We have a new number one in the World Club Rankings, but it’s probably not who it should be. Who is number one? Liverpool. Who should be? I think it’s pretty clear to most people that Barcelona should be. So, why aren’t they? Several weeks ago, I went into some detail about how the rankings are generated. I short, it’s a combination of how a club is doing domestically along with how those clubs’ domestic leagues have performed in recent continental championship tournaments, e.g., the UEFA Champions League. The problem for Barcelona is that the English Premiership has a pretty overwhelming lead with respect to the domestic league coefficients. Scoring six of the last eight Champions League semifinal spots and having three different clubs appear in the Champions League finals over the past two years will give you such an overwhelming domestic league coefficient advantage.
What does this mean for Barcelona? Will they never be able to take over the number one spot? Actually, they can, but they will have to earn it on the field – even more so than they already have. Right now, the system sees Barcelona as the leader of a domestic league and a qualifier for the Champions League knockout stage. Meanwhile, Liverpool is first place in a better league and also a qualifier for the Champions League knockout stage. Because of bonus points given for advancement in continental competition, Barcelona likely will advance past the top club in England if it advances further than that club in the Champions League. It is also possible if a club advances to the top of the Premiership with a significantly below average goal differential, but that is unlikely to happen between now and the Champions League knockout stages.
These league rankings also explain why we have two Scottish Premier League clubs in the rankings despite the fact that there soon will be none left in European competition. Celtic and Rangers’ dominance in the league allow them to jump over clubs from better leagues and the SPL is benefitting from successes in recent competitions, despite doing so poorly this season. Coefficients will be adjusted after the group stage ends, so we can see how that affects the SPL. It certainly won’t help it.
I didn’t get much of a chance to talk much about last week’s matches. Or this week’s matches. Or anything at all, really. I guess I’ll do that in the course of the WCR Top 25, below.
World Club Rankings – Top 25 Clubs in the World – December 1, 2008
1. Liverpool (Eng) – Liverpool moves to the top without the benefit of a league match; however, Chelsea’s loss to Arsenal does give Liverpool more points per match than Chelsea and puts them in unofficial lead of the Premier League. Liverpool did manage to beat Marseille 1-0 in the Champions League, so there was an official victory to go with its move to the top. This Week: Later today, Liverpool will host West Ham United in an attempt to make its unofficial lead in the Premiership official. Next weekend, Liverpool will try to extend that new official lead, provided they attain it this afternoon, against the Blackburn Rovers.
2. Barcelona (Esp) – The tough portion of the Primera Division schedule for Barcelona began this week and Barca didn’t miss a beat. After crushing Sporting CP 5-2 in Champions League play, Barcelona continued in the crushing mode with a 3-0 defeat of Sevilla. This Week: Now that the difficult portion of the schedule has begun, it will continue for a while. Next up for Barcelona will be a weekend visit from Valencia.
3. Inter Milan (Ita) (3) – Internazionale fell 0-1 to Panathinaikos, but managed to qualify for the knockout stage of the Champions League. If nothing else, it makes Inter’s group very interesting. I’m growing a soft spot for Anorthosis. Domestically, Inter fared better, defeating Napoli 2-1. This Week: Inter goes from one barely ranked club to another this weekend when Jose and the boys head to Rome to take on Lazio.
4. Chelsea (Eng) (1) – Not a very good week for Chelsea in any respect. After managing only a draw in France against Bordeaux, Chelsea couldn’t even manage that at home against Arsenal, losing 1-2. This Week: Chelsea will have to bounce back against the Bolton Wanderers if it wants to keep up with Liverpool.
5. TSG Hoffenheim (Ger) (5) – I think it’s safe to say that Hoffenheim has proven that its success is not a fluke. This week, TSG defeated Arminia Bielefeld 3-0. This Week: The day of reckoning for TSG is coming soon. Friday, to be specific. That is the day that Hoffenheim travels to Munich for a date with Bayern.
6. Juventus (ita) (12) – Juve has been one of the hottest clubs in the world as of late and this weekend was no different. Juventus drew 0-0 in Russia against Zenit St. Petersburg, but did better in completely dismantling Reggina 4-0 in Serie A. This Week: Juventus will take on Lecce in Serie A action this weekend.
7. Manchester United (Eng) (6) – After playing in a scoreless draw against Villarreal in Champions League play, United won the Manchester derby with a 1-0 victory over City, despite losing Cristiano Ronaldo midway through the second half. This Week: United faces a pair of the weaker Premiership clubs this week. First, Manchester United hosts Blackburn in the next round of the Carling Cup. In Premiership action, Manyoo will host Sudnerland on Saturday.
