2008–09 Top 14 season
The 2008–09 Top 14 Competition was a French domestic rugby union club competition operated by the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR). It ran from late August 2008 through the final at Stade de France on June 6, 2009, in which Perpignan lifted the Bouclier de Brennus with a 22–13 win over Clermont.


2008–09 Top 14 season
This year's edition of the Top 14 welcomed Toulon, winners of the 2008 title in the second-level Pro D2, and Mont-de-Marsan, victors in the 2008 promotion playoffs between the second- through fifth-place teams in Pro D2. They took the place of Auch and Albi, relegated at the end of the 2007–08 Top 14. Auch, which had been promoted to the Top 14 for 2007–08, finished bottom of the table and went down. The other newly promoted team in 2007–08, Dax, finished second-from-bottom, but were reprieved when French sporting authorities forcibly relegated 12th-place Albi to Pro D2 due to financial issues.


2008–09 Top 14 season, Competition format
Each club plays every other club twice. The second half of the season is conducted in the same order as the first, with the club at home in the first half of the season away in the second. As in previous seasons, the top four clubs at the end of the home-and-away season advanced to a single-elimination playoff. The semifinals were held at neutral sites on May 29 and 30, with the final at Stade de France on June 6.


2008–09 Top 14 season, Competition format
Going into the season, the top six clubs were guaranteed of berths in the 2009–10 Heineken Cup, with the possibility of a seventh if a French club had advanced further in the 2008–09 Heineken Cup than any team from England or Italy. However, the seventh French berth did not materialize this season, as the only Top 14 club to make the knockout stage, Toulouse, were eliminated in the quarterfinals, while England's Leicester Tigers reached the final (where they lost to Irish side Leinster). The sixth-place team would have been relegated to the 2009–10 European Challenge Cup if 11th-place Bourgoin had won the 2008–09 Challenge Cup final on 22 May; however, Bourgoin were defeated by English side Northampton Saints.


2008–09 Top 14 season, Competition format
The bottom two teams are provisionally relegated to Pro D2, with the possibility of one or both of the bottom teams to be reprieved if a team above them fails a postseason financial audit (mandatory for all clubs in the league).


2008–09 Top 14 season, Competition format
The LNR uses a slightly different bonus points system from that used in most other rugby competitions. It trialled a new system in 2007-08 explicitly designed to prevent a losing team from earning more than one bonus point in a match, a system that also makes it impossible for either team to earn a bonus point in a drawn match. LNR chose to continue with this system for 2008-09.


2008–09 Top 14 season, Season synopsis
While the four playoff teams—Perpignan, Toulouse, Clermont, and Stade Français—separated themselves from the pack fairly early in the season, it was Toulouse who were the form team in the first half of the season; they had a Top 14-record streak of 11 wins from Round 5 through Round 15. However, Perpignan surged in the second half of the season, finishing level with Toulouse on the season log; the Catalans claimed the top seed on the first tiebreaker of head-to-head competition points.


2008–09 Top 14 season, Season synopsis
Biarritz used a late-season surge to claim fifth place, while the final Heineken Cup berth was ultimately decided in the final round, when Brive's draw with Bourgoin combined with Bayonne's win over Stade Français without a bonus point left Brive and Bayonne level on the log; Brive won on the second tiebreaker of head-to-head scoring.


2008–09 Top 14 season, Season synopsis
At the other end of the ladder, Mont-de-Marsan were rarely competitive and finished bottom. The second relegation place finally fell on Dax, after Bourgoin, Castres, and the highly ambitious Toulon spent time in relegation trouble.


2008–09 Top 14 season, Season synopsis
For much of the season, Bourgoin faced another type of relegation trouble—financial. At the end of each season, all teams in both divisions of LNR must pass a financial audit conducted by DNACG (Direction nationale d'aide et de contrôle de gestion), LNR's financial arm, to be able to keep their professional licenses. The club were able to satisfy DNACG that they had sufficient financial guarantees to participate in Top 14 and were thus allowed to stay in the top flight.


2008–09 Top 14 season, Table
Blue background Fifth to sixth also qualify for the 2009–10 Heineken Cup. Pink background Bottom two places are relegated to the 2009–10 Rugby Pro D2


2008–09 Top League
The 2008–09 Top League was the sixth season of Japan's domestic rugby union competition, the Top League. The Toshiba Brave Lupus defeated Sanyo Wild Knights by 17–6 in the final of the Microsoft Cup to claim the 2008–09 Top League championship.


2008–09 Top League
The Top League is a semi-professional competition which is at the top of the national league system in Japan, with promotion and relegation between the next level down.


2008–09 Top League, Preseason
Kintetsu Liners returned to the league, and Yokogawa Denki were promoted for the first time (and renamed Yokogawa Musashino Atlastars in the off season). They replaced Ricoh Black Rams and Mitsubishi Sagamihara DynaBoars.


2008–09 Top League, Regular season, Final standings
•  The top 4 teams qualified for the title play-offs. • The top 6 teams also qualified for entry into the All-Japan Rugby Football Championship. •  Teams 11 and 12 went through to the promotion and relegation play-offs against regional challengers. •  Teams 13 and 14 were automatically relegated.


2008–09 Top League, Regular season, Final standings
Four points for a win, two for a draw, one bonus point for four tries or more (BP1) and one bonus point for losing by seven or less (BP2). If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order: •  Difference between points for and against •  Total number of points for •  Number of matches won •  Aggregate number of points scored in matches between tied teams •  Number of matches won excluding the first match, then the second and so on until the tie is settled


2008–09 Top League, Title play-offs
Top 4 sides of the regular season competed in the Microsoft Cup (2009)  knock out tournament to fight for the Top League title. The top 4 teams of 2008–09 were Toshiba Brave Lupus, Sanyo Wild Knights, Kobe Steelers and Suntory Sungoliath.


2008–09 Top League, Top League Challenge Series
Honda Heat and Ricoh Black Rams won promotion to the 2009–10 Top League via the 2009 Top League Challenge Series, while Mazda Blue Zoomers and Toyota Industries Shuttles progressed to the promotion play-offs.


2008–09 Top League, Promotion and relegation play-offs
Two promotion/relegation matches (Irekaesen) were played with the winners qualifying for the Top League in the next season. The 12th-placed team from the Top League against the 3rd-placed team from Challenge 1. The 11th-placed team from the Top League against the 1st-placed team from Challenge 2.


2008–09 Top League, Promotion and relegation play-offs
So Sanix and Kyuden stayed in the Top League for the following season.


2008–09 Torino F.C. season, Squad, First-team squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2008–09 Torneo Argentino A
The 2008–09 Argentine Torneo Argentino A was the fourteenth season of third division professional football in Argentina. A total of 25 teams competed; the champion was promoted to Primera B Nacional.


2008–09 Torneo Argentino A, Club information, Zone A
1 Play their home games at Estadio José María Minella.


2008–09 Torneo Argentino A, First stage
As Zone 3 had 9 teams and Zones 1 and 2 8 teams, each team of Zone 1 played against 1 team of Zone 2 to complete the fixture.


2008–09 Toronto Maple Leafs season
The 2008–09 Toronto Maple Leafs season was the franchise's 92nd, and their 82nd as the Maple Leafs. The Leafs did not qualify for the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season.


2008–09 Toronto Maple Leafs season, Offseason
The Leafs faced an off-season challenge to hire a general manager. Brian Burke was a favourite for the position held by interim general manager Cliff Fletcher, but Burke opted to stay with the Anaheim Ducks. He was not given permission to talk to the Leafs about their vacancy by Ducks owner Henry Samueli. Burke had one more year left on his contract as the general manager of the Ducks, and those close to him say he was interested in the Maple Leafs' job.


2008–09 Toronto Maple Leafs season, Offseason
On May 7, the Leafs fired head coach Paul Maurice, along with two assistant coaches, after missing the playoffs in back-to-back seasons. On May 8, the Leafs asked the Vancouver Canucks permission to speak to Dave Nonis about hiring him for a position with the club.


2008–09 Toronto Maple Leafs season, Offseason
In mid-May, there were rumours that Wayne Gretzky was in the running for a position with the Maple Leafs. Gretzky responded to the rumours linking him to the Toronto Maple Leafs by stating that his focus was on the Phoenix Coyotes and developing their young talent.


2008–09 Toronto Maple Leafs season, Offseason
On June 10, Ron Wilson was hired as the new head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Wilson was fired in May by the San Jose Sharks after the Sharks lost to the Dallas Stars in the second round of the NHL playoffs. Wilson has also coached the Anaheim Ducks and the Washington Capitals. The former U.S. college player spent parts of three NHL seasons with the Leafs in the 1970s.


2008–09 Toronto Maple Leafs season, Offseason
The Toronto Maple Leafs hired Al Coates as their player-personnel director on June 16. Coates comes to Toronto after spending the previous six seasons with Anaheim. Coates has spent more than 30 years in pro hockey and has been part of two Stanley Cup-winning teams (2007 with the Anaheim Ducks and 1989 with the Calgary Flames).


2008–09 Toronto Maple Leafs season, Offseason
The move perpetuated speculation that Anaheim general manager Brian Burke would become the Maple Leafs' GM once his deal with the Ducks expired in 2009. The fact that new head coach Ron Wilson played hockey with Burke at the Providence College sparked further rumors about Burke potentially joining the club.


2008–09 Toronto Maple Leafs season, Offseason
Former NHL star Joe Nieuwendyk was named as general manager Cliff Fletcher's special assistant on July 8. While playing for the Florida Panthers, Nieuwendyk gained experience as a special consultant to GM Jacques Martin.


2008–09 Toronto Maple Leafs season, Offseason
Throughout the off-season, the Maple Leafs have been involved in numerous transactions. On June 24, the Toronto Maple Leafs put goaltender Andrew Raycroft and forward Kyle Wellwood on waivers. Moreover, interim GM Cliff Fletcher informed Darcy Tucker that he is to be bought out of his three-year contract; however, this decision was not made official until June 25.


2008–09 Toronto Maple Leafs season, Offseason
The Maple Leafs bought out goaltender Andrew Raycroft on June 28, making him eligible for free agency on July 1. When the free agent signing period began on July 1, Toronto signed defenceman Jeff Finger, goaltender Curtis Joseph and former Dallas Stars forward Niklas Hagman. Another transaction was made on July 3 when Toronto traded for former Montreal Canadiens forward Mikhail Grabovski in exchange for the rights to Greg Pateryn and a second-round draft pick in 2010. The Leafs also re-signed forwards Dominic Moore, John Mitchell and Greg Scott. On July 14, the Maple Leafs acquired forward Ryan Hollweg in a trade with the New York Rangers for a fifth-round draft pick in 2009.


