2000–01 Leeds United A.F.C. season

Having qualified for the Champions League in his first full season as manager, David O'Leary begun to spend big. French midfielder Olivier Dacourt was signed for a club record of £7 million along with striker Mark Viduka from Celtic and defender Dominic Matteo from Liverpool. Despite the outlay, Leeds were hampered with huge injury problems before the season had even begun. Despite starting the league campaign with back-to-back wins over Everton and Middlesbrough, it was soon clear that playing in the Champions League and Premiership with a young squad hampered with injuries was taking its toll. Leeds' form suffered at home, quickly falling out of any title race, although they did secure a memorable 4–3 victory over Liverpool in November with Viduka scoring all four goals. Europe, however, was a different story, although not initially. Leeds got a tough draw, going into the same group as Barcelona, AC Milan and Besiktas, and their campaign began with a 4–0 humbling by the Spaniards at the Camp Nou. However, memorable nights followed including a last minute winner from Lee Bowyer, after his shot slipped through goalkeeper Dida's hands at a rain-soaked Elland Road, and an impressive 6–0 victory over Besiktas, and Leeds had soon ensured progress to the second group stage against the odds.

In the run up to Christmas, O'Leary finally landed defender Rio Ferdinand from West Ham for a then world record fee of £18 million for a defender. Leeds lost their first UCL second group stage match at Real Madrid, but a win at Lazio gave the club hope of qualifying for the quarter finals. In the Premier League, however, Leeds' form was falling away. Successive losses to Aston Villa and Newcastle meant they were falling worryingly close to the relegation zone. Striker Robbie Keane was signed on loan from Inter Milan and this, combined with a 4–0 win over Manchester City, marked a turning point for Leeds. With key players including David Batty and Harry Kewell returning from injury, Leeds began charging up the table with Keane in great scoring form. Leeds' good form in Europe continued as home and away wins against Belgian side Anderlecht saw them qualify for the quarter finals, and after a 2–0 win over Sunderland Leeds were back in the top 3, following up with a crucial 2–1 victory against top-3 rivals Liverpool at Anfield.

Leeds were drawn against Spanish outfit Deportivo La Coruña, who branded Leeds the competition's "weakest link". Their words came back to haunt them as Leeds won the first leg 3–0 at a raucous Elland Road, Ferdinand among the scorers with his first Leeds goal. The reverse leg in Spain finished 2–0, but Deportivo were unable to find a third on the night and Leeds, enjoying their first season at Europe's top table in nearly a decade, were in the semi-finals. Drawn against Valencia, their cup run eventually came to an end when, after a 0–0 draw at Elland Road, Leeds were beaten 3–0 in Spain. Domestically, Leeds were ending the season in good form but a 2–1 loss to Arsenal meant a 4th place finish and ensured, instead of having a second tilt at the Champions League, Leeds would be playing UEFA Cup football in 2001-02. Despite a disappointing finish Leeds had enjoyed one of the greatest seasons in their history, and the club and its fans were hopeful of a league title challenge the next year.

Leeds were knocked out of both domestic cups before February, going out to eventual winners Liverpool in the FA Cup and Tranmere Rovers in the League Cup.

Results summary

Results by round

Squad at end of season[1]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  ENG Nigel Martyn 2 DF  IRL Gary Kelly 3 DF  IRL Ian Harte 4 MF  FRA Olivier Dacourt 5 DF  RSA Lucas Radebe (captain) 6 DF  ENG Jonathan Woodgate 7 FW  IRL Robbie Keane (on loan from Inter Milan) 8 FW  ENG Michael Bridges 9 FW  AUS Mark Viduka 10 FW  AUS Harry Kewell 11 MF  ENG Lee Bowyer 13 GK  ENG Paul Robinson 14 MF  IRL Stephen McPhail 16 MF  ENG Jason Wilcox

No. Pos. Nation Player 17 FW  ENG Alan Smith 18 DF  ENG Danny Mills 19 MF  NOR Eirik Bakke 21 DF  SCO Dominic Matteo 22 DF  ENG Michael Duberry 23 MF  ENG David Batty 24 DF  NZL Danny Hay 25 MF  AUS Jacob Burns 27 DF  IRL Alan Maybury 28 MF  ENG Jamie McMaster 29 DF  ENG Rio Ferdinand 31 DF  ENG Gareth Evans 38 FW  ENG Tony Hackworth

Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 12 FW  ENG Darren Huckerby (to Manchester City) 20 MF  WAL Matt Jones (to Leicester City) 29 MF  WAL Kevin Aherne-Evans (to Cardiff City) 30 DF  NED Robert Molenaar (to Bradford City)

No. Pos. Nation Player 35 FW  ENG Lee Matthews (to Bristol City) 40 MF  IRL Alan Cawley (to Sheffield Wednesday) 41 DF  ENG Jason Lanns (to Rochdale)

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 26 GK  AUS Danny Milosevic 32 MF  NIR Simon Watson 33 MF  NIR Wesley Boyle 34 MF  ENG Kevin Dixon 36 FW  NIR Warren Feeney 37 DF  IRL Damian Lynch

No. Pos. Nation Player 39 DF  IRL Alan Martin 42 FW  ENG Tony Lennon 43 FW  ENG Harpal Singh — GK  ENG Shaun Allaway — DF  AUS Shane Cansdell-Sherriff — FW  ENG Simon Johnson

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK  RSA Chad Harpur — DF  ENG Christopher Kamara — DF  ENG Matthew Kilgallon — DF  ENG Tom Newey — DF  ENG Frazer Richardson

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  IRL Paul Keegan — MF  ENG Jamie McMaster — FW  ENG Craig Farrell — FW  ENG Caleb Folan — FW  WAL Craig Steins

(Starting appearances + substitute appearances)[2][3]

No.	Pos.	Name	League		FA Cup		League Cup		Champions League		Total		Discipline
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Goalkeepers
1	GK	Nigel Martyn	23	0	1	0	0	0	12	0	36	0	1	0
13	GK	Paul Robinson	15+1	0	1	0	1	0	6	0	23+1	0	0	0
Defenders
2	DF	Gary Kelly	22+2	0	1	0	1	0	11+1	0	35+3	0	1	0
3	DF	Ian Harte	29	7	1	0	1	0	17	4	48	11	3	0
5	DF	Lucas Radebe	19+1	0	1	0	0+1	0	10	0	30+2	0	7	1
6	DF	Jonathan Woodgate	14	1	1	0	1	0	5	0	21	1	4	0
18	DF	Danny Mills	20+3	1	1	0	0	0	15+1	0	36+4	0	11	0
21	DF	Dominic Matteo	30	0	2	0	1	0	15	2	48	2	3	0
22	DF	Michael Duberry	5	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	9	0	1	0
24	DF	Danny Hay	2+2	0	0	0	1	0	0+1	0	3+3	0	0	0
27	DF	Alan Maybury	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0
29	DF	Rio Ferdinand	23	2	2	0	0	0	7	1	32	3	1	0
Midfielders
4	MF	Olivier Dacourt	33	3	1	0	0	0	14	1	48	3	16	1
11	MF	Lee Bowyer	38	9	1	0	0	0	15	6	54	15	12	0
14	MF	Stephen McPhail	3+4	0	0	0	0	0	1+2	0	4+6	0	0	0
16	MF	Jason Wilcox	7+10	0	0+1	0	1	0	2+3	1	9+14	1	0	0
19	MF	Eirik Bakke	24+5	2	2	0	1	0	10+2	1	37+7	3	12	1
20	MF	Matt Jones	3+1	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	5+1	0	0	0
23	MF	David Batty	13	3	2	0	0	0	7+1	0	22+4	0	4	1
25	MF	Jacob Burns	3+1	0	0	0	1	0	3+1	0	7+2	0	0	0
31	MF	Gareth Evans	0+1	0	0	0	1	0	0+1	0	0+2	0	0	0
Forwards
7	FW	Robbie Keane	12+6	9	2	0	0	0	0	0	14+6	9	1	0
8	FW	Michael Bridges	6+1	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	10+1	0	0	0
9	FW	Mark Viduka	34	17	2	1	1	0	16	4	53	22	7	0
10	FW	Harry Kewell	12+5	2	0	0	0	0	6	3	18+8	2	3	0
12	FW	Darren Huckerby	2+5	0	0	0	1	2	0+3	1	3+8	3	0	0
17	FW	Alan Smith	26+7	11	1+1	0	0+1	0	16	7	43+9	18	11	2
38	FW	Tony Hackworth	0	0	0	0	0+1	0	0+2	0	0+3	0	0	0