# 2002–03 Club Atlético River Plate season

The 2002–03 Club Atletico River Plate season was the club's 73nd season in the Argentine Primera División.
The season was split into two tournaments (format adopted since 1990–91 season) Apertura (Opening) 2002 (from August to December 2002), and Clausura (Closing) 2003 (from February to June 2003).
The club's kit was provided by Adidas, and the sponsor was Budweiser beer.

## Season events

On May 23, 2002, Manuel Pellegrini was presented as new manager of River Plate.
On July 22, midfielder Lucho González moved from Huracán to River Plate. The transfer was made for US$700,000.
On June 15, 2003 during Round 16 of Torneo Clausura 2003, River Plate defeated Lanús and because Velez and Boca tied games, finished the match day as sole leaders.
On June 29, during Round 18, River defeated Olimpo in Bahía Blanca and won the championship, by getting a difference of 4 points to rivals Boca Juniors, with only 1 round to go.

## Apertura Squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | ARG | Ángel Comizzo (Captain) |
| 2 | DF | PAR | Celso Ayala |
| 3 | DF | PAR | Ricardo Rojas |
| 4 | DF | COL | Jersson González |
| 5 | MF | ARG | Leonardo Astrada (Vice-captain) |
| 6 | DF | ARG | Martin Demichelis |
| 7 | FW | ARG | Alejandro Domínguez |
| 8 | MF | ARG | Eduardo Coudet (3rd captain) |
| 9 | FW | ARG | Fernando Cavenaghi |
| 10 | MF | ARG | Andres D'Alessandro |
| 11 | MF | ARG | Victor Zapata |
| 12 | GK | ARG | José María Buljubasich |
| 13 | DF | MEX | Javier Gandolfi |
| 14 | DF | ARG | Ariel Garcé |
| 15 | MF | ARG | Guillermo Pereyra |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 16 | DF | ARG | Matías Lequi |
| 17 | GK | ARG | Franco Costanzo |
| 18 | MF | ARG | Diego Barrado |
| 19 | MF | ARG | Gabriel Pereyra |
| 20 | MF | ARG | Juan Pablo Raponi |
| 21 | MF | MEX | Damian Alvarez |
| 22 | GK | ARG | Germán Lux |
| 23 | FW | ARG | Maxi López |
| 24 | FW | PAR | Nelson Cuevas |
| 25 | MF | ARG | Luciano Leguizamon |
| 26 | MF | ARG | Andres Aimar |
| 27 | MF | ARG | Lucho González |
| 28 | FW | ARG | Gaston Fernandez |
| 29 | MF | ARG | Oscar Ahumada |
| 30 | FW | ARG | Esteban Fuertes |

## Clausura Squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | ARG | Ángel Comizzo |
| 2 | DF | PAR | Celso Ayala |
| 3 | DF | PAR | Ricardo Rojas |
| 4 | MF | ARG | Claudio Husain |
| 5 | MF | ARG | Leonardo Astrada |
| 6 | DF | ARG | Martin Demichelis |
| 7 | FW | ARG | Alejandro Domínguez |
| 8 | MF | ARG | Eduardo Coudet (3rd captain) |
| 9 | FW | ARG | Fernando Cavenaghi (Vice-captain) |
| 10 | MF | ARG | Andres D'Alessandro (Captain) |
| 11 | MF | ARG | Victor Zapata |
| 12 | GK | ARG | José María Buljubasich |
| 13 | DF | URU | Martin del Campo |
| 14 | DF | ARG | Ariel Garcé |
| 15 | MF | ARG | Guillermo Pereyra |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 16 | DF | ARG | Matías Lequi |
| 17 | GK | ARG | Franco Costanzo |
| 18 | MF | ARG | Diego Barrado |
| 19 | MF | ARG | Osmar Ferreyra |
| 20 | FW | ARG | Darío Husaín |
| 21 | DF | ARG | Horacio Ameli |
| 22 | GK | ARG | Germán Lux |
| 23 | FW | ARG | Maxi López |
| 24 | MF | MEX | Daniel Ludueña |
| 25 | DF | URU | Máximo Lucas |
| 26 | MF | ARG | Andres Aimar |
| 27 | MF | ARG | Lucho González |
| 28 | FW | ARG | Gaston Fernandez |
| 29 | MF | ARG | Oscar Ahumada |
| 30 | FW | ARG | Esteban Fuertes |

## Transfers
### In

| Date | Pos. | Name | From | Fee |
| 11 June 2002 | GK | José María Buljubasich | Rosario Central | Loan |
| 1 July 2002 | DF | Marcelo Gómez | Huracán | Loan return |
| 1 July 2002 | DF | Jersson González | Galatasaray | Loan |
| 22 July 2002 | DF | Lucho González | Huracán | USD 700,000 |
| 2 August 2002 | DF | Esteban Fuertes | CD Tenerife | USD 250,000 (Loan from RC Lens) |
| 11 January 2003 | MF | Claudio Husaín | Napoli | USD 300,000 |
| 8 January 2003 | DF | Martín del Campo | Nacional | Loan |
| 11 January 2003 | DF | Máximo Lucas | Danubio | Loan |
| 16 January 2003 | MF | Eduardo Coudet | Celta de Vigo | Loan return |
| 1 February 2003 | FW | Darío Husaín | Vélez Sarsfield | Free |
| 1 February 2003 | FW | Horacio Ameli | São Paulo FC | USD 175,000 (Loan) |

### Out

| Date | Pos. | Name | To | Fee |
| 1 July 2002 | FW | Ariel Ortega | Fenerbahçe | £6m |
| 1 July 2002 | FW | Martín Cardetti | Paris Saint-Germain | Free |
| 2 September 2002 | MF | Eduardo Coudet | Celta de Vigo | Loan €200,000 |
| 1 July 2002 | MF | Cristian Ledesma | Hamburger SV | USD 4,000,000 |
| 1 January 2003 | DF | Javier Gandolfi | Talleres | Loan |
| 1 January 2003 | DF | Damián Álvarez | Monarcas Morelia | Loan USD 150,000 |
| 1 January 2003 | DF | Jersson González | Centauros Villavicencio | Loan end |
| 1 January 2003 | DF | Alejandro Escalona | Everton | Loan end |

## Competitions
### Apertura 2002
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Independiente | 19 | 13 | 4 | 2 | 48 | 19 | +29 | 43 |
| 2 | Boca Juniors | 19 | 12 | 4 | 3 | 32 | 15 | +17 | 40 |
| 3 | River Plate | 19 | 11 | 3 | 5 | 35 | 23 | +12 | 36 |
| 4 | Chacarita Juniors | 19 | 9 | 3 | 7 | 19 | 21 | −2 | 30 |
| 5 | Vélez Sársfield | 19 | 8 | 4 | 7 | 23 | 19 | +4 | 28 |

#### Results by matchday

| Matchday | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
| Ground | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A |
| Result | D | W | W | W | W | L | D | D | W | W | W | W | L | L | W | L | L | W | W |
| Position | 7 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |

#### Fixtures and results
### Clausura 2003
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | River Plate | 19 | 13 | 4 | 2 | 43 | 18 | +25 | 43 |
| 2 | Boca Juniors | 19 | 12 | 3 | 4 | 36 | 23 | +13 | 39 |
| 3 | Vélez Sársfield | 19 | 12 | 2 | 5 | 27 | 12 | +15 | 38 |
| 4 | Rosario Central | 19 | 10 | 7 | 2 | 40 | 18 | +22 | 37 |
| 5 | Colón | 19 | 7 | 8 | 4 | 19 | 14 | +5 | 29 |

#### Results by matchday

| Matchday | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
| Ground | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H |
| Result | D | L | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | D | D | W | D | W | W | W | W | L |
| Position | 6 | 13 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |

#### Evolution of the league table

River Plate, Boca Juniors and Velez Sarsfield were the teams who kept the championship lead for most of the tournament.
Positions by round :
| Team ╲ Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
| River Plate | 6 | 13 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Boca Juniors | 1 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| Vélez Sarsfield | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 |

