2013–14 UEFA Champions League explained

Tourney Name:UEFA Champions League
Year:2013–14
Dates:Qualifying:
2 July – 28 August 2013
Competition proper:
17 September 2013 – 24 May 2014
Num Teams:Competition proper: 32
Total: 76
Associations:52
Champion Other: Real Madrid
Count:10
Second Other: Atlético Madrid
Matches:125
Goals:362
Top Scorer:Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
17 goals
Prevseason:2012–13
Nextseason:2014–15

The 2013–14 UEFA Champions League was the 59th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 22nd season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League.

The final was played between Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid at the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon, Portugal,[1] marking it the fifth final to feature two teams from the same association (after the finals of 2000, 2003, 2008, and 2013) and the first time in tournament history that both finalists were from the same city. Real Madrid, who eliminated the title holders, Bayern Munich, in the semi-finals, won in extra time, giving them a record-extending 10th title in the competition.[2] Real equalized late in the second half through Sergio Ramos and then pulled away during extra time to win 4–1.[3]

For the first time, the clubs who qualified for the group stage also qualified for the newly formed 2013–14 UEFA Youth League, a competition available to players aged 19 or under.[4]

Association team allocation

A total of 76 teams from 52 of the 54 UEFA member associations participated in the 2013–14 UEFA Champions League (the exceptions being Liechtenstein, which do not organise a domestic league, and Gibraltar, which started participating in the 2014–15 season after being admitted as a UEFA member in May 2013).[5] [6] The association ranking based on the UEFA country coefficients was used to determine the number of participating teams for each association:[7]

The winners of the 2012–13 UEFA Champions League were given an additional entry as title holders if they would not qualify for the 2013–14 UEFA Champions League through their domestic league (because of the restriction that no association can have more than four teams playing in the Champions League, if the title holders are from the top three associations and finish outside the top four in their domestic league, the title holders' entry comes at the expense of the fourth-placed team of their association). However, this additional entry was not necessary for this season since the title holders qualified for the tournament through their domestic league.

Association ranking

For the 2013–14 UEFA Champions League, the associations were allocated places according to their 2012 UEFA country coefficients, which took into account their performance in European competitions from 2007–08 to 2011–12.[8]

RankAssociationCoeff.Teams
1 England84.4104
2 Spain84.186
3 Germany75.186
4 Italy59.9813
5 Portugal55.346
6 France54.178
7 Russia47.8322
8 Netherlands45.515
9 Ukraine45.133
10 Greece37.100
11 Turkey34.050
12 Belgium32.400
13 Denmark27.525
14 Switzerland26.800
15 Austria26.325
16 Cyprus25.4991
17 Israel22.000
18 Scotland21.141
RankAssociationCoeff.Teams
19 Czech Republic20.3501
20 Poland19.916
21 Croatia18.874
22 Romania18.824
23 Belarus18.208
24 Sweden15.900
25 Slovakia14.874
26 Norway14.675
27 Serbia14.250
28 Bulgaria14.250
29 Hungary9.750
30 Finland9.133
31 Georgia8.666
32 Bosnia and Herzegovina8.416
33 Republic of Ireland7.375
34 Slovenia7.124
35 Lithuania6.875
36 Moldova6.749
RankAssociationCoeff.Teams
37 Azerbaijan6.2071
38 Latvia5.874
39 Macedonia5.666
40 Kazakhstan5.333
41 Iceland5.332
42 Montenegro4.375
43 Liechtenstein4.0000
44 Albania3.9161
45 Malta3.083
46 Wales2.749
47 Estonia2.666
48 Northern Ireland2.583
49 Luxembourg2.333
50 Armenia2.208
51 Faroe Islands1.416
52 Andorra1.000
53 San Marino0.916
54 Gibraltar0.0000

Distribution

Since the title holders (Bayern Munich) qualified for the Champions League group stage through their domestic league, the group stage spot reserved for the title holders is vacated, and the following changes to the default allocation system are made:[9]

Teams entering in this roundTeams advancing from previous round
First qualifying round
(4 teams)
  • 4 champions from associations 50–53
Second qualifying round
(34 teams)
  • 32 champions from associations 17–49 (except Liechtenstein)
  • 2 winners from the first qualifying round
Third qualifying roundChampions
(20 teams)
  • 3 champions from associations 14–16
  • 17 winners from the second qualifying round
Non-champions
(10 teams)
  • 9 runners-up from associations 7–15
  • 1 third-placed team from association 6
Play-off roundChampions
(10 teams)
  • 10 winners from the third qualifying round for champions
Non-champions
(10 teams)
  • 2 third-placed teams from associations 4–5
  • 3 fourth-placed teams from associations 1–3
  • 5 winners from the third qualifying round for non-champions
Group stage
(32 teams)
  • 13 champions from associations 1–13
  • 6 runners-up from associations 1–6
  • 3 third-placed teams from associations 1–3
  • 5 winners from the play-off round for champions
  • 5 winners from the play-off round for non-champions
Knockout phase
(16 teams)
  • 8 group winners from the group stage
  • 8 group runners-up from the group stage

