The 2004–05 season of Ligue 1 was a very close-run battle. Separating fourth placed Rennes, who enter the UEFA Cup and 18th placed Caen, who get relegated to Ligue 2, were just 13 points. Lyon were long time leaders and had won the league back in April 2005. On the last day, 4 teams could have got the 4th place guaranteeing a place in the UEFA Cup and any 2 from 6 teams could have been relegated before the final games.
Participating teams
Ajaccio Auxerre Bastia Bordeaux Caen Istres Lens Lille Lyon Marseille Metz Monaco Nantes Nice Paris Saint-Germain Rennes Saint-Étienne Sochaux Strasbourg Toulouse
Personnel and kits TeamManagerKit manufacturerShirt sponsors (front)Shirt sponsors (back)Shirt sponsors (sleeve)Shorts sponsorsAjaccio Rolland CourbisBalistonGéant CasinoNoneConseil Général de la Corse du Sud, Collectivité Territoriale de CorseNoneAuxerre Guy RouxUhlsportPlayStation 2EurotyreNoneNoneBastia Michel Padovani & Éric Durand (caretakers)UhlsportGéant Casino, Pago Premium Fruit JuiceNoneGroupe Onet, Conseil départemental de la Haute-CorseNouvelles FrontièresBordeaux Michel PavonPumaMotorolaNoneGroupe M6MotorolaCaen Franck DumasErreàIsigny Sainte-Mère (Home) / Philips (Away & Third), Brittany FerriesPhilips (Home) / Conseil régional de Basse-Normandie(Away)Guy Dauphin EnvironnementGuy Dauphin EnvironnementIstres Mehmed BaždarevićBalistonOuest Provence / ParuVendu, K-SportFidelidadeNoneNoneLens Francis GillotNikeOrangeOrangeNoneNoneLille KipstaPartouche CasinoPartouche CasinoNoneNoneLyon Paul Le GuenUmbroRenault Trucks (H)/LG Mobile (A), NC Numericable, Renault TrucksLG MobileFertiligèneISSMarseille Philippe TroussierAdidasNeufCreyf's InterimIndesitQuickMetz Jean FernandezPumaSollac, MoselleNoneCoraBigBen InteractiveMonaco Didier DeschampsPumaFedcomGian Alberto CaporaleNoneMonaco TelecomNantes Serge Le DizetLe Coq SportifSynergie Interim (Home) / Paprec Recyclage (Away), Pays de la LoirePaprec Recyclage (Home) / Synergie Interim (Away)Hero by WranglerHero by WranglerNice PumaRica Lewis (Home) / Gorenje (Away), RMCGorenje (Home) / Rica Lewis (Away)Pizzorno EnvironnementPizzorno EnvironnementParis Saint-Germain Laurent FournierNikeThomson32 75 La Ligne Officielle PSG32 75 La Ligne Officielle PSGPoweoRennes László BölöniAirnessConforama (Home) / Fiat Utilitaires (Away), Samsic Propreté, RennesFiat Utilitaires (Home) / Conforama(Away)Association ELANoneSaint-Étienne Élie BaupDuarigKonica Minolta, Conseil général de la Loire en Rhône-AlpesVocalcomLoire, SACMA AgencementsSaint-ÉtienneSochaux Guy LacombeLottoEsso, Franche-ComtéAlliance IntérimMegnin BernardPeugeotStrasbourg Jacky DuguépérouxAdidasSteelcase (Home) / Europe 2 (Away), Europe 2NoneNoneBarrisolToulouse Erick MombaertsLottoNicopatch, Monné-Decroix, Sud Radio / Eaux d'AletNoneNoneNone
League table
Results
Top goalscorers Rank Player Club GoalsLigue 1 - Saison 2004-2005 - Classement des buteurs deux-zero.com 1 Alexander Frei Rennes 20 2 Mickaël Pagis Strasbourg 15 3 Pauleta Paris Saint-Germain 14 4 Pascal Feindouno Saint-Étienne 13 Ilan Sochaux Juninho Pernambucano Lyon Sébastien Mazure Caen Matt Moussilou Lille 9 Mamadou Niang Strasbourg 12 John Utaka Lens Awards
Player of the month MonthPlayerAugust Franck Ribéry (FC Metz)September Fabien Barthez (Olympique de Marseille)October Michael Essien (Olympique Lyonnais)November Camel Meriem (AS Monaco)January Peguy Luyindula (Olympique de Marseille)February Juninho Pernambucano (Olympique Lyonnais)March Juninho Pernambucano (Olympique Lyonnais)April Matt Moussilou (Lille OSC)May Mamadou Niang (RC Strasbourg)
Annual
AwardWinnerClubRef.Player of the Season Michael EssienOlympique LyonnaisYoung Player of the Season Jérémy ToulalanNantesGoalkeeper of the Season Grégory CoupetOlympique LyonnaisGoal of the Season Laurent BatllesOlympique de MarseilleManager of the Season Paul Le GuenOlympique Lyonnais
Team of the YearGoalkeeper Grégory Coupet (Lyon)Defenders Habib Beye (Marseille) Cris (Lyon) Gaël Givet (Monaco) Éric Abidal (Lyon)Midfielders Bonaventure Kalou (Auxerre) Juninho (Lyon) Michael Essien (Lyon) Florent Malouda (Lyon)Forwards Sylvain Wiltord (Lyon) Alexander Frei (Rennes)
Attendances Source:
No. Club Average attendance Change Highest 1 Olympique de Marseille 52,996 2.3% 57,041 2 Olympique lyonnais 37,509 4.2% 40,352 3 Paris Saint-Germain FC 35,401 -8.8% 43,904 4 RC Lens 34,964 0.4% 40,281 5 FC Nantes 30,738 -0.2% 37,022 6 AS Saint-Étienne 29,875 36.1% 35,070 7 Girondins de Bordeaux 23,474 -0.6% 32,712 8 Toulouse FC 23,323 16.2% 35,767 9 Stade rennais 23,267 34.6% 29,164 10 SM Caen 19,806 56.8% 20,972 11 FC Metz 18,205 1.1% 25,908 12 RC Strasbourg 17,441 5.3% 26,631 13 FC Sochaux 15,686 -4.9% 19,931 14 LOSC 13,333 -11.7% 16,891 15 AS Monaco 11,775 13.3% 17,512 16 OGC Nice 11,521 -3.5% 15,755 17 AJ auxerroise 11,373 -11.9% 21,227 18 FC Istres 6,937 230.0% 13,614 19 SC Bastia 5,213 -13.1% 8,598 20 AC Ajaccio 3,047 -13.3% 4,707
References
External links France 2004/05 at Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation