Campeonato Brasileiro 2005: Encyclopedia II - Campeonato Brasileiro 2005 - Relegated in 2006

Campeonato Brasileiro 2005 - Relegated in 2006

Coritiba, Altético/MG, Paysandu, and Brasiliense

Turmoil on and off the field

The season experienced significant turmoil off the field, marred by a match fixing scandal, which resulted in the replay of 11 série A matches between rounds 31 and 37, including 2 losses by Corinthians which were replayed to the regain of 4 points. While temporarily sub judice, the CBF was eventually given permission to award the title to Corinthians.

Referee errors towards the end of the season also added drama in the final rounds of the season. In round 39, Inter had a legitimate goal by their opponent disallowed, thus allowing them to maintain the victory and the points margin. Corinthians and Inter faced off in round 40, and with the game tied 1 – 1 in the second half, Inter midfielder Tinga got behind the Corinthians defense and collided with goalkeeper Fábio Costa. Referee Márcio Rezende de Freitas expelled the attacking player for diving, but upon viewing the replay after the game admitted that the correct call would have been to award a penalty shot. In the remaining tournament, neither Inter nor Corinthians were able to solidify their position by each amassing a win and a loss in the next-to-final and final round.

Miscellaneous

• At 39 years young, World Cup 1994 hero Romário won the title of leading goal scorer in the league with 22 goals for Vasco da Gama.

• 2005 noticed a marked impact by foreigners in the Brazilian league. Corinthians contracted 3 Argentine players (with Carlitos Tévez becoming the 3rd “gringo” to captain a Brazilian team to the championship) and started the season with Daniel Passarella, of Argentina as coach. Native Serbian Petkovic led Fluminense to a respectable result and won the Silver Ball for the second year in a row as the best midfielder in the Brazilian tournament.

• Bola de Ouro (Golden Ball), awarded by Placar magazine for best overall player of the year: Carlos Tevez of Corinthians.

• Bola de Prata (Silver Ball), awarded annually by Placar magazine for best player at each position: Fábio Costa (Corinthians); Cicinho (São Paulo), Laguano (São Paulo), Gamarra (Palmeiras), and Jadílson (Goiás); Mineiro (São Paulo), Marcelo Mattos (Corinthians), Petkovic (Fluminense) and Juninho Paulista (Palmeiras); Tevez (Corinthians) and Rafael Sobis (Internacional).

Statistics

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Relegated in 2006", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki