2005–06 UEFA Champions League
The 2005–06 UEFA Champions League was the 51st season of UEFA's premier European club football tournament, the UEFA Champions League and the 14th since it was rebranded from the European Cup in 1992. 74 teams from 50 football associations took part, starting with the first qualifying round played on 12 July 2005.
The Stade de France in Saint-Denis hosted the final. | |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | Qualifying: 12 July – 24 August 2005 Competition proper: 13 September 2005 – 17 May 2006 |
| Teams | Competition proper: 32 Total: 74 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Barcelona (2nd title) |
| Runners-up | Arsenal |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 125 |
| Goals scored | 294 (2.35 per match) |
| Attendance | 5,133,156 (41,065 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Andriy Shevchenko (Milan) 9 goals |
The tournament ended with a final between Arsenal and Barcelona at Stade de France, Paris, on 17 May 2006. Barcelona won 2–1 with Juliano Belletti scoring a late winner. Arsenal had taken the lead through a Sol Campbell header in the 37th minute, despite Jens Lehmann being sent off in the 18th minute. Samuel Eto'o brought Barcelona back on level terms in the 76th minute before Belletti scored the winner five minutes later.
The defending champions were Liverpool and as they did not qualify by their league position, UEFA gave them special dispensation and allowed them to defend their title from the first qualifying round of the competition. They made the group stage and progressed but were eliminated by Benfica in the first knockout round. From the following season, UEFA reserved a berth in the group stage for the defending champions regardless of their league position.