WCR Weekend Soccer on Television - 18/19 May 2013

Many of the top clubs in Europe close up shop for the summer after this weekend.  This means that this is probably the last time that we bring you a list of matches being broadcast over the weekend until August or September.  We’ll miss this feature, but we’ll find other things to keep ourselves entertained as the weather gets warmer.

The match of the weekend actually will be broadcast on Friday, as the ESPN family of networks will bring to you the Copa del Rey final between Madrileño powerhouses Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid.  It’s viewed as little more than an exhibition, though an upset by Atlético could be thrilling.

On ESPN3, you can watch Porto and Benfica battle other clubs as Porto tries to hold onto its narrow Liga Sagres lead in the final match of the season.  This season, if you want excitement at the end of the season in any of the top European domestic leagues, that’s all you got.

Of course, there are plenty of matches to be played this weekend that will be important with respect to relegation.  To hell with them.  If you’re battling for seventeenth place, I’m not going to waste time writing about you now or watching you over the weekend.  If your team is battling to stay up next year, though, go ahead and watch.  I’ll be rooting for you.

We aren’t bringing you a Top Five matches of the weekend this time around because we don’t have many matches to put on our list.  Hell, watch them all!

Our feud with beIn has long ended, but if you want to blame somebody for such a weak schedule, blame its family of networks.  It’s Friday, and less than 24 hours before the weekend begins, its website still is telling us that they will have football matches this weekend, but they can’t tell us which ones.  If you like Spanish La Liga, French Ligue 1 or Italian Serie A and need to watch some of those matches, turn on beIn or beInñ.  There’ll be something on.  We just don’t have any idea which matches those will be.  You suck, beIn.

For all of the other networks, we do have an actual list.  That’s below.  Have a great weekend!!

Friday, May 17, 2013

3:30 pm – (4) Real Madrid vs (10) Atlético Madrid  (ESPN, ESPND, ESPN3)

Saturday, May 18, 2013

9:30 am – (1) Bayern Munich at Borussia Mönchengladbach  (GolTV)

11:30 am – Hoffenheim at (2) Borussia Dortmund  (Delayed) (GolTV)

2:00 pm – River Plate at Defensor  (GolTV)

5:00 pm – Columbus Crew at Toronto FC  (Unimás)

6:00 pm – Monterrey at Club América  (Univision)

7:00 pm – Colón at Boca Juniors  (GolTV)

Sunday, May 19, 2013

7:45 am – Inverness at Ross County  (FSP)

11:00 am – Sunderland at (20) Tottenham Hotspur  (FSC)

11:00 am – (5) Manchester United at West Bromwich Albion  (FoxD)

11:00 am – Everton at (14) Chelsea  (FSP)

11:00 am – (22) Arsenal at Newcastle United  (ESPN2, ESPND, ESPN3)

1:00 pm – Los Angeles Galaxy at New York Red Bulls  (ESPN2, ESPND, ESPN3)

1:30 pm – Norwich City at (9) Manchester City  (Delayed) (FSP)

1:30 pm – Moreirense at (11) Benfica  (ESPN3)

1:30 pm – (7) Porto at Paços de Ferreira  (ESPN3)

3:00 pm – Corinthians at Santos  (GolTV)
3:30 pm – Stoke City at Southampton  (Delayed) (FSP)

5:00 pm – Wanderers at Peñarol  (Delayed) (GolTV)
5:00 pm – Sporting Kansas City at DC United  (UniDep)

6:30 pm – Queens Park Rangers at Liverpool  (Delayed) (FSC)

9:00 pm – Santos Laguna at Cruz Azul  (ESPND, Azteca)

WCR Top 25 Clubs in the World - Blame it on Real Edition

We’re a day late with the rankings this week.  I could say that we got behind and that is just the way things are.  Instead, I’ll blame it on Real Sociedad.  With this week’s rankings depending on yesterday’s match between Granada and Real Sociedad, we decided that we would wait until after that match to run the numbers.  Yeah, that’s the ticket.  Of course, we could put things off another day because today’s Arsenal match could also affect the rankings, but we’re not that far behind.  So, it’s Real Sociedad’s fault.  Yeah.

As the end of the season approaches in all of Europe’s top domestic leagues, we have newly crowned champions, such as Barcelona and Paris St.-Germain.  We also have new cup winners, such as Wigan Athletic and Olympiakos Piraeus.  We’ll discuss all of those below.  We also have a new leader in Portugal, with Porto replacing Benfica in both the top spot in the Liga Sagres and in our Top Ten.  We’ll discuss that below, as well.  In fact, we’re going to be discussing a lot of things below, so why don’t we just go ahead and get there.

P.S.  Before we do that, we want to let you know that you should see a few significant changes in the rankings next week as Moderate Bonus Points are awarded for performances of South American clubs in the Copa Libertadores.  Viva América!

World Club Rankings – Top 25 Clubs in the World – May 13, 2013

1.  Bayern Munich  (Ger) (1) – There’s only one match left this season that matters to Bayern Munich and this weekend’s 3-0 victory over Augsburg wasn’t it.  Coming Up:  Saturday’s match at Borussia Mönchengladbach won’t be it, either, but that’s what’s next for the 2012-13 German Bundesliga champion.

2.  Borussia Dortmund  (Ger) (2) – Dortmund is in the same boat as Bayern Munich, except that Dortmund didn’t do as well over the weekend in its boat, which sailed to Wolfsburg this weekend and finished with a 3-3 draw.  Coming Up:  Dortmund will host Hoffenheim in its Bundesliga season finale on Saturday as it prepares for the all-German UEFA Champions League final.

