2005-06 IN PORTUGUESE FOOTBALL

The '2005-06 season in Portuguese football' saw FC Porto, led by Co Adriaanse, clinch their twenty-first title and win the Portuguese Cup. Sporting Clube de Portugal secured second place, which gives them a direct entrance into next season's UEFA Champions League.SL Benfica had a disappointing season, however they returned to the spotlight of European football with a good run in the Champions League.
SC Braga and CD Nacional challenged Sporting CP, SL Benfica and FC Porto for a major part of the season. Nacional, in particular, broke up "Os Grandes" for most of the season, beating Sporting Clube de Portugal 2-1 at home in a memorable victory, before falling away towards the end of the saeson. Braga finished the season in fourth place and Nacional finished fifth in the table after having slipped all the way to seventh at one point. Two famous Portuguese clubs: Vitória SC "de Guimarães" and CF «Os Belenenses» were relegated.
Also of note was the suspension of Benfica midfielder, Nuno Assis, after testing positive for a banned substance in a league match[1]. This positive test has been challenged very aggressively by Benfica's management, as the tests seem to have failed to follow proper procedures [2], as 72 hours passed between the collection of the sample and the tests.
Early in the season, Benfica won the SuperCup Cândido de Oliveira in a match against previous cup winner Vitória FC "de Setúbal".
In European club competitions, Benfica reached the quarterfinals of the Champions League after eliminating Manchester United FC in the group phase and title-holders FC Liverpool in the first round, only to be eliminated in the quarterfinals by eventual finalists Barcelona FC. Meanwhile, Porto had a relatively bad season, failing to qualify through the group stage and not even securing a spot in the UEFA Cup. Sporting was eliminated in the third qualifying round of the Champions by Udinese Calcio and went on to fail again in the first round of the UEFA Cup, eliminated at the hands of Halmstad BK. All Portuguese teams failed to qualify for the group stage of the UEFA Cup, with the exception of Vitória de Guimarães, which managed to surpass Wisła Kraków, but failed to progress past the group stages.
In international football, the ''Selecção'' secured a place in Germany's 2006 FIFA World Cup where they were grouped with Mexico, Iran and newcomer Angola.

Contents

Honours

Liga betandwin.com

Promoted teams

Table results

Final standings

UEFA competitions and relegations

Top scorers

UEFA competitions

Sporting CP

FC Porto

SL Benfica

Sporting C. de Braga

Vitória FC "de Setúbal"

Vitória SC "de Guimarães"

Cup of Portugal

Round of 16 to Final

League of Honour

Promoted and relegated teams

Final standings

Promotions and relegations

Top scorers

Second Division

Promoted and relegated teams

Final standings

Serie A

Serie B

Serie C

Serie D

Promotions and relegations

Portugal national football team

Honours

Competition	Winner
Liga betandwin.com	FC Porto
Cup of Portugal	FC Porto
SuperCup Cândido de Oliveira	SL Benfica
League of Honour	SC Beira Mar
Second Division	CD Trofense (A) AD Lousada (B) UD Oliveirense (C) CD Olivais e Moscavide (D)
Third Division	SC Maria da Fonte (A) AC Vila Meã (B) CF União Lamas (C) Eléctrico FC(D) Atlético CP (E) Estrela FC (F) SC Lusitânia (Azores)

Liga betandwin.com

Promoted teams

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

★ FC Paços de Ferreira (champion)

★ A. Naval 1º de Maio (2nd placed)

★ CF Estrela da Amadora (3rd placed)

Table results

Final standings

Position	Team	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	For	Against	Difference	Points
1	FC Porto	34	24	7	3	54	16	+38	79
2	Sporting CP	34	22	6	6	50	24	+26	72
3	SL Benfica	34	20	7	7	51	29	+22	67
4	Sporting C. de Braga	34	17	7	10	38	22	+16	58
5	CD Nacional	34	14	10	10	40	32	+8	52
6	Boavista FC	34	12	14	8	37	29	+9	50
7	União D. de Leiria	34	13	8	13	44	42	+2	47
8	Vitória FC "de Setúbal"	34	14	4	16	28	33	-5	46
9	CF Estrela da Amadora	34	12	9	13	31	33	-2	45
10	CS Marítimo	34	10	14	10	38	37	+1	44
11	FC Paços de Ferreira	34	11	9	14	38	49	-11	42
12	Gil Vicente FC	34	11	7	16	37	42	-5	40
13	A. Naval 1º de Maio	34	11	6	17	35	48	-13	39
14	A. Académica de Coimbra	34	10	9	15	37	48	-11	39
15	CF «Os Belenenses»	34	11	6	17	40	42	-2	39
16	Rio Ave FC	34	8	10	16	34	53	-19	34
17	Vitória SC "de Guimarães"	34	8	10	16	28	41	-13	34
18	FC Penafiel	34	2	9	23	21	61	-39	15

