The 2002–03 season was Deportivo de La Coruña's 32nd season in La Liga, the top division of Spanish football. They also competed in the Copa del Rey, the UEFA Champions League and the Supercopa de España.
Season summary
The 2002–03 season, Javier Irureta's fifth in charge, started in style for Deportivo. As defending Copa del Rey champions, they qualified for the 2002 Supercopa de España, where they faced Valencia. Three first half goals from Juan Carlos Valerón, Víctor Sánchez and Noureddine Naybet gave them a big advantage after the first leg at Estadio Riazor, and a further goal from Víctor at the Mestalla ensured a 4–0 aggregate victory. Depor therefore claimed the Supercopa trophy for the second time in three seasons.
In La Liga, they just failed to match their top two finishes of the past three years, ending up 3rd, although they still qualified for the 2003–04 UEFA Champions League. In the 2002–03 edition of that tournament, they made it through a tough first round group in which they faced Bayern Munich, Lens and Milan. Their progress was assured after an excellent 2–1 win against the Italians at San Siro on the final matchday. Another tough draw awaited in the second group stage, where they faced Basel, Juventus and Manchester United. Despite finishing level on points with the Swiss and Italian sides, they were eliminated bottom of the group on goal difference, failing to match their quarter-final exploits of the previous two seasons.
In the Copa del Rey, too, they just fell short of their previous high standards. The defending champions were eliminated at the semi-final stage by eventual winners Mallorca. It was a great season for striker Roy Makaay, whose 29 league goals won him both the Pichichi Trophy and the European Golden Shoe.
Players Squad
Left club during season
Squad stats Last updated on 2 April 2021.
|colspan="14"|Players who have left the club after the start of the season:
Competitions La Liga
League table
Matches
MatchOpponentVenueResultGoalsRef1 Real Betis H 2–4 0–1 Assunção0–2 Alfonso Pérez1–2 Makaay1–3 Arzu1–4 Joaquín2–4 Tristán 2 Osasuna A 2–1 0–1 Vidrio1–1 Makaay2–1 Makaay 3 Real Valladolid H 2–0 1–0 Makaay2–0 Makaay 4 Alavés A 2–1 0–1 Alonso1–1 Tristán2–1 Capdevila 5 Racing Santander H 0–2 0–1 Guerrero0–2 Guerrero 6 Villarreal A 1–3 1–0 Víctor Sánchez1–1 Martín1–2 Víctor1–3 Belletti 7 Rayo Vallecano A 2–1 1–0 Makaay2–0 Makaay2–1 Corino 8 Real Madrid H 0–0 9 Real Sociedad A 1–1 0–1 Kovačević1–1 Luque 10 Barcelona H 2–0 1–0 Scaloni2–0 Luque 11 Sevilla A 1–1 0–1 Antoñito1–1 Makaay 12 Mallorca H 2–2 1–0 Makaay1–1 Pandiani1–2 Eto'o2–2 Makaay 13 Recreativo A 1–1 0–1 Molina1–1 Tristán 14 Málaga H 1–0 1–0 Luque 15 Valencia A 1–0 1–0 Makaay 16 Celta Vigo H 3–0 1–0 Tristán2–0 Sergio3–0 Luque 17 Atlético Madrid A 1–3 0–1 Mari1–1 Makaay1–2 Torres1–3 Correa 18 Athletic Bilbao H 2–1 0–1 Héctor1–1 Donato2–1 Karanka 19 Espanyol A 1–3 1–0 Makaay1–1 Soldevilla1–2 Roger1–3 Morales 20 Real Betis A 2–0 1–0 Tristán2–0 Makaay 21 Osasuna H 1–1 0–1 Muñoz1–1 Makaay 22 Real Valladolid A 1–0 1–0 Makaay 23 Alavés H 6–0 1–0 Tristán2–0 Tristán3–0 Makaay4–0 Makaay5–0 Tristán6–0 Luque 24 Racing Santander A 2–1 1–0 Makaay1–1 Bodipo2–1 Luque 25 Villarreal H 2–1 0–1 López1–1 Tristán2–1 Víctor Sánchez 26 Rayo Vallecano H 2–0 1–0 Makaay2–0 Naybet 27 Real Madrid A 0–2 0–1 Zidane0–2 Ronaldo 28 Real Sociedad H 2–1 0–1 Kahveci1–1 Capdevila2–1 Fran 29 Barcelona A 4–2 0–1 Saviola1–1 Scaloni1–2 Motta2–2 Makaay3–2 Makaay4–2 Sergio 30 Sevilla H 3–1 1–0 Víctor Sánchez2–0 Makaay2–1 Antoñito3–1 Makaay 31 Mallorca A 0–3 0–1 Eto'o0–2 Riera0–3 Eto'o 32 Recreativo H 5–0 1–0 Valerón2–0 Víctor Sánchez3–0 Makaay4–0 Makaay5–0 Makaay 33 Málaga A 2–0 1–0 Sanz2–0 Scaloni 34 Valencia H 1–2 0–1 Aurélio1–1 Donato1–2 Aurélio 35 Celta Vigo A 0–3 0–1 Jesuli0–2 Edu0–3 Edu 36 Atlético Madrid H 3–2 0–1 Albertini1–1 Romero1–2 Correa2–2 Makaay3–2 Valerón 37 Athletic Bilbao A 2–3 0–1 del Horno0–2 Yeste1–2 Capdevila2–2 Sergio2–3 Urzaiz 38 Espanyol H 2–1 0–1 Roger1–1 Makaay2–1 Luque
Copa del Rey
RoundOpponentVenueResultGoalsRefRound of 64 Corralejo A 2–1 1–0 Luque1–1 Simón2–1 Martín Round of 32 Racing de Ferrol A 4–3 1–0 Tristán1–1 Cuéllar1–2 Cuéllar2–2 Tristán3–2 Luque3–3 Yasunaga4–3 Luque RoundOpponentAggregateFirst legSecond legVenueResultGoalsRefVenueResultGoalsRefRound of 16 Alicante 5–2 A 1–1 0–1 Morante1–1 Sergio H 4–1 1–0 Acuña1–1 Pérez2–1 Amavisca3–1 Tristán4–1 Luque Quarter-finals Real Murcia (a) 4–4 H 1–0 1–0 Duscher A 3–4 1–0 Tristán2–0 Tristán2–1 Karanka2–2 Juanma2–3 Tito3–3 Pablo3–4 Albiol Semi-finals Mallorca 3–4 H 2–3 0–1 Pandiani0–2 Pandiani0–3 Eto'o1–3 Tristán2–3 Makaay A 1–1 1–0 Fran1–1 Ibagaza
UEFA Champions League
First group stage
Second group stage
Supercopa de España
RoundOpponentAggregateFirst legSecond legVenueResultGoalsRefVenueResultGoalsRefFinal Valencia 4–0 H 3–0 1–0 Valerón2–0 Víctor Sánchez3–0 Naybet A 1–0 1–0 Víctor Sánchez
References