3.  Barcelona  (Esp) (3) – Barça had already clinched Spain’s Primera División title before beating Atlético Madrid 2-1 at Estadio Calderón (if memory serves correctly) this weekend.  Coming Up:  On Sunday, Barcelona will start to run out the season at home against Real Valladolid.

4.  Real Madrid  (Esp) (4) – Real Madrid was able to crush Málaga 6-2 early in the week, but then gave up the ghost in a 1-1 draw at Espanyol, clinching the La Liga title for Barcelona in Barcelona.  Coming Up:  Next up for Real Madrid is the Copa del Rey final against hometown rival Atlético Madrid on Friday.

5.  Manchester United  (Eng) (5) – In Alex Ferguson’s final match at Old Trafford, United took him out a winner by beating Swansea City 2-1.  Coming Up:  One of the most legendary coaching careers in football history will come to an end on Sunday when United plays at West Bromwich Albion.

6.  Juventus  (Ita) (6) – The 2012-13 Italian Serie A champion beat Atalanta 1-0 at midweek, but then had to settle for a 1-1 draw at home against Cagliari in its home finale.  Coming Up:  Juventus will finish up its season at Sampdoria on Saturday.

7.  Porto  (Por) (11) – It always seemed like just a matter of time and Porto officially moved into the top spot in Portugal’s Liga Sagres by beating archrival Benfica 2-1 at home to take a one-point lead with one match remaining.  Coming Up:  That one match remaining won’t be an easy one as Porto must play at Paços de Ferreira, which is currently in third place in the Portuguese domestic league table.

8.  Paris St.-Germain  (Fra) (8) – Congratulations to PSG on claiming France’s Ligue 1 title after a 1-0 victory at Lyon this weekend.  Coming Up:  PSG will host Brest this weekend as it plays out its 2012-13 season.

9.  Manchester City  (Eng) (9) – City is probably happy about its 1-0 home victory over West Bromwich Albion in English Premier League action but thoroughly disgusted about being outplayed in a 0-1 loss against Wigan Athletic in the FA Cup final on Saturday.  Coming Up:  City will be involved in two EPL matchest thisweek, at Reading on Tuesday and then at home against Norwich City on Sunday.

10.  Atlético Madrid  (Esp) (10) – Now guaranteed a third-place finish in La Liga, Atlético was able to win 3-1 at Celta de Vigo before coming home and losing 1-2 at home to Barcelona.  Coming Up:  Next up for Atlético is the city championship, I mean the Copa del Rey final, against neighbor Real Madrid.

11.  Benfica  (Por) (7) – After a draw last Monday, Benfica fell 1-2 at Porto this weekend to give up the top spot in Portugal’s Liga Sagres table.  Coming Up:  Benfica still has a few chances for glory, first against Chelsea in the Europa League final on Wednesday, and then at home against Moreirense on Sunday, if it can get some help by Paços de Ferreira in its match against Porto.

12.  Napoli  (Ita) (12) – Napoli picked up six points in two matches this week, winning 3-0 at Bologna and then beating Siena 2-1 at home.  Coming Up:  Napoli’s season will conclude at Roma on Sunday.

13.  Shakhtar Donetsk  (Ukr) (13) – Shakhtar beat Sevastopol 4-2 to advance to the final of the Ukrainian Cup and then smooshed (I think I’m making up that word) Tavriya 5-0 in its weekly UPL match.  Coming Up:  Shakhtar will play its penultimate UPL match of the season at Metalurh on Sunday.

14.  Chelsea  (Eng) (14) – The Blues refused to put the Spurs away this week, drawing 2-2 at home against Tottenham Hotspur, but did pick up three points at Aston Villa over the weekend with a 2-1 victory.  Coming Up:  Chelsea will take on Benfica in the final of the Europa League tournament on Wednesday and then can clinch a spot in next season’s Champions League group stage with a point or more at Stamford Bridge against Everton on Sunday.

15.  Bayer Leverkusen  (Ger) (15) – Leverkusen has clinched a spot in next season’s Champions League and is closing out this Bundesliga season in style, beating Hannover 96 3-1 at home.  Coming Up:  Leverkusen will complete this its season on Saturday at Hamburger SV.

16.  Real Sociedad  (Esp) (16) – Well, since we waited a day or so on the rankings and we’re blaming Real Sociedad for that wait, we’ll go ahead and tell you that it drew 2-2 at home against Granada, putting its spot in next season’s Champions League playoff round in question.  Coming Up:  Sociedad will look to bounce back at Sevilla on Saturday, in a test that will be far from easy.

17.  AC Milan  (Ita) (19) – Milan still hasn’t wrapped up the third Champions League spot from Italy despite kicking a little Pescara butt in a 4-0 victory at midweek.  Its 0-0 draw at home against Roma in a racist-chanting-marred match certainly didn’t help.  Coming Up:  Milan will play at Siena on Sunday.  Hopefully those fans will be a little less racist.

18.  CSKA Moscow  (Rus) (20) – It took extra time for CSKA to beat Rostov 2-0 to advance to the Russian Cup final at midweek.  In the Russian Premier League, CSKA extended its lead to five points with two matches remaining by beating Lokomotiv 4-1 in one of the many Moscow derbies that take place annually in the RPL.  Coming Up:  A win at home against Kuban’ Krasnodar on Sunday would give CSKA the RPL title.

19.  Fluminense  (Bra) (19) – With a 2-0 victory over Emelec at midweek, Fluminense advances to the quarterfinals of the Copa Libertadores, guaranteeing the Brazilian club some Bonus Points next week and a move up in the rankings.  Coming Up:  No matches in coming week.

