2007–08 UEFA Champions League: Difference between revisions
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==Controversy== |
==Controversy== |
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===Draw rigging allegations=== |
===Draw rigging allegations=== |
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The draw for the quarter-finals caused controversy after pairings were successfully predicted on an [[internet forum]] more than 90 minutes before the 'live' draw, leading to suggestions that the draw had been rigged.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://forums.icnorthwest.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=33755&highlight=|title=Possible leak of draw|publisher=icLiverpool|author=|date=2008-03-14|accessdate=2008-03-15}}</ref> |
The draw for the quarter-finals caused controversy after pairings were successfully predicted on an [[internet forum]] more than 90 minutes before the 'live' draw, leading to suggestions that the draw had been rigged. The full posting, by "confused", was |
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{{bquote|Rumour going around draw has been leaked..... this is no doubt rubbish but if Rumour is true it's LFC - arsenal and Chelsea - fenerbache and manure v roma |
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No bookies will take bets on the draw either....... |
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Let the draw commence. Comeeee on!<ref>{{cite web|url=http://forums.icnorthwest.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=33755&highlight=|title=Possible leak of draw|publisher=icLiverpool|author=|date=2008-03-14|accessdate=2008-03-15}}</ref>}} |
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The probablity of making such a prediction by pure chance was 1 in 105 (equivalent to odds of 104-1).<ref>{{cite news |url=http://football.guardian.co.uk/championsleague200708/story/0,,2265674,00.html |title=A rigged draw or a 104-1 lucky guess? |publisher=[[The Guardian]] |author=Sachin Nakrani |date=2008-03-15 |accessdate=2008-03-15 }}</ref> [[UEFA]] have denied that the draw was rigged and attributed the prediction to luck.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/0500liverpoolfc/0100news/tm_headline=icliverpool-forums-swamped-by-champions-league-draw-fix-claim&method=full&objectid=20624591&siteid=50061-name_page.html|title=icLiverpool forums swamped by Champions League draw fix claim|publisher=[[Liverpool Echo]]|author=Vicki Kellaway|date=2008-03-14|accessdate=2008-03-15}}</ref> |
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==Trivia== |
==Trivia== |
Revision as of 20:28, 9 April 2008
![]() | This article documents a current sporting event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses. Initial news reports, scores, or statistics may be unreliable. The last updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. (March 2008) |
UEFA Champions League 2007-08 | |
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File:2008 UEFA Champions League Final Moscow.jpg | |
Tournament details | |
Dates | 18 September 2007 - 21 May 2008 |
Teams | 32 |
Tournament statistics | |
Matches played | 112 |
Attendance | 4,511,587 (40,282 per match) |
Top scorer(s) | ![]() |
The 2007-08 UEFA Champions League is the 53rd edition of the top-level European club football tournament and the 16th edition under the current UEFA Champions League format.
The final is scheduled to be played at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow on 21 May 2008.
Rinat Dasayev is appointed as the 2008 UEFA Champions League Final Ambassador.
Qualification
76 teams will participate in the 2007-2008 UEFA Champions League from UEFA's 53 member associations. Each association enters a certain number of clubs to the Champions League based on its league coefficient; associations with a higher league coefficients may enter more clubs than associations with a lower league coefficient, but no association may enter more than four teams. All UEFA associations are guaranteed to have at least 1 team qualify, with the exception of Liechtenstein, which organizes no league competition. One new nation will enter their league champion in this year's tournament: Montenegro, following the dissolution of Serbia and Montenegro. The champions from San Marino and Andorra are also entered from this year onwards. Below is the qualification scheme for the 2007-2008 Champions League:[1]
- Associations 1-3 (Spain, Italy, and England): 4 teams
- Associations 4-6 (France, Germany, and Portugal): 3 teams
- Associations 7-15 (Netherlands, Greece, Russia, Romania, Scotland, Belgium, Ukraine, Czech Republic, and Turkey): 2 teams
- Associations 16-53: 1 team
First qualifying round: (28 teams)
- 28 champions from associations 25-53 (not including Liechtenstein)
Second qualifying round: (28 teams)
- 14 winners from the First Qualifying Round
- 8 champions from associations 17-24 (Bulgaria, Israel, Norway, Austria, Serbia, Poland, Denmark, and Hungary)
- 6 runners-up from associations 10-15
Third qualifying round: (32 teams)
- 14 winners from the Second Qualifying Round
- 7 champions from associations 10-16
- 3 runners-up from associations 7-9
- 6 third-place finishers from associations 1-6
- 2 fourth-place finishers from associations 1-3 (AC Milan, the fourth-place finishers from Italy, as holders, qualify automatically for the group stage.)
