2012 AFC Champions League explained

Tourney Name:	AFC Champions League
Year:	2012
Num Teams:	37
Associations:	11
Champion Other:	Ulsan Hyundai
Count:	1
Second Other:	Al-Ahli
Matches:	117
Goals:	338
Top Scorer:	Ricardo Oliveira (12 goals)^[1]
Player:	Lee Keun-ho^[2]
Prevseason:	2011
Nextseason:	2013

The 2012 AFC Champions League was the 31st edition of the top-level Asian club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 10th under the current AFC Champions League title.

Ulsan Hyundai from South Korea won their first title, defeating Al-Ahli from Saudi Arabia with a 3–0 win in the final, and qualified for the 2012 FIFA Club World Cup.^{[3] [4]}

Allocation of entries per association

The AFC approved criteria for participation in the 2011 and 2012 seasons.^[5] The final decision date was set after the Executive Committee meeting in November 2010.^[6]

On 30 November 2009, the AFC announced 12 more MA's that were keen to join the ACL, in addition to ten participating national associations. Singapore later withdrew. The full list of candidate associations were as follows:

East Asia

• Participating: Australia, China PR, Indonesia, Japan, Korea Republic
• Applied to participate: Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand
• Withdrew: Singapore^[7]
• Disqualified: Vietnam^[8]

West Asia

• Participating: Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Uzbekistan
• Applied to participate: India, Iraq, Jordan, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Tajikistan, Yemen

Note: India, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam have clubs taking part in play-offs to qualify for the group stages of ACL in 2010.

Entrants per association

It was originally announced that the allocation for entry to the 2012 ACL would stay the same as the previous three seasons with the exception of Vietnam, who were disqualified, and their previous playoff slot was awarded to Qatar.^[8] However, following the AFC Executive Committee meeting in November 2011, it was decided that the number of slots for each association to be changed based on evaluation of the AFC Champions League criteria that took place in 2011.^[9]

A total of eleven member associations (see below) which participated in the 2011 AFC Champions League was evaluated for participating in the 2012 AFC Champions League.^[10] India, which played in the 2011 ACL play-off, was not evaluated and dropped to the AFC Cup. The other member associations which applied but did not meet the criteria for 2011 ACL was not evaluated at all for 2012.

Evaluation for 2012 ACL
	Meet all items of the criteria
	Meet some items of the criteria
	Do not meet the criteria

+West Asia
Member Association	width=14% rowspan="2"	Clubs	Spots
	width=15%	Group stage	width=15%	Play-off	width=14%	AFC Cup
Qatar	12	4	0	0
Saudi Arabia	14	3	1	0
UAE	12	3	1	0
Uzbekistan	14	3	1	0
Iran	18	2	2	0
Total		14	5	—

+East Asia
Member Association	width=14% rowspan="2"	Clubs	Spots
	width=15%	Group stage	width=15%	Play-off	width=14%	AFC Cup
Japan	18	4	0	0
Korea Republic	15 (16)	3	1	0
China PR	16	3	1	0
Australia	9 (10)	2	1		0
Thailand	18	1	1	0
Indonesia	24	0	1	1
Total		14	5	—

Notes

• One of the group stage direct entrants from Uzbekistan was moved to the East Zone.^[9]
• One of the K-League clubs, Sangju Sangmu Phoenix, is unable to qualify for the ACL because the team is not a commercial entity and their players are not professionally contracted.^[8]
• While the 2010–11 A-League, the season which qualified Australian clubs to the 2012 ACL, had 11 teams, the 2011–12 A-League, the ongoing season, only has 10 teams after North Queensland Fury was closed, and this number was given in the 2012 ACL evaluation report (page 8).^[10] One of the A-League clubs, Wellington Phoenix, is based in New Zealand, an OFC member country, and are unable to qualify for the ACL.^[11]
• This number was given in the 2012 ACL evaluation report (page 8).^[10] The 2010–11 Indonesia Super League, the season which qualified Indonesian clubs to the 2012 ACL, had 15 teams, and the 2011–12 Indonesian Premier League, the ongoing top division recognized by the Football Association of Indonesia, has 13 teams. There are two rival "top-division" leagues in Indonesia: the Indonesian Premier League and the Indonesia Super League (the ISL was by then not recognized by the Football Association of Indonesia).
• China was allocated a berth in the qualifying play-off, but Liaoning Whowin, the 2011 Chinese Super League 3rd place, did not enter the competition.^[12] Therefore, only four teams entered the East Zone qualifying play-off.

