Parma Football Club only just survived a horror Serie A season for the club, in which the cash-strapped club went from Champions League contenders to relegation strugglers, only surviving thanks to a "spareggio" victory against Bologna. With lethal striker Alberto Gilardino leaving the club for Milan and goalkeeper Sébastien Frey for Fiorentina, the future looked bleak, especially given that several clubs had accumulated more than 40 points in the 2004–05 season. On a positive note, Parma reached the semi finals of the UEFA Cup, where it drew 0–0 to CSKA Moscow, before finally losing 3–0 in Russia.