2003 season
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2003 in Russian football saw the first title for PFC CSKA Moscow. Spartak Moscow, the Cup winners, had the worst league finish since 1976. The national team qualified for Euro 2004.

National team

Russia national football team qualified for the Euro 2004. After finishing second to Switzerland in group 10, Russia overcame Wales in play-offs.

Date Venue Opponents Score1 Competition Russia scorers Match report
12 February 2003 Tsirion Stadium, Limassol (A)  Cyprus 1–0 FT Dmitry Khokhlov rsssf
13 February 2003 Tsirion Stadium, Limassol (N)  Romania 4–2 FT Andrei Karyaka, Andrei Arshavin, Rolan Gusev, 1 own goal rsssf
29 March 2003 Loro-Boriçi Stadium, Shkodër (A)  Albania 1–3 ECQ Andrei Karyaka uefa
30 April 2003 Locomotive Stadium, Tbilisi (A)  Georgia 0–1 ECQ uefa
7 June 2003 St. Jakob-Park, Basel (A)   Switzerland 2–2 ECQ Sergey Ignashevich (2) uefa
20 August 2003 Lokomotiv Stadium, Moscow (H)  Israel 1–2 F Sergei Semak rsssf
6 September 2003 Lansdowne Road, Dublin (A)  Republic of Ireland 1–1 ECQ Sergey Ignashevich uefa
10 September 2003 Lokomotiv Stadium, Moscow (H)   Switzerland 4–1 ECQ Dmitri Bulykin (3), Alexander Mostovoi uefa
11 October 2003 Lokomotiv Stadium, Moscow (H)  Georgia 3–1 ECQ Dmitri Bulykin, Egor Titov, Dmitri Sychev uefa
15 November 2003 Lokomotiv Stadium, Moscow (H)  Wales 0–0 ECQP uefa
19 November 2003 Millennium Stadium, Cardiff (A)  Wales 1–0 ECQP Vadim Evseev uefa
  1. Russia score given first
Key

Leagues

Premier League

Main article: 2003 Russian Premier League
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 CSKA Moscow (C) 30 17 8 5 56 32 +24 59 Qualification to Champions League second qualifying round
2 Zenit St. Petersburg 30 16 8 6 48 32 +16 56 Qualification to UEFA Cup second qualifying round
3 Rubin Kazan 30 15 8 7 44 29 +15 53
4 Lokomotiv Moscow 30 15 7 8 54 33 +21 52
5 Shinnik Yaroslavl 30 12 11 7 43 34 +9 47 Qualification to Intertoto Cup second round
6 Dynamo Moscow 30 12 10 8 42 29 +13 46
7 Saturn 30 12 9 9 40 37 +3 45
8 Torpedo Moscow 30 11 10 9 42 38 +4 43
9 Krylia Sovetov Samara 30 11 9 10 38 33 +5 42
10 Spartak Moscow 30 10 6 14 38 48 −10 36 Qualification to Intertoto Cup first round
11 Rostov 30 8 10 12 30 42 −12 34
12 Rotor Volgograd 30 9 5 16 33 44 −11 32
13 Spartak-Alania Vladikavkaz 30 9 4 17 23 43 −20 31
14 Torpedo-Metallurg Moscow 30 8 5 17 25 39 −14 29
15 Uralan Elista (R) 30 6 10 14 23 47 −24 28 Relegation to First Division
16 Chernomorets Novorossiysk (R) 30 6 6 18 30 49 −19 24
Source: RFPL
Rules for classification: 1st points; 2nd matches won; 3rd head-to-head (points, matches won, goal difference, goals scored, away goals scored); 4th goal difference
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated

First Division

Main article: 2003 Russian First Division

The First Division was extended from 18 teams in 2005 to 22. Amkar and Kuban won the promotion on the dramatic final day of the season, leaving Terek and Tom in the First Division.

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Amkar Perm (P) 42 25 12 5 50 20 +30 87 Promotion to Premier League
2 Kuban Krasnodar (P) 42 27 5 10 75 38 +37 86
3 Tom Tomsk 42 25 10 7 55 23 +32 85[a]
4 Terek Grozny 42 25 10 7 56 21 +35 85[a]
5 Dynamo St. Petersburg (R) 42 23 8 11 66 37 +29 77 Relegation to Second Division[b]
6 Anzhi Makhachkala 42 19 13 10 52 33 +19 70
7 Baltika Kaliningrad 42 18 10 14 58 49 +9 64
8 Metallurg Lipetsk 42 17 11 14 53 38 +15 62
9 Sokol Saratov 42 16 14 12 52 36 +16 62
10 SKA-Khabarovsk 42 16 12 14 51 47 +4 60
11 Chita 42 19 0 23 55 66 −11 57
12 Khimki 42 16 9 17 36 46 −10 57
13 Metallurg-Kuzbass Novokuznetsk 42 14 12 16 42 47 −5 54
14 Mordovia Saransk 42 15 8 19 54 60 −6 53
15 Spartak Nalchik 42 14 10 18 34 49 −15 52
16 Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 42 14 9 19 50 60 −10 51
17 SOYUZ-Gazprom Izhevsk 42 12 14 16 44 56 −12 50
18 Fakel Voronezh (R) 42 13 10 19 44 56 −12 49 Relegation to Second Division
19 Ural Sverdlovsk Oblast (R) 42 11 8 23 43 65 −22 41
20 Kristall Smolensk (R) 42 10 5 27 40 72 −32 35
21 Volgar Astrakhan (R) 42 6 11 25 28 60 −32 29
22 Lada-Togliatti (R) 42 5 3 34 27 86 −59 18
Source: RSSSF
Rules for classification: 1st points; 2nd matches won; 3rd head-to-head (points, matches won, goal difference, goals scored, away goals scored); 4th goal difference; 5th goals scored; 6th away goals scored
(P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ a b TOM 2–1 TER; TER 0–1 TOM
  2. ^ Dynamo Saint Petersburg were expelled from the league due to financial irregularities

Aleksandr Panov of Dynamo SPb became the top goalscorer with 23 goals.

Second Division

The Ural and Povolzhye zones of the Second Division were merged because of low number of clubs. The following clubs have earned promotion by winning tournaments in their respective zones:

Cups

In a newly introduced Russian Super Cup Lokomotiv overcame CSKA 4–3 on penalties after the match ended 1–1. The match was held at the newly reconstructed Lokomotiv Stadium.

The Russian Cup was won by Spartak Moscow, who beat Rostov in the final 1–0.

UEFA club competitions

2002–03 UEFA Champions League

Lokomotiv Moscow participated in the second group stage of the 2002–03 UEFA Champions League, where they finished fourth with just one point in a group which included A.C. Milan, Real Madrid, and Borussia Dortmund.

2003–04 UEFA Champions League

CSKA Moscow were unsuccessful in the 2003–04 UEFA Champions League, as they lost in the second qualifying round to FK Vardar 2–3 on aggregate.

Lokomotiv Moscow beat FC Shakhtar Donetsk to qualify for the group stage. They finished second in a group with Arsenal F.C., Internazionale Milano F.C., and FC Dynamo Kyiv. Lokomotiv were level on points with Inter but qualified for the knock-out rounds thanks to a 3–0 home win and away draw.

2003–04 UEFA Cup

Torpedo Moscow beat F.C. Domagnano 9–0 on aggregate in the qualifying round. In the first round, they needed a penalty shootout to overcome PFC CSKA Sofia. In the second round, Torpedo lost 1–2 on aggregate to Villarreal CF.

Spartak Moscow knocked out Esbjerg fB and Dinamo București in the first two rounds and qualified for the spring phase of the competition.

References

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