2003–04 FC Barcelona season

During the 2003–04 Spanish football season, Barcelona competed in La Liga, Copa del Rey and UEFA Cup.

FC Barcelona

2003–04 season
President	Joan Laporta
Head Coach	Frank Rijkaard
Stadium	Camp Nou
La Liga	2nd
Copa del Rey	Quarter-finals
UEFA Cup	Fourth round
Top goalscorer	League: Ronaldinho (15) All: Ronaldinho (22)
Home colours Away colours Third colours
← 2002–03 2004–05 →

Season summary

After the disappointment of the Joan Gaspart era, the combination of a new young president Joan Laporta and a new manager, former Dutch and Milan star Frank Rijkaard, saw Barcelona bounce back. Guided by new management off the pitch and the likes of future FIFA World Player of the Year Ronaldinho on the pitch, Barça achieved second place behind Valencia in the league.

Barcelona competed in the UEFA Cup rather than the UEFA Champions League for the first time since the 1995–96 season, given their sixth-place finish in 2002–03.

The BBC made a documentary, titled FC Barcelona Confidential,^[1] based on the turn of events in the league after Joan Laporta's entry. With his arrival, the club experienced a new style of management that returned the club into a positive cycle, with an inherited massive financial debt crisis was resolved. The season saw Barcelona's spectacular return to form, finishing second after being at the bottom of the table.

Squad

Source^[2][3] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  TUR Rüştü Reçber 2 DF  NED Michael Reiziger 3 MF  NED Edgar Davids 4 DF  MEX Rafael Márquez 5 DF  ESP Carles Puyol 6 MF  ESP Xavi 7 FW  ARG Javier Saviola 8 MF  NED Phillip Cocu 9 FW  NED Patrick Kluivert 10 MF  BRA Ronaldinho 11 MF  NED Marc Overmars 12 DF  NED Giovanni van Bronckhorst 14 MF  ESP Gerard 16 DF  ESP Mario

No. Pos. Nation Player 18 MF  ESP Gabri 20 MF  POR Ricardo Quaresma 21 MF  ESP Luis Enrique (captain) 22 MF  ESP Luis García 23 MF  BRA Thiago Motta 24 MF  ESP Andrés Iniesta 25 GK  ESP Víctor Valdés 26 MF  ESP Ramón Ros 27 DF  ESP Óscar López 28 GK  ESP Albert Jorquera 32 DF  ESP Oleguer 36 FW  ESP Sergio García 37 MF  ESP Sergio Santamaría

In

No.	Pos.	Nat.	Name	Age	EU	Moving from	Type	Transfer window	Ends	Transfer fee	Source
10	FW		Ronaldinho	23	Non-EU	Paris Saint-Germain	Transfer Y	Summer	2008	€27M	[4]
20	MF		Ricardo Quaresma	19	EU	Sporting CP	Transfer Y	Summer	N/A	€16.25M	[5]
1	GK		Rüştü	30	Non-EU	Fenerbahçe	Transfer Y	Summer	2007	Free	[6]
4	DF		Márquez	24	EU	Monaco	Transfer Y	Summer	2007	€5.25M	[7]
22	MF		Luis García	24	EU	Atlético Madrid	Transfer Y	Summer	N/A	?
12	DF		Giovanni van Bronckhorst	30	EU	Arsenal F.C.	Loan →	Summer	2004	N/A
3	MF		Davids	30	EU	Juventus	Loan →	Winter	2004	€2M	[8]
16	DF		Mario	21	EU	Valladolid	Loan →	Summer	2004	N/A	[9]
24	MF		Andrés Iniesta	19	EU	Youth system	Promote	Summer	N/A	Free
25	GK		Víctor Valdés	21	EU	Youth system	Promote	Summer	N/A	Free
32	DF		Oleguer	23	EU	Youth system	Promote	Winter	N/A	Free

