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 [http://www.uefa.com/uefa/Keytopics/kind=1/newsId=395716.html] . This positive test has been challenged very aggressively by Benfica's management, as the tests seem to have failed to follow proper procedures [http://www.correiodamanha.pt/noticia.asp?id=204276&idselect=12&idCanal=12&p=200] , 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.

Honours

UEFA Cup first round

UEFA Champions League first knockout round

Vitória FC "de Setúbal"

UEFA Cup first round

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

16TeamBracket | RD1=Round of 16
RD2= Quarter-Finals
RD3= Semi-Finals
RD4= Final
group1=
group2=

RD1-seed03=1
RD1-team03=FC Porto
RD1-score03=-
RD1-seed04=-
RD1-team04="bye"
RD1-score04=-

RD1-logo07=
RD1-seed07=1
RD1-team07=Sporting CP
RD1-score07=2
RD1-seed08=2B
RD1-team08=Paredes
RD1-score08=1

RD1-seed01=1
RD1-team01=CS Marítimo
RD1-score01=3
RD1-seed02=3
RD1-team02=Vila Meã
RD1-score02=0

RD1-seed05=2
RD1-team05=Desportivo das Aves
RD1-score05=1
RD1-seed06=1
RD1-team06=AA Coimbra
RD1-score06=2

RD1-seed15=1
RD1-team15="'Vitória de Guimarães
RD1-score15=2
RD1-seed16=2B
RD1-team16=UD Oliveirense
RD1-score16=0

RD1-seed11=1
RD1-team11=Estrela da Amadora
RD1-score11=0
RD1-seed12=1
RD1-team12=Boavista FC
RD1-score12=1

RD1-seed09=2B
RD1-team09=Lixa
RD1-score09=0
RD1-seed10=1
RD1-team10=Vitória Setúbal
RD1-score10=2

RD1-seed13=1
RD1-team13=SL Benfica (pen)
RD1-score13=0 (5)
RD1-seed14=1
RD1-team14=CD Nacional
RD1-score14=0 (3)

RD2-seed03=1
RD2-team03=AA Coimbra
RD2-score03=0
RD2-seed04=1
RD2-team04="'Sporting CP
RD2-score04=2

RD2-seed01=1
RD2-team01=CS Marítimo
RD2-score01=1 (1)
RD2-seed02=1
RD2-team02=FC Porto (aet)
RD2-score02=1 (2)

RD2-seed07=1
RD2-team07=SL Benfica
RD2-score07=0
RD2-seed08=1
RD2-team08=Vitória de Guimarães
RD2-score08=1

RD2-seed05=1
RD2-team05=Vitória Setúbal (aet)
RD2-score05=1 (2)
RD2-seed06=1
RD2-team06=Boavista FC
RD2-score06=1 (1)

RD3-seed01=1
RD3-team01=FC Porto (PEN)
RD3-score01=1 (5)
RD3-seed02=1
RD3-team02=Sporting CP
RD3-score02=1 (4)

RD3-seed03=1
RD3-team03=Vitória Setúbal (PEN)
RD3-score03=1 (3)
RD3-seed04=1
RD3-team04=Vitória de Guimarães
RD3-score04=1 (2)

RD4-seed01=1
RD4-team01=FC Porto
RD4-score01=1
RD4-seed02=1
RD4-team02=Vitória Setúbal
RD4-score02=0

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

erie B

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

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