Chinese Super League 2005
| Season | 2005 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Dalian Shide |
| Relegated | N/A |
| AFC Champions League |
Dalian Shide Shanghai Shenhua |
| A3 Champions Cup | Dalian Shide |
| Matches played | 182 |
| Goals scored | 465 (2.55 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Branko Jelić (Beijing Hyundai), 21 goals |
| Average attendance | 10,284 |
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← 2004
2006 →
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The 2005 Chinese Super League season was only the second season of China's top-tier football competition. With no relegation the previous season, the league expanded from 12 to 14 clubs with the promotion of Shanghai Zobon and Wuhan Huanghelou. The season was scheduled to start on 5 March 2005, but was postponed until April due to a sponsorship problem and finished on 5 November with Dalian Shide, seven-time champions in the old first division, clinching their eighth title. Defending champions Shenzhen Jianlibao finished third from bottom, the second consecutive year in which the defending champions has done so.
The FA had announced at the start of the season that no teams would be relegated for this season and they kept to this decision.
Teams promoted from 2004 China League One
Teams relegated after end of 2004 Chinese Super League
The two-year-old league provided a more positive side of football than the previous season, with much fewer drug-abusing, match-fixing and other scandals on and off the pitch. However, the season was criticised for being unexciting with some stating that the only reason that particular clubs did well was because of foreign talent.
Most teams had not invested enough into their squads for the season to compete for the top positions in the CSL. As the decision to cancel relegation had been announced before the start of the season, unlike the previous season where it was decided halfway through. Teams with no chance of winning the league were thus reluctant to spend money in the transfer market.
Nevertheless, there was still strong competition at the top of the table with six teams fighting for the top two AFC Champions League spots. Dalian Shide remained at the top for almost the whole length of the season but there was a constant rotation of second place.
At the lower half of the table, Chongqing Lifan finished at the bottom of the table for two years running while Shenyang Ginde deteriorated to second from bottom.
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