Teams

League positions of the previous season shown in parentheses (TH: Title holders).[10] [9]

Group stage
Bayern MunichTH
Play-off round
ChampionsNon-champions
Third qualifying round
ChampionsNon-champions
Metalist Kharkiv
Second qualifying round
First qualifying round
Notes

Round and draw dates

The schedule of the competition was as follows (all draws held at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, unless stated otherwise).[9]

PhaseRoundDraw dateFirst legSecond leg
QualifyingFirst qualifying round24 June 20132–3 July 20139–10 July 2013
Second qualifying round16–17 July 201323–24 July 2013
Third qualifying round19 July 201330–31 July 20136–7 August 2013
Play-offPlay-off round9 August 201320–21 August 201327–28 August 2013
Group stageMatchday 129 August 2013
(Monaco)
17–18 September 2013
Matchday 21–2 October 2013
Matchday 322–23 October 2013
Matchday 45–6 November 2013
Matchday 526–27 November 2013
Matchday 610–11 December 2013
Knockout phaseRound of 1616 December 201318–19 & 25–26 February 201411–12 & 18–19 March 2014
Quarter-finals21 March 20141–2 April 20148–9 April 2014
Semi-finals11 April 201422–23 April 201429–30 April 2014
Final24 May 2014 at Estádio da Luz, Lisbon

Qualifying rounds

See main article: 2013–14 UEFA Champions League qualifying phase.

In the qualifying rounds and the play-off round, teams were divided into seeded and unseeded teams based on their 2013 UEFA club coefficients,[11] [12] [13] and then drawn into two-legged home-and-away ties. Teams from the same association could not be drawn against each other.

First qualifying round

The draws for the first and second qualifying rounds were held on 24 June 2013.[14] The first legs were played on 2 July, and the second legs were played on 9 July 2013.

Second qualifying round

The first legs were played on 16 and 17 July, and the second legs were played on 23 and 24 July 2013.

Third qualifying round

The third qualifying round was split into two separate sections: one for champions and one for non-champions. The losing teams in both sections entered the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League play-off round.

Play-off round

The play-off round was split into two separate sections: one for champions and one for non-champions. The losing teams in both sections entered the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League group stage.

The draw for the play-off round was held on 9 August 2013.[15] The first legs were played on 20 and 21 August, and the second legs were played on 27 and 28 August 2013.

On 14 August 2013, Metalist Kharkiv were disqualified from the 2013–14 UEFA club competitions because of previous match-fixing. UEFA decided to replace Metalist Kharkiv in the Champions League play-off round with PAOK, who were eliminated by Metalist Kharkiv in the third qualifying round.

Red Bull Salzburg lodged a protest after being defeated by Fenerbahçe in the third qualifying round, but it was rejected by UEFA and the Court of Arbitration for Sport.[16]

Group stage

See main article: 2013–14 UEFA Champions League group stage.

The draw for the group stage was held in Monaco on 29 August 2013.[17] The 32 teams were allocated into four pots based on their 2013 UEFA club coefficients,[11] [12] [13] with the title holders, Bayern Munich, being placed in Pot 1 automatically. They were drawn into eight groups of four, with the restriction that teams from the same association could not be drawn against each other.

In each group, teams played against each other home-and-away in a round-robin format. The matchdays were 17–18 September, 1–2 October, 22–23 October, 5–6 November, 26–27 November, and 10–11 December 2013. The group winners and runners-up advanced to the round of 16, while the third-placed teams entered the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League round of 32.

A total of 18 national associations were represented in the group stage. Austria Wien made their debut appearance in the group stage.[18]

Teams that qualify for the group stage also participate in the newly formed 2013–14 UEFA Youth League, a competition available to players aged 19 or under.

See the detailed group stage page for tiebreakers if two or more teams are equal on points.

Group H

Knockout phase

See main article: 2013–14 UEFA Champions League knockout phase.

In the knockout phase, teams played against each other over two legs on a home-and-away basis, except for the one-match final. The mechanism of the draws for each round was as follows:

Round of 16

The draw for the round of 16 was held on 16 December 2013.[19] The first legs were played on 18, 19, 25 and 26 February, and the second legs were played on 11, 12, 18 and 19 March 2014.

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Quarter-finals

The draw for the quarter-finals was held on 21 March 2014.[20] The first legs were played on 1 and 2 April, and the second legs were played on 8 and 9 April 2014.

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Semi-finals

The draw for the semi-finals and final (to determine the "home" team for administrative purposes) was held on 11 April 2014.[21] The first legs were played on 22 and 23 April, and the second legs were played on 29 and 30 April 2014.

