2002 in association football
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The following are the football (soccer) events of the year 2002 throughout the world.
Events
- 8 January – MLS contracts league down to ten clubs by eliminating its two Florida franchises: Tampa Bay Mutiny and Miami Fusion.
- 13 February – Dick Advocaat is reinstated as the manager of the Netherlands, as the successor of the failing Louis van Gaal, with a 1–1 draw in a friendly against England in Amsterdam.
- The 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan is held from 31 May to 30 June in South Korea and Japan. Brazil wins its fifth title, defeating Germany 2–0 in the final. Surprisingly, Turkey and host nation South Korea take 3rd and 4th. This is the first time a World Cup is held in Asia and by two countries simultaneously.
- UEFA Champions League: Real Madrid beats Bayer Leverkusen 2–1 in the final. This was Real Madrid's 9th European Cup.
- UEFA Cup: Feyenoord wins 3–2 in the final against Borussia Dortmund, winning the cup for the second time.
- European Super Cup: Real Madrid wins 3–1 over Feyenoord, winning the cup for the first time.
- Scotland – Scottish Premier League: Celtic win the league with an overall points tally of 103, a new record.
- Copa Libertadores 2002: Olimpia of Paraguay wins the final on a penalty shootout (4–2) against São Caetano of Brazil.
- England – FA Cup: Arsenal wins 2–0 over Chelsea.
- Asian Champions Cup – Suwon Samsung Bluewings retain the Asian Champions Cup, defeating fellow South Korean club Anyang LG Cheetahs 4–2 on penalties. They also retained the Asian Super Cup.
- May – Arsenal wins The Double
- 31 August – Real Madrid signs Inter Milan's World Cup winner Ronaldo with a transfer fee of €45 million.
- 1 October – Gerard van der Lem is named manager of the Saudi Arabia national football team.
- 3 December – Real Madrid wins the Intercontinental Cup in Tokyo, Japan for the third time, by defeating Paraguay's Olimpia Asunción: 2–0.
Winners of national club championship
Asia
Iran:
Japan – Júbilo Iwata
Qatar – Al-Ittihad
South Korea – Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma
Thailand – Osotspa M-150
Europe
- Croatia – NK Zagreb
- Denmark – Brøndby
- England – Arsenal
- France – Lyon
- Germany – Borussia Dortmund
- Iceland – KR
- Ireland – Shelbourne
- Italy – Juventus
- Netherlands
- Portugal – Sporting CP
- Russia – Lokomotiv Moscow
- Scotland – Celtic
- Spain
- Sweden: for fuller coverage, see: 2002 in Swedish football
- Turkey – Galatasaray
- Ukraine – Shakhtar Donetsk
- FR Yugoslavia – Partizan
North and Central America
South America
Argentina:
Bolivia – Bolívar
Brazil – Santos
Ecuador – Emelec
Paraguay – Libertad
Uruguay – Nacional
International tournaments
- African Cup of Nations in Mali (19 January – 13 February 2002)
- FIFA World Cup in South Korea and Japan (31 May – 30 June 2002)
National team results
Europe
South America
Births
- 16 January – Bagas Kaffa, Indonesian youth international
- 31 January – Giovanni, Brazilian footballer
- 10 March – Ian Maatsen, Dutch footballer
- 23 October – Elkan Baggott, Indonesian footballer
- 31 October – Ansu Fati, Spanish international
Deaths
February
- 8 February – Zizinho, Brazilian midfielder, winner of the Best Player Award at the 1950 FIFA World Cup. (80)
- 16 February – Walter Winterbottom (89), English manager
- 20 February- Cristian Neamtu, Romanian player
March
- 4 March – Velibor Vasović (62), Yugoslavian footballer
April
- 16 April – Billy Ayre (49), English footballer and manager
May
- 13 May – Valeri Lobanovsky (63), Ukrainian footballer and manager
June
- 17 June – Fritz Walter (81), German World cup winning (1954) footballer
July
- 25 July – Hans Dorjee (60), Dutch footballer and manager
August
- 8 August – Reiner Geye (52), German footballer
September
- 17 September – Edvaldo Alves de Santa Rosa, Brazilian forward, winner of the 1958 FIFA World Cup. (68)
- 22 September – Julio Pérez, Uruguayan striker, winner of the 1950 FIFA World Cup. (76)
October
- 24 October – Hermán Gaviria (32), Colombian footballer
November
- 1 November – Lester Morgan (26), Costa Rican footballer
- 9 November – Eusebio Tejera, Uruguayan defender, winner of the 1950 FIFA World Cup. (80)
- 12 November – Raoul Diagne (92), French footballer
- 13 November – Juan Alberto Schiaffino, Uruguayan forward, winner of the 1950 FIFA World Cup, ranked as the best Uruguayan footballer of all time by an IFFHS poll. (77)
Movies
- Bend It Like Beckham (UK)