| Season | 2004–05 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Club Brugge |
| Relegated | Oostende Mons |
| Champions League | Club Brugge Anderlecht |
| UEFA Cup | Genk Germinal Beerschot |
| Matches | 306 |
| Goals | 845 (2.76 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Nenad Jestrović (18 goals) |
2005–06 → | |
The2004–05 season of theBelgian First Division began on August 6, 2004 and ended on May 23, 2005.Club Brugge became champions on May 15, 2005 after a decisive game against long-time rivalsAnderlecht. The season was full of suspense as the champions and the relegated teams were only known on the 33rd (on 34) matchday. Furthermore, the 3rd place (qualifying forUEFA Cup) had to be decided on a test-match, a fact that had not occurred recently.
These teams were promoted from thesecond division at the start of the season:
These teams were relegated to the second division at the end of the season:
As usual, the two giants (Sporting Anderlecht and Club Brugge) were occupying the first two places after 5 matches. Brugge was already 1st and actually stayed on top until the end. The Brussels side has indeed failed to show consistency under the management ofHugo Broos who was fired after a 0-0 draw atGent. Under new coach (Franky Vercauteren), Anderlecht had a run of good form (after the initial 0-1 defeat against Oostende). Linked to the poor results of rivals Brugge, this situation led to a 6-point difference between the two clubs after 32 matches. The Brugge-Anderlecht game (33rd matchday) was thus decisive for both clubs. It ended with a 2-2 draw that was sufficient for theWest Flemish.
Brugge title is due to its exceptional regularity against smaller teams as is shown on the following table (showing points gained by a top 4 team against the other top 4 teams) :
As Anderlecht and Brugge rapidly ran away with the first two places, the battle for Europe was mainly consisted in the battle for UEFA Cup spots (or battle for the third place). Four teams were serious candidates:Standard,Genk,Charleroi and Gent. The latter two were soon dismissed. Before the last matchday, Standard was two points ahead of Genk but they lost their advantage after a 1-1 draw at Ostend while Genk earned a 3-1 win atCercle Brugge. As both teams now had the same number of points and wins, a test-match had to be played (in two legs). Standard won the first match 3-1 but lost the away match 0-3 and lost the European ticket for next season.
After their poor early results, five teams were predicted to fight against relegation:Sint-Truiden,Mouscron and especially newcomersFC Brussels and Oostende along withMons.Beveren joined the list after a very poor final run. Before the 33rd matchday, the table read:
Lierse and Sint-Truiden were already saved. Mons and Oostende had to win or draw to maintain suspense but they finally both lost (2-0 respectively against Mouscron and atLa Louvière).
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Club Brugge(C) | 34 | 24 | 7 | 3 | 83 | 25 | +58 | 79 | Qualification toChampions League third qualifying round |
| 2 | Anderlecht | 34 | 23 | 7 | 4 | 75 | 34 | +41 | 76 | Qualification toChampions League second qualifying round |
| 3 | Genk | 34 | 21 | 7 | 6 | 59 | 37 | +22 | 70 | Qualification toUEFA Cup second qualifying round |
| 4 | Standard Liège | 34 | 21 | 7 | 6 | 64 | 30 | +34 | 70 | |
| 5 | Charleroi | 34 | 19 | 7 | 8 | 47 | 34 | +13 | 64 | Qualification toIntertoto Cup second round |
| 6 | Gent | 34 | 18 | 5 | 11 | 46 | 36 | +10 | 59 | Qualification toIntertoto Cup first round |
| 7 | La Louvière | 34 | 12 | 8 | 14 | 43 | 43 | 0 | 44 | |
| 8 | Sporting Lokeren | 34 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 36 | 38 | −2 | 44 | Qualification toIntertoto Cup first round |
| 9 | Germinal Beerschot | 34 | 12 | 6 | 16 | 36 | 45 | −9 | 42 | Qualification toUEFA Cup first round |
| 10 | Lierse | 34 | 12 | 5 | 17 | 57 | 60 | −3 | 41 | |