UEFA competitions and relegations

These teams were qualified for the UEFA competitions of 2006-07:

★ UEFA Champions League

★
★ Champions FC Porto (group stage)

★
★ 2nd place Sporting CP (group stage)

★
★ 3rd place SL Benfica (third qualifying round)

★ UEFA Cup

★
★ 4th place Sporting C. de Braga (first round)

★
★ 5th place CD Nacional (first round)

★
★ Cup finalist Vitória FC "de Setúbal"
These teams were relegated to the League of Honour at the end of the season:

★ Relegations

★
★ 12th place Gil Vicente FC (relegated in sport courts)

★
★ 16th place Rio Ave FC

★
★ 17th place Vitória SC "de Guimarães"

★
★ 18th place FC Penafiel
The SuperLiga will be reduced from 18 to 16 teams for 2006-07. To accommodate this, four teams were relegated from the SuperLiga, with only two promoted from the League of Honour.

Top scorers

★ 1 Meyong (Belenenses) 17

★ =2 João Tomás (Sporting de Braga) 15

★ =2 Liedson (Sporting) 15

★ =2 Nuno Gomes (Benfica) 15

★ 5 André Pinto (Nacional) 14

★ 6 Joeano (Académica) 13

★ 7 Marek Saganowski (Vitória de Guimarães) 12

★ 8 Alexandre Goulart (Nacional) 11

★ =9 Gaúcho (Rio Ave) 10

★ =9 Lucho González (Porto) 10

UEFA competitions

Sporting CP

'UEFA Champions League third qualifying round'

'1st leg'	10 August 2005	Sporting 0-1 Udinese
'2nd leg'	23 August 2005	'Udinese' 3-2 Sporting

'UEFA Cup first round'

'1st leg'	15 September 2005	Hamstads 1-2 Sporting
'2nd leg'	29 September 2005	Sporting 2-3 'Halmstads' (a.e.t.)

FC Porto

'UEFA Champions League group H'

'Match One'	13 September 2005	Rangers 3-2 Porto
'Match Two'	28 September 2005	Porto 2-3 Artmedia
'Match Three'	19 October 2005	Porto 2-0 Internazionale
'Match Four'	1 November 2005	Internazionale 2-1 Porto
'Match Five'	23 November 2005	Porto 1-1 Rangers
'Match Six'	6 December 2005	Artmedia 0-0 Porto

SL Benfica

'UEFA Champions League group D'

'Match One'	14 September 2005	Benfica 1-0 Lille
'Match Two'	27 September 2005	Manchester United 2-1 Benfica
'Match Three'	18 October 2005	Villarreal 1-1 Benfica
'Match Four'	2 November 2005	Benfica 0-1 Villarreal
'Match Five'	22 November 2005	Lille 0-0 Benfica
'Match Six'	7 December 2005	Benfica 2-1 Manchester United

'UEFA Champions League first knockout round'

'1st leg'	21 February 2006	Benfica 1-0 Liverpool
'2nd leg'	8 March 2006	Liverpool 0-2 'Benfica'

'UEFA Champions League quarter-finals'

'1st leg'	28 March 2006	Benfica 0-0 Barcelona
'2nd leg'	5 April 2006	'Barcelona' 2-0 Benfica

Sporting C. de Braga

'UEFA Cup first round'

'1st leg'	15 September 2005	Red Star Belgrade 0-0 Sporting de Braga
'2nd leg'	29 September 2005	Sporting de Braga 1-1 'Red Star Belgrade'

Vitória FC "de Setúbal"

'UEFA Cup first round'

'1st leg'	15 September 2005	Vitória de Setúbal 1-1 Sampdoria
'2nd leg'	29 September 2005	'Sampdoria' 1-0 Vitória de Setúbal

Vitória SC "de Guimarães"

'UEFA Cup first round'

'1st leg'	15 September 2005	Vitória de Guimarães 3-0 Wisła Kraków
'2nd leg'	29 September 2005	Wisła Kraków 0-1 'Vitória de Guimarães'

'UEFA Cup group H'

'Match One'	20 October 2005	Zenit St. Petersburg 2-1 Vitória de Guimarães
'Match Three'	24 November 2005	Vitória de Guimarães 1-1 Bolton Wanderers
'Match Four'	1 December 2005	Sevilla 3-1 Vitória de Guimarães
'Match Five'	14 December 2005	Vitória de Guimarães 1-3 Beşiktaş

Cup of Portugal

FC Porto won their 17th Portuguese Cup after beating Vitória FC (Setúbal) 1-0 on May 14th, 2006.

Round of 16 to Final

League of Honour

Promoted and relegated teams

These teams were relegated from the SuperLiga Galp Energia at the start of the season:

★ Gil Vicente F.C. (12th placed, relegated in sport courts)

★ Moreirense FC (16th placed)

★ GD Estoril-Praia (17th placed)

★ SC Beira-Mar (18th placed)
These teams were promoted from the Portuguese Second Division B at the start of the season:

★ FC Vizela (Northern Zone champion)

★ Sporting C. da Covilhã (Central Zone champion)

★ FC Barreirense (Southern Zone champion)

Final standings

Position	Team	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	For	Against	Difference	Points
1	SC Beira-Mar	34	18	14	2	45	18	+27	68
2	C. Desportivo das Aves	34	18	10	6	47	30	+17	64
3	Leixões SC	34	17	11	6	47	19	+28	62
4	Varzim SC	34	13	13	8	47	39	+8	52
5	SC Olhanense	34	13	13	8	41	28	+13	52
6	CD Santa Clara	34	13	12	9	45	32	+13	51
7	Gondomar SC	34	14	9	11	56	41	+15	51
8	G. Desportivo de Chaves	34	13	11	10	40	36	+4	50
9	GD Estoril-Praia	34	11	12	11	44	43	+1	45
10	CD Feirense	34	12	8	14	44	44	0	44
11	FC Vizela	34	11	11	12	42	48	-6	44
12	Portimonense SC	34	10	13	11	36	36	0	43
13	Moreirense FC	34	11	9	14	36	37	-1	42
14	Sporting C. da Covilhã	34	10	12	12	37	42	-5	42
15	FC Barreirense	34	8	11	15	31	41	-10	35
16	FC Marco	34	7	8	19	32	63	-31	29
17	AD Ovarense	34	6	7	21	36	72	-36	25
18	FC Maia	34	6	6	22	30	67	-37	24

Promotions and relegations

These teams were promoted to the Liga betandwin.com at the end of the season:

★ Promotions

★
★ Champions SC Beira Mar

★
★ 2nd placed C. Desportivo das Aves
These teams were relegated to the Second Division at the end of the season:

★ Relegations

★
★ 13th placed Moreirense FC

★
★ 14th placed Sporting C. da Covilhã

★
★ 15th placed FC Barreirense

★
★ 16th placed FC Marco

★
★ 17th placed AD Ovarense

★
★ 18th placed FC Maia

Top scorers

★ =1 Cássio (Desportivo de Chaves) 20

★ =1 Nuno Sousa (Gondomar) 20

★ 3 Bock (Vizela) 19

★ 4 Fumo (Gondomar) 14

★ =5 Cícero (Varzim) 13

★ =5 Roma (Beira Mar) 13

★ =7 Nei (Moreirense) 12

★ =7 Djalmir (Feirense) 12

★ 9 Ricardo Silva (Olhanense) 11

★ =10 Basílio (Santa Clara) 10

★ =10 Brasilia (Leixões) 10

Second Division

Promoted and relegated teams

The organization of the Second Division was changed for the 2005-06 season. The name was changed from Second Division B to Second Division, and the Northern, Central and Southern zones were abolished to be replaced by another geographical scheme with 4 alphabetically named series.
Only one team was relegated from the League of Honour at the start of the season:

★ 18th placed Sporting C. de Espinho
16th placed Gondomar SC and 17th placed G. Desportivo de Chaves that would normally be relegated to the Second Division, were allowed to play again in the League of Honour, since 11th placed FC Felgueiras and 13th placed FC Alverca closed their football sections.
These teams were promoted from the Third Division at the start of the season:

★ Serie A champions GDRC «Os Sandinenses»

★ Serie A runners-up GD União Torcatense

★ Serie B champions Aliados FC de Lordelo

★ Serie B runners-up FC Famalicão

★ Serie C champions SL Nelas

★ Serie C runners-up CF União de Coimbra

★ Serie D champions AD Portomosense

★ Serie D runners-up UD Rio Maior

★ Serie E champions SL Benfica B

★ Serie E runners-up Real SC

★ Serie F champions Silves FC

★ Serie F runner-up Imortal DC

★ Serie Azores champions (and winner of the playoff) FC Madalena
At the end of the 2004-05 season, the winner of the Third Division Serie Azores had to a playoff with the worst placed Azorean team in the Second Division B Southern Zone. 13th placed SC Lusitânia lost the first leg 1-2 to Serie Azores champions FC Madalena, but won the second leg 1-0. Because the Portuguese system doesn't apply the away goal rule, the teams went to penalties, in whick Madalena won 5-4.
Meanwhile, Académico de Viseu, that was scheduled to play in the 2005-06 season in the Second Division Series C, decided to quit early in the season, and was accordingly relegated to the district championships. Another entrance in the division was the reserve team Vitória FC "de Setúbal" B.

Final standings

Serie A

Position	Team	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	For	Against	Difference	Points
1	CD Trofense	26	15	7	4	44	22	+12	52
2	CF União "da Madeira"	26	13	6	7	28	17	+11	45
3	AD Camacha	26	12	6	8	47	29	+18	42
4	GD Ribeirão	26	11	8	7	18	15	+3	41
5	AD Fafe	26	10	8	8	26	27	-1	38
6	GDRC Sandinenses	26	9	10	7	25	24	+1	37
7	FC Famalicão	25	9	10	7	30	29	+1	37
8	CD Portosantense	26	9	8	9	21	22	-1	35
9	Sporting C. de Braga B	26	9	7	10	24	23	+1	34
10	FC Lixa	26	10	4	12	24	30	-6	34
11	SC Freamunde	26	8	9	9	25	20	+5	33
12	C. Atlético de Valdevez	26	9	6	11	28	35	-7	33
13	Vilaverdense FC	26	7	3	16	26	42	-16	24
14	GD União Torcatense	26	3	4	19	18	49	-31	13

Serie B

Position	Team	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	For	Against	Difference	Points
1	AD Lousada	26	15	6	5	39	22	+17	51
2	Sporting C. de Espinho	26	12	11	3	31	16	+15	47
3	SC Dragões Sandinenses	26	13	6	7	39	24	+15	45
4	USC Paredes	26	11	6	9	33	31	+2	39
5	FC Infesta	26	10	9	8	32	32	0	39
6	FC Porto B	26	10	8	8	28	27	+1	38
7	CD Ribeira Brava	26	9	9	8	30	33	-3	36
8	SC Esmoriz	26	9	7	10	32	34	-2	34
9	AD Pontassolense	26	10	2	14	34	32	+2	32
10	CS Marítimo B	26	9	5	12	34	34	0	32
11	Fiães SC	26	7	9	10	30	32	-2	30
12	Aliados FC de Lordelo	26	7	8	12	26	39	-13	29
13	FC Pedras Rubras	26	7	4	15	20	37	-17	25
14	AD Sanjoanense	26	4	8	14	25	40	-15	20

Serie C

Position	Team	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	For	Against	Difference	Points
1	UD Oliveirense	26	17	5	4	52	26	+26	56
2	CD Fátima	26	14	8	4	41	18	+23	50
3	GD Tourizense	26	14	5	7	38	22	+16	47
4	FC Pampilhosa	26	12	8	6	36	29	+7	44
5	Abrantes FC	26	13	5	8	38	33	+5	44
6	SL Nelas	26	9	10	7	32	27	+5	37
7	Sporting C. de Pombal	26	9	7	10	34	29	+5	34
8	UD Rio Maior	26	8	10	8	31	32	-1	34
9	SC Penalva do Castelo	26	9	6	11	30	40	-10	33
10	Oliveira do Bairro SC	26	6	12	8	34	35	-1	30
11	Fiães SC	26	7	9	10	30	32	-2	30
12	AD Portomosense	26	5	12	9	26	27	-1	27
13	CF União de Coimbra	26	6	3	17	24	51	-27	21
14	FC Oliveira do Hospital	26	2	6	18	22	53	-31	12

