title: 2002–03 HNK Rijeka season
text: # 2002–03 HNK Rijeka season
  
  The 2002–03 season was the 57th season in Rijeka's history. It was their 12th season in the Prva HNL and 29th successive top tier season.
  
  ## Competitions
  
  | Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % |
  | Prva HNL | 27 July 2002 | 31 May 2003 | Matchday 1 | 9th | 32 | 9 | 6 | 17 | 40 | 41 | −1 | 028.13 |
  | Croatian Cup | 12 September 2002 | 12 September 2002 | First round | First round | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −1 | 000.00 |
  | Intertoto Cup | 22 June 2002 | 30 June 2002 | First round | First round | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | +0 | 050.00 |
  | Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | 35 | 10 | 6 | 19 | 43 | 45 | −2 | 028.57 |
  
  ### Prva HNL
  
  **First stage**
  
  | Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | 8 | Osijek | 22 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 21 | 39 | −18 | 23 | Qualification to relegation group |
  | 9 | Zadar | 22 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 21 | 40 | −19 | 21 | Qualification to relegation group |
  | 10 | Rijeka | 22 | 5 | 3 | 14 | 23 | 33 | −10 | 18 | Qualification to relegation group |
  | 11 | Pomorac | 22 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 26 | 41 | −15 | 17 | Qualification to relegation group |
  | 12 | Šibenik | 22 | 4 | 5 | 13 | 23 | 39 | −16 | 17 | Qualification to relegation group |
  
  **Second stage (relegation play-off)**
  
  | Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Relegation |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | 7 | Slaven Belupo | 32 | 12 | 4 | 16 | 37 | 36 | +1 | 40 | |
  | 8 | Osijek | 32 | 10 | 9 | 13 | 32 | 51 | −19 | 39 | |
  | 9 | Rijeka | 32 | 9 | 6 | 17 | 40 | 41 | −1 | 33 | |
  | 10 | Zadar | 32 | 9 | 6 | 17 | 36 | 71 | −35 | 33 | |
  | 11 | Pomorac (R) | 32 | 7 | 11 | 14 | 42 | 52 | −10 | 32 | Qualification to relegation play-off |
  | 12 | Šibenik (R) | 32 | 8 | 7 | 17 | 37 | 53 | −16 | 31 | Relegation to Croatian Second Football League |
  
  **Results summary**
  
  | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  
  **Results by round**
  
  | Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | Ground | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | H | A | H | A |
  | Result | W | L | W | L | L | W | L | W | L | L | L | L | L | L | L | D | D | W | L | L | L | D | L | D | W | L | D | W | W | D | W | L |
  | Position | 1 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
  
  ## Matches
  
  ### Prva HNL
  
  | Round | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Attendance | Rijeka Scorers | Report |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | 1 | 27 Jul | H | Zadar | 3 – 1 | 3,000 | Rački, Meštrović, Batkoski | HRnogomet.com |
  | 2 | 3 Aug | A | Hajduk Split | 1 – 2 | 8,000 | G. Brajković | HRnogomet.com |
  | 3 | 10 Aug | H | Zagreb | 3 – 2 | 3,000 | Rački, Klić (2) | HRnogomet.com |
  | 4 | 18 Aug | A | Varteks | 1 – 2 | 4,000 | Rački | HRnogomet.com |
  | 5 | 25 Aug | H | Osijek | 0 – 1 | 4,500 | | HRnogomet.com |
  | 6 | 31 Aug | H | Šibenik | 5 – 1 | 3,000 | Klić (2), Vincetić, G. Brajković, Rački | HRnogomet.com |
  | 7 | 14 Sep | A | Kamen Ingrad | 1 – 2 | 4,000 | Shkëmbi | HRnogomet.com |
  | 8 | 21 Sep | H | Cibalia | 2 – 1 | 2,000 | Klić, Rački | HRnogomet.com |
  | 9 | 28 Sep | A | Dinamo Zagreb | 1 – 2 | 7,000 | M. Brajković | HRnogomet.com |
  | 10 | 5 Oct | H | Slaven Belupo | 0 – 1 | 2,000 | | HRnogomet.com |
  | 11 | 19 Oct | A | Pomorac | 0 – 1 | 3,000 | | HRnogomet.com |
  | 12 | 26 Oct | A | Zadar | 0 – 1 | 2,000 | | HRnogomet.com |
  | 13 | 2 Nov | H | Hajduk Split | 0 – 1 | 5,000 | | HRnogomet.com |
  | 14 | 9 Nov | A | Zagreb | 1 – 4 | 1,000 | G. Brajković | HRnogomet.com |
  | 15 | 16 Nov | H | Varteks | 0 – 2 | 0 | | HRnogomet.com |
  | 16 | 23 Nov | A | Osijek | 1 – 1 | 600 | Klić | HRnogomet.com |
  | 17 | 30 Nov | A | Šibenik | 0 – 0 | 1,000 | | HRnogomet.com |
  | 18 | 22 Feb | H | Kamen Ingrad | 2 – 1 | 2,000 | Šarić, Klić | HRnogomet.com |
  | 19 | 1 Mar | A | Cibalia | 1 – 3 | 1,800 | Mijatović | HRnogomet.com |
  | 20 | 9 Mar | H | Dinamo Zagreb | 0 – 1 | 6,000 | | HRnogomet.com |
  | 21 | 15 Mar | A | Slaven Belupo | 0 – 2 | 2,500 | | HRnogomet.com |
  | 22 | 22 Mar | H | Pomorac | 1 – 1 | 1,500 | Rački | HRnogomet.com |
  | 23 | 5 Apr | A | Zadar | 1 – 2 | 2,500 | Mijatović | HRnogomet.com |
  | 24 | 12 Apr | A | Šibenik | 0 – 0 | 500 | | HRnogomet.com |
  | 25 | 19 Apr | H | Pomorac | 2 – 0 | 2,000 | Samardžić, Klić | HRnogomet.com |
  | 26 | 26 Apr | A | Slaven Belupo | 0 – 2 | 2,000 | | HRnogomet.com |
  | 27 | 3 May | H | Osijek | 0 – 0 | 1,200 | | HRnogomet.com |
  | 28 | 7 May | H | Zadar | 7 – 0 | 3,000 | Skočibušić, Samardžić, Klić (2), M. Brajković, Rački (2) | HRnogomet.com |
  | 29 | 10 May | H | Šibenik | 2 – 0 | 4,000 | Klić, Mijatović | HRnogomet.com |
  | 30 | 17 May | A | Pomorac | 1 – 1 | 3,000 | Samardžić | HRnogomet.com |
  | 31 | 24 May | H | Slaven Belupo | 2 – 0 | 2,000 | Klić, Čaval | HRnogomet.com |
  | 32 | 31 May | A | Osijek | 2 – 3 | 300 | G. Brajković (2) | HRnogomet.com |
  
