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The UEFA Champions League is played in three qualifying rounds, a play-off round, a group stage and four knockout rounds.

Qualifying

In the three qualifying rounds and the play-off stage, clubs play two matches against each other on a home-and-away basis. The club which scores the greater aggregate of goals qualifies for the next round, with away goals and then penalties used to determine the winner in the event of a draw.

Group stage

The ten winners from the play-off round – five from the best-placed path and five from the champions path – join 22 automatic entrants in the 32-team group stage. The clubs are split into eight groups of four teams, who play home and away against each of their pool opponents between September and December to decide which two teams from each section advance to the first knockout round. The third-place finishers in each group enter the UEFA Europa League round of 32.

Knockout phase

From the last 16 until the semi-finals, clubs play two matches against each other on a home-and-away basis with the same rules as the qualifying and play-off rounds applied. In the last 16, group winners play runners-up other than teams from their own pool or nation, while from the quarter-finals on the draw is free.

Final

The final is decided by a single match, which for the 2012 UEFA Champions League will be played at Fußball Arena München on Saturday 19 May 2012.

Champions League History

The tournament was started in 1955, at the suggestion of the French sports journalist Gabriel Hanot, who conceived the idea after receiving reports from the highly successful Campeonato Sudamericano de Campeones of 1948. Reacting to the British press declaration of the Wolverhampton Wanderers as "Champions of the World" after a successful run of European friendlies in the 1950s, Hanot finally managed to convince UEFA to put into practice a continent-wide tournament. The tournament was conceived as a competition for winners of the European national football leagues, as the European Champion Clubs' Cup, abbreviated to European Cup.

The competition began in 1955–56 using a two-leg knockout format where the teams would play two matches, one at home and one away, and the team with the highest overall score qualifying for the next round of the competition. Until 1992, entry was restricted to the teams that won their national league championships, plus the current European Cup holder. In the 1992–93 season, the format was changed to include a group stage and the tournament was renamed the UEFA Champions League. There have since been numerous changes to eligibility for the competition, the number of qualifying rounds and the group structure. In 1997–98, eligibility was expanded to include the runners-up from some countries according to UEFA's coefficient ranking list. The qualification system has been restructured so that national champions from lower ranked countries have to take part in one or more qualifying rounds before the group stages, while runners-up from higher ranked countries enter in later rounds. Up to four clubs from the top-ranked countries are currently given entry to the competition.

Between 2004 and 2005, the winner of the tournament qualified for the now defunct Intercontinental Cup against the winner of the Copa Libertadores of South America. Since then, the winner automatically qualifies for theFIFA-organised Club World Cup with other winners of continental club championships.

UEFA Champions League Group Stage Schedule

Matchday 1: 13-14 September 2011

September 13

Group E

Chelsea FC vs Bayern 04 Leverkusen

Stadium: Stamford Bridge, London (ENG)

KRC Genk vs Valencia CF

Stadium: KRC Genk Arena, Genk (BEL)

Group F

Olympiacos FC vs Olympique de Marseille

Stadium: Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium, Piraeus (GRE)

Borussia Dortmund vs Arsenal FC

Stadium: BVB Stadion Dortmund, Dortmund (GER)

Group G

FC Porto vs FC Shakhtar Donetsk

Stadium: Estádio do Dragão, Porto (POR)

APOEL FC vs FC Zenit St Petersburg

Stadium: GSP Stadium, Nicosia (CYP)

Group H

FC Barcelona vs AC Milan

Stadium: Camp Nou, Barcelona (ESP)

FC Viktoria Plzen vs FC BATE Borisov

Stadium: Eden, Prague (CZE)

September 14

Group A

Manchester City FC vs SSC Napoli

Stadium: City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester (ENG)

Villareal CF vs FC Bayern Munchen

Stadium: Estadio El Madrigal, Villareal (ESP)

Group B

LOSC Lille Metropole vs PFC CSKA Moskva

Stadium: Lille Métropole, Lille (FRA)

FC Internazionale Milano vs Trabzonspor AS

Stadium: Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, Milan (ITA)

Group C

FC Basel 1893 vs FC Otelul Galati

Stadium: St. Jakob-Park, Basel (SUI)

SL Benfica vs Manchester United FC

Stadium: Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica, Lisbon (POR)

Group D

GNK Dinamo Zagreb vs Real Madrid CF

Stadium: Stadion Maksimir, Zagreb (CRO)

AFC Ajax vs Olympique Lyonnais

Stadium: Amsterdam ArenA, Amsterdam (NED)

Matchday 2: 27-28 September 2011

September 27

Group A

FC Bayern Munchen vs Manchester City FC

Stadium: Fußball Arena München, Munich (GER)

