the season saw Zebina suffered a muscular problems and was sidelined for a month. But he made his return to the starting line–up against Valencia in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League Group Stage, losing 1–0. However, in a follow–up match against Udinese on 24 February 2003, Zebina was sent–off in the last minutes for a second bookable offence, in a 2–1 loss. After serving a one match suspension, he returned to the starting line–up against rivals, Lazio on 8 March 2003 but suffered a muscle injury and was substituted in the 26th minute, as the club drew 1–1. Following this, Zebina was later sidelined on two more occasions for Roma later in the 2002–03 season. Despite this, he played in both legs of the Coppa Italia Final against Milan, as Roma lost 6–3 on aggregate. At the end of the 2002–03 season, Zebina went on to make thirty–one appearances in all competitions. At the start of the 2003–04 season, Zebina continued to establish himself in the starting eleven, rotating in playing in either the right–back position or centre–back position. In early–September, Roma began talks with the player over a new contract. He scored his first goal for the club, in a 2–2 draw against Juventus on 21 September 2003. This was followed up by helping Roma keep seven league clean sheets between 28 September 2013 and 23 November 2003. However, in the second half of the season, Zebina found his himself sidelined on five occasions, due to injury and suspension. He also was sent–off on two occasions: the first one came against Siena on 22 February 2004 and the second one came against Villarreal on 25 March 2004. Despite this, Zebina helped the club keep three consecutive clean sheets between 8 February 2004 and 22 February 2004. Despite being sidelined on two more occasions towards the end of the 2003–04 season, his contributions saw Roma finish in second place in the league behind Milan. At the end of the 2003–04 season, he went on to make thirty–two appearances and scoring once in all competitions. During his time at the club between 2000 and 2004, Zebina made 126 appearances and scoring once in all competitions. Juventus Towards the end of his spell in the Italian capital, Milan began to take notice of Zebina and reported that the player was on the verge of moving to the club as