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Final

See also: Madrid derby.

See main article: 2014 UEFA Champions League final.

Statistics

Statistics exclude qualifying rounds and play-off round.

Top goalscorers

RankPlayerTeamGoalsMinutes played
1 Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid17993
2 Zlatan Ibrahimović Paris Saint-Germain10670
3 Diego Costa Atlético Madrid8580
Lionel Messi Barcelona630
5 Sergio Agüero Manchester City6429
Robert Lewandowski Borussia Dortmund809
Gareth Bale Real Madrid873
8 Álvaro Negredo Manchester City5326
Arturo Vidal Juventus533
Thomas Müller Bayern Munich708
Marco Reus Borussia Dortmund769
Karim Benzema Real Madrid913

Squad of the Season

The UEFA technical study group selected the following 18 players as the squad of the tournament:[22]

PlayerTeam
Thibaut Courtois Atlético Madrid
Manuel Neuer Bayern Munich
Diego Godín Atlético Madrid
Philipp Lahm Bayern Munich
Dani Carvajal Real Madrid
Pepe Real Madrid
Sergio Ramos Real Madrid
Gabi Atlético Madrid
Andrés Iniesta Barcelona
Toni Kroos Bayern Munich
Ángel Di María Real Madrid
Luka Modrić Real Madrid
Xabi Alonso Real Madrid
Marco Reus Borussia Dortmund
Diego Costa Atlético Madrid
Arjen Robben Bayern Munich
Zlatan Ibrahimović Paris Saint-Germain
Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Lisbon to stage 2014 UEFA Champions League final . UEFA.com . Union of European Football Associations . 20 March 2012 . 1 September 2014 .
  2. News: Madrid make it a perfect ten . UEFA.com . Union of European Football Associations . 24 May 2014 . 1 September 2014 .
  3. News: Real Madrid 4 Atl Madrid 1. McNulty. Phil. BBC Sport. 24 May 2014. 28 August 2015.
  4. Web site: UEFA Youth League club competition launched . UEFA.org . Union of European Football Associations . 7 December 2012 . 7 December 2012 . 30 January 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170130184531/http://www.uefa.org/mediaservices/mediareleases/newsid=1905480.html . dead .
  5. Web site: Gibraltar set to be new kids on the Rock as Uefa votes on its future. The Guardian. 23 May 2013.
  6. Web site: UEFA Welcome Gibraltar To Europe's Football Family As 54th Member. insidefutbol.com. 24 May 2013.
  7. Web site: Regulations of the UEFA Champions League 2013/14 . Union of European Football Associations . Nyon . March 2013 . 1 May 2013 .
  8. Web site: Country coefficients 2011/12 . UEFA.com . Union of European Football Associations . 1 September 2014 .
  9. Web site: 2013/14 UEFA Champions League access list and calendar . UEFA.com . Union of European Football Associations . 1 September 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140209155044/http://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/season%3D2014/accesslist/index.html . 9 February 2014 . dead .
  10. Web site: 2013/14 UEFA Champions League participants . UEFA.com . 31 May 2013. Union of European Football Associations . 29 August 2013 .
  11. Web site: Club coefficients 2012/13 . UEFA.com . Union of European Football Associations . 1 September 2014 .
  12. Web site: UEFA Team Ranking 2013 . Bert Kassies .
  13. Web site: Seeding in the Champions League 2013/2014 . Bert Kassies .
  14. Web site: First and second qualifying round draw results . UEFA.com . Union of European Football Associations . 24 June 2013 . 1 September 2014 .
  15. Web site: Milan-PSV tie headlines play-off draw . UEFA.com . Union of European Football Associations . 9 August 2013 . 1 September 2014 .
  16. Web site: UEFA welcomes CAS decision on Salzburg . UEFA.org . Union of European Football Associations . 21 August 2013 . 1 September 2014 .
  17. Web site: Barcelona, Milan, Ajax and Celtic drawn together . UEFA.com . Union of European Football Associations . 29 August 2013 . 1 September 2014 .
  18. Web site: Monaco set for group stage draw . UEFA.com . Union of European Football Associations . 28 August 2013 . 1 September 2014 .
  19. Web site: Bayern draw Arsenal, Drogba faces Chelsea return . UEFA.com . Union of European Football Associations . 16 December 2013 . 1 September 2014 .
  20. Web site: Bayern draw United, Barcelona to play Atlético . UEFA.com . Union of European Football Associations . 21 March 2014 . 1 September 2014 .
  21. Web site: Bayern draw Real Madrid, Atlético land Chelsea . UEFA.com . Union of European Football Associations . 11 April 2014 . 1 September 2014 .
  22. News: UEFA Champions League squad of the season . UEFA.com . Union of European Football Associations . 2 June 2014 . 1 September 2014 .