The 2004–05 season saw Benfica clinch the SuperLiga Galp Energia title after almost 11 years without the championship. The SuperLiga had one of the most competitive years, with both

Braga Braga (; ) is a cities of Portugal, city and a Municipalities of Portugal, municipality, capital of the northwestern Portugal, Portuguese Braga (district), district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality ...

and Boavista fighting for the title for a reasonable amount of time, closing the gap on the Big Three of Benfica,

Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

and

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,

. The Big Three all managed to qualify for the

2005–06 UEFA Champions League The 2005–06 UEFA Champions League was the 51st season of UEFA's premier European club Association football, football tournament, the UEFA Champions League and the 14th since it was rebranded from the European Cup in 1992. 74 teams from 50 footb ...

, while Braga, Vitória de Guimarães and Vitória de Setúbal qualified for the

2005–06 UEFA Cup The 2005–06 UEFA Cup, the 35th edition of the UEFA Cup, was won by Sevilla, beating Middlesbrough in the final. It was the first victory for Sevilla in a European competition, and the first appearance by Middlesbrough in a European final. The ...

. Benfica did not manage to achieve the

double Double, The Double or Dubble may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Multiplication by 2 * Double precision, a floating-point representation of numbers that is typically 64 bits in length * A double number of the form x+yj, where j^2=+1 * A ...

, losing to Vitória de Setúbal in the 2004–05 Taça de Portugal

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

. In the League of Honour,

Paços de Ferreira Paços de Ferreira () is a city in the Porto District, in the north of Portugal. The population of the city in 2011 was 7491, while its municipality had 56,340 inhabitants, in an area of 70.99 km². Sometimes referred to as the ''Capital do ...

won the title and alongside newcomers Naval 1º de Maio and former competitors Estrela da Amadora secured their place in the first level of Portuguese football for 2005–06. In the

UEFA The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...

competitions, the Portuguese teams qualified in the 2003–04 season were Porto and Benfica in the Champions League; Sporting CP, Braga, Martítimo and

Nacional Nacional, the Portuguese and Spanish word for "national", may refer to: Airlines * Nacional Transportes Aéreos, a Brazilian airline defunct in 2002 * Transportes Aéreos Nacional, a Brazilian airline defunct in 1961 Bank * Banco Nacional, a ...

in the

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

; and União de Leiria in the 2003 UEFA Intertoto Cup. Early in the season, Porto lost the 2003 UEFA Super Cup to 2002–03 Champions League victors

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

. Porto would ultimately reach the round of 16 of the Champions League, where they were eliminated by

Internazionale Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Since 1 ...

. In the middle of the season, Porto also won their second Intercontinental Cup against

Once Caldas Once Caldas S.A., simply known as Once Caldas, is a professional Colombian Association football, football team based in Manizales, that currently plays in the Categoría Primera A. The club plays its home games at Estadio Palogrande. The club wa ...

. Meanwhile, Sporting CP managed to reach the UEFA Cup Final (which was already chosen to be played at Sporting's Estádio José de Alvalade) where they lost to

CSKA Moscow CSKA Moscow () is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet Union, Soviet era, it was the central part of the Armed Forces (sports ...

. The fact that Leiria reached the finals of the Intertoto Cup is also noteworthy. Meanwhile, the

Portugal national football team The Portugal national football team () has represented Portugal in men's international Association football, football competitions since 1921. The national team is controlled by the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF), the governing body for ...

managed to secure a comfortable position that would prove decisive in the qualification for the FIFA World Cup 2006.

Honours

SuperLiga

After almost 11 years, the longest "drought" period in Benfica's history comes to an end. It was an "awkward" season, mainly due to the inconsistency of the perennial title candidates. Never a team had won the championship with such a small number of points since victories awarded three points. The 65 points of Benfica would only be sufficient to manage a fourth-place finish the year before and, considering a percentage of points awarded, their score of 64% would not have been enough to place them in first or second in any other of the previous Portuguese championships. Inconsistency was present in Benfica's season, but their main rivals were no better. In the upper part of the table, Braga's season was noteworthy: it was fighting for the title only four games before the end of the season.

Promoted teams

These teams were promoted from the League of Honour at the start of the season: *

Estoril Estoril () is a town in the civil parish of Cascais e Estoril of the Portuguese Municipality of Cascais, on the Portuguese Riviera. It is a popular tourist destination, with hotels, beaches, and the Casino Estoril. It has been home to numero ...

(champion) * Vitória de Setúbal (2nd placed) *

Penafiel Penafiel ( or ) is a Municipalities of Portugal, municipality and former bishopric (now a Latin Catholic titular see) in the Norte Region, Portugal, northern Portugal, Portuguese Porto District, district of Porto. Capital of the Tâmega Subregion ...