Group stage: (32 teams)
- 1 current Champions League holder
- 16 winners from the Third Qualifying Round
- 9 champions from associations 1-9
- 6 runners-up from associations 1-6
- TH: The champions of 2006-07 edition will go through group stage directly.
Round and draw dates
The calendar shows the dates of the rounds and draw.
Date | Event |
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29 June 2007 | Draw for first and second qualifying rounds |
17-18 July 2007 | First qualifying round, first leg |
24-25 July 2007 | First qualifying round, second leg |
31 July-1 August 2007 | Second qualifying round, first leg |
3 August 2007 | Draw for third qualifying round |
7-8 August 2007 | Second qualifying round, second leg |
14-15 August 2007 | Third qualifying round, first leg |
28-29 August 2007 | Third qualifying round, second leg |
30 August 2007 | Draw for group stage |
18-19 September 2007 | Group stage, Matchday 1 |
2-3 October 2007 | Group stage, Matchday 2 |
23-24 October 2007 | Group stage, Matchday 3 |
6-7 November 2007 | Group stage, Matchday 4 |
27-28 November 2007 | Group stage, Matchday 5 |
11-12 December 2007 | Group stage, Matchday 6 1 |
21 December 2007 | Draw for First knockout round |
19-20 February 2008 | First knockout round, 1st leg |
4-11 March 2008 | First knockout round, 2nd leg 2 |
14 March 2008 | Draw for remaining rounds |
1-2 April 2008 | Quarter-finals, 1st leg |
8-9 April 2008 | Quarter-finals, 2nd leg |
22-23 April 2008 | Semi-finals, 1st leg |
29-30 April 2008 | Semi-finals, 2nd leg |
21 May 2008 | Final in Moscow, Russia |
1 Group D teams played their Matchday 6 fixtures on 4 December due to AC Milan's participation in the 2007 FIFA Club World Cup in Japan on 13 and 16 December.
2 As both Milan and Internazionale use the Stadio San Siro as their home pitch, and both were scheduled to play at home for the second leg of the first knockout round, Internazionale's home leg against Liverpool was postponed one week to 11 March2008.
Qualifying rounds
First qualifying round
The draw was held on Friday, 29 June 2007 in Nyon, Switzerland. The draw was conducted by UEFA General Secretary David Taylor and Michele Centenaro, UEFA's head of club competitions. The first leg matches were played on 17 July and 18 July while the second legs were played on 24 July and 25 July 2007.
Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
---|---|---|---|---|
Khazar Lenkoran ![]() |
2–4 | ![]() |
1–1 | 1–3 (aet) |
APOEL Nicosia ![]() |
2–3 | ![]() |
2–0 | 0–3 (aet) |
Sheriff Tiraspol ![]() |
5–0 | ![]() |
2–0 | 3–0 |
FH Hafnarfjörður ![]() |
4–1 | ![]() |
4–1 | 0–0 |
The New Saints ![]() |
4–4 (a) | ![]() |
3–2 | 1–2 |
FK Pobeda ![]() |
0–1 | ![]() |
0–1 | 0–0 |
Olimpi Rustavi ![]() |
0–3 | ![]() |
0–0 | 0–3 |
FK Zeta ![]() |
5–4 | ![]() |
3–1 | 2–3 |
SS Murata ![]() |
1–4 | ![]() |
1–2 | 0–2 |
F91 Dudelange ![]() |
5–7 | ![]() |
1–2 | 4–5 |
Linfield ![]() |
0–1 | ![]() |
0–0 | 0–1 |
Derry City[2] ![]() |
0–2 | ![]() |
0–0 | 0–2 |
Marsaxlokk ![]() |
1–9 | ![]() |
0–6 | 1–3 |
NK Domžale ![]() |
3–1 | ![]() |
1–0 | 2–1 |
Second qualifying round
The draw was held on Friday, 29 June 2007 in Nyon, Switzerland. The draw was conducted by UEFA General Secretary David Taylor and Michele Centenaro, UEFA's head of club competitions. The first leg matches were played on 31 July and 1 August while the second legs were played on 7 August and 8 August 2007.
Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
---|---|---|---|---|
Pyunik ![]() |
1–4 | ![]() |
0–2 | 1–2 |
Red Star Belgrade ![]() |
(a) 2–2 | ![]() |
1–0 | 1–2 |
Rangers ![]() |
3–0 | ![]() |
2–0 | 1–0 |
Debrecen ![]() |
0–1 | ![]() |
0–1 | 0–0 |
Zagłębie Lubin ![]() |
1–3 | ![]() |
0–1 | 1–2 |
Genk ![]() |
2–2 (a) | ![]() |
1–2 | 1–0 |
Ventspils ![]() |
0–7 | ![]() |
0–3 | 0–4 |
Astana ![]() |
2–10 | ![]() |
1–3 | 1–7 |
FH Hafnarfjörður ![]() |
2–4 | ![]() |
1–3 | 1–1 |
F.C. Copenhagen ![]() |
2–1 | ![]() |
1–0 | 1–1 (aet) |
MŠK Žilina ![]() |
0–0 (3–4p) | ![]() |
0–0 | 0–0 (aet) |
Tampere United ![]() |
2–0 | ![]() |
1–0 | 1–0 |
NK Domžale ![]() |
2–5 | ![]() |
1–2 | 1–3 |
Beşiktaş ![]() |
4–0 | ![]() |
1–0 | 3–0 |
Third qualifying round
The draw was held on Friday, 3 August 2007 in Nyon, Switzerland. The draw was conducted by UEFA General Secretary David Taylor and Giorgio Marchetti, UEFA's director of professional football. The first leg matches were played on 14 August and 15 August while the second legs were played on 28 August and 29 August 2007. Winners in this round qualify for the group stage, while the losing clubs will be entered in the first round of the UEFA Cup. Due to the death of Antonio Puerta the second leg of Sevilla's game against AEK Athens was postponed until 3 September.
Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
---|---|---|---|---|
BATE Borisov ![]() |
2–4 | ![]() |
2–2 | 0–2 |
Tampere United ![]() |
0–5 | ![]() |
0–3 | 0–2 |
Spartak Moscow ![]() |
2–2 (3–4p) | ![]() |
1–1 | 1–1 (aet) |
Werder Bremen ![]() |
5–3 | ![]() |
2–1 | 3–2 |
Red Bull Salzburg ![]() |
2–3 | ![]() |
1–0 | 1–3 |
Ajax ![]() |
1–3 | ![]() |
0–1 | 1–2 |
Valencia ![]() |
5–1 | ![]() |
3–0 | 2–1 |
FK Sarajevo ![]() |
0–4 | ![]() |
0–1 | 0–3 |
Fenerbahçe ![]() |
3–0 | ![]() |
1–0 | 2–0 |
Rangers ![]() |
1–0 | ![]() |
1–0 | 0–0 |
Toulouse ![]() |
0–5 | ![]() |
0–1 | 0–4 |
Benfica ![]() |
3–1 | ![]() |
2–1 | 1–0 |
Lazio ![]() |
4–2 | ![]() |
1–1 | 3–1 |
Sparta Prague ![]() |
0–5 | ![]() |
0–2 | 0–3 |
Zürich ![]() |
1–3 | ![]() |
1–1 | 0–2 |
Sevilla ![]() |
6–1 | ![]() |
2–0 | 4–1 |
Group stage
The draw was held on Thursday, 30 August 2007 at Grimaldi Forum in Monaco. The draw was hosted by Pedro Pinto and conducted by UEFA General Secretary David Taylor and Michele Centenaro, UEFA's head of club competitions. The matches were played between 18 September and 12 December 2007.
Tie-breaking criteria
Based on paragraph 6.05 in the UEFA regulations for the current season, if two or more teams are equal on points on completion of the group matches, the following criteria are applied to determine the rankings:
- higher number of points obtained in the group matches played among the teams in question;
- superior goal difference from the group matches played among the teams in question;
- higher number of goals scored away from home in the group matches played among the teams in question;
- superior goal difference from all group matches played;
- higher number of goals scored in all group matches played;
- higher number of coefficient points accumulated by the club in question, as well as its association, over the previous five seasons.
Key to colours in group tables |
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Teams that progressed to the first knockout round are indicated in bold type |
Teams that progressed to the UEFA Cup are indicated in bold italics |
Teams eliminated from European competitions for the season are indicated in plain italics |
In results tables, the home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Group A
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Group B
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Group C
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Group D
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Group E
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Group F
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Group G
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Group H
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Knockout stage
From the last 16 through to the semi-finals, clubs play two matches against each other on a home and away basis with the same rules as the qualifying rounds applied. In the last 16, group winners play runners-up other than teams from their own pool or nation.
