2002–03 AFC Champions League
2002–03 AFC Champions League
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 13 August – 27 November 2002 (Qualifying rounds) 9 March – 11 October 2003 (Group & Final stages) |
| Teams | 16 (Group stage) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Al-Ain(1st title) |
| Runners-up |  BEC Tero Sasana |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 30 |
| Goals scored | 104 (3.47 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |  Hao Haidong(9 goals) |
| Best player(s) | Therdsak Chaiman |
The 2002–03 AFC Champions League was the twenty-second edition of Asia's premier football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and the first edition under the AFC Champions League title.
Sixteen teams competed in this edition as they went through qualifying before going into four groups of four with only the winner of the group qualifying to the knockout-stage which went to two-legs instead of the single leg that the previous year competition had. In the final it was Al-Ain of the United Arab Emirates beating BEC Tero Sasana of Thailand 2–1 on aggregate.
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 13 August – 27 November 2002 (Qualifying rounds) 9 March – 11 October 2003 (Group & Final stages) |
| Teams | 16 (Group stage) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Al-Ain(1st title) |
| Runners-up | BEC Tero Sasana |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 30 |
| Goals scored | 104 (3.47 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Hao Haidong (9 goals) |
| Best player(s) | Therdsak Chaiman |
Qualification
Group stage
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BEC Tero Sasana | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 7 |
| 2 |  Daejeon Citizen | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| 3 | Shanghai Shenhua | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 7 | −1 | 3 |
| 4 |  Kashima Antlers | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 7 | −2 | 1 |
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dalian Shide | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 2 | +8 | 7 |
| 2 | Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 4 | +5 | 6 |
| 3 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 2 | +6 | 4 |
| 4 | Osotsapa FC | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 20 | −19 | 0 |
Group C
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Al-Ain | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | +5 | 9 |
| 2 |  Al Sadd | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 3 |
| 3 |  Esteghlal | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 7 | −2 | 3 |
| 4 |  Al-Hilal | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −2 | 3 |
Group D
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Pakhtakor | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | +7 | 9 |
| 2 | Persepolis | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 6 |
| 3 |  Al-Talaba | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 3 |
| 4 |  Nisa Asgabat | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 10 | −9 | 0 |
Knock-out stage
Bracket
| Semi-finals | Final | |||||||||||
| Al-Ain | 4 | 3 | 7 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dalian Shide | 2 | 4 | 6 | |||||||||
| Al-Ain | 2 | 0 | 2 | |||||||||
| BEC Tero Sasana | 0 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
| BEC Tero Sasana | 3 | 0 | 3 | |||||||||
| Pakhtakor | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||||||
Semi-finals
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BEC Tero Sasana | 3–2 | Pakhtakor | 3–1 | 0–1 |
| Al-Ain | 7–6 | Dalian Shide | 4–2 | 3–4 |
First leg
Second leg
BEC Tero Sasana won 3–2 on aggregate.
Al-Ain won 7–6 on aggregate.
Final
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al-Ain | 2–1 | BEC Tero Sasana | 2–0 | 0–1 |
First leg
Second leg
Al-Ain won 2–1 on aggregate.
