Associazione Sportiva Roma crashed down to earth following its previous two remarkable seasons, where it had won Serie A in 2000–01 and finished a close second in 2001–02. Despite the acquisition of Pep Guardiola as central midfielder, he did not apparently fit into Fabio Capello's first-team plans. The squad was essentially the same as the year before, and Guardiola's absence from the starting XI spoke volumes about the reputation of the Roma players at the time. However, things began to go against Roma following its tense competition in Serie A with Juventus. Suspecting things were amiss, both chairman Franco Sensi and manager Capello publicly condemned the judgements.
Due to all the 'misfortune' with decisions, Roma's season soon descended into complete darkness, the only highlight of the season being the qualification for the Coppa Italia final, which they lost to Milan. In the league, only a strong final third of the season saved eighth place, with only Francesco Totti reaching his normal level.
Players Squad information Last updated on 31 May 2003
Transfers In Pos. Name from Type DF Christian Panucci Monaco €9.81 million DF Luigi Sartor Parma - DF Traianos Dellas Perugia end of contract MF Josep Guardiola Brescia free MF Davide Bombardini Palermo -FW Simone Pepe Leccoloan ended FW Gustavo Vassallo Palermo loan ended Out Pos. Name To Type DF Christian Panucci Monaco loan ended FW Gustavo Vassallo Alcalá - DF Cesare Bovo Lecce - DF Antônio Carlos Zago Beşiktaş end of contract MF Marcos Assunção Betis - FW Giordano Meloni Cesena - DF Sebastiano Siviglia Parma - FW Abel Balbo Boca Juniors - FW Simone Pepe Teramo loan
Winter In Pos. Name from Type MF Olivier Dacourt Leeds United loan FW Massimo Marazzina Chievo Out Pos. Name To Type MF Josep Guardiola Brescia FW Gabriel Batistuta Internazionale loan
Kits
Competitions
Overall Competition Started round Final position First match Last match Serie A Matchday 1 8th 14 September 2002 24 May 2003 Coppa Italia Round of 16 Runners-up 4 December 2002 31 May 2003 Champions League Group stage Second group stage 17 September 2002 19 March 2003
Last updated: 31 May 2003
Serie A
League table
Results summary
Results by round
Matches
Coppa Italia
Round of 16
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Final
UEFA Champions League
Group stage
Second group stage
Statistics
Appearances and goals
! colspan=14 style="background:#B21B1C; color:#FFD700; text-align:center"| Players transferred out during the season
Goalscorers NameSerie ACoppa ItaliaUEFA CLTotal110FWFrancesco Totti143320218FWAntonio Cassano9141439FWVincenzo Montella92011424FWMarco Delvecchio4419511MFEmerson231633FWGabriel Batistuta4116717MFDamiano Tommasi3003819DFWalter Samuel200227MFDaniele De Rossi2002102DFCafu010123DFChristian Panucci100125MFGianni Guigou100131DFTraianos Dellas100132DFVincent Candela1001Own goal2103Totals55161081
Last updated: 31 May 2003
Clean sheets NameSerie ACoppa ItaliaUEFA CLTotal11GKFrancesco Antonioli1056222GKIvan Pelizzoli4105Totals51511
Last updated: 31 May 2003
References