As defending Copa del Rey champions, they qualified for the 2002 Supercopa de España, where they faced Valencia.

In La Liga, they just failed to match their top two finishes of the past three years, ending up 3rd, although they still qualified for the 2003–04 UEFA Champions League.

In the 2002–03 edition of that tournament, they made it through a tough first round group in which they faced Bayern Munich, Lens and Milan.

Despite finishing level on points with the Swiss and Italian sides, they were eliminated bottom of the group on goal difference,[4] failing to match their quarter-final exploits of the previous two seasons.

[5] It was a great season for striker Roy Makaay, whose 29 league goals won him both the Pichichi Trophy and the European Golden Shoe.