2002–03 SV Werder Bremen season

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Werder Bremen
2002–03 season
Manager Thomas Schaaf
Bundesliga 6th
DFB-Pokal Semi-final
UEFA Cup Second round
Top goalscorer Ailton (16)
  2000–01
2003–04  

SV Werder Bremen retained its 6th place in Bundesliga with a solid season, in spite of key players Frank Rost and Torsten Frings leaving prior to the season. Coach Thomas Schaaf bought Johan Micoud as replacement for Frings, with the French ex-Parma player making an instant impact in Germany, while Ailton once again hit 16 goals, finishing third in the goal scoring charts.

Contents

Players

First-team squad

Squad at end of season [1]
No.Pos.NationPlayer
1 GK Flag of Poland.svg  POL Jakub Wierzchowski
4 DF Flag of Germany.svg  GER Fabian Ernst
6 MF Flag of Germany.svg  GER Frank Baumann
7 DF Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  CAN Paul Stalteri
8 MF Flag of Hungary.svg  HUN Krisztián Lisztes
9 FW Flag of Greece.svg  GRE Angelos Charisteas
10 MF Flag of France.svg  FRA Johan Micoud
11 MF Flag of Croatia.svg  CRO Ivica Banović
14 DF Flag of the Netherlands.svg  NED Frank Verlaat
16 GK Flag of Germany.svg  GER Pascal Borel
17 FW Flag of Croatia.svg  CRO Ivan Klasnić [notes 1]
18 FW Flag of Germany.svg  GER Markus Daun
19 DF Flag of Ukraine.svg  UKR Viktor Skrypnyk
20 DF Flag of Yugoslavia (1992-2003); Flag of Serbia and Montenegro (2003-2006).svg  SCG Mladen Krstajić [notes 2]
22 MF Flag of Germany.svg  GER Marco Reich
No.Pos.NationPlayer
23 DF Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  SUI Ludovic Magnin
24 MF Flag of Germany.svg  GER Tim Borowski
27 DF Flag of Germany.svg  GER Christian Schulz
28 MF Flag of Namibia.svg  NAM Razundara Tjikuzu
30 GK Flag of Germany.svg  GER Michael Jürgen
31 GK Flag of Germany.svg  GER Alexander Walke
32 FW Flag of Brazil.svg  BRA Ailton
33 DF Flag of Germany.svg  GER Mike Barten
34 DF Flag of Germany.svg  GER Manuel Friedrich
35 MF Flag of Germany.svg  GER Marco Stier
36 MF Flag of Germany.svg  GER Stefan Beckert
37 MF Flag of Germany.svg  GER Christian Lenze
38 FW Flag of Paraguay.svg  PAR Nelson Valdez
39 DF Flag of Germany.svg  GER Björn Schierenbeck

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.NationPlayer
3 DF Flag of Germany.svg  GER Stefan Blank (to St. Pauli)
21 MF Flag of Germany.svg  GER Holger Wehlage (on loan to Union Berlin)
25 DF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Philip Salyer (to Dallas Burn)
No.Pos.NationPlayer
26 MF Flag of Germany.svg  GER Simon Rolfes (on loan to SSV Reutlingen 05)
29 FW Flag of Cameroon.svg  CMR Blaise Mamoum (to Waldhof Mannheim)

