2003–04 Valencia CF season

Valencia CF

2003–04 season
Manager	Rafael Benítez
Stadium	Mestalla Stadium
La Liga	1st
UEFA Cup	Winners
Copa del Rey	Quarter-finals
Top goalscorer	League: Mista (19) All: Mista (24)
Home colours Away colours

During the 2003–04 Spanish football season, Valencia CF won the double of La Liga and the UEFA Cup. At the end of the season, manager Rafael Benítez left to manage English side Liverpool and was succeeded by former Chelsea manager Claudio Ranieri.

The 2002-03 season had been disappointing, as Valencia had failed to retain its La Liga title, and while it made it to the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League, its 5th place league finish also relegated it to the UEFA Cup for the upcoming season.

Squad

Squad at end of season

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	ESP	Santiago Cañizares
2	DF	ARG	Mauricio Pellegrino
3	DF	BRA	Fábio Aurélio
4	DF	ARG	Roberto Ayala
5	DF	ESP	Carlos Marchena
6	MF	ESP	David Albelda
7	FW	BRA	Ricardo Oliveira
8	MF	ESP	Rubén Baraja
10	MF	ESP	Miguel Ángel Angulo
11	FW	ESP	Juan Sánchez
12	DF	ESP	Javier Garrido
13	GK	ESP	Andrés Palop
14	MF	ESP	Vicente
15	DF	ITA	Amedeo Carboni
16	MF	URU	Fabián Canobbio
17	DF	ESP	David Navarro

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
18	MF	ESP	Jorge López
19	MF	ESP	Francisco Rufete
20	FW	ESP	Mista
21	MF	ARG	Pablo Aimar
23	DF	ESP	Curro Torres
24	MF	ESP	Xisco
25	MF	MLI	Mohamed Sissoko
26	MF	ESP	Jaime Gavilán
28	GK	ESP	David Rangel
29	FW	ESP	Borja Criado
31	DF	ESP	Vicente Verdejo
33	GK	ESP	Jonathan
35	DF	ESP	Angel Roberto Amarilla
36	DF	FRA	Jean-Félix Dorothée
38	MF	ESP	César Soriano
39	DF	ESP	Raúl Albiol

Left club during season

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
9	FW	ESP	Salva Ballesta (on loan to Málaga)

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
22	MF	URU	Gonzalo de los Santos (on loan to Atlético Madrid)

Results

UEFA Cup

First round

AIK v Valencia

11 March 2004	AIK	1 - 0	Valencia	Ankara 19 Mayıs Stadium, Ankara
	Daems 12' (pen.)

Valencia v AIK

25 March 2004	Valencia	1–0 (a.e.t.)	AIK	Estadio Mestalla, Valencia
	Mista 63' Rodríguez 94'

Second round

• Maccabi Haifa 0-0 Valencia
• Valencia 4-0 Maccabi Haifa

Third round

• Valencia 3–2 Beşiktaş
• Beşiktaş 0-2 Valencia

Fourth round

Gençlerbirliği v Valencia

11 March 2004	Gençlerbirliği	1–0	Valencia	Ankara 19 Mayıs Stadium, Ankara
	Daems 12' (pen.)

Valencia v Gençlerbirliği

25 March 2004	Valencia	2–0 (a.e.t.)	Gençlerbirliği	Estadio Mestalla, Valencia
	Mista 63' Rodríguez 94'

Quarter-final

Bordeaux v Valencia

8 April 2004	Bordeaux	1–2	Valencia	Stade Chaban-Delmas, Bordeaux
	Riera 18'		Baraja 75' Rufete 88'

Valencia v Bordeaux

14 April 2004	Valencia	2–1	Bordeaux	Estadio Mestalla, Valencia
	Pellegrino 52' Rufete 60'		Eduardo 71'

Semi-final

Villarreal v Valencia

22 April 2004	Villarreal	0–0	Valencia	Estadio El Madrigal, Vila-real
21:45 CEST				Attendance: 23,000 Referee: Lucílio Batista (Portugal)

Valencia v Villarreal

6 May 2004	Valencia	1–0	Villarreal	Estadio Mestalla, Valencia
21:45 CEST	Mista 16' (pen.)			Attendance: 52,000 Referee: Terje Hauge (Norway)

Final

Valencia v Marseille

19 May 2004	Valencia	2–0	Marseille	Ullevi, Gothenburg
20:45 CEST	Vicente 45+3' (pen.) Mista 58'	Report		Attendance: 39,000 Referee: Pierluigi Collina (Italy)