Celtic FC in the UEFA Cup
2002/03
When the 2002/03 season kicked off, Celtic
Glasgow had the opportunity to play in the group stages of the Champions League
as 2002 Scotland Champions.
However, they were eliminated by
Swiss side Basel in August 2002 and had to drop down into the UEFA Cup.
Little did they know that this would
be a memorable adventure despite the ultimate defeat in the Final in May 2003.
Celtic were managed by Northern Irish
Manager Michael O'Neill, who since arriving in 2000 had transformed the club.
The side had won the 2001 and 2002
Scottish Champions. They were a force featuring the goalscoring talents of
Swedish striker Henrik Larsson. The side also included the likes of English
striker Chris Sutton, Welsh striker John Hartson, Bulgarian midfielder Stilian
Petrov, Scottish midfielder Paul Lambert and the Northern Irish midfielder Neil
Lennon just to name a few.
The transfer activity was light in
the offseason. The arrivals included Swedish goalkeeper Magnus Hedmann (from
Coventry City), Danish defender Ulrich Laursen (from Hibernian) and Spanish
striker David Fernandez (from Livingston).
The First round of the UEFA Cup was
easy for Celtic as they faced Lithuanian side FK SÅ«duva.
On September 19, 2002, Celtic won (8-0) at home and (2-0) away on the return
fixture on October 3rd.
For the Second round, they faced
English side Blackburn Rovers, managed by Graeme Souness.
On October 31, 2002, at home, Celtic
won (1-0) through a late Henrik Larsson goal. For the Return Leg, at Blackburn
on November 14th, Celtic came away with a (2-0) win.
Photo From: Official
Match Programme, Liverpool v. Celtic 2003
|
(October 31, 2002, UEFA
Cup, Celtic Glasgow 1-Blackburn Rovers 0) |
Photo
From: Official Match Programme, Celtic v. Liverpool 2003
|
(November 14, 2002, UEFA
Cup, Blackburn Rovers 0- Celtic Glasgow 2) |
For the Third round, Celtic faced
tougher opposition in Spanish side Celta Vigo.
On November 28, 2002, at home, Celtic
won (1-0) through a Henrik Larsson strike.
In the Return Leg, at Vigo, on
December 12th, Celtic lost (1-2) but squeezed through due to the
away goals rule, thanks to Hartson’s precious away strike.
Photo From: World Soccer,
January 2003
|
(November 28, 2002, UEFA
Cup, Celtic Glasgow 1-Celta Vigo 0) |
As the season reached its midpoint,
Celtic were in a tight battle with Rangers Glasgow for the Scottish League
title.
The European adventure was
unexpected, as Celtic had been anonymous in Europe for decades.
The new calendar year 2003, started
with the One Eighth Finals of the UEFA Cup.
For this round, Celtic faced German
side VfB Stuttgart. On February 20, 2003, at home, Celtic won (3-1) to gain the
advantage. A week later on February 27th, at Stuttgart, Celtic put
the tie away by scoring twice in the first quarter of an hour. Stuttgart staged
a comeback and did eventually win (3-2) but Celtic were through.
The Quarterfinals appeared to be
Celtic’s toughest test as they faced English opponents Liverpool.
On March 13, 2003, at home, Celtic
were held to a (1-1) draw as Emile Heskey quickly ruled out Henrik Larsson’s
early strike.
Liverpool appeared as favorites for
the Return Leg, at Anfield on March 20th, however, Celtic showed its
growing confidence in Europe by winning (2-0) and advancing.
Photo From: Official
Match Programme, Liverpool v. Celtic 2003
|
(March 13, 2003, UEFA
Cup, Celtic Glasgow 1-Liverpool 1) |
Photo From: World Soccer,
May 2003
|
(March 20, 2003, UEFA
Cup, Liverpool 0- Celtic Glasgow 2) |
In the Semifinals, Celtic’s opponents
were the Portuguese side Boavista. On April 10th, 2003, at home,
just like against Liverpool, Celtic were held to a (1-1) tie.
