2008 AFC Cup

2008 AFC Cup
Tournament details
Dates11 March–7 November 2008
Teams20 (from 10 associations)
Final positions
ChampionsBahrain Al-Muharraq (1st title)
Runners-upLebanon Safa
Tournament statistics
Matches played74
Goals scored235 (3.18 per match)
Top scorerBrazil Rico (19 goals)
Best playerBahrain Mahmood Abdulrahman
2007
2009

The 2008 AFC Cup was the fifth edition of the AFC Cup, played amongst clubs from nations of the AFC, who are considered to be 'developing countries' as per the 'Vision Asia' members paper of AFC President Mohamed Bin Hammam.

Al-Muharraq defeated Safa 10–5 on aggregate in the final, with Brazilian striker Rico scoring six of the clubs ten goals over the two legs. This marked the first time a club from Bahrain won an AFC Club competition. Both finalists initially qualified for the qualifying play-off round in the 2009 AFC Champions League, but were later demoted to the 2009 AFC Cup as neither clubs leagues met the AFC's Champions League criteria.

Shabab Al-Ordon were the defending champions, but were eliminated in the group stage of the competition.

Qualified teams

The league champions and cup winners from the thirteen 'developing' (as determined by the AFC) were eligible to participate in the competition. As Indonesian clubs withdrew from the 2008 AFC Champions League, the following changes were made:

  • The second ranked teams from Thailand (Krung Thai Bank) and Vietnam (Nam Định) were reassigned from the AFC Cup to the AFC Champions League.
  • Turkmenistan were excluded from the competition, as its clubs would now participate in the AFC President's Cup.
  • Clubs from India would participate in the West Asian zone.
West Asia East Asia
Team Qualifying method App (Last) Team Qualifying method App (Last)
Bahrain Al-Muharraq 2006–07 Bahraini Premier League champions 3rd (2007) Hong Kong South China 2006–07 Hong Kong First Division League champions 1st
Bahrain Al-Najma 2007 Bahraini King's Cup winners 1st Hong Kong Kitchee 2006–07 Hong Kong First Division League runners-up[Note HKG] 1st
India Dempo 2006–07 Indian National Football League champions 3rd (2006) Maldives New Radiant 2007 Dhivehi League champions 4th (2007)
India East Bengal 2007 Indian Federation Cup winners 2nd (2006) Maldives Victory SC 2007 Maldives FA Cup winners 2nd (2007)
Jordan Al-Wahdat 2006–07 Jordan League champions 2nd (2007) Malaysia Kedah 2006–07 Malaysia Super League champions 1st
Jordan Shabab Al-OrdonTH 2006–07 Jordan FA Cup winners 2nd (2007) Malaysia Perak 2006–07 Malaysia Super League runners-up[Note MAS] 3rd (2005)
Lebanon Al-Ansar 2006–07 Lebanese Premier League champions 1st Singapore Singapore Armed Forces 2007 S.League champions 2nd (2007)
Lebanon Safa 2006–07 Lebanese Premier League runners-up[Note LBN] 1st Singapore Home United 2007 S.League runners-up[Note SGP] 4th (2006)
Oman Al-Nahda 2006–07 Omani League champions 1st
Oman Sur 2007 Sultan Qaboos Cup winners 1st
Yemen Ahli Sanaa Club 2007 Yemeni League champions 1st
Yemen Al-Sha'ab Hadramaut 2006 Yemeni President Cup winners 1st

Notes

  1. ^
    Hong Kong (HKG): As the 2006–07 Hong Kong Senior Shield winners South China qualified for the AFC Cup via their league position, the spot reserved for the Hong Kong Senior Shield winners was transferred to the second placed team in the 2006–07 Hong Kong First Division League.
  2. ^
    Lebanon (LBN): As the 2006–07 Lebanese FA Cup winners Al-Ansar qualified for the AFC Cup via their league position, the spot reserved for the Lebanese FA Cup winners was transferred to the second placed team in the 2006–07 Lebanese Premier League.
  3. ^
    Malaysia (MAS): As the 2007 Malaysia FA Cup winners Keda qualified for the AFC Cup via their league position, the spot reserved for the Malaysia FA Cup winners was transferred to the second placed team in the 2006–07 Malaysia Super League.
  4. ^
    Singapore (SGP): As the 2007 Singapore Cup winners Singapore Armed Forces qualified for the AFC Cup via their league position, the spot reserved for the Singapore Cup winners was transferred to the second placed team in the 2007 S.League.

