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UEFA Cup 2004-05

2004–05 UEFA Cup
Jose-Alvalade-Stadion in Lissabon.jpg
Estádio José Alvalade, Lisbon hosted the final.
Tournament details
Dates 13 July 2004 – 18 May 2005
Teams 145
Final positions
Champions Russia CSKA Moscow (1st title)
Runners-up Portugal Sporting CP
Tournament statistics
Matches played 220
Goals scored 573 (2.6 per match)
Top scorer(s) England Alan Shearer (11 goals)

The 2004–05 UEFA Cup was the 34th edition of the UEFA Cup. The format of the competition had changed from previous seasons; an extra qualifying round was introduced, as was a group phase after the first round. The group stage operated in a single round-robin format consisting of eight groups of five teams, each team plays two games at home and two away and the top three finishers of each group progress to the knock-out round. The tournament was won by CSKA Moscow, coming from behind in the final against Sporting Clube de Portugal. It was the first win by a Russian side in any European competition, and was even more impressive considering that the final was held at the José Alvalade Stadium, the home of Sporting. The match was refereed by Graham Poll.

Valencia were the defending champions, but were eliminated by Steaua București in the Round of 32 after dropping out of the UEFA Champions League Group Stage.

Excluded teams: Kazakhstan Tobol Kostanay and Kazakhstan Kairat Almaty

12 July and 29 July 2004

12 August and 26 August 2004.

Based on paragraph 4.06 in the UEFA regulations for the current season, tiebreakers, if necessary, are applied in the following order:


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Wikipedia

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