SSC Napoli vs Villareal CF

Stadium: Stadio San Paolo, Naples (ITA)

Group B

PFC CSKA Moskva vs FC Internazionale Milano

Stadium: Luzhniki Stadion, Moscow (RUS)

Trabzonspor AS vs LOSC Lille Metropole

Stadium: Hüseyin Avni Aker, Trabzon (TUR)

Group C

Manchester United FC vs FC Basel 1893

Stadium: Old Trafford, Manchester (ENG)

FC Otelul Galati vs SL Benfica

Stadium: National Arena, Bucharest (ROU)

Group D

Olympique Lyonnais vs GNK Dinamo Zagreb

Stadium: Stade de Gerland, Lyon (FRA)

Real Madrid CF vs AFC Ajax

Stadium: Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid (ESP)

September 28

Group E

Valencia CF vs Chelsea FC

Stadium: Estadi de Mestalla, Valencia (ESP)

Bayern 04 Leverkusen vs KRC Genk

Stadium: BayArena, Leverkusen (GER)

Group F

Arsenal FC vs Olympiacos FC

Stadium: Arsenal Stadium, London (ENG)

Olympique de Marseille vs Borussia Dortmund

Stadium: Stade Vélodrome, Marseille (FRA)

Group G

FC Zenit St Petersburg vs FC Porto

Stadium: Petrovski Stadion, St Petersburg (RUS)

FC Shakhtar Donetsk vs APOEL FC

Stadium: Donbass Arena, Donetsk (UKR)

Group H

FC BATE Borisov vs FC Barcelona

Stadium: Dinamo Stadion, Minsk (BLR)

AC Milan vs FC Viktoria Plzen

Stadium: Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, Milan (ITA)

Matchday 3: 18-19 October 2011

October 18

Group A

SSC Napoli vs FC Bayern Munchen

Stadium: Stadio San Paolo, Naples (ITA)

Manchester City FC vs Villareal CF

Stadium: City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester (ENG)

Group B

PFC CSKA Moskva vs Trabzonspor AS

Stadium: Luzhniki Stadion, Moscow (RUS)

LOSC Lille Metropole vs FC Internazionale Milano

Stadium: Lille Métropole, Lille (FRA)

Group C

FC Otelul Galati vs Manchester United FC

Stadium: National Arena, Bucharest (ROU)

FC Basel 1893 vs SL Benfica

Stadium: St. Jakob-Park, Basel (SUI)

Group D

Real Madrid CF vs Olympique Lyonnais

Stadium: Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid (ESP)

GNK Dinamo Zagreb vs AFC Ajax

Stadium: Stadion Maksimir, Zagreb (CRO)

October 19

Group E

Bayern 04 Leverkusen vs Valencia CF

Stadium: BayArena, Leverkusen (GER)

Chelsea FC vs KRC Genk

Stadium: Stamford Bridge, London (ENG)

Group F

Olympique de Marseille vs Arsenal FC

Stadium: Stade Vélodrome, Marseille (FRA)

Olympiacos FC vs Borussia Dortmund

Stadium: Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium, Piraeus (GRE)

Group G

FC Shakhtar Donetsk vs FC Zenit St Petersburg

Stadium: Donbass Arena, Donetsk (UKR)

FC Porto vs APOEL FC

Stadium: Estádio do Dragão, Porto (POR)

Group H

AC Milan vs FC BATE Borisov

Stadium: Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, Milan (ITA)

FC Barcelona vs FC Viktoria Plzen

Stadium: Camp Nou, Barcelona (ESP)

Matchday 4: 1-2 November 2011

November 1

Group E

Valencia CF vs Bayern 04 Leverkusen

Stadium: Estadi de Mestalla, Valencia (ESP)

KRC Genk vs Chelsea FC

Stadium: KRC Genk Arena, Genk (BEL)

Group F

Arsenal FC vs Olympique de Marseille

Stadium: Arsenal Stadium, London (ENG)

Borussia Dortmund vs Olympiacos FC

Stadium: BVB Stadion Dortmund, Dortmund (GER)

Group G

FC Zenit St Petersburg vs FC Shakhtar Donetsk

Stadium: Petrovski Stadion, St Petersburg (RUS)

APOEL FC vs FC Porto

Stadium: GSP Stadium, Nicosia (CYP)

Group H

FC BATE Borisov vs AC Milan

Stadium: Dinamo Stadion, Minsk (BLR)

FC Viktoria Plzen vs FC Barcelona

Stadium: Eden, Prague (CZE)

