| 2004–05 season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| President |  Juan Bautista Soler | |||
| Manager |  Claudio Ranieri (from 8 June to 25 February) Antonio López (from 25 February) | |||
| La Liga | 7th | |||
| Copa del Rey | Round of 64 | |||
| UEFA Champions League | Group stage | |||
| UEFA Cup | Round of 32 | |||
| UEFA Super Cup | Winners | |||
Season summary
Popular manager Claudio Ranieri returned to Valencia for a second spell in charge after being dismissed by Chelsea. The team started well, winning the UEFA Super Cup and winning 14 points from their first 6 matches, but in October a strong start were cut short by heralded a run of only one win from 7 games and elimination from the Champions League. Form failed to improve in 2005, with a 6-match winless run and early elimination from the UEFA Cup. Ranieri was sacked in late February with the team in 6th. Youth coach Antonio López took charge for the rest of the season, which saw Los Che finish in awful 7th place and thus qualified for UEFA Intertoto Cup for next season. Getafe coach Quique Sánchez Flores was hired as permanent head coach.
Players
First-team squad
- Squad at end of season[1]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | DF | ESP | David Navarro |
| 18 | MF | ESP | Xisco |
| 19 | MF | ESP | Francisco Rufete |
| 20 | FW | ESP | Mista |
| 21 | MF |  ARG | Pablo Aimar |
| 23 | DF | ESP | Curro Torres |
| 24 | DF | ITA | Emiliano Moretti |
| 25 | GK |  FRA | Ludovic Butelle |
| 30 | DF | ESP | Hector Pilán |
| 31 | MF | FRA | Nicolas Karlamoff |
| 33 | FW | ESP | Gio |
| 34 | MF | ESP | Juanlu |
| 35 | MF | ESP | Miguel Pallardó |
| 36 | DF | ESP | Santacruz |
| 37 | DF | ESP | Manuel Ruz |
Left club during season
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
|---|---|---|---|
| 32 | MF | ESP | David Silva (on loan to Eibar) |
Competitions
La Liga
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Espanyol | 38 | 17 | 10 | 11 | 54 | 46 | +8 | 61 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 6 | Sevilla | 38 | 17 | 9 | 12 | 44 | 41 | +3 | 60 | |
| 7 | Valencia | 38 | 14 | 16 | 8 | 54 | 39 | +15 | 58 | Qualification for the Intertoto Cup third round |
| 8 | Deportivo La Coruña | 38 | 12 | 15 | 11 | 46 | 50 | −4 | 51[a] | Qualification for the Intertoto Cup second round |
| 9 | Athletic Bilbao | 38 | 14 | 9 | 15 | 59 | 54 | +5 | 51[a] |
Rules for classification: 1st points; 2nd head-to-head points; 3rd head-to-head goal difference; 4th head-to-head goals scored; 5th goal difference; 6th number of goals scored; 7th Fair-play points
Notes:
UEFA Super Cup
Valencia| 27 August 2004 | Porto  | 1–2 | Valencia | Stade Louis II, Monaco |
| 20:45 CEST | Quaresma  78' | Report 1 Report 2 [2][3] | Baraja 32' Di Vaio 67' | Attendance: 17,292 Referee: Terje Hauge (Norway) |
La Liga
Result round by round
UEFA Champions League
Group stage
Anderlecht| 14 September 2004 | Valencia | 2–0 | Anderlecht | Mestalla, Valencia |
| 20:45 | Vicente 16' Baraja 45' | Report | Attendance: 39,000 Referee: Bertrand Layec (France) |
Valencia| 29 September 2004 | Werder Bremen  | 2–1 | Valencia | Weserstadion, Bremen |
| 20:45 | Klose 60' Charisteas 84' | Report | Vicente 2' | Referee: Mike Riley (England) |
Internazionale| 20 October 2004 | Valencia | 1–5 | Internazionale | Mestalla, Valencia |
| 20:45 | Aimar 73' | Report | Stanković 47' Vieri 49'Van der Meyde 76'Adriano 81'Cruz 90+1' | Attendance: 40,000 Referee: Urs Meier (Switzerland) |
Valencia| 2 November 2004 | Internazionale | 0–0 | Valencia | San Siro, Milan |
| 20:45 | Report | Attendance: 40,000 Referee: Valentin Ivanov (Russia) |
Valencia| 24 November 2004 | Anderlecht | 1–2 | Valencia | Constant Vanden Stock Stadium, Brussels |
| 20:45 | Wilhelmsson 24' | Report | Corradi 19' Di Vaio 48' | Attendance: 25,866 Referee: Tom Henning Øvrebø (Norway) |
Werder Bremen| 7 December 2004 | Valencia | 0–2 | Werder Bremen | Mestalla, Valencia |
| 20:45 | Report | Valdez 83', 90+2' | Attendance: 40,000 Referee: Anders Frisk (Sweden) |
UEFA Cup
Round of 32
Steaua București| 16 February 2005 | Valencia | 2–0 | Steaua București | Mestalla Stadium, Valencia |
| 21:30 (CET) | Di Vaio 39' Aimar 55' | Report | Referee: Domenico Messina (Italy) |
Valencia| 24 February 2005 | Steaua București | 2–0 (a.e.t.) (4–3 p) | Valencia | Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest |
| 19:00 (CET) | Cristea 50', 71' | Report | Referee: Johan Verbist (Belgium) | |
| Penalties | ||||
Rădoi  Munteanu  Lovin Boștină Dică | Aimar Mista Rufete Baraja Di Vaio | |||
2–2 on aggregate, Steaua București won 4–3 on penalty shootout.