For the Return Leg at Porto, on April
24th, Celtic came away with an away (1-0) win through a late Henrik
Larsson’s strike.
Photo From: World Soccer,
July 2003
|
(April 24, 2003, UEFA
Cup, Boavista 0- Celtic Glasgow 1) |
Photo
From: France Football, Issue 2980, May 20, 2003
For the Final, on May 21, 2003, at
Sevilla in Spain, Celtic faced Portuguese giants Porto, managed by a then
unknown Jose Mourinho.
Celtic went into this match with one
eye on the League title as the final matchday of the Scottish season was to be
played on the following Sunday.
Porto took the lead through Derlei in
the 45th minute. Just two minutes into the second half, Henrik
Larsson tied the match.
Porto’s Russian midfielder Dmitriy
Alenichev gave Porto the lead once more in the 54th minute. Henrik
Larsson came through again, just minutes later, and tied the match (2-2) in the
57th minute.
The match had to go to extra time and
Derlei would finally give Porto the go-ahead goal in the 115th
minute.
Photo From: France
Football, Issue 2980bis, May 23, 2003
|
(May 21, 2003, UEFA Cup,
Porto 3-Celtic Glasgow 2) |
Porto were UEFA Cup Champions and
would win the Champions League in the following season.
Afterwards, the Celtic contingent
including the Martin O’Neill complained of Porto’s gamesmanship.
Celtic’s disappointment was
compounded on the following Sunday, as Rangers won the League title on goal
difference.
Celtic had let two trophies out of
their grasp. The European run may have cost them the League title and the
stress of the final League match may have affected their Final against Porto.
Regardless, it had been a
particularly good season for Celtic in Europe. This had been their first ever
Final since the 1970 Champions Cup.
Photo
From: France Football, Issue 2980, May 20, 2003
|
(Celtic Glasgow squad
2002/03) |
The Celtic Football Club-Glasgow
(2002/03 season):
Players who took part in
these matches (on the field or on the bench and on the books):
Goalkeeper:
1- Jonathan Gould (July 18, 1968,
Paddington) (aged 34 years old at the time) (left in January 2003
to Preston North End / England)
20-Robert ‘Rab’ Douglas (April 24, 1972, Lanark) (aged
30-31 years old at the time)
21- Magnus Hedman
(Sweden) (March
19, 1973, Huddinge, Sweden) (aged 29-30 years old at the time)
22-David James Marshall (March 5, 1985, Glasgow) (aged
17-18 years old at the time)
26-Francisco Javier
Sánchez Broto (Spain) (August 25, 1971, Barcelona, Spain) (aged
31 years old at the time) (arrived January 2003)
Barry John Corr (January 13, 1981,
Glasgow) (aged 21-22 years old at the time)
Defenders:
3-
Mohammed Sylla (Guinea) (March 13, 1977, Bouaké, Ivory Coast) (aged 25-26
years old at the time)
4-
Jackie McNamara (October 24, 1973, Glasgow) (aged 28-29 years old at the time)
5-
Joos Valgaeren (Belgium) (March 3, 1976, Leuven, Belgium) (aged 26-27 years old at
the time)
6-
Dianbobo Baldé (Guinea) (October 5, 1975, Marseille, France) (aged 26-27
years old at the time)
16-Ulrik Laursen
(Denmark) (February
28, 1976, Odense, Denmark) (aged 26-27 years old at the time)
17-Didier Agathe (France) (August 16, 1975, Saint-Pierre,
Réunion) (aged 27 years old
at the time)
23-Stanislav Varga (Slovakia) (October 8, 1972, Lipany,
Czechoslovakia) (aged 29-30
years old at the time) (arrived in February 2003)
35-Johan MjÀllby (Sweden)
(February
9, 1971, JÀrfÀlla, Sweden) (aged 31-32 years old at the time)
35-
Thomas Boyd (November
24, 1965, Glasgow) (aged 36-37 years old at the time)
