# 2002–03 USM Alger season

In the 2002–03 season, USM Alger is competing in Division 1 for the 23rd time, as well as the Algerian Cup. It is their 8th consecutive season in the top flight of Algerian football. They will be competing in Ligue 1, the CAF Champions League, the UAFA Club Cup and the Algerian Cup. In 2002–03 It was the best season in the history of USM Alger and participated in five competitions, The opening season was in the Arab Unified Club Championship, and was eliminated in the group stage, In the Cup Winners' Cup, the red and black reached the semi-finals, and was eliminated against Wydad Casablanca and fails to achieve the first continental title despite the second leg that took place in Algeria Where did USM Alger need to win to qualify for the final. In the Division 1, the journey towards achieving the title was not easy, and the struggle was great with USM Blida, NA Hussein Dey and JS Kabylie, and USM Alger waited until the 28 round to celebrate the title after winning against ASM Oran. To complete the joy in the Algerian Cup by winning the title after the victory against CR Belouizdad after Moncef Ouichaoui scored the golden goal to achieve the double for the first time in its history under the leadership of Azzedine Aït Djoudi. also achieved Ouichaoui top scorer in the league for the first time a player from USM Alger with 18 goals including two hat-tricks. On February 24, 2003, in the derby meeting against CR Belouizdad and in the last minutes while Hichem Mezaïr was heading to fetch the ball, the ball holder attacked him to respond in kind, so the match stopped and the stands turned into an arena of violence between the managers and supporters of the two clubs and despite that, the match was completed with difficulty.

## Squad list

Players and squad numbers last updated on 12 May 2003. Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Position | Name | Date of Birth (Age) | Signed from | Apps. | Goals |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||
| 1 | Hichem Mezaïr | GK | (1976-10-16)16 October 1976 (aged 26) | WA Tlemcen | 90 | 0 |
| 25 | Merouane Abdouni | GK | (1981-03-27)27 March 1981 (aged 21) | USM El Harrach | 7 | 0 |
| - | Redouane Hamiti | GK | (1982-01-16)16 January 1982 (aged 20) | Youth system | 1 | 0 |
| Defenders ||||||||
| 2 | Salim Aribi | CB | (1974-12-16)16 December 1974 (aged 28) | CA Batna | 34 | 4 |
| 3 | Tarek Ghoul | LB | (1975-01-06)6 January 1975 (aged 27) | USM El Harrach | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Mounir Zeghdoud | CB | (1970-11-18)18 November 1970 (aged 32) | USM Aïn Beïda | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | Mahieddine Meftah | LB / CB / RB | (1968-09-25)25 September 1968 (aged 34) | JS Kabylie | 0 | 0 |
| - | Mohamed Hamdoud | RB / CB | (1976-06-09)9 June 1976 (aged 26) | Youth system | 0 | 0 |
| - | Rabah Deghmani | CB | (1975-10-05)5 October 1975 (aged 27) | IB Khémis El Khechna | 0 | 0 |
| - | Djamel Bougandoura | LB | (1973-01-25)25 January 1973 (aged 29) | USM Annaba | 7 | 0 |
| Midfielders ||||||||
| 6 | Farid Djahnine | MF | (1976-08-16)16 August 1976 (aged 26) | Youth system | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | Amar Ammour | AM | (1976-09-10)10 September 1976 (aged 26) | ASM Oran | 39 | 13 |
| 8 | Billel Dziri | CM | (1972-01-21)21 January 1972 (aged 30) | CS Sedan Ardennes | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | Karim Ghazi | DM | (1979-01-06)6 January 1979 (aged 23) | CR Belouizdad | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | Hocine Achiou | AM | (1979-04-27)27 April 1979 (aged 23) | Youth system | 0 | 0 |
| - | Yacine Hamadou | CM | (1980-06-14)14 June 1980 (aged 22) | JS Bordj Ménaïel | 12 | 2 |
| - | Hocine Metref | DM | (1984-01-01)1 January 1984 (aged 19) | Youth system | 4 | 0 |
| Forwards ||||||||
| 11 | Moncef Ouichaoui | ST | (1977-04-05)5 April 1977 (aged 25) | USM Annaba | 56 | 26 |
| 13 | Mohamed Cheraïtia | FW | (1982-02-14)14 February 1982 (aged 20) | Youth system | 11 | 1 |
| 19 | Rabie Benchergui | ST | (1978-03-14)14 March 1978 (aged 24) | ASM Oran | 28 | 12 |
| 21 | Rafik Deghiche | RW | (1983-10-01)1 October 1983 (aged 19) | Youth system | 7 | 2 |
| - | Issaad Bourahli | ST | (1974-03-23)23 March 1974 (aged 28) | ES Sétif | 58 | 30 |
| - | Abdelhakim Meziani | RW | (1981-01-18)18 January 1981 (aged 21) | Youth system | 9 | 1 |

