The 2009–10 UEFA Europa League is the first season of the UEFA Europa League, the competition previously known as UEFA Cup, which had been in existence for 38 years.^[1]

The final will be played at the HSH Nordbank Arena, home ground of Hamburger SV, in Hamburg, Germany.^[2]

Shakhtar Donetsk are the defending champions.

[edit] Association team allocation

A total of 192 teams from 53 UEFA associations are expected to participate in the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League. Countries are allocated places according to their UEFA league coefficient.

The previous season's winners, Shakhtar Donetsk, would have been guaranteed a place in the group stage even if they did not obtain a qualifying place through their domestic league. However, as Shakhtar qualified for the UEFA Champions League, the original allocation places will be altered to compensate for the vacant title holder spot in the group stage. As this is the first edition of the Europa League, it was initially unknown whether UEFA would simply disregard the vacant Title Holder spot and rearrange entries so that one more team qualifies from the play-off round, or replace the title holders' group stage place with that of the top-ranked association's cup winner and move teams from lower rounds appropriately, as the regulations are unclear on this matter.^[3] The former set-up was confirmed by UEFA's official list of participants, published on 16 June 2009.^[4]

Below is the qualification scheme as the Title Holder spot is not replaced (not counting teams relegated from the Champions League):

• Associations 1–6 each enter three teams
• Associations 7–9 each enter four teams
• Associations 10–53 each enter three teams, except Liechtenstein, Andorra and San Marino, who enter one team each
• The three Associations with the best Fair Play scores (Norway, Denmark, Scotland) each gain an additional berth^[5]

[edit] Distribution

First qualifying round (46 teams)

• 14 domestic league runners-up from associations 37–51 (except Liechtenstein)
• 29 domestic league 3rd place teams from associations 22–51 (except Liechtenstein)
• 3 teams from the Fair Play initiative

Second qualifying round (80 teams)

• 23 winners from the first qualifying round
• 24 domestic cup winners from associations 30–53
• 18 domestic league runners-up from associations 19–36
• 6 domestic league 3rd place teams from associations 16–21
• 6 domestic league 4th place teams from associations 10–15
• 3 domestic league 5th place teams from associations 7–9

Third qualifying round (70 teams)

• 40 winners from the second qualifying round
• 12 domestic cup winners from associations 18–29
• 3 domestic league runners-up from associations 16–18
• 6 domestic league 3rd place teams from associations 10–15
• 3 domestic league 4th place teams from associations 7–9
• 3 5th place teams from associations 4–6 (League Cup winners for France)
• 3 6th place teams from associations 1–3 (League Cup winners for England)

Play-off round (76 teams)

• 35 winners from the third qualifying round
• 17 domestic cup winners from associations 1–17
• 3 domestic league 3rd place teams from associations 7–9
• 3 domestic league 4th place teams from associations 4–6
• 3 domestic league 5th place teams from associations 1–3
• 15 losers from the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round

Group stage (48 teams)

• 38 winners from the play-off round
• 10 losers from the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League play-off round

Final phase (32 teams)

• 12 group winners from the group stage
• 12 group runners-up from the group stage
• 8 third-placed teams from the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League group stage

[edit] Redistribution rules

A Europa League place is vacated when the team also qualifies for the Champions League, or qualifies for the Europa League by more than one method. When a place is vacated, it is redistributed within the national association by the following rules:

• When a domestic cup winner (considered as the "highest-placed" qualifier within the national association) also qualifies for the Champions League, its Europa League place is vacated, and the remaining Europa League qualifiers are moved up one place, with the final place (with the earliest entrance) taken by the domestic cup runners-up, provided they do not already qualify for the Champions League or the Europa League. Otherwise, this place is taken by the highest-placed league finisher which do not qualify for the Europa League yet.
• When a cup winner also qualifies for the Europa League through league position, its place through the league position is vacated, and the Europa League qualifiers which finish lower in the league are moved up one place, with the final place taken by the highest-placed league finisher which do not qualify for the Europa League yet.
• A place vacated by the League Cup winner is taken by the highest-placed league finisher which do not qualify for the Europa League yet.
• A Fair Play place is taken by the team which finishes highest in the domestic Fair Play table which do not qualify for the Champions League or Europa League yet.
• If the Europa League title holder also qualifies for the Champions League or the Europa League through domestic performance, its vacated place in the Europa League is not taken by any team.

