At this stage in the history of Spanish football, the 'big three' consisted of not only Barcelona and Real Madrid, but also Valencia, who had previously won the Spanish Primera Division in 2004 and 2002. Before the 2004-05 season, Barcelona was arguably the third strongest team in this trio, as they had not won the league since before the turn of the Millennium. The previous season, Barcelona finished second under the management of Frank Rijkaard, but the Dutchman would initiate a revolution at the Camp Nou, starting with a Liga win in 2004-05. In an effort to return to winning trophies, Barcelona brought in two prolific goalscorers in Samuel Eto'o and Henrik Larsson, as well as Ludovic Giuly and Brazilians Edmilson and Juliano Belletti. However, the most significant debut in Barca's history came from young La Masia graduate, Andres Iniesta. Real Madrid experienced a managerial merry-go-round with three head coaches taking charge. Despite boosting their playing staff with the arrival of Englishman Michael Owen, his compatriot Jonathan Woodgate, and centre-back Walter Samuel, success eluded them. Valencia, the reigning champions, spent most of their budget on Stefano Fiore from Lazio as their influential manager, Rafa Benitez, departed for Liverpool. Barcelona started their season strongly, with new signings Giuly and Eto'o scoring in a 2-0 victory away at Racing Santander. They maintained their lead throughout the season and were eventually crowned champions. Real Madrid's title challenge faltered early on as they lost several matches, including a damaging 2-0 defeat against Barcelona in the Clasico. Despite a late surge, they finished second. Valencia struggled under new manager Claudio Ranieri and eventually finished seventh, while Villarreal and Real Betis enjoyed successful seasons, securing Champions League qualification for the first time in their history. At the bottom of the table, Albacete and Numancia were relegated, while Mallorca narrowly avoided the drop thanks to a late surge. Xavi was named Player of the Season, Juan Roman Riquelme was the Foreign Player of the Season, Frank Rijkaard was named Manager of the Season, and Diego Forlan was the top goalscorer. The key moment of the season was Real Madrid's 3-0 loss to Barcelona in the Clasico.
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