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]
Associations 1–3 each have four teams qualify
Associations 4–6 each have three teams qualify
Associations 7–15 each have two teams qualify
Associations 16–52 each have one team qualify (except Liechtenstein, San Marino, Andorra and Azerbaijan)
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]
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:
The champions of association 16 (Scotland) are promoted from the second qualifying round to the third qualifying round.
The champions of associations 26, 27 and 28 (Israel, Slovenia and Bulgaria) are promoted from the first qualifying round to the second qualifying round.
Teams entering in this round
Teams 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).
Austria (AUT): 2001–02 Austrian Football Bundesliga champions Tirol Innsbruck did not receive a licence for the next season and were excluded from Austrian Bundesliga. Subsequently, they were excluded from the Champions League, while Bundesliga runners-up Sturm Graz were moved from Second to Third qualifying round and Bundesliga 3rd-placed team GAK replaced Sturm in the Second qualifying round.[3]
Azerbaijan (AZE): Clubs from Azerbaijan were not admitted to UEFA competitions as the previous season was suspended in mid-April due to ongoing conflict between clubs and AFFA. Several weeks later the championship was resumed and subsequently finished by clubs independently from the federation. Shamkir won the league, but this title is not recognized by both UEFA and AFFA.[4]
Round and draw dates
All draws held at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland unless stated otherwise.[5]
Location of teams of the 2002–03 UEFA Champions League first group stage. Brown: Group A; Red: Group B; Orange: Group C; Yellow: Group D; Green: Group E; Blue: Group F; Purple: Group G; Pink: Group H.
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:
Points earned in head-to-head matches between the tied teams.
Total goals scored in head-to-head matches between the tied teams.
Away goals scored in head-to-head matches between the tied teams.
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:
Points earned in head-to-head matches between the tied teams.
Total goals scored in head-to-head matches between the tied teams.
Away goals scored in head-to-head matches between the tied teams.
^"2. Finals"(PDF). UEFA Champions League Statistics Handbook 2022/23. Nyon: Union of European Football Associations. 4 June 2023. p. 2. Archived(PDF) from the original on 21 August 2023. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
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