Teams

A total of 37 teams participated in the 2012 AFC Champions League.^[10]

• 28 teams (14 in West Zone, 14 in East Zone) directly entered the group stage.
• 9 teams (5 in West Zone, 4 in East Zone) competed in the qualifying play-off, which was divided into two rounds. The 4 winners (2 in West Zone, 2 in East Zone) qualified for the group stage. Losers of the qualifying play-off final round entered the 2012 AFC Cup group stage. However, losers of the qualifying play-off semi-final round were eliminated from all AFC competitions, a change from previous seasons where they would also enter the AFC Cup.

Group stage direct entrants: West Zone (Groups A–D)
Team	Qualifying method	App*	Last App
Lekhwiya	2010–11 Qatar Stars League champions	1st	none
Al-Rayyan	2011 Emir of Qatar Cup winners 2010–11 Qatar Stars League 3rd place	4th	2011
Al-Gharafa	2010–11 Qatar Stars League runners-up	7th	2011
Al-Arabi	2010–11 Qatar Stars League 4th place	1st	none
Al-Hilal	2010–11 Saudi Professional League champions	8th	2011
Al-Ahli	2011 King Cup of Champions winners	5th	2010
Al-Ittihad	2010–11 Saudi Professional League runners-up	8th	2011
Al-Jazira	2010–11 UAE Pro-League champions 2010–11 UAE President's Cup winners	4th	2011
Baniyas	2010–11 UAE Pro-League runners-up	1st	none
Al-Nasr	2010–11 UAE Pro-League 3rd place	1st	none
Pakhtakor	2011 Uzbekistan Cup winners 2011 Uzbek League 3rd place	10th	2011
Nasaf Qarshi	2011 Uzbek League runners-up	1st	none
Sepahan	2010–11 Persian Gulf Cup champions	8th	2011
Persepolis	2010–11 Hazfi Cup winners	4th	2011
Qualifying play-off participants: West Zone
Esteghlal	2010–11 Persian Gulf Cup runners-up	5th	2011
Zob Ahan	2010–11 Persian Gulf Cup 3rd place	4th	2011
Al-Ettifaq	2010–11 Saudi Professional League 3rd place	2nd	2009
Al-Shabab	2010–11 UAE Pro-League 4th place	2nd	2009
Neftchi Farg'ona	2011 Uzbek League 4th place	5th	2007

Group stage direct entrants: East Zone (Groups E–H)
Team	Qualifying method	App*	Last App
Kashiwa Reysol	2011 J.League Division 1 champions	1st	none
FC Tokyo	2011 Emperor's Cup winners	1st	none
Nagoya Grampus	2011 J.League Division 1 runners-up	3rd	2011
Gamba Osaka	2011 J.League Division 1 3rd place	6th	2011
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	2011 K-League champions	6th	2011
Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma	2011 Korean FA Cup winners	5th	2010
Ulsan Hyundai	2011 K-League runners-up	3rd	2009
Guangzhou Evergrande	2011 Chinese Super League champions	1st	none
Tianjin Teda	2011 Chinese FA Cup winners	3rd	2011
Beijing Guoan	2011 Chinese Super League runners-up	4th	2010
Brisbane Roar	2010–11 A-League premiers 2011 A-League Grand Final winners	1st	none
Central Coast Mariners	2010–11 A-League regular season runners-up	2nd	2009
Buriram United	2011 Thai Premier League champions 2011 Thai FA Cup winners	2nd	2009
Bunyodkor^†	2011 Uzbek League champions	5th	2011
Qualifying play-off participants: East Zone
	2011 K-League 3rd place	4th	2010
	2010–11 A-League regular season 3rd place	4th	2010
Chonburi	2011 Thai Premier League runners-up	2nd	2008
Persipura Jayapura^‡	2010–11 Indonesia Super League champions	2nd	2010

Notes

• Number of appearances (including qualifying rounds) since the 2002/03 season, when the competition was rebranded as the AFC Champions League.
• ^† Bunyodkor (Uzbekistan) was moved to the East Zone.^[10]
• ^‡ Persipura Jayapura were initially disqualified by the AFC from participating but on appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the CAS ruled on 1 February 2012 that they should be provisionally reinstated to the competition and were entitled to play in the qualifying play-off.^[13]
• Al-Kuwait (Kuwait), the 2011 AFC Cup runners-up, failed to fulfil the criteria set by AFC to compete in the 2012 AFC Champions League, and thus directly entered the 2012 AFC Cup. Nasaf Qarshi (Uzbekistan), the 2011 AFC Cup winners, already directly qualified for the group stage based on their domestic performance.^[10]

