2016 AFC Champions League

The 2016 AFC Champions League was the 35th edition of Asia's premier club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 14th under the current AFC Champions League title.

2016 AFC Champions League
Tournament details
Dates27 January – 26 November 2016
Teams45 (from 17 associations)
Final positions
Champions Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors (2nd title)
Runners-up Al-Ain
Tournament statistics
Matches played126
Goals scored312 (2.48 per match)
Attendance1,639,885 (13,015 per match)
Top scorer(s) Adriano (13 goals)
Best player(s) Omar Abdulrahman
Fair play award Al-Ain

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors defeated Al-Ain in the final to win their second AFC Champions League title, and qualified as the AFC representative at the 2016 FIFA Club World Cup in Japan, their second appearance in the FIFA Club World Cup.[1][2] Guangzhou Evergrande were the defending champions, but were eliminated in the group stage.

Association team allocation

The AFC Competitions Committee proposed a revamp of the AFC club competitions on 25 January 2014,[3] which was ratified by the AFC Executive Committee on 16 April 2014.[4] The 46 AFC member associations (excluding the associate member Northern Mariana Islands) are 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 2015 and 2016 editions of the AFC club competitions determined by the 2014 rankings:[5]

  • The associations are split into West Zone and East Zone, with 23 associations in each zone:
  • In each zone, there are a total of 12 direct slots in the group stage, with the 4 remaining slots filled through play-offs.
  • The top 12 associations in each zone as per the AFC rankings are eligible to enter the AFC Champions League, as long as they fulfill the AFC Champions League criteria.
  • The top six associations in each zone get at least one direct slot in the group stage, while the remaining associations get only play-off slots:
    • The associations ranked 1st and 2nd each get three direct slots and one play-off slot (in play-off round).
    • The associations ranked 3rd and 4th each get two direct slots and two play-off slots (one in play-off round, one in preliminary round 2).
    • The associations ranked 5th each get one direct slot and two play-off slots (both in preliminary round 2).
    • The associations ranked 6th each get one direct slot and one play-off slot (in preliminary round 2).
    • The associations ranked 7th to 12th each get one play-off slot (in preliminary round 1).
  • The maximum number of slots for each association 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).

The AFC Competitions Committee finalised the slot allocation for the 2015 and 2016 editions of the AFC Champions League based on the criteria, including the AFC rankings and the implementation of club licensing regulations, on 28 November 2014.[6][7][8]

The following table shows the slot allocation for the 2016 AFC Champions League, which are adjusted accordingly since some of the slots are unused.

Participation for 2016 AFC Champions League[9]
Fulfills participation criteria
Does not fulfill participation criteria
Notes
  1. ^
    United Arab Emirates had their fourth team entering the play-off round instead of the preliminary round 2 due to unused slots.
  2. ^
    Qatar had their third and fourth teams entering the play-off round instead of the preliminary round 2 due to unused slots.
  3. ^
    Iraq were allocated two preliminary round 2 slots, but were not allowed to participate as none of their teams passed the club licensing requirements.
  4. ^
    Kuwait were allocated one preliminary round 1 slot, but could not participate due to FIFA's suspension of its football association.
  5. ^
    Jordan had their team entering the play-off round instead of the preliminary round 1 due to unused slots.
  6. ^ a b c d
    Oman, Bahrain, Lebanon and Syria were allocated one preliminary round 1 slot, but were not allowed to participate as none of their teams passed the club licensing requirements.
  7. ^
    Indonesia were allocated one preliminary round 2 slot, could not participate in the AFC Champions League due to FIFA's suspension of its football association.
  8. ^ a b
    Myanmar and Malaysia had their team entering the preliminary round 2 instead of the preliminary round 1 due to unused slots.

Teams

The following 45 teams from 17 associations entered the competition.[9]

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. TH means title holders.