November 2

Group A

FC Bayern Munchen vs SSC Napoli

Stadium: Fußball Arena München, Munich (GER)

Villareal CF vs Manchester City FC

Stadium: Estadio El Madrigal, Villareal (ESP)

Group B

Trabzonspor AS vs PFC CSKA Moskva

Stadium: Hüseyin Avni Aker, Trabzon (TUR)

FC Internazionale Milano vs LOSC Lille Metropole

Stadium: Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, Milan (ITA)

Group C

Manchester United FC vs FC Otelul Galati

Stadium: Old Trafford, Manchester (ENG)

SL Benfica vs FC Basel 1893

Stadium: Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica, Lisbon (POR)

Group D

Olympique Lyonnais vs Real Madrid CF

Stadium: Stade de Gerland, Lyon (FRA)

AFC Ajax vs GNK Dinamo Zagreb

Stadium: Amsterdam ArenA, Amsterdam (NED)

Matchday 5: 22-23 November 2011

November 22

Group A

SSC Napoli vs Manchester City FC

Stadium: Stadio San Paolo, Naples (ITA)

FC Bayern Munchen vs Villareal CF

Stadium: Fußball Arena München, Munich (GER)

Group B

PFC CSKA Moskva vs LOSC Lille Metropole

Stadium: Luzhniki Stadion, Moscow (RUS)

Trabzonspor AS vs FC Internazionale Milano

Stadium: Hüseyin Avni Aker, Trabzon (TUR)

Group C

FC Otelul Galati vs FC Basel 1893

Stadium: National Arena, Bucharest (ROU)

Manchester United FC vs SL Benfica

Stadium: Old Trafford, Manchester (ENG)

Group D

Real Madrid CF vs GNK Dinamo Zagreb

Stadium: Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid (ESP)

Olympique Lyonnais vs AFC Ajax

Stadium: Stade de Gerland, Lyon (FRA)

November 23

Group E

Bayern 04 Leverkusen vs Chelsea FC

Stadium: BayArena, Leverkusen (GER)

Valencia CF vs KRC Genk

Stadium: Estadi de Mestalla, Valencia (ESP)

Group F

Olympique de Marseille vs Olympiacos FC

Stadium: Stade Vélodrome, Marseille (FRA)

Arsenal FC vs Borussia Dortmund

Stadium: Arsenal Stadium, London (ENG)

Group G

FC Zenit St Petersburg vs APOEL FC

Stadium: Petrovski Stadion, St Petersburg (RUS)

FC Shakhtar Donetsk vs FC Porto

Stadium: Donbass Arena, Donetsk (UKR)

Group H

AC Milan vs FC Barcelona

Stadium: Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, Milan (ITA)

FC BATE Borisov vs FC Viktoria Plzen

Stadium: Dinamo Stadion, Minsk (BLR)

Matchday 6: 6-7 December 2011

December 6

Group E

Chelsea FC vs Valencia CF

Stadium: Stamford Bridge, London (ENG)

KRC Genk vs Bayern 04 Leverkusen

Stadium: KRC Genk Arena, Genk (BEL)

Group F

Olympiacos FC vs Arsenal FC

Stadium: Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium, Piraeus (GRE)

Borussia Dortmund vs Olympique de Marseille

Stadium: BVB Stadion Dortmund, Dortmund (GER)

Group G

FC Porto vs FC Zenit St Petersburg

Stadium: Estádio do Dragão, Porto (POR)

APOEL FC vs FC Shakhtar Donetsk

Stadium: GSP Stadium, Nicosia (CYP)

Group H

FC Barcelona vs FC BATE Borisov

Stadium: Camp Nou, Barcelona (ESP)

FC Viktoria Plzen vs AC Milan

Stadium: Eden, Prague (CZE)

December 7

Group A

Manchester City FC vs FC Bayern Munchen

Stadium: City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester (ENG)

Villareal CF vs SSC Napoli

Stadium: Estadio El Madrigal, Villareal (ESP)

Group B

LOSC Lille Metropole vs Trabzonspor AS

Stadium: Lille Métropole, Lille (FRA)

FC Internazionale Milano vs PFC CSKA Moskva

Stadium: Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, Milan (ITA)

Group C

FC Basel 1893 vs Manchester United FC

Stadium: St. Jakob-Park, Basel (SUI)

SL Benfica vs FC Otelul Galati

Stadium: Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica, Lisbon (POR)

Group D

GNK Dinamo Zagreb vs Olympique Lyonnais

Stadium: Stadion Maksimir, Zagreb (CRO)

AFC Ajax vs Real Madrid CF

Stadium: Amsterdam ArenA, Amsterdam (NED)

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