2008–09 Toronto Maple Leafs season, Regular season
With a young roster, the Maple Leafs were expected to have a lacklustre season. This proved to be correct, as they fell out of the playoff race relatively early and showed little sign of recovery. However, they showed signs of improvement in February and March 2009, during which they had a stretch of seven consecutive games that went into overtime. The Leafs lost the first two in shootouts, then won four in a row with two overtime wins and two shootout wins, followed by an overtime loss.


2008–09 Toronto Maple Leafs season, Regular season
In November 2008, Brian Burke obtained his release from the Anaheim Ducks and joined the Maple Leafs as president and general manager.


2008–09 Toronto Maple Leafs season, Regular season
The Maple Leafs were mathematically eliminated from the playoffs on March 31, 2009, with six games remaining in the season.


2008–09 Toronto Maple Leafs season, Regular season
The Maple Leafs finished the season with 286 goals allowed (excluding seven shootout goals), the most out of all 30 teams. The Maple Leafs also struggled on the penalty kill, finishing 30th overall in penalty-kill percentage, at 74.68%.


2008–09 Toronto Maple Leafs season, Regular season, Conference standings
bold – qualified for playoffs, y – division winner, z – placed first in conference (and division)


2008–09 Toronto Maple Leafs season, Regular season, Conference standings
AT – Atlantic Division, NE – Northeast Division, SE – Southeast Division


2008–09 Toronto Maple Leafs season, Schedule and results, Playoffs
The Toronto Maple Leafs failed to qualify for the 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs.


2008–09 Toronto Maple Leafs season, Player statistics, Goaltenders
†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Maple Leafs. Stats reflect time with Maple Leafs only. ‡Traded mid-season. Bold/italics denotes franchise record.


2008–09 Toronto Maple Leafs season, Transactions
On October 6, the team placed Mark Bell on waivers.


2008–09 Toronto Maple Leafs season, Draft picks
Toronto's picks at the 2008 NHL Entry Draft in Ottawa.


2008–09 Toronto Raptors season
The 2008–09 Toronto Raptors season is the 14th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Before the season began, six-time NBA All-Star and center Jermaine O'Neal was acquired to complement Chris Bosh in the frontcourt. 17 games into the season, head coach Sam Mitchell was fired and replaced by Jay Triano. The Raptors went into the All-Star break 13 games under .500, and O'Neal was traded to Miami for Shawn Marion. The Raptors continued to struggle, and were eliminated from the playoff race with seven games of the regular season remaining.


2008–09 Toronto Raptors season, Summary, Preseason
Seeking to improve its rebounding and interior defence, Toronto traded T. J. Ford, Radoslav Nesterović, Maceo Baston, and the draft rights to Roy Hibbert to the Indiana Pacers in return for six-time NBA All-Star Jermaine O'Neal and the draft rights to Nathan Jawai. With Ford gone, virtually all the point guard responsibilities rested on José Calderón's shoulders, who re-signed to a multi-year contract. The Raptors then signed free agents Hassan Adams, Will Solomon and Jamal Sampson, but Sampson was waived at the end of the pre-season.


2008–09 Toronto Raptors season, Summary, Preseason
The Raptors also signed Roko Ukić who was drafted in the 2005 NBA draft, and lost Carlos Delfino and Primož Brezec to free agency. O'Neal's arrival, however, was dwarfed by the Elton Brand signing pulled off by division rivals Philadelphia. In a pre-season poll, more than half of the general managers predicted the acquisition of Brand to be the most significant one in the league, whereas the 30-year-old O'Neal was perceived to be past his prime. Nevertheless, the prospect of Toronto deploying two proven big men at the post with some of the league's best three-point shooters waiting at the perimeter signalled a change in game plan from the previous campaign.


2008–09 Toronto Raptors season, Summary, Regular season
The Raptors began their campaign with a 95–84 road win against Philadelphia. The match featured the new All-Star acquisitions of both teams: O'Neal for the Raptors and Brand for the 76ers. Chris Bosh and O'Neal combined for 44 points and 19 rebounds in the win. The team notched another victory in their second game—a home fixture against the Golden State Warriors—thus opening with the same 2–0 record as the season before.


2008–09 Toronto Raptors season, Summary, Regular season
Andrea Bargnani, who had spent the summer buffing up his frame and working on his interior game, chalked up 5 rebounds and 3 blocks in the game that went into overtime. The Raptors then got off to their best start in four seasons when they defeated the Milwaukee Bucks in the third game, with Calderón scoring a career-high 25 points in the 91–87 win.


2008–09 Toronto Raptors season, Summary, Regular season
Meanwhile, O'Neal wasted no time in imposing his style on his new team: in the season opener at Philadelphia, he pointed to hecklers in the home crowd after making a dunk; in the team's second game, he blocked a dunk from Golden State's Brandan Wright and thereafter waved a finger, as though to say "Don't come back here again."


2008–09 Toronto Raptors season, Summary, Regular season
However, the Raptors could not keep up their new game plan of solid defence and lost four of their next five games, including a blowout loss to the Atlanta Hawks and another to the Boston Celtics after relinquishing a 17-point lead. While Bosh posted impressive numbers in nearly every game, his teammates were not as consistent. Toronto's depth at the point was soon put to the test when Calderón was injured and unable to play against the rising Miami Heat.


2008–09 Toronto Raptors season, Summary, Regular season
Solomon took over the reins with ease in that game and coupled with the Raptors' domination in the frontcourt led by O'Neal, Toronto secured a much needed win. Moon was also dropped to the bench, with Bargnani made the starting small forward. This performance came to naught in the next game against the Orlando Magic, where although Bosh and O'Neal combined for 54 points and 28 boards, the lack of production and defence from the wing, coupled with the inability to protect possession, brought Toronto back to .500.


2008–09 Toronto Raptors season, Summary, Regular season
As though to prove a point, Bargnani and Anthony Parker combined for 44 points the next day in the win against Miami, while the tandem of Bosh and O'Neal secured 28 rebounds. This run was not sustained yet again, as Toronto lost a further two games on the trot: an overtime loss to New Jersey and another blowout loss to Boston, where the Raptors set a franchise record for highest field goal percentage (62%) conceded at home. That game also saw Bosh unleash a bout of angry frustration at his team as the Raptors plummeted to the bottom of the division standings.


2008–09 Toronto Raptors season, Summary, Regular season
On 3 December 2008, with the Raptors posting an 8–9 record 17 games into the season, Raptors' head coach Sam Mitchell was fired and replaced by longtime assistant Jay Triano on an interim basis. Triano—the first Canadian head coach in NBA history—immediately pointed to Toronto's bottom-of-the-league in fast break points as a major deficiency he wanted to overcome. However, the Raptors slipped a further three games to go 8–12 before it recovered with a two-game turnaround. In those two games, Triano attempted to introduce a new style of play: maximum protection of the paint.


2008–09 Toronto Raptors season, Summary, Regular season
He also brought Kapono and Moon into the starting line-up and this seemed to work for a while before Toronto lost the next five games to go seven under .500, including a loss to the 2–24 Oklahoma City Thunder. Toronto ended up 4–11 in December under Triano, but got off to a good start in January with wins over Houston and Orlando before going down in a crucial game against Milwaukee.


2008–09 Toronto Raptors season, Summary, Regular season
January also saw Bargnani emerging as a legitimate starting center with him averaging over 21 points and 6.6 rebounds over a 16-game stretch and Ukić showing good signs of adaptation to the NBA, but all this was overshadowed by the injuries that O'Neal and Calderón sustained and the resulting mounting losses. Given the Raptors' perpetual inability to win close games and hold on to leads, the team went on a seven-game losing streak before the return of O'Neal and Calderón saw them move to 19–28.


2008–09 Toronto Raptors season, Summary, Regular season
Toronto then went on a six-game losing streak and dropped further down the pecking order with a 21–34 record going into the All-Star break. With Toronto looking to bring in a wing player and free up the salary space, O'Neal and Moon were traded to Miami for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks on 13 February 2009. Six days later, Solomon was moved in a three-way deal, resulting in Toronto acquiring a big man in centre Patrick O'Bryant from Boston. Pops Mensah-Bonsu and Quincy Douby were also signed on 6 March and 24 March 2009 respectively.


2008–09 Toronto Raptors season, Summary, Regular season
-Triano, after the Raptors failed to qualify for the playoffs


2008–09 Toronto Raptors season, Summary, Regular season
Even with the new acquisitions, Toronto continued losing games, one of which was a blowout 97–127 loss to New York. Combined with a seven-game losing streak leading up to mid-March, this evaporated any hopes of making the playoffs. The only improvement came in the form of more fastbreak points and points scored in the paint, and the team even kickstarted a six-game winning streak in the last week of March, their longest winning streak in seven seasons. The Raptors were also eliminated from playoffs contention at the same time when the streak ended, with seven games of the regular season to go. They ended the season with a three-game winning streak, an overall record of 33–49, and were ranked 13th in the Conference.


2008–09 Torquay United F.C. season
The 2008–09 Torquay United F.C. season was Torquay United's second consecutive season in the Conference National. The season runs from 1 July 2008 to 30 June 2009.


2008–09 Torquay United F.C. season, Overview
Despite gaining just five points from their first seven games, which saw the Gulls languishing in 18th place in the Conference, manager Paul Buckle soon set Torquay on a run of form which saw the team achieve a club record of seventeen games unbeaten.


2008–09 Torquay United F.C. season, Overview
Torquay also enjoyed their most successful FA Cup run since 1990. After easing through a qualifying round against Chipstead, the Gulls then had to see off Evesham and Oxford to set up a Third Round clash with Championship side Blackpool. In one of the major upsets of the Third Round, the Gulls won the match 1–0 against a side placed three leagues above them. However, they were to narrowly lose their Fourth Round tie to Coventry, also of the Championship, thanks to an 87th-minute header from Elliott Ward.


2008–09 Torquay United F.C. season, Overview
The 2008–09 season was also notable for the departure of two of Torquay's longest serving players. After a brief appearance in the 2008 FA Trophy Final defeat, Torquay's all-time leading appearance maker Kevin Hill made his official departure in July. Later in the season the Gulls also said farewell to another stalwart as defender Steve Woods left the club in April after an eight-year spell encompassing 281 appearances.


2008–09 Torquay United F.C. season, Overview
The season ultimately finished in thrilling style when, after beating Conference Champions Burton Albion on the final day of the season, Torquay qualified for the Play-off Semi-finals in which they beat Histon 2–1 on aggregate over two legs. The result meant the Gulls would make their second visit to Wembley in two seasons. However, unlike the previous season, the Torquay fans were treated to a 2–0 victory over Cambridge United thanks to goals from Chris Hargreaves and leading scorer Tim Sills. The win secured Torquay United's return to the Football League after a two-year absence.