Schedule

Stage Round Draw date First leg Second leg
Group stage Matchday 1 17 October 2007 11 March 2008
Matchday 2 18 March 2008
Matchday 3 3 April 2008
Matchday 4 16 April 2008
Matchday 5 30 April 2008
Matchday 6 14–21 May 2008
Knockout stage Quarter-finals 24 May 2008[1] 16 September 2008 23 September 2008
Semi-finals 7 October 2008 21 October 2008
Final 31 October 2008 7 November 2008

Group stage

Group A

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Bahrain Al-Muharraq 6 3 2 1 14 7 +7 11 Advance to Knockout stage
2 India Dempo 6 3 1 2 13 12 +1 10
3 Lebanon Al-Ansar 6 2 2 2 6 8 −2 8
4 Oman Sur 6 1 1 4 9 15 −6 4
Source:
Dempo India3–1Lebanon Al-Ansar
Soleye 21', 32'
Edeh 62'
(Report)
(Report)
Danach 89'
Al-Muharraq Bahrain3–2Oman Sur
Rico 24' (pen.)
John 45+2'
Al-Dakeel 83'
(Report)
(Report)
Al-Gheilani 35'
José 39'

Al-Ansar Lebanon0–0Bahrain Al-Muharraq
(Report)
(Report)
Attendance: 3,000
Referee: Mukhtar Al Yarimi (Yemen)
Sur Oman3–2India Dempo
Traore 9'
Camara 69'
Lawrence 80' (o.g.)
(Report)
(Report)
Soleye 26'
Silva 62'
Attendance: 1,500
Referee: Ali Saleem (Maldives)

Al-Ansar Lebanon1–0Oman Sur
Sadir 28' (Report)
(Report)
Attendance: 4,000
Dempo India0–4Bahrain Al-Muharraq
(Report)
(Report)
Rico 8', 31', 49' (pen.), 59'

Sur Oman0–2Lebanon Al-Ansar
(Report)
(Report)
Sadir 77', 88'
Attendance: 400
Referee: Mohamed Omar Al-Saeedi (United Arab Emirates)
Al-Muharraq Bahrain1–2India Dempo
Rico 77' (pen.) (Report)
(Report)
Soleye 10', 62'
Attendance: 2,000
Referee: Salem Mujghef (Jordan)

Al-Ansar Lebanon1–1India Dempo
Hamoud 84' (Report)
(Report)
Soleye 27'
Attendance: 1,950
Referee: Tan Hai (China)
Sur Oman2–2Bahrain Al-Muharraq
José 48', 62' (Report)
(Report)
Rico 45+1'
Okwunwanne 55'

Dempo India5–2Oman Sur
Soleye 30', 38'
Edeh 64', 90'
Lawrence 72'
(Report)
(Report)
Al-Sinani 75'
Al-Harbi 86'
Al-Muharraq Bahrain4–1Lebanon Al-Ansar
Abdulrahman 30'
Rico 51', 66'
Okwunwanne 57'
(Report) Hassoun 44'
Attendance: 2,000
Referee: Rustam Saidov (Uzbekistan)

Group B

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Lebanon Safa 6 2 4 0 8 6 +2 10 Advance to Knockout stage
2 Jordan Al-Wahdat 6 1 4 1 12 12 0 7
3 India East Bengal 6 2 1 3 5 6 −1 7
4 Yemen Ahli Sanaa Club 6 1 3 2 3 4 −1 6
Source:
Safa Lebanon1–0India East Bengal
Mbassi 17' (Report)
(Report)
Attendance: 700
Referee: Mahmood Mohd Juma Al Ghatrifi (Oman)

Al-Wahdat Jordan3–3Lebanon Safa
Shelbaieh 51'
Fattah 86'
Fat'hi 90+5'
(Report)
(Report)
Prince Bobby 16'
Dayoub 31'
Azar 83'
Attendance: 1,000
Referee: Mohamed Omar Al-Saeedi (United Arab Emirates)

Al-Wahdat Jordan0–2India East Bengal
(Report)
(Report)
D'Cunha 58'
Ibe 69'
Attendance: 4,000
Referee: Rosdi Shaharul (Malaysia)
Ahli Sanaa Club Yemen0–0Lebanon Safa
(Report)
(Report)
Attendance: 4,000
Referee: Chaiya Alee Mahapab (Thailand)

East Bengal India2–4Jordan Al-Wahdat
Nabi 12'
Edmilson 28'
(Report)
(Report)
Ra'fat Ali 6', 24'
Fattah 31', 34'
Attendance: 10,000
Referee: Vo Minh Tri (Vietnam)

