2006–07 UEFA Champions League

The UEFA Champions League 2006-07 is the 52nd edition of the European championship football club tournament and 15th edition under the current UEFA Champions League format. The final is scheduled to be played at the Olympic Stadium in Athens, Greece, on May 23, 2007.

File:UCL2007Final.jpg

2007 UEFA Champions League Final logo

Early issues

Serie A scandal

The Italian qualifiers should have been, according to the results of the 2005-06 Serie A campaign, Juventus, AC Milan, Internazionale, and Fiorentina. After the match-fixing scandal, the four teams were decided on July 25.

Internazionale and Roma were confirmed as the direct entrants to the group stage. Chievo and AC Milan were confirmed as the entrants into the third qualifying round. Originally, AC Milan were barred from the Champions League, but were restored to the competition on appeal, although they had to survive a third-round tie instead of directly entering the group stage. AC Milan were given the go-ahead to take part in this season's Champions League and beat Red Star Belgrade in the UEFA Champions League 3rd Qualifying Round by an aggregate of 3-1.

Suspension of Hellenic Football Federation

The participation of Greek teams in this year's tournament was in doubt following FIFA's suspension of the Hellenic Football Federation from all international competition because of government interference in the running of the sport in Greece. However, FIFA lifted its ban on 12 July 2006 after Greece amended a new sports law to address FIFA's objections.

Qualifying rounds

First qualifying round

The first legs were played on July 11 and 12, 2006, with the second legs on July 18 and 19.

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Elbasani	1-3	Ekranas	1-0	0-3
TVMK Tallinn	3-4	FH Hafnarfjörður	2-3	1-1
Liepājas Metalurgs	2-1	Aktobe-Lento	1-0	1-1
MyPa	2-0	The New Saints	1-0	1-0
Cork City	2-1	Apollon Limassol	1-0	1-1
Sioni Bolnisi	2-1	Baku	2-0	0-1
F91 Dudelange	0-1	FK Rabotnicki	0-1	0-0
Shakhtyor	0-2	Široki Brijeg	0-1	0-1
Birkirkara	2-5	B36 Tórshavn	0-3	2-2
Linfield	3-5	ND Gorica	1-3	2-2
Pyunik	0-2	Sheriff Tiraspol	0-0	0-2

Second qualifying round

The first legs were played on July 25 and 26, 2006, with the second legs on August 1 and 2.

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
ND Gorica	0-5	Steaua Bucharest	0-2	0-3
Levski Sofia	4-0	Sioni Bolnisi	2-0	2-0
FC Zürich	2-3	Red Bull Salzburg	2-1	0-2
Djurgården	2-3	Ružomberok	1-0	1-3
Debrecen	2-5	FK Rabotnicki	1-1	1-4
Cork City	0-4	FK Crvena Zvezda1	0-1	0-3
Fenerbahçe	9-0	B36 Tórshavn	4-0	5-0
Mladá Boleslav	5-3	Vålerenga	3-1	2-2
Sheriff Tiraspol	1-1(a)	Spartak Moscow	1-1	0-0
Liepājas Metalurgs	1-8	Dynamo Kyiv	1-4	0-4
FH Hafnarfjörður	0-3	Legia Warszawa	0-1	0-2
F.C. Copenhagen	4-2	MyPa	2-0	2-2
Ekranas	3-9	Dinamo Zagreb	1-4	2-5
Hearts	3-0	Široki Brijeg	3-0	0-0

Third qualifying round

The first legs were played on August 8 and 9, 2006, with the second legs on August 22 and 23.

