2014亚冠小组赛抽签

Coming up here this afternoon the draw for the group stage of the 2014 AFC champions League will held in the headquarters of the Asian Football Confederation in Kuala Lumpur. Three Chinese Super League clubs are already assured of their place in the competition, led by the reigning AFC Champs, Guangzhou Evergrande.

2013 champions Guangzhou Evergrande Shangdong Luneng and Guizhou Renhe have qualified for the group stage of the tournament.

Meanwhile, Beijing Guoan and another 17 teams from across the continent will be drawn together to compete for the final four spots in the Group Stage through a playoff round. A total of 32 clubs will be divided into 8 groups of 4, based on region. East Asian and South-east Asian clubs are drawn in Group E to H, While the rest are grouped in Group A to D. Each group is a double round robin, which will see each side play 6 matches. The eight group winners and eight runners-up qualify for the Knockout Phase.

Marcello Lippi’s side made history in the last AFC Champions League campaign, by becoming the first Chinese club to win the title...but they will lose Argentina Midfielder Dario Conca following the conclusion of the FIFA Club World Cup later this month...as he will return to his old club Fluminense in Brazil. Shandong Luneng earned thier spot in the draw thanks to a second place finish in the Chinese Super League...while Guizhou Renhe got their place thanks to their win over Evergrande in the Chinese FA Cup final. Beijing Guoan finished third in the CSL last season, but the win by Guizhou in the CFA Cup, means Guoan will have to go through the playoff round to reach the group stage of the AFC Champions League.