2008–09 Torquay United F.C. season, Match of the season
CAMBRIDGE UNITED 0–2 TORQUAY UNITEDConference National Play-off FinalWembley Stadium, 17 May 2009


2008–09 Torquay United F.C. season, Match of the season
Torquay United's second trip to Wembley in two seasons was only made possible by the slenderest of margins. After having sneaked into the play-offs by beating Conference champions Burton Albion on the final day of the season, the Gulls only just managed to beat third placed Histon 2–1 on aggregate in the play-off semi-finals. They now faced the final hurdle preventing them from returning to the Football League after a two-year absence: a play-off final with the team who had finished second in the Conference, Cambridge United.


2008–09 Torquay United F.C. season, Match of the season
Cambridge had been defeated in the previous year's play-off final by Torquay's arch-rivals Exeter City (who had also knocked the Gulls out in the same year's semi final). As such, they were eager to make it second time lucky, although, having experienced defeat themselves in the previous year's FA Trophy Final at Wembley, the Gulls were also keen not to repeat the disappointment of the previous season. Although Cambridge began the brighter of the two sides, it was Torquay (wearing their white and blue away strip) who took the lead through captain Chris Hargreaves after 35 minutes.


2008–09 Torquay United F.C. season, Match of the season
Cambridge had more chances in the second half, but their cause was hindered when defender Phil Bolland was sent off after a second yellow card for a tackle on Elliot Benyon in the 70th minute. Striker Tim Sills effectively sealed the victory five minutes later after he headed home a pin-point cross from winger Wayne Carlisle.


2008–09 Torquay United F.C. season, Match of the season
The score remained 2–0 until the final whistle, and Torquay United could finally celebrate their return to the Football League after two years in the Conference.


2008–09 Torquay United F.C. season, Club statistics, First team appearances
Source: , Substitute appearances in brackets. Total excludes FA Cup Qualifying Round and Conference League Cup.


2008–09 Toto Cup Al
The 2008–09 Toto Cup Al was the twenty-seventh season of the third most important football tournament in Israel since its introduction and fifth under the current format. It was held in two stages. First, twelve Premier League teams were divided into three groups. The winners and runners-up, as well as two best third placed teams from each group, advanced to the Quarterfinals. Quarterfinals and Semifinals were held as two-legged matches, while the Final was one-legged match held at Ramat Gan Stadium. The defending champions were Maccabi Haifa. Maccabi Tel Aviv won the 2008–09 Toto Cup Al making it their third Toto Cup title overall.


2008–09 Toto Cup Al, Group stage
The matches were played from August 8 to November 12, 2008.


2008–09 Toto Cup Al, Elimination rounds, Quarterfinals
The first legs were played on January 5 and 6, 2009 while the second legs were played on January 13 and 14, 2009.


2008–09 Toto Cup Al, Elimination rounds, Quarterfinals
The first game between Ironi Kiryat Shmona and Bnei Sakhnin (that should have been played in Kiryat Shmona) has been cancelled due to safety reasons during the 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict. The tie was eventually played as one-legged match on a neutral ground (Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan) on January 20, 2009.


2008–09 Toto Cup Artzit
The 2008–09 Toto Cup Artzit was the 10th time the cup was being contested. This was the last edition of the third division Toto Cup, as Liga Artzit was dissolved at the end of the season.


2008–09 Toto Cup Artzit
The final was played at Haberfeld Stadium in Rishon LeZion on 17 November 2008. The winners were Marmorek, who had beaten Hapoel Ashkelon 1–0 in the final.


2008–09 Toto Cup Artzit, Format change
For this season, the 12 Liga Artzit clubs were divided into three groups with four clubs in each group. The three group winners, together with the best runner-up advanced to the semi-finals.


2008–09 Toto Cup Leumit
The 2008–09 Toto Cup Leumit was the twenty-seventh season of the third most important football tournament in Israel since its introduction and fifth under the current format. It was held in two stages. First, twelve Liga Leumit teams were divided into two groups. Four teams from each group advanced to the Quarterfinals. Quarterfinals held as two-legged matches, while the Semifinals and the Final was held as one-legged matches.


2008–09 Toto Cup Leumit
On 3 February 2009, Hapoel Be'er Sheva won the 2008–09 Toto Cup Leumit making it their first Toto Cup title.


2008–09 Toto Cup Leumit, Group stage
The matches were played from August 8 to November 18, 2008.


2008–09 Toto Cup Leumit, Elimination rounds, Quarterfinals
The first legs were played from November 24 to December 11, 2008 while the second legs were played on January 5 to 13, 2009.


2008–09 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season
The 2008–09 season was Tottenham Hotspur's 17th season in the Premier League, their 30th successive season in the top division of the English football league system and the 126th year of their history.


2008–09 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season
After finishing 11th in the 2007–08 Premier League, Tottenham began the season under the leadership of Spaniard Juande Ramos, drafted in to replace Martin Jol midway through the previous season. However, after suffering the worst start of a league season in Tottenham's history, with no wins in eight league games and only two points, Ramos was sacked and replaced by seasoned manager Harry Redknapp, who quickly eliminated the continental structure that the club had established over the past seasons.


2008–09 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season
Tottenham's league form improved and mainly remained positive with the final position of eighth a far cry from the relegation places Tottenham had occupied throughout the campaign. Spurs also reached the final of the League Cup, and, as the reigning champions, faced league leaders Manchester United but lost 4–1 on penalties. With an average attendance of 35,929, Tottenham had the ninth-highest attendance in the Premier League.


2008–09 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season
Tottenham drafted in a total of 15 players through transfers and sold 19 players during the combined summer and winter transfer windows.


2008–09 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season, 2008–09 season, Pre-season, Transfers
At the end of the 2007–08 season, which saw Tottenham finish 11th in the Premier League, the club announced the signing of Croatian playmaker Luka Modrić and reiterated that any club wishing to sign Bulgarian striker Dimitar Berbatov would need to offer more than £30 million. Tottenham's transfer movement began immediately, with Czech goalkeeper Radek Černý moving on a free transfer to Queens Park Rangers following the end of the season; Černý's loan deal had expired and was not offered a contract extension by Tottenham nor his parent club, Slavia Prague. Little under a month later, Tottenham agreed a deal with Barcelona for 19-year-old Mexican forward Giovani dos Santos for an initial fee of £4.7 million. Not long afterwards, Tottenham reached a deal with Dutch club PSV for Brazilian goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes, valued at around £8 million.


2008–09 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season, 2008–09 season, Pre-season, Transfers
Following comments made by Sir Alex Ferguson indicating confidence over signing Dimitar Berbatov despite negotiations not yet underway, the club issued a press statement on 18 July 2008 on behalf of Daniel Levy, saying that both Manchester United and Liverpool had been reported to the Premier League over comments their respective managers had made which were seen as unsettling both Berbatov and Irish striker Robbie Keane with a view of enticing them away from Tottenham. Levy said of United boss Alex Ferguson:


2008–09 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season, 2008–09 season, Pre-season, Transfers
"Today's public comments by Manchester United's manager, announcing that he has made an offer for Dimitar and is confident that the deal will go through with time working in their favour, is a blatant example of sheer arrogance and interference with one of our players. It is also probably one of the worst offences by any manager in the Premier League to date and is unbelievably hypocritical given his recent comments in respect of Cristiano Ronaldo and Real Madrid.


2008–09 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season, 2008–09 season, Pre-season, Transfers
"I have absolutely no wish to sell either player and to date we have not accepted any offer for either. However, when a player's head is turned and their commitment is absent, particularly when they occupy key positions such as that of striker, they become a negative influence in a team dressing room in which they were once a positive addition and influence. This is the situation we now have on our hands, with both Dimitar and Robbie having made it clear that they wish to leave for Manchester United and Liverpool respectively."


2008–09 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season, 2008–09 season, Pre-season, Transfers
Throughout July, Tottenham parted ways with many first team members of the squad. On 23 July 2008, it was announced that the club had sold the services of Teemu Tainio; the Finnish midfielder joined Sunderland on a three-year contract, while French defender Pascal Chimbonda followed him a day later, joining the same club for an undisclosed fee. The following day, former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson signed a five-year contract with Blackburn Rovers for £3.5 million, having played for Spurs for four years. Robinson joined the club from Leeds United in May 2004 and made 175 appearances for the club in all competitions, scoring once against Watford in 2007.


2008–09 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season, 2008–09 season, Pre-season, Transfers
On 28 July 2008, Tottenham agreed to sell Robbie Keane to Liverpool for a total that could amount to £20.3 million. With the sale, Tottenham also agreed to drop its official complaint to the Premier League regarding Liverpool's pursuit of Keane after Liverpool issued a formal apology and made a donation to the Tottenham Foundation.


2008–09 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season, 2008–09 season, Pre-season, Transfers
Levy issued a statement coinciding with the confirmation of the Keane transfer:


2008–09 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season, 2008–09 season, Pre-season, Transfers
"I was incredibly disappointed when I first heard, not only that Liverpool had been working behind the scenes to bring Robbie to Anfield, but that Robbie himself wanted to go and he submitted a transfer request to this effect. I have already made my opinion clear on the nature of this transaction. I don't regard it as a transfer deal – that is something which happens between two clubs when they both agree to trade – this is very much an enforced sale, for which we have agreed a sum of £19m as compensation plus a potential further £1.3m in additional compensation."


2008–09 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season, 2008–09 season, Pre-season, Transfers
On 30 July 2008, French midfielder Steed Malbranque became the third player in a week to leave, following Tainio and Chimbonda to Sunderland for a fee of £7.8 million. Later the same day, Tottenham announced they had reached agreement with Blackburn for the transfer of David Bentley to the club for £15 million.


2008–09 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season, 2008–09 season, Pre-season, Transfers
Totttenham made their first transfer move in the month of August with the signing of veteran goalkeeper César from Real Zaragoza on 8 August 2008. The deal was initially a season-long loan with the permanent signing being completed at the end of the 2008–09 season. The first Tottenham departure in August was French defender Younès Kaboul, who on 11 August 2008 joined Portsmouth for an undisclosed fee. Towards the end of August, two more players left, with Anthony Gardner moving to Hull City and Lee Young-pyo leaving for Borussia Dortmund.