Total spending: €50.5 million

Out

No.	Pos.	Nat.	Name	Age	EU	Moving to	Type	Transfer window	Transfer fee	Source
34	MF		Fàbregas	16	EU	Arsenal	Transfer Y	Summer	€0.25M	[10]
3	DF		de Boer	33	EU	Galatasaray	Contract termination N	Summer	Free	[11]
1	GK		Bonano	33	EU	Murcia	Transfer Y	Summer	Free	[12]
12	DF		Christanval	24	EU	Marseille	Transfer Y	Summer	Free	[13]
20	FW		Alfonso	30	EU	Betis	Contract termination N	Summer	Free	[14]
3	DF		Andersson	31	EU	Malmö FF	Contract termination N	Winter	Free	[15]
22	FW		Geovanni	24	Non-EU	Benfica	Transfer Y	Winter	Free	[16]
10	MF		Riquelme	25	Non-EU	Villarreal	Loan →	Summer	N/A	[17]
15	MF		Rochemback	22	Non-EU	Sporting CP	Loan →	Summer	€2.5M	[18]
35	DF		Navarro	21	EU	Albacete	Loan →	Winter	N/A	[19]
25	GK		Enke	25	EU	Fenerbahçe	Loan →	Summer	€0.4M	[20]
27	MF		Trashorras	22	EU	Real Madrid	Transfer Y	Summer	Free	[21]
33	DF		Tortolero	21	EU	Elche	Transfer Y	Summer	Free	[22]

Total income: €3.15 million |} Last updated: 1 October

Competitions

La Liga

Main article: 2003–04 La Liga

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Valencia (C)	38	23	8	7	71	27	+44	77	Qualification for the Champions League group stage
2	Barcelona	38	21	9	8	63	39	+24	72
3	Deportivo La Coruña	38	21	8	9	60	34	+26	71	Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round
4	Real Madrid	38	21	7	10	72	54	+18	70
5	Athletic Bilbao	38	15	11	12	53	49	+4	56	Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round

Source: LFP
Rules for classification: 1st points; 2nd head-to-head points; 3rd head-to-head goal difference; 4th head-to-head goals scored; 5th goal difference; 6th number of goals scored; 7th Fair-play points
(C) Champions

Results by Round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38
Ground	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A
Result	W	D	W	D	D	L	L	W	W	D	W	L	D	L	L	W	D	L	W	D	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	D	W	D	W	W	W	L	W	L
Position	4	5	3	3	6	9	11	7	5	5	4	5	5	8	11	7	9	12	7	7	7	5	4	4	4	4	4	3	3	4	3	4	3	3	3	3	2	2

Updated to match(es) played on 2008-07-16. Source: LFP.com
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss;   = Leader, 2004-05 UEFA Champions League Group stage;   = 2004-05 UEFA Champions League Group stage;   = 2004-05 UEFA Champions League Qualifying round;   = 2004-05 UEFA Cup;   = 2004-05 Segunda Division

