Now that we are to the final four in Europe, it’s time for the final major overhaul in the rankings. If you’ve been following the charts for a while, then you know that we started awarding Moderate Bonus Points to the teams that reached the quarterfinals (or in South America, the Copa Libertadores group leaders). Now that we’ve reached the Final Four (sorry for the basketball terminology), the Moderate Bonus Points have been taken away. In their place, Super Bonus Points have been given to each of the top four teams in each continental tournament. This doesn’t mean good news only for Manyoo, Liverpool, Barcelona and Chelsea, but also for the Final Four teams in CONCACAF – DC United, Houston Dynamo, Pachuca and Deportivo Saprissa. Meanwhile, the Moderate Bonus Points will still be used with respect to the South American teams since we are still in the group stage in the Copa Libertadores. How will this affect the rankings? See below.
Boooorrrrring. How about Owen Hargreave’s shot against Arsenal. I don’t think that I’ve hidden that I’m not a Manyoo fan, but I do always root for them against Arsenal – no offense Gunners. Meanwhile, Juventus was busy moving AC Milan closer to next year’s UEFA Cup by winning the Great Cheating Bastard Derby. Inter Milan (yeah, I actually like Inter) kept pace with Roma to maintain its lead in Serie A and Villarreal blew a golden opportunity to remain in second place in the Primera Division.
We are getting near to the WCR Oompa Loompa’s summer vacation, when the weekly rankings will go on hiatus – or at least become less frequent. How long will Manyoo remain on top? Stay tuned. (As an aside, you probably haven’t noticed, but my little counter on the side hit 10,000 today. I’d like to thank everybody for stopping by, I hope you enjoy the site, and I hope you’ll come back frequently.)
World Club Rankings Top 25 – April 14, 2008
1. Manchester United (Eng) (1) – Huge win against Arsenal yesterday ended Arsenal’s Premiership dreams and solidified Manyoo’s. Victory goes along well with Manyoo’s defeat of Roma to advance to the Champions League semifinals. Things quiet down this week (and just for this week) as Manyoo plays Blackburn Rovers on Saturday.
Boooorrrrring. How about Owen Hargreave’s shot against Arsenal. I don’t think that I’ve hidden that I’m not a Manyoo fan, but I do always root for them against Arsenal – no offense Gunners. Meanwhile, Juventus was busy moving AC Milan closer to next year’s UEFA Cup by winning the Great Cheating Bastard Derby. Inter Milan (yeah, I actually like Inter) kept pace with Roma to maintain its lead in Serie A and Villarreal blew a golden opportunity to remain in second place in the Primera Division.
We are getting near to the WCR Oompa Loompa’s summer vacation, when the weekly rankings will go on hiatus – or at least become less frequent. How long will Manyoo remain on top? Stay tuned. (As an aside, you probably haven’t noticed, but my little counter on the side hit 10,000 today. I’d like to thank everybody for stopping by, I hope you enjoy the site, and I hope you’ll come back frequently.)
World Club Rankings Top 25 – April 14, 2008
1. Manchester United (Eng) (1) – Huge win against Arsenal yesterday ended Arsenal’s Premiership dreams and solidified Manyoo’s. Victory goes along well with Manyoo’s defeat of Roma to advance to the Champions League semifinals. Things quiet down this week (and just for this week) as Manyoo plays Blackburn Rovers on Saturday.
2. Chelsea (Eng) (3) – Chelsea hits its high point of the season despite today’s draw by advancing past Fenerbahce into the CL semis. If you can’t beat Wigan Athletic at home, how are you going to beat Everton on the road on Thursday? Watch Thursday to find out, I guess.
3. Barcelona (Esp) (7) – Defeated Schalke 04 to advance in the Champions League, days before managing only a draw against Recreativo de Huelva in domestic action. It pretty much kills their chances for a domestic title, but it was good enough to return to second place in La Liga.
4. Liverpool (Eng) (8) – Fourth in the Premiership and fourth in the world? Is that possible? Yes. Fair? Questionable. At least they are back in winning ways, disposing of Arsenal in the Champions League and Blackburn in domestic action. A Champions League position is beginning to appear inevitable. Travel to Fulham this weekend as they try to make it even more inevitable.
5. Inter Milan (Ita) (2) – And this is where the Champions League talk stops, at least temporarily. Still got to play in a major game as they defeated Fiorentina 2-0 to maintain a four-point lead (is that right – I’m doing this from memory here, folks) in Serie A over Roma. A few games for Inter this week as they hose Lazio in the Coppa Italia semifinals at midweek and travel to Turin to play the non-cheating bastard team from that town on Sunday.
6. Porto (Por) (9) – The bwin Superliga champions continued their dominance over domestic foes this weekend, defeating Veitoria Setubal 2-1. They get a rematch against Setubal at midweek in Portugal Cup action before hosting Benfica this weekend in what is always one of the most anticipated matches of the year, even in years such as this, where it matters little, at least for Porto.
7. Real Madrid (Esp) (10) – ‘twasn’t pretty, but Madrid defeated Real Murcia 1-0 to extend its lead in the Primera Division over Barcelona and Villarreal. Since their Copa del Rey ended weeks and weeks ago, they can focus on Racing de Santander as they defend their domestic title.
8. Roma (Ita) (4) – Totti returns, and not a moment too soon (quite a few moments too late, as a matter of fact), as Roma self-medicated after losing to Manyoo in CL action by defeating a good Udinese team 3-1 to keep pace with Internazionale. Is it too little too late? It is too soon to tell. Host Catania in Coppa Italia action at midweek prior to hosting Livorno over the weekend.