20.  Tottenham Hotspur  (Eng) (BU) – Without knowing what happened in today’s Arsenal match, Spurs find themselves in fourth place in the English Premier League after picking up a surprise point in a 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea and three expected points in a 2-1 win at Stoke City.  Coming Up:  Spurs still doesn’t control its destiny, but it will try to control Sunderland on Sunday at White Hart Lane.

21.  Metalist  (Ukr) (21) – Metalist also moved a little closer to next season’s Champions League playoff round by beating Zorya 3-1 in the Ukrainian Premier League.  Coming Up:  Metalist hasn’t clinched that spot yet, though, and it faces a tough home matche on Sunday against Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk as it tries to close the deal.

22.  Arsenal  (Eng) (17) – No matches this week.  Coming Up:  Thanks to the FA Cup final, Arsenal gets its turn at Wigan Athletic at home today.  A victory will move it back into fourth place over Spurs in the English Premier League table.  On Sunday, the Gunners will end their season against the Magpies at St. James’ Park.

23.  Zenit St. Petersburg  (Rus) (22) – Zenit fell in the Russian Cup semifinals, losing 0-1 to Anzhi and then drew 1-1 at Rostov to damage its chances for the Russian Premier League title.  Coming Up:  Zenit will need some help from CSKA to win the RPL championship, but it could help itself with a win over Volga at home on Sunday.

24.  Olympiakos  (Gre) (24) – The club from Piraeus made it six domestic doubles in ten years by defeating Asteras Tripolis 3-1 in extra time to win the Greek Cup.  Coming Up:  Season complete.

25.  APOEL  (Cyp) (23) – This season’s champion from the Cypriot Top Division continued to play out its season with a 4-3 win at home over Omonia Nicosia.  Coming Up:  Next week will see the end of APOEL’s triumphant campaign in a Saturday match at Anorthosis.

Bubbling Under:  Atlético Mineiro  (Bra), Fiorentina  (Ita), Lyon  (Fra), Marseille  (Fra), Valencia  (Esp).

Next Five:  Celtic  (Sco), Dynamo Kyiv  (Ukr), Lille  (Fra), Paços de Ferreira  (Por), Schalke 04  (Ger).

Matches This Week Between WCR Top 25 Clubs:

15 May – (11) Benfica vs (14) Chelsea

17 May – (4) Real Madrid vs (10) Atlético Madrid

WCR Weekend Soccer on Television - 11/12 May 2013

As the season comes to an end, the importance of all matches is magnified.  So is the uselessness.  As some clubs (very few, as it turns out) fight for a championship, and some clubs fight to avoid relegation (come on, Newcastle, not again), many clubs are battling to come in eighth place instead of twelfth.  You have to be a true fan to find excitement in those matches, but such is the end of the season.

Don’t be dissuaded from watching, though.  There are some great matchups this weekend.  The biggest and best comes out of Lisbon, Portugal, where Benfica will try to clinch the Liga Sagres title with a victory over archrival Porto on Saturday.  The next day, Paris St.-Germain can win France’s Ligue 1 title with a draw or better at Lyon.  Also on Sunday, Barcelona can clinch Spain’s Primera División title in Madrid, of all places, with a victory over Atlético.

As great of these matches may be, most eyes will be focused on the FA Cup final on Saturday.  Mine won’t, but this isn’t about me.  Manchester City will try to take home the title against surprising Wigan Athletic in a match that will be broadcast on big Fox, as they call it for the baseball games of the week.  For Americans without cable, this may be able to get their first taste of English football.  And they get Wigan Athletic.  Lucky them.

As always, there’s lots of other action, including the Mexican Clausura quarterfinals.  All of the matches being broadcast in the U.S. is listed below.  Have a great weekend!!

Top Five Matches of the Weekend:

1.  Porto at Benfica  (Saturday, 3:30 pm (EDT), ESPN3)

2.  Barcelona at Atlético Madrid  (Sunday, 1:00 pm, beIn, beInñ)

3.  Paris St.-Germain at Lyon  (Sunday, 3:00 pm, beIn)

4.  Manchester City vs Wigan Athletic  (Saturday, 12 noon, Fox, FoxD)

5.  Santos at Corinthians  (Sunday, 3:00 pm, GolTV)

Friday, May 10, 2013

2:30 pm – Reims at Lille  (UniDep)

5:00 pm – Real Zaragoza at Levante  (Delayed) (beInñ)

Saturday, May 11, 2013

7:00 am – St. Johnstone at Celtic  (FSP)

7:45 am – (14) Chelsea at Aston Villa  (ESPN2, ESPND, ESPN3)

9:30 am – Augsburg at (1) Bayern Munich  (GolTV)

11:00 am – Toulouse at Marseille  (UniDep)

12 noon – (9) Manchester City vs Wigan Athletic

12 noon – Cagliari at (6) Juventus  (beIn, beInñ)

1:00 pm – Boca Juniors at San Lorenzo  (GolTV)

1:30 pm – Philadelphia Union at Chicago Fire  (NBCS)

2:00 pm – Troyes at Ajaccio  (UniDep)

3:00 pm – Progreso at Peñarol  (GolTV)

3:30 pm – (11) Porto at (7) Benfica  (ESPN3)

4:00 pm – San Jose Earthquakes at Seattle Sounders  (UniDep)

4:00 pm – (4) Real Madrid at Espanyol  (beIn, beInñ)

6:00 pm – UNAM Pumas at Club América  (Univision)

8:00 pm – Monterrey at Tigres  (Unimás)

Sunday, May 12, 2013

8:30 am – Tottenham Hotspur at Stoke City  (FSC, FoxD)

8:30 am – NAC Breda at Feyenoord  (ESPN3)

8:30 am – Ajax at Groningen  (ESPN3)

8:30 am – PSV Eindhoven at Twente  (ESPND, ESPN3)

