(Note: Since there was only minimal club action this weekend involving the WCR Top 25 Clubs, I am posting the next in my series of Annual Rankings. I hope you enjoy it – or at least find it interesting. The WCR Top 25 Clubs list will return next week.)
In the past, I’ve started off writing about each year by discussing events in the UEFA Champions Cup tournament. For 1982, I’m going to start off by talking about South American action. The reason for this is that 1982 saw a South American club sit atop the annual World Club Rankings for the first time. The 1982 Copa Libertadores final saw perennial powerhouse Penarol from Uruguay take on relative unknown Cobreloa in what appeared to be a mismatch on paper. After a scoreless draw in Centenario, however, it appeared that the Chilean club might actually pull off the major upset when it hosted the second leg. The upset bid did not end until an 89th minute goal by Penarol finally gave the Uruguayan club the lead and its fourth Copa Libertadores title – though it’s first in sixteen years.
One of the reasons that a South American club climbed to the top of the rankings was that the 1980s were the glory years (so far) of South American club football, with great success in the Intercontinental Cup. Another reason was that in 1982, the most successful clubs in the European Champions Cup were not nearly as successful back home. The finals of the Champions Cup took place at Feyenoord Stadium in Rotterdam, Netherlands, where eleventh-placed in England Aston Villa took on the third-placed team in the Bundesliga, Bayern Munich. Peter Withe scored the only goal of the match to give Aston Villa the title and England its sixth title in as many years. The 1982 Cup Winners Cup turned out to be one of those unfortunate (depending on whose side you’re on) times when a club was able to host the title match. Barcelona took on Standard Liege in front of a home crowd at Camp Nou. After giving up an early goal, Barcelona was able to come back to win the title 2-1 on goals by former Footballer of the Year Allan Simonsen and Quini. The UEFA Cup resulted in a rare cup heading to Sweden as IFK Goteborg was able to defeat Hamburger SV not once, but twice on route to a 4-0 aggregate victory.
Of course, championships were being won in other parts of the world, as well, in 1982. In the Copa de Campeones y Subcampeones, Mexico’s Pumas UNAM won its second title in three years by defeating Robin Hood of Suriname 3-2 over two matches. The African hardware all went to Egypt as Al-Ahly won its first African Champions Cup over Asante Kotoko of Ghana and Al Mokaoulun defeated Zambia’s Power Dynamos to take home the African Cup Winners Cup. Elsewhere in the world, the top domestic leagues saw champions such as Liverpool, Hamburger, Real Sociedad, Penarol and Ferro Carril Oeste. The top clubs in all the world in 1982 can be found below:
