2008–09 UEFA Cup group stage

Script error: No such module "Unsubst". The group stage of the 2008–09 UEFA Cup is the second stage of the competition proper.^[1] The draw took place on 7 October 2008 at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.^[2] Group stage matches began on 23 October 2008 and concluded on 18 December 2008.^[3] The top three teams in each group progressed to the Round of 32, to be joined by the eight third-place finishers from the Champions League group stage.^[4]

Teams

The following teams qualified for the group stage:^[5]

Key to colours
Group winners, runners-up and third-placed teams advanced to round of 32

Pot 1
Team	<templatestyles src="Template:Tooltip/styles.css" />Coeff.Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Template:Fbaicon Milan	119.934
Template:Fbaicon Sevilla	102.837
Template:Fbaicon Valencia	83.837
Template:Fbaicon Benfica	77.176
Template:Fbaicon Schalke 04	67.078
Template:Fbaicon CSKA Moscow	59.437
Template:Fbaicon Tottenham Hotspur	55.996
Template:Fbaicon Hamburger SV	52.078

Pot 2
Team	<templatestyles src="Template:Tooltip/styles.css" />Coeff.Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Template:Fbaicon VfB Stuttgart	52.078
Template:Fbaicon Ajax	51.610
Template:Fbaicon Olympiacos	51.525
Template:Fbaicon Deportivo La Coruña	46.837
Template:Fbaicon Club Brugge	41.810
Template:Fbaicon Spartak Moscow	40.437
Template:Fbaicon Paris Saint-Germain	37.380
Template:Fbaicon Heerenveen	35.610

Pot 3
Team	<templatestyles src="Template:Tooltip/styles.css" />Coeff.Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Template:Fbaicon Rosenborg	35.400
Template:Fbaicon Udinese	34.934
Template:Fbaicon Feyenoord	33.610
Template:Fbaicon Braga	33.176
Template:Fbaicon Slavia Prague	31.496
Template:Fbaicon Manchester City	30.996
Template:Fbaicon Galatasaray	30.469
Template:Fbaicon Sampdoria	28.934

Pot 4
Team	<templatestyles src="Template:Tooltip/styles.css" />Coeff.Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Template:Fbaicon Hertha BSC	27.078
Template:Fbaicon Partizan	25.527
Template:Fbaicon Nancy	25.380
Template:Fbaicon Portsmouth	24.996
Template:Fbaicon Aston Villa	24.996
Template:Fbaicon Racing Santander	24.837
Template:Fbaicon Copenhagen	23.748
Template:Fbaicon Dinamo Zagreb	17.836

Pot 5
Team	<templatestyles src="Template:Tooltip/styles.css" />Coeff.Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Template:Fbaicon Saint-Étienne	17.380
Template:Fbaicon VfL Wolfsburg	16.078
Template:Fbaicon Standard Liège	14.810
Template:Fbaicon Twente	14.610
Template:Fbaicon NEC	12.610
Template:Fbaicon Metalist Kharkiv	10.932
Template:Fbaicon Lech Poznań	6.973
Template:Fbaicon Žilina	4.070

Pot 1 contained teams ranked between 2 and 39: Pot 2 held teams ranked 40 to 71, Pot 3 held teams ranked 72 to 88, and Pot 4 teams ranked 91 to 122 together with unranked teams from England and Spain.^[6] Pot 5 held the remaining teams.

Dinamo Zagreb, and all the Pot 5 teams, had beaten higher-ranked teams in the first round. Lech Poznań and Žilina had also beaten higher-ranked teams in the Second Qualifying Round. Seven of the eight teams in Pot 5 qualified for the Round of 32, Žilina being the only exception. In contrast, only five of the eight teams in Pot 1 managed to do the same, as Sevilla, Benfica and Schalke 04 were eliminated.

Tie-breaking criteria

Based on paragraph 6.06 in the UEFA regulations for the current season, if two or more teams are equal on points on completion of the group matches, the following criteria are applied to determine the rankings:^[1]

superior goal difference from all group matches played;
higher number of goals scored;
higher number of goals scored away;
higher number of wins;
higher number of away wins;
higher number of coefficient points accumulated by the club in question, as well as its association, over the previous five seasons.