[edit] Teams

As the title holder, Shakhtar Donetsk, qualified for the UEFA Champions League, the original allocation places were altered to compensate for the vacant title holder spot in the group stage. No club will replace the Title Holder spot. As a result, the Swiss Cup winner and Bulgarian Cup winner (Sion and Litex Lovech, respectively), were moved from the third qualifying round to the play-off round; the Cypriot Cup winner and Slovenian Cup winner (APOP and Interblock Ljubljana) were moved from the second qualifying round to the third, and the Andorran Cup winner, San Marino Cup winner, League of Ireland third-placed team and Macedonian league runner-up, (Santa Coloma, Juvenes/Dogana, Derry City and Milano) were moved from the first qualifying round to the second.^[4]

The labels in the parentheses show how each team qualified for the place of its starting round:

• CW: Cup winners
• CR: Cup runners-up
• Nth: League position
• P-Nth: End-of-season play-off position
• FP: Fair play
• UCL: Relegated from the Champions League

Number of still active teams per country in 2009–10 UEFA Europa League.

Round of 32
(UCL)1	(UCL)1	(UCL)1	(UCL)1
Liverpool (UCL)1	(UCL)1	(UCL)1	(UCL)1
Group stage
Timişoara (UCL)2	Sporting CP (UCL)2	Celtic (UCL)2	Anderlecht (UCL)2
Panathinaikos (UCL)2	Levski Sofia (UCL)2	Copenhagen (UCL)2	Red Bull Salzburg (UCL)2
Ventspils (UCL)2	Sheriff Tiraspol (UCL)2
Play-off round
Everton (5th)	Zenit St. Petersburg (5th)	Racing Genk (CW)	Maribor (UCL)3
Aston Villa (6th)	CFR Cluj (CW)	AEK Athens (P-2nd)	BATE (UCL)3
Villarreal (5th)	Dinamo Bucureşti (3rd)	Teplice (CW)	Levadia (UCL)3
Valencia (6th)	Benfica (3rd)	Sion (CW)	Baku (UCL)3
Lazio (CW)	Nacional (4th)	Litex Lovech (CW)	Aktobe (UCL)3
Genoa (5th)	Heerenveen (CW)	Slavia Prague (UCL)3	Dynamo Moscow (UCL)3
Guingamp (CW)	Ajax (3rd)	Stabæk (UCL)3	Twente (UCL)3
Toulouse (4th)	Heart of Midlothian (3rd)	Partizan (UCL)3	Sivasspor (UCL)3
Werder Bremen (CW)	Trabzonspor (3rd)	Slovan Bratislava (UCL)3	Shakhtar DonetskTH (UCL)3
Hertha BSC (4th)	Vorskla Poltava (CW)	Dinamo Zagreb (UCL)3	Sparta Prague (UCL)3
Amkar Perm (4th)
Third qualifying round
Fulham (7th)	PSV Eindhoven (4th)	CSKA Sofia (2nd)	IFK Göteborg (CW)
Athletic Bilbao (CR)	Aberdeen (4th)	Vålerenga (CW)	Košice (CW)
Roma (6th)	Fenerbahçe (4th)	Fredrikstad (2nd)	Lech Poznań (CW)
Lille (5th)	Metalist Kharkiv (3rd)	Odense (2nd)	Budapest Honvéd (CW)
Hamburg (5th)	Club Brugge (3rd)	Austria Wien (CW)	Hajduk Split (2nd)
Krylia Sovetov (6th)	PAOK (P-3rd)	Vojvodina (2nd)	APOP (CW)
Vaslui (5th)	Slovan Liberec (3rd)	Hapoel Tel Aviv (2nd)4	Interblock Ljubljana (CW)
Braga (5th)	Young Boys (2nd)
Second qualifying round
Steaua Bucureşti (6th)	Sturm Graz (4th)	Skonto (3rd)5	Naftan Novopolotsk (CW)
Paços de Ferreira (CR)	Red Star Belgrade (3rd)	Slavija (CW)	Flora (CW)
NAC Breda (P-1st)	Sevojno (CR)	Sarajevo (4th)6	Karabakh (CW)
Falkirk (CR)	Maccabi Netanya (4th)4	Sūduva (CW)	Flamurtari Vlorë (CW)
Galatasaray (5th)	Elfsborg (2nd)	Kaunas (2nd)	Gandzasar (3rd)7
Metalurh Donetsk (4th)	Žilina (2nd)	Iskra-Stal (2nd)	Tobol (2nd)
AA Gent (4th)	Legia Warsaw (2nd)	Dacia Chişinău (3rd)	Crusaders (CW)
Larissa (P-4th)	Újpest (2nd)	St. Patrick's Athletic (2nd)	Bangor City (CW)
Sigma Olomouc (4th)	Rijeka (3rd)	Derry City (3rd)	HB (2nd)
Basel (3rd)	Omonia (2nd)	Rabotnički (CW)	Differdange (2nd)
Cherno More (3rd)	Gorica (2nd)	Milano (2nd)	Sliema Wanderers (CW)
Tromsø (3rd)	HJK Helsinki (CW)	KR (CW)	Petrovac (CW)
Brøndby (3rd)	Honka (2nd)	FC Dinamo Tbilisi (CW)	Santa Coloma (CW)
AaB (CR)	Liepājas Metalurgs (2nd)	Vaduz (CW)	Juvenes/Dogana (CW)
Rapid Wien (2nd)
First qualifying round
Bnei Yehuda (5th)4	Zimbru Chişinău (4th)	Simurq Zaqatala (3rd)	B36 (3rd)
Helsingborg (4th)	Sligo Rovers (4th)	Vllaznia (2nd)	NSÍ Runavík (4th)
Spartak Trnava (3rd)	Renova (3rd)	Dinamo Tirana (3rd)	Grevenmacher (3rd)
Polonia Warsaw (4th)	Keflavík (2nd)	MIKA (4th)7	Käerjéng (CR)
Haladás (3rd)	Fram (3rd)	Banants (CR)	Birkirkara (2nd)
Slaven Belupo (4th)	Olimpi Rustavi (3rd)	Irtysh (3rd)	Valletta (3rd)
Anorthosis (3rd)	Zestaponi (4th)	Okzhetpes (9th)8	Budućnost (2nd)
Rudar Velenje (3rd)	Dinamo Minsk (2nd)	Linfield (2nd)	Sutjeska Nikšić (3rd)
Lahti (3rd)	MTZ-RIPO (3rd)	Lisburn Distillery (4th)	Rosenborg (FP)
Dinaburg (4th)5	Narva Trans (3rd)	Llanelli (2nd)	Randers (FP)
Široki Brijeg (6th)6	Nõmme Kalju (4th)	The New Saints (3rd)	Motherwell (FP)
Vėtra (3rd)	Inter Baku (2nd)