## Transfers
### In

| Date | Pos | Player | To club | Transfer fee |
| 1 July 2002 | GK | Merouane Abdouni | USM El Harrach | Free transfer |
| 1 July 2002 | MF | Amar Ammour | ASM Oran | Free transfer |
| 1 July 2002 | DF | Salim Aribi | CA Batna | Free transfer |
| 1 July 2002 | DF | Djamel Bougandoura | USM Annaba | Free transfer |
| 1 July 2002 | FW | Moncef Ouichaoui | USM Annaba | Free transfer |

## Competitions
### Overview

| Competition | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Started round | Final position / round | First match | Last match |
| Competition | G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | Started round | Final position / round | First match | Last match |
| Division 1 | 30 | 17 | 7 | 6 | 52 | 17 | +35 | 056.67 | — | Champion | 22 August 2002 | 12 May 2003 |
| Algerian Cup | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 | +8 | 100.00 | Round of 64 | Winner | 13 March 2003 | 12 June 2003 |
| Champions League | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 050.00 | First round | Second round | 11 April 2003 | 31 May 2003 |
| Cup Winners' Cup | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 5 | +8 | 050.00 | Quarter-finals | Semifinals | 1 September 2002 | 20 October 2002 |
| UAFA Club Cup | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 4 | +3 | 025.00 | Group stage | Group stage | 8 July 2003 | 15 July 2003 |
| Total | 47 | 27 | 13 | 7 | 87 | 30 | +57 | 057.45 |

### Division 1
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | USM Alger (C) | 30 | 17 | 7 | 6 | 52 | 17 | +35 | 58 | 2004 CAF Champions League |
| 2 | USM Blida | 30 | 14 | 9 | 7 | 32 | 22 | +10 | 51 | 2003-04 Arab Champions League |
| 3 | NA Hussein Dey | 30 | 13 | 12 | 5 | 32 | 24 | +8 | 51 | 2003-04 Arab Champions League |
| 4 | JS Kabylie | 30 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 38 | 24 | +14 | 49 | |
| 5 | CR Belouizdad | 30 | 12 | 9 | 9 | 28 | 20 | +8 | 44 | 2004 CAF Confederation Cup |
* ↑ 1 point deducted

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 12 December 2014. Source: Competitive matches

#### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
| Ground | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H |
| Result | W | W | W | W | L | D | L | W | L | W | L | W | D | W | W | W | D | W | L | W | D | D | D | W | D | W | W | W | L | W |
| Position | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |

#### Matches
### Arab Unified Club Championship
#### Group stage

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Kuwait SC | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 5 | +4 | 8 | Advance to Semi-finals |
| 2 | Zamalek | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 7 | Advance to Semi-finals |
| 3 | USM Alger | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 4 | +3 | 6 | |
| 4 | Al-Jaish | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 10 | −4 | 3 | |
| 5 | Al-Shorta | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 9 | −3 | 2 | |