(3rd placed)

Final standings

UEFA competitions and relegations

These teams were qualified for the UEFA competitions of 2005–06: *

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

**Champions Benfica (group stage) **2nd placed

(group stage) **3rd placed

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,

(third qualifying round) *

**4th placed

(first round) **5th placed Vitória de Guimarães (first round) **Cup winner Vitória de Setúbal (first round) These teams were relegated to the League of Honour at the end of the season: *Relegations **16th placed Moreirense **17th placed

**18th placed

Beira-Mar Sport Clube Beira-Mar (), commonly known as Beira-Mar, is a Portuguese sports club based in Aveiro, Portugal. Its Association football, football team currently plays in the Campeonato de Portugal (league), Campeonato de Portugal, the fourth natio ...

Top scorers

Liédson Liédson da Silva Muniz (born 17 December 1977), known simply as Liédson, is a former professional footballer who played as a striker. Nicknamed ''Levezinho'' ("Slender one") due to his light frame (63 kg),

(Sporting CP) 24 *=2

João Tomás João Henrique Pataco Tomás (born 27 May 1975) is a Portuguese retired professional footballer who played as a striker. He represented mostly Braga (three seasons) and Rio Ave (four) in a 19-year senior career, also having a one-and-a-half-se ...

(Braga) 15 *=2 Simão (Benfica) 15 *4 Wesley (Penafiel) 14 *5 Henry Antchouet (Belenenses) 12 *=6 Albert Meyong (Vitória de Setúbal) 11 *=6

Benni McCarthy Benedict Saul McCarthy (born 12 November 1977) is a South African football coach who is currently the manager of the Kenya national football team. He previously worked as head coach of South African Premier Division team AmaZulu, and as assis ...

(Porto) 11 *8 Zé Manuel ( Boavista) 10 *=9 Roberto (Penafiel) 9 *=9 Wender (Braga) 9 *=9 Jorginho (Vitória de Setúbal) 9

UEFA competitions

UEFA Champions League

Porto

UEFA Champions League group H UEFA Champions League round of 16

Benfica

UEFA Champions League third qualifying round UEFA Cup first round UEFA Cup group F UEFA Cup round of 32

Sporting CP

UEFA Cup first round UEFA Cup group D UEFA Cup round of 32 UEFA Cup round of 16 UEFA Cup quarter-finals UEFA Cup semi-finals UEFA Cup final

Braga

UEFA Cup first round

Marítimo

UEFA Cup first round

Nacional

UEFA Cup first round

União de Leiria

UEFA Intertoto Cup third round UEFA Intertoto Cup semi-finals UEFA Intertoto Cup finals

European/South American Cup

UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup Association football, football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions: the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's offic ...

Taça de Portugal

Vitória de Setúbal won their third Cup after beating Benfica 2–1 at the final played 29 May in the Estádio do Jamor. Simão scored first for Benfica, a penalty in the fifth minute, but an own goal by Ricardo Rocha in the 26th minute and another by Albert Meyong for Setúbal turned the game around.

Round of 16 to Final

League of Honour

Promoted teams

These teams were promoted from the Second Division B at the start of the season: * Gondomar (North Zone champion) * Espinho (Centre Zone champion) *

Olhanense Sporting Clube Olhanense (), commonly known as Olhanense, is a Portuguese sports club from Olhão, Algarve. Its football team was founded on 27 April 1912 and currently plays in the Algarve Football Association First Division, the fifth tier of ...

(South Zone champion)

Final standings

Promotions and relegations

The following teams were promoted to the SuperLiga (future Liga betandwin.com) for 2005–06: *Promotions **Champions –

**2nd placed – Naval 1º de Maio **3rd – Estrela da Amadora The following teams were relegated to the Second Division for 2005–06: *Relegations **11th placed –

Felgueiras Felgueiras () is a municipality in Porto District, Portugal. The current mayor is Nuno Fonseca. There are two cities located in the municipality: Felgueiras (city status received on 13 July 1990) and Lixa. The population in 2011 was 58,065, in a ...

(due to economical problems) **13th placed – Alverca (due to economical problems) **18th placed – Espinho

Top scorers

Second Division B

Promoted and relegated teams

Final standings

Promotions and relegations

Top scorers

Third Division

Promoted and relegated teams

Final standings

Promotions and relegations

Top scorers

District championships

Portugal national team

''KEY: WCQ3 = World Cup Qualification match - Group 3; F = Friendly''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2004-05 in Portuguese football Seasons in Portuguese football

Portuguese football Association football (), the most popular sport in Portugal, has a long and storied history in the country, following its introduction in 1875 in cities such as Funchal, Lisbon, Porto and Coimbra by English merchants and Portuguese students a ...

Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...