Notes

• Note 1: Third-placed teams of the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League group stage
• Note 2: Losers from the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League play-off round
• Note 3: Losers from the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round
• Note 4: Israel State Cup 2008–09 winner Beitar Jerusalem did not obtain a UEFA license. Since Maccabi Haifa, the State Cup losing finalist, have qualified for the Champions League, all three Israeli Europa League spots were redistributed among the best-placed teams of Israeli Premier League 2008–09.
• Note 5: Daugava Daugavpils, the Latvian Football Cup winners, merged with Dinaburg. Skonto, which finished third in the league, took the vacated second qualifying round spot, while Dinaburg, which finished fourth, took the first qualifying round spot.
• Note 6: Sloboda Tuzla, which finished third in the league, did not obtain a UEFA license, so Sarajevo, which finished fourth, were moved up to the second qualifying round. Borac Banja Luka, which finished fifth, also did not obtain a UEFA license, so Široki Brijeg, which finished sixth, took the vacated first qualifying round spot.
• Note 7: The Armenian Premier League 2008 runner-up Ararat Yerevan did not obtain a UEFA license, so Gandzasar, which finished third, were moved up to the second qualifying round, while MIKA, which finished fourth, took the vacated first qualifying round spot.
• Note 8: Almaty, the losing cup finalists, merged with Megasport to form Lokomotiv Astana. However, the new club did not obtain a UEFA license. Following the denied license and withdrawal of three higher-placed teams in the league, Okzhetpes replaced the spot of Lokomotiv Astana.
• ^TH Title Holder: Shakhtar Donetsk, the title holders of the competition, initially entered the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League as the runner-up of their domestic league. After losing in the Champions League third qualifying round, they entered the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League at the play-off round.

[edit] Round and draw dates

[edit] Qualifying phase

[edit] First qualifying round

The draw, conducted by UEFA President Michel Platini and David Taylor, UEFA General Secretary, for the first and second qualifying rounds was held on Monday, 22 June 2009 in Nyon, Switzerland. The first leg matches were held on 1 July and 2 July, while the second legs were played on 9 July 2009.

The only seeded teams to be eliminated were Keflavík and Sligo Rovers.