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Slovan Liberec	1-2	Spartak Moscow	0-0	1-2
Shakhtar Donetsk	4-2	Legia Warszawa	1-0	3-2
Red Bull Salzburg	1-3	Valencia	1-0	0-3
Levski Sofia	4-2	Chievo	2-0	2-2
Hearts	1-5	AEK Athens	1-2	0-3
CSKA Moscow	5-0	Ružomberok	3-0	2-0
AC Milan	3-1	FK Crvena Zvezda1	1-0	2-1
Galatasaray	6-3	Mladá Boleslav	5-2	1-1
Standard Liège	3-4	Steaua Bucharest	2-2	1-2
Austria Vienna	1-4	Benfica	1-1	0-3
Dinamo Zagreb	1-5	Arsenal	0-3	1-2
F.C. Copenhagen	3-2	Ajax	1-2	2-0
Hamburger SV	1-1(a)	Osasuna	0-0	1-1
Dynamo Kyiv	5-3	Fenerbahçe	3-1	2-2
Liverpool	3-2	Maccabi Haifa2	2-1	1-1
Lille	4-0	Rabotnički	3-0	1-0

The teams eliminated in this round proceed to the first round of the UEFA Cup.

¹This club qualified for this season's UEFA competitions as a member of the Football Association of Serbia and Montenegro during the 2005-06 season but is currently a member of the Football Association of Serbia which is the official successor of the previous football association.

²Due to the armed conflict going on in Israel, UEFA decided that no European matches could be staged in the country until further notice.. The match was played at Lobanovsky Dynamo Stadium in Kiev, Ukraine..

Group stage

The draw for this round was held August 24, 2006 in Monaco. The matches will be played September 12-December 6, 2006.

Main article: UEFA Champions League 2006-07 - Group Stage standings & results

Tie-breaking criteria

Based on paragraph 4.05 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:

1. higher number of points obtained in the group matches played among the teams in question;
2. superior goal difference from the group matches played among the teams in question;
3. higher number of goals scored away from home in the group matches played among the teams in question;
4. superior goal difference from all group matches played;
5. higher number of goals scored in all group matches played;
6. higher number of coefficient points accumulated by the club in question, as well as its association, over the previous five seasons.

Teams that clinched a spot in the Round of 16 are indicated in bold type.

Teams that clinched a spot in the UEFA Cup are indicated in bold italics.

Teams eliminated from European competitions for the season are indicated in plain italics.

Key to colors in group tables

	Top two places advance to knockout stage
	Third place enters the UEFA Cup at the round of 32

Group A

Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
1. Chelsea	13	6	4	1	1	10	4	6
2. Barcelona	11	6	3	2	1	12	4	8
3. Werder Bremen	10	6	3	1	2	7	5	2
4. Levski Sofia	0	6	0	0	6	1	17	-16

September 12, 2006
Barcelona	5-0	Levski
Chelsea	2-0	Bremen
September 27, 2006
Bremen	1-1	Barcelona
Levski	1-3	Chelsea
October 18, 2006
Bremen	2-0	Levski
Chelsea	1-0	Barcelona
October 31, 2006
Barcelona	2-2	Chelsea
Levski	0-3	Bremen
November 22, 2006
Bremen	1-0	Chelsea
Levski	0-2	Barcelona
December 5, 2006
Barcelona	2-0	Bremen
Chelsea	2-0	Levski

Group B

Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
1. Bayern Munich	12	6	3	3	0	10	3	7
2. Inter Milan	10	6	3	1	2	5	5	0
3. Spartak Moskva	5	6	1	2	3	7	11	-4
4. Sporting Lisbon	5	6	1	2	3	3	6	-3

September 12, 2006
Bayern	4-0	Spartak Moskva
Sporting	1-0	Internazionale
September 27, 2006
Internazionale	0-2	Bayern
Spartak Moskva	1-1	Sporting
October 18, 2006
Internazionale	2-1	Spartak Moskva
Sporting	0-1	Bayern
October 31, 2006
Bayern	0-0	Sporting
Spartak Moskva	0-1	Internazionale
November 22, 2006
Internazionale	1-0	Sporting
Spartak Moskva	2-2	Bayern
December 5, 2006
Bayern	1-1	Internazionale
Sporting	1-3	Spartak Moskva

Note:

• Spartak Moskva claims the UEFA Cup berth by virtue of its win and draw in the group stage against Sporting.