Matches

Athletic Bilbao v Barcelona

30 August 2003 1	Athletic Bilbao	0–1	Barcelona	Bilbao
			Cocu 11'	Stadium: San Mames

Barcelona v Sevilla

3 September 2003 2	Barcelona	1–1	Sevilla	Barcelona
	Ronaldinho 58'			Stadium: Camp Nou

Albacete v Barcelona

14 September 2003 3	Albacete	1–2	Barcelona	Albacete
			Cocu 2' Luis Enrique 67'	Stadium: Estadio Carlos Belmonte

Barcelona v Osasuna

20 September 2003 4	Barcelona	1–1	Osasuna	Barcelona
	Izquierdo 69' (o.g.)			Stadium: Camp Nou

Atlético Madrid v Barcelona

28 September 2003 5	Atlético Madrid	0–0	Barcelona	Madrid
				Stadium: Estadio Vicente Calderon

Barcelona v Valencia

5 October 2003 6	Barcelona	0–1	Valencia	Barcelona
				Stadium: Camp Nou

Barcelona v Deportivo La Coruña

18 October 2003 7	Barcelona	0–2	Deportivo La Coruña	Barcelona
				Stadium: Camp Nou

Mallorca v FC Barcelona

26 October 2003 8	Mallorca	1–3	FC Barcelona	Palma de Mallorca
			Saviola 10' Ronaldinho 22' Cocu 50'	Stadium: Son Moix

Barcelona v Real Murcia

29 October 2003 9	Barcelona	3–0	Real Murcia	Barcelona
	Saviola 38' Xavi 56' Ronaldinho 65'			Stadium: Camp Nou

Real Sociedad v Barcelona

2 November 2003 10	Real Sociedad	3–3	Barcelona	San Sebastian
			Motta 35' Overmars 71' Gabri 80'	Stadium: Reale Arena

Barcelona v Real Betis

9 November 2003 11	Barcelona	2–1	Real Betis	Barcelona
	Kluivert 42' Márquez 82'			Stadium: Camp Nou

Villarreal v Barcelona

22 November 2003 12	Villarreal	2–1	Barcelona	Villarreal
			Kluivert 71'	Stadium: Estadio de la Cerámica

Barcelona v Valladolid

30 November 2003 13	Barcelona	0–0	Valladolid	Barcelona
				Stadium: Camp Nou

Málaga v Barcelona

3 December 2003 14	Málaga	5–1	Barcelona	Málaga
			Sanz 78' (own goal)	Stadium: La Rosaleda

Barcelona v Real Madrid

6 December 2003 15	Barcelona	1–2	Real Madrid	Barcelona
	Kluivert 83'			Stadium: Camp Nou

Espanyol v Barcelona

13 December 2003 16	Espanyol	1–3	Barcelona	Cornellá de Llobregat
			Ronaldinho 10' Kluivert 80' Kluivert 86'	Stadium: RCDE Stadium

Barcelona v Celta Vigo

21 December 2003 17	Barcelona	1–1	Celta Vigo	Barcelona
	Phillip Cocu 69'			Stadium: Camp Nou

Racing Santander v Barcelona

4 January 2004 18	Racing Santander	3–0	Barcelona	Santander, Spain
				Stadium: Campos de Sport de El Sardinero

Barcelona v Zaragoza

11 January 2004 19	Barcelona	3–0	Zaragoza	Barcelona
	Saviola 24' Ronaldinho 45' Xavi 65'			Stadium: Camp Nou

Barcelona v Athletic Bilbao

17 January 2004 20	Barcelona	1–1	Athletic Bilbao	Barcelona
	Kluivert 62'			Stadium: Camp Nou

Sevilla v Barcelona

25 January 2004 21	Sevilla	0–1	Barcelona	Sevilla
			Kluivert 30'	Stadium: Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium

Barcelona v Albacete

1 February 2004 22	Barcelona	5–0	Albacete	Barcelona
	Xavi 15' Saviola 49' Quaresma 52' Davids 53' Luis Enrique 90'			Stadium: Camp Nou

Osasuna v Barcelona

8 February 2004 23	Osasuna	1–2	Barcelona	Pamplona
19:00 CET			Saviola 42' Ronaldinho 76'	Stadium: El Sadar Stadium

Barcelona v Atlético Madrid

15 February 2004 24	Barcelona	3–1	Atlético Madrid	Barcelona
19:00 CET	Saviola 9' Ronaldinho 24' L. García 43'			Stadium: Camp Nou

Valencia v Barcelona

21 February 2004 25	Valencia	0–1	Barcelona	Valencia
			Gerard 77'	Stadium: Mestalla

Deportivo La Coruña v Barcelona

29 February 2004 26	Deportivo La Coruña	2–3	Barcelona	A Coruña
			Ronaldinho 26' Ronaldinho 48' Saviola 29'	Stadium: Estadio Riazor

Barcelona v Mallorca

7 March 2004 27	Barcelona	3–2	Mallorca	Barcelona
	L. García 2' L. García 57' Luis Enrique 15'			Stadium: Camp Nou

Real Murcia v Barcelona

14 March 2004 28	Real Murcia	0–2	Barcelona	Murcia
			Saviola 4' Ronaldinho 61'	Stadium: Estadio Nueva Condomina

Barcelona v Real Sociedad

21 March 2004 29	Barcelona	1–0	Real Sociedad	Barcelona
	Ronaldinho 88'			Stadium: Camp Nou

Barcelona v Villarreal

3 April 2004 30	Barcelona	0–0	Villarreal	Barcelona
				Stadium: Camp Nou

Valladolid v Barcelona

10 April 2004 31	Valladolid	1–3	Barcelona	Valladolid
18:00 CEST			Saviola 2' Ronaldinho 30' Iniesta 84'	Stadium: Estadio José Zorrilla

Real Betis v FC Barcelona

14 April 2004 32	Real Betis	1–1	FC Barcelona	Sevilla
			Saviola 4'	Stadium: Estadio Benito Villamarín

Barcelona v Málaga

18 April 2004 33	Barcelona	3–0	Málaga	Barcelona
	Saviola 18' L. García 23' Cocu 34'			Stadium: Camp Nou

Real Madrid v Barcelona

25 April 2004 34	Real Madrid	1–2	Barcelona	Madrid
			Kluivert 56' Xavi 86'	Stadium: Estadio Santiago Bernabeu

Barcelona v Espanyol

2 May 2004 35	Barcelona	4–1	Espanyol	Barcelona
	Ronaldinho 34' Saviola 43' Saviola 57' Van Bronckhorst 54'			Stadium: Camp Nou

