2002–03 AFC Champions League
22nd edition of premier club football tournament organized by the AFC
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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.
Dates13 August – 27 November 2002
(qualifying rounds)
9 March – 11 October 2003
(group & final stages)
(qualifying rounds)
9 March – 11 October 2003
(group & final stages)
Teams16 (group stage)
Champions
Al-Ain (1st title)
Al-Ain (1st title)Runners-up
BEC Tero Sasana
BEC Tero Sasana| 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 | Therdsak Chaiman |
← 2001–02 (Asian Club Championship) 2004 → | |
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.
Teams
Qualification Round
First qualifying round
Notes:
- Al-Nasr withdrew. Al-Ansar had also announced their withdrawal "due to financial and logistic difficulties", but their opponents beat them to it.
- Al Aqsa withdrew due to the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Second qualifying round
| Team 1 | Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Region | ||||
Al-Ansar  | 1–3 |  Al Faisaly | 1–0 | 0–3 |
Pakhtakor  | 4–3 | Al-Wehdat | 3–0 | 1–3 |
| Al Ahli | 3–3 (a) |  Al Kuwait | 2–0 | 1–3 |
Zhashtyk  | 0–4 |  Al-Ahli (San'a') | 0–2 | 0–2 |
Köpetdag Aşgabat  | w/o[a] |  Al Sadd | —[a] | —[a] |
Busaiteen  | w/o[b] |  Al-Jaish | —[b] | —[b] |
Al-Quds  | w/o[b] | Riffa | —[b] | —[b] |
| Al-Ittihad | w/o[c] |  Khujand | —[c] | —[c] |
| East Region | ||||
Saunders SC  | 1–7 |  Mohun Bagan | 0–2 | 1–5 |
| Air Force | 2–3 |  New Radiant | 1–1 | 1–2 (a.e.t.) |
Monte Carlo  | Bye | N/A | — | — |
DPMM  | Bye | N/A | — | — |
Persita Tangerang  | Bye | N/A | — | — |
| Petrokimia Putra | Bye | N/A | — | — |
| Churchill Brothers | Bye | N/A | — | — |
Home United  | Bye | N/A | — | — |
Notes:
Third qualifying round
| Team 1 | Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Region | ||||
| Al Ittihad | 1–5 | Al Arabi | 1–1 | 0–4 |
| Al Sadd | 3–2 |  Al Zawraa | 1–1 | 2–1 (a.e.t.) |
Esteghlal  | 3–0 | Al Faisaly | 2–0 | 1–0 |
| Al Ahli | 5–4 |  Al-Ahli | 3–2 | 2–2 |
| Al-Ahli (San'a') | 1–8 | FK Neftchy Farg'ona | 1–2 | 0–6 |
| Al-Ittihad | 4–6 | Pakhtakor | 4–3 | 0–3 |
| Al-Jaish | w/o[a] | Regar-TadAZ | —[a] | —[a] |
| Al-Quds | w/o[b] | Nisa Aşgabat | —[b] | —[b] |
| East Region | ||||
| Geylang United FC | 7–0 | DPMM | 3–0 | 4–0 |
| Petrokimia Putra | 4–6 | Shanghai Shenhua | 3–1 | 1–5 |
South China  | 3–2 | Home United FC | 2–1 | 1–1 |
| Persita Tangerang | 0–1 | Osotsapa FC | 0–1 | 0–0 |
| Monte Carlo | 1–8 |  Daejeon Citizen | 1–5 | 0–3 |
Shimizu S-Pulse  | 7–0 | New Radiant | 7–0 | 0–0 |
| Mohun Bagan | 5–2 | Club Valencia | 2–2 | 3–0 |
| Churchill Brothers | 2–1 |  Saigon Port | 2–0 | 0–1 |
Notes:
- Regar-TadAZ was disqualified following the suspension of the Tajikistan Football Federation by FIFA and the AFC.
