2002–03 season | |||
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Manager | Thomas Schaaf | ||
Bundesliga | 6th | ||
DFB-Pokal | Semi-final | ||
UEFA Cup | Second round | ||
Top goalscorer | Ailton (16) | ||
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.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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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.
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Torsten Klaus Frings is a German former footballer and manager, who last managed SV Meppen.
Angelos Charisteas is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a forward. Since 2019, he works as sporting director for Aris.
Ivan Klasnić is a Croatian former professional footballer who played as a striker.
Johan Cédric Micoud is a French former professional footballer who played mostly as an attacking midfielder.
Mladen Krstajić is a Serbian professional football manager and former player who played as a centre-back.
FC Schalke 04 failed to challenge for the Bundesliga title, and did not make it past the group stage in the Champions League, resulting in coach Huub Stevens resigning following the end of the season. A consolation prize was winning the German Cup following a dramatic 4–2 victory over Bayer Leverkusen.
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.
VfB Stuttgart reached the UEFA Champions League for the first time in more than ten years, following a surprising runner-up position in Bundesliga. Coach Felix Magath was hailed as the man behind the success, in his second full season at the helm, managing to unite a squad with lesser-known players to form a side strong enough to overhaul reigning champions Borussia Dortmund for the automatic qualification spot. It was also the breakthrough season of exciting young talents such as Alexander Hleb, Timo Hildebrand and Kevin Kurányi.
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.
FC Schalke 04 had another disappointing season, in which it failed to qualify for the Champions League. New coach Frank Neubarth did not last long, and was sacked and replaced by captain Marc Wilmots in the dugout. Once again, goalscoring was at a premium, with top scorer Victor Agali managing only seven in total. The end result was 7th place in Bundesliga, barely even qualifying for the Intertoto Cup.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen had a shocking season, in which it went from being in the final of the UEFA Champions League the previous season, to finish 15th in Bundesliga, only just escaping relegation to the second tier. It also went out of the Champions League in the second group stage, not even clinching a single point.
Hamburger SV nearly qualified for the Champions League, only just falling short to Borussia Dortmund. Given that HSV had been mired in the midfield for the last few seasons, the season was regarded as a successful one.
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.
VfB Stuttgart debuted in the modern-era 32-team Champions League with a progression from the group stage and a somewhat surprising victory with 2–1 against English champions Manchester United. Ultimately, the tournament ended with a narrow defeat to Chelsea. Kevin Kurányi, Philipp Lahm and Alexander Hleb were key players in a side that only just failed to finish in the top three for the second season in succession. Following an initial eight clean sheets, the attack suffered from only Kurányi being able to score, despite goalkeeper Timo Hildebrand keeping 18 clean sheets.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen bounced back from the nearly disastrous season it came from, finishing in the top three and qualifying for the UEFA Champions League in the process. The season marked the breakthrough for Bulgarian striker Dimitar Berbatov, who scored 16 goals, whereas Brazilian signing França contributed with 14 strikes. As it was, it was the attack that impressed the most, especially in the 6–2 crushing of champions Werder Bremen on the penultimate day of the season.
Schalke 04 had one of its best ever seasons, winning the German Cup. They almost won the league too, hindered only by a late Patrik Andersson free kick for Bayern Munich in stoppage time against Hamburg. Nonetheless, Schalke still qualified for the Champions League for the first time.
Hamburger SV had another mediocre season, finishing in the lower reaches of the mid-table of Bundesliga. Mid-season purchase Bernardo Romeo made his mark immediately at his new club, which somewhat compensated for Sergej Barbarez loss of form. At the end of the season, Hamburg was ten points from both European qualifying and relegation.
During the 2003–04 German football season, Borussia Dortmund competed in the Bundesliga.
FC Schalke 04 had another disappointing season, in spite of the success of new stadium and UEFA Champions League final host Arena AufSchalke. Within weeks in the autumn, Schalke's chances of winning a trophy was slashed, losing to Brøndby in the UEFA Cup and a humiliating collapse to Freiburg in the extra time of the domestic cup, losing 7–3. The seventh position in the league also ensured Schalke had to go through the Intertoto Cup to reach European competitions, putting further pressure on coach Jupp Heynckes.
During the 2008–09 SV Werder Bremen season, the club finished 10th in the Bundesliga, won the DFB-Pokal, and were eliminated in the Group Stage of Champions League and the final of the UEFA Cup.