# 2004–05 in Argentine football

The 2004–05 Argentine First Division season saw Américo Gallego's Newell's Old Boys win the Apertura title after a fierce battle against Vélez Sársfield for the supremacy. Vélez soon got over the disappointment after winning the Clausura with Banfield finishing second despite playing most of the tournament with a young squad because they were also competing the Copa Libertadores de América.
Huracán de Tres Arroyos and Almagro were relegated to the Nacional B after lackluster performance while Argentinos Juniors and Instituto played the promotion against Atlético de Rafaela and Huracán, respectively. Both won their series and were able to stay in the top category of the Argentine Football.

## Torneo Apertura

| Pos | Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
| 1 | Newell's Old Boys | 36 | 19 | 10 | 6 | 3 | 22 | 11 | 11 |
| 2 | Vélez Sársfield | 34 | 19 | 10 | 4 | 5 | 21 | 16 | 5 |
| 3 | River Plate | 33 | 19 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 28 | 19 | 9 |
| 4 | Estudiantes La Plata | 30 | 19 | 7 | 9 | 3 | 22 | 14 | 8 |
| 5 | San Lorenzo | 30 | 19 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 29 | 22 | 7 |
| 6 | Rosario Central | 30 | 19 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 19 | 15 | 4 |
| 7 | Colón de Santa Fe | 27 | 19 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 24 | 22 | 2 |
| 8 | Boca Juniors | 26 | 19 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 22 | 16 | 6 |
| 9 | Banfield | 26 | 19 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 24 | 22 | 2 |
| 10 | Racing Club | 26 | 19 | 8 | 2 | 9 | 22 | 21 | 1 |
| 11 | Lanús | 26 | 19 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 25 | 26 | –1 |
| 12 | Gimnasia de La Plata | 25 | 19 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 16 | 23 | –7 |
| 13 | Arsenal de Sarandí | 24 | 19 | 5 | 9 | 5 | 17 | 16 | 1 |
| 14 | Quilmes | 24 | 19 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 14 | 18 | –4 |
| 15 | Independiente | 23 | 19 | 6 | 5 | 8 | 23 | 26 | –7 |
| 16 | Argentinos Juniors | 22 | 19 | 6 | 4 | 9 | 17 | 17 | 0 |
| 17 | Almagro | 22 | 19 | 4 | 10 | 5 | 15 | 18 | –3 |
| 18 | Olimpo de Bahía Blanca | 17 | 19 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 21 | 29 | –8 |
| 19 | Instituto | 14 | 19 | 2 | 8 | 9 | 16 | 30 | –14 |
| 20 | Huracán de Tres Arroyos | 12 | 19 | 2 | 6 | 11 | 19 | 34 | –15 |

### Top Scorers

| Position | Player | Team | Goals |
| 1 | Lisandro López | Racing Club | 12 |
| 2 | Jeremías Caggiano | Huracán de Tres Arroyos | 8 |
| 2 | Osvaldo Miranda | Almagro | 8 |
| 2 | Rolando Zárate | Vélez Sársfield | 8 |
| 3 | Nicolás Frutos | Gimnasia de La Plata | 7 |
| 3 | Claudio Graf | Lanús | 7 |
| 3 | Rodrigo Palacio | Banfield | 7 |
| 3 | Emanuel Villa | Rosario Central | 7 |
| 4 | Jairo Castillo | Independiente | 6 |
| 4 | Diego Galván | Olimpo de Bahía Blanca | 6 |
| 4 | Ezequiel Lavezzi | San Lorenzo | 6 |
| 4 | Martín Palermo | Boca Juniors | 6 |
| 4 | Hernán Peirone | San Lorenzo | 6 |

### Relegation

    There is no relegation after the Apertura. For the relegation results of this tournament see below

## Torneo Clausura

| Position | Team | Points | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against | Difference |
| 1 | Vélez Sársfield | 39 | 19 | 11 | 6 | 2 | 32 | 14 | 18 |
| 2 | Banfield | 33 | 19 | 10 | 3 | 6 | 25 | 16 | 9 |
| 3 | Racing Club | 32 | 19 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 25 | 17 | 8 |
| 4 | Estudiantes La Plata | 31 | 19 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 28 | 23 | 5 |
| 5 | Rosario Central | 31 | 19 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 26 | 23 | 3 |
| 6 | Arsenal de Sarandí | 30 | 19 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 27 | 22 | 5 |
| 7 | Gimnasia de La Plata | 29 | 19 | 9 | 2 | 8 | 25 | 25 | 0 |
| 8 | Lanús | 28 | 19 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 36 | 27 | 9 |
| 9 | Instituto | 28 | 19 | 8 | 4 | 7 | 32 | 30 | 2 |
| 10 | River Plate | 27 | 19 | 8 | 3 | 8 | 31 | 29 | 2 |
| 11 | Colón de Santa Fe | 26 | 19 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 30 | 23 | 7 |
| 12 | Independiente | 26 | 19 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 29 | 26 | 3 |
| 13 | Olimpo de Bahía Blanca | 26 | 19 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 18 | 22 | -4 |
| 14 | Newell's Old Boys | 24 | 19 | 5 | 9 | 5 | 22 | 21 | 1 |
| 15 | Boca Juniors | 22 | 19 | 6 | 4 | 9 | 26 | 30 | -4 |
| 16 | San Lorenzo | 22 | 19 | 6 | 4 | 9 | 23 | 29 | -6 |
| 17 | Argentinos Juniors | 21 | 19 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 28 | 30 | -2 |
| 18 | Quilmes | 20 | 19 | 5 | 5 | 9 | 16 | 23 | -7 |
| 19 | Almagro | 13 | 19 | 3 | 4 | 12 | 22 | 44 | -22 |
| 20 | Huracán de Tres Arroyos | 5 | 19 | 0 | 5 | 14 | 11 | 41 | -30 |

