2002–03 A.C. Perugia season
# 2002–03 A.C. Perugia season

A.C. Perugia finished tenth in Serie A, and reached the semis of the Coppa Italia in a successful season by the club's standards.

The season started off with much negative publicity for club president Luciano Gaucci, when he decided to let South Korean striker Ahn Jung-Hwan go, following the Korean's winning goal against Italy in the FIFA World Cup.

In the season itself, Perugia fought in the middle of the table all year, but ended only four points above the dropzone, and in the end relied on inspired performances against top sides to seal the contract. Perugia's highlight of the season was a 4–1 victory against Inter, but it also beat Milan and drew at champions Juventus's home.

Its two most fancied players, Fabrizio Miccoli and Manuele Blasi were both bought by Juventus following the season, Miccoli being hailed as one of the season's major breakthroughs. Despite interest from top clubs, Perugia was able to keep right-back Zé Maria, who grew in importance during the season.

## Squad

### Goalkeepers

* Željko Kalac
* Sebastiano Rossi
* Michele Tardioli

### Defenders

* Zé Maria
* Marco Di Loreto
* Mauro Milanese
* Fabio Grosso
* Sean Sogliano
* Rahman Rezaei
* William Viali
* Konstantinos Loumpoutis

### Midfielders

* Christian Obodo
* Manuele Blasi
* Giovanni Tedesco
* Massimiliano Fusani
* Luigi Pagliuca
* Roberto Baronio
* Giovanni Sulcis
* Fabio Gatti

### Attackers

* Fabrizio Miccoli
* Zisis Vryzas
* Andrea Caracciolo
* Emanuele Berrettoni
* Nicola Amoruso
* Antonio Criniti
* Lorenzo Crocetti

## Competitions

### Serie A

**League table**

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 8 | Roma | 34 | 13 | 10 | 11 | 55 | 46 | +9 | 49 | Qualification to UEFA Cup first round |
| 9 | Brescia | 34 | 9 | 15 | 10 | 36 | 38 | −2 | 42 | Qualification to Intertoto Cup second round |
| 10 | Perugia | 34 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 40 | 48 | −8 | 42 | Qualification to Intertoto Cup third round |
| 11 | Bologna | 34 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 39 | 47 | −8 | 41 | |
| 12 | Modena | 34 | 9 | 11 | 14 | 30 | 48 | −18 | 38 | |

* ↑ Roma qualified for the first round of the 2003-04 UEFA Cup as Coppa Italia runner-up because the winner, Milan, qualified for Champions League through championship position.
* ↑ Brescia finished ahead of Perugia on head-to-head points: Brescia 3–1 Perugia, Perugia 0–0 Brescia.
* ↑ Perugia gained entry to the 2003 UEFA Intertoto Cup after Chievo renounced; then they qualified to the 2003–04 UEFA Cup First round.
* ↑ Modena finished ahead of Empoli, Atalanta and Reggina on head-to-head points: Modena: 10 pts, Empoli: 9 pts, Atalanta: 7 pts, Reggina: 5 pts.

### Top scorers

* Fabrizio Miccoli 9
* Zé Maria 6
* Zisis Vryzas 5
* Fabio Grosso 4
* Giovanni Tedesco 3

## Sources

* RSSSF - Italy 2002/03

vte2002–03 in Italian football :

* ↑ With consequent qualification to UEFA Cup first round
* ↑ Almanacco Illustrato del Calcio - La Storia 1898-2004, Panini Edizioni, Modena, September 2005 "Norme organizzative interne della F.I.G.C. - Art. 51.6" (PDF) (in Italian). Italian Football Federation. 12 September 2018. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
