# 2002–03 Olympique de Marseille season

Olympique de Marseille almost won the French League for the first time in 11 years, having a remarkable run to third place, having only scored five goals more than it conceded. The most praised player was central defender Daniel Van Buyten, who was able to tighten up the defence, and also helping out with scoring several important goals. Without Marseille's goalscoring woes, it could have sustained a more serious title assault. Therefore it signed late-blooming starlet Didier Drogba from En Avant Guingamp, a move that was set to be among the best financial deals in the clubs' history.

## Squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | CRO | Vedran Runje |
| 2 | DF | FRA | Jérôme Perez |
| 3 | DF | FRA | Manuel dos Santos |
| 4 | DF | BEL | Daniel Van Buyten |
| 5 | DF | ALG | Eduardo Tuzzio |
| 6 | MF | ALG | Brahim Hemdani |
| 8 | DF | FRA | Sébastien Pérez |
| 9 | FW | BRA | Fernandão |
| 10 | FW | CIV | Ibrahima Bakayoko |
| 11 | FW | FRA | Cyril Chapuis |
| 12 | DF | CIV | Abdoulaye Méïté |
| 13 | FW | SEN | Lamine Sakho |
| 14 | FW | FRA | Karim Dahou |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 15 | MF | FRA | Pascal Johansen |
| 16 | GK | FRA | Cédric Carrasso |
| 17 | MF | POR | Delfim |
| 18 | DF | FRA | Franck Leboeuf (captain) |
| 20 | MF | CMR | Salomon Olembé |
| 21 | DF | FRA | Johnny Ecker |
| 22 | FW | RUS | Dmitri Sytchev |
| 25 | DF | FRA | Fabien Laurenti |
| 27 | MF | FRA | Michel Gafour |
| 28 | DF | FRA | Loris Reina |
| 29 | MF | SUI | Fabio Celestini |
| 33 | FW | FRA | Laurent Merlin |
| — | MF | TUN | Fabien Camus |

### Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 7 | MF | POL | Piotr Świerczewski (on loan to Birmingham City) |
| 19 | MF | ALG | Djamel Belmadi (on loan to Manchester City) |
| 23 | MF | FRA | Sébastien Grégori (on loan to Créteil) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 24 | MF | FRA | Mickaël Marsiglia (on loan to Racing Ferrol) |
| 26 | MF | FRA | Benjamin Gavanon (on loan to Nottingham Forest) |

## Competitions
### Ligue 1
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Lyon (C) | 38 | 19 | 11 | 8 | 63 | 41 | +22 | 68 | Qualification to Champions League group stage |
| 2 | Monaco | 38 | 19 | 10 | 9 | 66 | 33 | +33 | 67 | Qualification to Champions League group stage |
| 3 | Marseille | 38 | 19 | 8 | 11 | 41 | 36 | +5 | 65 | Qualification to Champions League third qualifying round |
| 4 | Bordeaux | 38 | 18 | 10 | 10 | 57 | 36 | +21 | 64 | Qualification to UEFA Cup first round |
| 5 | Sochaux | 38 | 17 | 13 | 8 | 46 | 31 | +15 | 64 | Qualification to UEFA Cup first round |

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Source: LFP.fr

#### 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 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 |
| Ground | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A |
| Result | L | W | D | W | D | L | W | W | W | L | W | L | W | D | D | W | L | W | W | D | L | W | D | W | L | W | W | W | D | L | W | L | D | W | W | L | W | L |
| Position | 18 | 10 | 12 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 |

#### Top Scorers

* Ibrahima Bakayoko 9 (1)
* Daniel Van Buyten 8
* Cyril Chapuis 4
* Lamine Sakho 4 (1)
* Fernandão 4
* Dmitri Sychev 3

### Coupe de la Ligue
## Sources

* RSSSF - France 2002/03
vte2002–03 in French football :
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