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Bayern Munich became the first team to win the double twice-in-a-row, which was also the fourth time in four seasons that the same team won both the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal.
Felix Magath had lifted the title in his first season in Munich, and did the same again in 2005-06, finishing five points clear of runners-up Werder Bremen.
Borussia Dortmund’s financial troubles continued into 2005-06, meaning the club finished seventh for the second successive season, missing out on Europe once more.
Hamburg qualified for the Champions League thanks to their third-place finish, while Schalke, Bayer Leverkusen, and Hertha Berlin finished in the top six to progress to the UEFA Cup.
Eintracht Frankfurt had a good season following promotion, avoiding going back down, and also qualifying for Europe via the cup. Cologne and Duisburg were unable to stay in the top flight, and were accompanied by Kaiserslautern in the relegation zone.
CHANGES
Magath’s second season squad was much similar to his first, changing little from the side that had won the double in the previous campaign. Centre-back Valerien Ismael moved from Werder Bremen for €8.5 million, with Torsten Frings going in the opposite direction for €5m. Julio dos Santos was also signed from Paraguay but played just one league game.
Schalke spent big during the window, adding striker Kevin Kuranyi from Stuttgart for just under €7m, while Brazilian full-back Rafinha joined from Cortiba for €5m. A year after arriving in Gelsenkirchen, Ailton left for Besiktas despite scoring 14 goals in 29 appearances.
Hamburg raided Ajax for two of their most promising young players, defensive midfielder Nigel de Jong (€1.5m) and attacking midfielder Rafael van der Vaart (€5.1m), while Timothee Atouba joined from Spurs. Borussia Monchengladbach’s biggest arrival was also an Ajax player, spending €2.5m on forward Wesley Sonck to replace Galatasaray-bound Marek Heinz.
Borussia Dortmund made their signing of Ebi Smolarek permanent,…
Source link : https://www.footballcritic.com/season-reviews/when-klose-fired-bayern-to-yet-another-bundesliga-crown-the-bundesliga-in-2005-06/127
Author : [email protected] (Ronan Murphy)
Publish date : 2024-07-26 13:00:00
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