8. AZ Alkmaar (Ned) (9) – AZ moves up a notch after handily defeating FC Groningen 2-0 on Friday. This Week: After spending a seemingly unprecedented two consecutive weeks atop the Eredivisie, AZ will try to continue its success this weekend against Heracles Almelo.
9. Bayern Munich (Ger) (15) – The climb continued this week for Bayern as it defeated Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 to move into second-place in the Bundesliga. That’s not even to mention, though I’m mentioning it now, Bayern’s 3-0 victory over Steaua Bucuresti in the Champions League. This Week: The match of the week in Europe this week will take place in Munich when the battle for the Bundesliga lead will take place as TSG Hoffenheim comes to town.
10. Sao Paulo (Bra) (11) – Sao Paulo just needed a victory over Fluminense to clinch another Brasileiro Serie A title. Instead, Sao Paulo scored a 1-1 draw and will have to wait another week to clinch. (In another week, it has to clinch if it’s going to do so because it’s the end of the season.) This Week: Sao Paulo will finish off its Serie A season this weekend against Goias. A draw or win will secure another title for Sao Paulo.
11. Villarreal (Esp) (17) – Villarreal held Manchester United scoreless in their goalless Champions League match. In the Primera Division, Villarreal moved passed Real Madrid with a 2-1 victory over Recreativo de Huelva. This Week: The Yellow Submarine ends it’s easy part of the first half of the season this weekend when it takes on Getafe.
12. Valencia (Esp) (16) – Like Villarreal, Valencia took advantage of Real Madrid’s stumble with a 3-2 victory over Real Betis. This victory followed Valencia’s 4-0 victory over Rosenborg in UEFA Cup group play. This Week: Valencia has another UEFA Cup match this week against Club Brugge, but it gets tougher after that. How tough? How about a road trip to Barcelona?
13. AC Milan (Ita) (8) – It looked as if all hope was lost against Portsmouth, but then two late goals allowed Milan to draw 2-2 in the end. It also looked as if all hope was lost against Palermo. It was. Milan lost 1-3 and dropped to third in Serie A. This Week: At midweek, Milan host Lazio in a Coppa Italia match. Over the weekend, AC Milan will host Catania.
14. Celtic (Sco) (13) – Even though they one match remaining, Celtic, and now the entire Scottish Premier League, has been eliminated from European competition. Celtic did beat one of the many SPL minnows, for what it’s worth, scoring a 1-0 victory over Inverness. This Week: The Scottish Fish of the Week on Celtic’s menu this weekend is Hibernian.
15. Lyon (Fra) (14) – Lyon defeated Fiorentina 2-1 in Champions League play. It didn’t do as well in Ligue Un, scoring a 0-0 draw with Valenciennes. Fortunately for Lyon, nobody in France can win a match once it moves into second place. This Week: Lyon will take on Nantes in domestic action over the weekend.
16. Arsenal (Eng) (23) – What a Jeckyl and Hyde club. It appears that you have to be one of the best clubs in the world for Arsenal to be interested enough to play well against you. Or Dynamo Kyiv, who Arsenal beat 1-0 in the Champions League. The big match, of course, was the Gunners’ 2-1 victory over Chelsea in the Premiership. This Week: Maybe the Gunners will be able to maintain its recent form against Burnley in the Carling Cup and Wigan Athletic in the Premiership.
17. Real Madrid (Esp) (7) – The good news is that Real Madrid did score a 1-0 victory over BATE Barisov in the Champions League. The rest of the news is less good. Specifically, Real Madrid fell 1-3 to Getafe and dropped to fourth-place in the Primera Division. This Week: Like Barcelona last week, Real Madrid’s schedule takes a giant leap forward this week, when it will host Sevilla in Primera Division action.
18. Gremio (Bra) (21) – Gremio beat up on the last place club in the Brasileiro Serie A, scoring a 4-1 victory over Ipatinga to keep its Serie A title hopes alive, if only on life support. Next Week: To have any shot at a title, Gremio will have to beat Atletico Belo Horizonte on Sunday.
19. Benfica (Por) (BU) – How exactly did Benfica move up when it only played one match, and it lost that one 1-5 to Olympiakos? Well, with Leixoes stumbling in the Liga Sagres, Benfica moved to the top (effectively – kinda sorta like Liverpool did in England) and the extra points gets the club a ranking. This Week: Can Benfica take advantage of the position? We’ll see soon because Benfica takes on Vitoria Setubal later today. Next weekend, it will take on Maritimo domestically.
20. Bayer Leverkusen (Ger) (10) – Big drop for Leverkusen after losing 0-2 to Bayern Munich and falling to fourth place in the Bundesliga. Next Week: It’s time for Leverkusen to work its way back up the rankings and that trip will begin over the weekend against Borussia Monchengladbach.
21. Ajax (Ned) (BU) – The club from Amsterdam scored a nice 1-0 victory over a club from Hamburg in the UEFA Cup. In the Eredivisie, the best that Ajax could do was a 1-1 draw with Utrecht. This Week: Ajax will take on Volendam as it tries to catch AZ.
22. Rangers (Sco) (29) – It was bad enough when Rangers couldn’t beat clubs from other parts of Europe, but now it’s even having problems with Scottish clubs, losing 1-2 to Hearts this weekend. This Week: Rangers will take on Hamilton Academy as it tries to keep from falling any further away from Celtic in the table.
23. Napoli (Ita) (22) – It put up a good fight, but Napoli fell down quickly to Inter Milan and could only crawl back to a 1-2 defeat. This Week: Next up for Napoli will be a home match against Siena.
24. Aston Villa (Eng) (18) – Villa is almost as inconsistent as Arsenal this season, managing only a scoreless draw this weekend at home against Everton. This Week: MSK Zilina will come to Villa Park for a UEFA Cup match at midweek. In domestic play, Aston Villa heads to Goodison Park to take on Everton.
25. Lazio (Ita) (25) – Lazio remains in fifth place in Serie A despite falling 0-3 to Atalanta this weekend. This Week: It’s an all-Milano coming week for Lazio, taking on AC Milan on Wednesday in the Coppa Italia and Inter Milan on Saturday in Serie A.
Bubbling Under (alphabetically): Atletico de Madrid (Esp), Hertha Berlin (Ger), Nice (Fra), Sevilla (Esp), Stade Rennes (Fra).
CONCACAF: (66) Toluca (Mex), (77) Deportivo Saprissa (Crc), (81) San Luis (Mex), (85) UNAM Pumas (Mex), (86) Atlante (Mex).
Matches Between Top 25 Clubs This Week:
5 December – (5) TSG Hoffenheim at (9) Bayern Munich
6 December – (12) Valencia at (2) Barcelona
6 December – (3) Inter Milan at (25) Lazio
What does this mean for Barcelona? Will they never be able to take over the number one spot? Actually, they can, but they will have to earn it on the field – even more so than they already have. Right now, the system sees Barcelona as the leader of a domestic league and a qualifier for the Champions League knockout stage. Meanwhile, Liverpool is first place in a better league and also a qualifier for the Champions League knockout stage. Because of bonus points given for advancement in continental competition, Barcelona likely will advance past the top club in England if it advances further than that club in the Champions League. It is also possible if a club advances to the top of the Premiership with a significantly below average goal differential, but that is unlikely to happen between now and the Champions League knockout stages.
These league rankings also explain why we have two Scottish Premier League clubs in the rankings despite the fact that there soon will be none left in European competition. Celtic and Rangers’ dominance in the league allow them to jump over clubs from better leagues and the SPL is benefitting from successes in recent competitions, despite doing so poorly this season. Coefficients will be adjusted after the group stage ends, so we can see how that affects the SPL. It certainly won’t help it.
I didn’t get much of a chance to talk much about last week’s matches. Or this week’s matches. Or anything at all, really. I guess I’ll do that in the course of the WCR Top 25, below.
World Club Rankings – Top 25 Clubs in the World – December 1, 2008
1. Liverpool (Eng) – Liverpool moves to the top without the benefit of a league match; however, Chelsea’s loss to Arsenal does give Liverpool more points per match than Chelsea and puts them in unofficial lead of the Premier League. Liverpool did manage to beat Marseille 1-0 in the Champions League, so there was an official victory to go with its move to the top. This Week: Later today, Liverpool will host West Ham United in an attempt to make its unofficial lead in the Premiership official. Next weekend, Liverpool will try to extend that new official lead, provided they attain it this afternoon, against the Blackburn Rovers.