Al-Wahdat Jordan1–1Yemen Ahli Sanaa Club
Fattah 30' (Report) Al-Nono 80'
Attendance: 1,500
Referee: Ali Saleem (Maldives)
East Bengal India0–0Lebanon Safa
(Report)

Ahli Sanaa Club Yemen1 –0India East Bengal
Al-Nono 43' (Report)
Attendance: 1,000
Referee: Dilovarshokh Orzuev (Tajikistan)
Safa Lebanon3–3Jordan Al-Wahdat
Azar 6'
Tahan 80'
Amer Khan 90+5'
(Report) Ra'fat Ali 18', 63'
Fadi Faris 72'

Group C

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Oman Al-Nahda 6 2 3 1 9 8 +1 9 Advance to Knockout stage
2 Jordan Shabab Al-Ordon 6 1 4 1 7 7 0 7
3 Bahrain Al-Najma 6 1 4 1 7 7 0 7
4 Yemen Al-Sha'ab Hadramaut 6 1 3 2 7 8 −1 6
Source:
Al-Nahda Oman0–0Bahrain Al-Najma
(Report)
(Report)
Attendance: 350
Referee: Dilovarshokh Orzuev (Tajikistan)

Al-Najma Bahrain0–0Jordan Shabab Al-Ordon
(Report)
(Report)
Attendance: 500
Referee: Hedayat Mombeni (Iran)
Al-Sha'ab Hadramaut Yemen3–1Oman Al-Nahda
Ba-Haj 44', 45+1'
Al-Nohi 51'
(Report)
(Report)
Yedibahoma 52'
Attendance: 4,000
Referee: Rosdi Shaharul (Malaysia)

Al-Najma Bahrain2–1Yemen Al-Sha'ab Hadramaut
Salem 8'
Ba-Karman 54' (o.g.)
(Report)
(Report)
Aly 67'
Al-Nahda Oman1–1Jordan Shabab Al-Ordon
Al-Shamsi 26' (Report)
(Report)
Shehdeh 70'
Attendance: 500
Referee: Atallah Jatli Al-Enezi (Kuwait)

Al-Sha'ab Hadramaut Yemen0–0Bahrain Al-Najma
(Report)
(Report)
Attendance: 3,000
Referee: Win Cho (Myanmar)
Shabab Al-Ordon Jordan0–1Oman Al-Nahda
(Report)
(Report)
Yedibahoma 57'
Attendance: 100
Referee: Ali Saleem (Maldives)

Al-Najma Bahrain3–3Oman Al-Nahda
Salem 53', 67', 77' (Report)
(Report)
Yedibahoma 6', 50'
Al-Alawi 38'
Al-Sha'ab Hadramaut Yemen2–2Jordan Shabab Al-Ordon
Al-Arumi 5'
Mahadi 88' (pen.)
(Report)
(Report)
Shehdeh 3'
Maharmeh 45'
Attendance: 4,000
Referee: Fareed Ali Mohamed Al Marzouqi (United Arab Emirates)

Shabab Al-Ordon Jordan3–2Bahrain Al-Najma
Al-Saify 9'
Shehdeh 28'
Touk 40' (pen.)
(Report)
(Report)
Salem 51' (pen.) 69'

Group D

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Singapore Home United 6 5 0 1 18 10 +8 15 Advance to Knockout stage
2 Malaysia Kedah 6 4 1 1 13 8 +5 13
3 Hong Kong South China 6 1 1 4 7 13 −6 4
4 Maldives Victory 6 0 2 4 3 10 −7 2
Source:
Kedah Malaysia1–0Maldives Victory
Bakhtiar 49' (Report)
(Report)
Attendance: 12,000
Referee: Naser Al-Ghafary (Jordan)

Home United Singapore5–1Malaysia Kedah
Ludovick 31', 58'
Shahril 36'
Oliveira 70', 81' (pen.)
(Report)
(Report)
Shafiq 12'

Home United Singapore2–1Maldives Victory
Indra 37'
Oliveira 50'
(Report)
(Report)
Ashad Ali 25'
Attendance: 1,223
Referee: Mukhtar Al Yarimi (Yemen)

Victory Maldives1–3Singapore Home United
Mohamed 69' (Report)
(Report)
Ishak 56'
Indra 66'
Oliveira 73'
Kedah Malaysia3–0Hong Kong South China
James 55'
San Martín 70', 85'
(Report)
(Report)
Attendance: 6,000
Referee: Mukhtar Al Yarimi (Yemen)