- Al-Quds withdrew due to the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Fourth qualifying round
| Team 1 | Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Region | ||||
| Al-Jaish | 2–2 (1–4 p) | Al Sadd | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| Nisa Asgabat | w/o[a] | Al Arabi | —[a] | —[a] |
| Pakhtakor | 4–2 | Al Ahli | 3–2 | 1–0 |
| Esteghlal | 2–2 (a) | FK Neftchy Farg'ona | 1–0 | 1–2 |
| East Region | ||||
| Churchill Brothers | 4–7 | Osotsapa FC | 1–1 | 3–6 |
| South China | 1–8 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 0–5 | 1–3 |
| Shanghai Shenhua | 5–1 | Geylang United FC | 3–0 | 2–1 |
| Daejeon Citizen | 8–1 | Mohun Bagan | 6–0 | 2–1 |
Notes:
Group stage
Tehran
Location of the 2002–03 AFC Champions League group stage teams
Brown: Group A; 
Cyan: Group B; 
Orange: Group C; 
Yellow: Group D; 
Brown: Group A; 
Cyan: Group B; 
Orange: Group C; 
Yellow: Group D; 
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BEC Tero Sasana (H) |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 7 | Advance to Knockout stage |
| 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 |
| Shanghai Shenhua | 1–2 | Daejeon Citizen |
|---|---|---|
Luo Xiao  85' |
(Report)[permanent dead link] | Han Jung-kook 8' Kim Eun-jung 44' |
| Kashima Antlers | 2–2 | BEC Tero Sasana |
|---|---|---|
| Hirase 21' Fernando 77' |
(Report)[permanent dead link] | Yongant 76', 90' |
| Kashima Antlers | 3–4 | Shanghai Shenhua |
|---|---|---|
| Aoki 24' Fernando 56' Nozawa 90' |
(Report)[permanent dead link] | Yang Guang 1' Zhang Yuning 11' Martínez 31', 87' |
| BEC Tero Sasana | 2–1 | Shanghai Shenhua |
|---|---|---|
| Thongsukh 27' Chaiman 85' |
(Report)[permanent dead link] | Martínez 58' |
| Daejeon Citizen | 1–0 | Kashima Antlers |
|---|---|---|
| Papa Oumar 87' |
(Report)[link removed] |
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dalian Shide (H) |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 2 | +8 | 7 | Advance to Knockout stage |
| 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 |
| Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma | 6–0 | Osotsapa FC |
|---|---|---|
| Park Nam-yeol 22' Kim Dae-eui 31' Kim Do-hoon 37', 61', 83' Drakulić 53' |
(Report)[permanent dead link] |
| Osotsapa FC | 1–7 | Dalian Shide |
|---|---|---|
| Jankam 13' |
(Report)[permanent dead link] | Hao Haidong 27', 32', 49', 61' Yan Song 60'Zou Jie 80' Dong Fangzhuo 82' |
| Dalian Shide | 3–1 | Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma |
|---|---|---|
| Hao Haidong 57', 64' Yan Song 90' |
(Report)[permanent dead link] | Kim Dae-eui 51' |
| Osotsapa FC | 0–7 | Shimizu S-Pulse |
|---|---|---|
| (Report)[permanent dead link] | Takagi 23', 40' Sawanobori 27' Alex 50' Ahn Jung-hwan 60', 71' Kitajima 75' |
Group C
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Al-Ain (H) |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | +5 | 9 | Advance to Knockout stage |
| 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 |
| Al Sadd | 1–2 | Esteghlal |
|---|---|---|
| Sergio Ricardo 72' |
(Report)[permanent dead link] | Samereh 6' Khatibi 64' |
| Al-Ain | 1–0 | Al-Hilal |
|---|---|---|
| Harib 12' (pen.) |
(Report)[link removed] |
| Al-Hilal | 1–3 | Al Sadd |
|---|---|---|
| Jumaan 57' |
(Report)[permanent dead link] | Keita 45' Sergio Ricardo 80' Kamil 90' |
| Esteghlal | 1–3 | Al-Ain |
|---|---|---|
| Samereh 67' |
(Report)[permanent dead link] | Faisal Ali 65' Sanogo 76' Harib 78' |
Group D
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pakhtakor (H) |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | +7 | 9 | Advance to Knockout stage |
| 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 |
| Nisa Asgabat | 0–3 | Pakhtakor |
|---|---|---|
| (Report)[permanent dead link] | Hamidullaev 44' Soliev 57' Koshelev 72' |
| Al-Talaba | 0–1 | Persepolis |
|---|---|---|
| (Report)[link removed] | Golmohammadi 62' |
| Al-Talaba | 3–0 | Nisa Asgabat |
|---|---|---|
| Abdulsada 10' Mahmoud 24', 90' |
(Report)[link removed] |
| Pakhtakor | 1–0 | Persepolis |
|---|---|---|
| Soliev 22' |
(Report)[permanent dead link] |
| Persepolis | 4–1 | Nisa Asgabat |
|---|---|---|
| Khanmohammadi 14', 76' Golmohammadi 47' Aslanian 90' |
(Report)[permanent dead link] | Meredov 89' (pen.) |
| Pakhtakor | 3–0 | Al-Talaba |
|---|---|---|
| Krokhmal 25', 57' Goçgulyýew 37' |
(Report)[permanent dead link] |
Knockout 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 |
Matches
| BEC Tero Sasana | 3–1 | Pakhtakor |
|---|---|---|
| Srimaka 41' Fuangprakob 69' Chaiman 84' |
(Report)[permanent dead link] | Soliev 80' |
BEC Tero Sasana won 3–2 on aggregate.
| Al-Ain | 4–2 | Dalian Shide |
|---|---|---|
| Sanogo 62' (pen.), 83' Omar 64' Yaslam 75' |
(Report)[permanent dead link] | Hao Haidong 17' Li Yao 88' |
| Dalian Shide | 4–3 | Al-Ain |
|---|---|---|
| Wang Peng 27' Janković 77' Hao Haidong 81', 84' |
(Report)[link removed] | Rodrigo Fabiano 46' Omar 65' Majidi 87' |
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 |
Matches
| Al-Ain | 2–0 | BEC Tero Sasana |
|---|---|---|
| Jowhar 38' Omar 74' |
| BEC Tero Sasana | 1–0 | Al-Ain |
|---|---|---|
| Chaiman 60' (pen.) |
Al-Ain won 2–1 on aggregate.
Top scorers
Notes
- The Dailan Shide v Al-Ain match, originally scheduled to be played on 23 April 2003, was postponed due to SARS outbreak in China.