2. Barcelona (Esp) – The tough portion of the Primera Division schedule for Barcelona began this week and Barca didn’t miss a beat. After crushing Sporting CP 5-2 in Champions League play, Barcelona continued in the crushing mode with a 3-0 defeat of Sevilla. This Week: Now that the difficult portion of the schedule has begun, it will continue for a while. Next up for Barcelona will be a weekend visit from Valencia.
3. Inter Milan (Ita) (3) – Internazionale fell 0-1 to Panathinaikos, but managed to qualify for the knockout stage of the Champions League. If nothing else, it makes Inter’s group very interesting. I’m growing a soft spot for Anorthosis. Domestically, Inter fared better, defeating Napoli 2-1. This Week: Inter goes from one barely ranked club to another this weekend when Jose and the boys head to Rome to take on Lazio.
4. Chelsea (Eng) (1) – Not a very good week for Chelsea in any respect. After managing only a draw in France against Bordeaux, Chelsea couldn’t even manage that at home against Arsenal, losing 1-2. This Week: Chelsea will have to bounce back against the Bolton Wanderers if it wants to keep up with Liverpool.
5. TSG Hoffenheim (Ger) (5) – I think it’s safe to say that Hoffenheim has proven that its success is not a fluke. This week, TSG defeated Arminia Bielefeld 3-0. This Week: The day of reckoning for TSG is coming soon. Friday, to be specific. That is the day that Hoffenheim travels to Munich for a date with Bayern.
6. Juventus (ita) (12) – Juve has been one of the hottest clubs in the world as of late and this weekend was no different. Juventus drew 0-0 in Russia against Zenit St. Petersburg, but did better in completely dismantling Reggina 4-0 in Serie A. This Week: Juventus will take on Lecce in Serie A action this weekend.
7. Manchester United (Eng) (6) – After playing in a scoreless draw against Villarreal in Champions League play, United won the Manchester derby with a 1-0 victory over City, despite losing Cristiano Ronaldo midway through the second half. This Week: United faces a pair of the weaker Premiership clubs this week. First, Manchester United hosts Blackburn in the next round of the Carling Cup. In Premiership action, Manyoo will host Sudnerland on Saturday.
8. AZ Alkmaar (Ned) (9) – AZ moves up a notch after handily defeating FC Groningen 2-0 on Friday. This Week: After spending a seemingly unprecedented two consecutive weeks atop the Eredivisie, AZ will try to continue its success this weekend against Heracles Almelo.
9. Bayern Munich (Ger) (15) – The climb continued this week for Bayern as it defeated Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 to move into second-place in the Bundesliga. That’s not even to mention, though I’m mentioning it now, Bayern’s 3-0 victory over Steaua Bucuresti in the Champions League. This Week: The match of the week in Europe this week will take place in Munich when the battle for the Bundesliga lead will take place as TSG Hoffenheim comes to town.
10. Sao Paulo (Bra) (11) – Sao Paulo just needed a victory over Fluminense to clinch another Brasileiro Serie A title. Instead, Sao Paulo scored a 1-1 draw and will have to wait another week to clinch. (In another week, it has to clinch if it’s going to do so because it’s the end of the season.) This Week: Sao Paulo will finish off its Serie A season this weekend against Goias. A draw or win will secure another title for Sao Paulo.
11. Villarreal (Esp) (17) – Villarreal held Manchester United scoreless in their goalless Champions League match. In the Primera Division, Villarreal moved passed Real Madrid with a 2-1 victory over Recreativo de Huelva. This Week: The Yellow Submarine ends it’s easy part of the first half of the season this weekend when it takes on Getafe.
12. Valencia (Esp) (16) – Like Villarreal, Valencia took advantage of Real Madrid’s stumble with a 3-2 victory over Real Betis. This victory followed Valencia’s 4-0 victory over Rosenborg in UEFA Cup group play. This Week: Valencia has another UEFA Cup match this week against Club Brugge, but it gets tougher after that. How tough? How about a road trip to Barcelona?
13. AC Milan (Ita) (8) – It looked as if all hope was lost against Portsmouth, but then two late goals allowed Milan to draw 2-2 in the end. It also looked as if all hope was lost against Palermo. It was. Milan lost 1-3 and dropped to third in Serie A. This Week: At midweek, Milan host Lazio in a Coppa Italia match. Over the weekend, AC Milan will host Catania.
14. Celtic (Sco) (13) – Even though they one match remaining, Celtic, and now the entire Scottish Premier League, has been eliminated from European competition. Celtic did beat one of the many SPL minnows, for what it’s worth, scoring a 1-0 victory over Inverness. This Week: The Scottish Fish of the Week on Celtic’s menu this weekend is Hibernian.
15. Lyon (Fra) (14) – Lyon defeated Fiorentina 2-1 in Champions League play. It didn’t do as well in Ligue Un, scoring a 0-0 draw with Valenciennes. Fortunately for Lyon, nobody in France can win a match once it moves into second place. This Week: Lyon will take on Nantes in domestic action over the weekend.
16. Arsenal (Eng) (23) – What a Jeckyl and Hyde club. It appears that you have to be one of the best clubs in the world for Arsenal to be interested enough to play well against you. Or Dynamo Kyiv, who Arsenal beat 1-0 in the Champions League. The big match, of course, was the Gunners’ 2-1 victory over Chelsea in the Premiership. This Week: Maybe the Gunners will be able to maintain its recent form against Burnley in the Carling Cup and Wigan Athletic in the Premiership.
17. Real Madrid (Esp) (7) – The good news is that Real Madrid did score a 1-0 victory over BATE Barisov in the Champions League. The rest of the news is less good. Specifically, Real Madrid fell 1-3 to Getafe and dropped to fourth-place in the Primera Division. This Week: Like Barcelona last week, Real Madrid’s schedule takes a giant leap forward this week, when it will host Sevilla in Primera Division action.
18. Gremio (Bra) (21) – Gremio beat up on the last place club in the Brasileiro Serie A, scoring a 4-1 victory over Ipatinga to keep its Serie A title hopes alive, if only on life support. Next Week: To have any shot at a title, Gremio will have to beat Atletico Belo Horizonte on Sunday.
19. Benfica (Por) (BU) – How exactly did Benfica move up when it only played one match, and it lost that one 1-5 to Olympiakos? Well, with Leixoes stumbling in the Liga Sagres, Benfica moved to the top (effectively – kinda sorta like Liverpool did in England) and the extra points gets the club a ranking. This Week: Can Benfica take advantage of the position? We’ll see soon because Benfica takes on Vitoria Setubal later today. Next weekend, it will take on Maritimo domestically.
20. Bayer Leverkusen (Ger) (10) – Big drop for Leverkusen after losing 0-2 to Bayern Munich and falling to fourth place in the Bundesliga. Next Week: It’s time for Leverkusen to work its way back up the rankings and that trip will begin over the weekend against Borussia Monchengladbach.
21. Ajax (Ned) (BU) – The club from Amsterdam scored a nice 1-0 victory over a club from Hamburg in the UEFA Cup. In the Eredivisie, the best that Ajax could do was a 1-1 draw with Utrecht. This Week: Ajax will take on Volendam as it tries to catch AZ.
22. Rangers (Sco) (29) – It was bad enough when Rangers couldn’t beat clubs from other parts of Europe, but now it’s even having problems with Scottish clubs, losing 1-2 to Hearts this weekend. This Week: Rangers will take on Hamilton Academy as it tries to keep from falling any further away from Celtic in the table.
23. Napoli (Ita) (22) – It put up a good fight, but Napoli fell down quickly to Inter Milan and could only crawl back to a 1-2 defeat. This Week: Next up for Napoli will be a home match against Siena.
24. Aston Villa (Eng) (18) – Villa is almost as inconsistent as Arsenal this season, managing only a scoreless draw this weekend at home against Everton. This Week: MSK Zilina will come to Villa Park for a UEFA Cup match at midweek. In domestic play, Aston Villa heads to Goodison Park to take on Everton.
25. Lazio (Ita) (25) – Lazio remains in fifth place in Serie A despite falling 0-3 to Atalanta this weekend. This Week: It’s an all-Milano coming week for Lazio, taking on AC Milan on Wednesday in the Coppa Italia and Inter Milan on Saturday in Serie A.
Bubbling Under (alphabetically): Atletico de Madrid (Esp), Hertha Berlin (Ger), Nice (Fra), Sevilla (Esp), Stade Rennes (Fra).
CONCACAF: (66) Toluca (Mex), (77) Deportivo Saprissa (Crc), (81) San Luis (Mex), (85) UNAM Pumas (Mex), (86) Atlante (Mex).
Matches Between Top 25 Clubs This Week:
5 December – (5) TSG Hoffenheim at (9) Bayern Munich
6 December – (12) Valencia at (2) Barcelona
6 December – (3) Inter Milan at (25) Lazio
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