2003 in association football

The following are the football (soccer) events of the year 2003 throughout the world.

Events

• Confederations Cup: Host nation France wins a tournament marred by tragedy (see Deaths.)
• UEFA Champions League: AC Milan wins 3–2 on penalties over Juventus, after a 0–0 draw at Old Trafford. This was AC Milan's 6th European Cup.
• UEFA Cup: FC Porto wins 3–2 in the final against Celtic, after extra time, with a silver goal by Derlei. This is Porto's first UEFA Cup title.
• European Super Cup: AC Milan beats FC Porto 1–0, winning the cup for the 4th time.
• Copa Libertadores: Boca Juniors of Argentina won the cup for the fifth time against Santos of Brazil in a 5–1 aggregate.
• Recopa Sudamericana: Olimpia of Paraguay won 2–0 in the final against San Lorenzo of Argentina.
• FA Cup: Arsenal win 1–0 over Southampton
• FA Premier league – Manchester United wins the Premier League by 5 points over Arsenal.
• Women's World Cup: Germany wins the final against Sweden 2–1 after extra time.
• 22 January – Dutch club Sparta Rotterdam fires manager Dolf Roks, who is replaced on 7 February by former player Chris Dekker.
• 28 January – Head coach Robert Maaskant leaves Go Ahead Eagles and returns to RBC Roosendaal.
• 7 March – Mexican club Guadalajara appoints Hans Westerhof as their new technical director.
• 26 March – Manager Mike Snoei is fired by Dutch club Vitesse Arnhem to Ajax, and replaced by former player Edward Sturing.
• 17 June – Manchester United sells English football star David Beckham to Real Madrid for €35 million.
• 28 June – Italy's Piedmont wins the third UEFA Regions' Cup, beating France's Maine 2–1 in Heidenheim an der Brenz.
• 8 August – Satellite TV's Rupert Murdoch British Sky Broadcasting pay €510 million for transmission of FA Premier League seasons 2004–2007.
• 10 August – PSV wins the Johan Cruijff Schaal, the annual opening of the new season in the Eredivisie, by a 3–1 win over Utrecht in the Amsterdam ArenA.
• 25 September – Dutch club Zwolle sacks manager Peter Boeve.
• 1 October – Technical director Hans Westerhof is named head coach of Mexican club Guadalajara.
• 20 November – Manager Rinus Israël leaves ADO Den Haag and moves to Al Wahda in the United Arab Emirates. Lex Schoenmaker is his successor in The Hague.
• 28 November – In an Asian Cup qualifier between Iran and Lebanon, Ali Daei scores his 85th goal for the Iranian national team, breaking the record of Hungarian legend Ferenc Puskás.
• 14 December – Boca Juniors wins the Intercontinental Cup in Tokyo, Japan for the third time, by defeating Italy's AC Milan on penalties (3–1), after a 1–1 draw at the end of extra-time.

Winners national club championship

Africa

•   Algeria – USM Alger
•   Cameroon – Cottonsport Garoua
•   Ivory Coast – ASEC Mimosas
•   Egypt – Zamalek
•   Libya – Al-Ittihad
•   Mali – Stade Malien
•   Morocco – Hassania Agadir
•   Nigeria – Enyimba
•   Tunisia – Espéance

Asia

•   Hong Kong – Sun Hei
•   Iran – Sepahan
•   Japan – Yokohama F. Marinos
•   Qatar – Al-Sadd
•   South Korea – Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma
•   Thailand – BEC Tero Sasana

Europe

•   Croatia – Dinamo Zagreb
•   Denmark – Copenhagen
•   England – Manchester United
•   France – Lyon
•   Germany – Bayern Munich
•   Iceland – KR
•   Ireland: Shelbourne
•   Italy – Juventus
•   Netherlands
  • Eredivisie – PSV
  • Eerste Divisie – Den Haag
•   Portugal – Porto
•   Russia – CSKA Moscow
•   Serbia and Montenegro – Partizan
•   Spain – Real Madrid
•   Sweden
  • Allsvenskan – Djurgården
  • Svenska Cupen – Elfsborg
•   Turkey – Beşiktaş

North and Central America

•   Canada – Brampton Hitmen (CPSL)
•   Mexico
  • Clausura – Monterrey
  • Apertura – Pachuca
•   United States – San Jose Earthquakes (MLS)

South America

• Argentina
  • 2002–03 Clausura – River Plate
  • 2003–04 Apertura – Boca Juniors
• Bolivia – Bolívar
  • Torneo Apertura – The Strongest
  • Torneo Clausura – The Strongest
• Brazil – Cruzeiro
• Colombia – Once Caldas
• Ecuador – LDU Quito
• Paraguay – Club Libertad
• Uruguay – Peñarol
• Club Alianza Lima

International tournaments

• UNCAF Nations Cup in Panama (9–23 February 2003)
  1.   Costa Rica
  2.   Guatemala
  3.   El Salvador
• Baltic Cup in Estonia (3–5 July 2003)
  1.   Latvia
  2.   Lithuania
  3.   Estonia
• Pan American Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (2–15 August 2003)
  • Men's Tournament
  1.   Argentina
  2.   Brazil
  3.   Mexico
  • Women's Tournament
  1. Brazil
  2. Canada
  3. Mexico
• FIFA U-20 World Cup in United Arab Emirates (27 November – 19 December 2003)
  1.   Brazil
  2.   Spain
  3.   Colombia
• FIFA U-17 World Championship in Finland (13–30 August 2003)
  1.   Brazil
  2.   Spain
  3.   Argentina
• Afro–Asian Games in Hyderabad, India (22–31 October 2003)
  1.   India
  2.   Uzbekistan
  3.   Zimbabwe

National team results

Europe

  Estonia

Main article: Estonia national football team 2003

  Sweden

Main article: Sweden national football team 2003

South America

  Bolivia

Main article: Bolivia national football team 2003

  Ecuador

Main article: Ecuador national football team 2003

Births

• 9 January – Ricardo Pepi, US international ^[1]
• 18 January – Devyne Rensch, Dutch international ^[2]
• 19 January – Ilaix Moriba, Guinean international ^[3]
• 21 January – Hannibal Mejbri, Tunisian international ^[4]
• 27 February – Juan Ignacio Cabrera, Uruguayan footballer ^[5]
• 16 March – Killian Camélé, French professional footballer ^[6]
• 23 March – Ísak Bergmann Jóhannesson, Icelandic international ^[7]
• 4 April – Harvey Elliott, English footballer
• 12 April – Simon Ngapandouetnbu, Cameroonian footballer ^[8]
• 19 April – Rareș Ilie, Romanian youth international ^[9]
• 21 April – Xavi Simons, Dutch footballer
• 27 April – Zidane Iqbal, Iraqi international ^[10]
• 1 May – Charlie Savage, Welsh international ^[11]
• 2 May – Marcos Leonardo, Brazilian youth international ^[12]
• 4 May – Florian Wirtz, German international ^[13]
• 7 May – Kevin Paredes, US youth international ^[14]
• 31 May – Benjamin Šeško, Slovenian youth international ^[15]
• 2 June – Yusuf Demir, Austrian-Turkish footballer ^[16]
• 28 June – Brandon Aguilera, Costa Rican international
• 29 June – Jude Bellingham, English international ^[17]
• 12 August – Martín Luciano, Argentine club footballer ^[18]
• 28 October – Antonio Miuțescu, Romanian professional footballer ^[19]
• 5 November – Shea Charles, Northern Irish footballer ^[20]
• 7 November – Milos Kerkez, Hungarian international ^[21]

Deaths

January

• 10 January – Julinho (73), Brazilian footballer

February

• 26 February – Antoni Torres (59), Spanish footballer and manager
• 28 February – Albert Batteux (83), French footballer

April

• 17 April – Jean-Pierre Dogliani (60), French footballer
• 24 April – Gino Orlando (73), Brazilian forward, 9 times capped for the Brazil national football team.

May

• 10 May – Pepillo (69), Spanish footballer

June

• 26 June – Marc-Vivien Foé (28), Cameroonian footballer

July

• 31 July – John Aston, Sr., English defender, England squad member at the 1950 FIFA World Cup. (81)
• 31 July – Bigode, Brazilian defender, runner-up at the 1950 FIFA World Cup. (81)

August

• 1 August – Guy Thys (80), Belgian footballer and manager
• 8 August – Jimmy Davis (21), English footballer
• 13 August – Lothar Emmerich (61), German footballer
• 14 August – Helmut Rahn (73), German footballer
• 31 August – Pierre Cahuzac (76), French footballer

October

• 1 October – Cheung Yiu Lun (25), Hong Kong footballer

November

• 21 November – Emil Pažický (76), Slovak footballer

References

1. ""FIFA U-17 World Cup Brazil 2019: List of Players: USA"" (PDF). soccerway.com. Soccer way. Archived from the original on 27 December 2019. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
2. ""FIFA U-17 World Cup Brazil 2019: List of Players: Netherlands"" (PDF). fifadata.com. Fifa. Archived from the original on 27 December 2019. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
3. "Ilaix Moriba". soccerway.com. Soccer way.
4. "H. Mejbri". soccerway.com. Soccer Way.
5. "Juan Cabrera". worldfootball.net. HEIM:SPIEL Medien GmbH & Co. KG. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
6. "Killian Camélé". worldfootball.net. HEIM:SPIEL Medien GmbH & Co. KG. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
7. "Í. Bergmann Jóhannesson". soccerway.com. Soccer Way.
8. "Simon Ngapandouetnbu". The Athletic. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
9. "R. Ilie". soccerway.com. Soccer way.
10. "Zidane Iqbal". global.espn.com. ESPN.
11. "Charlie Savage". manutd.com. Manchester United.
12. "MARCOS LEONARDO". santosfc.com.br. Santos FC.
13. "Florian Wirtz". datacenter.dfb.de. Data Center.
14. "K. Paredes". soccerway.com. Soccer way.
15. "B. Šeško". soccerway.com. Soccer WAY.
16. "Y. Demir". soccerway.com. Soccer Way.
17. Profile at the Football Association website
18. "M. Luciano". soccerway.com. Soccer Way.
19. "Antonio Miuțescu". worldfootball.net. HEIM:SPIEL Medien GmbH & Co. KG. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
20. Shea Charles
21. "M. Kerkez". soccerway.com. Soccer way.