2002–03 AFC Ajax season

During the 2002–03 Dutch football season, AFC Ajax competed in the Eredivisie.

AFC Ajax
2002–03 season
Chairman Michael van Praag
Manager Ronald Koeman
StadiumAmsterdam Arena
Eredivisie2nd
KNVB CupSemi-finals
Champions LeagueQuarter-finals
Johan Cruyff ShieldWinners
Top goalscorerRafael van der Vaart (18)

Season summary

Despite being the top scorers in the Eredivisie, Ajax were unable to defend their title and finished second. They also failed to retain the cup, but compensated by reaching the Champions League quarter-finals before being knocked out by eventual winners A.C. Milan.

First-team squad
Squad at end of season[1]

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  ROU Bogdan Lobonț
2 DF  TUN Hatem Trabelsi
3 DF  NOR André Bergdølmo
4 DF  CZE Tomáš Galásek
5 DF  ROU Cristian Chivu
7 MF  NED Andy van der Meyde
8 MF  NED Richard Witschge
9 FW  SWE Zlatan Ibrahimović
10 MF  RSA Steven Pienaar
12 DF  NED John Heitinga
13 DF  BRA Maxwell
15 MF  NED Wesley Sneijder
16 DF  FIN Petri Pasanen
17 FW  BRA Wamberto
No. Pos. Nation Player
18 DF  USA John O'Brien
20 MF  FIN Jari Litmanen
21 GK  AUS Joey Didulica[2]
22 MF  GHA Abubakari Yakubu
23 MF  NED Rafael van der Vaart
24 DF  BEL Jelle van Damme
25 MF  CPV David Mendes da Silva (on loan from Sparta Rotterdam)
26 MF  NED Nigel de Jong
27 FW  NED Victor Sikora
28 MF  MAR Nourdin Boukhari
29 MF  NED Jamal Akachar
30 MF  NED Stefano Seedorf
31 GK  NED Maarten Stekelenburg
32 GK  NED Henk Timmer (on loan from AZ)

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
6 MF  NED Aron Winter (retired)
11 FW  EGY Mido (on loan to Celta Vigo)
14 MF  NED Jan van Halst
19 FW  GRE Nikos Machlas (on loan to Sevilla)
No. Pos. Nation Player
— DF  NED Tim de Cler (to AZ)
— MF  COL Daniel Cruz (on loan to Germinal Beerschot)
— FW  NED Cedric van der Gun (on loan to Willem II)

Reserve 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
— DF  NED Mitchell Piqué
No. Pos. Nation Player

Transfers

In

Out

Results

UEFA Champions League

Second group stage
27 November 2002 Valencia 1 – 1 AjaxEstadio Mestalla, Valencia
20:45 Angulo  90' Report Ibrahimović  89' Attendance: 48,000
Referee: Gilles Veissière (France)
10 December 2002 Ajax 2 – 1 RomaAmsterdam Arena, Amsterdam
20:45 Ibrahimović  11'
Litmanen  66'		 Report Batistuta  89' Attendance: 50,148
Referee: Markus Merk (Germany)
18 December 2002 Arsenal 1 – 1 AjaxHighbury, London
20:45 Wiltord  5' Report De Jong  17' Attendance: 35,427
Referee: Lucílio Batista (Portugal)
26 February 2003 Ajax 0 – 0 ArsenalAmsterdam Arena, Amsterdam
20:45 Report Attendance: 51,500
Referee: Valentin Ivanov (Russia)
11 March 2003 Ajax 1 – 1 ValenciaAmsterdam Arena, Amsterdam
20:45 Pasanen  56' Report González  28' (pen.) Referee: Ľuboš Micheľ (Slovakia)
19 March 2003 Roma 1 – 1 AjaxStadio Olimpico, Rome
20:45 Cassano  23' Report Van der Meyde  1' Attendance: 62,000
Referee: Herbert Fandel (Germany)
gollark: What? The AutoBias algorithms are well-documented.
gollark: I forgot.
gollark: Anyway. The issue is that due to my wondrous and flawless code, there's actually a general not very abstracted message type for both IRC and Discord.
gollark: No.
gollark: Case COLOURLESS BLUE is to be feared.

References
  1. http://www.footballsquads.co.uk/holland/2002-2003/ere/ajax.htm
  2. Didulica was born in Geelong, Australia, but also qualified to represent Croatia internationally.
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