## Squad information
### Appearances and goals

* Statistics all except one in the 2002 African Cup Winners' Cup US Transfoot vs USM Alger 1 September 2002. and three in the 2003 Arab Unified Club Championship Al-Shorta vs USM Alger 10 July 2003, USM Alger vs Kuwait SC 13 July 2003, USM Alger vs Al-Jaish 15 July 2003.
| No. | Pos | Player | Nat | Division 1 | Division 1 | Division 1 | Algerian Cup | Algerian Cup | Algerian Cup | Champions League | Champions League | Champions League | Cup Winners' Cup | Cup Winners' Cup | Cup Winners' Cup | Arab Unified | Arab Unified | Arab Unified | Total | Total | Total |
| No. | Pos | Player | Nat | App | St | G | App | St | G | App | St | G | App | St | G | App | St | G | App | St | G |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | GK | Hichem Mezaïr | | 25 | 25 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 36 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | GK | Merouane Abdouni | | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| | GK | Redouane Hamiti | | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Defenders ||||||||||||||||||||||
| | CB | Salim Aribi | | 24 | 24 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 35 | 0 | 4 |
| | LB | Tarek Ghoul | | 21 | 18 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 33 | 0 | 2 |
| | CB | Mounir Zeghdoud | | 17 | 16 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 0 | 0 |
| | LB / CB / RB | Mahieddine Meftah | | 27 | 27 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 38 | 0 | 1 |
| | RB / CB | Mohamed Hamdoud | | 23 | 14 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 0 | 0 |
| | CB | Rabah Deghmani | | 21 | 17 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 30 | 0 | 0 |
| | LB | Djamel Bougandoura | | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 0 |
| | DF | Karim Achiou | | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| | DF | Amrani | | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| | DF | Mohamed Khelalfa | | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||||||||||||||
| | MF | Farid Djahnine | | 25 | 23 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 38 | 0 | 2 |
| | MF | Amar Ammour | | 28 | 27 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 40 | 0 | 13 |
| | MF | Billel Dziri | | 24 | 23 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 36 | 0 | 4 |
| | MF | Karim Ghazi | | 28 | 26 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 40 | 0 | 3 |
| | MF | Hocine Achiou | | 27 | 27 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 40 | 0 | 4 |
| | MF | Yacine Hamadou | | 7 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 1 |
| | MF | Hocine Metref | | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| | MF | Mohamed Ramzi Mellouli | | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| | MF | Tchekchar | | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Forwards ||||||||||||||||||||||
| | FW | Moncef Ouichaoui | | 27 | 20 | 18 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 37 | 0 | 22 |
| | FW | Mohamed Cheraïtia | | 6 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 1 |
| | FW | Rabie Benchergui | | 14 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 4 |
| | FW | Rafik Deghiche | | 7 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 2 |
| | FW | Issaad Bourahli | | 22 | 17 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 0 | 19 |
| | FW | Abdelhakim Meziani | | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 3 | 0 |
| | FW | Berkane | | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | 30 | 30 | 52 | 5 | 5 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 13 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 47 | 47 | 87 |
Last updated: 17 June 2022 Source: soccerway.com

### Disciplinary record

| No. | Pos. | Player | Division 1 | Division 1 | Division 1 | Algerian Cup | Algerian Cup | Algerian Cup | Champions League | Champions League | Champions League | Cup Winners' Cup | Cup Winners' Cup | Cup Winners' Cup | Arab Unified | Arab Unified | Arab Unified | Total | Total | Total |
| | GK | Hichem Mezaïr | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| | DF | Salim Aribi | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| | DF | Tarek Ghoul | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 1 |
| | DF | Mounir Zeghdoud | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| | DF | Mahieddine Meftah | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| | DF | Mohamed Hamdoud | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| | DF | Rabah Deghmani | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| | MF | Farid Djahnine | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| | MF | Amar Ammour | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| | MF | Billel Dziri | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| | MF | Karim Ghazi | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| | MF | Hocine Achiou | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | Moncef Ouichaoui | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | Rabie Benchergui | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | Rafik Deghiche | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | Issaad Bourahli | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | Total | Total | 56 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 79 | 1 | 3 |

### Goalscorers

Includes all competitive matches. The list is sorted alphabetically by surname when total goals are equal.
| No. | Nat. | Player | Pos. | D 1 | AC | CL 1 | C 2 | ACL | TOTAL |
| 11 | | Moncef Ouichaoui | FW | 18 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 23 |
| - | | Issaad Bourahli | FW | 9 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 19 |
| 7 | | Amar Ammour | MF | 10 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 13 |
| 10 | | Hocine Achiou | MF | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 |
| 8 | | Billel Dziri | MF | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| 2 | | Salim Aribi | DF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 19 | | Rabie Benchergui | FW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| 21 | | Rafik Deghiche | FW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| 6 | | Farid Djahnine | MF | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 3 | | Tarek Ghoul | DF | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 9 | | Karim Ghazi | MF | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 5 | | Mahieddine Meftah | DF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| - | | Yacine Hamadou | MF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 13 | | Mohamed Cheraïtia | FW | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| - | | Mohamed Hamdoud | DF | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Own Goals | Own Goals | Own Goals | Own Goals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | 52 | 9 | 6 | 13 | 7 | 87 |

### Clean sheets

Includes all competitive matches.
| No. | Name | L 1 | AC | CWC 3 | CL 1 | Total |
| 1 | Hichem Mezaïr | 15 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 22 |
| 25 | Merouane Abdouni | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| | Redouane Hamiti | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | TOTALS | 17 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 24 |

### Hat-tricks

| Player | Against | Result | Date | Competition |
| Rabie Benchergui | US Transfoot | 8–2 (H) | 13 September 2002 | African Cup Winners' Cup |
| Moncef Ouichaoui | ASM Oran | 4–1 (H) | 5 May 2003 | Division 1 |
| Moncef Ouichaoui | MC Oran | 8–2 (H) | 12 May 2003 | Division 1 |
| Issaad Bourahli | MC Oran | 3–0 (N) | 5 June 2003 | Algerian Cup |
(H) – Home; (A) – Away; (N) – Neutral