Home United Singapore4–1Hong Kong South China
Ishak 30', 88'
Indra 75'
Farook 87'
(Report)
(Report)
Cheng Siu Wai 80'
Attendance: 1,175
Referee: Chaiya Alee Mahapab (Thailand)
Victory Maldives1–1Malaysia Kedah
Arguello 8' (Report)
(Report)
James 65'

South China Hong Kong3–0Maldives Victory
Schütz 27'
Cris 43', 68'
(Report)
(Report)
Kedah Malaysia4–1Singapore Home United
San Martín 41', 59' (pen.)
Sabree 46'
James 83'
(Report)
(Report)
Ludovick 5'

Group E

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Singapore Singapore Armed Forces 6 4 1 1 16 4 +12 13 Advance to Knockout stage
2 Malaysia Perak 6 4 1 1 13 10 +3 13
3 Hong Kong Kitchee 6 1 1 4 6 12 −6 4
4 Maldives New Radiant 6 1 1 4 4 13 −9 4
Source:
New Radiant Maldives1–3Malaysia Perak
Mbock 8' (Report)
(Report)
Cáceres 9', 17'
Jamlus 38'
Attendance: 8,000
Referee: Chaiya Alee Mahapab (Thailand)
Singapore Armed Forces Singapore4–0Hong Kong Kitchee
Ali 12'
Chaiman 25'
Duric 37'
Zhenpeng 51' (o.g.)
(Report)
(Report)
Attendance: 2,543
Referee: Vo Minh Tri (Vietnam)

Perak Malaysia1–6Singapore Singapore Armed Forces
Berrios 45+2' (pen.) (Report)
(Report)
Chaiman 8'
Duric 45', 49', 71', 74'
Manzur 58'
Attendance: 5,000
Kitchee Hong Kong2–0Maldives New Radiant
Bamnjo 11'
Stankovski 36'
(AFC Report)
(AFC Report)
(HKFA Report)
Attendance: 1,372
Referee: Mahmood Mohd Juma Al-Ghatrifi (Oman)

Perak Malaysia2–1Hong Kong Kitchee
Jaafar 11'
Berrios 90+2'
(Report)
(Report)
Stankovski 73'
Attendance: 1,000
New Radiant Maldives0–3Singapore Singapore Armed Forces
(Report)
(Report)
Shariff 7'
Duric 44'
Hamid 86' (o.g.)
Attendance: 4,000
Referee: Mohamad Mansour (Lebanon)

Kitchee Hong Kong2–2Malaysia Perak
Ip Chung Long 50'
Bamnjo 84'
(Report)
(Report)
Caceres 17', 79'
Singapore Armed Forces Singapore1–1Maldives New Radiant
Wilkinson 27' (Report)
(Report)
Gani 50'
Attendance: 1,505
Referee: Kadhum Auda Lazim (Iraq)

Perak Malaysia3–0Maldives New Radiant
Muñoz 33', 65'
Kandasamy 90+1'
(Report)
(Report)
Attendance: 700
Referee: Dilovarshokh Orzuev (Tajikistan)

New Radiant Maldives2–1Hong Kong Kitchee
Simaz 62', 66' (Report)
(Report)
Nishan 45+1' (o.g.)
Attendance: 2,000
Referee: Win Cho (Myanmar)

Ranking of second-placed teams

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Malaysia Kedah 6 4 1 1 13 8 +5 13 Advance to Knockout stage
2 Malaysia Perak 6 4 1 1 13 10 +3 13
3 India Dempo 6 3 1 2 13 12 +1 10
4 Jordan Al-Wahdat 6 1 4 1 12 12 0 7
5 Jordan Shabab Al-Ordon 6 1 4 1 7 7 0 7
Source:

Knockout stage

Bracket

Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
            
Bahrain Al-Muharraq 5 2 7
Malaysia Kedah 0 1 1
Bahrain Al-Muharraq (a) 0 2 2
Oman Al-Nahda 1 1 2
Singapore Singapore Armed Forces 2 0 2
Oman Al-Nahda 1 3 4
Bahrain Al-Muharraq 5 5 10
Lebanon Safa 1 4 5
Malaysia Perak 0 0 0
Lebanon Safa 2 5 7
Lebanon Safa 1 4 5
India Dempo 0 1 1
India Dempo 1 4 5
Singapore Home United 1 3 4

Quarter-finals

The first legs were played on 16 September, and the second legs were played on 23 September 2008.

