# 2002–03 Inter Milan season

For the Italian football club Inter Milan (Football Club Internazionale Milano), the 2002–03 season marked its 94th in existence and its 87th consecutive season in the top flight of Italian football. The team finished second in Serie A and reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League. Christian Vieri was the top goalscorer.

## Season summary

The start of the season was marked by the departure of Ronaldo and the arrival of Hernán Crespo, after club had already acquired Fabio Cannavaro, Matías Almeyda and Domenico Morfeo. Crespo, along with Christian Vieri, built a formidable attacking duo. Crespo was essential in the 2002–03 UEFA Champions League campaign, while Vieri usually scored in the domestic matches. Their partnership worked until Crespo sustained an injury, which sidelined him for several weeks. Without him, and despite replacing Crespo with Gabriel Batistuta, Inter lost some key matches. One of these was against Juventus who, could finally aim for the title.
Inter managed to reach the Champions League quarter-finals, after finishing second in the group phase. Inter's opponent was Valencia, against whom they won 1–0 at home. A 2–1 defeat in Spain had no effect on qualification, due to the away goals rule. As Crespo came back from injury, Vieri got injured, but he managed to retain the title of the league's top scorer, with 24 goals. In the semi-finals, Inter lost to Milan due to Andriy Shevchenko's away goal in the second leg, equalized by Obafemi Martins, for a 1–1 aggregate that sent Milan to the final on away goals. Focusing on the European competition, Inter collected two draws in the league that caused them to end the season as runners-up to Juventus, who won their second-straight title.

## Squad

    Squad at end of 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 |
| 1 | GK | ITA | Francesco Toldo |
| 2 | DF | COL | Iván Córdoba |
| 3 | FW | SLE | Mohamed Kallon |
| 4 | DF | ARG | Javier Zanetti (captain) |
| 5 | MF | TUR | Emre Belözoğlu |
| 6 | MF | ITA | Cristiano Zanetti |
| 7 | MF | POR | Sérgio Conçeicão |
| 9 | FW | ARG | Hernán Crespo |
| 10 | MF | ITA | Domenico Morfeo |
| 11 | MF | ARG | Guly |
| 12 | GK | ITA | Alberto Fontana |
| 13 | DF | ITA | Fabio Cannavaro |
| 14 | MF | ITA | Luigi Di Biagio |
| 15 | DF | ITA | Daniele Adani |
| 16 | DF | URU | Gonzalo Sorondo |
| 17 | DF | ITA | Michele Serena |
| 18 | MF | FRA | Stéphane Dalmat |
| 19 | FW | ARG | Gabriel Batistuta (on loan from Roma) |
| 20 | FW | URU | Álvaro Recoba |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 21 | MF | ITA | Nicola Beati |
| 22 | MF | TUR | Okan Buruk |
| 23 | DF | ITA | Marco Materazzi |
| 24 | DF | PAR | Carlos Gamarra |
| 25 | MF | ARG | Matias Almeyda |
| 26 | DF | ITA | Giovanni Pasquale |
| 27 | GK | FRA | Mathieu Moreau |
| 30 | FW | NGA | Obafemi Martins |
| 31 | DF | ARG | Nelson Vivas |
| 32 | FW | ITA | Christian Vieri |
| 34 | FW | ITA | Mattia Altobelli |
| 40 | DF | ITA | Luca Franchini |
| 41 | MF | ITA | Nicola Napolitano |
| 43 | DF | ITA | Alessandro Potenza |
| 44 | MF | ITA | Mario Rebecchi |
| 45 | FW | BRA | Wellington |
| 65 | GK | ITA | Enrico Rossi Chauvenet |
| 77 | DF | ITA | Francesco Coco |
| 78 | FW | ITA | Nicola Ventola |

### 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 |
| 8 | MF | ESP | Javier Farinós (on loan to Villarreal) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 39 | DF | ITA | Salvatore Ferraro (on loan to Prato) |

### Transfers

In :
| Pos. | Name | from | Type |
| FW | Hernán Crespo | Lazio | €40.00 million |
| DF | Fabio Cannavaro | Parma | €23.10 million |
| DF | Francesco Coco | Milan | €22.50 million |
| MF | Matías Almeyda | Parma | €22.10 million |
| FW | Bernardo Corradi | Chievo Verona | €4.00 million |
| MF | Ümit Davala | Milan | €2.0 million |
| DF | Daniele Adani | Fiorentina | free |
| MF | Domenico Morfeo | Fiorentina | free |
| DF | Carlos Gamarra | Flamengo | free |
Out :
| Pos. | Name | To | Type |
| FW | Ronaldo | Real Madrid | €45.00 million |
| MF | Clarence Seedorf | Milan | €22.50 million |
| DF | Vratislav Greško | Parma | €22.10 million |
| FW | Bernardo Corradi | Lazio | €10.00 million |
| DF | Dario Šimić | Milan | €5.0 million |
| MF | Ümit Davala | Galatasaray | loan |
| FW | Adriano | Parma | €14.50 million (co-ownership) |
| DF | Pasquale Padalino | Bologna | loan ended |
| GK | Alex Cordaz | Spezia | loan |

#### Winter

In :
| Pos. | Name | from | Type |
| FW | Gabriel Batistuta | Roma | loan |
Out :
| Pos. | Name | To | Type |
| MF | Francisco Farinós | Villarreal | loan |