Group C

Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
1. Liverpool	13	6	4	1	1	11	5	6
2. PSV Eindhoven	10	6	3	1	2	6	6	0
3. Bordeaux	7	6	2	1	3	6	7	-1
4. Galatasaray	4	6	1	1	4	7	12	-5

September 12, 2006
Galatasaray	0-0	Bordeaux
PSV	0-0	Liverpool
September 27, 2006
Bordeaux	0-1	PSV
Liverpool	3-2	Galatasaray
October 18, 2006
Bordeaux	0-1	Liverpool
Galatasaray	1-2	PSV
October 31, 2006
Liverpool	3-0	Bordeaux
PSV	2-0	Galatasaray
November 22, 2006
Bordeaux	3-1	Galatasaray
Liverpool	2-0	PSV
December 5, 2006
Galatasaray	3-2	Liverpool
PSV	1-3	Bordeaux

Group D

Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
1. Valencia	13	6	4	1	1	12	6	6
2. Roma	10	6	3	1	2	8	4	4
3. Shakhtar Donetsk	6	6	1	3	2	6	11	-5
4. Olympiacos	3	6	0	3	3	6	11	-5

September 12, 2006
Olympiacos	2-4	Valencia
Roma	4-0	Shakhtar
September 27, 2006
Shakhtar	2-2	Olympiacos
Valencia	2-1	Roma
October 18, 2006
Olympiacos	0-1	Roma
Valencia	2-0	Shakhtar
October 31, 2006
Roma	1-1	Olympiacos
Shakhtar	2-2	Valencia
November 22, 2006
Shakhtar	1-0	Roma
Valencia	2-0	Olympiacos
December 5, 2006
Olympiacos	1-1	Shakhtar
Roma	1-0	Valencia

Group E

Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
1. Lyon	14	6	4	2	0	12	3	9
2. Real Madrid	11	6	3	2	1	14	8	6
3. Steaua Bucharest	5	6	1	2	3	7	11	-4
4. Dinamo Kiev	2	6	0	2	4	5	16	-11

September 13, 2006
Dinamo Kiev	1-4	Steaua Bucharest
Lyon	2-0	Real Madrid
September 26, 2006
Real Madrid	5-1	Dinamo Kiev
Steaua Bucharest	0-3	Lyon
October 17, 2006
Dinamo Kiev	0-3	Lyon
Steaua Bucharest	1-4	Real Madrid
November 1, 2006
Lyon	1-0	Dinamo Kiev
Real Madrid	1-0	Steaua Bucharest
November 21, 2006
Real Madrid	2-2	Lyon
Steaua Bucharest	1-1	Dinamo Kiev
December 6, 2006
Dinamo Kiev	2-2	Real Madrid
Lyon	1-1	Steaua Bucharest

Group F

Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
1. Manchester United	12	6	4	0	2	10	5	5
2. Celtic	9	6	3	0	3	8	9	-1
3. Benfica	7	6	2	1	3	7	8	-1
4. F.C. Copenhagen	7	6	2	1	3	5	8	-3

September 13, 2006
Copenhagen	0-0	Benfica
Manchester United	3-2	Celtic
September 26, 2006
Benfica	0-1	Manchester United
Celtic	1-0	Copenhagen
October 17, 2006
Celtic	3-0	Benfica
Manchester United	3-0	Copenhagen
November 1, 2006
Benfica	3-0	Celtic
Copenhagen	1-0	Manchester United
November 21, 2006
Benfica	3-1	Copenhagen
Celtic	1-0	Manchester United
December 6, 2006
Copenhagen	3-1	Celtic
Manchester United	3-1	Benfica

Notes:

• Benfica qualifies for the UEFA Cup ahead of F.C. Copenhagen by virtue of a win and draw against F.C. Copenhagen.

Group G

Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
1. Arsenal	11	6	3	2	1	7	3	4
2. Porto	11	6	3	2	1	9	4	5
3. CSKA Moskva	8	6	2	2	2	4	5	-1
4. Hamburg	3	6	1	0	5	7	15	-8

September 13, 2006
Hamburg	1-2	Arsenal
Porto	0-0	CSKA Moskva
September 26, 2006
Arsenal	2-0	Porto
CSKA Moskva	1-0	Hamburg
October 17, 2006
CSKA Moskva	1-0	Arsenal
Porto	4-1	Hamburg
November 1, 2006
Arsenal	0-0	CSKA Moskva
Hamburg	1-3	Porto
November 21, 2006
Arsenal	3-1	Hamburg
CSKA Moskva	0-2	Porto
December 6, 2006
Hamburg	3-2	CSKA Moskva
Porto	0-0	Arsenal