Serie D

Position	Team	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	For	Against	Difference	Points
1	CD Olivais e Moscavide	30	15	9	6	41	24	+17	54
2	Louletano DC	30	15	7	8	55	32	+23	52
3	CD Pinhalnovense	30	15	7	8	35	26	+9	52
4	C. Operário D.	30	15	6	9	42	32	+10	51
5	FC Madalena	30	15	5	10	32	35	-3	50
6	Odivelas FC	30	15	4	11	39	35	+4	49
7	CD Mafra	30	13	8	9	45	38	+7	47
8	SCU Torreense	30	13	4	13	37	35	+2	43
9	Imortal DC	30	12	6	12	50	38	+12	42
10	C. União Micaelense	30	11	8	11	32	30	+2	41
11	SL Benfica B	30	11	8	11	40	40	0	41
12	Real SC	30	12	5	13	38	40	-2	41
13	Casa Pia AC	30	12	5	13	45	50	-5	41
14	Vitória FC "de Setúbal" B	30	10	6	14	36	42	-6	36
15	Silves FC	30	5	6	19	34	58	-24	21
16	C. Oriental de Lisboa	30	1	6	23	19	65	-46	9

Promotions and relegations

According to the Portuguese Football Federation, only two teams will be promoted to the League of Honour at the end of the season. The champions of Series A will play their Series B counterparts in a playoff, and the same will happen for the champions of Series D and C. The winners will be promoted to the League of Honour.

★ Lousada (B) vs. Trofense (A)

★ Olivais e Moscavide (D) vs. Oliveirense (C)
Also according to the Federation, the last 4 of every Series will be relegated to the Third Division. And, if a reserve "B" team is relegated or quits, another additional team will be relegated to the Third Division.

★ Relegations

★
★ Series A

★
★
★ 11th placed SC Freamunde

★
★
★ 12th placed C. Atlético de Valdevez

★
★
★ 13th placed Vilaverdense FC

★
★
★ 14th placed GD União Torcatense

★
★ Series B

★
★
★ 11th placed Fiães SC

★
★
★ 12th placed Aliados FC de Lordelo

★
★
★ 13th placed FC Pedras Rubras

★
★
★ 14th placed AD Sanjoanense

★
★ Series C

★
★
★ 11th placed AD Portomosense

★
★
★ 12th placed S. Benfica e Castelo Branco

★
★
★ 13th placed CF União de Coimbra

★
★
★ 14th placed FC Oliveira do Hospital

★
★ Series D

★
★
★ 12th placed Real SC

★
★
★ 13th placed Casa Pia AC

★
★
★ 14th placed Vitória FC "de Setúbal" B

★
★
★ 15th placed Silves FC

★
★
★ 16th placed C. Oriental de Lisboa

Portugal national football team

Date	Venue	Opponents	Score	Comp	Portugal scorers
August 17, 2005	Estádio de São Miguel, Ponta Delgada	Egypt	2-0	F	Fernando Meira, Hélder Postiga
September 3, 2005	Estádio Algarve, Faro-Loulé	Luxembourg	6-0	WCQ3	Jorge Andrade, Ricardo Carvalho, Pauleta (2), Simão Sabrosa (2)
September 7, 2005	Lokomotiv Stadium, Moscow	Russia	0-0	WCQ3	-
October 8, 2005	Estádio Municipal de Aveiro, Aveiro	Liechtenstein	2-1	WCQ3	Pauleta, Nuno Gomes
October 10, 2005	Estádio do Dragão, Porto	Latvia	3-0	WCQ3	Pauleta (2), Hugo Viana
November 12, 2005	Estádio Cidade de Coimbra, Coimbra	Croatia	2-0	F	Petit, Pauleta
November 15, 2005	Windsor Park, Belfast	Northern Ireland	1-1	F	Own goal
March 1, 2006	LTU arena, Düsseldorf	Saudi Arabia	3-0	F	Cristiano Ronaldo (2), Maniche

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