2002–03 AFC Ajax season

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

AFC Ajax
2002–03 season
ChairmanMichael van Praag
ManagerRonald 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 Romania ROU Bogdan Lobonț
2 DF Tunisia TUN Hatem Trabelsi
3 DF Norway NOR André Bergdølmo
4 DF Czech Republic CZE Tomáš Galásek
5 DF Romania ROU Cristian Chivu
7 MF Netherlands NED Andy van der Meyde
8 MF Netherlands NED Richard Witschge
9 FW Sweden SWE Zlatan Ibrahimović
10 MF South Africa RSA Steven Pienaar
12 DF Netherlands NED John Heitinga
13 DF Brazil BRA Maxwell
15 MF Netherlands NED Wesley Sneijder
16 DF Finland FIN Petri Pasanen
17 FW Brazil BRA Wamberto
No. Pos. Nation Player
18 DF United States USA John O'Brien
20 MF Finland FIN Jari Litmanen
21 GK Australia AUS Joey Didulica[2]
22 MF Ghana GHA Abubakari Yakubu
23 MF Netherlands NED Rafael van der Vaart
24 DF Belgium BEL Jelle van Damme
25 MF Cape Verde CPV David Mendes da Silva (on loan from Sparta Rotterdam)
26 MF Netherlands NED Nigel de Jong
27 FW Netherlands NED Victor Sikora
28 MF Morocco MAR Nourdin Boukhari
29 MF Netherlands NED Jamal Akachar
30 MF Netherlands NED Stefano Seedorf
31 GK Netherlands NED Maarten Stekelenburg
32 GK Netherlands 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 Netherlands NED Aron Winter (retired)
11 FW Egypt EGY Mido (on loan to Celta Vigo)
14 MF Netherlands NED Jan van Halst
19 FW Greece GRE Nikos Machlas (on loan to Sevilla)
No. Pos. Nation Player
15 DF Netherlands NED Tim de Cler (to AZ)
25 MF Colombia COL Daniel Cruz (on loan to Germinal Beerschot)
20 FW Netherlands 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 Netherlands NED Mitchell Piqué
No. Pos. Nation Player

Transfers

Out

Results

Second group stage
27 November 2002 Valencia Spain 1–1 Netherlands Ajax Valencia, Spain
20:45 Angulo 90' Report Ibrahimović 89' Stadium: Estadio Mestalla
Attendance: 48,000
Referee: Gilles Veissière (France)
10 December 2002 Ajax Netherlands 2–1 Italy Roma Amsterdam, Netherlands
20:45
Report Batistuta 89' Stadium: Amsterdam Arena
Attendance: 50,148
Referee: Markus Merk (Germany)
18 February 2003 Arsenal England 1–1 Netherlands Ajax London, England
20:45 Wiltord 5' Report De Jong 17' Stadium: Highbury
Attendance: 35,427
Referee: Lucílio Batista (Portugal)
26 February 2003 Ajax Netherlands 0–0 England Arsenal Amsterdam, Netherlands
20:45 Report Stadium: Amsterdam Arena
Attendance: 51,500
Referee: Valentin Ivanov (Russia)
11 March 2003 Ajax Netherlands 1–1 Spain Valencia Amsterdam, Netherlands
20:45 Pasanen 56' Report González 28' (pen.) Stadium: Amsterdam Arena
Referee: Ľuboš Micheľ (Slovakia)
19 March 2003 Roma Italy 1–1 Netherlands Ajax Rome, Italy
20:45 Cassano 23' Report Van der Meyde 1' Stadium: Stadio Olimpico
Attendance: 62,000
Referee: Herbert Fandel (Germany)

References
  1. "FootballSquads - Ajax - 2002/03".
  2. Didulica was born in Geelong, Australia, but also qualified to represent Croatia internationally.
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