Congratulations to the Red Devils. They entered the finals as heavy favorites, but just out-manning the opponent isn’t enough. You still have to win the games. And the Red Devils did. Of course, I’m talking about America de Cali who defeated Medellin to win Colombia’s Copa Mustang title. And Manchester United had a good weekend too, defeating LDU Quito 1-0 in the Club World Cup final.
Based on comments and hate-mail that I’ve received recently, everybody wants Barcelona to be number one. Hell, I want Barcelona to be number one. I think they are the most consistently great club in the world right now. But they’re not number one in the WCR rankings. Chelsea is. Because they are the best club in England right now. And until an English club can be eliminated from the Champions League by anybody other than another English club (which hasn’t happened since AC Milan beat Liverpool in May 2007), then the top English club likely will sit atop the WCR rankings. Stay tuned until late February / early March for the next big movement in the domestic league rankings.
I anticipate that you’ll also find the Portuguese clubs are overrated. Again, you’re probably right. But they have two clubs in the final sixteen of the Champions League and, until we see what happens to them in the knockout stages, the Portuguese clubs will be overrated in the meantime. The Scottish clubs also returned to the rankings this week, but not quite as high as they were a few weeks ago.
There were some pretty big matches this weekend, none of which was bigger than Liverpool’s 1-1 draw with Arsenal at Emirates Stadium. It wasn’t terribly impressive, but a point at Emirates may prove to be the difference at the end of this close Premiership season. Barcelona continued to roll, defeating Villarreal 2-1 to extend its lead to ten points in the Primera Division, and Real Madrid finally showed a little life for a change, scoring a big 1-0 victory over Valencia.
There’s nothing going on this weekend except in the Premier Leagues of England and Scotland and a lot is going on there. The big matches of this weekend will take place when Aston Villa welcomes Arsenal to Villa Park on Boxing Day and the Glasgow Derby between Rangers and Celtic on Saturday. The biggest match of the following week sees Atletico de Madrid host Valencia in La Liga action.
The weekly rankings will not be around next week because of the lack of action in international club play. In its place will be the 2008 Top 25 Clubs of the Year. If you want any information on what those rankings are based upon, click here. If you want to check out other annual rankings dating back to 1960, click here. If you want to see the final weekly Top 25 of the year, don’t click anything, just look below.
World Club Rankings – Top 25 Clubs in the World – December 22, 2008
1. Chelsea (Eng) (4) – Chelsea returns to the top spot without even playing a game in the past week. The big news of the week for Chelsea was that it paid the price for failing to win its Champions League group by drawing Juventus in the round of sixteen. Next Two Weeks: Chelsea has three Premiership matches in the next week, facing Everton today, West Bromwich Albion on Boxing Day and Fulham two days after that.
2. Inter Milan (Ita) (2) – Internazionale continues to lead in Serie A and look almost untouchable in domestic play. This week, the victim was Siena in a 2-1 match. Next Two Weeks: No matches.
3. Barcelona (Esp) (3) – You may just as well end La Liga’s season now. With a ten-point lead, it’s hard to conceive of anybody even making it close. This week, Barcelona spotted a goal to Villarreal, then came back to score a 2-1 victory. Next Two Week: Barcelona returns to action on January 3 against Real Mallorca.
4. Liverpool (Eng) (1) – Another draw knocks Liverpool from the top of the charts in a topsy-turvy Premier League season. In the match of the weekend, Liverpool did manage to hold Arsenal to a 1-1 draw at Emirates Stadium. Next Two Weeks: The Reds’ holiday doubleheader see the club facing Bolton Wanderers on Boxing Day and Newcastle United on Sunday.
5. TSG Hoffenheim (Ger) (5) – No current matches.
6. Juventus (Ita) (6) – Juve defeated Atalanta 3-1 to keep pace with Inter Milan in Serie A. Next Two Weeks: No matches.
7. Benfica (Por) (8) – After losing 0-1 to Metalist Kharkiv and being knocked out of the UEFA Cup, it’s pretty clear that this ranking is too high for Benfica, but the club remains undefeated in the Liga Sagres, which has placed two clubs in the Champions League knockout stage. Next Two Weeks: Later today, Benfica will try to extend its Liga Sagres lead when it hosts Nacional. Benfica will return to Liga action on January 4 against Trofense.
8. Manchester United (Eng) (7) – The Red Devils keep the Club World Cup in Europe for a second consecutive season. After a high-scoring 5-3 victory over Gamba Osaka in the semis, a shorthanded United defeated LDU Quito 1-0 in the finals. Next Two Weeks: Manchester United’s Boxing Day opponent will be Stoke City. The following Monday, United will host Middlesbrough.
9. Bayern Munich (Ger) (19) – No current matches.
10. AZ Alkmaar (Ned) (11) – Another Eredivisie match, another shutout as AZ defeated FC Utrecht 2-0 on Friday. Next Two Weeks: The Eredivisie is still in action this weekend and AZ Alkmaar will host NEC Nijmegen.
11. Sevilla (Esp) (16) – A surprising 0-1 loss to Sampdoria eliminated Sevilla from European play. Sevilla did only slightly better against Mallorca with a scoreless draw. That was good enough, however, to lift Sevilla into second place in the Primera Division. Next Two Weeks: Sevilla returns on January 4 to host Osasuna.
12. Atletico de Madrid (Esp) (22) – Like Sevilla, Atletico also moved up the Primera Division table with a 3-2 victory over Espanyol. Next Two Weeks: When Atletico comes back, it’ll be fun. It will face Valencia on January 3.
13. