ROMSO Cyprus Knowledge Base
"UEFA Champions League 2014/2015. Group stage"
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This article contains information about the group stage of the UEFA Champions League 2014/15.
The format of the tournament has not changed compared to the previous draw. 32 clubs participate in the group stage: 22 teams that received automatic qualification, and 10 winners of the fourth qualifying round (five from the championship and five from the non-champion qualification).
The clubs are divided into 8 groups of 4 teams each. The teams that took the first two places in the group are in the playoffs. The third-placed teams move to the Europa League for the 1/16 finals.
Geography of the tournament
In the group stage of the UEFA Champions League 2014/15, the national leagues of the following countries are represented:
England, Germany, Spain – 4 teams each
Portugal - 3,
Italy, Russia, France - 2 each,
Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Greece, Cyprus, Netherlands, Slovenia, Turkey, Ukraine, Switzerland, Sweden — 1 each.
Teams.
Main article: UEFA Champions League 2014/2015 (forms)
In total, 32 teams participate in the group stage of the tournament, 22 teams start from the group stage, and 10 teams make their way through the qualification. All teams in the group stage are seeded in four baskets based on their position in the 2014 UEFA coefficients ranking. The title holder, Real Madrid, is automatically seeded in the 1st basket under the first number.
The draw
The draw, held on August 28 in Monte Carlo, was attended by: goalkeeper of Real Madrid Iker Casillas, ex-footballer of Borussia Dortmund Karl-Heinz Riedle and a number of Real Madrid players: the star of the 50s and 60s Francisco Hento, Fernando Hierro, as well as Manuel Sanchis.
There are two important conditions in the draw: (1) teams from the same national league cannot play in the same group, and (2) clubs from the same basket cannot play against each other in the group stage of the tournament.
After the draw, it is decided what days and time the matches will be held, as well as the venue for the meetings. Teams from the same city (e.g. Chelsea and Arsenal, Benfica and Sporting, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid) do not play home games in the same round (whether on the same day or on different meetings). Due to the time difference, Russian and Belarusian teams play home games not at 20:45 CET, but at 18:00. In addition, clubs from Russia must play the last round away due to the cold climate.
On 17 July 2014, UEFA decided that Russian and Ukrainian clubs would be divided into different groups due to protests in Ukraine. Therefore, Shakhtar Donetsk (basket number 2) and CSKA Moscow (basket number 3) will not be placed in the same group, despite the fact that they are in different baskets.
Each round of the group stage takes place in two days. The first four groups play their matches on Tuesday and the remaining four groups on Wednesday.
Groups
Group A
Group B
Group C
Group D
Group E
Group F
Group G
Group H
Notes
UEFA Champions League 2014/2015
Group stages of the UEFA Champions League