Schedule

Schedule of dates for 2012 competition.^[14]

Phase	Round	Draw date	First leg	Second leg
Qualifying play-offs	Semi-finals	6 December 2011	10 February 2012
	Finals		18 February 2012
Group stage	Matchday 1		6–7 March 2012
	Matchday 2		20–21 March 2012
	Matchday 3		3–4 April 2012
	Matchday 4		17–18 April 2012
	Matchday 5		1–2 May 2012
	Matchday 6		15–16 May 2012
Knockout phase	Round of 16		22–23 May 2012 (W), 29–30 May 2012 (E)
	Quarter-finals	14 June 2012	19 September 2012	2–3 October 2012
	Semi-finals		24 October 2012	31 October 2012
	Final		9 or 10 November 2012<		--These are the possible dates that the AFC designated for the matches to be played, so no need to change--> at home of one of the finalists

Qualifying play-off

See main article: 2012 AFC Champions League qualifying play-off.

The draw for the qualifying play-off was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 6 December 2011.^[15] The winners advanced to the group stage, while the losers of the final round advanced to the AFC Cup group stage,^[16] except the loser of the match between Adelaide United and Persipura Jayapura.^[17]

West Zone

!colspan="3"|Semi-final Round|-!colspan="3"|Final Round|}

East Zone

!colspan="3"|Final Round|}

Group stage

See main article: 2012 AFC Champions League group stage.

The draw for the group stage was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 6 December 2011.^[18] Clubs from the same country may not be drawn into the same group. The winners and runners-up of each group advanced to the knockout stage.^[16]

Group H

Knockout stage

See main article: 2012 AFC Champions League knockout stage.

Round of 16

The matchups for the round of 16 were decided based on the results from the group stage.^[19] Each tie was played as one match, hosted by the winners of each group (Team 1) against the runners-up of another group (Team 2).^[16]

Quarter-finals

The draw for the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and final was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 14 June 2012.^[20] It determined the matchups for the quarter-finals and semi-finals as well as the potential host for the final.^[21]

Final

See main article: 2012 AFC Champions League Final.

The final of the 2012 AFC Champions League was hosted by one of the finalists, decided by a draw.^[16] According to the draw on 14 June 2012, the winner of semi-final 2 would host the final.^[22] Therefore, Ulsan Hyundai was the home team.

Top scorers

Rank	Player	Club													Total
1	Ricardo Oliveira	Al-Jazira	1	1		1	3	4	2						12
2	Naif Hazazi	Al-Ittihad		2	1		1		1	2		1			8
3	Rafinha	Gamba Osaka (GS) Ulsan Hyundai (QF+SF+F)			2					1	2	1		1	7
	Victor Simões	Al-Ahli		1	1	1	1		1		1		1		7
5	Darío Conca	Guangzhou Evergrande	2			1	1	1			1				6
	Kim Shin-Wook	Ulsan Hyundai	1				1		1		1	1	1		6
7	Éamon Zayed	Persepolis		3	1			1							5
	Bruno Correa	Sepahan	1	1	1		1		1						5
	Leandro Domingues	Kashiwa Reysol		2			1	1	1						5
	Yoo Byung-Soo	Al-Hilal				1			4						5
	Amara Diané	Al-Nasr		2	1	1		1							5

Note: Goals scored in qualifying play-off not counted.^[23]

