2004–05 S.L. Benfica season
Entry date Position Player From club Fee
2 June 2004 RW Carlitos Estoril Undisclosed
2 June 2004 DM Paulo Almeida Santos Undisclosed
21 June 2004 CB Eurípedes Amoreirinha Alverca Undisclosed
23 June 2004 GK Yannick Quesnel Alverca Undisclosed
6 July 2004 CM Bruno Aguiar Alverca Loan Return
7 July 2004 GK Quim Braga Undisclosed
18 July 2004 LB Manuel dos Santos Marseille Undisclosed
29 July 2004 ST Azar Karadas Rosenborg Undisclosed
31 July 2004 CM Everson Nice Undisclosed
30 January 2005 AM Nuno Assis Vitória de Guimarães Undisclosed
Transfers -- In
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. Domestically, Benfica started the season with consecutive wins, rising to the top of the table by early October.