Team #1	Agg.	Team #2	1st leg	2nd leg
Sutjeska Nikšić	2–39	MTZ-RIPO	1–1	1–2 (aet)
Lahti	4–3	Dinamo Tirana	4–1	0–2
Grevenmacher	0–69	Vėtra	0–3	0–3
NSÍ Runavík	1–69	Rosenborg	0–3	1–3
Haladás	2–2 (a)	Irtysh	1–0	1–2
Sligo Rovers	2–3	Vllaznia	1–2	1–1
Olimpi Rustavi	4–0	B36 Tórshavn	2–0	2–0
Anorthosis	7–1	Käerjéng	5–0	2–1
Slaven Belupo	1–0	Birkirkara	1–0	0–0
Zimbru Chişinău	3–2	Okzhetpes	1–2	2–0
Lisburn Distillery	1–11	Zestaponi	1–5	0–6
Helsingborg	4–2	MIKA	3–1	1–1
Valletta	5–2	Keflavík	3–0	2–2
Dinaburg	2–1	Nõmme Kalju	2–1	0–0
Budućnost	1–2	Polonia Warsaw	0–2	1–0
Narva Trans	1–69	Rudar Velenje	0–3	1–3
Motherwell	3–1	Llanelli	0–1	3–0
Banants	1–29	Široki Brijeg	0–2	1–0
Spartak Trnava	5–2	Inter Baku	2–1	3–1
Dinamo Minsk	3–2	Renova	2–1	1–1
Randers	7–0	Linfield	4–0	3–0
Simurq Zaqatala	0–4	Bnei Yehuda	0–1	0–3
Fram	4–29	The New Saints	2–1	2–1

Notes

• Note 9: MTZ-RIPO, Vėtra, Rosenborg, Rudar Velenje, Široki Brijeg and The New Saints were originally drawn to play the first leg at home, but their ties were reversed and they hosted the second leg instead.

[edit] Second qualifying round

For the draw clubs were separated into seeded and unseeded teams based on their club coefficient, and because the draw for this round took place before the first qualifying round matches were played, the teams were seeded as if the higher-ranked side in the previous round will be victorious. The first leg matches were played on 16 July (two matches played on 14 July), while the second legs were played on 23 July 2009.

Eight of the seeded teams were eliminated: Rosenborg, Anorthosis, Gorica, Falkirk, HJK Helsinki, Larissa, Aalborg BK, and Spartak Trnava.

Team #1	Agg.	Team #2	1st leg	2nd leg
Rosenborg	0–1	Karabakh	0–0	0–1
Zimbru Chişinău	0–110	Paços de Ferreira	0–0	0–1
Juvenes/Dogana	0–510	Polonia Warsaw	0–1	0–4
Sturm Graz	3–2	Široki Brijeg	2–1	1–1
Basel	7–1	Santa Coloma	3–0	4–1
Honka	3–0	Bangor City	2–0	1–0
MŠK Žilina	3–0	Dacia Chişinău	2–0	1–0
Anorthosis	3–4	Petrovac	2–1	1–3 (aet)
St Patrick's Athletic	2–1	Valletta	1–1	1–0
Omonia	8–1	HB	4–0	4–1
Gorica	1–2	Lahti	1–0	0–2
Sigma Olomouc	3–1	Fram	1–1	2–0
Legia Warsaw	4–0	Olimpi Rustavi	3–0	1–0
Falkirk	1–2	Vaduz	1–0	0–2 (aet)
Elfsborg	3–0	Haladás	3–0	0–0
Rapid Wien	8–0	Vllaznia	5–0	3–0
Naftan	2–2 (a)	Gent	2–1	0–1
Liepājas Metalurgs	3–4	Dinamo Tbilisi	2–1	1–3
Differdange	1–3	Rijeka	1–0	0–3
Sūduva	1–2	Randers	0–1	1–1
Vėtra	3–2	HJK Helsinki	0–1	3–1
Milano	2–1211	Slaven Belupo	0–4	2–8
Dinamo Minsk	1–4	Tromsø	0–0	1–4
KR	3–1	Larissa	2–0	1–1
Brøndby	4–2	Flora	0–1	4–1
Aalborg BK	1–3	Slavija	0–0	1–3
Steaua Bucureşti	4–1	Újpest	2–0	2–1
Metalurh Donetsk	5–1	MTZ-RIPO	3–0	2–1
Crusaders	3–510	Rabotnički	1–1	2–4
Bnei Yehuda	5–0	Dinaburg	4–0	1–0
NAC Breda	8–0	Gandzasar	6–0	2–0
Cherno More	4–0	Iskra-Stal	1–0	3–0
Sevojno	1–1 (a)	Kaunas	0–0	1–1
Flamurtari Vlorë	2–8	Motherwell	1–0	1–8
Zestaponi	3–4	Helsingborg	1–2	2–2 (aet)
Skonto	1–2	Derry City	1–1	0–1
Sliema Wanderers	0–3	Maccabi Netanya	0–0	0–3
Tobol	1–3	Galatasaray	1–1	0–2
Rudar Velenje	0–5	Red Star Belgrade	0–1	0–4
Sarajevo	2–1	Spartak Trnava	1–0	1–1

Notes

• Note 10: Paços de Ferreira, Polonia Warsaw and Rabotnički were originally drawn to play the first leg at home, but their ties were reversed and they hosted the second leg instead.
• Note 11: Match under investigation by UEFA over possible match fixing in the 2nd Leg.

[edit] Third qualifying round

The draw for the third qualifying rounds, which was conducted by UEFA Competitions Director Giorgio Marchetti and Michael Heselschwerdt, Head of Club Competitions, was held on Friday, 17 July 2009 in Nyon, Switzerland. For the draw clubs were separated into seeded and unseeded teams based on their club coefficient, and because the draw for this round took place before the second qualifying round matches were played, the teams were seeded assuming the higher-ranked side in the previous round was victorious. The first leg matches were played on 30 July (one match played on 28 July), while the second legs were played on 6 August 2009 (one match played on 4 August).

Seven of the seeded teams were eliminated: Helsingborg, Slavija, Krylia Sovetov, Braga, Petrovac, Paços de Ferreira, and Aberdeen.

Team #1	Agg.	Team #2	1st leg	2nd leg
Helsingborg	3–3 (4–5p)11	Sarajevo	2–1	1–2 (aet)
Fredrikstad	3–7	Lech Poznań	1–6	2–1
Rijeka	1–4	Metalist Kharkiv	1–2	0–2
Roma	10–211	Gent	3–1	7–1
Vaslui	3–1	Omonia	2–0	1–1
Slavija	1–5	Košice	0–2	1–3
IFK Göteborg	2–4	Hapoel Tel Aviv	1–3	1–1
PSV Eindhoven	2–0	Cherno More	1–0	1–0
Metalurh Donetsk	5–0	Interblock Ljubljana	2–0	3–0
Vålerenga	2–2 (a)	PAOK	1–2	1–0
Rapid Wien	4–311	APOP	2–1	2–2 (aet)
Honka	1–3	Karabakh	0–1	1–2
Vaduz	0–3	Slovan Liberec	0–1	0–2
St Patrick's Athletic	3–3 (a)	Krylia Sovetov	1–0	2–3
Randers	1–4	Hamburg	0–4	1–0
Tromsø	4–1	Slaven Belupo	2–1	2–0
Brøndby	3–3 (a)	Legia Warsaw	1–1	2–2
Vojvodina	3–5	Austria Wien	1–1	2–4
CSKA Sofia	2–1	Derry City	1–0	1–1
Steaua Bucureşti	6–1	Motherwell	3–0	3–1
MŠK Žilina	2–1	Hajduk Split	1–1	1–0
Braga	1–4	Elfsborg	1–2	0–2
Aberdeen	1–8	Sigma Olomouc	1–5	0–3
Rabotnički	3–7	Odense	3–4	0–3
Sevojno	0–4	Lille	0–2	0–2
Petrovac	1–7	Sturm Graz	1–2	0–5
Fenerbahçe	6–2	Budapest Honvéd	5–1	1–1
Bnei Yehuda	2–0	Paços de Ferreira	1–0	1–0
Club Brugge	4–3	Lahti	3–2	1–1
Athletic Bilbao	2–2 (a)	Young Boys	0–1	2–1
KR	3–5	Basel	2–2	1–3
Maccabi Netanya	1–1011	Galatasaray	1–4	0–6
Dinamo Tbilisi	4–5	Red Star Belgrade	2–0	2–5
Polonia Warsaw	1–4	NAC Breda	0–1	1–3
Vėtra	0–6	Fulham	0–3	0–3

Notes

• Note 11: Sarajevo, Gent, Galatasaray and APOP were originally drawn to play the first leg at home, but their ties were reversed and they hosted the second leg instead.

[edit] Play-off round

The draw ceremony for the play-off round, conducted by UEFA General Secretary David Taylor and UEFA Competitions Director Giorgio Marchetti, was held on 7 August 2009 in Nyon, Switzerland. For the draw clubs were separated into seeded and unseeded teams based on their club coefficient. The first leg matches were played on 20 August, while the second legs were played on 27 August 2009, except the Shakhtar Donetsk v Sivasspor match, which was moved to 25 August due to Shakhtar's participation in the 2009 UEFA Super Cup.

Five of the seeded teams were eliminated: Litex Lovech, Aston Villa, Zenit St. Petersburg, Metalist Kharkiv, and Odense.

Team #1	Agg.	Team #2	1st leg	2nd leg
PAOK	1–1 (a)	Heerenveen	1–1	0–0
Dinamo Zagreb	4–2	Hearts	4–0	0–2
Werder Bremen	8–3	Aktobe	6–3	2–0
Everton	5–1	Sigma Olomouc	4–0	1–1
BATE	4–1	Litex Lovech	0–1	4–0 (aet)
NAC Breda	2–9	Villarreal	1–3	1–6
Lech Poznań	1–1 (3–4p)	Club Brugge	1–0	0–1 (aet)
Fulham	3–2	Amkar Perm	3–1	0–1
Galatasaray	6–1	Levadia	5–0	1–1
Teplice	2–3	Hapoel Tel Aviv	1–2	1–1
Metalurh Donetsk	4–5	Austria Wien	2–2	2–3 (aet)
Twente	3–1	Karabakh	3–1	0–0
Košice	4–1012	Roma	3–3	1–7
CSKA Sofia	2–112	Dynamo Moscow	0–0	2–1
Racing Genk	3–6	Lille	1–2	2–4
Bnei Yehuda	0–212	PSV Eindhoven	0–1	0–1
Lazio	3–1	Elfsborg	3–0	0–1
Trabzonspor	2–3	Toulouse	1–3	1–0
Partizan	3–1	MŠK Žilina	1–1	2–0
Baku	2–8	Basel	1–3	1–5
Ajax	7–1	Slovan Bratislava	5–0	2–1
Sivasspor	0–512	Shakhtar Donetsk	0–3	0–2
Brøndby	3–4	Hertha BSC	2–1	1–3
Athletic Bilbao	4–3	Tromsø	3–2	1–1
Sarajevo	2–3	CFR Cluj	1–1	1–2
Rapid Wien	(a) 2–2	Aston Villa	1–0	1–2
Steaua Bucureşti	5–1	St Patrick's Athletic	3–0	2–1
Maribor	0–312	Sparta Prague	0–2	0–1
Nacional	5–4	Zenit St. Petersburg	4–3	1–1
Genoa	4–2	Odense	3–1	1–1
Dinamo Bucureşti	3–3 (9–8p)	Slovan Liberec	0–313	3–0 (aet)
Guingamp	2–8	Hamburg	1–5	1–3
Sion	2–4	Fenerbahçe	0–2	2–2
Sturm Graz	2–1	Metalist Kharkiv	1–1	1–0
Slavia Prague	4–2	Red Star Belgrade	3–0	1–2
Benfica	5–2	Vorskla Poltava	4–0	1–2
Vaslui	2–4	AEK Athens	2–1	0–3
Stabæk	1–7	Valencia	0–3	1–4

Notes

• Note 12: Roma, PSV Eindhoven, Shakhtar Donetsk, Sparta Prague, Zenit St. Petersburg and Dynamo Moscow were originally drawn to play the first leg at home, but their ties were reversed and they will host the second leg instead.^[6]
• Note 13: The match was abandoned at 0–2 in the 88th minute after one Dinamo Bucureşti fan entered the playing field and other fans invaded the running track around the pitch. The UEFA Control and Disciplinary Body awarded a default 0–3 defeat against Dinamo during an emergency meeting on 25 August.^[7] After advancing to the group stage, Dinamo were punished by having their first two home matches in the group stage played behind closed doors.

[edit] Group stage

The draw for the group stage took place at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco on 28 August 2009 at 13:00 CEST. A total of 48 teams were drawn into twelve groups of four. Teams were divided into four pots, based on UEFA coefficients. Clubs from the same pot or the same association cannot be drawn into the same group.

Each team will play against each other in its group twice. The top two in each group will proceed to the knockout stage.

During this stage of the tournament, matches will feature five on-field officials - with two additional officials monitoring play around the penalty area as part of a FIFA-sanctioned experiment.^[8]

[edit] Tie-breaking criteria

Based on Article 7.05 in the UEFA regulations, if two or more teams are equal on points on completion of the group matches, the following criteria will be applied to determine the rankings:^[9]

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;
6. higher number of coefficient points accumulated by the club in question, as well as its association, over the previous five seasons.

