Teams 24 | ||
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Dates 23 October 2009 – 23 May 2010 Administrator(s) European Hockey Federation Tournament Format(s) Round-robin and Knock-out Host(s) Spain
France
Netherlands Venue(s) Barcelona
Paris
Amstelveen | ||
The Euro Hockey League 2009/2010 was the third season of the Euro Hockey League, which is the most important club tournament in European field hockey. The competition is organised jointly by the European Hockey Federation and Dutch Media and Marketing agency Pro Sport, with Dutch Bank ABN AMRO being the presenting sponsor of the tournament. The competition witnessed five rounds taking place at four locations, with Rounds 1.1 and 1.2 (Pool Stages) taking place at Real Club de Polo de Barcelona and St Germain, (Paris). HC Rotterdam in the Netherlands hosted Rounds 2 & 3 (KO16 / KO8) of the competition, which are in the "Knock Out" format. The Semi Finals and Finals were also played in the Netherlands, with Amsterdam H&BC's Wagener Stadium being the venue. UHC Hamburg of Germany were the winners of the 2009 / 2010 competition. It was their second success in the tournament following winning the trophy in 2007 / 2008 and a second-place finish in 2008 / 2009.
Contents
Round 1 (Group Stages)
Round 1 - the group stages of the tournament - took place at two locations, with Real Club de Polo de Barcelona (Spain) and St Germain HC (Paris, France) each hosting four pools of three teams. The teams needed to finish in the top two places in their respective Pools to qualify for the first of the knock-out rounds, known as KO16. Five points were awarded for a win, with a draw earning two points and one point going to a team that lost by less than three goals.
Group A
23 to 25 October 2009 in Paris
Group B
9 to 11 October 2009 in Barcelona
Group C
23. to 25. October 2009 in Paris
Group D
23 to 25 October 2009 in Paris
Group E
9 to 11 October 2009 in Barcelona
Group F
23 to 25 October 2009 in Paris
Group G
9 to 11 October 2009 in Barcelona
Group H
9 to 11 October 2009 in Barcelona
Knock Out (KO) Rounds
The KO16 and KO8 (Quarter Final) rounds of the EHL were held at HC Rotterdam in the Netherlands over the Easter weekend. Matches that ended in a draw would then play two periods of 7.5 minutes, with the "Silver Goal" rule being enforced. Matches that remain tied at the end of extra time were settled by a penalty shoot-out.
EHL Final Four
EHL Final Four, which consisted of the Semi Finals, Final and Third Place Play-Off matches, took place at Amsterdam H&BC's historic Wagener Stadium over Whitsun. Matches that ended in a draw would then play two periods of 7.5 minutes, with the "Silver Goal" rule being enforced. Matches that remain tied at the end of extra time were settled by a penalty shoot-out. The tournament was played alongside the Semi Finals and Final of the EuroHockey Club Champions Cup for women.
Test Rules
The Euro Hockey League is considered to be something of a pioneer when it comes to rules and regulations. The tournament has introduced various test rules which have now been adopted by the global game, with the "Self Pass" - which allows players to dribble with the ball from a free hit rather than passing it - being arguably the most revolutionary. The 2009-2010 Season saw the introduction of the "Own Goal" trial, which meant that defenders and goalkeepers could no longer force the ball into their own net when an opposing player has hit the ball from outside the circle. The first ever own goal in hockey arrived during Round 1.1, when Atletic Terrassa's Xavi Ribas accidentally deflected into his own goal during their match against Reading HC of England. In total, five own goals were scored during the 2009-2010 season. [2]