2002–03 Club Atlético Boca Juniors season

During summer, several players left the club, including fan favorite midfielder Juan Roman Riquelme, who transferred out to FC Barcelona.

Macri reinforced the squad with midfielder Raul Alfredo Cascini[1] from Toulouse FC and, on loan from FC Porto, right back defender Hugo Ibarra.

In the Apertura Tournament the team finished on 2nd spot, three points below of Champions Independiente. Meanwhile, in the inaugural season of 2002 Copa Sudamericana the squad was eliminated by Gimnasia y Esgrima de La Plata in Eightfinals stage.

Head coach Carlos Bianchi was appointed on 23 December 2002 after rumors that he accepted other positions with FC Barcelona and Mexico National Team.[2]

For Apertura, along with Bianchi, Macri reinforced the team with a few players, including midfielders Diego Cagna from Atletico Celaya[3] and Javier Alejandro Villarreal. The squad finished runners-up again, two points below of Champions River Plate.

The season is best remembered by the victory in 2003 Copa Libertadores. The squad reached the Finals stage and won the trophy, defeating Brazilian side Santos FC with a 5-1 global score after two matches.[4]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK  ARG Roberto Abbondanzieri — DF  ARG Hugo Ibarra — DF  ARG Nicolas Burdisso — DF  ARG Rolando Schiavi — DF  ARG Clemente Rodriguez — MF  ARG Sebastian Battaglia — MF  ARG Raul Alfredo Cascini — MF  ARG Diego Crosa — FW  ARG Carlos Tevez — FW  ARG Guillermo Barros Schelotto — FW  ARG Marcelo Delgado — GK  ARG Willy Caballero — FW  ARG Ezequiel González — DF  ARG Matías Donnet — MF  ARG Javier Alejandro Villarreal — DF  ARG Raúl Estévez — MF  ARG Diego Cagna — DF  ARG José María Calvo — DF  ARG Gustavo Pinto — MF  ARG Pablo Jerez

No. Pos. Nation Player — FW  ARG Alfredo Moreno — MF  ARG Miguel Caneo — MF  ARG Franco Cangele — DF  ARG Omar Sebastián Pérez — DF  ARG Cesar Alberto Gonzalez — FW  ARG Héctor Bracamonte — MF  ARG Joel Enrique Barbosa — MF  ARG Matias Silvestre — MF  ARG Héctor Carballo — DF  ARG Pablo Sebastian Alvarez — FW  ARG Mauro Boselli — DF  ARG Juan Pablo Caffa — MF  BRA Gabriel Christovao — DF  ARG Gustavo Eberto — MF  BRA Edilio Cardoso de Oliveira — DF  ARG Victor Magnano — DF  ARG Victor Ormazabal — DF  ARG Raul Osella — DF  ARG Leonardo Veron — DF  ARG Jonathan Fabbro — FW  ARG Christian Giménez — DF  ARG Roberto Carlos Sosa

• Club Atlético Boca Juniors official web site (in Spanish)