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2004–05 S.L. Benfica season

Benfica
2004–05 season
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 vs Sporting CP
(14 May 2005)
Lowest home attendance 20,000 vs Banská Bystrica
(30 September 2004)

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.

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.


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