The 2003 UEFA Cup final was played on 21 May 2003 between Celtic of Scotland and Porto of Portugal. Porto won the match 3–2 in extra time thanks to a goal from Derlei.
Before this game, no club from Scotland or Portugal had won the UEFA Cup.
The game had what UEFA described as "the largest travelling support to have assembled for a single game" – around 80,000 Celtic fans travelled to Seville for the final. For this turnout and the manner in which they conducted themselves, Celtic fans received an award from FIFA and UEFA, winning the FIFA Fair Play Award that year and being presented with a formal recognition from UEFA at a home match the following season.
Route to the final
Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away). CelticRound PortoChampions LeagueUEFA CupOpponentAgg.1st leg2nd legQualifying roundsOpponentAgg.1st leg2nd leg Basel3–3 (a)3–1 (H)0–2 (A)Third qualifying roundN/AUEFA Cup Sūduva10–18–1 (H)2–0 (A)First round Polonia Warsaw6–26–0 (H)0–2 (A) Blackburn Rovers3–01–0 (H)2–0 (A)Second round Austria Wien3–01–0 (A)2–0 (H) Celta Vigo2–2 (a)1–0 (H)1–2 (A)Third round Lens3–13–0 (H)0–1 (A) VfB Stuttgart5–43–1 (H)2–3 (A)Fourth round Denizlispor8–36–1 (H)2–2 (A) Liverpool3–11–1 (H)2–0 (A)Quarter-finals Panathinaikos2–1 0–1 (H)2–0 (A) Boavista2–11–1 (H)1–0 (A)Semi-finals Lazio4–14–1 (H)0–0 (A)
Pre-match The game was played at Estadio Olímpico de Sevilla on 21 May with kick-off at 20:45 local time. A team of officials was selected from Slovakia.
Match Summary
A rash challenge led to Joos Valgaeren of Celtic getting a yellow card in the eighth minute. After this it was a stoic affair, until 32 minutes into the first half when Capucho played in Deco, but he could do no more than fire his shot straight at Rab Douglas. Straight after this attack, Celtic broke on the counter with Henrik Larsson putting Didier Agathe through on the right but his cross was too high for Chris Sutton. Larsson had a chance to make it 1–0 in the 35th minute but was unable to get enough contact on the ball. Porto came close in the 41st minute when Deco moved past Bobo Baldé to go one on one with Douglas, who saved Deco's shot with his legs.
Porto found a way through on the stroke of half-time. After some great work from Deco, Dmitri Alenichev's shot was parried by Douglas and Derlei slotted the ball in to give Porto a 1–0 lead. It was his 11th goal of the competition. Porto's lead did not last long after the restart as Celtic equalised after 47 minutes when Larsson met Agathe's cross to direct a looping header in over the helpless Vítor Baía to get his tenth goal of the tournament and his 200th Celtic goal. Within five minutes, it was 2–1 when Deco evaded a tackle and slipped a through ball to Alenichev who converted the cross.
Three minutes later, Celtic levelled once again. Larsson took advantage of poor marking when he powerfully headed in Alan Thompson's corner. With Deco remaining a consistent threat, Martin O'Neill brought on Jackie McNamara in 76 minutes to nullify Deco's threat. In the 80th minute, Bobo Baldé picked up a yellow card. A couple of minutes from time, McNamara's errant pass found Alenichev, but he could not find the target and shot over.
Normal time ended with the game at 2–2. Extra time would be played under the silver goal rule, whereby the team leading at the end of the first half of extra time would win the match.
Celtic were reduced to ten men in the 96th minute when Baldé was dismissed after collecting his second yellow card. O'Neill reconfigured his team by moving McNamara back to fill the gap in defence caused by Baldé's dismissal.
The first half of extra time arrived without a change in the score, so the silver goal rule did not apply.
In the second half of extra time Celtic were unable to hold out for penalties, as Derlei reacted quickest to a Douglas block in the 115th minute and rounded McNamara to make it 3–2. Porto had Nuno Valente sent off in the last minute but no further goals meant that they had ended their 16-year wait for a further European trophy.
Details
GK 20 Rab DouglasCB 35 Johan MjällbyCB 6 Bobo Baldé CB 5 Joos Valgaeren DM 14 Paul Lambert (c) RM 17 Didier AgatheCM 19 Stiliyan Petrov CM 18 Neil Lennon LM 8 Alan ThompsonCF 9 Chris SuttonCF 7 Henrik LarssonSubstitutes:GK 21 Magnus HedmanDF 4 Jackie McNamara DF 16 Ulrik Laursen MF 3 Mohammed SyllaMF 39 Jamie SmithFW 12 David FernándezFW 29 Shaun Maloney Manager: Martin O'Neill GK 99 Vítor BaíaRB 22 Paulo FerreiraCB 2 Jorge Costa (c) CB 4 Ricardo CarvalhoLB 8 Nuno Valente DM 6 Costinha CM 15 Dmitri AlenichevCM 18 Maniche AM 10 DecoCF 21 Capucho CF 11 Derlei Substitutes:GK 13 NunoDF 3 Pedro Emanuel DF 5 Ricardo Costa DF 14 César PeixotoMF 28 ClaytonMF 66 TiagoFW 78 Marco Ferreira Manager: José Mourinho Man of the Match: Derlei (Porto)
Assistant referees: Igor Šramka (Slovakia) Martin Balko (Slovakia) Fourth official: Anton Stredák (Slovakia)Match rules 90 minutes 30 minutes of silver goal extra time if necessary Penalty shoot-out if scores still equal Seven named substitutes Maximum of three substitutions
+First halfStatisticCelticPortoGoals scored01Total shots27Shots on target17Ball possession43%57%Corner kicks13Fouls committed136Offsides00Yellow cards10Red cards00
+Second half and extra timeStatisticCelticPortoGoals scored22Total shots48Shots on target24Ball possession45%55%Corner kicks42Fouls committed2018Offsides42Yellow cards45Red cards11
+OverallStatisticCelticPortoGoals scored23Total shots615Shots on target311Ball possession44%56%Corner kicks55Fouls committed3324Offsides42Yellow cards55Red cards11
See also 2003 UEFA Champions League final 2003 UEFA Super Cup Celtic F.C. in international football FC Porto in international football The Bhoys from Seville 2002–03 Celtic F.C. season 2002–03 FC Porto season
References
External links 2002–03 season at UEFA.com