2002–03 UEFA Champions League explained

Tourney Name:UEFA Champions League
Year:2002–03
Size:300px
Dates:Qualifying:
17 July – 28 August 2002
Competition proper:
17 September 2002 – 28 May 2003
Num Teams:Competition proper: 32
Total: 72
Champion Other: Milan
Count:6
Second Other: Juventus
Matches:157
Goals:428
Attendance:6416965
Top Scorer:Ruud van Nistelrooy (Manchester United)
12 goals
Prevseason:2001–02
Nextseason:2003–04

The 2002–03 UEFA Champions League was the 11th season of UEFA's premier European club football tournament, the UEFA Champions League, since its rebranding in 1992, and the 48th European Cup tournament overall. The competition was won by Milan, who beat Juventus on penalties in the European Cup's first ever all-Italian final, to win their sixth European title, and its first in nine years. Manchester United's Ruud van Nistelrooy was again the top scorer, scoring 12 goals over the two group stages and knockout stage, in addition to two goals he had scored in the qualifying phase, although his side bowed out in the quarter-finals and missed out on the chance of playing in a final at their own stadium.

Real Madrid were the defending champions, but were eliminated by Juventus in the semi-finals.

Association team allocation

A total of 72 teams participated in the 2002–03 Champions League, from 48 of 52 UEFA associations (Liechtenstein organises no domestic league competition). Two lowest-ranked associations (Andorra and San Marino) were not admitted. Additionally, no teams from Azerbaijan were admitted this year as no official champion was decided in the 2001–02 season.

Below is the qualification scheme for the 2002–03 UEFA Champions League:[1]

Association ranking

Countries are allocated places according to their 2001 UEFA league coefficient, which takes into account their performance in European competitions from 1996–97 to 2000–01.[2]

RankAssociationCoeff.Teams
1 Spain65.210align=center rowspan=34
2 Italy56.239
3 England51.288
4 Germany48.632align=center rowspan=33
5 France42.352
6 Netherlands30.249
7 Turkey29.975align=center rowspan=92
8 Greece28.366
9 Russia27.708
10 Portugal26.274
11 Czech Republic24.791
12 Belgium24.150
13 Ukraine23.833
14 Austria23.750
15 Norway23.600
16 Scotland22.625align=center rowspan=31
17 Switzerland21.875
18 Croatia19.999
RankAssociationCoeff.Teams
19 Sweden18.208align=center rowspan=171
20 Poland17.500
21 Denmark17.175
22 Romania15.791
23 FR Yugoslavia15.415
24 Hungary15.082
25 Slovakia14.665
26 Israel14.124
27 Slovenia11.998
28 Bulgaria11.665
29 Cyprus10.832
30 Georgia9.666
31 Finland8.541
32 Latvia7.832
33 Iceland5.332
34 Moldova4.833
35 Belarus4.499
RankAssociationCoeff.Teams
36 Lithuania4.498align=center rowspan=61
37 Macedonia3.497
38 Republic of Ireland2.998
39 Estonia2.498
40 Armenia2.165
41 Wales2.165
42 Azerbaijan1.665align=center rowspan=10
43 Malta1.665align=center rowspan=11
44 Liechtenstein1.500align=center rowspan=10
45 Northern Ireland1.331align=center rowspan=51
46 Bosnia and Herzegovina1.000
47 Luxembourg0.665
48 Faroe Islands0.665
49 Albania0.499
50 Andorra0.000align=center rowspan=20
51 San Marino0.000
52 Kazakhstan0.000align=center rowspan=11

Distribution

Since the title holders (Real Madrid) also qualified for the Champions League Third qualifying round through their domestic league, one Third qualifying round spot was vacated. Due to this, as well as due to suspension of Azerbaijan, the following changes to the default access list are made:

Teams entering in this roundTeams advancing from previous round
First qualifying round
(20 teams)
  • 20 champions from associations 29–52
    (except Liechtenstein, San Marino, Azerbaijan and Andorra)
Second qualifying round
(28 teams)
  • 12 champions from associations 17–28
  • 6 runners-up from associations 10–15
  • 10 winners from the first qualifying round
Third qualifying round
(32 teams)
  • 7 champions from associations 10–16
  • 3 runners-up from associations 7–9
  • 5 third-placed teams from associations 1–6 (except Spain)
  • 3 fourth-placed teams from associations 1–3
  • 14 winners from the second qualifying round
First group stage
(32 teams)
  • 1 current Champions League title holder (Real Madrid)
  • 9 champions from associations 1–9
  • 6 runners-up from associations 1–6
  • 16 winners from the third qualifying round
Second group stage
(16 teams)
  • 8 group winners from the first group stage
  • 8 group runners-up from the first group stage
Knockout phase
(8 teams)
  • 4 group winners from the second group stage
  • 4 group runners-up from the second group stage

Teams

League positions of the previous season shown in parentheses (TH: Champions League title holders).

