2003–04 Manchester United F.C. season
122nd season in existence of Manchester United / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The 2003–04 season was Manchester United's 12th season in the Premier League, and their 29th consecutive season in the top division of English football.[1]
2003–04 season | ||||
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Chairman | Sir Roy Gardner | |||
Manager | Sir Alex Ferguson | |||
Stadium | Old Trafford | |||
Premier League | 3rd | |||
FA Cup | Winners | |||
League Cup | Fourth Round | |||
UEFA Champions League | Round of 16 | |||
Community Shield | Winners | |||
Top goalscorer | League: Ruud van Nistelrooy (20) All: Ruud van Nistelrooy (30) | |||
Highest home attendance | 67,758 vs Southampton (31 January 2004) | |||
Lowest home attendance | 66,520 vs Panathinaikos (16 September 2003) | |||
Average home league attendance | 67,641 | |||
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United started the season by winning the 2003 FA Community Shield and then secured a record eleventh FA Cup with a 3–0 win over Millwall at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. However, the club surrendered the Premier League title to unbeaten champions Arsenal, with a second-half dip in league form coinciding with Rio Ferdinand starting an eight-month ban from football due to a missed drugs test and restricting United to a third-place finish.
New to the United side were Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo, Brazilian 2002 FIFA World Cup-winning midfielder Kléberson, American goalkeeper Tim Howard, Cameroonian midfielder Eric Djemba-Djemba and French striker David Bellion.
United's UEFA Champions League and League Cup dreams ended in the last 16, with the European exit being particularly painful as a last minute goal by eventual champions Porto put them out of the competition and denied them an eighth successive Champions League quarter-final.