As the Serbia-Montenegro league champion, Red Star began its European campaign in the Champions League qualifying. After easily disposing of Irish champions Cork City in the opening round, the next qualifying round saw them drawn against Carlo Ancelotti's powerhouse AC Milan featuring Kaká, Andrea Pirlo, Clarence Seedorf, Cafu, Gennaro Gattuso, Pippo Inzaghi, Billy Costacurta, etc., losing 1–3 on aggregate. Despite the defeat, many took some positives from the Milan clash. However, things were different when Slovan Liberec eliminated Red Star from the UEFA Cup first round by an embarrassing 1–4 aggregate score, including a 1–2 loss at home.