Top scorers
- 9
[[INLINE_IMAGE|//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Flag_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China.svg/23px-Flag_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China.svg.png|//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Flag_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China.svg/35px-Flag_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Flag_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China.svg/45px-Flag_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China.svg.png 2x|China|h15|w23|thumbborder flagicon-img flagicon-img]] Hao Haidong (Dalian Shide)
- 4
[[INLINE_IMAGE|//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fe/Flag_of_C%C3%B4te_d%27Ivoire.svg/23px-Flag_of_C%C3%B4te_d%27Ivoire.svg.png|//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fe/Flag_of_C%C3%B4te_d%27Ivoire.svg/35px-Flag_of_C%C3%B4te_d%27Ivoire.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fe/Flag_of_C%C3%B4te_d%27Ivoire.svg/45px-Flag_of_C%C3%B4te_d%27Ivoire.svg.png 2x|Ivory Coast|h15|w23|thumbborder flagicon-img flagicon-img]] Boubacar Sanogo (Al Ain)
[[INLINE_IMAGE|//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/Flag_of_Thailand.svg/23px-Flag_of_Thailand.svg.png|//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/Flag_of_Thailand.svg/35px-Flag_of_Thailand.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/Flag_of_Thailand.svg/45px-Flag_of_Thailand.svg.png 2x|Thailand|h15|w23|thumbborder flagicon-img flagicon-img]] Therdsak Chaiman (BEC Tero Sasana)
- 3
[[INLINE_IMAGE|//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4f/Flag_of_Cameroon.svg/23px-Flag_of_Cameroon.svg.png|//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4f/Flag_of_Cameroon.svg/35px-Flag_of_Cameroon.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4f/Flag_of_Cameroon.svg/45px-Flag_of_Cameroon.svg.png 2x|Cameroon|h15|w23|thumbborder flagicon-img flagicon-img]] Patrick Suffo (Al-Hilal)
[[INLINE_IMAGE|//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cb/Flag_of_the_United_Arab_Emirates.svg/23px-Flag_of_the_United_Arab_Emirates.svg.png|//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cb/Flag_of_the_United_Arab_Emirates.svg/35px-Flag_of_the_United_Arab_Emirates.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cb/Flag_of_the_United_Arab_Emirates.svg/46px-Flag_of_the_United_Arab_Emirates.svg.png 2x|United Arab Emirates|h12|w23|thumbborder flagicon-img flagicon-img]] Mohammad Omar (Al Ain)
[[INLINE_IMAGE|//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ca/Flag_of_Iran.svg/23px-Flag_of_Iran.svg.png|//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ca/Flag_of_Iran.svg/35px-Flag_of_Iran.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ca/Flag_of_Iran.svg/46px-Flag_of_Iran.svg.png 2x|Iran|h13|w23|thumbborder flagicon-img flagicon-img]] Ali Samereh (Esteghlal)
[[INLINE_IMAGE|//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/84/Flag_of_Uzbekistan.svg/23px-Flag_of_Uzbekistan.svg.png|//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/84/Flag_of_Uzbekistan.svg/35px-Flag_of_Uzbekistan.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/84/Flag_of_Uzbekistan.svg/46px-Flag_of_Uzbekistan.svg.png 2x|Uzbekistan|h12|w23|thumbborder flagicon-img flagicon-img]] Anvarjon Soliev (Pakhtakor)
[[INLINE_IMAGE|//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/09/Flag_of_South_Korea.svg/23px-Flag_of_South_Korea.svg.png|//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/09/Flag_of_South_Korea.svg/35px-Flag_of_South_Korea.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/09/Flag_of_South_Korea.svg/45px-Flag_of_South_Korea.svg.png 2x|South Korea|h15|w23|thumbborder flagicon-img flagicon-img]] Kim Dae-Eui (Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma)
[[INLINE_IMAGE|//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/09/Flag_of_South_Korea.svg/23px-Flag_of_South_Korea.svg.png|//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/09/Flag_of_South_Korea.svg/35px-Flag_of_South_Korea.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/09/Flag_of_South_Korea.svg/45px-Flag_of_South_Korea.svg.png 2x|South Korea|h15|w23|thumbborder flagicon-img flagicon-img]] Kim Do-Hoon (Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma)
[[INLINE_IMAGE|//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/82/Flag_of_Honduras.svg/23px-Flag_of_Honduras.svg.png|//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/82/Flag_of_Honduras.svg/35px-Flag_of_Honduras.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/82/Flag_of_Honduras.svg/46px-Flag_of_Honduras.svg.png 2x|Honduras|h12|w23|thumbborder flagicon-img flagicon-img]] Saul Martínez (Shanghai Shenhua)
[[INLINE_IMAGE|//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/09/Flag_of_South_Korea.svg/23px-Flag_of_South_Korea.svg.png|//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/09/Flag_of_South_Korea.svg/35px-Flag_of_South_Korea.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/09/Flag_of_South_Korea.svg/45px-Flag_of_South_Korea.svg.png 2x|South Korea|h15|w23|thumbborder flagicon-img flagicon-img]] Ahn Jung-Hwan (Shimizu S-Pulse)