# 2002–03 Deportivo de La Coruña season

The 2002–03 season was Deportivo de La Coruña's 32nd season in La Liga, the top division of Spanish football. They also competed in the Copa del Rey, the UEFA Champions League and the Supercopa de España.

## Season summary

The 2002–03 season, Javier Irureta's fifth in charge, started in style for Deportivo. As defending Copa del Rey champions, they qualified for the 2002 Supercopa de España, where they faced Valencia. Three first half goals from Juan Carlos Valerón, Víctor Sánchez and Noureddine Naybet gave them a big advantage after the first leg at Estadio Riazor, and a further goal from Víctor at Mestalla Stadium ensured a 4–0 aggregate victory. Depor therefore claimed the Supercopa trophy for the second time in three seasons.
In La Liga, they just failed to match their top two finishes of the past three years, ending up 3rd, although they still qualified for the 2003–04 UEFA Champions League. In the 2002–03 edition of that tournament, they made it through a tough first round group in which they faced Bayern Munich, Lens and Milan. Their progress was assured after an excellent 2–1 win against the Italians at San Siro on the final matchday. Another tough draw awaited in the second group stage, where they faced Basel, Juventus and Manchester United. Despite finishing level on points with the Swiss and Italian sides, they were eliminated bottom of the group on goal difference, failing to match their quarter-final exploits of the previous two seasons.
In the Copa del Rey, too, they just fell short of their previous high standards. The defending champions were eliminated at the semi-final stage by eventual winners Mallorca. It was a great season for striker Roy Makaay, whose 29 league goals won him both the Pichichi Trophy and the European Golden Shoe.

## Players
### Squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | ESP | José Francisco Molina |
| 2 | DF | ESP | Manuel Pablo |
| 3 | DF | ESP | Enrique Romero |
| 4 | DF | MAR | Noureddine Naybet |
| 5 | DF | ESP | César Martín |
| 6 | MF | BRA | Mauro Silva |
| 7 | FW | NED | Roy Makaay |
| 8 | DF | ESP | Pablo Amo |
| 9 | FW | ESP | Diego Tristán |
| 10 | MF | ESP | Fran (captain) |
| 11 | MF | ESP | José Amavisca |
| 12 | MF | ARG | Lionel Scaloni |
| 13 | GK | ESP | Dani Mallo |
| 14 | DF | POR | Jorge Andrade |
| 15 | DF | ESP | Joan Capdevila |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 16 | MF | ESP | Sergio |
| 17 | DF | SCG | Goran Đorović |
| 18 | MF | ESP | Víctor Sánchez |
| 19 | FW | ESP | Albert Luque |
| 20 | MF | ESP | Donato |
| 21 | MF | ESP | Juan Carlos Valerón |
| 22 | MF | PAR | Roberto Acuña |
| 22 | FW | ESP | Iván Pérez |
| 23 | MF | ARG | Aldo Duscher |
| 24 | DF | ESP | Héctor |
| 25 | GK | ESP | Juanmi |
| 32 | MF | ESP | Javi Angeriz |
| 33 | DF | ESP | Antonio |
| — | FW | ESP | Changui |

#### Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | DF | ESP | Manel (on loan to Real Oviedo) |
| — | MF | BRA | Djalminha (on loan to Austrian Wien) |
| — | MF | ESP | Jaime (on loan to Hannover 96) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | ESP | José Manuel (on loan to Hannover 96/Polideportivo Ejido) |
| — | FW | URU | Walter Pandiani (on loan to Mallorca) |
| — | FW | URU | Sebastian Abreu (on loan at Cruz Azul) |