Bracket
First knockout round
The draw for first knockout round was held on Friday, 21 December 2007 in Nyon, Switzerland. The draw was conducted by UEFA General Secretary David Taylor and Giorgio Marchetti, UEFA's director of professional football. The first leg matches were played on 19 February and 20 February while the second leg were played on 4 March and 5 March 2008. Due to a stadium clash with Milan, the second leg of Internazionale's game against Liverpool was held on 11 March.
Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
---|---|---|---|---|
Celtic ![]() |
2–4 | ![]() |
2–3 | 0–1 |
Lyon ![]() |
1–2 | ![]() |
1–1 | 0–1 |
Schalke 04 ![]() |
1–1 (4–1p) | ![]() |
1–0 | 0–1 (aet) |
Liverpool ![]() |
3–0 | ![]() |
2–0 | 1–0 |
Roma ![]() |
4–2 | ![]() |
2–1 | 2–1 |
Arsenal ![]() |
2–0 | ![]() |
0–0 | 2–0 |
Olympiacos ![]() |
0–3 | ![]() |
0–0 | 0–3 |
Fenerbahçe ![]() |
5–5 (3–2p) | ![]() |
3–2 | 2–3 (aet) |
Quarter-finals
The draw for the quarter-finals was held on Friday, 14 March 2008 in Nyon, Switzerland. The draw was conducted by UEFA General Secretary David Taylor and Rinat Dasayev, the ambassador for the final in Moscow. Unlike the first knockout round, teams from the same group or country may be drawn together from the quarter-finals onwards.
The first leg matches will be played on 1 April and 2 April while the second leg matches will be played on 8 April and 9 April 2008.
Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
---|---|---|---|---|
Arsenal ![]() |
3–5 | ![]() |
1–1 | 2–4 |
Roma ![]() |
– | ![]() |
0–2 | 9 April |
Schalke 04 ![]() |
– | ![]() |
0–1 | 9 April |
Fenerbahçe ![]() |
2–3 | ![]() |
2–1 | 0–2 |
Semi-finals
The draw for the semi-finals was also held on Friday, 14 March 2008 in Nyon, Switzerland. The draw was conducted by UEFA General Secretary David Taylor and Rinat Dasayev, the ambassador for the final in Moscow. The first leg matches will be played on 22 April and 23 April while the second leg matches will be played on 29 April and 30 April 2008.
Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
---|---|---|---|---|
Liverpool ![]() |
– | ![]() |
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Winner of Quarter-final 3 | – | Winner of Quarter-final 2 |
Final
The draw for the 2008 UEFA Champions League Final was also held on Friday, 14 March 2008 in Nyon, Switzerland. The draw was conducted by UEFA General Secretary David Taylor and Rinat Dasayev, the ambassador for the final in Moscow. It will be played on 21 May 2008 at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia. Unlike the other knockout rounds, the final is played in only one match with extra time in case of a draw after 90 minutes. If the teams are still level following the extra time, a penalty shoot-out will determine the winner.
Top goalscorers
The top scorers from the 2007-08 UEFA Champions League (group stage and knockout stage only) as of 8 April 2008 are as follows:[3] (Players in bold are still active in the competition.)
Rank | Name | Team | Goals | Time played |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() |
![]() |
7 | 717' |
2 | ![]() |
![]() |
6 | 628' |
![]() |
![]() |
883' | ||
4 | ![]() |
![]() |
5 | 624' |
![]() |
![]() |
706' | ||
![]() |
![]() |
714' | ||
![]() |
![]() |
731' | ||
![]() |
![]() |
814' | ||
9 | ![]() |
![]() |
4 | 381' |
![]() |
![]() |
388' | ||
![]() |
![]() |
429' | ||
![]() |
![]() |
463' | ||
![]() |
![]() |
540' | ||
![]() |
![]() |
578' | ||
![]() |
![]() |
587' | ||
![]() |
![]() |
613' | ||
![]() |
![]() |
616' | ||
![]() |
![]() |
646' | ||
![]() |
![]() |
686' | ||
![]() |
![]() |
698' | ||
![]() |
![]() |
702' |
Controversy
Draw rigging allegations
The draw for the quarter-finals caused controversy after pairings were successfully predicted on an internet forum more than 90 minutes before the 'live' draw, leading to suggestions that the draw had been rigged. The full posting, by "confused", was
Rumour going around draw has been leaked..... this is no doubt rubbish but if Rumour is true it's LFC - arsenal and Chelsea - fenerbache and manure v roma
No bookies will take bets on the draw either.......
