AC Milan 2002-03 Squad

The team

The 2002-03 AC Milan squad stands among the most celebrated teams Italy has sent onto the continental stage. Representing Milan, this was one of the defining sides of 2000s European football, the sort of team whose matches became must-watch occasions. AC Milan won the Champions League and the Coppa Italia that season, a campaign that still shapes how the club is remembered. The side was built on a clear spine: Dida behind a defence organised by Paolo Maldini, with Clarence Seedorf setting the tempo through the middle.

Further forward, Andriy Shevchenko and Filippo Inzaghi gave the team its cutting edge, turning long spells of control into goals on the biggest European nights. There was depth to match the star quality, with the likes of Alessandro Nesta and Manuel Rui Costa adding options across the pitch. Reassembled here, the lineup is a reminder of why this vintage still sets a standard that later teams chase. Set out in a 3-4-1-2, the XI captures the balance and ambition that made this AC Milan team a benchmark of 2000s football — the players, the shape and the identity that made the vintage so hard to forget.