  Source: HRnogomet.com
  
  ### Croatian Cup
  
  | Round | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Attendance | Rijeka Scorers | Report |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | R1 | 12 Sep | A | Grafičar Vodovod | 0 – 1 | 600 | | HRnogomet.com |
  
  Source: HRnogomet.com
  
  ### Intertoto Cup
  
  | Round | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Attendance | Rijeka Scorers | Report |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | R1 | 22 Jun | H | St Patrick's Athletic | 3 – 2 | 3,000 | Vincetić, Klić (2) | HRnogomet.com |
  | R1 | 30 Jun | A | St Patrick's Athletic | 0 – 1 | 3,000 | | HRnogomet.com |
  
  Source: HRnogomet.com
  
  ### Squad statistics
  
  Competitive matches only. Appearances in brackets indicate numbers of times the player came on as a substitute.
  
  | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | Name | League | League | Cup | Cup | Europe | Europe | Total | Total |
  | Đoni Tafra | 18 (0) | 0 | 1 (0) | 0 | 1 (0) | 0 | 20 (0) | 0 |
  | Matko Kalinić | 14 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 1 (0) | 0 | 15 (0) | 0 |
  | Andre Mijatović | 20 (0) | 3 | 0 (0) | 0 | 1 (0) | 0 | 21 (0) | 3 |
  | Naum Batkoski | 15 (7) | 1 | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 15 (7) | 1 |
  | Mate Lacić | 10 (0) | 0 | 1 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 11 (0) | 0 |
  | Goran Vincetić | 26 (1) | 1 | 1 (0) | 0 | 2 (0) | 1 | 29 (1) | 2 |
  | Mladen Ivančić | 7 (7) | 0 | 1 (0) | 0 | 2 (0) | 0 | 10 (7) | 0 |
  | Stjepan Skočibušić | 23 (2) | 1 | 1 (0) | 0 | 2 (0) | 0 | 26 (2) | 1 |
  | Goran Brajković | 12 (10) | 5 | 0 (0) | 0 | 2 (0) | 0 | 14 (10) | 5 |
  | Natko Rački | 19 (6) | 8 | 1 (0) | 0 | 2 (0) | 0 | 22 (6) | 8 |
  | Mate Brajković | 8 (12) | 2 | 0 (0) | 0 | 1 (1) | 0 | 9 (13) | 2 |
  | Mario Meštrović | 10 (1) | 1 | 0 (0) | 0 | 2 (0) | 0 | 12 (1) | 1 |
  | Siniša Linić | 17 (2) | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 18 (3) | 0 |
  | Jasmin Samardžić | 11 (3) | 3 | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 11 (3) | 3 |
  | Kristijan Čaval | 17 (7) | 1 | 1 (0) | 0 | 2 (0) | 0 | 20 (7) | 1 |
  | Bledi Shkëmbi | 21 (2) | 1 | 1 (0) | 0 | 2 (0) | 0 | 24 (2) | 1 |
  | Damir Milinović | 12 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 12 (0) | 0 |
  | Sandro Klić | 25 (4) | 12 | 1 (0) | 0 | 1 (1) | 2 | 27 (5) | 14 |
  | Ibrahim Duro | 13 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 13 (0) | 0 |
  | Martin Šarić | 17 (1) | 1 | 1 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 18 (1) | 1 |
  | Vedran Celiščak | 6 (5) | 0 | 1 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 7 (5) | 0 |
  | Dario Knežević | 7 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 7 (0) | 0 |
  | Miroslav Vajs | 10 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 10 (1) | 0 |
  | Marin Mikac | 1 (11) | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 (2) | 0 | 1 (14) | 0 |
  | Sejad Halilović | 6 (3) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 6 (3) | 0 |
  | Josip Modrić | 3 (3) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 3 (4) | 0 |
  | Josip Butić | 3 (3) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 3 (3) | 0 |
  | Anton Rukavina | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 |
  | Ivan Sertić | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 |
  