2008–09 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season, 2008–09 season, Pre-season, Friendlies
As part of their pre-season preparations, Tottenham held a training camp in Spain, along with numerous friendlies, in July. Their first friendly, against local side Tavernes, saw Spurs stroll to an 8–0 success, with Giovanni dos Santos scoring his first goals for the club. Tottenham then faced two of Juande Ramos' former teams in Dénia and Hércules. Spurs beat Dénia 4–2 and then curtailed the Spanish section of their preparations with a 1–1 with Hércules.


2008–09 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season, 2008–09 season, Pre-season, Friendlies
Tottenham returned to England to play Norwich City, recovering from being a goal down to win 5–1, with Darren Bent netting four of the strikes. They later played Leyton Orient, again winning 5–1 with Luka Modrić scoring his first goal for Spurs and Bent scoring a hat-trick to take his tally to nine goals in five games. Tottenham then embarked to the Netherlands to play in the Feyenoord Jubilee Tournament, held in Rotterdam at the start of August, with a 2–0 victory over Celtic thanks to goals from Bent and David Bentley. Spurs followed this with another win, over German club Borussia Dortmund 3–0 with goals from Bent, Dos Santos and Jamie O'Hara. Tottenham were crowned the winners of the tournament on 3 August.


2008–09 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season, 2008–09 season, Pre-season, Friendlies
Tottenham finished their pre-season preparations with a 5–0 victory over Serie A giants Roma, which ensured they stayed unbeaten throughout the period, scoring 33 goals and conceding 5 in a total of 7 games, with Darren Bent scoring 13 times.


2008–09 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season, 2008–09 season, August
Tottenham's league season got off to a poor start with a 2–1 loss to Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium, followed a week later by another 2–1 defeat to Sunderland, with debutant Djibril Cissé scoring the winning goal in the final minutes. The defeats against Middlesbrough and Sunderland were punctuated with the ongoing transfer saga concerning Dimitar Berbatov and Manchester United; rumours that Berbatov had refused to play (later revealed to be true) began to circulate, along with the theory that this refusal from one of Tottenham's best players was hurting team morale.


2008–09 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season, 2008–09 season, August
Tottenham got their first point of the season eight days after the Sunderland loss in a 1–1 draw at Stamford Bridge against title contenders Chelsea. With both the end of August and the summer transfer window approaching, the Berbatov saga ended with him making a transfer to Manchester United for £30.75 million and young striker Fraizer Campbell coming on loan for the entire season. Manchester City had tried to enter the fray in the final hours with a £30 million bid accepted but Berbatov rejected the move. Vedran Ćorluka also completed his move from Manchester City to join Croatian teammate Luka Modrić and provide competition for the right-back position.


2008–09 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season, 2008–09 season, September
Tottenham's first match in September led to another 2–1 loss, at home to Aston Villa. This resulted in three losses in four and one point from a possible twelve, rooting Spurs to the bottom of the Premier League table. Tottenham achieved their first competitive win of the season in the UEFA Cup against Wisła Kraków, with David Bentley scoring his debut and the winning goal. Spurs returned to the league with a goalless home draw against Wigan Athletic and a tepid 2–0 away defeat to Portsmouth, with ex-Tottenham player Jermain Defoe scoring a penalty.


2008–09 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season, 2008–09 season, September
At the end of September, Tottenham were bottom of the league and officially suffering their worst Premier League start. Spurs, however, were able to make a successful start to the defence of their League Cup title, defeating Newcastle United 2–1 at St James' Park to progress to the fourth round of the competition.


2008–09 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season, 2008–09 season, October
October started with progression to the group stages of the UEFA Cup for Tottenham with a 1–1 draw in Poland against Wisła Kraków in their second leg tie, but Spurs' horrendous league form continued with a home loss to newly promoted Hull City, Geovanni's long range free-kick in the early minutes of the game condemning Tottenham to another loss, They then followed this match with another battle against a newly promoted side, Stoke City. The match concluded with Tottenham conceding two penalties and having Michael Dawson and Gareth Bale sent off in a 2–1 loss.


2008–09 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season, 2008–09 season, October
This loss meant that Tottenham had only two points from eight games, were bottom of the Premier League and now were amidst the worst start to a season in their 126-year history. The ever-increasing pressure on manager Juande Ramos grew after a 2–0 loss in Italy to Udinese in the first match of the UEFA Cup group stage.


2008–09 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season, 2008–09 season, October
On 25 October, the club announced the departure, with immediate effect, of sporting director Damien Comolli, head coach Juande Ramos and first team coaches Marcos Álvarez and Gus Poyet. It was announced, within hours, that the club had agreed a deal worth £5 million with Portsmouth to permit manager Harry Redknapp to become the new head coach at Spurs.


2008–09 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season, 2008–09 season, October
Redknapp was unveiled as Tottenham manager the same day before the home match against Bolton Wanderers and gave the team talk, although the team itself was selected by Clive Allen and Alex Inglethorpe. Tottenham eased to their first league win of the season, with Roman Pavlyuchenko scoring his first Premier League goal. Tottenham then faced bitter rivals Arsenal in the latest installment of the North London derby; the match ended 4–4 and viewed as one of the best games in the long history of the derby.


2008–09 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season, 2008–09 season, October
Tottenham took the lead with a stunning David Bentley volley from 35-yards, while Arsenal responded with a Mikaël Silvestre header and found themselves 3–1 ahead deep inside the second half. Darren Bent made it 3–2 before Robin van Persie seemingly wrapped up the points making it 4–2 to Arsenal. With five minutes left, however, Jermaine Jenas made it 4–3 after capitalising on a Gaël Clichy slip, and then Aaron Lennon salvaged a point for Tottenham when he, four minutes into stoppage time, made it 4–4 with a tap-in.


2008–09 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season, 2008–09 season, November
Tottenham's revitalised form continued into November with a win over league leaders Liverpool. Dirk Kuyt blasted Liverpool into an early lead before a Jamie Carragher own goal and a Pavlyuchenko tap-in gave Spurs the three points. Five days later, Redknapp took charge of his first Tottenham UEFA Cup match, which ended with Tottenham thrashing Dinamo Zagreb 4–0 on the strength of a Darren Bent hat-trick.


2008–09 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season, 2008–09 season, November
The first away win for Tottenham's season came on 9 November 2008, with a 2–1 win over Manchester City; Bent scored his fifth goal in two games. Tottenham's fourth game in eleven days sent them to fifth round of the League Cup with a 4–2 win over Liverpool, which also included the first goals for on-loan striker Fraizer Campbell.


2008–09 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season, 2008–09 season, November
Tottenham's six-game unbeaten run ended with a 2–1 loss to Fulham; a mistake from Heurelho Gomes helped Fulham into a two-goal lead before Fraizer Campbell pulled one back. Tottenham recovered quickly with a 1–0 win over Blackburn, increasing the pressure on Blackburn manager Paul Ince. The club followed this with another 1–0 win against NEC in the UEFA Cup, almost assuring safe passage to the next round.


2008–09 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season, 2008–09 season, November
November ended with a 1–0 home loss to Everton. Steven Pienaar's deflected effort, later attributed as a Vedran Ćorluka own goal, was enough to get the victory for Everton.


2008–09 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season, 2008–09 season, December
Tottenham began December by putting themselves into the semi-finals of the League Cup with a 2–1 win over Watford. Watford had taken the lead through a Tamas Priskin strike but a penalty from Roman Pavlyuchenko and a goal from Darren Bent earned Spurs a tie against Burnley in the semi-finals. Tottenham continued their decent league form with a 2–0 win over West Ham United which also included Ledley King's first goal in three years.


2008–09 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season, 2008–09 season, December
Spurs then faced defending Premier League champions Manchester United in a home tie which ended in a 0–0 draw, which meant that Tottenham were now unbeaten against the Premier League's top four. Tottenham then completed their UEFA Cup group stage with a 2–2 draw with Spartak Moscow; they proceeded to the next stage in the runner-up place to face UEFA Champions League drop-outs Shakhtar Donetsk.


2008–09 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season, 2008–09 season, December
Tottenham faced Newcastle at St James' Park in a losing 2–1 effort. The match was heading for a 1–1 draw until Damien Duff scored in stoppage time to give Newcastle the three points. Five days later, Tottenham opposed Fulham in the return match at White Hart Lane, the match ending 0–0.


2008–09 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season, 2008–09 season, December
December ended the same as November: with a loss, this time to newly promoted West Bromwich Albion. The 2–0 win was controversial, however, as defender Michael Dawson claimed that he had been fouled by West Brom striker Roman Bednář while the latter scored the opening goal. The goal stood and Tottenham ended the year still very much in a relegation battle.


2008–09 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season, 2008–09 season, January Transfer Window
With the January transfer window opening on 1 January, Tottenham made movement in the market straight away. On 6 January 2009, Jermain Defoe returned to the club from Portsmouth in a deal worth an initial £9 million, with extras and the writing-off of past transfer fees in Pedro Mendes and Defoe himself; the media announced the total fee at £15 million.


2008–09 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season, 2008–09 season, January Transfer Window
Just over two weeks later, Tottenham came to an agreement for the transfer of Wilson Palacios for a fee of £12 million from Wigan Athletic; the deal for Palacios was officially concluded on 30 January with the approval of a work permit. Tottenham also signed experienced goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini from Chelsea on a free transfer and also concluded a deal to re-sign Pascal Chimbonda from Sunderland for a fee thought to be around £3 million. On the final day of the transfer window, Tottenham resigned their third former player in a month, signing striker Robbie Keane for a fee of an initial £12 million, which, depending on circumstances, could rise to £15 million.


2008–09 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season, 2008–09 season, January Transfer Window
The departures in January saw Andy Barcham made his loan move to Gillingham permanently for an undisclosed fee. Four days later, Charlie Daniels left Tottenham to join Leyton Orient on a free transfer. On 21 January, Spanish goalkeeper César's contract was cancelled so he could return to Spain to sign for Valencia. Two days later, Tottenham outcast Hossam Ghaly joined Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr for an undisclosed fee.


2008–09 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season, 2008–09 season, January
January began well for Tottenham, advancing to the next round of the FA Cup with a 3–1 win over Wigan and then following that with a 4–1 win against Burnley in the League Cup semi-final first leg. However, Tottenham's league form again suffered when in the next game, against Wigan, Spurs lost 1–0 when Maynor Figueroa powered in a header in stoppage time to confine Tottenham to another loss from last-minute goals.


2008–09 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season, 2008–09 season, January
Tottenham responded seven days later with a 1–1 draw against Portsmouth at White Hart Lane. The match had massive publicity because of the return of Harry Redknapp and Jermain Defoe. In the match, David Nugent scored a deflected goal before Defoe returned to haunt his old club by scoring the equaliser.


