Bayern Munich became the first team to win the double twice-in-a-row, which was also the fourth time in four seasons that the same team won both the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal.
Felix Magath had lifted the title in his first season in Munich, and did the same again in 2005-06, finishing five points clear of runners-up Werder Bremen.
Borussia Dortmund’s financial troubles continued into 2005-06, meaning the club finished seventh for the second successive season, missing out on Europe once more.
Hamburg qualified for the Champions League thanks to their third-place finish, while Schalke, Bayer Leverkusen, and Hertha Berlin finished in the top six to progress to the UEFA Cup.
Eintracht Frankfurt had a good season following promotion, avoiding going back down, and also qualifying for Europe via the cup. Cologne and Duisburg were unable to stay in the top flight, and were accompanied by Kaiserslautern in the relegation zone.
CHANGES
Magath’s second season squad was much similar to his first, changing little from the side that had won the double in the previous campaign. Centre-back Valerien Ismael moved from Werder Bremen for €8.5 million, with Torsten Frings going in the opposite direction for €5m. Julio dos Santos was also signed from Paraguay, but played just one league game.
Schalke spent big during the window, adding striker Kevin Kuranyi from Stuttgart for just under €7m, while Brazilian full-back Rafinha joined from Cortiba for €5m. A year after arriving in Gelsenkirchen, Ailton left for Besiktas despite scoring 14 goals in 29 appearances.
Hamburg raided Ajax for two of their most promising young players, defensive midfielder Nigel de Jong (€1.5m) and attacking midfielder Rafael van der Vaart (€5.1m), while Timothee Atouba joined from Spurs. Borussia Monchengladbach’s biggest arrival was also an Ajax player, spending €2.5m on forward Wesley Sonck to replace Galatasaray-bound Marek Heinz.
Borussia Dortmund made their signing of Ebi Smolarek permanent, spending €750k on the forward, but financial problems meant Ewerthon was sold for €3.5m to Real Zaragoza, while numerous players were allowed leave on free transfers.
Wolfsburg cashed in on Bulgarian midfielder Martin Petrov, with €10m coming their way from Atletico Madrid. Some of this money was then used on Stuttgart forward Mike Henke and Benfica defender Alex Costa.
Stuttgart added a Danish flavour to their attack, with winger Jesper Gronkjaer brought in to support fellow new arrival Jon Dahl Tomasson, a €7.5m signing from AC Milan. After an excellent spell in Germany, Alexander Hleb left the Bundesliga, joining Arsenal for €15m.
SUMMARY
Bayern Munich dominated the league from start to finish, and were at the top of the table on all but two matchdays (weeks two and nine, where Werder Bremen took temporary control). Bremen battled hard until the end, thanks to the goalscoring exploits of striker Miroslav Klose, who finished as top scorer with 25 league goals.
Magath’s Bayern lost just three times all season, once to Werder, and home-and-away to Hamburg. HSV had been relegation candidates when Thomas Doll took over in 2004, but turned things around at the club where he finished his playing career, qualifying for the UEFA Cup and then finishing in the top three in 2005-06.
Hamburg’s Champions League finish was down to the club’s Dutch contingent, with summer signing van der Vaart scoring in each of his first four away games. The midfielder’s decision to join Hamburg had initially been questioned, with Netherlands legend Johan Cruyff wondering why he had turned down AC Milan for HSV.
De Jong was signed in January to play alongside van der Vaart and Khalid Boulharouz, with all three having a huge impact. De Jong scored just one goal in his first season, but it was a memorable one - inflicting the first loss on Bayern Munich at their new home, the Allianz Arena.
Duisburg had a terrible season on their return to the top flight, and had almost as many managers (four) as they had wins (five) during the campaign. Schalke and Stuttgart failed to make the impact they hoped, and both sides replaced their head coach during the season. Ralf Rangnick was replaced by Oliver Reck and then Mirko Slomka, while Giovanni Trapattoni made way for Armin Veh.
PLAYER OF THE SEASON
MIROSLAV KLOSE
Klose had scored 15 goals in his first season at Werder Bremen, but took that up a notch, with 25 goals in 26 games during his second season at Weserstadion.
MANAGER OF THE SEASON
FELIX MAGATH
Once again, Magath proved his credentials as Bayern Munich manager by guiding them to another double - the first time in history a club had done it two seasons-in-a-row.
TOP GOALSCORER
MIROSLAV KLOSE - 25 GOALS
The 2002 World Cup Golden Boot winner found form at exactly the right time heading into the 2006 tournament, scoring 25 goals in the Bundesliga to win the Torjagerkanone ahead of 21-goal Dimitar Berbatov.
TEAM OF THE SEASON
ROST; LAHM, LUCIO, BORDON; ROSICKY, BALLACK, VAN DER VAART, FRINGS, ALTINTOP; KLOSE, BERBATOV
MOST EXPENSIVE TRANSFER
Valerien Ismael
Werder Bremen to Bayern
€8.5m
KEY MOMENT OF THE SEASON
Bayern Munich began life at their new ground, the Allianz Arena, with a comfortable 3-0 win over Borussia Monchengladbach, settling into unusual surroundings with a familiar result. They did not concede a home goal until November, and only lost once at the new venue all season.
Bayern 