### Squad stats

Last updated on 2 April 2021.
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | La Liga | La Liga | Copa del Rey | Copa del Rey | Champ League | Champ League | Supercopa | Supercopa |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 1 | GK | ESP | José Francisco Molina | 13 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | ESP | Manuel Pablo | 19 | 1 | 7+3 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | ESP | Enrique Romero | 45 | 1 | 31 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | MAR | Noureddine Naybet | 36 | 2 | 25 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 5 | DF | ESP | César Martín | 32 | 2 | 20 | 0 | 2+1 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | BRA | Mauro Silva | 48 | 0 | 32 | 0 | 4+1 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 7 | FW | NED | Roy Makaay | 56 | 39 | 38 | 29 | 2+3 | 1 | 11 | 9 | 2 | 0 |
| 8 | DF | ESP | Pablo Amo | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | ESP | Diego Tristán | 41 | 19 | 16+7 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 5+5 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | ESP | Fran | 43 | 2 | 26+2 | 1 | 2+1 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | ESP | José Amavisca | 29 | 1 | 11+8 | 0 | 4+1 | 1 | 1+4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | MF | ARG | Lionel Scaloni | 49 | 3 | 25+7 | 3 | 2+2 | 0 | 9+2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 13 | GK | ESP | Dani Mallo | 6 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | DF | POR | Jorge Andrade | 22 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 5+1 | 0 | 3+1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | ESP | Joan Capdevila | 42 | 4 | 12+13 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 6+3 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | ESP | Sergio | 55 | 4 | 34+3 | 3 | 4+2 | 1 | 9+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 17 | DF | SCG | Goran Đorović | 3 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | ESP | Víctor Sánchez | 42 | 8 | 25+5 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 6+1 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 19 | FW | ESP | Albert Luque | 49 | 11 | 5+27 | 7 | 7+1 | 4 | 3+6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | ESP | Donato | 23 | 2 | 14+2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | ESP | Juan Carlos Valerón | 31 | 3 | 14+9 | 2 | 0+1 | 0 | 3+2 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 22 | MF | PAR | Roberto Acuña | 21 | 1 | 0+7 | 0 | 5+2 | 1 | 2+5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | FW | ESP | Iván Pérez | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | MF | ARG | Aldo Duscher | 47 | 1 | 16+15 | 0 | 5+1 | 1 | 6+2 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 |
| 24 | DF | ESP | Héctor | 36 | 0 | 18+4 | 0 | 3+3 | 0 | 7+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | GK | ESP | Juanmi | 42 | 0 | 27 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | MF | ESP | Javi Angeriz | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | DF | ESP | Antonio | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | ESP | Changui | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Players who have left the club after the start of the season: ||||||||||||||
| | DF | ESP | Manel | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | MF | BRA | Djalminha | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| | MF | ESP | Jaime | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | MF | ESP | José Manuel | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | URU | Walter Pandiani | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |

## Competitions
### La Liga
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Real Madrid (C) | 38 | 22 | 12 | 4 | 86 | 42 | +44 | 78 | Qualification for the Champions League group stage |
| 2 | Real Sociedad | 38 | 22 | 10 | 6 | 71 | 45 | +26 | 76 | Qualification for the Champions League group stage |
| 3 | Deportivo La Coruña | 38 | 22 | 6 | 10 | 67 | 47 | +20 | 72 | Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round |
| 4 | Celta Vigo | 38 | 17 | 10 | 11 | 45 | 36 | +9 | 61 | Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round |
| 5 | Valencia | 38 | 17 | 9 | 12 | 56 | 35 | +21 | 60 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |

#### Matches

Win  Draw  Loss
| Match | Opponent | Venue | Result | Goals |
| 1 | Real Betis | H | 2–4 | 0–1 17' Assunção 0–2 24' (pen.) Alfonso Pérez 1–2 30' Makaay 1–3 39' Arzu 1–4 53' Joaquín 2–4 75' (pen.) Tristán |
| 2 | Osasuna | A | 2–1 | 0–1 12' Vidrio 1–1 73' Makaay 2–1 74' Makaay |
| 3 | Real Valladolid | H | 2–0 | 1–0 12' Makaay 2–0 28' Makaay |
| 4 | Deportivo Alavés | A | 2–1 | 0–1 52' Alonso 1–1 69' Tristán 2–1 89' Capdevila |
| 5 | Racing Santander | H | 0–2 | 0–1 26' Guerrero 0–2 70' Guerrero |
| 6 | Villarreal | A | 1–3 | 1–0 7' Víctor Sánchez 1–1 48' (o.g.) Martín 1–2 61' (pen.) Víctor 1–3 87' Belletti |
| 7 | Rayo Vallecano | A | 2–1 | 1–0 24' Makaay 2–0 49' Makaay 2–1 90' Corino |
| 8 | Real Madrid | H | 0–0 | |
| 9 | Real Sociedad | A | 1–1 | 0–1 27' Kovačević 1–1 40' Luque |
| 10 | Barcelona | H | 2–0 | 1–0 82' Scaloni 2–0 85' Luque |
| 11 | Sevilla | A | 1–1 | 0–1 3' Antoñito 1–1 48' Makaay |
| 12 | Mallorca | H | 2–2 | 1–0 14' Makaay 1–1 31' Pandiani 1–2 45' (pen.) Eto'o 2–2 71' Makaay |
| 13 | Recreativo de Huelva | A | 1–1 | 0–1 24' Molina 1–1 27' Tristán |
| 14 | Málaga | H | 1–0 | 1–0 86' Luque |
| 15 | Valencia | A | 1–0 | 1–0 21' Makaay |
| 16 | Celta Vigo | H | 3–0 | 1–0 42' Tristán 2–0 48' Sergio 3–0 89' Luque |
| 17 | Atlético Madrid | A | 1–3 | 0–1 1' Mari 1–1 5' Makaay 1–2 77' Torres 1–3 79' Correa |
| 18 | Athletic Bilbao | H | 2–1 | 0–1 48' (o.g.) Héctor 1–1 50' Donato 2–1 84' (o.g.) Karanka |
| 19 | Espanyol | A | 1–3 | 1–0 2' Makaay 1–1 8' Soldevilla 1–2 21' Roger 1–3 26' Morales |
| 20 | Real Betis | A | 2–0 | 1–0 60' Tristán 2–0 73' Makaay |
| 21 | Osasuna | H | 1–1 | 0–1 46' Muñoz 1–1 63' Makaay |
| 22 | Real Valladolid | A | 1–0 | 1–0 57' Makaay |
| 23 | Deportivo Alavés | H | 6–0 | 1–0 15' Tristán 2–0 19' Tristán 3–0 34' Makaay 4–0 52' Makaay 5–0 59' Tristán 6–0 62' Luque |
| 24 | Racing Santander | A | 2–1 | 1–0 4' Makaay 1–1 46' Bodipo 2–1 81' Luque |
| 25 | Villarreal | H | 2–1 | 0–1 11' (pen.) López 1–1 30' (pen.) Tristán 2–1 40' Víctor Sánchez |
| 26 | Rayo Vallecano | H | 2–0 | 1–0 17' (pen.) Makaay 2–0 85' Naybet |
| 27 | Real Madrid | A | 0–2 | 0–1 44' Zidane 0–2 49' Ronaldo |
| 28 | Real Sociedad | H | 2–1 | 0–1 15' Kahveci 1–1 44' Capdevila 2–1 83' Fran |
| 29 | Barcelona | A | 4–2 | 0–1 2' Saviola 1–1 16' Scaloni 1–2 25' Motta 2–2 49' Makaay 3–2 64' Makaay 4–2 74' Sergio |
| 30 | Sevilla | H | 3–1 | 1–0 40' Víctor Sánchez 2–0 44' (pen.) Makaay 2–1 50' Antoñito 3–1 67' Makaay |
| 31 | Mallorca | A | 0–3 | 0–1 3' Eto'o 0–2 13' Riera 0–3 63' Eto'o |
| 32 | Recreativo de Huelva | H | 5–0 | 1–0 25' Valerón 2–0 26' Víctor Sánchez 3–0 32' (pen.) Makaay 4–0 36' Makaay 5–0 59' Makaay |
| 33 | Málaga | A | 2–0 | 1–0 13' (o.g.) Sanz 2–0 90' Scaloni |
| 34 | Valencia | H | 1–2 | 0–1 13' Aurélio 1–1 49' Donato 1–2 63' Aurélio |
| 35 | Celta Vigo | A | 0–3 | 0–1 57' Jesuli 0–2 62' Edu 0–3 78' Edu |
| 36 | Atlético Madrid | H | 3–2 | 0–1 6' (pen.) Albertini 1–1 13' Romero 1–2 75' Correa 2–2 77' Makaay 3–2 84' Valerón |
| 37 | Athletic Bilbao | A | 2–3 | 0–1 14' del Horno 0–2 42' Yeste 1–2 65' Capdevila 2–2 67' Sergio 2–3 70' Urzaiz |
| 38 | Espanyol | H | 2–1 | 0–1 12' Roger 1–1 74' Makaay 2–1 75' Luque |