10:00 am – West Ham United at Everton  (FSP)

11:00 am – Swansea City at (5) Manchester United  (FSC)

12 noon – Southampton at Sunderland  (Delayed) (FSP)

1:00 pm – (2) Borussia Dortmund at Wolfsburg  (Delayed) (GolTV)

1:00 pm – (3) Barcelona at (10) Atlético Madrid  (beIn, beInñ)

2:00 pm – Newcastle United at Queens Park Ragers  (Delayed) (FSP)

2:30 pm – Liverpool at Fulham  (Delayed) (FSC)

2:45 pm – Roma at (19) AC Milan  (beInñ)

3:00 pm – Santos at Corinthians  (GolTV)

3:00 pm – (8) Paris St.-Germain at (25) Lyon  (beIn)

4:00 pm – West Bromwich Albion at Norwich City  (Delayed) (FSP)

5:00 pm – Nacional at Juventud  (GolTV)

5:00 pm – Sevilla Málaga  (Delayed) (beInñ)

7:00 pm – Cruz Azul at Morelia  (ESPN2, ESPND, Azteca, ESPN3)

9:00 pm – Santos Laguna at Atlas  (UniDep)

Monday, May 13, 2013

4:00 pm – Granada at (16) Real Sociedad  (beIn, beInñ)

World Club Rankings - Top 25 Clubs in the World - Long Live the King Edition

The king is dead.  Long live the king.  It isn’t a surprise that Bayern Munich has deposed Barcelona at the top of the heap in this week’s episode of the World Club Rankings Top 25 in the World.  We had a feeling this was coming when Bayern laid a 4-0 butt-kicking on Barça at Allianz Arena a week-and-a-half ago.  We didn’t expect Bayern to nearly replicate that result in Camp Nou.  Even without Lionel Messi, Barça supporters have to be disappointed in their club.  They looked defeated from the get go and could never turn it around.

Borussia Dortmund’s defeat of Real Madrid wasn’t nearly so clear cut, though in many ways, it was even more surprising.  Despite Barcelona’s overwhelming lead in Spain’s Primera División table, there is legitimate debate over which club is Spain’s best among Barça and Real Madrid.  There’s no real debate in Germany.  Bayern is the cream of the crop.  Now, Bayern holds that title for the entire world, not only the Fatherland.  We now have nearly three weeks to see if Bayern will be crowned King of European Football, or if it will allow a weaker club to claim that title for a second consecutive season.  (We realize that this is Bayern’s third trip to the final in four seasons, but the year it fell to Inter Milan, we believe that the better club won.)

Before getting into the rankings, we want to offer our congratulations to Monterrey, who defeated Santos Laguna for the second season in a row in the final of the CONCACAF Champions League.  We’d have named this edition in honor of the Mexican club, but we think we did that last year.  And probably the year before.  Congratulations, anyway.

Now, on to the current rankings.  Enjoy!

World Club Rankings – Top 25 Clubs in the World – May 6, 2013

1.  Bayern Munich  (Ger) (2) – We have a new sheriff in town, and its name is Bayern Munich.  Bayern completed its destruction of the La Liga Champion-in-Waiting, Barcelona, with a 3-0 victory at Camp Nou, winning the UEFA Champions League semifinal 7-0 in aggregate.  It’s opponent in the final will be Borussia Dortmund, who it coincidentally played this weekend in a meaningless Bundesliga match that finished in a 1-1 draw.  Coming Up:  In preparation for the UEFA Champions League final, Bayern will host Augsburg on Saturday in its next Bundesliga match.

2.  Borussia Dortmund  (Ger) (4) – Dortmund made the unlikely all-German UEFA Champions League final possible by holding Real Madrid to two goals at Estadio Benabeum to win 4-3 in aggregate.  Next up for Dortmund in the Champions League will be Bayern Munich in the final.  In a tune-up for that match, Dortmund and Bayern Munich played to a 1-1 draw in a Bundesliga match over the past weekend.  Coming Up:  On Saturday, Dortmund will be at VfL Wolfsburg as it tries to lock up second place in the German Bundesliga.

3.  Barcelona  (Esp) (1) – Barcelona’s stock has been dropping since even before Lionel Messi’s injury.  It has reached a new low after a 0-3 home drubbing by Bayern Munich which saw Barcelona eliminated from the UEFA Champions League.  It still should win the title in Spain’s Primera División, though, and it took a step in that direction with a 4-2 home win over Real Betis.  Coming Up:  A victory at Calderon stadium in Madrid over Atlético on Sunday would clinch the title for Barcelona.

4.  Real Madrid  (Esp) (3) – It took nearly the entire match for it to happen, but Real Madrid did show some heart in a strong finish to beat Borussia Dortmund 2-0 in the UEFA Champions League, but it wasn’t enough and Real Madrid fell 3-4 in aggregate to its German opponent to be eliminated from Europe’s premier tournament.  Domestically, Real Madrid beat Real Valladolid 4-3 to stay in the hunt, at least mathematically, for the La Liga title.  Coming Up:  Real will play two league matches this week, hosting Málaga on Wednesday and then going to Barcelona to take on Espanyol on Saturday.

5.  Manchester United  (Eng) (5) – In a meaningless match for this season’s EPL champion, it fell 0-1 to Chelsea at Old Trafford in this past weekend’s top match from the English Premier League.  Coming Up:  In an even less meaningful match on Sunday, Manyoo will host Swansea City.

6.  Juventus  (Ita) (6) – Congratulations to the black and white of Juventus, who clinched this season’s title in Italy’s Serie A with a 1-0 win at home against Palermo.  Coming Up:  As it closes out a successful season, Juventus will be at Atalanta on Wednesday and at home against Cagliari on Saturday.

7.  Benfica  (Por) (7) – Benfica was able to beat Turkey’s Fenerbahce 3-1 at home to advance to the final of the 2013 Europa League.  Coming Up:  As I’m writing this, Benfica’s Liga Sagres match of the week is being played at home against Estoril.  A much more important match, in which Benfica can clinch this season’s title, will be on Sunday when it plays at archrival Porto.

8.  Paris St.-Germain  (Fra) (8) – PSG slipped up a little this week in a 1-1 draw at home against Valenciennes, but still is the odds-on favorite to take home the season’s Ligue 1 title in France.  Coming Up:  If PSG can pull off a victory at third-place Lyon on Sunday, it will clinch the championship in France’s Ligue 1.

9.  Manchester City  (Eng) (9) – City has yet to clinch a spot in next season’s UEFA Champions League after settling for a goalless draw at Swansea City.  Coming Up:  On Tuesday, City will try to sew up that spot with a victory at home against West Bromwich Albion.  On Saturday, City will take on Wigan Athletic in this season’s final of the FA Cup.

10.  Atlético Madrid  (Esp) (10) – Atlético has clinched a spot in at least the qualifying rounds of next season’s UEFA Champions League after picking up a point in a 0-0 draw at Deportvio La Coruña.  Coming Up:  To make for a lost week due to the Copa del Rey final, Atlético will play at Celta Vigo on Wednesday and then host first-place Barcelona at Estadio Calderon on Sunday.

11.  Porto  (Por) (11) – With a 3-1 victory at Nacional this weekend, Porto stays alive in the hunt for a Liga Sagres title.  Coming Up:  In order to win that title, Porto likely will have to beat Benfica at home when the two clubs match up on Sunday.

12.  Napoli  (Ita) (12) – Napoli has clinched a Top Three position in Italy with a 3-1 win over Inter Milan at home, meaning it will play in next season’s UEFA Champions League, at worst, in the playoff rounds.  Coming Up:  Napoli will play at Bologna on Wednesday and will host Siena on Sunday.  A victory in either will clinch second place and mean that Napoli will go straight to the group stage of next season’s Champions League.

13.  Shakhtar Donetsk  (Ukr) – This season’s Ukrainian Premier League champions played Illichivets to a 1-1 draw this past weekend.  Coming Up:  This week, Shakhtar will play at Sevatopol in the Ukrainian Cup semifinals on Wednesday before hosting Tavriya on Saturday in its next UPL match.

14.  Chelsea  (Eng) (14) – Chelsea completed its Europa League semifinal matchup with Basel with a 3-1 win at home and will face Portugal’s Benfica in that tournament in Europe’s answer to the NIT.  Domestically, Chelsea pulled off a 1-0 upset of Manchester United at Old Trafford to strengthen its bid for a Top Four finish in the English Premier League.  Coming Up:  Chelsea will host Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday in a match that will go a long way in determining the Top Four in this season’s EPL.  Chelsea will then be away on Saturday to play Aston Villa.

15.  Bayer Leverkusen  (Ger) (15) – Leverkusen will join Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund in next season’s UEFA Champions League group stage after clinching third place in the German Bundesliga with a 2-0 victory over Nürnberg.  Coming Up:  Leverkusen will host Hannover 96 in a match that means little for either club.

16.  Real Sociedad  (Esp (16) – No matches this week.  Coming Up:  As this is going to press, Real Sociedad is playing at Getafe.  Next weekend, Real Sociedad will return to action at home against Granada.

17.  Arsenal  (Eng) (17) – Arsenal is still in position to advance to next season’s UEFA Champions League after beating Queens Park Rangers 1-0 away.  Coming Up:  No matches in the upcoming week.

18.  Fluminense  (Bra) (18) – It wasn’t such a great week for Fluminense.  First, it lost 1-2 at Emelec in a Copa Libertadores match.  Then, it fell 0-1 to Botafogo in the Taça de Rio final.  Coming Up:  The return leg of Fluminense’s Copa Libertadores eighth-final against Emelec will be at Fluminense on Thursday night.

19.  AC Milan  (Ita) (20) – Milan moved a little closer to the UEFA Champions League with a 1-0 victory over Torino at the San Siro.  Coming Up:  Milan will play two Serie A matches this week, at Pescara on Wednesday and then at home against Roma on Sunday.

20.  CSKA Moscow  (Rus) (19) – The leader of the Russian Premier League won 1-0 at home against Terek Grozny this weekend.  Coming Up:  CSKA will be at Rostov in the Russian Cup semifinals on Tuesday.  It will then look to gain ground in the RPL at Lokomotiv Moscow on Sunday.

21.  Metalist  (Ukr) (NF) – Metalist took a giant step towards the UEFA Champions League qualifying rounds with a 2-0 win over Dynamo Moscow at home.  Coming Up:  Next up for Metalist will be away at Zorya on Friday.

22.  Zenit St. Petersburg  (Rus) (BU) – Zenit stayed within three points of CSKA in the Russian Premier League with a 4-0 thrashing of Alaniya at home.  Coming Up:  Like CSKA, Zenit is also in the Russian Cup semifinals, in which it will host Anzhi on Wednesday.  Back in the RPL, Zenit will play at Rostov on Sunday.

23.  APOEL  (Cyp) (22) – No matches this week.  Coming Up:  Cypriot champion will return to action at home against Omonia Nicosia on Saturday.

24.  Olympiakos  (Gre) (23) – No matches this week.  Coming Up:  Olympiakos will finish off its 2012-13 season against Asteras Tripolis in the Greek Cup final on Saturday.