### 2003 Copa Libertadores
#### Group stage

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | CAL | RIV | LIB | EME |
| 1 | Deportivo Cali | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 3 | +6 | 12 | | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 |
| 2 | River Plate | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 7 | +3 | 12 | 2–1 | | 3–1 | 2–0 |
| 3 | Libertad | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 7 | 1–0 | 0–2 | | 2–2 |
| 4 | Emelec | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 15 | −9 | 4 | 0–4 | 3–1 | 1–5 | |

#### Knockout phase
##### Quarter-finals
## Squad statistics
### Appearances and goals

| No. | Pos. | Name | Total | Total | League | League | 2002 Copa Sudamericana | 2002 Copa Sudamericana | 2003 Copa Libertadores | 2003 Copa Libertadores | Discipline | Discipline |
| No. | Pos. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | | |
| 1 | GK | Ángel Comizzo | 17 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | Celso Ayala | 18 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 3 | DF | Ricardo Ismael Rojas | 24 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 1 |
| 4 | MF | Jersson González | 8 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 4 | MF | Claudio Husaín | 18 | 1 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 2 |
| 5 | MF | Leonardo Astrada | 27 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | Martín Demichelis | 46 | 2 | 35 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 12 | 1 |
| 7 | FW | Alejandro Domínguez | 16 | 5 | 15 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | Eduardo Coudet | 28 | 3 | 20 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | Fernando Cavenaghi | 43 | 24 | 33 | 21 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | Andrés D'Alessandro | 40 | 14 | 29 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 4 | 9 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | Víctor Zapata | 22 | 1 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 12 | GK | José María Buljubasich | 26 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 13 | DF | Javier Gandolfi | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | DF | Martín del Campo | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | DF | Ariel Garcé | 43 | 0 | 34 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| 15 | MF | Guillermo Pereyra | 32 | 3 | 24 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 16 | DF | Matías Lequi | 27 | 2 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| 17 | GK | Franco Costanzo | 7 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | Diego Barrado | 17 | 2 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | MF | Gabriel Pereyra | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 19 | MF | Osmar Ferreyra | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | Juan Pablo Raponi | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | FW | Darío Husaín | 19 | 3 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 21 | MF | Damián Ariel Álvarez | 8 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | DF | Horacio Ameli | 23 | 2 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 1 |
| 22 | GK | Germán Lux | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | FW | Maxi López | 7 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | FW | Nelson Cuevas | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | FW | Luciano Leguizamón | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | FW | Andrés Aimar | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | MF | Lucho González | 42 | 9 | 32 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | MF | Daniel Ludueña | 18 | 1 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | FW | Esteban Fuertes | 45 | 16 | 34 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
* ↑ Wore no. 4 jersey during Torneo Apertura 2002 and 2002 Copa Sudamericana
* ↑ Wore no. 4 jersey during Torneo Clausura 2003 and 2003 Copa Libertadores
* ↑ Wore no. 13 jersey during Torneo Apertura 2002
* ↑ Wore no. 13 jersey during Torneo Clausura 2003 and no. 25 during 2003 Copa Libertadores
* ↑ Wore no. 19 jersey during Torneo Apertura 2002
* ↑ Wore no. 19 jersey during Torneo Clausura 2003
* ↑ Wore no. 20 jersey during Torneo Apertura 2002 and 2002 Copa Sudamericana
* ↑ Wore no. 20 jersey during Torneo Clausura 2003 and no. 22 during 2003 Copa Libertadores
* ↑ Wore no. 21 jersey during Torneo Apertura 2002 and 2002 Copa Sudamericana
* ↑ Wore no. 21 jersey during Torneo Clausura 2003 and 2003 Copa Libertadores
* ↑ Wore no. 12 jersey during Torneo Apertura 2002 and 2002 Copa Sudamericana, wore no. 31 during Torneo Clausura 2003
Source: www.footballdatabase.eu – www.livefutbol.com