| 11 | Cercle Brugge | 34 | 12 | 5 | 17 | 45 | 74 | −29 | 41 | |
| 12 | Westerlo | 34 | 11 | 6 | 17 | 34 | 54 | −20 | 39 | |
| 13 | Mouscron | 34 | 10 | 6 | 18 | 40 | 43 | −3 | 36 | |
| 14 | Sint-Truiden | 34 | 10 | 6 | 18 | 40 | 58 | −18 | 36 | |
| 15 | Molenbeek Brussels Strombeek | 34 | 10 | 3 | 21 | 32 | 60 | −28 | 33 | |
| 16 | Beveren | 34 | 8 | 8 | 18 | 43 | 59 | −16 | 32 | |
| 17 | Oostende(R) | 34 | 6 | 9 | 19 | 31 | 62 | −31 | 27 | Relegation to2005–06 Belgian Second Division |
| 18 | Mons(R) | 34 | 7 | 5 | 22 | 39 | 58 | −19 | 26 |
| Home \ Away | AND | GBA | BEV | CER | CLU | CHA | GNK | GNT | LIE | LOK | LOU | BRU | MON | MOU | OST | STV | STA | WES |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anderlecht | 3–0 | 5–2 | 5–2 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 4–2 | 2–0 | 5–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 4–0 | |
| Germinal Beerschot | 0–1 | 3–1 | 2–3 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | |
| Beveren | 0–1 | 1–0 | 5–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–4 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 2–3 | 4–1 | |
| Cercle Brugge | 1–3 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–4 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 5–1 | 1–3 | 0–0 | |
| Club Brugge | 2–2 | 6–0 | 3–1 | 5–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 5–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 7–3 | 5–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | |
| Charleroi | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 5–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–5 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | |
| Genk | 2–4 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 3–2 | |
| Gent | 0–0 | 5–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | |
| Lierse | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–5 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 7–0 | 5–1 | 4–1 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | |
| Lokeren | 2–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 4–3 | 0–0 | 3–1 | |
| La Louvière | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | |
| Brussels | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 1–6 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | |
| Mons | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 0–1 | 4–1 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 2–3 | 3–2 | |
| Mouscron | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 6–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 5–1 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 0–3 | 3–0 | |
| Oostende | 1–3 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 2–3 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 3–3 | |
| Sint-Truiden | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 0–0 | 4–1 | 1–0 | |
| Standard Liège | 1–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 4–0 | 1–4 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 5–0 | 4–1 | 2–0 | |
| Westerlo | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–3 |
| No. | Club | Average attendance | Change | Highest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Club Brugge | 24,432 | 3,0% | 27,734 |
| 2 | Anderlecht | 23,689 | -1,9% | 25,693 |
| 3 | Genk | 22,650 | -4,1% | 24,128 |
| 4 | Standard de Liège | 16,882 | 0,0% | 27,000 |
| 5 | Charleroi | 10,713 | 17,9% | 19,710 |
| 6 | Gent | 7,744 | -7,3% | 10,840 |
| 7 | Lierse | 7,476 | 3,1% | 10,800 |
| 8 | STVV | 7,471 | -2,5% | 12,000 |
| 9 | Germinal Beerschot | 7,278 | -2,0% | 10,500 |
| 10 | Mouscron | 6,722 | -12,8% | 10,000 |
| 11 | Brussels | 5,869 | 137,5% | 15,266 |
| 12 | Sporting Lokeren | 5,712 | 2,5% | 10,500 |
| 13 | Westerlo | 5,265 | -0,3% | 8,500 |
| 14 | Cercle Brugge | 5,156 | 1,0% | 12,450 |
| 15 | RAAL | 4,816 | 12,0% | 9,017 |
| 16 | RAEC | 4,665 | 1,8% | 9,000 |
| 17 | Beveren | 4,382 | -11,3% | 7,500 |
| 18 | Oostende | 3,951 | 138,9% | 10,000 |
Source:[1]