25.  Lyon  (Fra) (24) – Lyon made a statement for the UEFA Champions League with a 3-0 beatdown of Nancy in France’s Ligue 1.  Coming Up:  It will have to make another statement on Sunday at home against Ligue 1 leader Paris St.-Germain.

Bubbling Under:  Atlético Mineiro  (Bra), Dynamo Kyiv  (Ukr), Fiorentina  (Ita), Tottenham Hotspur  (Eng), Valencia  (Esp).

Next Five:  Lanús  (Arg), Marseille  (Fra), Newell’s Old Boys  (Arg), Paços de Ferreira  (Por), Schalke 04  (Ger).

Matches This Week Between WCR Top 25 Clubs:

12 May – (3) Barcelona at (10) Atlético Madrid

12 May – (7) Benfica at (11) Porto

12 May – (8) Paris St.-Germain at (25) Lyon

Weekend Soccer on Television - 3/4 May 2013

Every now and again we have fantastic weekends of football.  This weekend should be one of them.  Unfortunately, some of the top matches don’t matter for anything but pride, but those are often the most fun of all.

In the Dutch Eredivisie, Ajax can clinch the title with a victory over with a home victory over Willem II.  Perennial favorite Inter Milan goes to Napoli, while Fiorentina hosts Roma in matches that will play a large part in determining who represents Italy in next season’s Champions League.  This weekend is so good that none of those matches are in our Top Five Matches of the Weekend.

Topping our list is a match featuring the top two clubs in the German Bundesliga.  The match will also be a preview of the final of the UEFA Champions League.  If it were to take place next week, it likely would feature the top two ranked clubs in the world according to the World Club Rankings Top 25.  As things stand, however, it is virtually meaningless with respect to the Bundesliga.  Still, we won’t be able to miss Bayern Munich at Borussia Dortmund on Saturday, and we hope you feel the same way.

Likewise, we expect most of you are excited about Manchester United and Chelsea’s match on Sunday at Old Trafford.  Since Manyoo has already won the league, the match is meaningless to that club, but Chelsea is still battling for a Champions League spot, so their players and supporters should be feeling the pressure.

Of course, the biggest match in the world will take place at La Bombonera in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where Boca Juniors will host River Plate in the truest Superclasico in the world.  This is the first time they’ve played without our being in Buenos Aires since 2011, and we wish we were there.  ¡Vamos Boca!

Of course, there’s lots of other action this weekend.  What a great weekend!  Have a great weekend!

Top Five Matches of the Weekend:

1.  Bayern Munich at Borussia Dortmund  (Saturday, 12:30 pm (EDT), GolTV)

2.  Chelsea at Manchester United  (Sunday, 10:30 pm, FSC, FoxD)

3.  Dynamo Kyiv at Metalist  (Saturday, 12:30 pm, Not Televised)

4.  River Plate at Boca Juniors  (Sunday, 3:30 pm (Delayed), GolTV)

5.  Everton at Liverpool  (Sunday, 8:30 am, FSC, FoxD)

Friday, May 3, 2013

2:00 pm – Bordeaux at St.-Étienne  (UniDep)

2:30 pm – Schalke 04 at Borussia Mönchengladbach  (GolTV)

3:00 pm – Sporting Braga at Moreirense  (ESPN3)

3:00 pm – Athletic Bilbao at Celta Vigo  (beIn, beInñ)

8:30 pm – Pachuca at Jaguares  (ESPND, Azteca, ESPN3)

10:00 pm – Chivas de Guadalajara at Tijuana  (UniDep)

Saturday, May 4, 2013

9:30 am – Bayer Leverkusen at Nürnberg  (GolTV)

10:00 am – Aston Villa at Norwich City  (FSC)

10:00 am – Wigan Athletic at West Bromwich Albion  (FSP)

10:00 am – Southampton at Tottenham Hotspur  (ESPN2, ESPND, ESPN3)

10:00 am – Osasuna at Valencia  (beInñ)

10:00 am – (9) Manchester City at Swansea City  (FoxD)

11:00 am – Bestia at Marseille  (UniDep)

12 noon – Reading at Fulham  (Delayed)

12 noon – Cagliari at Chievo Verona  (beIn)

12 noon – Málaga at Granada  (beInñ)

12:30 pm – (3) Bayern Munich at (4) Borussia Dortmund  (GolTV)

12:30 pm – (17) Arsenal at Queens Park Rangers  (FSC, FoxD)

1:00 pm – Ajaccio at Stade Reims  (UniDep)

2:00 pm – Real Valladolid at (2) Real Madrid  (beIn, beInñ)

4:00 pm – New York Red Bulls at Columbus Crew  (NBCS)

4:00 pm – Roma at (25) Fiorentina  (Delayed) (beIn)

4:00 pm – (10) Atlético Madrid at Deportivo La Coruña  (beInñ)

4:30 pm – Newcastle United at West Ham United  (Delayed) (FSC)

5:30 pm – Santos at Mogi Mirim  (GolTV)

6:00 pm – Tigres at Club América  (Univision)

8:00 pm – Monarcas at Santos Laguna  (UniDep)

8:00 pm – Cruz Azul at Monterrey  (Unimás)

10:00 pm – León at Atlas  (UniDep)

10:00 pm – Puebla at Querétaro  (UniDep2)

Sunday, May 5, 2013

6:30 am – Feyenoord at ADO Den Haag  (ESPN3)

6:30 am – Willem II at Ajax  (ESPND, ESPN3)

6:30 am – NEC at PSV Eindhoven  (ESPN3)

7:00 am – Celtic at Ross County  (FSP)

8:30 am – Everton at Liverpool  (FSC, FoxD)

9:00 am – Palermo at (6) Juventus  (beIn, beInñ)