Notes
  1. ^
    China (CHN): Jiangsu Suning had its name changed from "Jiangsu Sainty" in December 2015. They are referred to as "Jiangsu FC" by the AFC in its official reports for the 2016 AFC Champions League.
  2. ^
    Singapore (SIN): Since Brunei DPMM, the 2015 S.League champions, is a team managed by the National Football Association of Brunei Darussalam and thus ineligible to represent Singapore in AFC club competitions, their place was taken by Tampines Rovers, the league runners-up.
  3. ^
    Thailand (THA): Since Suphanburi, the 2015 Thai Premier League 3rd place, failed to pass the club licensing requirements, their place was taken by Chonburi, the league 4th place.[10]
Location of teams of the 2016 AFC Champions League.
West Zone
East Zone
(p) Qualifying play-off participants

Schedule

The schedule of the competition is as follows (all draws are held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia).[11]

Stage Round Draw date First leg Second leg
Preliminary stage Preliminary round 1 No draw 27 January 2016
Preliminary round 2 2 February 2016
Play-off stage Play-off round 9 February 2016
Group stage Matchday 1 10 December 2015[9] 23–24 February 2016
Matchday 2 1–2 March 2016
Matchday 3 15–16 March 2016
Matchday 4 5–6 April 2016
Matchday 5 19–20 April 2016
Matchday 6 3–4 May 2016
Knockout stage Round of 16 17–18 May 2016 24–25 May 2016
Quarter-finals 9 June 2016[12] 23–24 August 2016 13–14 September 2016
Semi-finals 27–28 September 2016 18–19 October 2016
Final 19 November 2016 26 November 2016

Qualifying play-off
Main article: 2016 AFC Champions League qualifying play-off

In the qualifying play-off, each tie was played as a single match. Extra time and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary (Regulations Article 10.2). The eight winners of the play-off round advanced to the group stage to join the 24 direct entrants. All losers in each round which were from associations with only play-off slots entered the AFC Cup group stage.[2] The bracket of the qualifying play-off was determined by the AFC based on the association ranking of each team, with the team from the higher-ranked association hosting each match. Teams from the same association could not be placed in the same play-off.[13][14]

Preliminary round 1
Team 1  Score  Team 2
East Zone
Mohun Bagan 3–1 Tampines Rovers

Preliminary round 2
Team 1  Score  Team 2
East Zone
Hà Nội T&T 1–0 Kitchee
Chonburi 3–2 (a.e.t.) Yangon United
Shandong Luneng 6–0 Mohun Bagan
Muangthong United 0–0 (a.e.t.)
(3–0 p)		 Johor Darul Ta'zim

Play-off round
Team 1  Score  Team 2
West Zone
Al-Ittihad 2–1 Al-Wehdat
Naft Tehran 0–2 El Jaish
Bunyodkor 2–0 Al-Shabab
Al-Jazira 2–2 (a.e.t.)
(5–4 p)		 Al-Sadd
Team 1  Score  Team 2
East Zone
Pohang Steelers 3–0 Hà Nội T&T
FC Tokyo 9–0 Chonburi
Adelaide United 1–2 Shandong Luneng
Shanghai SIPG 3–0 Muangthong United

Group stage
Main article: 2016 AFC Champions League group stage

The draw for the group stage was held on 10 December 2015, 16:00 MYT (UTC+8), at the Petaling Jaya Hilton Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[9] The 32 teams were drawn into eight groups of four. Teams from the same association could not be drawn into the same group.[15][16] In the group stage, 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.[2]

Group A
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification LOK NAS ITT SEP
1 Lokomotiv Tashkent 6 2 4 0 6 3 +3 10 Advance to knockout stage — 0–0 1–1 1–0
2 Al-Nasr 6 2 3 1 5 4 +1 9 1–1 — 0–0 2–0
3 Al-Ittihad 6 2 3 1 9 4 +5 9 1–1 1–2 — 4–0
4 Sepahan 6 1 0 5 2 11 −9 3 0–2 2–0 0–2 —
Source: AFC

Group B
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification ZOB LEK NSR BYD
1 Zob Ahan 6 4 2 0 12 2 +10 14 Advance to knockout stage — 0–0 3–0 5–2
2 Lekhwiya 6 2 3 1 7 2 +5 9 0–1 — 4–0 0–0
3 Al-Nassr 6 1 2 3 5 14 −9 5 0–3 1–1 — 3–3
4 Bunyodkor 6 0 3 3 5 11 −6 3 0–0 0–2 0–1 —
Source: AFC

Group C
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification TRA HIL PAK JAZ
1 Tractor Sazi 6 4 0 2 10 3 +7 12 Advance to knockout stage — 1–2 2–0 4–0
2 Al-Hilal 6 3 2 1 10 7 +3 11 0–2 — 4–1 1–0
3 Pakhtakor 6 3 1 2 10 9 +1 10 1–0 2–2 — 3–0
4 Al-Jazira 6 0 1 5 2 13 −11 1 0–1 1–1 1–3 —
Source: AFC