Notes

Round and draw dates

All draws held at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland unless stated otherwise.[3]

PhaseRoundDraw dateFirst legSecond leg
QualifyingFirst qualifying round21 June 2002
(Geneva)		17 July 200224 July 2002
Second qualifying round31 July 20027 August 2002
Third qualifying round26 July 200213–14 August 200227–28 August 2002
First group stageMatchday 129 August 2002
(Monaco)		17–18 September 2002
Matchday 224–25 September 2002
Matchday 31–2 October 2002
Matchday 422–23 October 2002
Matchday 529–30 October 2002
Matchday 612–13 November 2002
Second group stageMatchday 715 November 2002
(Geneva)		26–27 November 2002
Matchday 810–11 December 2002
Matchday 918–19 February 2003
Matchday 1025–26 February 2003
Matchday 1111–12 March 2003
Matchday 1218–19 March 2003
Knockout phase Quarter-finals21 March 20038–9 April 200322–23 April 2003
Semi-finals6–7 May 200313–14 May 2003
Final28 May 2003 at Old Trafford, Manchester

Qualifying rounds

See main article: 2002–03 UEFA Champions League qualifying rounds.

Second qualifying round

1Match played at GSP Stadium in Nicosia, Cyprus since UEFA banned international matches from being played in Israel.

Third qualifying round

1Match played in Sofia, Bulgaria after UEFA banned international matches from being played in Israel.

First group stage

See main article: 2002–03 UEFA Champions League first group stage.

16 winners from the third qualifying round, 10 champions from countries ranked 1–10, and six second-placed teams from countries ranked 1–6 were drawn into eight groups of four teams each. The top two teams in each group advance to the Champions League second group stage, while the third-placed teams advance to round three of the UEFA Cup.

Tiebreakers, if necessary, are applied in the following order:

  1. Points earned in head-to-head matches between the tied teams.
  2. Total goals scored in head-to-head matches between the tied teams.
  3. Away goals scored in head-to-head matches between the tied teams.
  4. Cumulative goal difference in all group matches.
  5. Total goals scored in all group matches.
  6. Higher UEFA coefficient going into the competition.

Basel, Genk and Maccabi Haifa made their debut in the group stage. Maccabi Haifa became the first Israeli club to qualify for the group stage.

Group H

Second group stage

See main article: 2002–03 UEFA Champions League second group stage. The eight group winners and eight group runners-up were drawn into four groups, with each one containing two group winners and two group runners-up. The top two teams in each group advanced to the Champions League knockout stage.

Tiebreakers, if necessary, are applied in the following order:

  1. Points earned in head-to-head matches between the tied teams.
  2. Total goals scored in head-to-head matches between the tied teams.
  3. Away goals scored in head-to-head matches between the tied teams.
  4. Cumulative goal difference in all group matches.
  5. Total goals scored in all group matches.
  6. Higher UEFA coefficient going into the competition.

Group D

Knockout phase

See main article: 2002–03 UEFA Champions League knockout stage.

Semi-finals

*Both clubs played their home leg in the same stadium (the San Siro), but Milan were the designated away side in the second leg, and thus won on away goals.

Final

See main article: 2003 UEFA Champions League Final.

Statistics

Top goalscorers

RankNameTeamGoalsAppearancesMinutes played
1 Ruud van Nistelrooy Manchester United129681
2 Filippo Inzaghi Milan10141,097
3 Roy Makaay Deportivo La Coruña911909
Hernán Crespo Internazionale912981
Raúl Real Madrid9121,054
6 Jan Koller Borussia Dortmund8121,059
7 Javier Saviola Barcelona712914
Thierry Henry Arsenal7121,020
9 Ronaldo Real Madrid611758
Alan Shearer Newcastle United610878

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: UEFA access list for 2002/03 club competitions . uefa.com . Union of European Football Associations . PDF. 21 December 2001. 20 September 2010 .
  2. Web site: UEFA Country Ranking 2001. 20 September 2010.
  3. Web site: Club competition draws and dates. 5 January 2002. 20 September 2010.

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