### Top Scorers

| Position | Player | Team | Goals |
| 1 | Mariano Pavone | Estudiantes La Plata | 16 |
| 2 | Esteban Fuertes | Colón de Santa Fe | 11 |
| 3 | Nicolás Frutos | Independiente | 10 |
| 4 | José Luis Calderón | Arsenal de Sarandí | 9 |
| 4 | Claudio Enría | Gimnasia de La Plata | 9 |
| 4 | Josemir Lujambio | Instituto | 9 |

### Relegation

| Team | Average | Points | Played | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 |
| River Plate | 1.798 | 205 | 114 | 79/38 | 66/38 | 60/38 |
| Boca Juniors | 1.772 | 202 | 114 | 79/38 | 75/38 | 48/38 |
| Vélez Sársfield | 1.684 | 192 | 114 | 66/38 | 53/38 | 73/38 |
| Banfield | 1.500 | 171 | 114 | 48/38 | 64/38 | 59/38 |
| San Lorenzo | 1.491 | 170 | 114 | 56/38 | 62/38 | 52/38 |
| Rosario Central | 1.465 | 167 | 114 | 62/38 | 44/38 | 61/38 |
| Racing Club | 1.412 | 161 | 114 | 53/38 | 50/38 | 58/38 |
| Newell's Old Boys | 1.404 | 160 | 114 | 49/38 | 51/38 | 60/38 |
| Colón de Santa Fe | 1.395 | 159 | 114 | 57/38 | 49/38 | 53/38 |
| Arsenal de Sarandí | 1.386 | 158 | 114 | 49/38 | 55/38 | 54/38 |
| Quilmes | 1.368 | 104 | 76 | N/A | 60/38 | 44/38 |
| Independiente | 1.351 | 154 | 114 | 61/38 | 44/38 | 49/38 |
| Estudiantes de La Plata | 1.298 | 148 | 114 | 43/38 | 44/38 | 61/38 |
| Lanús | 1.289 | 147 | 114 | 51/38 | 42/38 | 54/38 |
| Gimnasia de La Plata | 1.211 | 138 | 114 | 46/38 | 38/38 | 54/38 |
| Olimpo de Bahía Blanca | 1.167 | 133 | 114 | 51/38 | 39/38 | 43/38 |
| Argentinos Juniors | 1.132 | 43 | 38 | N/A | N/A | 43/38 |
| Instituto | 1.105 | 42 | 38 | N/A | N/A | 42/38 |
| Almagro | 0.921 | 35 | 38 | N/A | N/A | 35/38 |
| Huracán de Tres Arroyos | 0.447 | 17 | 38 | N/A | N/A | 17/38 |

#### "Promoción" playoff

| Date | Home | Away | Result |
| July 6, 2005 | Atlético de Rafaela | Argentinos Juniors | 2-1 |
| July 10, 2005 | Argentinos Juniors | Atlético de Rafaela | 3-0 |
Argentinos Juniors wins 4-2 and remains in the Argentine First Division
| Date | Home | Away | Result |
| July 6, 2005 | Huracán | Instituto | 1-2 |
| July 10, 2005 | Instituto | Huracán | 1-0 |
Instituto wins 3-1 and remains in the Argentine First Division

## Lower Leagues

| Level | Tournament | Champion |
| 2nd | Primera B Nacional Apertura Primera B Nacional Clausura | Tiro Federal Gimnasia de Jujuy |
| 3rd | Primera B Metropolitana | Tigre |
| 3rd (Interior) | Torneo Argentino A | Ben Hur |
| 4th | Primera C Metropolitana | Comunicaciones |
| 5th | Primera D Metropolitana | Club Atlético Fénix |

## Clubs in international competitions

| Team / Competition | 2004 Recopa Sudamericana | 2004 Copa Sudamericana | 2005 Copa Libertadores |
| Boca Juniors | Runner up lost to Cienciano | Champions defeated Bolívar | Quarterfinals eliminated by Guadalajara |
| River Plate | did not play | 2nd preliminary phase eliminated by Arsenal | Semifinal eliminated by São Paulo |
| Banfield | did not play | 1st preliminary phase eliminated by Arsenal | Quarterfinals eliminated by River Plate |
| Arsenal de Sarandí | did not play | Quarterfinals eliminated by Bolívar | did not qualify |
| San Lorenzo | did not play | 2nd preliminary phase eliminated by Boca Juniors | Group stage eliminated (finished last in the group) |
| Quilmes | did not play | 1st preliminary phase eliminated by San Lorenzo | Group stage eliminated (finished 3rd in the group) |

## National team

This section covers Argentina's games from August 1, 2004 to July 31, 2005.
For the Olympic Games results, please see here. Those results are not tallied here because the team is made of Under–23 players, not the full squad.
Win  Draw  Loss