2005 Campeonato Brasileiro Série B

The Campeonato Brasileiro Série B 2005, the second level of Brazilian National League, was played from April 23 to November 26, 2005. The competition had 22 clubs, which two were promoted to Série A and six were relegated to Série C.

In the first round, each team played against every other, much like what happens in Série A. Differently from Série A, though, each team played against the other only once. Thus, each team played 21 games, 11 home and 10 away (or the opposite), for a total of 231 games. The eight best ranked teams advanced to the second round, where they were divided in two groups of four. Teams in each group played against each other home and away. The two best ranked teams in each group advanced to the final round. Those four teams were put in a single group, and played against each other home and away.

Grêmio finished the group with most points and was declared champions, claiming the promotion to the Série A along with Santa Cruz. The six last ranked teams in the first round (Anapolina, Bahia, Caxias, Criciúma, União Barbarense and Vitória) were relegated to play Série C in 2006.

Teams

First stage

Second stage

Group A

Group B

Final stage

Trivia

• 2005 was a particularly dreadful year for the clubs from the state of Bahia. Both Vitória (runners-up in 1993) and Bahia (champions in 1988), accostumed to first-division football, found themselves in the unlikely position of being jointly relegated from the second to the Série C.
• Grêmio may have won the title, but it was not without drama. In the last match against Náutico, the club conceded two penalties. The first, in first half, Náutico's Bruno Carvalho hit the post. The second, on the 80th minute, cost Grêmio three players sent off for arguing with the referee (Grêmio already had a man down for handball). The shot was saved by Galatto and a few seconds later, forward Anderson ended up later scoring the winner against all probabilities. The match was named, "A Batalha dos Aflitos" (The Battle of the Aflitos), referring to the game as a battle in Náutico's stadium, Estádio dos Aflitos.