A total of 76 teams participated in the 2010–11 Champions League, from 52 UEFA associations (Liechtenstein organised no domestic league competition). Associations were allocated places according to their 2009 UEFA country coefficient, which took into account their performance in European competitions from 2004–05 to 2008–09.[2]
Below is the qualification scheme for the 2010–11 UEFA Champions League:[3]
Associations 1–3 each had four teams qualify
Associations 4–6 each had three teams qualify
Associations 7–15 each had two teams qualify
Associations 16–53 each had one team qualify (excluding Liechtenstein)
Since the winners of the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League, Internazionale, obtained a place in the group stage through their domestic league placing, the reserved title holder spot in the group stage was effectively vacated. To compensate:[4]
The champions of association 13 (Scotland) were promoted from the third qualifying round to the group stage.
The champions of association 16 (Denmark) were promoted from the second qualifying round to the third qualifying round.
The champions of associations 48 and 49 (Faroe Islands and Luxembourg) were promoted from the first qualifying round to the second qualifying round.
Teams entering in this round
Teams 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 round
Champions (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 round
Champions (10 teams)
10 winners from the third qualifying round for champions
Non-champions (10 teams)
2 third-placed teams from associations 4 and 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
The labels in the parentheses show how each team qualified for the place of its starting round:[5]
TH: Champions League title holders
1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th: League positions of the previous season
The draws for the qualifying rounds, the play-off round and the group stage were all seeded based on the 2010 UEFA club coefficients.[6] The coefficients were calculated on the basis of a combination of 20% of the value of the respective national association's coefficient for the period from 2005–06 to 2009–10 inclusive and the clubs' individual performances in the UEFA club competitions during the same period. Clubs were ordered by their coefficients and then divided into pots as required.[3][7]
In the draws for the qualifying rounds and the play-off round, the teams were divided evenly into one seeded and one unseeded pot, based on their club coefficients. A seeded team was drawn against an unseeded team, with the order of legs in each tie also being decided randomly. Due to the limited time between matches, the draws for the second and third qualifying rounds took place before the results of the previous round were known. The seeding in each draw was carried out under the assumption that all of the highest-ranked clubs of the previous round were victorious. If a lower-ranked club was victorious, it simply took the place of its defeated opponent in the next round. Moreover, in the third qualifying round and play-off round, champion clubs and non-champion clubs were kept separated. Prior to these draws, UEFA could form "groups" in accordance with the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee, but they were purely for convenience of the draw and did not resemble any real groupings in the sense of the competition, while ensuring that teams from the same association were not drawn against each other.
In the draw for the group stage, the 32 teams were split into four pots of eight teams, based on their club coefficients, with the title holder automatically placed into Pot 1. Each group contained one team from each pot, but teams from the same association could not be drawn into the same group. The draw was controlled in order to split teams of the same national association evenly between Groups A-D and Groups E-H, where the two sets of groups alternated between playing on Tuesdays and Wednesdays for each matchday.
In the draw for the first knockout round, the eight group winners were seeded, and the eight group runners-up were unseeded. A seeded team was drawn against an unseeded team, with the seeded team hosting the second leg. Teams from the same group or the same association could not be drawn against each other.
In the draws for the quarter-finals onwards, there were no seedings, and teams from the same group or the same association could be drawn with each other.
In the qualifying and play-off rounds, teams played against each other over two legs on a home-and-away basis.
The draws for the first two qualifying rounds were held on 21 June 2010 by UEFA General Secretary Gianni Infantino and Michael Heselschwerdt, Head of Club Competitions,[8][9] while the draw for the third qualifying round was held on 16 July 2010 by UEFA General Secretary Gianni Infantino and Giorgio Marchetti, Competitions Director.[10][11]
First qualifying round
The first legs were planned to be played on 29 and 30 June, and the second legs were played on 6 and 7 July 2010. However, the first match of the entire competition (FC Santa Coloma v Birkirkara on 29 June) was cancelled due to the pitch being declared unfit.[12]
Match originally postponed due to bad pitch conditions caused by heavy rain. FC Santa Coloma suggested an alternative on 30 June, but UEFA awarded Birkirkara a 3–0 away win on 1 July.[13]
Second qualifying round
The first legs were played on 13 and 14 July, and the second legs were played on 20 and 21 July 2010.
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 play-off round of the 2010–11 UEFA Europa League. The first legs were played on 27 and 28 July, and the second legs were played on 3 and 4 August 2010.
The draw for the play-off round was held on 6 August 2010 by UEFA General Secretary Gianni Infantino and UEFA Competitions Director Giorgio Marchetti.[14][15] 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 group stage of the 2010–11 UEFA Europa League. The first legs were played on 17 and 18 August, and the second legs were played on 24 and 25 August 2010.
Following a trial at the previous year'sUEFA Europa League, UEFA announced that in both the 2010–11 and 2011–12 competitions, two extra officials would be used – with one on each goal line.[16]
Location of teams of the 2010–11 UEFA Champions League group stage. Brown: Group A; Red: Group B; Orange: Group C; Yellow: Group D; Green: Group E; Blue: Group F; Purple: Group G; Pink: Group H.
The 32 clubs were drawn into eight groups of four on 26 August 2010 in Monaco.[17] In each group, teams played against each other home-and-away in a round-robin format. The matchdays were 14–15 September, 28–29 September, 19–20 October, 2–3 November, 23–24 November, and 7–8 December 2010. The group winners and runners-up advanced to the round of 16, while the third-placed teams entered the round of 32 of the 2010–11 UEFA Europa League.
If two or more teams were equal on points on completion of the group matches, the following criteria were applied to determine the rankings (in descending order):[3]
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;
higher number of coefficient points accumulated by the club in question, as well as its association, over the previous five seasons.
The draw for the round of 16 was held on 17 December 2010.[19] The first legs of the round of 16 were played on 15, 16, 22 and 23 February, and the second legs were played on 8, 9, 15 and 16 March 2011.
The draw for the quarter-finals was held on 18 March 2011.[20] The first legs were played on 5 and 6 April, and the second legs were played on 12 and 13 April 2011.
The draw for the semi-finals was held on 18 March 2011, after the quarter-final draw.[20] The first legs were played on 26 and 27 April, and the second legs were played on 3 and 4 May 2011.
The 2011 UEFA Champions League Final was played on 28 May 2011 at Wembley Stadium in London, England. A draw was held on 18 March 2011, after the quarter-final and semi-final draws, to determine the "home" team for administrative purposes.[20]
Just for being in the group stage, each club received €3.9 million (compared with €3.8 million last season 2009–2010), followed by €550,000 for each group match they played, or €3.3 million for the whole group stage, giving them each a total of €7.2 million in participation bonuses. In addition, each club had the possibility of netting up to €4.8m in group stage performance bonuses (€800,000 for a win; €400,000 for a draw). Real Madrid CF took the most from this pot, with a near-maximum €4.4 million. A place in the round of 16 was worth €3 million, in the quarter-finals €3.3 million and in the semi-finals €4.2 million. The overall winners, FC Barcelona, received an additional €9 million, bringing their total bonuses to €30.7 million (out of a maximum €31.5 million). Manchester United FC, the runners-up, received a final match bonus of €5.6 million.[24] The second payments category, the market pool, depends primarily on the value of the clubs' domestic markets. If an association is represented by more than one club, however, the clubs' shares are calculated, first, on the basis of their position in the previous season's domestic championship and, second, on the basis of the number of matches they play in the competition (group stage onwards). With €27.023m, Chelsea FC received the largest market pool share of all the clubs in the 2010/11 UEFA Champions League. In addition, the clubs all keep their own gate receipts.[24]