Group D
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification JSH AIN AHL NSF
1 El Jaish 6 3 1 2 6 8 −2 10 Advance to knockout stage — 2–1 1–4 1–0
2 Al-Ain 6 3 1 2 8 6 +2 10 1–2 — 1–0 2–0
3 Al-Ahli 6 3 0 3 10 7 +3 9 2–0 1–2 — 2–1
4 Nasaf Qarshi 6 1 2 3 4 7 −3 5 0–0 1–1 2–1 —
Source: AFC

Group E
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification JHM TOK JIA BBD
1 Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 6 3 1 2 13 9 +4 10 Advance to knockout stage — 2–1 2–2 2–0
2 FC Tokyo 6 3 1 2 8 8 0 10 0–3 — 0–0 3–1
3 Jiangsu Suning 6 2 3 1 10 7 +3 9 3–2 1–2 — 3–0
4 Becamex Binh Duong 6 1 1 4 6 13 −7 4 3–2 1–2 1–1 —
Source: AFC

Group F
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification SEO SHD HIR BUR
1 FC Seoul 6 4 1 1 17 5 +12 13 Advance to knockout stage — 0–0 4–1 2–1
2 Shandong Luneng 6 3 2 1 7 5 +2 11 1–4 — 1–0 3–0
3 Sanfrecce Hiroshima 6 3 0 3 9 8 +1 9 2–1 1–2 — 3–0
4 Buriram United 6 0 1 5 1 16 −15 1 0–6 0–0 0–2 —
Source: AFC

Group G
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification SSI MEL SSB GAM
1 Shanghai SIPG 6 4 0 2 10 8 +2 12 Advance to knockout stage — 3–1 2–1 2–1
2 Melbourne Victory 6 2 3 1 7 7 0 9 2–1 — 0–0 2–1
3 Suwon Samsung Bluewings 6 2 3 1 7 4 +3 9 3–0 1–1 — 0–0
4 Gamba Osaka 6 0 2 4 4 9 −5 2 0–2 1–1 1–2 —
Source: AFC

Group H
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification SYD URA GZE POH
1 Sydney FC 6 3 1 2 4 4 0 10 Advance to knockout stage — 0–0 2–1 1–0
2 Urawa Red Diamonds 6 2 3 1 6 4 +2 9 2–0 — 1–0 1–1
3 Guangzhou Evergrande 6 2 2 2 6 5 +1 8 1–0 2–2 — 0–0
4 Pohang Steelers 6 1 2 3 2 5 −3 5 0–1 1–0 0–2 —
Source: AFC

Knockout stage
Main article: 2016 AFC Champions League knockout stage

In the knockout stage, the 16 teams played a single-elimination tournament, with the teams split between the two zones until the final. 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 (Regulations Article 12.3).[2]

Bracket
  Round of 16 Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
                                             
FC Tokyo 2 0 2  
Shanghai SIPG (a) 1 1 2  
  Shanghai SIPG 0 0 0  
  Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 0 5 5  
Melbourne Victory 1 1 2
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 1 2 3  
  Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 4 1 5  
  FC Seoul 1 2 3  
Urawa Red Diamonds 1 2 3 (6)  
FC Seoul (p) 0 3 3 (7)  
  FC Seoul 3 1 4
  Shandong Luneng 1 1 2  
Shandong Luneng (a) 1 2 3
Sydney FC 1 2 3  
  Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 2 1 3
  Al-Ain 1 1 2
Al-Ain 1 2 3  
Zob Ahan 1 0 1  
  Al-Ain 0 1 1
  Lokomotiv Tashkent 0 0 0  
Al-Hilal 0 1 1
Lokomotiv Tashkent 0 2 2  
  Al-Ain 3 2 5
  El Jaish 1 2 3  
Lekhwiya 0 4 4  
El Jaish 4 2 6  
  El Jaish (1st leg awd.) 3 1 4
  Al-Nasr 0 0 0  
Al-Nasr 4 1 5
Tractor Sazi 1 3 4  

Round of 16

In the round of 16, the winners of one group played the runners-up of another group from the same zone, with the group winners hosting the second leg.[14]

Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
West Zone
Al-Hilal 1–2 Lokomotiv Tashkent 0–0 1–2
Al-Nasr 5–4 Tractor Sazi 4–1 1–3
Al-Ain 3–1 Zob Ahan 1–1 2–0
Lekhwiya 4–6 El Jaish 0–4 4–2
Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
East Zone
Melbourne Victory 2–3 Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 1–1 1–2
FC Tokyo 2–2 (a) Shanghai SIPG 2–1 0–1
Urawa Red Diamonds 3–3 (6–7 p) FC Seoul 1–0 2–3 (a.e.t.)
Shandong Luneng 3–3 (a) Sydney FC 1–1 2–2

Quarter-finals

In the quarter-finals, the four teams from the West Zone were drawn into two ties, and the four teams from the East Zone were drawn into the other two ties, with the order of legs also decided by the draw.[17]

The draw for the quarter-finals was held on 9 June 2016, 16:00 MYT (UTC+8), at the Petaling Jaya Hilton Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[12] There was no seeding or country protection, so teams from the same association could be drawn into the same tie.[17]

Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
West Region
Al-Ain 1–0 Lokomotiv Tashkent 0–0 1–0
El Jaish 4–0 Al-Nasr 3–0 (awd.)[I] 1–0
Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
East Region
Shanghai SIPG 0–5 Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 0–0 0–5
FC Seoul 4–2 Shandong Luneng 3–1 1–1
Notes
  1. ^
    The El Jaish v Al-Nasr first leg, originally won 3–0 by Al-Nasr, was forfeited and awarded 3–0 to El Jaish by the AFC Disciplinary Committee on 12 September 2016, as Al-Nasr fielded the player Wanderley who was found to be registered using a fake Indonesian passport.[18]

Semi-finals

In the semi-finals, the two quarter-final winners from the West Zone play each other, and the two quarter-final winners from the East Zone play each other, with the order of legs determined by the quarter-final draw.[17]

Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
West Region
Al-Ain 5–3 El Jaish 3–1 2–2
Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
East Region
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 5–3 FC Seoul 4–1 1–2

Final
Main article: 2016 AFC Champions League Final

In the final, the two semi-final winners play each other, with the order of legs reversed from the previous season's final, with the team from the East Zone hosting the first leg, and the team from the West Zone hosting the second leg.[17]

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 2–1 Al-Ain
Leonardo  70', 77' (pen.) Report Asprilla  63'
Attendance: 36,158
Referee: Ahmed Al-Kaf (Oman)
Al-Ain 1–1 Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
Lee Myung-joo  34' Report Han Kyo-won  30'
Attendance: 23,239
Referee: Ryuji Sato (Japan)

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors won 3–2 on aggregate.

Awards
Award Player Team
Most Valuable Player[19] Omar Abdulrahman Al-Ain
Top Goalscorer[20] Adriano FC Seoul
Fair Play Award[19] — Al-Ain

All-Star Squad

Source:[21]

Pos. Player Team
GK Kwoun Sun-tae Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
Ignatiy Nesterov Lokomotiv Tashkent
DF Ismail Ahmed Al-Ain
Gil Shandong Luneng
Kim Ju-young Shanghai SIPG
Cho Sung-hwan Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
Kwak Tae-hwi FC Seoul
MF Omar Abdulrahman Al-Ain
Kim Bo-kyung Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
Server Djeparov Lokomotiv Tashkent
Lee Jae-sung Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
Seydou Keita El Jaish
Leonardo Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
Walter Montillo Shandong Luneng
Lee Myung-joo Al-Ain
FW Adriano FC Seoul
Danilo Moreno Asprilla Al-Ain
Caio Al-Ain
Dejan Damjanović FC Seoul
Hulk Shanghai SIPG
Wu Lei Shanghai SIPG
Ricardo Lopes Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
Romarinho El Jaish

Top scorers
Rank Player Team MD1 MD2 MD3 MD4 MD5 MD6 2R1 2R2 QF1 QF2 SF1 SF2  F1   F2  Total
1 Adriano FC Seoul 4321111 13
2 Leonardo Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 112222 10
3 Romarinho El Jaish 12112 7
4 Dejan Damjanović FC Seoul 11111 5
Douglas Al-Ain 1211 5
Igor Sergeev Pakhtakor 1112 5
Lee Dong-gook Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 1112 5
Wu Lei Shanghai SIPG 11111 5
9 Danilo Moreno Asprilla Al-Ain 1111 4
Besart Berisha Melbourne Victory 1111 4
Elkeson Shanghai SIPG 121 4
Abderrazak Hamdallah El Jaish 1111 4
Jô Jiangsu Suning 1111 4
Nguyễn Anh Đức Becamex Bình Dương 112 4
Diego Tardelli Shandong Luneng 1111 4

