# 2002–03 AC Milan season

2002–03, Associazione Calcio Milan enjoyed a triumphant season, winning both the UEFA Champions League and the Coppa Italia. In their 6th conquest of Europe's most prestigious competition, Milan defeated fierce rivals Juventus on penalties after a 0–0 draw in an all-Italian final, while in the Coppa Italia they overcame Roma. In the Serie A, Milan were top of the table in January, but would eventually finish 3rd behind Juventus and Inter, thus missing the chance to complete the treble.
This was Milan's first successful season since 1998–99. Important new arrivals included Italian international centre-back Alessandro Nesta (signed from Lazio for €31 million –Milan's most expensive transfer in the summer of 2002) who strengthened a defence that was already among Europe's most formidable, versatile Dutch international midfielder Clarence Seedorf (signed from cross-city rivals Inter for €29 million) and Danish international striker Jon Dahl Tomasson, who was mainly used to back up regular starters Andriy Shevchenko and Filippo Inzaghi. Brazilian superstar Rivaldo, the most high-profile of the new signings, had a peripheral role in the Serie A, but was influential in the Champions League, appearing in 13 out of 17 matches, although not in the final, where he was an unused substitute.
This season also saw Milan manager Carlo Ancelotti beginning to utilise the unconventional 4–4–2 diamond (or 4–1–2–1–2) formation, which he would continue to employ on many occasions in later seasons. This formation allowed Ancelotti to field both Andrea Pirlo and Rui Costa in the starting eleven, with Pirlo as a deep-lying playmaker or regista and Rui Costa as an attacking midfielder or trequartista; the 4–1–2–1–2 worked well for Milan in large part thanks to the effectiveness, hard work and stamina of central midfielders Clarence Seedorf and Gennaro Gattuso.

## Players
### Squad information

    Squad at end of season
| Squad no. | Name | Position |
| Goalkeepers ||||
| 12 | Dida | GK |
| 18 | Christian Abbiati | GK |
| 1 | Valerio Fiori | GK |
| Defenders ||||
| 3 | Paolo Maldini (Captain) | CB / LB |
| 13 | Alessandro Nesta | CB |
| 4 | Kakha Kaladze | LB / CB / DM / LM |
| 19 | Alessandro Costacurta (Vice Captain) | CB / SW / LB / RB |
| 14 | Dario Šimić | CB / RB / SW |
| 2 | Thomas Helveg | RB / RM |
| 27 | Serginho | LB / LM / LW |
| 16 | José Chamot | LB / RB / CB |
| 24 | Martin Laursen | CB |
| 25 | Roque Júnior | CB / RB |
| Midfielders ||||
| 21 | Andrea Pirlo | CM / AM / DM |
| 8 | Gennaro Gattuso | CM / DM / RM |
| 10 | Rui Costa | AM |
| 20 | Clarence Seedorf | CM / AM / RM / LM |
| 23 | Massimo Ambrosini | CM / DM |
| 5 | Fernando Redondo | DM / CM |
| 31 | Ibrahim Ba | RM / LM |
| 28 | Samuele Dalla Bona | CM / DM |
| 32 | Cristian Brocchi | CM / DM / RM |
| Forwards ||||
| 7 | Andriy Shevchenko | CF |
| 9 | Filippo Inzaghi | CF |
| 11 | Rivaldo | AM / SS / CF / LW |
| 15 | Jon Dahl Tomasson | CF / SS |