2008–09 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season, 2008–09 season, January
Tottenham then faced Burnley in the League Cup semi-final second leg. Burnley could only progress by winning by three clear goals and it was widely seen as unlikely that Burnley would offer much in terms of opposition. After 90 minutes, however, goals from Robbie Blake, Chris McCann and Jay Rodriguez took the game to extra time and if they held on they would progress thanks to the away goals rule, but facing elimination with under three minutes left to play, goals from Roman Pavlyuchenko and Jermain Defoe saw Spurs progress to the final 6–4 on aggregate.


2008–09 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season, 2008–09 season, January
Three days after the extra-time tie, Tottenham faced Manchester United in the FA Cup, losing 2–1, having taken the lead through Pavlyuchenko before a deflected goal from Paul Scholes and a strike from Dimitar Berbatov ended eliminated the side from the competition.


2008–09 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season, 2008–09 season, January
Three days later, Tottenham got their first league win in six games with a 3–1 home win over Stoke. Brilliant play saw Spurs take a 3–0 lead in the first 30 minutes before James Beattie scored a consolation goal for the visitors. January ended in defeat for Spurs with 3–2 loss to Bolton. Bolton took a 2–0 lead before a Darren Bent double levelled until another last minute goal from Kevin Davies claimed the points for the home side.


2008–09 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season, 2008–09 season, February
February for Tottenham started with the North London derby against Arsenal. The highly anticipated match ended 0–0 with Spurs enjoying the dominant moments in the game, thanks in part to the first-half sending-off of Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Eboué. An 11-day rest period ended with a trip to Ukraine to face Shakhtar Donetsk in the last 32 of the UEFA Cup. Tottenham lost 2–0 thanks to late goals from Evhen Seleznyov and Jádson.


2008–09 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season, 2008–09 season, February
The match incurred criticism due to Tottenham playing a weakened side, however the criticisms were brushed aside by Redknapp, who emphatically prioritized the Premier League and League Cup over the UEFA Cup. On 23 February, Tottenham faced Hull City at the KC Stadium in the Monday night fixture. Spurs eased to a 2–1 win with goals from Aaron Lennon and Jonathan Woodgate, sealing a valuable set of points.


2008–09 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season, 2008–09 season, February
Tottenham ended the February set of fixtures only three days later with the return leg of Shakhtar. Tottenham again fielded a severely weakened team due in part to the 2009 Football League Cup Final being only three days away, and earned a valiant 1–1 draw, with Giovani dos Santos scoring his first Tottenham goal before a late Fernandinho goal sealed the leg for Shakhtar in the dying moments to eliminate Spurs from Europe.


2008–09 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season, 2008–09 season, March
March began with the 2009 League Cup Final against Manchester United. The frantic final ended 0–0 and resulted in a penalty shoot-out, which United won 4–1 to win the first major trophy of the 2008–09 season.


2008–09 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season, 2008–09 season, March
Tottenham rebounded from the heart-break of the final loss three days later with a comprehensive 4–0 win over Middlesbrough to ease the immediate relegation concerns. The unbeaten run continued with a 1–1 at Sunderland on 7 March. The tense match began with an early goal for Kieran Richardson and remained so until in the dying embers of the game, where Robbie Keane struck a volley to earn Spurs a point. Eight days later, Tottenham faced fourth-placed Aston Villa at Villa Park.


2008–09 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season, 2008–09 season, March
An early goal from Jermaine Jenas gave Spurs the lead until early in the second-half when the lead was extended thanks to a Darren Bent tap-in; John Carew stuck a consolation goal as Tottenham took the three points. Days before the last match of the March fixtures, Tottenham announced a record amount of profit in the 2008 fiscal year.


2008–09 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season, 2008–09 season, March
Tottenham faced Chelsea in the final match in March at White Hart Lane. In a thrilling London derby, Tottenham took maximum points thanks to a second-half goal from Luka Modrić and a much improved performance by goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes, putting Tottenham only three away from a European place.


2008–09 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season, 2008–09 season, March
March ended with three call-ups into the England squad with Aaron Lennon in, thanks to being in mercurial form during the month of March and Ledley King earning a shock call-up, though with the injury situation surrounding the defender, King had to withdraw from the squad three days later. Darren Bent also received a call up on 28 March, after an injury to Carlton Cole ruled him out of the World Cup qualifier against Ukraine.


2008–09 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season, 2008–09 season, April
The penultimate month of the Premier League season began with a trip to Ewood Park, on 4 April, to face relegation-battlers Blackburn. Tottenham took the lead through a Robbie Keane penalty and led until the 80th minute, when the contentious sending off of Wilson Palacios swung the game back in Blackburn's favour, and two late goals from Benni McCarthy and André Ooijer gave the three points to the home side.


2008–09 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season, 2008–09 season, April
Seven days later, Tottenham faced West Ham in a London derby. The match ended 1–0 thanks to a solo effort from the returning Roman Pavlyuchenko. The win ignited Tottenham's charge into the final Europa league place which was consolidated eight days later on 19 April, with another 1–0 win, this time over struggling Newcastle. An early Darren Bent goal was enough to secure the points and help steer the club further towards European football.


2008–09 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season, 2008–09 season, April
April ended with a defeat to league leaders Manchester United at Old Trafford. Tottenham led 2–0 through two quick-fire strikes from Darren Bent and Luka Modrić, but in the second-half, United were awarded a penalty by referee Howard Webb and went on to win the game 5–2. Webb later admitted that he had got the penalty decision wrong. The loss damaged Tottenham's hopes of a seventh-place finish.


2008–09 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season, 2008–09 season, May
Against the norm, there were four Premier League fixtures in May. Tottenham took on relegation strugglers West Brom at White Hart Lane, looking to bounce back from the heavy defeat at Old Trafford. The game was settled by a well-placed Jermaine Jenas effort from just outside the area on the stroke of half-time, and secured Spurs' fifth home win a row. It was their fourth 1–0 win at home in a row, and sixth consecutive home clean sheet, leaving them on the verge of a club record of the fewest goals conceded at home in a season.


2008–09 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season, 2008–09 season, May
A week later, Tottenham travelled to Goodison Park. The game was marred by the pre-match news that the brother of Wilson Palacios had been confirmed dead in his native Honduras, causing him to leave the team hotel hours before the game. This was one of many factors that caused Harry Redknapp to go with an unorthodox 3–5–2 formation, notably bringing in Gareth Bale at left wing-back for the Welsh youngster's first league start for four months. The match finished 0–0, and for the second consecutive season earned Tottenham a point in their European quest.


2008–09 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season, 2008–09 season, May
The following Saturday, Tottenham went into their final home game of the season against Manchester City, with a target of setting a new club record for goals conceded at home. They simply had to concede no more than a goal to break the record of 11, which had stood since 1920. Spurs could also end Manchester City's hopes of Europe next season, while increasing their own slender hopes. Tottenham took the lead in the 29th minute when Jermain Defoe improvised with a back-heel from close range from Tom Huddlestone's cross.


2008–09 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season, 2008–09 season, May
In the second-half, Spurs were forced to rue their earlier missed chances when Valeri Bojinov grabbed an equaliser, in the process scoring the first away goal at the lane since James Beattie's consolation in January. A draw was looking increasingly likely until Fraizer Campbell was brought down to win a penalty, which was converted by Robbie Keane. The game finished 2–1 and Tottenham, having conceded just ten goals at home all season, broke their own club record and ensured ending the season with the best home defence in the 2008–09 season.


2008–09 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season, 2008–09 season, May
Tottenham went into the final game of the season at Anfield, with a small chance of finishing in seventh place and Europe, needing to beat Liverpool and hoping that Everton could earn three points against Fulham at Craven Cottage; Everton, however, won 2–0. In Spurs' match, Fernando Torres and an own goal by Alan Hutton had Liverpool 2–0 up. A goal from Robbie Keane on his return to Anfield gave Tottenham a glimmer of hope, but just three minutes later Yossi Benayoun scored for the home team, condemning Tottenham to a 3–1 loss to finish their domestic league season.


2008–09 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season, 2008–09 season, May
Spurs finished the season in eighth, a turnaround in form pushing them into higher reaches of the league, when they were as low as 19th place as recently as January and 20th for a part of the season. Having made their worst start to a league season in their 126-year history, Tottenham made a three place improvement on the 2007–08 season.


2008–09 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season, Statistics, Goal scorers
The list is sorted by shirt number when total goals are equal.


2008–09 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season, Statistics, Clean sheets
The list is sorted by shirt number when total clean sheets are equal.


2008–09 Toulouse FC season
The 2008–09 season was the 72nd season in the existence of Toulouse FC and the club's 6th consecutive season in the top flight of French football. They participated in the Ligue 1, the Coupe de France and Coupe de la Ligue.


2008–09 Tour de Ski
The 2008–09 Tour de Ski was the 3rd edition of the Tour de Ski and took place from 27 December 2008 until 4 January 2009. The race kicked off in Oberhof, Germany, and concluded with the Final Climb stage in Val di Fiemme, Italy. The tour was the first tour starting in Oberhof and the second starting in Germany. The men's event was 102 km, won by Dario Cologna of Switzerland; and the ladies' event was 60 km, won by Virpi Kuitunen of Finland.


2008–09 Tour de Ski, Final standings, Sprint standings
The sprint competition was contested during the sprint races and partly during the other races. According to the position in the race, the skiers achieved bonus seconds for sprints, and bonus points for intermediate points in mass start races.


2008–09 Tour de Ski, Stages, Stage 4
31 December 2008, Nové Město na Moravě - Individual start


2008–09 Tour de Ski, Stages, Stage 6
3 January 2009, Val di Fiemme, Italy - Mass start


2008–09 Toyota Racing Series
The 2008–09 Toyota Racing Series was the fifth running of the Toyota Racing Series. The Toyota Racing Series is New Zealand's premier open-wheeler motorsport category. The Series includes races for every major trophy in New Zealand circuit racing including the New Zealand Motor Cup and the Denny Hulme Memorial Trophy. The cars are also the category for the 2009 New Zealand Grand Prix, which was held as the third race of the Manfeild Autocourse round, – one of only two races in the world with FIA approval to use the Grand Prix nomenclature outside Formula One.


2008–09 Toyota Racing Series
Mitch Cunningham won the championship by over 100 points ahead of Sam MacNeill and Michael Burdett; finishing as the round winner in three of the six meetings.


2008–09 Toyota Racing Series, Teams and drivers
The following teams and drivers are competing during the 2008–09 Toyota Racing Series. All drivers compete in Tatuus TT104ZZ chassis.


2008–09 Trabzonspor season
In the 2008–09 season, Trabzonspor finished in third place in the Süper Lig. The top scorer of the team was Gökhan Ünal, who scored sixteen goals.