[edit] Group A

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Ajax 4 2 2 0 5 2 +3 8 Anderlecht 4 2 2 0 6 2 +4 8 Dinamo Zagreb 4 1 0 3 4 6 −2 314 Timişoara 4 0 2 2 1 6 −5 2

AJA AND DIN TIM Ajax – 17 Dec 2–1 0–0 Anderlecht 1–1 – 2 Dec 3–1 Dinamo Zagreb 0–2 0–2 – 17 Dec Timişoara 2 Dec 0–0 0–3 –

Notes

• Note 14: On 29 October 2009, UEFA's Control and Disciplinary Body ruled that Dinamo Zagreb would have to play their next two home matches in the UEFA Europa League behind closed doors due to the actions of their supporters in their match at Timişoara. They also deducted three points from the Croatian club's points tally in Group A. The club appealed, but the appeal was not heard until after the first closed-doors game against Ajax.^[10] After the appeal was heard, UEFA replaced the three point deduction with a €75,000 fine, and a three-year suspended ban from European competition.^[11]

[edit] Group B

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Lille 4 2 1 1 11 5 +6 7 Valencia 4 1 3 0 7 6 +1 6 Genoa 4 2 0 2 7 8 −1 6 Slavia Prague 4 0 2 2 4 10 −6 2

GEN LIL SLV VAL Genoa – 3–2 2–0 17 Dec Lille 3–0 – 17 Dec 1–1 Slavia Prague 2 Dec 1–5 – 2–2 Valencia 3–2 2 Dec 1–1 –

[edit] Group C

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Hapoel Tel Aviv 4 3 0 1 12 6 +6 9 Hamburg 4 2 1 1 5 5 0 7 Rapid Wien 4 1 1 2 5 9 −4 4 Celtic 4 0 2 2 2 4 −2 2

CEL HSV HAP RAP Celtic – 0–1 2 Dec 1–1 Hamburg 0–0 – 4–2 2 Dec Hapoel Tel Aviv 2–1 17 Dec – 5–1 Rapid Wien 17 Dec 3–0 0–3 –

[edit] Group D

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Sporting CP 4 3 1 0 7 4 +3 10 Hertha BSC 4 1 1 2 4 5 −1 4 Heerenveen 4 1 1 2 5 6 −1 4 Ventspils 4 0 3 1 3 4 −1 3

HEE HER SCP VEN Heerenveen – 2–3 2–3 16 Dec Hertha BSC 0–1 – 16 Dec 1–1 Sporting CP 3 Dec 1–0 – 1–1 Ventspils 0–0 3 Dec 1–2 –

[edit] Group E

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Basel 4 3 0 1 7 2 +5 9 Roma 4 2 1 1 5 4 +1 7 Fulham 4 1 2 1 4 4 0 5 CSKA Sofia 4 0 1 3 2 8 −6 1

BAS CSK FUL ROM Basel – 3–1 16 Dec 2–0 CSKA Sofia 0–2 – 1–1 16 Dec Fulham 1–0 3 Dec – 1–1 Roma 3 Dec 2–0 2–1 –

[edit] Group F

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Galatasaray 4 3 1 0 11 3 +8 10 Panathinaikos 4 3 0 1 4 3 +1 9 Dinamo Bucureşti 4 1 0 3 2 8 −6 3 Sturm Graz 4 0 1 3 1 4 −3 1

DIN GAL PAN STU Dinamo Bucureşti – 0–3 0–1 3 Dec Galatasaray 4–1 – 3 Dec 1–1 Panathinaikos 16 Dec 1–3 – 1–0 Sturm Graz 0–1 16 Dec 0–1 –

[edit] Group G

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Red Bull Salzburg 4 4 0 0 6 1 +5 12 Villarreal 4 2 0 2 6 5 +1 6 Lazio 4 2 0 2 8 7 +1 6 Levski Sofia 4 0 0 4 0 7 −7 0

LAZ LEV SAL VIL Lazio – 17 Dec 1–2 2–1 Levski Sofia 0–4 – 0–1 2 Dec Red Bull Salzburg 2 Dec 1–0 – 2–0 Villarreal 4–1 1–0 17 Dec –

[edit] Group H

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Fenerbahçe 4 3 0 1 6 3 +3 9 Twente 4 2 1 1 4 4 0 7 Sheriff Tiraspol 4 1 1 2 3 3 0 4 Steaua Bucureşti 4 0 2 2 1 4 −3 2

FEN SHE STE TWE Fenerbahçe – 17 Dec 3–1 1–2 Sheriff Tiraspol 0–1 – 2 Dec 2–0 Steaua Bucureşti 0–1 0–0 – 17 Dec Twente 2 Dec 2–1 0–0 –