#### Loan out

* Salvatore Ferraro – Prato, loan
* Alex Cordaz – Spezia, loan
* Goran Pandev – Spezia, loan

## Competitions
### Overview

| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record |
| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % |
| Serie A | 14 September 2002 | 24 May 2003 | Matchday 1 | Runners-up | 33 | 19 | 7 | 7 | 64 | 38 | +26 | 057.58 |
| Coppa Italia | 4 December 2002 | 19 December 2002 | Round of 16 | Round of 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 000.00 |
| Champions League | 14 August 2002 | 13 May 2003 | Third qualifying round | Semi-finals | 18 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 28 | 19 | +9 | 044.44 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | 53 | 27 | 14 | 12 | 93 | 60 | +33 | 050.94 |
Last updated: 24 May 2003 Source: Serie A statistics Coppa Italia statistics, Champions League statistics

### 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 |
Last updated: 24 May 2003. 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 | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H |
| Result | W | W | W | W | W | D | W | W | L | D | L | W | D | W | W | W | L | W | W | W | L | W | L | W | W | L | D | L | W | D | D | D | W | D |
| Position | 4 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |

#### Matches
### UEFA Champions League
#### Qualifying phase
##### Third qualifying round
#### First group stage

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | INT | AJX | LYO | ROS |
| 1 | Internazionale | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 8 | +4 | 11 | Advance to second group stage | — | 1–0 | 1–2 | 3–0 |
| 2 | Ajax | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 8 | Advance to second group stage | 1–2 | — | 2–1 | 1–1 |
| 3 | Lyon | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 9 | +3 | 8 | Transfer to UEFA Cup | 3–3 | 0–2 | — | 5–0 |
| 4 | Rosenborg | 6 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 12 | −8 | 4 | | 2–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | — |

#### Second group stage

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | BAR | INT | NEW | LEV |
| 1 | Barcelona | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 2 | +10 | 16 | Advance to knockout stage | — | 3–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 |
| 2 | Internazionale | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 8 | +3 | 11 | Advance to knockout stage | 0–0 | — | 2–2 | 3–2 |
| 3 | Newcastle United | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 13 | −3 | 7 | | 0–2 | 1–4 | — | 3–1 |
| 4 | Bayer Leverkusen | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 5 | 15 | −10 | 0 | | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–3 | — |

#### Knockout phase
##### Semi-finals
## Statistics
### Appearances and goals

    As of 31 June 2003
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Serie A | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Coppa Italia | Champions League | Champions League |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 1 | GK | ITA | Toldo | 51 | 0 | 32 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | ARG | Zanetti J | 53 | 1 | 32+2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 0 |
| 13 | DF | ITA | Cannavaro | 40 | 0 | 27+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10+2 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | COL | Cordoba | 43 | 2 | 27+1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 1 |
| 77 | DF | ITA | Coco | 33 | 0 | 16+4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12+1 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | POR | Conçeicão | 33 | 1 | 14+5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 9+4 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | ITA | Di Biagio | 41 | 7 | 21+4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 15+1 | 3 |
| 6 | MF | ITA | Zanetti C | 24 | 0 | 14+3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5+1 | 0 |
| 5 | MF | TUR | Emre | 37 | 5 | 22+3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 10+2 | 1 |
| 32 | FW | ITA | Vieri | 37 | 27 | 22+1 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 3 |
| 20 | FW | URU | Recoba | 41 | 12 | 23+4 | 9 | 0+1 | 0 | 7+6 | 3 |
| 12 | GK | ITA | Fontana | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | DF | ITA | Materazzi | 33 | 1 | 18+2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | ARG | Crespo | 30 | 16 | 14+4 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 9 |
| 26 | DF | ITA | Pasquale | 30 | 0 | 13+5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5+6 | 0 |
| 25 | MF | ARG | Almeyda | 26 | 1 | 13+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5+5 | 1 |
| 10 | MF | ITA | Morfeo | 27 | 2 | 11+6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9+1 | 1 |
| 19 | FW | ARG | Batistuta | 12 | 2 | 10+2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | FRA | Dalmat | 23 | 0 | 9+6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | TUR | Okan | 22 | 2 | 9+6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4+3 | 0 |
| 24 | DF | PAR | Gamarra | 23 | 0 | 7+7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4+3 | 0 |
| 3 | FW | SLE | Kallon | 15 | 4 | 4+5 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2+2 | 0 |
| 31 | DF | ARG | Vivas | 6 | 0 | 4+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | ARG | Guly | 16 | 0 | 3+4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3+4 | 0 |
| 30 | FW | NGA | Martins | 11 | 3 | 3+1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1+4 | 2 |
| 15 | DF | ITA | Adani | 11 | 1 | 2+5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0+4 | 0 |
| 40 | DF | ITA | Franchini | 2 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 43 | DF | ITA | Potenza | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | ITA | Beati | 5 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 41 | MF | ITA | Napolitano | 4 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 44 | MF | ITA | Rebecchi | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 45 | MF | BRA | Wellington | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | FW | ITA | Altobelli | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | DF | URU | Sorondo | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 65 | GK | ITA | Rossi | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | GK | FRA | Moreau | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 78 | FW | ITA | Ventola |
| 19 | FW | ITA | Corradi | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | ESP | Farinos | 4 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
* Source: http://calcio-seriea.net/partite/2002/1219/