10:30 am – (14) Chelsea at (5) Manchester United  (FSC, FoxD)

1:00 pm – San Luis at Toluca  (Univision)

3:00 pm – Real Betis at (1) Barcelona  (beIn, beInñ)

3:30 pm – River Plate at Boca Juniors  (Delayed) (GolTV)

5:00 pm – Sporting KC at Chivas USA  (Unimás)

5:00 pm – Valenciennes at (8) Paris St.-Germain  (Delayed) (beIn)

5:00 pm – Inter Milan at (12) Napoli  (Delayed) (beInñ)

5:30 pm – Corinthians at São Paulo  (Delayed) (GolTV)

7:00 pm – UNAM Pumas at Atlante  (UniDep)

11:00 pm – Houston Dynamo at Los Angeles Galaxy  (ESPN2, ESPND, ESPN3)

Monday, May 6, 2013

3:00 pm – Estoril at (7) Benfica  (ESPN3)

3:00 pm – Stoke City at Sunderland  (ESPN2, ESPND, ESPN3)

4:00 pm – (16) Real Sociedad at Getafe  (beIn, beInñ)

WCR Top 25 Clubs in the World - Germany Rising Edition

We say this practically every week during this time of the season, but it’s quite possible that it has never been more meaningful as it is this time.  Two-leg matches in continental tournaments are not factored into the calculations until the second leg has been completed.  Thus, when you look down and see that Bayern Munich did not pass Barcelona this week despite kicking some Catalan butt last Tuesday, you now have an answer.  Tune in next week.

Actually, our rules and last week’s results provide an interesting situation that is pretty unique.  We have a club at number one that has been there almost the entire season.  Barring a comeback of biblical proportions (think Lazarus), this will be its last week in that position and we all know it.  It’s like the end of an era.  It’s like an asteroid came down last week and landed in Allianz Arena.  It looks like the dinosaurs are about to become extinct.

An in their wake?  I guess in this analogy, Bayern Munich is the mammal.  Its era on top of the food chain looks like it is just about ready to begin.  It might not happen.  Barça might come back with a 6-1 victory at the Camp Nou on Wednesday, but I’d be surprised.  Even the most diehard Barcelona fans would even be surprised.  But you never know.  That’s why they play the games.

And their playing of the games is why we rank the clubs.  We did it again this week.  We do it every week.  You know that.  We have lots of information regarding the UEFA Champions League and other things going on in the world of football this week.  Enjoy!

World Club Rankings – Top 25 Clubs in the World – April 29, 2013

1.  Barcelona  (Esp) (1) – Barcelona went to Allianz and was thoroughly humiliated by the 2012-13 Bundesliga champion, losing 0-4 at Bayern Munich.  Domestically, Barça allowed Real Madrid to have a (very) little bit of hope with respect to the Primera División title by settling for a 1-1 draw at Athletic Bilbao.  Coming Up:  Barcelona will be looking for a miracle on Wednesday when it hosts Bayern Munich in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League semifinals.  It will also be home on Sunday to host Real Betis as it looks to clinch in La Liga.

2.  Bayern Munich  (Ger) (2) – There’s a good chance that Bayern will be moving up in next week’s rankings after embarrassing Barcelona in a 4-0 victory at home on Wednesday in the UEFA Champions League.  For good measure, Bayern added three points to its Bundesliga championship total by beating Freiburg 1-0.  Coming Up:  Bayern may have eleven people in the defensive box at Barcelona on Wednesday as it looks to prevent a miracle and advance to the UCL final for the third time in three seasons.  On Saturday, it what looks like might be a preview of the UEFA Champions League final, Bayern will host Borussia Dortmund in Bundesliga action.

3.  Real Madrid  (Esp) (3) – Real Madrid did only marginally better than its Spanish rival, losing 1-4 at Borussia Dortmund to go onto life support in the UEFA Champions League semifinals.  In a preview of the Copa del Rey final, Real Madrid beat cross-city rival Atlético 2-1 to move two points closer to Barcelona in Spain’s Primera División, though there’s probably not enough time left in the season for that to matter.

4.  Borussia Dortmund  (Ger) (4) – Dortmund is making it look like we will have two finalists from one country in the UEFA Champions League, and it’s not the country most people thought it would be.  Giving up an away goal is bad, but scoring four home goals of your own eases the pain, and that’s what Dortmund did in a 4-1 thrashing of Real Madrid on Wednesday.  In the German Bundesliga, Dortmund won on the road, beating Fortuna Düsseldorf 2-1.  Coming Up:  How’s this for a tough schedule.  Dortmund will play Real Madrid in the Bernabeu on Tuesday in the UEFA Champions League and then host Bayern Munich in its next Bundesliga match on Saturday.

5.  Manchester United  (Eng) (5) – United celebrated another English Premier League title by picking up a point in a 1-1 draw at Arsenal.  Coming Up:  It doesn’t get any easier for United, who will host Chelsea on Sunday in its next EPL match.

6.  Juventus  (Ita) (6) – Juve can smell an Italian Serie A title after winning 2-0 against Torino in an always entertaining derby.  Coming Up:  Juventus can clinch the title at home this weekend when it hosts Palermo on Sunday.

7.  Benfica  (Por) (7) – Benfica lost 0-1 on Thursday to Turkey’s Fenerbahce in the Europa League semifinals, but bounced back to beat Maritimo 2-1 in its weekly Liga Sagres match.  Both matches were away.  Coming Up:  Benfica will host Fenerbahce on Thursday in the EL semifinals’ second leg and then host Estoril on Monday as it marches towards a Liga Sagres title.

8.  Paris St.-Germain  (Fra) (8) – PSG moved closer to a French Ligue 1 title with a 1-0 victory over Evian this weekend.  Coming Up:  PSG’s next step towards the championship will come against Valenciennes at Parc des Princes on Sunday.

9.  Manchester City  (Eng) (9) – City secured its spot as the second best club in England this season with a 2-1 home victory over West Ham United.  Coming Up:  City’s next EPL match will be at Swansea City on Saturday.

10.  Atlético Madrid  (Esp) (10) – Atlético fell in the city championship derby, losing 1-2 at home to Real Madrid.  Coming Up:  Atlético is still on the verge of clinching a spot in next season’s Champions League and can do that on Saturday at Deportivo La Coruña.

11.  Porto  (Por) (12) – Porto kept on the heels of Benfica in Portugal’s Premeira Division with a 2-0 home win over Vitória Setúbal.  Coming Up:  Porto needs to win out and get some luck in order to catch its rival, and that will begin at Nacional on Saturday.

12.  Napoli  (Ita) (14) – Like all of the top clubs in Italy’s Serie A, Napoli picked up three points this weekend, beating Pescara 3-0 away.  Coming Up:  In what promises to be an entertaining match, Napoli will host Inter Milan on Sunday.

13.  Shakhtar Donetsk  (Ukr) (11) – With a 1-1 draw at home against Metalist, Shakhtar Donetsk clinched the 2012-13 Ukrainian Premier League title.  Coming Up:  Shakhtar will begin the mop section of its schedule on Saturday at Illichevets’.

14.  Chelsea  (Eng) (13) – At midweek, Chelsea picked up a 2-1 victory at Basel in the first leg of the Europa League semifinals.  It followed that up with another victory, this one 2-0 at home against Swansea City.  Coming Up:  On Thursday, Chelsea will be at home, this time in the return match of the Europa League semis against Basel.  It will then hit the road to take on Manchester United in its next EPL match on Sunday.

15.  Bayer Leverkusen  (Ger) (15) – Leverkusen is still poised for a spot in next season’s Champions League after winning 1-0 over a struggling Werder Bremen.  Coming Up:  Next up for Leverkusen will be another German Bundesliga match, this time at Nürnberg on Saturday.

16.  Real Sociedad  (Esp) (16) – Real Sociedad took care of business in a 4-2 home win over Valencia to stay in the Spanish spot for the playoff round of next season’s UEFA Champions League.  Coming Up:  Real Sociedad still has work to do and that will begin next Monday at Getafe.

17.  Arsenal  (Eng) (17) – The Gunners are still in England’s Top Four despite managing only a 1-1 draw at home against this season’s EPL champion, Manchester United.  Coming Up:  Next weekend is one of the many London derbies of the EPL season, with Arsenal playing at Queens Park Rangers.

18.  Fluminense  (Bra) (19) – Fluminense advanced to the final of the Taça de Rio with a 4-1 win against Volta Redonda.  Coming Up:  Flu will play Botafogo on Sunday in that Taça de Rio final, but first, on Thursday, Fluminnese will play at Emelec in the first leg of the Copa Libertadores eighth-finals matchup between those two clubs.

19.  CSKA Moscow  (Rus) (18) – The Russian Premier League title race got a little more interesting this week with leader CSKA falling 0-2 at Rubin Kazan’.  Coming Up:  CSKA will be at home on Saturday as it looks to turn things around against Terek Grozny.

20.  AC Milan  (Ita) (22) – Milan stayed just ahead of Fiorentina in the race for Italy’s playoff round spot in next season’s UEFA Champions League by beating Catania 4-2 at the San Siro.  Coming Up:  On Sunday, Torino will be in town as Milan plays in consecutive home Serie A matches.

21.  Dynamo Kyiv  (Ukr) (NF) – With a little help from Shakhtar and a 2-0 home victory over Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk, Dynamo finds itself in second place in the Ukrainian Premier League.  Coming Up:  The team with which Dynamo is tied for second place will be Dynamo’s next opponent as it takes on Metalist away on Saturday.

22.  APOEL  (Cyp) (20) – APOEL took home the Cypriot top division title, but it needed some help because it lost 0-1 at home to AEK Larnaca in its match.  Coming Up:  No matches in the coming week.

23.  Olympiakos  (Gre) (24) – Greek Super League champion Olympiakos advanced to the finals of the Greek Cup with its 2-1 semifinal win over Panthrakikos, giving it an 8-3 advantage in aggregate.  Coming Up:  No matches in the coming week.

24.  Lyon  (Fra) (BU) – Lyon is still in line for a playoff round spot in next season’s UEFA Champions League after holding St.-Étienne to a 1-1 draw in this weekend’s derby.  Coming Up:  Lyon will be at Nancy on Sunday in its next Ligue 1 match.

25.  Fiorentina  (Ita) (BU) – La Viola scored a 3-0 victory at Sampdoria to pick up three points and stay on the heels of AC Milan for Italy’s final Champions League spot.  Coming Up:  On Saturday, Fiorentina will host Roma in another important Serie A match.

Bubbling Under:  Atlético Mineiro  (Bra), Málaga  (Esp), St.-Étienne  (Fra), Tottenham Hotspur  (Eng), Zenit St. Petersburg  (Rus).

Next Five:  Lanús  (Arg), Marseille  (Fra), Metalist  (Ukr), Newell’s Old Boys  (Arg), Schalke 04  (Ger).

This Week’s Matches Between WCR Top 25 Clubs:

30 April – (4) Borussia Dortmund at (3) Real Madrid

1 May – (2) Bayern Munich at (1) Barcelona

4 May – (2) Bayern Munich at (4) Borussia Dortmund

5 May – (14) Chelsea at (5) Manchester United