2002–03 Vyshcha Liha

Vyshcha Liha

Season	2002–03
Champions	Dynamo Kyiv
Relegated	Metalist Kharkiv Oleksandriia
Champions League	Dynamo Kyiv Shakhtar Donetsk
UEFA Cup	Metalurh Donetsk Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk
Matches played	240
Top goalscorer	(22) Maksim Shatskikh (Dynamo Kyiv)
Biggest home win	Dynamo - Vorskla 8:0
Biggest away win	Metalurh Zp - Arsenal 0:5
Highest scoring	Arsenal - Volyn 8:1 Volyn - Dnipro 4:5
← 2001–02 2003–04 →

The 2002–03 Vyshcha Liha season was the 12th since its establishment. FC Shakhtar Donetsk were the defending champions.

Teams

Promotions

• Volyn-1 Lutsk, the winners of the 2001–02 Ukrainian First League – (returning after absence of 6 seasons)
• Chornomorets Odesa, the runners-up of the 2001–02 Ukrainian First League – (returning after absence of 2 seasons)
• Obolon Kyiv, the third placed of the 2001–02 Ukrainian First League – (debut)

Renamed

• On 22 July 2002 SC Volyn-1 Lutsk changed its name to FC Volyn Lutsk.
• 17 December 2002 FC Metalurh Mariupol changed its name to FC Illichivets Mariupol.
• 25 February 2003 FC Polihraftekhnika Oleksandriya changed its name to FC Oleksandriya.

Location

Chornomorets

Arsenal

Dnipro

Dynamo

Illichivets

Kryvbas

Karpaty

Metalist

Metalurh D.

Metalurh Z.

Obolon

FC Oleksandriya

Shakhtar

Tavriya

Volyn

Vorskla

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Locations of teams home grounds in Ukrainian Premier League 1996-97

Final standings

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Dynamo Kyiv (C)	30	23	4	3	66	20	+46	73	Qualification to Champions League third qualifying round
2	Shakhtar Donetsk	30	22	4	4	61	24	+37	70	Qualification to Champions League second qualifying round
3	Metalurh Donetsk	30	18	6	6	44	26	+18	60	Qualification to UEFA Cup first Round
4	Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk	30	18	5	7	48	27	+21	59	Qualification to UEFA Cup qualifying round
5	Arsenal Kyiv	30	16	8	6	49	24	+25	56
6	Volyn Lutsk	30	12	5	13	37	44	−7	41
7	Karpaty Lviv	30	9	9	12	29	37	−8	36
8	Chornomorets Odessa	30	10	4	16	31	45	−14	34
9	Tavriya Simferopol	30	9	7	14	36	50	−14	34
10	Illychivets Mariupol	30	8	10	12	34	38	−4	34
11	Vorskla Poltava	30	8	8	14	26	41	−15	32
12	Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih	30	8	7	15	25	37	−12	31
13	PFC Oleksandriya (D)	30	7	9	14	26	43	−17	30	Withdrew
14	Obolon Kyiv	30	7	7	16	32	45	−13	28
15	Metalurh Zaporizhya	30	6	8	16	22	41	−19	26	Avoided relegation
16	Metalist Kharkiv (R)	30	6	5	19	19	43	−24	23	Relegated to Ukrainian First League

Source:
(C) Champions; (D) Disqualified; (R) Relegated

Top goal scorers

Shatskikh

Maksim Shatskikh	Dynamo Kyiv	22(1)
Oleksiy Byelik	Shakhtar Donetsk	21
Oleh Venhlynskyi	Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk	19
Shalva Apkhazava	Arsenal Kyiv	14
Oleksandr Haidash	Tavriya Simferopol	12
Vyacheslav Tereschenko	Obolon Kyiv	12(1)
Diogo Rincon	Dynamo Kyiv	10
Vasil Gigiadze	Tavriya Simferopol	10(4)
Samir Aliyev	Volyn Lutsk	9(1)
Serhiy Zakarlyuka	Metalurh Donetsk	9(1)
Oleksandr Kosyrin	Chornomorets Odessa	9(2)

Number of teams by region

Number	Region	Team(s)
3	Donetsk Oblast	Shakhtar, Metalurh D. and Illichivets
	Kiev	Arsenal, Dynamo and Obolon
2	Dnipropetrovsk Oblast	Dnipro and Kryvbas
1	Crimea	Tavriya
	Kharkiv Oblast	Metalist
	Kirovohrad Oblast	Polihraftekhnika
	Lviv Oblast	Karpaty
	Odessa Oblast	Chornomorets
	Poltava Oblast	Vorskla
	Volyn Oblast	Volyn-1
	Zaporizhia Oblast	Metalurh Z.

External links

• ukrsoccerhistory.com - source of information