Reserve team

Werder Bremen's reserve team were managed by Thomas Wolter and finished 6th in the Regionalliga Nord.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.Pos.NationPlayer
GK Flag of Germany.svg  GER Carsten Albers
GK Flag of Germany.svg  GER Michael Jürgen
GK Flag of Germany.svg  GER Alexander Walke
DF Flag of Germany.svg  GER Mike Barten
DF Flag of Germany.svg  GER Danny Fütterer
DF Flag of Germany.svg  GER Florian Heidenreich
DF Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina.svg  BIH Damir Memišević
DF Flag of Germany.svg  GER Mario Neunaber
DF Flag of Germany.svg  GER Björn Schierenbeck
DF Flag of Germany.svg  GER Christian Schulz
DF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Philip Salyer
DF Flag of Germany.svg  GER Hannes Wilking
MF Flag of Germany.svg  GER Stefan Beckert
MF Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  CAN Maycoll Cañizalez [notes 3]
No.Pos.NationPlayer
MF Flag of Germany.svg  GER Sebastian Ferrulli
MF Flag of Germany.svg  GER Marius Flatken
MF Flag of Germany.svg  GER Peer Jaekel
MF Flag of Germany.svg  GER Christian Lenze
MF Flag of Germany.svg  GER André Möller
MF Flag of Hungary.svg  HUN Krisztian Nanasi
MF Flag of Germany.svg  GER Simon Rolfes
MF Flag of Germany.svg  GER Marco Stier
MF Flag of Germany.svg  GER Julian Stroppel
MF Flag of Namibia.svg  NAM Razundara Tjikuzu
FW Flag of Germany.svg  GER Ahmet Kuru
FW Flag of Cameroon.svg  CMR Blaise Mamoum
FW Flag of Germany.svg  GER Daniel Niemann
FW Flag of Paraguay.svg  PAR Nelson Valdez

Results

Bundesliga

Statistics

Topscorers

Notes

  1. Klasnić was born in Hamburg, West Germany (now Germany), but also qualified to represent Croatia internationally and represented Croatia at U-19 and U-21 level before making his international debut for Croatia in February 2004.
  2. Krstajić was born in Zenica, SFR Yugoslavia (now Bosnia and Herzegovina), but was raised in Serbia and Montenegro (now Serbia) and made his international debut for Serbia and Montenegro in 1999.
  3. Cañizalez was born in Quezaltepeque, El Salvador, but was raised in Canada and represented Canada at U-17, U-20, and U-23 level before making his international debut for Canada in January 2003.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Torsten Frings</span> German footballer (born 1976)

Torsten Klaus Frings is a German former footballer and manager, who last managed SV Meppen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angelos Charisteas</span> Greek footballer (born 1980)

Angelos Charisteas is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a forward. Since 2019, he works as sporting director for Aris.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ivan Klasnić</span> Croatian footballer (born 1980)

Ivan Klasnić is a Croatian former professional footballer who played as a striker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johan Micoud</span> French association football player (born 1973)

Johan Cédric Micoud is a French former professional footballer who played mostly as an attacking midfielder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mladen Krstajić</span> Serbian footballer (born 1974)

Mladen Krstajić is a Serbian professional football manager and former player who played as a centre-back.

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SV Werder Bremen improved one position upon its 2000–01 position, ultimately finishing 6th in the championship. Key players Frank Rost and Torsten Frings departed for Bundesliga opposition in the summer of 2002, resulting in lowered expectations, especially since club legend Marco Bode decided to retire from professional football.

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Borussia Dortmund played the 2002–03 season in the Bundesliga. Aside from failing to retain the Bundesliga title, Dortmund failed to reach the Champions League knockout phase, despite winning away from home against eventual champions Milan. In the end, finishing third in Bundesliga was enough to go into the qualifying phase of the Champions League for the coming season.

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SV Werder Bremen won its first ever German double, clinching both Bundesliga and the DFB-Pokal. Following a club record-breaking league season, Werder won the title six points clear of Bayern Munich, with Aílton hitting 28 goals, the most ever from a Werder Bremen player. The cup victory was clinched following a 3–2 win against Alemannia Aachen, with defensive midfielder Tim Borowski the unexpected hero, hitting Alemannia with a brace. The title successes were Thomas Schaaf's first in his managerial career. Werder, however, lost both Aílton and defensive senior talisman Mladen Krstajić to FC Schalke 04, since both refused to sign new contracts with the club.

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References

  1. "FootballSquads - Werder Bremen - 2002/03". www.footballsquads.co.uk.

Sources

Soccerbase.com – Results & Fixtures for W Bremen