The Campeonato Brasileiro Série B 2005, the second level of the Brazilian National League, was played from April 23 to November 26, 2005. The competition had 22 clubs, of which two were promoted to the Série A and six were relegated to the Série C.
In the first round, every team played against each other, much like what happens in the Série A. Differently from the Série A, 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 into 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 into a single group, and played against each other home and away.
2005 was a particularly dreadful year for the clubs from the state of Bahia. Both the Vitória (runners-up in 1993) and the Bahia (champions in 1988), accustomed 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, in the 80th minute, cost Grêmio three players for arguing with the referee (the Grêmio already had a man down for a second yellow card). The shot was saved by Galatto. Forward Anderson ended up scoring the win. The match was named The "A Batalha dos Aflitos" (The Battle of the Aflitos), referring to the game as a battle in Náutico's stadium, Estádio dos Aflitos.[1][2]