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Perak Malaysia 0–7 Lebanon Safa 0–2 0–5
Singapore Armed Forces Singapore 2–4 Oman Al-Nahda 2-1 0-3
Dempo India 5–4 Singapore Home United 1–1 4–3
Al-Muharraq Bahrain 7–1 Malaysia Kedah 5–0 2–1

Matches

Perak Malaysia0–2Lebanon Safa
Report Azar 38'
Termina 55'
Attendance: 1,000
Referee: Satop Tongkhan (Thailand)
Safa Lebanon5–0Malaysia Perak
Azar 43', 45'
Tahan 61'
Kassas 68'
Al-Zoughbi 84'
Report

Safa won 7–0 on aggregate.


Singapore Armed Forces Singapore2–1Oman Al-Nahda
Duric 41', 66' Report Yedibahoma 85'
Al-Nahda Oman3–0Singapore Singapore Armed Forces
Al-Nuaimi 28'
Yedibahoma 63', 90'
Report
Attendance: 400
Referee: Mohamad Mansour (Lebanon)

Al-Nahda won 4–2 on aggregate.


Dempo India1–1Singapore Home United
Iyomi 78' Report Sulaiman 37'
Home United Singapore3–4India Dempo
Oliviera 13'
Sahdan 36', 38'
Report Iyomi 1'
Beto 23', 83'
Lawrence 45'
Attendance: 1,341
Referee: Fareed Ali Mohamed Al Marzouqi (United Arab Emirates)

Dempo won 5–4 on aggregate.


Al-Muharraq Bahrain5–0Malaysia Kedah
Salmeen 65'
Abdulrahman 73', 90+2'
Rico 85'
Al-Hardan 87'
Report
Kedah Malaysia1–2Bahrain Al-Muharraq
Bakhtiar 69' Report Rico 29', 39'

Al-Muharraq won 7–1 on aggregate.

Semi-finals

The first legs were played on 7 October, and the second legs were played on 21 October 2008.

Team 1Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Al-Muharraq Bahrain2–2 (a)Oman Al-Nahda0–12–1
Safa Lebanon5–1India Dempo1–04–1

Matches

Al-Muharraq Bahrain0–1Oman Al-Nahda
Report Al-Alawi 9'
Al-Nahda Oman1–2Bahrain Al-Muharraq
Al-Farazi 70' Report Rico 38'
Abdulrahman 63'

2–2 on aggregate. Al-Muharraq won on away goals.


Safa Lebanon1–0India Dempo
Aboud 90' Report
Dempo India1–4Lebanon Safa
Iyomi 30' Report Kassas 9', 19'
Tahan 89', 90+4'

Safa won 5–1 on aggregate.

Final

The first and second legs of the final were played on 31 October and 7 November 2008, respectively.

Team 1Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Al-Muharraq Bahrain10–5Lebanon Safa5–15–4

Matches

Al-MuharraqBahrain5–1Lebanon Safa
Abdulrahman 19', 58'
Rico 32' (pen.), 54', 72'
(Report) Tahan 77'
Safa Lebanon4–5Bahrain Al-Muharraq
Al Saadi 15'
Azar 59'
Kassas 61', 65' (pen.)
(Report) Rico 33', 50', 51'
Abdulrahman 45+1', 82'

Al-Muharraq won 10–5 on aggregate.

Statistics

Top goalscorers

Rank Scorer Team Goals
1 Brazil Rico Bahrain Al-Muharraq 19
2 Singapore Aleksander Duric Singapore Singapore Armed Forces 9
3 Nigeria Ranty Martins Soleye India Dempo 8
4 Bahrain Mahmood Abdulrahman Bahrain Al-Muharraq 7
Brazil Peres de Oliveira Singapore Home United
5 Togo Libambami Yedibahoma Oman Al-Nahda 6
Lebanon Rony Azar Lebanon Safa
Lebanon Mohammad Kassas Lebanon Safa
Bahrain Rashed Jamal Salem Bahrain Al-Najma
6 Singapore Shahril Ishak Singapore Home United 5
Singapore Indra Sahdan Daud Singapore Home United
Jordan Hassan Abdel Fattah Jordan Al-Wahdat
Lebanon Hussein Tahan Lebanon Safa

See also

References

  1. ^ "ACL, AFC CUP KNOCKOUT STAGE DRAW ON 24 MAY". AFF - The Official Website Of The Asean Football Federation. 12 May 2008. Retrieved 24 September 2025.