[edit] Group I

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Benfica 4 3 0 1 9 1 +8 9 Everton 4 2 0 2 6 8 −2 6 BATE 4 1 1 2 5 7 −2 4 AEK Athens 4 1 1 2 4 8 −4 4

AEK BAT BEN EVE AEK Athens – 2–2 1–0 2 Dec BATE 2–1 – 2 Dec 1–2 Benfica 17 Dec 2–0 – 5–0 Everton 4–0 17 Dec 0–2 –

[edit] Group J

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Shakhtar Donetsk 4 4 0 0 14 2 +12 12 Club Brugge 4 2 1 1 9 8 +1 7 Toulouse 4 1 1 2 5 10 −5 4 Partizan 4 0 0 4 5 13 −8 0

CLB PAR SHK TOU Club Brugge – 2–0 1–4 16 Dec Partizan 2–4 – 16 Dec 2–3 Shakhtar Donetsk 3 Dec 4–1 – 4–0 Toulouse 2–2 3 Dec 0–2 –

[edit] Group K

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts PSV Eindhoven 4 2 2 0 5 3 +2 8 Sparta Prague 4 2 1 1 7 5 +2 7 Copenhagen 4 1 1 2 2 4 −2 4 CFR Cluj 4 1 0 3 4 6 −2 3

CLU COP PSV SPA CFR Cluj – 2–0 16 Dec 2–3 Copenhagen 3 Dec – 1–1 1–0 PSV Eindhoven 1–0 1–0 – 3 Dec Sparta Prague 2–0 16 Dec 2–2 –

[edit] Group L

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Werder Bremen 4 3 1 0 10 5 +5 10 Athletic Bilbao 4 2 1 1 7 5 +2 7 Nacional 4 0 2 2 5 7 −2 2 Austria Wien 4 0 2 2 3 8 −5 2

ATH AUS NAC WER Athletic Bilbao – 3–0 2–1 16 Dec Austria Wien 3 Dec – 1–1 2–2 Nacional 1–1 16 Dec – 2–3 Werder Bremen 3–1 2–0 3 Dec –

[edit] Knockout stage

The following teams will participate in the knockout stage:

• 12 group winners from the group stage
• 12 group runners-up from the group stage
• 8 third-placed teams from the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League group stage

[edit] Round of 32

The group winners, along with the four better third-placed teams from the Champions League group stage, will be drawn against the group runners-up and the other four third-placed Champions League teams. In this round, teams from the same group, or teams from the same association, may not be drawn with each other. Group winners and the four better third-placed teams from the Champions League group stage play the second leg at home.

[edit] Round of 16

The sixteen winners from the first knockout round are drawn into eight pairs of home-and-away matches. Starting from this round, the draw is made regardless of association or previous group status.

[edit] Quarter-finals

The eight winners from the second knockout round are drawn into four pairs of home-and-away matches.

[edit] Semi-finals

The four quarter-final winners are drawn into two pairs of home-and-away matches.

[edit] Final

The final of the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League will be held at the HSH Nordbank Arena in Hamburg, Germany, on 12 May 2010. This will be the second time that the home stadium of Hamburger SV hosts a UEFA Final, with the other final occurring with the 1982 UEFA Cup Final. Due to UEFA rules banning corporate sponsorship outside the federation, the stadium will be referred to by its original name, Volksparkstadion.

[edit] Top goalscorers

The top scorers from the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League (excluding qualifying rounds and play-off round) are as follows:

Rank	Name	Team	Goals	Time played	Minutes per goal
1	Gervinho	Lille	4	103'	25'45"
	Claudio Pizarro	Werder Bremen	4	270'	67'30"
	Fernando Llorente	Athletic Bilbao	4	279'	69'45"
	Óscar Cardozo	Benfica	4	347'	86'45"
	Luiz Adriano	Shakhtar Donetsk	4	353'	88'15"
6	Jonathan Legear	Anderlecht	3	79'	26'20"
	Shabani Nonda	Galatasaray	3	166'	55'20"
	Jonathan Reis	PSV Eindhoven	3	227'	75'40"
	Javier Saviola	Benfica	3	254'	84'40"
	Mauro Zárate	Lazio	3	279'	93'
	Marcus Berg	Hamburg	3	343'	114'20"
	Ivan Perišić	Club Brugge	3	351'	117'
	Liédson	Sporting	3	360'	120'
14	35 players		2

• Source: Top scorers (accessed 24 October 2009)

[edit] See also

• 2009–10 UEFA Champions League
• UEFA Europa League

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• 2009/10 Competition format (UEFA.com)