The
2003 UEFA Champions League Final was a football match that took place at
Old TraffordOld Trafford commonly refers to two sporting arenas:* Old Trafford, home of Manchester United F.C.* Old Trafford Cricket Ground, home of Lancashire County Cricket ClubOld Trafford can also refer to:...
in
ManchesterManchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
,
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
on 28 May 2003 to decide the winner of the 2002–03
UEFA Champions LeagueThe UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
. The match was contested by two
ItalianItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
teams in the shape of
JuventusJuventus Football Club S.p.A. , commonly referred to as Juventus and colloquially as Juve , are a professional Italian association football club based in Turin, Piedmont...
and
MilanAssociazione Calcio Milan, commonly referred to as A.C. Milan or simply Milan , is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Lombardy, that plays in the Serie A. Milan was founded in 1899 by English lace-maker Herbert Kilpin and businessman Alfred Edwards among others...
. The match made history as the first time two clubs from Italy had faced each other in the final. It was also the second intra-national final of the competition, following the
2000 UEFA Champions League FinalThe 2000 UEFA Champions League Final took place at Stade de France in Saint-Denis, France on 24 May 2000. The match pitted Spanish rivals Real Madrid and Valencia...
three years earlier. Milan won the match via a penalty shootout after the game had finished 0–0 after extra time. It gave Milan their sixth success in the European Cup.
Background
Juventus went into the Champions League final as champions of Italy for the 27th time. Milan came fourth in the league, finishing with sixteen fewer points than Juventus, and had to qualify for the third qualifying round. ln the
Serie ASerie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
games between the two sides in the 2001–02 season, Milan drew 1–1 at
San SiroThe Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, originally and commonly referred to as the San Siro because of its location, officially given its current name on 3 March 1980, is a football stadium located in the San Siro district in Milan, Italy. It is the home of both A.C. Milan and F.C. Internazionale Milano...
under
Carlo AncelottiCarlo Ancelotti is an Italian football manager, Nicknamed Carletto, Ancelotti played as a midfielder and had a successful career with Roma – captaining the team – with whom he won one Scudetto and 4 Coppa Italia and was part of the legendary late 80's Milan team, with whom he won two Scudetti and...
on 9 December 2001, while Juventus won 1–0 at
Stadio delle AlpiThe Stadio delle Alpi was a football and athletics stadium in Turin, Italy and was the home of both Juventus Football Club and Torino Football Club between 1990 and 2006. In English, the name meant "Stadium of the Alps," a reference to the nearby Alps mountain range...
on 14 April 2002 under
Marcello LippiMarcello Lippi, Commendatore OMRI is a former Italian World Cup-winning football manager and former player. He served as Italian national team head coach from 16 July 2004 to 12 July 2006 and led Italy to win the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He was re-appointed as Italian head coach in the summer of 2008...
. They also met in the
Coppa ItaliaThe Coppa Italia is an Italian football annual cup competition. Its first edition was held in 1922, but the second champions were not crowned until 1936. Roma and Juventus lead the way with nine wins. Roma has contested more finals, 16, while Torino and Juventus follow with 13...
games, where Juventus won 3–2 on aggregate in the semi-finals.
Milan
Milan won Group G of the first group round, a group that also included
Bayern MunichFC Bayern Munich , is a German sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional football team, which is the most successful football club in Germany, having won 22 national titles and 15 cups....
,
LensRacing Club de Lens is a French association football club based in the northern city of Lens in the Pas-de-Calais department. Its nickname, sang et or , comes from its traditional colours of red and gold. Their primary rivals are their northern neighbors Lille OSC, whom they contest the Derby du...
and
Deportivo La CoruñaReal Club Deportivo de La Coruña is a professional football club based in the city of A Coruña, Galicia; founded in 1906 and currently playing in Segunda División...
, advancing to the second group round where they won Group C. They defeated
Real MadridReal Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...
,
Borussia DortmundBallspielverein Borussia Dortmund, commonly BVB, are a German sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. Dortmund are one of the most successful clubs in German football history. Borussia Dortmund play in the Bundesliga, the top league of German football...
and
Lokomotiv MoscowThe following years were rather successful as Lokomotiv were consistent in the national championships. However, performances after World War II suffered and actually in the space of five year Lokomotiv were relegated to the Soviet First League twice. In 1951, Lokomotiv came second and eventually...
. They lost only two matches (Dortmund 0–1, and Real Madrid 1–3), and advanced to the quarter-finals where they met Ajax. The first leg was a draw (0–0) so the decisive match was the one at the
San SiroThe Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, originally and commonly referred to as the San Siro because of its location, officially given its current name on 3 March 1980, is a football stadium located in the San Siro district in Milan, Italy. It is the home of both A.C. Milan and F.C. Internazionale Milano...
which Milan won (3–2). In the semi-finals, they met local rivals
InternazionaleFootball Club Internazionale Milano, often referred to as Internazionale or simply Inter, is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Italy. Outside Italy, the club is often called Inter Milan. They are the reigning FIFA Club World champions and Coppa Italia holders.Inter have always...
. Both matches finished equal (0–0; 1–1), but Milan advanced on away goals.
Juventus
Juventus won Group E of the first group round, in which the other teams were
Newcastle UnitedNewcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...
,
Dynamo KyivFC Dynamo Kyiv is a professional football club based in the Ukrainian capital city of Kyiv. Founded in 1927, the club currently participates in the Ukrainian Premier League and has spent its entire history in the top league of Soviet and later Ukrainian football...
and Feyenoord. They finished second in Group D of the second group round, after
Manchester UnitedManchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
, due to their losses against the English side (1–2; 0–3) and against
BaselFussball Club Basel 1893, widely known as FC Basel is a Swiss football club based in Basel. They are one of the most successful clubs in Swiss football, having won the Swiss Super League 14 times, the third most for any Swiss club. They were most successful in the late 1960s and 1970s, winning the...
(1–2), but they qualified to the quarter-finals where they eliminated
BarcelonaFutbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....
in extra-time (1–1; 2–1). In the semi-finals, Juventus met Real Madrid; they lost the first match (1–2), but they won the second (3–1).
Match summary
After a brisk start, Milan had an Andriy Shevchenko goal ruled out after appeals that Rui Costa had blocked Buffon's line of view from an offside position. However replays later showed that Rui Costa moved out of Buffon's line of sight before the shot, but the decision stayed. Conte nearly scored for Juve after coming on as a sub in the second half, his header clattering against the post with Dida beaten. Pirlo also hit the bar for Milan. Later, in the second half, both teams began to sit back and not create many chances.
Both Juventus and Milan had injuries to defenders, Tudor leaving early in the 1st half after pulling a muscle in his right thigh. In extra time, Roque Júnior limped out due to fatigue and injury, leaving Milan down to 10 men (Milan had made all three allowed substitutions).
The penalty-shoot out has caused controversy among some fans as replays showed that Dida was off his goal line when saving penalties from Trezeguet, Zalayeta & Montero. Buffon was also off his goal line when saving penalties from Seedorf and Kaladze. Andriy Shevchenko put away the final penalty to win the European Cup for Milan for the sixth time. Shevchenko himself became the first
UkrainianUkraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
footballer to win a European Cup winner's medal.
Match details
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| JUVENTUS: |
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1 |
 Gianluigi BuffonGianluigi "Gigi" Buffon, Ufficiale OMRI , is an Italian footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Serie A club Juventus and the Italian national team. He has won the FIFA World Cup and is widely considered by fans and experts to be one of most dominant and successful goalkeepers in history...
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 Lilian ThuramLilian Thuram is a retired professional football defender and is the most capped player in the history of the France national team, and one of the twenty most capped players of all time.He played at the top flight in France, Italy and Spain for over 15 seasons, including ten in the Serie A with both...
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Ciro Ferrara Ciro Ferrara is a former Italian footballer and current head coach of the Italy U-21 team. He spent his playing career as a defender initially at Napoli and later on at Juventus. He is also a former manager of Juventus.-Napoli:...
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 Igor TudorIgor Tudor is a Croatian former football defender. He was considered one of Croatia's best defenders in the period between the late 1990s and mid-2000s....
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 Paolo Montero Paolo Rónald Montero Iglesias is a former Uruguayan footballer who played as a central defender or left back. He has been described as "skillful on the ball and calm under pressure", and a "wonderfully talented and intelligent footballer"...
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16 |
Mauro CamoranesiMauro Camoranesi, Ufficiale OMRI is an Italian Argentine World Cup-winning footballer who plays for Lanús in the Argentine Primera División. He is a midfielder, usually on the right wing...
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Alessio Tacchinardi Alessio Tacchinardi is a retired Italian footballer who played as defensive midfielder and spent the vast majority of his career playing for Juventus FC, winning 17 official trophies with the club...
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26 |
 Edgar DavidsEdgar Steven Davids is a retired Dutch footballer and current member of the supervisory board of Ajax. After beginning his career with the Amsterdam club, he subsequently played in Italy for Milan and Juventus before a loan spell with Barcelona. He went on to play for Internazionale and Tottenham...
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19 |
Gianluca ZambrottaGianluca Zambrotta is a world cup winning Italian footballer who currently plays as a full back for Serie A club Milan.Zambrotta was decorated as Knight of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic in 2000 and he was made an Officer of the same order in 2006.-Como:Zambrotta began his...
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17 |
David TrezeguetDavid Sergio Trezeguet is a World Cup winning French international footballer who currently is a free agent after being released by Baniyas SC on 21 Nov 2011....
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10 |
Alessandro Del Piero Alessandro Del Piero Ufficiale OMRI is an Italian World Cup-winning footballer who plays for Serie A club Juventus, of which he is also club captain....
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12 |
Antonio ChimentiAntonio Chimenti is a retired Italian football goalkeeper.-S.S. Sambenedettese Calcio:Chimenti began his career in the youth academy of S.S. Sambenedettese Calcio. In 1988, he was promoted to the first team. After two more seasons spent in Sambenedettese in Serie C1 and then Serie C2, he was...
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7 |
Gianluca Pessotto Gianluca Pessotto is a former football player who spent the majority of his career with Juventus F.C., where he currently serves as team manager...
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13 |
Mark Iuliano Mark Iuliano is a former Italian football defender, who spent the bulk of his career with Italian powerhouse, Juventus FC, in the Italian Serie A.-Salernitana Calcio 1919:...
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8 |
Antonio ConteAntonio Conte is an Italian former footballer and manager. He is the current manager of Juventus.-Playing career:...
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15 |
Alessandro Birindelli Alessandro Birindelli is a retired Italian footballer. Equally at ease as right or left defender, he is best known for his 11-year spell with Juventus, winning several accolades and appearing in nearly 300 official games.-Early years:...
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24 |
Marco Di Vaio Marco Di Vaio is an Italian football striker, who currently plays for Bologna FC. In his long career, Di Vaio has played for the likes of Lazio, Hellas Verona, Bari, Salernitana, Parma, Juventus, Valencia and Monaco...
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25 |
Marcelo Zalayeta Marcelo Danubio Zalayeta is an Uruguayan football striker, who currently plays for Peñarol.-Club career:...
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Marcello LippiMarcello Lippi, Commendatore OMRI is a former Italian World Cup-winning football manager and former player. He served as Italian national team head coach from 16 July 2004 to 12 July 2006 and led Italy to win the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He was re-appointed as Italian head coach in the summer of 2008...
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| MILAN: |
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| GK |
12 |
 Dida |
| RB |
19 |
Alessandro Costacurta Alessandro "Billy" Costacurta is an Italian former professional football defender turned manager.Costacurta spent some twenty years at Milan, with a brief period spent in AC Monza on loan. He is best known for his role alongside Franco Baresi, Paolo Maldini and Mauro Tassotti, forming one of the...
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13 |
Alessandro NestaAlessandro Nesta, Ufficiale OMRI , is an Italian World Cup-winning footballer who plays as a defender for Serie A club Milan. Considered by many as one of the best centre backs to have ever played the game, he is a four-time member of the annual UEFA Team of the Year.-Early life:Nesta was raised in...
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Paolo MaldiniPaolo Cesare Maldini is an Italian former footballer who played as a left or central defender. He spent all 25 seasons of his career at Serie A club Milan, before retiring at the age of 41 in 2009, becoming a symbol and a legend of the club...
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4 |
 Kakha Kaladze |
| CM |
8 |
Gennaro GattusoGennaro Ivan Gattuso, Ufficiale OMRI is an Italian footballer, who plays for Serie A club Milan. He mainly plays as a defensive midfielder. Gattuso is an aggressive, hard tackling player and in his prime, was widely regarded as one of the best defensive midfielders in the world...
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21 |
Andrea PirloAndrea Pirlo, Ufficiale OMRI , is an Italian World Cup winning footballer who currently plays for Serie A club Juventus, and for the Italian national team. He is usually deployed as a deep-lying playmaker for both Juventus and Italy and is regarded as one of best players in this position...