40-Stephen Crainey (June 22, 1981, Glasgow) (aged 21 years old at the time)
41-John Kennedy (August 18, 1983, Airdrie) (aged 18-19 years old at the
time)
Ryan McCann (September 21, 1981, Blantyre) (aged 20-21 years old at the
time) (returned from loan in January 2003)
Midfielders:
8-Alan Thompson (England)
(December
22, 1973, Newcastle upon Tyne, England) (aged 28-29 years old at
the time)
11-Colin Healy (Republic
of Ireland) (March
14, 1980, Cork, Ireland) (aged 22-23 years old at the time)
14-
Paul Lambert (August 7, 1969, Glasgow) (aged 33 years old at the time)
15-Bobby Petta (Holland) (August 6, 1974, Rotterdam, Netherlands) (aged 28
years old at the time)
18-Neil Lennon (Northern
Ireland) (June
25, 1971, Lurgan, County Armagh, Northern Ireland) (aged 31 years old at
the time)
19-Stilian Petrov
(Bulgaria) (July
5, 1979, Montana, Bulgaria) (aged 23 years old at the time)
22-Stéphane Bonnes
(France) (February
26, 1978, Mulhouse, France) (aged 24-25 years old at the time)
29-Shaun Richard Maloney (January 24, 1983,
Miri, Malaysia) (aged 19-20 years old at the time)
30-Steve Guppy (England) (March 29, 1969, Winchester,
Hampshire, England) (aged 33-34 years old at the time)
34-Mark Fotheringham (October 22, 1983,
Dundee)
(aged 18-19 years old at the time)
39-Jamie Smith (November 20,
1980, Alexandria) (aged 21-22 years old at the time)
43-Liam Miller (Republic
of Ireland) (February
13, 1981, Cork, Ireland-February 9, 2018, Cork, Ireland) (aged
21-22 years old at the time)
Michael Doyle (Republic
of Ireland) (August
8, 1981, Dublin, Ireland) (aged 21 years old at the time)
Jon-Paul McGovern (October 3, 1980, Glasgow) (aged
21-22years old at the time) (Loaned to Sheffield United)
Forwards:
7-
Henrik Larsson (Sweden) (September 20, 1971, Helsingborg, Sweden) (aged 30-31
years old at the time)
9-Chris Sutton (England) (March 10, 1973, Nottingham,
England)
(aged 29-30 years old at the time)
10-
John Hartson (Wales) (April 5, 1975, Swansea, Wales) (aged 27-28
years old at the time)
32-Simon Lynch (May 19, 1982, Montreal,
Quebec, Canada) (aged 20-21 years old at the time) (left in January 2003 to Preston
North End / England)
37-David Fernández
Miramontes (Spain) (January 20, 1976, La Coruña, Spain) (aged
26-27 years old at the time)
Note:
1-In another source,
David Fernandez is number
12.
Colin Healy is number 24.
Tom Boys is number 2.
Coach: Martin Hugh
Michael O'Neill (Northern Ireland) (March
1, 1952, Kilrea, Northern Ireland) (aged 50-51 years old at the time)
Team Captain: Paul Lambert
Official Kit
Supplier/Designer: Umbro
Shirt Sponsor: ntl / ntl:
home Digital TV
Transfer Activity:
Arrivals:
David Fernández
(Livingston FC)
Magnus Hedman (Coventry
City / England)
Ulrik Laursen (Hibernian
FC)
Michael Doyle (back from
loan from Aarhus GF (Denmark))
Liam Miller (back from
loan from Aarhus GF (Denmark))
Stanislav Varga (Sunderland
AFC / England) (arrived in February 2003)
Ryan McCann (back from
loan in January 2003, from St. Johnstone FC)
Sánchez Broto (arrived in
January 2003 from Livingston FC)
Paul Shields (back from
loan in January 2003, Queen Of The South)
Departures:
Simon Lynch
(left in January 2003 to Preston North End / England)
Jonathan
Gould (left in January 2003 to Preston North End / England)
References:
France
Football, Issue 2980, May 20, 2003
France Football, Issue 2980bis, May 23, 2003
Onze-Mondial, Issue 171,
April 2003
Onze-Mondial, Issue 173,
June 2003
World Soccer, May 2003
World Soccer, July 2003
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