Source:^{[24] [25]}

See also

• 2012 AFC Cup
• 2012 AFC President's Cup

Notes and References

1. Web site: Ricardo Oliveira takes top scorer title . AFC . 10 November 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20121117014527/http://www.the-afc.com/en/tournaments/clubs/afc-champions-league/935-afc-champions-league-2012/40522-ricardo-oliveira-takes-top-scorer-title . 17 November 2012 .
2. Web site: Livewire Lee name MVP . Asian Football Confederation . 10 November 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20121117014522/http://www.the-afc.com/en/tournaments/clubs/afc-champions-league/935-afc-champions-league-2012/40521-livewire-lee-name-mvp . 17 November 2012 .
3. Web site: Ulsan Hyundai win 2012 AFC Champions League. AFC. 10 November 2012.
4. Web site: Ulsan 3 Al Ahli 0. Soccerway.com. 13 December 2012 .
5. Web site: Criteria for Participation in AFC Club Competitions for 2011–2012 seasons . AFC . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120818173523/http://www.the-afc.com/uploads/Documents/regulation/clubcriteria.pdf . 18 August 2012 .
6. Web site: 12 MAs keen to join ACL. AFC. 30 November 2009.
7. Web site: Singapore seek to pull out of ACL. AFC. 4 October 2010.
8. Web site: ACL slots maintained . https://archive.today/20120912190924/http://www.the-afc.com/en/component/content/article/31468-acl-slots-maintained . dead . 12 September 2012 . AFC . 21 November 2010 .
9. Web site: ACL 2012 slots confirmed . AFC . 1 December 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20121226062331/http://www.the-afc.com/en/component/content/article/935-afc-champions-league-2012/37285-acl-2012-slots-confirmed . 26 December 2012 .
10. Web site: Decision by Competitions Committee & Executive Committee for AFC Club Competitions . https://web.archive.org/web/20180717012947/http://www.the-afc.com/en/resources/regulations-a-guidelines/competition-regulations/2012/336-decision-by-competitions-committee-a-executive-committee-for-afc-club-competitions/download . dead . 2018-07-17 . PDF . AFC . PDF .
11. Web site: Ad Hoc Committee for Professional Clubs. AFC. 27 July 2010.
12. Web site: zh:辽宁宏运足球俱乐部正式宣布退出亚冠联赛资格赛. http://sports.china.com/football/csl/news/11062519/20111202/16902866.html. sports.china.com. CDC Corporation. 2 December 2011. zh. 5 December 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20120229002218/http://sports.china.com/football/csl/news/11062519/20111202/16902866.html. 29 February 2012. dead. dmy-all.
13. Web site: FOOTBALL – PERSIPURA (INDONESIA) PROVISIONALLY REINSTATED IN THE AFC CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 2012. CAS. 1 February 2012.
14. Web site: AFC Calendar of Competitions 2012. AFC. PDF.
15. Web site: Reds' relief as Adelaide avoid playoff . https://archive.today/20120914020627/http://www.the-afc.com/en/tournaments/clubs/afc-champions-league/935-afc-champions-league-2012/37401-reds-relief-as-adelaide-avoid-playoff . dead . 14 September 2012 . AFC . 6 December 2011 .
16. Web site: AFC Champions League 2012 Competitions Regulations . AFC . PDF . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120723144348/http://www.the-afc.com/en/resources/regulations-a-guidelines/competition-regulations/2012/338-afc-champions-league-2012-competitions-regulations/download . 23 July 2012 .
17. Web site: ACL playoff: Adelaide United vs Persipura Jayapura on Feb 16 . https://archive.today/20121204163430/http://www.the-afc.com/en/media-releases/38005-acl-playoff-adelaide-united-vs-persipura-jayapura-on-feb-16 . dead . 4 December 2012 . AFC . 13 February 2012 .
18. Web site: ACL 2012 - Group Stage draw . https://archive.today/20120918132943/http://www.the-afc.com/en/tournaments/clubs/afc-champions-league/935-afc-champions-league-2012/37398-acl-draw . dead . 18 September 2012 . AFC . 6 December 2011 .
19. Web site: Mouth-watering ties await in R16 . https://archive.today/20121209013754/http://www.the-afc.com/en/tournaments/clubs/afc-champions-league/935-afc-champions-league-2012/39160-mouth-watering-ties-await-in-r16 . dead . 9 December 2012 . AFC . 17 May 2012 .
20. Web site: First-timers face experienced campaigners. AFC. 14 June 2012.
21. Web site: ACL, AFC Cup draw procedures. AFC. 17 May 2012.
22. Web site: SF2 winners to host ACL Final . https://archive.today/20121217190840/http://www.the-afc.com/en/component/content/article/935-afc-champions-league-2012/39436-sf2-winners-to-host-acl-final . dead . 17 December 2012 . AFC . 14 June 2012 .
23. Web site: Top Scorers (qualifying play-off). AFC.com.
24. Web site: Top Scorers (group stage & round of 16) . https://archive.today/20130203220115/http://www.the-afc.com/en/component/tournaments/?view=ajax&show=mod_topScorer&stageid=232&disp=all . dead . 2013-02-03 . AFC.com .
25. Web site: Top Scorers (quarter-finals, semi-finals & final). AFC.com.