### Transfers

In :
| Pos. | Name | from | Type |
| DF | Alessandro Nesta | SS Lazio | (31 million €) |
| MF | Clarence Seedorf | Inter | €22.50 million |
| DF | Dario Šimić | Inter | €5.00 million |
| MF | Samuele Dalla Bona | Chelsea F.C. | €1.60 million |
| FW | Rivaldo | FC Barcelona | free |
| FW | Jon Dahl Tomasson | Feyenoord | free |
| FW | Marco Borriello | Treviso | loan ended |
| MF | Pablo García | S.S.C. Venezia | loan ended |
| GK | Gabriele Aldegani | Cosenza | loan ended |
| GK | Dida | SC Corinthians | loan ended |
| DF | Samir Beloufa | Germinal Beerschot | loan ended |
| DF | Francesco Coco | FC Barcelona | loan ended |
| DF | Fabricio Coloccini | Deportivo Alavés | loan ended |
Out :
| Pos. | Name | to | Type |
| DF | Francesco Coco | Inter | €22.50 million |
| MF | Ümit Davala | Inter | €2.00 million |
| GK | Sebastiano Rossi | Perugia Calcio | |
| DF | Samir Beloufa | SC Bastia | |
| DF | Cosmin Contra | Atlético Madrid | |
| FW | José Mari | Atlético Madrid | |
| FW | Javi Moreno | Atlético Madrid | |
| GK | Gabriele Aldegani | Livorno | loan |
| MF | Demetrio Albertini | Atlético Madrid | loan |
| DF | Fabricio Coloccini | Atlético Madrid | loan |
| DF | Mohamed Sarr | Galatasaray | loan |
| MF | Marco Donadel | Lecce | loan |
| MF | Massimo Donati | Parma | loan |
| MF | Pablo García | Osasuna | loan |
| FW | Mohammed Aliyu Datti | Siena | loan |
| FW | Vitali Kutuzov | Sporting Lisboa | loan |
| FW | Marco Simone | AS Monaco | loan ended |

#### Autumn

In :
| Pos. | Name | from | Type |
| MF | Leonardo | free | |

#### Winter

In :
| Pos. | Name | from | Type |
| DF | Mohamed Sarr | Galatasaray | loan ended |
| MF | Massimo Donati | Parma F.C. | loan ended |
Out :
| Pos. | Name | to | Type |
| DF | Mohamed Sarr | Ancona Calcio | loan |
| MF | Massimo Donati | Torino F.C. | loan |
| FW | Marco Borriello | Empoli F.C. | loan |

#### Spring

Out :
| Pos. | Name | To | Type |
| MF | Leonardo | | retired |

## Reserve 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 |
| 17 | DF | BRA | Claiton |
| 34 | FW | ITA | Alessandro Matri |
| 36 | MF | ITA | Stefano Pastrello |
| 37 | MF | ITA | Roberto Bortolotto |
| 38 | FW | ITA | Davide Favaro |
| 39 | FW | ITA | Michele Piccolo |
| 40 | MF | ITA | Mauro Calvi |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 41 | MF | ITA | Mattia Dal Bello |
| 42 | MF | ITA | Mirko Stefani |
| 43 | GK | ITA | Alessandro Venditti |
| 44 | MF | ITA | Patrick Kalambay |
| 45 | DF | ITA | Matteo Giordano |
| 46 | MF | ITA | William Nava |
| 83 | MF | GAB | Catilina Aubameyang |

### 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 |
| 22 | GK | ITA | Alessandro Parravicini (released) |
| 30 | FW | ITA | Marco Borriello (on loan to Empoli) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 33 | MF | BRA | Leonardo (retired) |
| 35 | GK | ITA | Simone Brunelli (released) |

## Competitions

Win  Draw  Loss

### Serie A
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Juventus (C) | 34 | 21 | 9 | 4 | 64 | 29 | +35 | 72 | Qualification to Champions League group stage |
| 2 | Internazionale | 34 | 19 | 8 | 7 | 64 | 38 | +26 | 65 | Qualification to Champions League group stage |
| 3 | Milan | 34 | 18 | 7 | 9 | 55 | 30 | +25 | 61 | Qualification to Champions League group stage |
| 4 | Lazio | 34 | 15 | 15 | 4 | 57 | 32 | +25 | 60 | Qualification to Champions League third qualifying round |
| 5 | Parma | 34 | 15 | 11 | 8 | 55 | 36 | +19 | 56 | Qualification to UEFA Cup first round |
* ↑ Milan qualified for the Champions League group stage as defending champions.
* ↑ Parma finished ahead of Udinese on head-to-head points: Udinese 1–1 Parma, Parma 3–2 Udinese.

