2003 Confederations Cup
A tournament marked by tragedy and unity, where France retained the Confederations Cup.
The 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup was the sixth edition of the tournament, held in June 2003 in France. Hosts France retained the title they had won in 2001.
Quick Facts
- Head coach
- Javier Aguirre
Lore & Background
The tournament was overshadowed by the death of Cameroonian midfielder Marc-Vivien Foé, who died of heart failure during the semi-final against Colombia. Foé's death united the French and Cameroonian teams in the final, which was played despite players from both sides explicitly stating it should not be played out of respect. France won with a golden goal from Thierry Henry. At the medal ceremony, two Cameroon players held a large photo of Foé with a runner-up medal hung to its edge, and French captain Marcel Desailly held the Confederations Cup in unison with Cameroon captain Rigobert Song. Foé finished third in media voting for player of the tournament and was posthumously awarded the Bronze Ball. This was the last Confederations Cup that did not serve as a warm-up event to the FIFA World Cup.
Reader's Guide
Qualified teams: Italy (UEFA Euro 2000 runners-up), Germany (2002 FIFA World Cup runners-up), and Spain (ranked second in FIFA World Rankings) declined to take part. They were replaced by Turkey, who came third in the 2002 FIFA World Cup. The host was selected on 24 September 2002 during a meeting of the FIFA Executive Committee. Five bids were submitted by the deadline of 1 May 2002: Australia, Portugal, and the United States as single bids, and South Africa–Egypt and France–Switzerland as joint bids. The France–Switzerland bid never materialized.
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