Celta Vigo v Barcelona

8 May 2004 36	Celta Vigo	1–0	Barcelona	Vigo
				Stadium: Balaídos

Barcelona v Racing Santander

16 May 2004 37	Barcelona	1–0	Racing Santander	Barcelona
	Ronaldinho 15'			Stadium: Camp Nou

Zaragoza v Barcelona

23 May 2004 38	Zaragoza	2–1	Barcelona	Zaragoza
			9' Saviola	Stadium: La Romareda

^[23]

Copa del Rey

Main article: 2003–04 Copa del Rey

UDA Gramenet v Barcelona

7 October 2003 Round of 64	UDA Gramenet	0–1	Barcelona	Sant Adrià de Besòs
			Ronaldinho 83'	Stadium: Municipal de Sant Adrià Attendance: 3,500 Referee: Evaristo Puentes Leira

Ciudad de Murcia v Barcelona

17 December 2003 Round of 32	Ciudad de Murcia	0–4	Barcelona	Murcia
			Saviola 24' Overmars 75', 86' Ronaldinho 90' (pen.)	Stadium: Estadio de La Condomina Attendance: 10,500 Referee: Luis Medina Cantalejo

Levante v Barcelona

8 January 2004 Round of 16, First Leg	Levante	1–0	Barcelona	Valencia
	Rivera 10' (pen.)			Stadium: Ciutat de València Attendance: 28,196 Referee: Julián Rodríguez Santiago

Barcelona v Levante

14 January 2004 Round of 16, Second Leg	Barcelona	3–1 (3–2 agg.)	Levante	Barcelona
	Iniesta 3' Saviola 45' Ronaldinho 66' (pen.)		Congo 80'	Stadium: Camp Nou Attendance: 41,427 Referee: José Losantos Omar

Barcelona v Zaragoza

22 January 2004 Quarter-finals, First Leg	Barcelona	0–1	Zaragoza	Barcelona
		Report	Villa 74' (pen.)	Stadium: Camp Nou Attendance: 46,506 Referee: Carlos Megía Dávila

Zaragoza v Barcelona

29 January 2004 Quarter-finals, Second Leg	Zaragoza	1–1 (2–1 agg.)	Barcelona	Zaragoza
	Yordi 85'	Report	L. García 12'	Stadium: La Romareda Attendance: 28,000 Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco

UEFA Cup

Main article: 2003–04 UEFA Cup

Matador Púchov v Barcelona

24 September 2003 First Round, First Leg	Matador Púchov	1–1	Barcelona	Trnava, Slovakia
	Jambor 90+3'	Report	Kluivert 49'	Stadium: Štadión Antona Malatinského Attendance: 18,500 Referee: Kuddusi Müftüoğlu (Turkey)

Barcelona v Matador Púchov

15 October 2003 First Round, Second Leg	Barcelona	8–0 (9–1 agg.)	Matador Púchov	Barcelona, Spain
	Ronaldinho 7', 20', 57' Motta 41' Luis Enrique 64', 75' Saviola 73', 89'	Report		Stadium: Camp Nou Attendance: 29,000 Referee: Nicolai Vollquartz (Denmark)

Panionios v Barcelona

6 November 2003 Second Round, First leg	Panionios	0–3	Barcelona	Athens, Greece
		Report	Luis García 43' Kluivert 47' Xavi 90+2'	Stadium: Nea Smyrni Stadium Attendance: 10,000 Referee: Jacek Granat (Poland)

Barcelona v Panionios

27 November 2003 Second Round, Second Leg	Barcelona	2–0 (5–0 agg.)	Panionios	Barcelona, Spain
	Saviola 33' Luis García 44'	Report		Stadium: Camp Nou Attendance: 25,324 Referee: Claude Colombo (France)

Brøndby v Barcelona

26 February 2004 Third Round, First Leg	Brøndby	0–1	Barcelona	Copenhagen, Denmark
20:30		Report	Ronaldinho 63'	Stadium: Brøndby Stadium, Attendance: 26,031 Referee: Frank De Bleeckere (Belgium)

