I’ve been checking out the rankings from this time last year and I’ve noticed that the rankings are a lot less static this season. I guess that’s a good thing. Things are starting to settle down a little bit, but most of the best leagues are still only a match away from having a new leader. This week, Ajax took over the lead of the Eredivisie from AZ Alkmaar, for instance. Chelsea, Inter Milan, Barcelona, Bayer Leverkusen and Sao Paulo all lead their respective leagues, but not by margins that are very wide. This is neither here nor there, I just found it interesting.
The big news of the week, match-wise, has to be the filling out of the Club World Cup field. Congratulations are in order for Egypt’s Al Ahly and Japan’s Gamba Osaka for winning the CAF Champions League and Asian Champions League, respectively. They now get their chance to take on Manchester United, LDU Quito and Pachuca (along with a few others) in Japan beginning December 11. They will be underdogs, no doubt, but they have proven their worth.
I tend to ignore domestic cup action. I’m going to continue that practice for now. There were numerous potentially interesting games over the weekend, though they mostly had predictable results. Struggling Roma defeated cross-town rival Lazio; Lyon extended its Ligue Un lead with a victory over Bordeaux, Ajax beat PSV Eindhoven by a surprisingly large amount and Bayer Leverkusen was able to hold off Schalke 04 in Germany. The big shocker of the week took place at Emirates Stadium, where Arsenal was embarrassed by Aston Villa at home. Villa has parlayed the upset into a well-deserved Top 25 position.
International action at midweek means that none of the WCR Top 25 Clubs play until next weekend, when all of them are in action. There are two matchups between WCR Top 25 Clubs, both involving teams that are (re)new(ed) to the rankings. In England, Aston Villa will put its ranking at risk when it hosts Manchester United on Saturday at Villa Park. In Italy, leaders Inter Milan welcome (in a sense) streaking Juventus to the San Siro for an important Serie A match. Other top matches include Valencia taking on Sevilla on Saturday and Ajax taking on AZ Alkmaar on Sunday.
World Club Rankings – Top 25 Clubs in the World – November 17, 2008
1. Chelsea (Eng) (1) – Chelsea remains the top-ranked club in the world, despite a Carling Cup defeat at the hands of Barnsley on penalty kicks, after defeating West Bromwich Albion 3-0 to pick up three big road points. This Week: On Saturday, Chelsea will host struggling Newcastle United at Stamford Bridge.
2. Barcelona (Esp) (2) – Still the hottest club in the rankings, Barcelona won twice this week, first in the Copa del Rey and then 2-0 over Recreativo in the Primera Division. This Week: Barcelona’s schedule allows them to continue to pile up points in La Liga before facing the toughest clubs in the league, this week hosting Getafe.
3. Inter Milan (Ita) (3) – An Ibrahimovic brace was the only thing Inter needed to defeat the Palermo pink boys 2-0 on Saturday. This Week: In what should be the match of the week, Inter Milan will host Juventus in a Serie A match with major implications.
4. Liverpool (Esp) (5) – Lost to defending champion Tottenham 2-4 in the Carling Cup, but ‘Pool won it mattered, defeating Bolton Wanderers 2-0 in Premiership play. This Week: Liverpool will host Fulham in domestic action on Saturday.
5. Bayer Leverkusen (Ger) (4) – Leverkusen helped to show that its Bundesliga lead is not a fluke, holding on to defeat a good Schalke 04 club by a 2-1 score. This Week: The competition should be a little easier this week, but we’ll see when Leverkusen takes on Arminia Bielefeld.
6. Manchester United (Eng) (14) – Man United took back third place in the Premiership with authority this weekend, annihilating a weak Stoke City club 5-0. This followed a 1-0 victory over Queens Park Rangers in the Carling Cup. This Week: The game of the week in the British Isles this weekend will take place at Villa Park on Saturday when Manchester United takes on the club that humiliated Arsenal this past weekend.
7. AC Milan (Ita) (8) – Another victory, this one 1-0 over Chievo Verona, gives AC Milan its best start in a few seasons in Serie A. This Week: While the other club from Milan takes on Juventus, AC Milan will take on the other club from Torino.
8. Villarreal (Esp) (10) – A pair of draws for Villarreal this week, first against Polideportivo in the Copa del Rey and then a 2-2 draw against Malaga in the Primera Division. Both results were disappointing for the Yellow Submarine. This Week: As with Barca and Real Madrid, the competitive portion of the Primera Division schedule will begin later in the season. For now, Villarreal will face Real Valladolid in the next round.
9. TSG Hoffenheim (Ger) (11) – I keep waiting for Hoffenheim to fade and they continue to win. This time, the victim was Wolfsburg by a 3-2 score. This Week: TSG takes on FC Cologne on Sunday.
10. Sao Paulo (Bra) (13) – Sao Paulo has been the club to beat in the Brasileiro Serie A for the entire second half of the season. This week was no different as Sao Paulo defeated Figueirense 3-1. This Week: In what should be a fun match, Vasco da Gama will host Sao Paulo on Sunday.
11. Valencia (Esp) (12) – Valencia advanced in the Copa del Rey, but failed to take advantage of Villarreal’s troubles, losing 2-3 to Sporting de Gijon. This Week: In the La Liga match of the weekend, Valencia will hit the road to take on Sevilla.
12. Ajax (Ned) (21) – After falling to Volendam 0-1 in extra time in the KNVB Beker, Ajax surprised many with a thorough 4-1 thrashing of PSV Eindhoven to move atop the Eredivisie table. This Week: Who was on top of the Eredivisie table? AZ Alkmaar. Who does Ajax play this weekend? AZ Alkmaar. Should be fun. Should also be on ESPN 360. Maybe even ESPN Deportes.
13. Juventus (Ita) (NR) – The beginning of the season was rough for Juventus, but the club from Turin has worked itself all the way back to third in the Serie A table following a 4-1 victory over Genoa. This Week: How far back are Juventus? We’ll see this weekend when they travel to Milan to take on Interazionale.
14. Lyon (Fra) (15) – This season was supposed to the season that Lyon’s streak of 245 consecutive Ligue Un titles (give or take) was ended. Lyon did fall 1-3 to Metz in the Coupe de la Ligue, but held off Bordeaux to score a 2-1 victory and extend its Ligue Un lead. This Week: In a battle of two of the more popular clubs in French football, Lyon heads to the capital to take on Paris Saint Germain.
15. Arsenal (Eng) (7) – It’s been a Jeckyll & Hyde existence for the Gunners this season. Arsenal did advance in the Carling Cup with a victory over Wigan Athletic, but was unexpectedly dismissed at Emirates Stadium by Aston Villa over the weekend to drop into fourth place. This Week: Arsenal heads to Manchester to take on City on Saturday in hopes of restoring some dignity.
16. Celtic (Sco) – While the SPL is always a two-team league, this year seems to be worse than most. This week, Celtic scored six points with a 3-0 victory over Kilmarnock and a 2-1 victory over Hamilton Academy. This Week: Celtic’s SPL victim this coming weekend is scheduled to be Saint Mirren.
17. Groningen (Ned) (24) – Groningen also took advantage of AZ’s failure to move up the Eredivisie table. FCG scored a 3-0 victory over Telstar in cup action and another 3-0 victory over De Graafschap in league action. This Week: Coming up for Groningen will be Willem II.
18. Real Madrid (Esp) (16) – Another rough week for Real Madrid. Despite scoring a 4-3 victory, Real Madrid was eliminated from the Copa del Rey. Real followed that up with a disappointing 0-1 loss to Real Valladolid. This Week: Real Madrid will try to change its losing ways this weekend against Recreativo.
19. NAC Breda (Ned) (NR) – NAC returns to the rankings after a pair of victories over Omniworld in the KNVB Beker and 3-0 over Heracles Almelo in the Eredivisie. This Week: NAC will take on NEC on SAT.
20. Bayern Munich (Ger) (20) – It looked like Bayern was going to take over the Bundesliga with few problems. Then there was a problem. Michael Bradley and the rest of Borussia Monchegladbach scored a 2-2 draw with the German powerhouse. This Week: Bayern Munich will take on Energie Cottbus as it tries to get back on track.
21. Marseille (Fra) (17) – Marseille fell even further behind Lyon in Ligue Un after losing 2-3 to Lorient. This Week: Marseille will hop back on the saddle against Lille on Sunday.
22. Gremio (Bra) (22) – After losing its Brasileiro Serie A lead, Gremio, all-of-a-sudden, actually started winning again. On Sunday, Gremio defeated Coritiba 2-1. This Week: Coming up, Gremio will try to continue the hot streak against Vitoria Salvador.
23. Napoli (Ita) (9) – It was fun while it lasted, but Napoli gave up two late goals to fall 1-3 to Atalanta and fourth place in Serie A. On the other hand, Napoli did defeat Salernitana 3-1 to advance in the Coppa Italia. This Week: In Serie A action, Napoli will host Cagliari on Sunday.
24. Rangers (Sco) (23) – Rangers did its part to make the SPL boring by keeping pace with Celtic with a 2-1 victory over St. Mirren, following-up on a scoreless draw with Motherwell. This Week: On Saturday, Rangers will host Aberdeen in SPL play.
25. Aston Villa (Eng) (BU) – Aston Villa scored the upset of the weekend with a 2-0 victory over Arsenal at Emirates Stadium to return to the rankings. This Week: I hope that Aston Villa wasn’t expecting it to get easier now because Manchester United will be visiting Villa Park on Saturday.
Bubbling Under (alphabetically): AZ Alkmaar (Ned), Lazio (Ita), Leixoes (Por), San Lorenzo (Arg), Sevilla (Esp).
Next Five CONMEBOL: (31) Flamengo (Bra), (36) Tigre (Arg), (38) Cruzeiro (Bra), (40) Sociedad Deportivo (Ecu), Palmeiras (Bra).
Matches Between Top 25 Clubs This Week:
22 November – (13) Juventus at (3) Inter Milan
22 November – (6) Manchester United at (25) Aston Villa
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