2008–09 Trabzonspor season
This article shows statistics of the club's players and matches during the season.


2008–09 Trabzonspor season, Players
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2008–09 Tranmere Rovers F.C. season
During the 2008–09 English football season, Tranmere Rovers F.C. competed in Football League One.


2008–09 Tranmere Rovers F.C. season, Season summary
In the 2007-08 season, Tranmere finished 11th and their ambition for 2008-09 was the play-offs. Their form in the first half of the season was mixed, but they found themselves in 8th place at Christmas. Tranmere finished 7th, missing out on the play-offs by one point. Despite this 7th-placed finish, manager Ronnie Moore was sacked and replaced by John Barnes in mid-June. A run of 5 games unbeaten in March/April led rovers into the play-off positions with 3 games remaining, but 7th placed Scunthorpe were two points behind and had played two games less. Tranmere lost to fellow play-off contenders Leeds United, but Scunthorpe lost too, leaving Rovers in 6th place. They failed to win their final 2 games, meaning they finished 7th.


2008–09 Tranmere Rovers F.C. season, Kit
Tranmere's kits were manufactured by Vandanel and sponsored by the Wirral Metropolitan Council.


2008–09 Tranmere Rovers F.C. season, Squad
Squad at end of seasonNote: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2008–09 Tranmere Rovers F.C. season, Squad, Left club during season
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2008–09 TuS Koblenz season
The 2008–09 season was the third consecutive season in the second division of German football, the 2. Bundesliga, played by TuS Koblenz, a professional football club based in Koblenz, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The club fiished 14th in the 2. Bundesliga despite a three-point deduction, and in addition to the 2. Bundesliga, Tus Koblenz also participated in the DFB-Pokal, where they were eliminated in the first round by FC Oberneuland. The club played their homes matches at Stadion Oberwerth. The season covers the period from 1 July 2008 to 30 June 2009.


2008–09 Tulane Green Wave women's basketball team
The 2008–09 Tulane Green Wave women's basketball team will represent Tulane University in the 2008–09 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Green Wave were coached by Lisa Stockton. The Green Wave are a member of Conference USA and attempted to win the Conference-USA championship.


2008–09 Tulane Green Wave women's basketball team, Postseason, Conference USA Tournament
The Green Wave forced 22 Tulsa turnovers. In the second half, the Green Wave scored the first fifteen points.


2008–09 Tulane Green Wave women's basketball team, Postseason, Conference USA Tournament
Brittany Lindsey led Tulane with 16 points and tied her career-high in rebounds with 11. Junior guard Indira Kaljo added 12 points. Senior Ashley Langford handed out seven assists to finish with 722 for her career. Langford finishes her Tulane career 19th in scoring with 1,047 points.


2008–09 Tulane Green Wave women's basketball team, Team players drafted into the WNBA
No one from the Green Wave was selected in the 2009 WNBA Draft.


2008–09 Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1
The 2008–09 Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 was the 83rd season of top-tier football in Tunisia. It began on 8 August 2008 and concluded on 13 May 2009. The competition saw the return of two previous participants, Avenir Sportif de Kasserine and Espoir Sportif de Hammam-Sousse from Ligue Professionnelle 2. Espérance de Tunis won the championship while previous year's winnersClub Africain finished in second place.


2008–09 Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 2
The 2008–09 season of the Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 2 began on 16 August 2008 and will end on 27 May 2009. Espoir Sportif de Hammam-Sousse are the reigning champions. The competition saw the return of two previous participants, US Ben Guerdane and STIR S Zarzouna from Ligue Professionnelle 3.


2008–09 Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 2, Television rights
The Communication bureau of the FTF attributed the broadcasting rights of the Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 2 to .


2008–09 Turkish Basketball League
The 2008–09 Turkish Basketball League was the 43rd season of the top professional basketball league in Turkey. Efes Pilsen won the championship.


2008–09 Turkish Cup
The 2008–09 Turkish Cup, also known due to sponsorship reasons as the Fortis Türkiye Kupası, was the 47th edition of the annual tournament that determined the association football Süper Lig Turkish Cup (Turkish: Türkiye Kupası) champion under the auspices of the Turkish Football Federation (Turkish: Türkiye Futbol Federasyonu; TFF). (Beşiktaş) successfully contested Fenerbahçe in the final, 4–2. This tournament was conducted under the UEFA Cup system having replaced at the 44th edition a standard knockout competition scheme. Beşiktaş completed the double having successfully won 2008–09 Süper Lig.


2008–09 Turkish Cup, First round
The draw for the First Round was conducted at the headquarters of the TFF in İstanbul on 22 August 2008. The games were played on 3 and 4 September 2008.


2008–09 Turkish Cup, Second round
The draw for the Second Round was conducted at the headquarters of the TFF in İstanbul on 12 September 2008. The games were played on 24 and 25 September 2008.


2008–09 Turkish Cup, Group stage
The group stage consisted of four groups with five teams each. The four teams that finished first through fourth in 2007–08 Süper Lig were seeded as group heads: Galatasaray, Fenerbahçe, Beşiktaş and Sivasspor. The sixteen teams qualified through the first two rounds of elimination matches were randomly drawn into one of the four groups.


2008–09 Turkish Cup, Group stage
Every team played every other team of its group once, either home or away. The winners and runners-up of each group qualified for the quarterfinals. The games were played from 29 October 2008 to 18 January 2009.


2008–09 Turkish Cup, Quarterfinals
In this round entered winners and runners-up of all of the previous round's groups. The draw was conducted at the headquarters of the TFF in İstanbul on 19 January 2009. The first legs were played on 27 and 28 January 2009. The second legs were played on 3, 4 and 5 February 2009.


2008–09 Turkish Cup, Semifinals
The draw was conducted at the headquarters of the TFF in İstanbul on 18 February 2009. The first legs were played on 3 and 4 March 2009. The second legs were played on 21 and 22 April 2009.


2008–09 Turkish Women's First Football League
The 2008–09 season of the Turkish Women's First Football League is the 13th season of Turkey's premier women's football league. Trabzonspor is the champion of the season.


2008–09 Turkmen parliamentary election
Parliamentary elections to the Mejlis (Assembly) were held in Turkmenistan on 14 December 2008, with a second round held in one constituency on 28 December 2008 and a revote in one constituency on 8 February 2009. The number of assembly members was increased from 65 to 125 (while the People's Council was abolished) in constitutional reforms enacted on 26 September 2008. It was the first election since Turkmenistan's independence in which, theoretically, parties other than the Democratic Party of Turkmenistan are allowed to take part since the constitution no longer defines Turkmenistan as a one-party state. However, no legal opposition parties had been set up and the fact that the election took place in single-seat constituencies greatly diminished the opposition's chance of gaining parliamentary representation.


2008–09 Turkmen parliamentary election, Background
About 90% of the 288 candidates for the 125 seats were members of the Democratic Party of Turkmenistan (DPT), and 10% are of affiliated organisations or weak "initiative groups". However, all of the candidates expressed much support for the current President, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow. Ethnic minorities, including the sizable Uzbek minority, were not allowed to field candidates, and many members of the opposition remained in exile. In addition, irregularities occurred when opposition candidates registered to become candidates, and others had passports confiscated.


2008–09 Turkmen parliamentary election, Background
Human Rights Watch said of the election, "The conditions are not in place to hold a free and fair election that would be a meaningful reflection of the will of the people," but also mentioned that there has been "some progress". Turkmen citizens also noted that there was little, if any information regarding the candidates up for election available.


2008–09 Turkmen parliamentary election, Background
The election was also the first in which expatriates could vote. Polling stations were set up at Turkmenistan's 27 diplomatic missions, including those in Vienna, Berlin, Paris, Brussels, Moscow, and London.


2008–09 Turkmen parliamentary election, Elections
"The parliamentary elections were well-organized, competitive and free. They were held in compliance with election legislation in effect in the country and generally recognized norms of democratic elections, and were marked by high voter turnout."


2008–09 Turkmen parliamentary election, Elections
"I didn't vote... Why vote if the electoral commission members are going to do it instead of us?"


2008–09 Turkmen parliamentary election, Elections
A small, nine-member team from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) observed the elections, as well as small teams from the United Nations and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the first time international observers were allowed to view the election. According to the Central Election Commission of Turkmenistan, 2.59 million people, which is a turnout of 93.87%, cast ballots at 2,118 polling locations in 125 constituencies. However, some opposition and human rights groups suggested that the turnout may have been lower than 30%.


2008–09 Turkmen parliamentary election, Elections
After the elections, the head of the CIS observation team said that voting was "in line with the requirements of the local legislation and international norms of elections". Ultimately OSCE chose not to monitor the elections, since the country's laws did not allow genuine competition. Human Rights Watch was also critical of the vote, for the same reason.


2008–09 Turkmen parliamentary election, Elections
Some residents reported being pressured to vote, or for whom to vote. There were also other issues, such as the use of pencils to mark votes, allowing single members of a family to vote for everyone else in the family, and that some people voted without needing to provide any identification documents.


2008–09 Turkmen parliamentary election, Results
There were 13 seats up for election in Ashgabat, 19 seats in Ahal Province, 11 in Balkan Province, 26 in Daşoguz Province, 26 in Lebap Province, and 28 in Mary Province. Two or more candidates competed in each constituency, and candidates needed to win 50% of the vote in order to secure the seat. Runoffs were held on 28 December 2008, and a revote was held in one seat on 8 February 2009.


2008–09 Turkmen parliamentary election, Results
A list of 123 winners were announced on 22 December 2008. However, the party affiliation of the candidates was not listed.


2008–09 U.C. Sampdoria season, Squad
As of August 13, 2008 Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2008–09 U.C. Sampdoria season, Transfers, Summer 2008
In:Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2008–09 U.C. Sampdoria season, Transfers, Summer 2008
Out:Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2008–09 U.C. Sampdoria season, Transfers, Summer 2008
Out on loan:Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2008–09 U.S. Città di Palermo season
U.S. Città di Palermo spent the 2008–09 season in the Serie A, the fifth season in a row for the Sicilian club in the Italian top flight since their return to the league in 2004.


2008–09 U.S. Città di Palermo season, Review and events
For the upcoming season, Palermo are expected to confirm Stefano Colantuono as head coach. A number of signings were completed in mid-season, namely Brazilian striker Túlio de Melo from Le Mans (free transfer), and young Danish defender Simon Kjær from Midtjylland; these are expected to be joined by a number of loan and co-ownership returns, such as Hernan Dellafiore from Torino. On May 28, Palermo announced to have signed Empoli defender Andrea Raggi in a full transfer. Two days later, the rosanero also finalized the signing of former Fiorentina midfielder Fabio Liverani. On June 5 Palermo announced on their website to have finalized the signing of Italy national team and Livorno goalkeeper Marco Amelia.