Notes:

• Arsenal wins the group by virtue of a win and a draw against Porto

Group H

Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
1. AC Milan	10	6	3	1	2	8	4	4
2. Lille	9	6	2	3	1	8	5	3
3. AEK Athens	8	6	2	2	2	6	9	-3
4. Anderlecht	4	6	0	4	2	7	11	-4

September 13, 2006
Anderlecht	1-1	Lille
AC Milan	3-0	AEK Athens
September 26, 2006
AEK Athens	1-1	Anderlecht
Lille	0-0	AC Milan
October 17, 2006
Anderlecht	0-1	AC Milan
Lille	3-1	AEK Athens
November 1, 2006
AEK Athens	1-0	Lille
AC Milan	4-1	Anderlecht
November 21, 2006
AEK Athens	1-0	AC Milan
Lille	2-2	Anderlecht
December 6, 2006
Anderlecht	2-2	AEK Athens
AC Milan	0-2	Lille

(KEY: Pts= Points; Pld= Matches Played; W= Matches Won; D= Matches Drawn; L= Matches Lost; GF= Goals For; GA= Goals Against; GD= Goal Difference)

Final phase (knockout stage)

All knockout rounds are two-legged except for the final.

Qualified teams

• Group A
  • Chelsea
  • Barcelona

• Group B
  • Bayern Munich
  • Inter Milan

• Group C
  • Liverpool
  • PSV Eindhoven

• Group D
  • Valencia
  • Roma

• Group E
  • Lyon
  • Real Madrid

• Group F
  • Manchester United
  • Celtic

• Group G
  • Arsenal
  • Porto

• Group H
  • AC Milan
  • Lille

Teams in bold italics have secured first place.

Round of 16

The draw for this round will be held December 15, 2006 at UEFA Headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland. The matches will be played February 20/February 21 and March 6/March 7, 2007.

Conditions of the draw

From [1]:

• Clubs from the same association must not be drawn against each other.
• The winners and runners-up of the same group must not be drawn against each other.
• Group winners must not be drawn against each other.
• Group runners-up must not be drawn against each other.
• All group runners-up will play their first-leg matches at home.

This effectively divides the draw into two pots:

Winners	Runners up
Chelsea Bayern Munich Liverpool Valencia Lyon Manchester United Arsenal AC Milan	Barcelona Inter Milan PSV Eindhoven Roma Real Madrid Celtic Porto Lille

Quarterfinals

The draw for this round will be held March 9, 2007 in Athens, Greece. The matches will be played April 3/April 4 and April 10/April 11, 2007.

Semifinals

The draw for this round will be held March 9, 2007 in Athens, Greece. The matches will be played April 24/April 25 and May 1/May 2, 2007.

Final

The Final will take place on May 23, 2007 at the Olympic Stadium, Athens, Greece.

Trivia

• AC Milan reduced their ticket price for their final group match against Lille to just €1 in an attempt to avoid a low turnout at their 80,000 seater San Siro stadium. AC Milan had already won the group and had nine major first team players out injured for the match.
• Celtic qualified for the knockout stage for the first time since the tournament was restructured. After having no team progress from the group stage for the first thirteen UEFA Champions League seasons, Scotland now had a team which progressed past the group stages for the second consecutive year, as Rangers finished second in their group the previous season.
• AEK Athens finally won a UEFA Champions League match when they beat Lille 1-0 in their fourth group game at the Olympic Stadium. They proceded to win their next game as well, against AC Milan.
• Levski Sofia were the first Bulgarian team to compete in the UEFA Champions League, but unfortunately, they were also one of the few clubs not to gain a single point in the group stage in the history of the competition.
• Copenhagen were also making their first appearance in the competition.
• All five British teams qualified for the knockout stages. All four English clubs finished top of their groups.

See also

• UEFA Champions League 2006-07 goalscorers
• UEFA Cup 2006-07
• UEFA Intertoto Cup 2006

External links

• UEFA Champions League at uefa.com
• Regulations for current season