2004–05 S.L. Benfica season
Benfica 2004–05 football season / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The 2004–05 European football season was the 101st season of Sport Lisboa e Benfica's existence and the club's 71st consecutive season in the top flight of Portuguese football. The season ran from 1 July 2004 to 30 June 2005; Benfica competed domestically in the Primeira Liga and the Taça de Portugal. The club also participated in the UEFA Champions League as a result of finishing second in the Primeira Liga in the previous season.
2004–05 season | |||
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President | Luís Filipe Vieira | ||
Head coach | Giovanni Trapattoni | ||
Stadium | Estádio da Luz | ||
Primeira Liga | 1st | ||
Taça de Portugal | Runners-up | ||
Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira | Runners-up | ||
UEFA Champions League | Third qualifying round | ||
UEFA Cup | Round of 32 | ||
Top goalscorer | League: Simão (15) All: Simão (22) | ||
Highest home attendance | 64,000 v Sporting CP (14 May 2005) | ||
Lowest home attendance | 20,000 v Banská Bystrica (30 September 2004) | ||
Biggest win | Benfica 4–0 Vitória de Setúbal (7 November 2004) Benfica 4–0 Boavista (16 January 2005) | ||
Biggest defeat | 3 goal difference in 3 matches | ||
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José Antonio Camacho led Benfica to another second-place finish and broke an eight-year title drought; he attracted interest from Real Madrid, who signed him in late May. As a replacement, Benfica unsuccessfully inquired after Luiz Felipe Scolari for the position. After much speculation, Benfica announced they had recruited Giovanni Trapattoni, the Italian national team's former manager. Benfica signed more players than the year before, but only Quim, Manuel dos Santos and Azar Karadas became regular first-team fixtures. The most significant departure was that of Tiago, who had been a regular for the past two seasons. Because their second-place finish only granted a place in the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League, Benfica had to play Anderlecht for a place in the group stage. A 3–1 loss on aggregate led to relegation to the 2004–05 UEFA Cup. Between both legs, Benfica contested and lost the 2004 Supercup with Porto.
Domestically, Benfica started the season with consecutive wins, rising to the top of the table by early October. After a home loss in the Clássico, the team's results became poorer, with three draws and two losses that caused the team to drop to third place by New Year. Benfica continued to slip in January, losing the Lisbon derby and twice dropping to fifth place. A home win against Sporting CP for the Portuguese Cup had an apparent positive effect on the players; their best period all season came as they regained first place and opened a six-point lead over the team in second place.
The league was unusually competitive; a mistake in early April caused Benfica to lose much of their lead. Qualifying for the Portuguese Cup final did not help them to gather momentum. In early May, Benfica suffered a major blow, losing away to Penafiel and dropping to second. A crucial win against Sporting brought back their title hope, and a week later Benfica won their first league title in ten seasons. The season ended with a loss against Vitória de Setúbal in the Taça de Portugal final, preventing Benfica from winning their first double since 1987.