The 2005 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A (officially the Taça Nestlé Brasileirão 2005 for sponsorship reasons) was the 50th edition of the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, a professional league for men's football clubs in Brazil. The tournament saw Corinthians claim their fourth national title. The season officially kicked off on April 23, 2005, and concluded on December 4.
The tournament was heavily marred by a major match-fixing scandal that resulted in the unprecedented invalidation and replay of 11 matches, significantly altering the final standings.
Romário, the veteran striker of Vasco da Gama, was the top scorer with 22 goals.
Carlos Tevez won the Bola de Ouro and finished third in the top scorers chart with 20 goals.
The season
Champion and contenders Pre-season favorites Corinthians captured their fourth national championship despite a turbulent early season and a campaign that went through 3 different head coaches. Key players Carlos Tevez, Carlos Alberto, Roger and Gustavo Nery led the team to 81 points in 42 games. Despite early season turmoil, Corinthians benefited from being one of the few teams in Brazil who could afford to maintain their talent base throughout the season without having to sell key players. The legitimacy of their title was disputed late in the season due to several scandals on and off the field. As 2005 champions, Corinthians received berth into the first round of the Libertadores Cup as well as the South American Cup in 2006.
Internacional executed a strong campaign, finishing with a total of 78 points. Coach Muricy Ramalho led a team with Rafael Sobis, Fernandão, and Tinga to the best performance of any team in the second half, narrowly missing the opportunity for their own fourth national title, but also securing a place in the first round of the Libertadores.
Goiás and Palmeiras qualified for the preliminary stage of the 2006 Copa Libertadores for finishing third and fourth respectively. For Goiás, the third-place finish represented the club's best-ever performance in the Série A.
Consolation prize The top middle of the pack was made up of Fluminense, Atlético/PR, Paraná, Cruzeiro, Botafogo, Santos, and São Paulo, who were all awarded allocations in the 2006 Copa Sudamericana; with São Paulo, who could not participate due to Libertadores commitments, ceding their spot to 12th placed Vasco da Gama. Santos in particular saw their season nose-dive as star player Robinho was transferred to Real Madrid mid-season (a similar fate encountered by Cruzeiro as striker Fred was shipped off to Lyon). Atlético/PR and São Paulo both suffered for having to dedicate their primary attention to the 2005 Libertadores Finals.
Promotions and relegations The system aiming to reduce the total number of participants, implemented first in 2004, continued its final year this season, with the bottom four teams relegated to Série B being Atlético Mineiro, Coritiba, Paysandu, and the recently promoted Brasiliense. Série B champions Grêmio and runner-up Santa Cruz took their place.
Controversies
The 2005 season was severely disrupted by a major refereeing and match-fixing scandal, later known as "Máfia do Apito" (Whistle Mafia). In September 2005, referee Edílson Pereira de Carvalho was arrested after it was exposed that he had manipulated match outcomes to benefit illegal gambling websites.
As a result of the investigations, the took the unprecedented decision of invalidating and ordering the replay of 11 matches refereed by Carvalho. This decision allowed Corinthians, who replayed two games, to gain crucial points over runners-up Internacional, leading to debates over the fairness of the measures taken.
Final standings
</onlyinclude> Statistics Top goal scorers ScorerGoalsTeamRomário22Vasco da GamaRóbson21PaysanduCarlos Tevez20CorinthiansAlex Dias19Vasco da GamaBorges19ParanáRafael Sóbis19Internacional
Mid-season transactions While the CBF and Clube dos 13 continue to modify the league format in the hopes of decreasing the number of mid-season departures and improve the overall quality of play, the 2006 edition saw a significant number of players depart for Europe and elsewhere.
TeamPlayer(s) ArrivingPlayer(s) DepartingAtlético MineiroEuller, Luís Mário and CatanhaCésar Fábio Júnior and André LuizAtlético-PRFinazziAloísio and Felipe BaloyBotafogoZé Roberto, Ruy and ReinaldoCésar Prates, Túlio and JeffersonBrasilienseDill Oséas and AgnaldoCorinthiansJavier Mascherano and NilmarAnderson and GilCoritibaCaio and RenaldoRafinha, Fernando and MirandaCruzeiroAlecsandro and LouzadaFred, Athirson and RuyFigueirenseEdmundo and FernandesFábio Mello and Creedence ClearwaterFlamengoAugusto Recife and César Augusto RamírezHenrique and JeanFluminenseDejan Petković and Milton do ÓFelipe, Fabiano Eller and Antônio CarlosFortalezaRinaldo and LúcioDanilo and NélioGoiásRoni, Dodô and Mário JardelDanilo Dias and VálberInternacionalIarley, Márcio Mossoró and Wason RenteríaFelipe SoaresJuventude Caíco and Daniel Naldo and Túlio SouzaPalmeirasMarcinho, Washington and Juninho PaulistaMagrão, Osmar, RicardinhoParanáChiquinho and MaicossuelRenaldoPaysanduFelipe Saad, Carlos Alberto and Luiz CarlosFlávio Tanajura, Alex Pinho and Luiz CarlosPonte PretaEvandoHarison, Roger and Kahê (sold)São CaetanoClaudecir, Somália, EdílsonMarcinhoSão PauloChristian and RogerLuizãoVasco da GamaAdán Vergara, Fábio Braz and MoraisDominguez, Anderson Costa and Coutinho
Awards Annual awards Award Winner ClubBest Player Carlos TévezCorinthiansTop Scorer RomárioVasco da GamaBest Coach Muricy RamalhoInternacionalBest Referee Leonardo Gaciba—Special Honouree Mário Zagallo—
Team of the Year Team of the YearGoalkeeper Fábio Costa (Corinthians)Defenders Gabriel (Fluminense) Carlos Gamarra (Palmeiras) Diego Lugano (São Paulo)Midfielders Marcelo Mattos (Corinthians) Tinga (Internacional) Roger (Corinthians)Forwards Carlos Tévez (Corinthians) Rafael Sóbis (Internacional)
References
External links
CBF Confederação Brasileira de Futebol - Brazilian Football Confederation RSSSF Brazil links Placar magazine online