Cho Gue-sung South Korea Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 1 2
Japan Kyogo Furuhashi Japan Vissel Kobe 1 1 1
Colombia Giovanni Moreno China Shanghai Shenhua 1 2
Japan Teruhito Nakagawa Japan Yokohama F. Marinos 2 1
South Korea Park Chu-young South Korea FC Seoul 1 1 1
Brazil Welliton United Arab Emirates Sharjah 3
China Yu Hanchao China Shanghai Shenhua 1 1 1
South Korea Yun Ju-tae South Korea FC Seoul 2 1

Note: Goals scored in the qualifying play-offs and matches voided by AFC are not counted when determining top scorer (Regulations Article 64.4).[3]

Toyota Player of the Week awards

Stage Matchday Player of the Week Team Ref.
Group stage Matchday 1 Japan Keijiro Ogawa Japan Vissel Kobe [30]
Matchday 2 Japan Teruhito Nakagawa Japan Yokohama F. Marinos [31]
China Li Shenglong China Shanghai SIPG [32]
Matchday 3 – East Australia Terry Antonis South Korea Suwon Samsung Bluewings [33]
South Korea Song Bum-keun South Korea Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors [34]
Matchday 3 – West Morocco Abderrazak Hamdallah Saudi Arabia Al-Nassr [35]
Matchday 4 – East Brazil Bill Thailand Chiangrai United [36]
Matchday 4 – West United Arab Emirates Khaled Ba Wazir United Arab Emirates Sharjah [37]
Matchday 5 – East Thailand Theerathon Bunmathan Japan Yokohama F. Marinos [38]
Matchday 5 – West Brazil Caio United Arab Emirates Sharjah [39]
Matchday 6 – East Japan Daiki Niwa Japan FC Tokyo [40]
Matchday 6 – West Iran Mehdi Ghayedi Iran Esteghlal [41]
Knockout stage Round of 16 – East South Korea Kim Tae-hwan South Korea Suwon Samsung Bluewings [42]
Round of 16 – West Iran Issa Alekasir Iran Persepolis [43]
Quarter-finals – East South Korea Park Sang-hyeok South Korea Suwon Samsung Bluewings [44]
Quarter-finals – West Saudi Arabia Sultan Al-Ghanam Saudi Arabia Al-Nassr [45]
Semi-finals – East Japan Daiya Maekawa Japan Vissel Kobe [46]
Semi-finals – West Iran Shoja' Khalilzadeh Iran Persepolis [47]

See also

References

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External links