Let the draw commence. Comeeee on![4]
The probablity of making such a prediction by pure chance was 1 in 105 (equivalent to odds of 104-1).[5] UEFA have denied that the draw was rigged and attributed the prediction to luck.[6]
Trivia
![]() | This article contains a list of miscellaneous information. (December 2007) |
- Liverpool's 8–0 victory over Beşiktaş at Anfield on 6 November 2007 became the highest scoring win (excluding qualifying or preliminary rounds) in the Champions League era.
- Filippo Inzaghi surpassed Gerd Müller as the all-time highest scorer in European competitions when he scored his 63rd European club competition goal, in AC Milan's 1–0 victory over Celtic on 4 December 2007. He is also currently the highest-scoring Italian player in the history of European competition, having scored 34 of his 63 European competition goals for his current club AC Milan.
- Lazio goalkeeper Marco Ballotta became the oldest player to ever play in the Champions League when he was fielded in the match against Real Madrid on 11 December 2007. Being aged 43, he was 3 years older than the previous record owner, Alessandro Costacurta, who was 40 when playing for AC Milan against AEK Athens in November 2006.
- Dynamo Kyiv failed to gain a single point in Group F, becoming the seventh side to finish the first group stages with zero points earned since the format change of the European Cup in 1992. The other teams to finish with zero points were: Košice (1997-98), Fenerbahçe (2001-02), Spartak Moscow (2002-03), Anderlecht (2004-05), Rapid Wien (2005-06), and Levski Sofia (2006-07).
- Fenerbahçe reached the quarter-finals of the European Cup for the first time in their club history. They are the second Turkish side to qualify for the quarter-finals in the Champions League era; the other being Galatasaray in 2000-01.
- Schalke 04 qualified for the quarter-finals of the European Cup for the first time since 1958-59.
- For the fourth consecutive year, the defending champions were eliminated in the first knockout round. Since the implementation of the 16-team knockout stage in the 2003-04 season, AC Milan, in 2003-04, were the only defending champion to make it out of the first knockout round, as they lost in the quarter-finals that year.
- Sevilla's penalty defeat to Fenerbahçe in the first knockout round marked the first time they had been knocked out of a European tournament since 2004-05.
- AC Milan's 0–2 loss to Arsenal in the second leg of the First knockout round was the club's first ever defeat to English opposition at the San Siro.
- Manchester United's home victory over Lyon in the second leg of the first knockout round equals Juventus' record of 10 consecutive home wins, which Juventus set between 1995-96 and 1997-98.
- Ryan Giggs made his 100th appearance in Champions' League for Manchester United against Lyon.
- 2007-08 marks the first season in the competition's history that four teams from the same country have reached the quarter-final stage, following the progression of Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United into the final stages.
- Liverpool and Arsenal played each other three times in a week in April 2008; they first played each other in the Champions League quarter-final first leg on 2 April, before a league game on 5 April, both at the Emirates Stadium. The teams then moved up to Liverpool to play the Champions League quarter-final second leg.
- Bojan Krkić was the first ever scorer in the Champions League to have been born in the 1990s, when he scored the only goal in Barcelona's 1–0 quarter-final first leg win against Schalke 04, being the second youngest player ever behind Ghanaian forward Peter Ofori-Quaye, then-playing for Olympiacos.[7]
- An English team will qualify for the final for the fourth season in a row.
- Liverpool and Chelsea will play each other in the semi-finals of the Champions League for the third time in four years (the other two matchups occured during the 2004-05 and 2006-07 seasons).
See also
References
- ^ Bert Kassies (2007). "The access list from UEFA European Cup Football". UEFA European Cup Football. Retrieved 2007-06-20.
{{cite web}}
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ignored (help) - ^ Shelbourne won the Football League of Ireland but did not apply for a UEFA License to take part in the UEFA Champions League. "Shels relinquish Champions League place". RTÉ Sport. 2007-03-30. Retrieved 2007-06-20.
{{cite web}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help) - ^ "Top scorers". uefa.com. Retrieved 2007-10-23.
- ^ "Possible leak of draw". icLiverpool. 2008-03-14. Retrieved 2008-03-15.
- ^ Sachin Nakrani (2008-03-15). "A rigged draw or a 104-1 lucky guess?". The Guardian. Retrieved 2008-03-15.
- ^ Vicki Kellaway (2008-03-14). "icLiverpool forums swamped by Champions League draw fix claim". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 2008-03-15.
- ^ Teen Bojan, a pleasure to watch SoccerAmerica.com on April 2, 2008