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
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 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 |
| Ground | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A |
| Result | W | W | D | W | W | L | W | W | L | W | W | D | W | W | D | W | W | L | W | L | D | W | D | D | D | W | L | W | L | L | W | L | W | L |
| Position | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |

#### Matches
##### Notes

* Note 1: Torino v Milan was abandoned with 27 minutes to go, after the crowd started to riot. The result was confirmed as 3–0 in favor of Milan by the FIGC. Torino was given a match suspension from playing at home until the end of season.

### UEFA Champions League
#### Third qualifying round
#### Group stage

| Pos | Teamvte | 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 | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Milan | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 12 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Real Madrid | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 6 | +3 | 11 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 3 | Borussia Dortmund | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 5 | +3 | 10 | |
| 4 | Lokomotiv Moscow | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 10 | −7 | 1 | |

#### Knockout phase
##### Final
## Statistics
### Players statistics

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Serie A | Serie A | Coppa | Coppa | Champions League | Champions League |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 12 | GK | BRA | Dida | 44 | -30 | 30 | -23 | 0 | 0 | 13+1 | -7 |
| 14 | DF | CRO | Simic | 45 | 1 | 29 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 12+1 | 0 |
| 13 | DF | ITA | Nesta | 48 | 2 | 29 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 13+1 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | ITA | Maldini | 49 | 2 | 28+1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | GEO | Kaladze | 46 | 1 | 25+2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 14+1 | 0 |
| 21 | DM | ITA | Pirlo | 42 | 9 | 21+6 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 11+2 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | ITA | Gattuso | 42 | 0 | 23+2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 13+1 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | NED | Seedorf | 48 | 7 | 24+5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 13+3 | 1 |
| 10 | AM | POR | Rui Costa | 48 | 1 | 24+1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 16+2 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | ITA | Inzaghi | 49 | 30 | 27+3 | 17 | 3 | 1 | 14+2 | 12 |
| 7 | FW | UKR | Shevchenko | 39 | 10 | 18+6 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 11 | 4 |
| 18 | GK | ITA | Abbiati | 17 | -20 | 3 | -3 | 8 | -8 | 6 | -9 |
| 23 | MF | ITA | Ambrosini | 36 | 2 | 17+4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 7+5 | 0 |
| 11 | FW | BRA | Rivaldo | 38 | 8 | 16+6 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 8+5 | 2 |
| 19 | DF | ITA | Costacurta | 34 | 0 | 13+5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 10+1 | 0 |
| 27 | MF | BRA | Serginho | 37 | 4 | 11+10 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5+9 | 1 |
| 15 | FW | DEN | Tomasson | 37 | 11 | 7+12 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 5+6 | 3 |
| 32 | MF | ITA | Brocchi | 27 | 2 | 6+6 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 5+2 | 0 |
| 5 | MF | ARG | Redondo | 19 | 0 | 6+2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 3+2 | 0 |
| 25 | DF | BRA | Roque Junior | 7 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 24 | DF | DEN | Laursen | 26 | 0 | 3+7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 4+5 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | DEN | Helveg | 17 | 0 | 2+6 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 28 | MF | ITA | Dalla Bona | 16 | 1 | 1+3 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 3+3 | 0 |
| 31 | MF | FRA | Ba | 5 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | DF | ARG | Chamot | 4 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 1 | GK | ITA | Fiori | 1 | -4 | 1 | -4 |
| 33 | MF | BRA | Leonardo | 5 | 2 | 0+1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | FW | ITA | Borriello | 6 | 1 | 0+3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 83 | FW | GAB | Aubameyang | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 39 | FW | ITA | Piccolo | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 37 | FW | ITA | Bortolotto | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 41 | DF | ITA | Dal Bello | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 34 | FW | ITA | Matri | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 36 | MF | ITA | Pastrello | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 42 | DF | ITA | Stefani | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 43 | DF | ITA | Venditti | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | DF | ROU | Contra |
| 17 | DF | BRA | Claiton |
* Source: http://calcio-seriea.net/presenze/2002/1220/