Barcelona v Brøndby

3 March 2004 Third Round, Second Leg	Barcelona	2–1 (3–1 agg.)	Brøndby	Barcelona, Spain
	Luis García 31' Cocu 43'	Report	Nielsen 84'	Stadium: Camp Nou Attendance: 50,000 Referee: Massimo Busacca (Switzerland)

Celtic v Barcelona

11 March 2004 Fourth Round, First Leg	Celtic	1–0	Barcelona	Glasgow, Scotland
20:30	Thompson 59'	Report		Stadium: Celtic Park, Attendance: 59,539 Referee: Wolfgang Stark (Germany)

Barcelona v Celtic

25 March 2004 Fourth Round, Second Leg	Barcelona	0–0 (0–1 agg.)	Celtic	Barcelona, Spain
		Report		Stadium: Camp Nou Attendance: 77,108 Referee: Domenico Messina (Italy)

Statistics

Players statistics

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		La Liga		Copa del Rey		UEFA Cup
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
25	GK	ESP	Valdes	44	-38	33	-31	6	-4	5	-3
2	DF	NED	Reiziger	40	0	29+1	0	4	0	6	0
5	DF	ESP	Puyol	38	0	27	0	4	0	7	0
4	DF	MEX	Marquez	31	1	17+5	1	5+1	0	2+1	0
12	DF	NED	van Bronckhorst	44	1	34	1	5	0	5	0
8	MF	NED	Cocu	48	6	36	5	5	0	7	1
6	MF	ESP	Xavi	49	5	34+2	4	5+1	0	7	1
3	MF	NED	Davids	20	1	18	1	2	0	0	0
22	FW	ESP	Luis García	38	8	23+2	4	5+1	1	7	3
7	FW	ARG	Saviola	46	19	28+5	14	5+1	2	6+1	3
10	FW	BRA	Ronaldinho	45	21	32	14	5+1	3	7	4
1	GK	TUR	Recber	7	-6	3+1	-6	0	0	3	0
32	DF	ESP	Oleguer	24	0	17+1	0	2	0	4	0
23	MF	BRA	Motta	26	2	13+7	1	1	0	5	1
18	MF	ESP	Gabri	22	1	12+4	1	1	0	4+1	0
9	FW	NED	Kluivert	26	10	11+10	8	2	0	1+2	2
14	MF	ESP	Gerard	28	1	11+8	1	2+2	0	2+3	0
20	MF	POR	Quaresma	28	1	10+12	1	1+1	0	3+1	0
21	MF	ESP	Luis Enrique	30	5	10+14	3	0+1	0	4+1	2
11	MF	NED	Overmars	31	3	5+15	1	1+2	2	1+7	0
24	MF	ESP	Iniesta	17	2	5+6	1	3	1	0+3	0
27	DF	ESP	Óscar López	11	0	2+4	0	1+2	0	1+1	0
28	GK	ESP	Jorquera	2	-2	2	-2	0	0	0	0
36	FW	ESP	Sergio García	7	0	2+2	0	2	0	0+1	0
16	DF	ESP	Mario	2	0	1	0	0	0	1	0
26	MF	ESP	Ros	2	0	0+1	0	0+1	0	0	0
37	MF	ESP	Santamaria	4	0	1+3	0	0	0	0	0
3†	DF	SWE	Andersson	5	0	2+2	0	1	0	0	0

• Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Results

^[24]

Date	Competition	Opponent	H / A	Result
27 July 2003	Friendly	Juventus	N	2–2 (5–6p)
30 July 2003	Friendly	Milan	N	0–2
3 August 2003	Friendly	Manchester United	N	3–1
8 August 2003	Friendly	Leicester City	A	0–1
10 August 2003	Friendly	Manchester City	A	2–1
12 August 2003	Friendly	Derry City	A	0–5
16 August 2003	Festa d'Elx Trophy	Elx	A	0–0 (1–3p)
22 August 2003	Joan Gamper Trophy	Boca Juniors	H	1–1 (5–3p)
24 August 2003	Copa Catalunya (semi-final)	Girona	A	0–4
26 August 2003	Copa Catalunya (final)	Espanyol	N	0–1
1 October 2003	87th Anniversary of Club Amèrica	Club América	A	2–0
16 November 2003	Friendly	Porto	A	2–0
9 December 2003	Friendly	Sabadell	A	1–3
11 February 2004	Friendly	Figueres	A	1–1
18 February 2004	Friendly	Shakhtar Donetsk	H	3–2
21 April 2004	Friendly	China	H	6–0