9. Arsenal (Eng) (5) – I’d say something about how the mighty have fallen, but if you’re still ranked in the Top Ten in the world, then it’s not like you’ve fallen all that far, now is it. Well, after to losing to both Liverpool and Manchester United this week, despite having chances in both games, Arsenal is playing out the rest of the season for little more than pride. It should be a good test as to how much pride they still have this weekend as they host Reading.
10. Sao Paulo (Bra) (6) – Mixed results in the Copa Libertadores as they fell this week to Chilean team Audax Italiano, but they did bounce back to defeat Palmeiras in the first leg of the Paulista League semifinals. Go on the road for the return leg this weekend and take the week off in the Copa Libertadores.
11. Estudiantes de la Plata (Arg) (15) – Defeated Apertura Champion Lanus in domestic action this weekend. Finish off their Copa Libertadores group stage duties this week against Deportivo Cuenca. Play a road game against Tigre in the Clausura this weekend as they continue to chase down River Plate.
12. Lyon (Fra) (11) – Are they just trying to make Ligue Un interesting for a change? Draw with Stade Rennes 1-1 this weekend leave Lyon a mere four points ahead of Bordeaux. Host Metz at midweek in the quarterfinals of the French Cup before travelling to play Strasbourg in La Championnat action this weekend.
13. Juventus (Ita) (18) – As you know, I’ve been referring to Juventus as cheating bastards all season. After defeating AC Milan 3-2 this weekend, I will now refer to them as the best cheating bastards in all of Italy. Face two opponents this week in Serie A action this week, playing both Parma (at home) and Atalanta (on the road).
14. Bayern Munchen (Ger) (17) – In what had to be the best game of the week, Luca Toni scored two extra time goals to defeat Getafe and advance to the semifinals of the UEFA Cup. I’m sure it tired them out. Oh, wait, no it didn’t, unless they were tired and Dortmund was just asleep. Yes, Bayern won 5-0. Next week, we get to see a rematch in the DFB Pokal final – hope for a better (at least more competitive) game. In the meantime, Bayer faces Eintracht Frankfurt in Bundesliga action.
15. River Plate (Arg) – Facing a bit easier time in the Clausura, defeating Tigre 1-0, than they are in the Copa Libertadores, Attempt to remedy that situation against Deportivo San Martin at midweek before defending its top spot in the domestic league against Rosario Central this weekend.
16. Fluminense (Bra) (14) – Still leading its Copa Libertadores group, despite falling to Arsenal de Sarandi this week. Advanced to the finals of the Taca Rio, defeating Vasco Da Gama in penalty kicks this weekend. Should be another eventful week for Fluminense this weekend as they host LDU Quito in international action before playing Botafogo in the Taca Rio finals this weekend.
17. Deportivo Saprissa (CRC) (NR) – They’re baaaack. The only CONCACAF team to ride the bonus points into the rankings this week, Saprissa moved to the Champions Cup finals this week by eliminating the Houston Dynamo 3-0. This week, it is only domestic action for Saprissa, where they have begun to struggle recently, as they host Herediano.
18. PSV Eindhoven (Ned) (20) – Had a chance to clinch the Eredivisie this weekend, but failed by managing only a draw against Twente 1-1. Not a pleasant rebound from being eliminated from the UEFA Cup at the hands of Fiorentina. Get another chance to clinch this weekend against Vitesse, if Ajax doesn’t clinch it for them first.
19. Ajax (Ned) (22) – Didn’t get a chance to play this weekend because of flaming toilet paper. I hate flaming toilet paper. It’s cheaper, but I’d rather pay a little more for the non-flaming kind. Enough about me. They get another chance against Groningen this week if the Great 08 Toilet Paper Fire is extinguished, and then host Heracles Almelo over this weekend, which may or may not matter.
20. Everton (Eng) (23) – Dropped the ball against Birmingham City this weekend, drawing 1-1 and almost guaranteeing a return to the UEFA Cup next year. Maybe they can bounce back at home on Thursday against Chelsea, but that will be asking a lot.
21. Sporting CP (Por) (NR) – Doesn’t seem fair after being eliminated by Rangers in the UEFA Cup this week, but they did jump past the oft-overrated Benfica this week in bwin Liga action, so here they are. Host Benfica in the semifinals of the Portugal Cup this week before playing Uniao Leiria in domestic action over the weekend.
22. Bordeaux (Fra) (NR) – Bordeaux returns to the rankings as they move within four points of Lyon in Ligue Un. This week, they face Sedan in Cup action and Toulouse in Ligue action. (Note that I’m tiring, so my commentary is getting shorter.)
23. Cruzeiro (Bra) (25) – Didn’t play this week, which may or not explain why they moved up two notches. Finish up the Copa Libertadores group stage this week against Real Potosi from Bolivia.
24. Villarreal (Esp) (19) – With only ten players for the majority of the match, the Yellow Submarine held its own for most of the match, before ultimately falling to Almeria 0-1 and losing its hold on second place in the Primera Division. Attempt to bounce back this week when they host Valladolid.
25. Benfica (Por) (12) – Last team on the list and it’s probably still better than they deserve after being humiliated by Academica de Coimbra 3-0 this weekend. Still, play two interesting games in the upcoming week, facing number 21 Sporting CP in Cup action and number 6 Porto in liga action this week.
Bubbling Under (alphabetically): DC United (USA), Fiorentina (Ita), Flamengo (Bra), Pachuca (Mex), River Plate (Uru).
Next Five European Teams: (31) Rangers (Sco), (33) Atletico de Madrid (Esp), (34) AC Milan (Ita), (35) Vitoria Guimaraes (Por), (39) Werder Bremen (Ger)
Games Between Top 25 Teams This Week:
16 April – (25) Benfica at (21) Sporting CP
17 April – (2) Chelsea at (20) Everton
20 April – (25) Benfica at (6) Porto
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