# 2003 Campeonato Brasileiro Série B

The football (soccer) Campeonato Brasileiro Série B 2003, the second level of Brazilian National League, was played from April 25 to November 29, 2003. The competition had 24 clubs and two of them were promoted to Série A and two were relegated to Série C.
In the first round, each team played against each other, much like what happens in Série A. However, in contrast to Série A, each team played against the other only once. Therefore, each team played 23 games, 12 home and 11 away (or the opposite). The eight best ranked teams advanced to the second round, where they were divided in two groups of four. Teams in each group played against each other home and away. The two best ranked teams in each group advanced to the final round. Those four teams were put in a single group, and played against each other home and away.
Palmeiras finished the final phase group with most points and was declared 2003 Brazilian Série B champions, claiming the promotion to the 2004 Série A along with Botafogo, the runners-up. The two worst ranked teams in the first round (Gama and União São João) were relegated to play Série C in 2004.

## Teams

| Team | City | Stadium | 2002 Season |
| América Mineiro | Belo Horizonte | Independência | 7th in Série B |
| América de Natal | Natal | Machadão | 10th in Série B |
| Anapolina | Anápolis | Jonas Duarte | 17th in Série B |
| Avaí | Florianópolis | Ressacada | 6th in Série B |
| Botafogo | Rio de Janeiro | Caio Martins | 26th in Série A |
| Brasiliense | Taguatinga, DF | Boca do Jacaré | 1st in Série C |
| Caxias | Caxias do Sul | Centenário | 14th in Série B |
| Ceará | Fortaleza | Castelão | 13th in Série B |
| CRB | Maceió | Pajuçara | 9th in Série B |
| Gama | Gama, DF | Bezerrão | 25th in Série A |
| Joinville | Joinville | Ernestão | 12th in Série B |
| Londrina | Londrina | Café | 18th in Série B |
| Marília | Marília | Bento de Abreu | 2nd in Série C |
| Mogi Mirim | Mogi Mirim | Vail Chaves | 11th in Série B |
| Náutico | Recife | Aflitos | 20th in Série B |
| Palmeiras | São Paulo | Parque Antárctica | 24th in Série A |
| Paulista | Jundiaí | Jayme Cintra | 4th in Série B |
| Portuguesa | São Paulo | Canindé | 23rd in Série A |
| Remo | Belém | Mangueirão | 8th in Série B |
| Santa Cruz | Recife | Arruda | 3rd in Série B |
| São Raimundo | Manaus | Ismael Benigno | 19th in Série B |
| Sport | Recife | Ilha do Retiro | 5th in Série B |
| União São João | Araras | Herminião | 16th in Série B |
| Vila Nova | Goiânia | Serra Dourada | 15th in Série B |

## First stage

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Palmeiras | 23 | 13 | 8 | 2 | 54 | 25 | +29 | 47 | Qualified to Second Stage |
| 2 | Botafogo | 23 | 11 | 8 | 4 | 45 | 26 | +19 | 41 | Qualified to Second Stage |
| 3 | Remo | 23 | 11 | 6 | 6 | 42 | 33 | +9 | 39 | Qualified to Second Stage |
| 4 | Sport | 23 | 9 | 10 | 4 | 34 | 22 | +12 | 37 | Qualified to Second Stage |
| 5 | Brasiliense | 23 | 9 | 10 | 4 | 33 | 24 | +9 | 37 | Qualified to Second Stage |
| 6 | Marília | 23 | 9 | 9 | 5 | 32 | 24 | +8 | 36 | Qualified to Second Stage |
| 7 | Náutico | 23 | 11 | 5 | 7 | 41 | 27 | +14 | 35 | Qualified to Second Stage |
| 8 | Santa Cruz | 23 | 10 | 5 | 8 | 35 | 38 | −3 | 35 | Qualified to Second Stage |
| 9 | Paulista | 23 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 37 | 28 | +9 | 35 | |
| 10 | Londrina | 23 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 39 | 42 | −3 | 31 | |
| 11 | América-RN | 23 | 6 | 10 | 7 | 36 | 38 | −2 | 31 | |
| 12 | Avaí | 23 | 8 | 6 | 9 | 23 | 30 | −7 | 30 | |
| 13 | Portuguesa | 23 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 39 | 33 | +6 | 30 | |
| 14 | Ceará | 23 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 36 | 30 | +6 | 30 | |
| 15 | Joinville | 23 | 7 | 6 | 10 | 33 | 41 | −8 | 30 | |
| 16 | CRB | 23 | 7 | 6 | 10 | 28 | 37 | −9 | 27 | |
| 17 | Mogi Mirim | 23 | 7 | 5 | 11 | 28 | 43 | −15 | 26 | |
| 18 | São Raimundo | 23 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 27 | 31 | −4 | 26 | |
| 19 | Vila Nova | 23 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 32 | 39 | −7 | 26 | |
| 20 | Anapolina | 23 | 7 | 6 | 10 | 30 | 43 | −13 | 24 | |
| 21 | Caxias | 23 | 5 | 9 | 9 | 27 | 39 | −12 | 24 | |
| 22 | América Mineiro | 23 | 4 | 12 | 7 | 35 | 38 | −3 | 24 | |
| 23 | Gama | 23 | 3 | 10 | 10 | 28 | 41 | −13 | 19 | Relegated to Série C 2004 |
| 24 | União São João | 23 | 4 | 4 | 15 | 22 | 44 | −22 | 16 | Relegated to Série C 2004 |
* 1 2 The points won by Náutico in its match against Joinville were given to Joinville due to Náutico's fielding of a ineligible player.
* 1 2 The points won by Anapolina in its match against América-RN were given to América-RN due to Anapolina's fielding of a ineligible player.

## Second stage
### Group A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | PAL | SPT | BRA | STA |
| 1 | Palmeiras | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 8 | +6 | 15 | Qualified to Final Stage | | 2–3 | 6–2 | 2–0 |
| 2 | Sport | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 8 | +1 | 8 | Qualified to Final Stage | 1–2 | | 1–1 | 3–1 |
| 3 | Brasiliense FC | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 10 | −3 | 7 | | 1–2 | 1–0 | | 2–0 |
| 4 | Santa Cruz | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 11 | −4 | 4 | | 1–3 | 1–1 | 4–0 | |

### Group B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | MAR | BOT | NAU | REM |
| 1 | Marília | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 8 | +4 | 11 | Qualified to Final Stage | | 2–2 | 4–1 | 2–0 |
| 2 | Botafogo | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 16 | 11 | +5 | 10 | Qualified to Final Stage | 3–1 | | 1–2 | 4–1 |
| 3 | Náutico | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 15 | −4 | 7 | | 1–2 | 2–4 | | 2–2 |
| 4 | Remo | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 14 | −5 | 5 | | 1–1 | 3–2 | 2–3 | |

## Final stage

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion | PAL | BOT | SPT | MAR |
| 1 | Palmeiras | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 3 | +9 | 16 | Promoted to Série A 2004 | | 4–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 |
| 2 | Botafogo | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 10 | −1 | 8 | Promoted to Série A 2004 | 1–1 | | 3–1 | 3–1 |
| 3 | Sport | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 8 | −2 | 5 | | 1–2 | 3–1 | | 0–0 |
| 4 | Marília | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 8 | −6 | 3 | | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | |