▁title ▁dr ought ; ▁he ▁attract ed ▁interest ▁from ▁Real ▁Madrid , ▁who ▁signed ▁him ▁in ▁late ▁May . ▁As ▁a ▁replacement , ▁Ben fica ▁un success fully ▁in quired ▁after ▁Lu iz ▁F eli pe ▁S col ari ▁for ▁the ▁position . ▁After ▁much ▁spec ulation , ▁Ben fica ▁announced ▁they ▁had ▁rec ru ited ▁Giovanni ▁T rap at ton i , ▁the ▁Italian ▁national ▁team ' s ▁former ▁manager . ▁Ben fica ▁signed ▁more ▁players ▁than ▁the ▁year ▁before , ▁but ▁only ▁Qu im , ▁Manuel ▁dos ▁Santos ▁and ▁Az ar ▁Kar adas ▁became ▁regular ▁first - team ▁fi xt ures . ▁The ▁most ▁significant ▁departure ▁was ▁that ▁of ▁Ti ago , ▁who ▁had ▁been ▁a ▁regular ▁for ▁the ▁past ▁two ▁seasons . ▁Because ▁their ▁second - place ▁finish ▁only ▁granted ▁a ▁place ▁in ▁the ▁third ▁qual ifying ▁round ▁of ▁the ▁UEFA ▁Champions ▁League , ▁Ben fica ▁had ▁to ▁play ▁And er lecht ▁for ▁a ▁place ▁in ▁the ▁group ▁stage . ▁A ▁ 3 – 1 ▁loss ▁on ▁aggregate ▁led ▁to ▁re leg ation ▁to ▁the ▁ 2 0 0 4 – 0 5 ▁UEFA ▁Cup . ▁Between ▁both ▁legs , ▁Ben fica ▁cont ested ▁and ▁lost ▁the ▁ 2 0 0 4 ▁Super cup ▁with ▁Porto . ▁ ▁Dom est ically , ▁Ben fica ▁started ▁the ▁season ▁with ▁consecutive ▁wins , ▁rising ▁to ▁the ▁top ▁of ▁the ▁table ▁by ▁early ▁October . ▁After ▁a ▁home ▁loss ▁in ▁the ▁Cl áss ico , ▁the ▁team ' s ▁results ▁became ▁poor er