2008–09 U.S. Città di Palermo season, Review and events
On June 19, Palermo announced to have re-signed Croatian striker Igor Budan from Parma and Genoa defender Cesare Bovo, the latter in exchange with long-time rosanero Giuseppe Biava. Six days later, the club completed the signing of Atalanta centre-back Moris Carrozzieri. On July 1, the club finalized the signing of Davide Lanzafame from Juventus in a co-ownership bid.


2008–09 U.S. Città di Palermo season, Review and events
In addition, Palermo-born Giovanni Tedesco and 41-year-old goalkeeper Alberto Fontana have agreed a one-year contract extension.


2008–09 U.S. Città di Palermo season, Review and events
On the other hand, a number of transfer were completed, with Amauri sold to Juventus (and Antonio Nocerino being signed by Palermo as part of the deal), Leandro Rinaudo transferred to Napoli and Italian internationals Cristian Zaccardo and Andrea Barzagli signed by German side VfL Wolfsburg;


2008–09 U.S. Città di Palermo season, Review and events
Palermo's pre-season phase will begin on July 14 to the training camp of Bad Kleinkirchheim, Austria. They then moved to another camp in Levico Terme on August 1, then playing a friendly match in Wolfsburg against VfL Wolfsburg.


2008–09 U.S. Città di Palermo season, Review and events
Palermo started their season with a surprise 1–2 home loss to Ravenna, a Lega Pro Prima Divisione team (two divisions below Serie A). Successively, Zamparini confirmed the intention to sell newly acquired striker Túlio de Melo, citing the impossibility to ensure the player a guaranteed place in the starting lineup as he wanted. In the meantime, on August 30, and just a few hours before the rosanero's kickoff league match, Palermo announced the signing of 18-year-old striker Levan Mchedlidze on loan. The next day, Lille confirmed to have finalized the permanent signing of Melo from Palermo. On 1 September, Palermo completed both the signing of Davide Succi from Ravenna the loaning out of Boško Janković to Genoa. Both moves were finalized following several unsuccessful attempts to sign Brazilian international striker Nilmar from Internacional, as confirmed in a club statement.


2008–09 U.S. Città di Palermo season, Review and events
The very next day saw notable criticism from supporters and local and national media regarding the club's strategy in the transfer market, particularly underlining the lack of an appropriate replacement for Amauri and the controversial sale of Túlio de Melo a mere two months after signing with the rosanero. Zamparini responded to these criticisms by making the whole bid amounts in the seasons available to the public, in a very unusual move in Italy, noting his club was among the ones who spent the most money in order to sign new players.


2008–09 U.S. Città di Palermo season, Review and events
On September 4, 2008, in what was promptly received as another controversial move, the club surprisingly announced the immediate dismissal of Stefano Colantuono from his position, making him the first head coach to be sacked in the whole Serie A season, contemporaneously announcing the appointment of Davide Ballardini as new rosanero boss. Ballardini made his debut with an impressive 3–1 home win to Roma on September 13.


2008–09 U.S. Città di Palermo season, Review and events
Ballardini then followed up the next week by beating Genoa 2–1, with centre-back Cesare Bovo scored a winning goal from 26 metres out.


2008–09 U.S. Città di Palermo season, Review and events
Palermo's wonderful form continued as they stopped Italian giants Juventus 2–1, ending their unbeaten season. Fabrizio Miccoli scored a tap-in after Buffon deflected a volley from Uruguayan striker Edinson Cavani. Newly acquired youngster Levan Mchedlidze scored in only his second-ever game in the Italian Serie A, grabbing Palermo a surprise win. Palermo then went on to achieve impressive wins to less exciting games, not performing particularly well in away matches. Namely, striking duo of Fabrizio Miccoli and Edinson Cavani proved to be instrumental to the rosanero's successes, with the former Benfica star establishing himself as team topscorer despite being limited by injuries.


2008–09 U.S. Città di Palermo season, Review and events
Another fan favourite win came in a league match against A.C. Milan, with the rosanero showing probably one of their finest seasonal performances and defeating 3–1 the rossoneri, with goals by Miccoli, Cavani and Simplicio, and Sicilian goalkeeper Marco Amelia being instrumental in the team win by saving a penalty shot by FIFA World Player winner Ronaldinho.


2008–09 U.S. Città di Palermo season, Review and events
In the January 2009 transfer window, Palermo opted to loan out all of their players who did not play regularly in the first half, namely Hernán Paolo Dellafiore, Andrea Raggi, Davide Lanzafame and Maurizio Ciaramitaro. The club, with Igor Budan being unavailable for the whole season so far, was also linked with being interested to the likes of ACF Fiorentina striker Giampaolo Pazzini, who was ultimately acquired by Sampdoria. Later in the market window, Palermo also announced the loan of Ciro Capuano to Sicilian rivals Catania, and the signing for free of Mirko Savini from Napoli, then completing the transfer session with two international youngsters, Swiss full-back Michel Morganella and Uruguayan striker Abel Hernández.


2008–09 U.S. Città di Palermo season, Review and events
The club went on performing relatively well with several ups and downs, the bottom point being a shock 0–4 home loss to Catania in the Sicilian derby, which was promptly followed by a 2–0 win at ACF Fiorentina's home. Palermo also managed to come back from two goals down to achieve a 2–2 draw at San Siro against José Mourinho's league leaders Internazionale thanks to efforts from Edinson Cavani and backup striker Davide Succi. In the second part of the season, Palermo declared interest in fighting to take a UEFA Europa League 2009–10 spot, with Roma, league surprise Cagliari and Lazio as main challengers.


2008–09 U.S. Città di Palermo season, Review and events
On April 23, the Italian National Olympic Committee announced that Moris Carrozzieri was found positive for cocaine as he failed a doping test made immediately after a home game against Torino on April 5. The physical centre-back was immediately suspended from football activities and is likely to face a long ban that could keep him off from the game for up to two years. According to Palermo chairman Maurizio Zamparini and sports director Walter Sabatini, the player might likely have assumed cocaine during a night out in a club in Milan.


2008–09 U.S. Città di Palermo season, Review and events
Such events, which prived Palermo of one of the main defenders in the squad, were followed by a 0–3 loss to AC Milan, with two of the rossoneri goals being scored from controversial penalty kicks and Palermo reduced to 10 men after Cesare Bovo was sent off minutes after the beginning of the second half; this brought to bitter criticism against the referee from Maurizio Zamparini, who also announced a one-day news blackout as a form of protest.


2008–09 U.S. Lecce season
The 2008–09 season was the 91st season in the existence of U.S. Lecce and the club's first season back in the top flight of Italian football. In addition to the domestic league, Lecce participated in this season's edition of the Coppa Italia. The season covered the period from 1 July 2008 to 30 June 2009.


2008–09 UAE President's Cup
The 2008–09 UAE President's Cup was the 33rd season of the UAE President's Cup, the premier knockout tournament for association football clubs in the United Arab Emirates.


2008–09 UAE President's Cup
Al-Ahli went into this edition as the holders. Sharjah FC hold the most wins with 8 titles.


2008–09 UAE President's Cup
The cup winner were guaranteed a place in the 2010 AFC Champions League.


2008–09 UAE President's Cup, Round 1
24 teams play a knockout tie. 12 clubs advance to the next round. Ties played over 30 & 31 October 2008


2008–09 UAE President's Cup, Round 2
16 teams play a knockout tie. 8 clubs advance to the next round. Ties played over 28 & 29 November 2008


2008–09 UAE President's Cup, Quarter finals
8 teams play a knockout tie. 4 clubs advance to the next round. Ties played over 1 & 2 February 2009


2008–09 UAE President's Cup, Semi finals
4 teams play a knockout tie. 2 clubs advance to the Final Ties played on 24 February 2009


2008–09 UAE Pro League
The 2008–09 UAE League season was the 34th edition of top level football in the United Arab Emirates and started on 19 September 2008 until 24 May 2009.


2008–09 UAE Pro League
Al-Ahli clinched the championship on the last day of the season, one of the most exciting campaigns for a number of years and also qualified for the 2009 edition of the FIFA Club World Cup as the host representative.


2008–09 UAE Pro League
Emirates Club and Hatta were relegated from the previous season. Ajman Club and Al Khaleej Club were promoted from the second level.


2008–09 UAE Pro League
The winners of the league qualified for the 2009 edition of the FIFA Club World Cup as the host representative.


2008–09 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team
The 2008–09 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team represented the University of California, Irvine during the 2008–09 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Anteaters were led by 12th year head coach Pat Douglass and played at the Bren Events Center. They were members of the Big West Conference.


2008–09 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team, Previous season
The 2007–08 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team finished the season with a record of 18–16 and 9–7 in Big West play.


2008–09 UCF Knights men's basketball team
The 2008–09 UCF Knights men's basketball team was an NCAA Division I college basketball team that represented the University of Central Florida and competed in Conference USA. They played their home games at the UCF Arena in Orlando, Florida, and were led by head coach Kirk Speraw who was in his 16th season with the team. In the previous year, the Knights finished the season 16–15, 9–7 in C-USA play.


2008–09 UCF Knights men's basketball team
In February 2012, UCF vacated its wins from the 2008–09 season after it was discovered that there was an ineligible player on the team. The team's pre-sanction record was 17–14 (7–9). The "official" record stands as 0–14.


2008–09 UCI Africa Tour
The 2008–09 UCI Africa Tour was the fifth season of the UCI Africa Tour. The season began on 2 October 2008 with the Grand Prix Chantal Biya and ended on 19 April 2009 with the Tour du Maroc.


2008–09 UCI Africa Tour
The points leader, based on the cumulative results of previous races, wears the UCI Africa Tour cycling jersey. Nicholas White of South Africa was the defending champion of the 2007–08 UCI Africa Tour. Dan Craven of Namibia was crowned as the 2008–09 UCI Africa Tour champion.


2008–09 UCI Africa Tour
Throughout the season, points are awarded to the top finishers of stages within stage races and the final general classification standings of each of the stages races and one-day events. The quality and complexity of a race also determines how many points are awarded to the top finishers, the higher the UCI rating of a race, the more points are awarded. The UCI ratings from highest to lowest are as follows:


2008–09 UCI America Tour
The 2008–09 UCI America Tour was the fifth season for the UCI America Tour. The season began on 5 October 2008 with the Vuelta Chihuahua Internacional and ended on 12 September 2009 with the Univest Grand Prix.


