The 2002–03 season was Toluca's 85th season in existence and their 50th consecutive season in the top flight of Mexican football. The club participated in the Apertura and Clausura tournaments of the Mexican Primera División and in the 2003 CONCACAF Champions' Cup (the entire tournament, except for the finals, were played on the first semester of 2003). Toluca were crowned champions of the Apertura 2002 tournament after defeating Morelia in the final.

In an unusual situation, Toluca had three different managers during the season. Ricardo La Volpe left the team after the 15th round of the Apertura tournament after being called to the Mexico national football team and appointed manager, substituting Javier Aguirre. La Volpe was replaced by Wilson Graniolatti, who resigned on 7 December, citing differences with Toluca's front office, specially with the chairman Rafael Lebrija. Graniolatti was replaced by Alberto Jorge, head of the Reserves and Academy, hired to manage the team for the rest of the playoffs (four games only). Since Jorge managed to win the Apertura tournament, he was ratified as manager of the team for the second half of the season.

This season remains as a highlight both in Mexican football and Toluca's history. Paraguayan striker José Cardozo broke several scoring records: Cardozo scored 29 goals in the Apertura 2002 regular season and was crowned as the tournament's top scorer; 36 goals in the Apertura 2002 tournament, including playoffs; and 58 goals in the 2002–03 Primera División season. All the three records remain unbeaten as of 2020.

Players Apertura No. Pos. Nat. Name Date of birth (age) Since 1 GK Hernán Cristante 1993 2 DF Christian Ramírez 2002 3 DF Maximiliano Cuberas 2001 4 DF Hassan Viades 1999 5 MF Israel López 2002 6 MF Octavio Valdez 2002 7 DF Salvador Carmona (Captain) 1993 8 MF Rafael García 1998 9 FW José Cardozo 1995 10 MF Sinha 1999 11 FW Vicente Sánchez 2001 12 GK César Lozano 2002 14 DF Ariel Franco 2002 15 FW Uzziel Lozano 2000 16 DF Miguel Almazán 2002 18 DF José Manuel Cruzalta 2001 19 MF Sergio Amaury Ponce 2001 21 DF José Armando Núñez 2002 23 MF Erik Espinosa 2000 25 DF Edgar García 2002 28 FW Édgar González 2002 30 GK Mario Albarrán 1998 37 MF Josué Castillejos 2002

Clausura No. Pos. Nat. Name Date of birth (age) Since 1 GK Hernán Cristante 1993 3 DF Maximiliano Cuberas 2001 4 DF Hassan Viades 1999 5 MF Israel López 2002 6 MF Octavio Valdez 2002 7 DF Salvador Carmona (Captain) 1993 8 MF Rafael García 1998 9 FW José Cardozo 1995 10 MF Sinha 1999 11 FW Vicente Sánchez 2001 12 GK César Lozano 2002 14 DF Ariel Franco 2002 16 DF Miguel Almazán 2002 18 DF José Manuel Cruzalta 2001 19 MF Sergio Amaury Ponce 2001 21 DF José Armando Núñez 2002 23 MF Erik Espinosa 2000 25 DF Edgar García 2002 28 FW Édgar González 2002 30 GK Mario Albarrán 1998 37 MF Josué Castillejos 2002

Transfers In No. Pos. Nat. Player Moving from Type Transfer window Ref. 2 DF Christian Ramírez UNAM Transfer Summer 5 MF Israel López Guadalajara Transfer Summer 6 MF Octavio Valdez América Transfer Summer 14 DF Ariel Franco River Plate Loan Summer 16 DF Miguel Almazán Academy Promotion Summer 21 DF José Armando Núñez Necaxa Transfer Summer 28 FW Édgar González Academy Promotion Summer 37 MF Josué Castillejos Academy Promotion Summer

Out No. Pos. Nat. Player Moving to Type Transfer window Ref. – DF Omar Blanco Atlas Transfer Summer 15 FW Carlos María Morales Atlas Transfer Summer 2 DF Christian Ramírez Morelia Transfer Winter 15 FW Uzziel Lozano Fénix Transfer Winter

Competitions

Overview

1. Toluca qualified to the 2003 CONCACAF Champions' Cup final, to be played on the next season.

Torneo Apertura

League table

Matches

Playoffs Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Final

Torneo Clausura

League table

Matches

Playoffs Quarterfinals

CONCACAF Champions' Cup

Knockout phase Round of 16

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Final to be played on the next season.