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20 |
Clarence Seedorf Clarence Clyde Seedorf OON is a Dutch footballer who currently plays as an attacking midfielder for Serie A club Milan. Seedorf is the first player to have won the Champions League with three different clubs - Ajax in 1995, Real Madrid in 1998 and Milan in 2003 and 2007...
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10 |
 Rui CostaRui Manuel César Costa, OIH is a former Portuguese football player and current Director of Football for Sport Lisboa e Benfica. An attacking midfielder also capable of playing as a deep-seated defensive midfielder, he most recently played for Portuguese club Benfica...
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7 |
 Andriy ShevchenkoAndriy Mykolayovych Shevchenko is a Ukrainian footballer who plays for Dynamo Kyiv and the Ukraine national team as a striker. He is the third-highest scorer in the history of European club competition with 67 goals as of 2011-03-10, behind Filippo Inzaghi and Raúl. With 175 goals scored with A.C...
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9 |
Filippo Inzaghi Filippo Inzaghi, Ufficiale OMRI commonly known as Pippo, is a World Cup and UEFA Champions League-winning Italian footballer who plays for Serie A club Milan....
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18 |
Christian AbbiatiChristian Abbiati is an Italian footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Serie A club Milan.-Milan:His debut in Serie A came on January 17, 1999 as a 92nd-minute substitute for Sebastiano Rossi...
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 Martin LaursenMartin Laursen is a Danish former footballer who played in the centre back position. He played three seasons for Italian club AC Milan, with whom he won the 2003 UEFA Champions League and the 2004 Serie A championship. He also played for Italian clubs Hellas Verona and Parma FC, and was the team...
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25 |
Roque Júnior |
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17 |
Cristian BrocchiCristian Brocchi is an Italian footballer, who currently plays for Lazio.-Career:Early careerStarting his career at his native club A.C. Milan youth system, he was loaned to Pro Sesto and Lumezzane in early years.Hellas Verona...
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Massimo AmbrosiniMassimo Ambrosini is an Italian footballer who plays as a midfielder and is the captain of Serie A club Milan. He is well known for his aerial ability and tackling.- Club career :...
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27 |
SerginhoSérgio Cláudio dos Santos is a former association footballer, who last played as a left winger and left back for A.C. Milan. His nickname is Il Concorde, due to his quick and tireless pace on the pitch.-Career:He played for Cruzeiro EC and Bahia, and moved to AC Milan from São Paulo FC in 1999...
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11 |
Rivaldo Rivaldo Vítor Borba Ferreira , commonly known simply as Rivaldo , is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays for São Paulo, on loan from Mogi Mirim, as an attacking midfielder and sometimes as a supporting striker.He most notably played five years with Spanish club FC Barcelona, with whom he...
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| Manager: |
Carlo AncelottiCarlo Ancelotti is an Italian football manager, Nicknamed Carletto, Ancelotti played as a midfielder and had a successful career with Roma – captaining the team – with whom he won one Scudetto and 4 Coppa Italia and was part of the legendary late 80's Milan team, with whom he won two Scudetti and...
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Man of the Match:
Paolo MaldiniPaolo Cesare Maldini is an Italian former footballer who played as a left or central defender. He spent all 25 seasons of his career at Serie A club Milan, before retiring at the age of 41 in 2009, becoming a symbol and a legend of the club...
(MilanAssociazione Calcio Milan, commonly referred to as A.C. Milan or simply Milan , is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Lombardy, that plays in the Serie A. Milan was founded in 1899 by English lace-maker Herbert Kilpin and businessman Alfred Edwards among others...
)
Assistant referees:
 Christian Schräer (GermanyThe German Football Association is the governing body of football in Germany. A founding member of both FIFA and UEFA, the DFB organises the German football leagues, including the national league, the Bundesliga, and the men's and women's national teams. The DFB is based in Frankfurt and is...
)
Heiner Müller (GermanyThe German Football Association is the governing body of football in Germany. A founding member of both FIFA and UEFA, the DFB organises the German football leagues, including the national league, the Bundesliga, and the men's and women's national teams. The DFB is based in Frankfurt and is...
)
Fourth official:
Wolfgang StarkWolfgang Stark , is a German football referee. He has refereed matches in the Champions League and qualifications to the European Football Championship and the World Cup...
(GermanyThe German Football Association is the governing body of football in Germany. A founding member of both FIFA and UEFA, the DFB organises the German football leagues, including the national league, the Bundesliga, and the men's and women's national teams. The DFB is based in Frankfurt and is...
) |
External links