2008–09 UCI America Tour
The points leader, based on the cumulative results of previous races, wears the UCI America Tour cycling jersey. Manuel Medina of Venezuela was the defending champion of the 2007–08 UCI America Tour. Gregorio Ladino of Colombia was crowned as the 2008–09 UCI America Tour champion.


2008–09 UCI America Tour
Throughout the season, points are awarded to the top finishers of stages within stage races and the final general classification standings of each of the stages races and one-day events. The quality and complexity of a race also determines how many points are awarded to the top finishers, the higher the UCI rating of a race, the more points are awarded.


2008–09 UCI America Tour
The UCI ratings from highest to lowest are as follows:


2008–09 UCI Asia Tour
The 2008–09 UCI Asia Tour was the 5th season of the UCI Asia Tour. The season began on 4 October 2008 with the Tour of Milad du Nour and ended on 13 September 2009 with the Tour de Hokkaido.


2008–09 UCI Asia Tour
The points leader, based on the cumulative results of previous races, wears the UCI Asia Tour cycling jersey. Hossein Askari from Iran was the defending champion of the 2007–08 UCI Asia Tour. Ghader Mizbani of Iran was crowned as the 2008–09 UCI Asia Tour champion.


2008–09 UCI Asia Tour
Throughout the season, points are awarded to the top finishers of stages within stage races and the final general classification standings of each of the stages races and one-day events. The quality and complexity of a race also determines how many points are awarded to the top finishers, the higher the UCI rating of a race, the more points are awarded.


2008–09 UCI Asia Tour
The UCI ratings from highest to lowest are as follows:


2008–09 UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup
The 2008–2009 UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup events and season-long competition took place between 19 October 2008 and 25 January 2009 and is sponsored by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI). Nine events were organised, the same as the 2007–2008 UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup, although the events in Liévin and Hoogerheide were replaced with Nommay, a former World Cup race, and Roubaix, which was first held in 2006. Hoogerheide hosts the 2009 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships.


2008–09 UCI Europe Tour
The 2008–09 UCI Europe Tour was the fifth season of the UCI Europe Tour. The season began on 19 October 2008 with the Chrono des Nations and ended on 15 October 2009 with the Giro del Piemonte.


2008–09 UCI Europe Tour
The points leader, based on the cumulative results of previous races, wears the UCI Europe Tour cycling jersey. Enrico Gasparotto of Italy was the defending champion of the 2007–08 UCI Europe Tour. Giovanni Visconti was crowned as the 2008–09 UCI Europe Tour.


2008–09 UCI Europe Tour
Throughout the season, points are awarded to the top finishers of stages within stage races and the final general classification standings of each of the stages races and one-day events. The quality and complexity of a race also determines how many points are awarded to the top finishers, the higher the UCI rating of a race, the more points are awarded.


2008–09 UCI Europe Tour
The UCI ratings from highest to lowest are as follows:


2008–09 UCI Europe Tour, Final ranking
There is a competition for the rider, team and country with the most points gained from winning or achieving a high place in the above races.


2008–09 UCI Oceania Tour
The 2008–09 UCI Oceania Tour was the fifth season of the UCI Oceania Tour. The season began on 12 October 2008 with the Herald Sun Tour and ended on 15 February 2009 with the Oceania Cycling Championships.


2008–09 UCI Oceania Tour
The points leader, based on the cumulative results of previous races, wears the UCI Oceania Tour cycling jersey. Hayden Roulston of New Zealand was the defending champion of the 2007–08 UCI Oceania Tour. Peter McDonald of Australia was crowned as the 2008–09 UCI Oceania Tour champion.


2008–09 UCI Oceania Tour
Throughout the season, points are awarded to the top finishers of stages within stage races and the final general classification standings of each of the stages races and one-day events. The quality and complexity of a race also determines how many points are awarded to the top finishers, the higher the UCI rating of a race, the more points are awarded. The UCI ratings from highest to lowest are as follows:


2008–09 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics
The 2008–2009 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics was a multi race competition over a season of track cycling. The season ran from 31 October 2008 to 18 February 2009. The World Cup is organised by the Union Cycliste Internationale.


2008–09 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics
The World Cup kicked off in Manchester, Great Britain on 31 October 2008. Although many of the top riders did not participate in this round, as they were still recovering from the 2008 Summer Olympics, this gave many less experienced riders an opportunity to make their mark in the competition.


2008–09 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics
171 riders were on the start list for the second round in Melbourne, Australia, held from 20–22 November 2008. New talent was prevalent once more, demonstrated by Cyclingnews' statistics which showed that 100 of those riders were under the age of 23 and only 12 were over 30.


2008–09 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics
The third round was held at the newly renovated Alcides Nieto Patiño Velodrome in Cali, Colombia from 12–14 December 2008. 166 athletes competed in this round, representing 30 different countries.


2008–09 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics
For the fourth round, held from 16–18 January 2009, riders returned to the Beijing velodrome in China for the first time since the 2008 Summer Olympics. Temperatures in the velodrome were much lower than the sweltering heat experienced by the riders during the summer, this time it was approximately 16 degrees indoors.


2008–09 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics
The fifth and final round was held in Copenhagen, Denmark from 13–15 February 2009. British paralympic rider Darren Kenny also made an appearance at Copenhagen, a world record attempt had been scheduled during the World Cup, on 14 February. Kenny intended to attempt to break his own CP 3 World Hour Record of 41.817 km which was set in Manchester on 8 January 2005.


2008–09 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics
As the five rounds of the World Cup were held scattered around the world, only a few riders were able to participate in every round. Those who attended the first two rounds were able to rise to the top of the overall series standings, this led to many unfamiliar names appearing at the top of the rankings.


2008–09 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics, Overall team standings
Overall team standings are calculated based on total number of points gained by the team's riders in each event. With one round remaining, 60 teams have so far participated in the 2008–2009 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics. The top ten teams are listed below:


2008–09 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics – Round 2 – Women's individual pursuit
The second round of the women's individual pursuit of the 2008–2009 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics took place in Melbourne, Australia on 20 November 2008. 14 athletes participated in the contest.


2008–09 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics – Round 2 – Women's individual pursuit, Competition format
The women's individual pursuit consists of a 3 km time trial race between two riders, starting on opposite sides of the track. If one rider catches the other, the race is over.


2008–09 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics – Round 2 – Women's individual pursuit, Competition format
The tournament consisted of an initial qualifying round. The top two riders in the qualifying round advanced to the gold medal match and the third and fourth riders advanced to the bronze medal race.


2008–09 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics – Round 2 – Women's individual pursuit, World Cup Standings
General standings after 2 of 5 2008–2009 World Cup races.


2008–09 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics – Round 2 – Women's points race
The second round of the women's points race of the 2008–2009 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics took place in Melbourne, Australia on 21 November 2008. 39 athletes participated in the contest.


2008–09 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics – Round 2 – Women's points race, Competition format
A points race is a race in which all riders start together and the object is to earn points during sprints or to lap the bunch.


2008–09 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics – Round 2 – Women's points race, Competition format
The tournament consisted of two qualifying heats of 10 km (40 laps). The top twelve cyclist of each heat advanced to the 20 km final (80 laps).


2008–09 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics – Round 2 – Women's points race, Schedule
Saturday 21 November12:00-12:20 Qualifying, heat 113:20-12:40 Qualifying, heat 219:40-20:10 Final20:40-20:45 Victory Ceremony


2008–09 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics – Round 2 – Women's scratch
The second round of the women's scratch race of the 2008–2009 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics took place in Melbourne, Australia on 20 November 2008. 36 athletes participated in the contest.


2008–09 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics – Round 2 – Women's scratch, Competition format
A scratch race is a race in which all riders start together and the object is simply to be first over the finish line after a certain number of laps. There are no intermediate points or sprints.


2008–09 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics – Round 2 – Women's scratch, Competition format
The tournament consisted of two qualifying heats of 7.5 km (30 laps). The top twelve cyclist of each heat advanced to the 10 km final (40 laps).


2008–09 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics – Round 3 – Women's individual pursuit
The third round of the women's individual pursuit of the 2008–2009 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics took place in Cali, Colombia on 11 December 2008. 8 athletes participated in the contest.


2008–09 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics – Round 3 – Women's individual pursuit, Competition format
The women's individual pursuit consists of a 3 km time trial race between two riders, starting on opposite sides of the track. If one rider catches the other, the race is over.


2008–09 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics – Round 3 – Women's individual pursuit, Competition format
The tournament consisted of an initial qualifying round. The top two riders in the qualifying round advanced to the gold medal match and the third and fourth riders advanced to the bronze medal race.


2008–09 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics – Round 3 – Women's individual pursuit, World Cup Standings
General standings after 3 of 5 2008–2009 World Cup races.


2008–09 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics – Round 4 – Women's individual pursuit
The fourth round of the women's individual pursuit of the 2008–2009 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics took place in Beijing, China on 16 January 2009. 14 athletes participated in the contest.


2008–09 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics – Round 4 – Women's individual pursuit, Competition format
The women's individual pursuit consists of a 3 km time trial race between two riders, starting on opposite sides of the track. If one rider catches the other, the race is over.


2008–09 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics – Round 4 – Women's individual pursuit, Competition format
The tournament consists of an initial qualifying round. The top two riders in the qualifying round advance to the gold medal match and the third and fourth riders advance to the bronze medal race.


2008–09 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics – Round 4 – Women's individual pursuit, World Cup Standings
General standings after 4 of 5 2008–2009 World Cup races.


2008–09 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics – Round 5 – Women's individual pursuit
The fifth round of the women's individual pursuit of the 2008–2009 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics took place in Copenhagen, Denmark on 13 February 2009. 16 athletes participated in the contest.


2008–09 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics – Round 5 – Women's individual pursuit, Competition format
The women's individual pursuit consists of a 3 km time trial race between two riders, starting on opposite sides of the track. If one rider catches the other, the race is over.


2008–09 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics – Round 5 – Women's individual pursuit, Competition format
The tournament consisted of an initial qualifying round. The top two riders in the qualifying round advanced to the gold medal match and the third and fourth riders advanced to the bronze medal race.


2008–09 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics – Round 5 – Women's individual pursuit, World Cup Standings
Final standings after 5 of 5 2008–2009 World Cup races.


2008–09 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics – Round 5 – Women's points race
The fifth round of the women's points race of the 2008–2009 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics took place in Copenhagen, Denmark on 14 February 2009. 38 athletes participated in the contest.


2008–09 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics – Round 5 – Women's points race
Ellen van Dijk won, after winning the individual pursuit World Cup race the day before, the final points race. Katie Colclough finished second and Shelley Olds third.