### Copa del Rey

Win  Draw  Loss
| Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Goals | Ref |
| Round of 64 | Corralejo | A | 2–1 | 1–0 12' Luque 1–1 28' (pen.) Simón 2–1 75' Martín | |
| Round of 32 | Racing de Ferrol | A | 4–3 | 1–0 20' Tristán 1–1 31' Cuéllar 1–2 55' Cuéllar 2–2 58' Tristán 3–2 74' Luque 3–3 82' Yasunaga 4–3 90' Luque | |
| Round | Opponent | Aggregate | First leg | First leg | First leg | First leg | Second leg | Second leg | Second leg | Second leg |
| Round | Opponent | Aggregate | Venue | Result | Goals | Ref | Venue | Result | Goals | Ref |
| Round of 16 | Alicante | 5–2 | A | 1–1 | 0–1 38' Morante 1–1 79' Sergio | | H | 4–1 | 1–0 4' Acuña 1–1 34' Pérez 2–1 45' Amavisca 3–1 57' (pen.) Tristán 4–1 83' Luque | |
| Quarter-finals | Real Murcia | (a) 4–4 | H | 1–0 | 1–0 84' Duscher | | A | 3–4 | 1–0 24' Tristán 2–0 28' Tristán 2–1 44' Karanka 2–2 46' Juanma 2–3 52' (pen.) Tito 3–3 57' Pablo 3–4 83' Albiol | |
| Semi-finals | Mallorca | 3–4 | H | 2–3 | 0–1 38' Pandiani 0–2 80' Pandiani 0–3 81' Eto'o 1–3 89' (pen.) Tristán 2–3 90+' Makaay | | A | 1–1 | 1–0 20' Fran 1–1 83' Ibagaza | |

### UEFA Champions League
#### First group stage

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Milan | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 7 | +5 | 12 | Advance to second group stage |
| 2 | Deportivo La Coruña | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 12 | −1 | 12 | Advance to second group stage |
| 3 | Lens | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 8 | Transfer to UEFA Cup |
| 4 | Bayern Munich | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 13 | −4 | 2 | |

#### Second group stage

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Manchester United | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 5 | +6 | 13 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Juventus | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 7 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 3 | Basel | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 10 | −5 | 7 | |
| 4 | Deportivo La Coruña | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 8 | −1 | 7 | |

### Supercopa de España

Win  Draw  Loss
| Round | Opponent | Aggregate | First leg | First leg | First leg | First leg | Second leg | Second leg | Second leg | Second leg |
| Round | Opponent | Aggregate | Venue | Result | Goals | Ref | Venue | Result | Goals | Ref |
| Final | Valencia | 4–0 | H | 3–0 | 1–0 12' Valerón 2–0 21' Víctor Sánchez 3–0 31' Naybet | | A | 1–0 | 1–0 90' Víctor Sánchez | |