World Club Rankings – Top 25 – 1982
1. Penarol (Uru) – Copa Libertadores-Champions; First South American Club at Number One.
2. Liverpool (Eng) – ChampionsCup-Quarterfinalist; Sixth consecutive Top Five.
3. Hamburger (FRG) – UEFA Cup-Runner-up.
4. Bayern Munchen (FRG) – CC-RU.
5. Flamengo (Bra) – CL-SF.
6. Anderlecht (Bel) – CC-SF; Highest ever ranking.
7. CSKA Sofia (Bul) – CC-SF; Only Top 25 ranking.
8. Cobreloa (Chi) – CL-RU; First ever Top 25 ranking.
9. Real Sociedad (Esp) – CC-2R.
10. FC Koln (FRG)
11. Ipswich Town (Eng) – UEFA-1R; Final Top 25 ranking.
12. Barcelona (Esp) – Cup Winners Cup-Champion.
13. Estudiantes (Arg) – Highest ever ranking.
14. Manchester United (Eng)
15. Independiente (Arg)
16. Nacional (Uru)
17. Standard Liege (Bel) – CWC-RU; Final Top 25 ranking.
18. Ajax (Ned) – CWC-1R; Seventeenth consecutive Top 25 ranking.
19. Real Madrid (Esp) – UEFA-QF; Fifth consecutive Top 20 ranking.
20. Aston Villa (Eng) – Champions Cup-Champions; Final Top 25 ranking.
21. Guarani (Bra) – First Top 25 ranking.
22. Tottenham Hotspur (Eng) – CWC-SF; First Top 25 ranking since 1963.
23. Defensor (Uru) – CL-1R; First Top 25 ranking.
24. Athletic de Bilbao (Esp)
25. Boca Juniors (Arg) – CL-1R.
In the past, I’ve started off writing about each year by discussing events in the UEFA Champions Cup tournament. For 1982, I’m going to start off by talking about South American action. The reason for this is that 1982 saw a South American club sit atop the annual World Club Rankings for the first time. The 1982 Copa Libertadores final saw perennial powerhouse Penarol from Uruguay take on relative unknown Cobreloa in what appeared to be a mismatch on paper. After a scoreless draw in Centenario, however, it appeared that the Chilean club might actually pull off the major upset when it hosted the second leg. The upset bid did not end until an 89th minute goal by Penarol finally gave the Uruguayan club the lead and its fourth Copa Libertadores title – though it’s first in sixteen years.
One of the reasons that a South American club climbed to the top of the rankings was that the 1980s were the glory years (so far) of South American club football, with great success in the Intercontinental Cup. Another reason was that in 1982, the most successful clubs in the European Champions Cup were not nearly as successful back home. The finals of the Champions Cup took place at Feyenoord Stadium in Rotterdam, Netherlands, where eleventh-placed in England Aston Villa took on the third-placed team in the Bundesliga, Bayern Munich. Peter Withe scored the only goal of the match to give Aston Villa the title and England its sixth title in as many years. The 1982 Cup Winners Cup turned out to be one of those unfortunate (depending on whose side you’re on) times when a club was able to host the title match. Barcelona took on Standard Liege in front of a home crowd at Camp Nou. After giving up an early goal, Barcelona was able to come back to win the title 2-1 on goals by former Footballer of the Year Allan Simonsen and Quini. The UEFA Cup resulted in a rare cup heading to Sweden as IFK Goteborg was able to defeat Hamburger SV not once, but twice on route to a 4-0 aggregate victory.
Of course, championships were being won in other parts of the world, as well, in 1982. In the Copa de Campeones y Subcampeones, Mexico’s Pumas UNAM won its second title in three years by defeating Robin Hood of Suriname 3-2 over two matches. The African hardware all went to Egypt as Al-Ahly won its first African Champions Cup over Asante Kotoko of Ghana and Al Mokaoulun defeated Zambia’s Power Dynamos to take home the African Cup Winners Cup. Elsewhere in the world, the top domestic leagues saw champions such as Liverpool, Hamburger, Real Sociedad, Penarol and Ferro Carril Oeste. The top clubs in all the world in 1982 can be found below:
World Club Rankings – Top 25 – 1982
1. Penarol (Uru) – Copa Libertadores-Champions; First South American Club at Number One.
2. Liverpool (Eng) – ChampionsCup-Quarterfinalist; Sixth consecutive Top Five.
3. Hamburger (FRG) – UEFA Cup-Runner-up.
4. Bayern Munchen (FRG) – CC-RU.
5. Flamengo (Bra) – CL-SF.
6. Anderlecht (Bel) – CC-SF; Highest ever ranking.
7. CSKA Sofia (Bul) – CC-SF; Only Top 25 ranking.
8. Cobreloa (Chi) – CL-RU; First ever Top 25 ranking.
9. Real Sociedad (Esp) – CC-2R.
10. FC Koln (FRG)
11. Ipswich Town (Eng) – UEFA-1R; Final Top 25 ranking.
12. Barcelona (Esp) – Cup Winners Cup-Champion.
13. Estudiantes (Arg) – Highest ever ranking.
14. Manchester United (Eng)
15. Independiente (Arg)
16. Nacional (Uru)
17. Standard Liege (Bel) – CWC-RU; Final Top 25 ranking.
18. Ajax (Ned) – CWC-1R; Seventeenth consecutive Top 25 ranking.
19. Real Madrid (Esp) – UEFA-QF; Fifth consecutive Top 20 ranking.
20. Aston Villa (Eng) – Champions Cup-Champions; Final Top 25 ranking.
21. Guarani (Bra) – First Top 25 ranking.
22. Tottenham Hotspur (Eng) – CWC-SF; First Top 25 ranking since 1963.
23. Defensor (Uru) – CL-1R; First Top 25 ranking.
24. Athletic de Bilbao (Esp)
25. Boca Juniors (Arg) – CL-1R.
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