2003–04 Football League Cup
| Country |
 England Wales
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Teams | 92 | ||
| Defending champions | Liverpool | ||
| Champions | Middlesbrough | ||
| Runners-up | Bolton Wanderers | ||
| Matches played | 93 | ||
|
|||
The 2003–04 Football League Cup was the 44th staging of the Football League Cup, a knockout competition for England's top 92 football clubs. The competition was sponsored by lager brand Carling and therefore officially known as the 2003–04 Carling Cup.
The competition began in August 2003 and ended with the final on 29 February 2004. The Millennium Stadium in Cardiff hosted the final match, as it had done since 2001 as the reconstruction was still taking place on Wembley Stadium in London.
The winners were Middlesbrough who beat Bolton Wanderers in the final 2-1 and collected their first major piece of silverware in their history and as a result of their victory qualified for European football for the first time. Joseph Desire-Job gave Middlesbrough the lead with just 2 minutes gone and a Bolo Zenden penalty five minutes later doubled their advantage. Kevin Davies pulled a goal back in the 21st minute but Middlesbrough held on. It was to be until 2008 when another English manager won a domestic tournament when Harry Redknapp (then at Portsmouth) lifted the FA Cup.
The 36 winners from the First Round joined 16 of the 20 Premier League clubs not participating in the UEFA Champions League in Round Two.
1 Score after 90 minutes
Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea and Newcastle United joined the 24 winners from the Second Round. Matches were played on the week commencing 27 October 2003
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