Statistics Appearances and goals No. Pos. Player Total Apertura Clausura Champions' Cup Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals 1 GK Hernán Cristante 37 0 22 0 15 0 0 0 3 DF Maximiliano Cuberas 48 1 25 1 19 0 4 0 4 DF Hassan Viades 23 0 6 0 13 0 4 0 5 MF Israel López 48 3 25 2 21 1 2 0 6 MF Octavio Valdez 48 4 25 0 21 4 2 0 7 DF Salvador Carmona 45 4 25 3 18 1 2 0 8 MF Rafael García 51 7 25 6 21 1 5 0 9 FW José Cardozo 46 59 25 36 20 22 1 1 10 MF Sinha 49 10 25 7 21 2 3 1 11 FW Vicente Sánchez 40 19 20 8 17 8 3 3 12 GK César Lozano 8 0 0 0 5 0 3 0 14 DF Ariel Franco 25 3 13 0 5 1 6 2 16 DF Miguel Almazán 8 1 3 0 4 0 1 1 18 DF José Manuel Cruzalta 34 1 12 1 18 0 4 0 19 MF Sergio Amaury Ponce 29 0 16 0 6 0 6 0 21 DF José Armando Núñez 5 0 0 0 1 0 4 0 23 MF Erik Espinosa 48 2 25 1 19 0 4 1 25 DF Edgar García 7 3 3 0 0 0 4 3 28 FW Édgar González 36 5 15 3 17 1 5 1 30 GK Mario Albarrán 10 0 4 0 3 0 3 0 37 MF Josué Castillejos 12 0 6 0 4 0 2 0 64 MF Diego de la Torre 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 68 FW Emmanuel Ruiz 5 2 0 0 1 0 4 2 ? DF Octavio Mira 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 ? MF Isaac Moreno 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 ? MF Armando Palomino 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 ? DF José Luis Rodríguez 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 Players that left the club during the season 2 DF Christian Ramírez 16 0 16 0 – – – – 15 FW Uzziel Lozano 4 0 4 0 – – – –

Goalscorers Rank Pos. Player Apertura Clausura Champions' Cup Total 1 FW José Cardozo 36 22 1 59 2 FW Vicente Sánchez 8 8 3 19 3 MF Sinha 7 2 1 10 4 MF Rafael García 6 1 0 7 5 FW Édgar González 3 1 1 5 6 DF Salvador Carmona 3 1 0 4 MF Octavio Valdez 0 4 0 8 MF Israel López 2 1 0 3 DF Ariel Franco 0 1 2 DF Edgar García 0 0 3 11 MF Erik Espinosa 1 0 1 2 FW Emmanuel Ruiz 0 0 2 13 DF Miguel Almazán 0 0 1 1 DF José Manuel Cruzalta 1 0 0 DF Maximiliano Cuberas 1 0 0 DF Christian Ramírez 1 0 0 Own goals 1 2 0 3Total704315128

Hat-tricks Player Against Result Date Competition Ref. José Cardozo Necaxa 3–0 (H) Primera División José Cardozo Puebla 5–0 (H) Primera División José Cardozo Chiapas 5–1 (H) Primera División Vicente Sánchez UAG 6–0 (H) Primera División José Cardozo Pachuca 5–1 (H) Primera División Vicente Sánchez UNAM 5–1 (A) Primera División Vicente Sánchez Guadalajara 3–2 (H) Primera División José Cardozo Santos Laguna 4–3 (H) Primera División

Own goals Player Against Result Date Competition Erik EspinosaUNAM4–1 (A)Primera División

Notes

A.  Toluca qualified to the 2003 CONCACAF Champions' Cup final, to be played on the team's next season.

References