Note: Goals scored in the qualifying play-off are not counted when determining top scorer (see regulations, Article 77.4).[2]

Source: the-AFC.com[22][23][24]

Controversies
Further information: 2016 AFC Champions League group stage § Schedule

On 25 January 2016, the AFC announced changes to the group stage schedule due to Saudi Arabia's refusal to play in Iran.[25] After the changes, all matches between teams from Iran and Saudi Arabia (including possible play-off winners) were rescheduled to be played on matchdays 5 and 6 (19–20 April and 3–4 May). The venues of these matches would be decided after an evaluation deadline of 15 March 2016. As there had not been a return to normal relations between the two countries by then with Saudi Arabia refusing to lift their travel restrictions to Iran, the AFC accepted the Saudi Arabian Football Federation's proposal of playing all matches between teams from Iran and Saudi Arabia in neutral venues.[26] The Saudi Arabian Football Federation supports its clubs who refuse to travel to Iran.[27] The Iranian Football Federation has stated that it could withdraw from the AFC Champions League due to the venue changes.[28]

See also

References
  1. "Jeonbuk clinch ticket to Japan". FIFA. 26 November 2016.
  2. "2016 AFC Champions League Competition Regulations" (PDF). AFC. 28 November 2015.
  3. "Revamp of AFC competitions". AFC. 25 January 2014.
  4. "ExCo approves expanded AFC Asian Cup finals". AFC. 16 April 2014.
  5. "AFC MA Ranking as at 3 November 2014" (PDF). AFC.
  6. "AFC Competitions Committee meeting". AFC. 28 November 2014.
  7. "AFC Champions League slots allocated for 2015-2016". AFC. 4 December 2014.
  8. "Slot allocation for ACL 2015 - 2016" (PDF). AFC.
  9. "Champions Guangzhou Evergrande to learn ACL 2016 opponents". AFC. 4 December 2015.
  10. "ด่วน! "สุพรรณ" แห้ว เอเอฟซีให้สิทธิ์ "ฉลาม" เล่นถ้วยเอเชีย". MGRSport. 15 December 2015.
  11. "AFC Calendar of Competitions 2016" (PDF). AFC.
  12. "ACL 2016 quarter-finalists to learn opponents on Thursday". AFC. 8 June 2016.
  13. "AFC Champions League 2016 Group Stage Draw". AFC. 10 December 2015.
  14. "ACL 2016 Draw Results" (PDF). AFC.
  15. "AFC Champions League 2016 Group Stage Draw". AFC. 10 December 2015.
  16. "ACL 2016 Draw Results" (PDF). AFC.
  17. "AFC Champions League draw produces intriguing quarter-final ties". 9 June 2016.
  18. "El Jaish (QAT) vs Nasr (UAE) match forfeited". AFC. 12 September 2016. Archived from the original on 13 September 2016.
  19. "Omar Abdulrahman lands AFC Champions League 2016 MVP award". AFC. 27 November 2016. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  20. "Adriano named AFC Champions League 2016 top scorer". AFC. 27 November 2016.
  21. "TSG Report: AFC Champions League 2016 - Part 3". AFC. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  22. "Top Goal Scorers (by Stage) – 2016 AFC Champions League Group Stage". the-afc.com. AFC.
  23. "Top Goal Scorers (by Stage) – 2016 AFC Champions League Round of 16". the-afc.com. AFC.
  24. "Top Goal Scorers (by Stage) – 2016 AFC Champions League Knockout Stage". the-afc.com. AFC.
  25. "Decisions following AFC Competitions Committee meeting". AFC. 25 January 2016.
  26. "Saudi Arabia and Iran clubs to play at neutral venues in Champions League". AFC. 16 March 2016.
  27. "AFC Champions League football matches delayed over Saudi-Iran tension". Gulf News. 25 January 2016. Archived from the original on 10 October 2018. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  28. Ali Khan, Mir Farhad (2 February 2016). "Iranian clubs could withdraw from AFC Champions League due to venue changes". Persian Football.
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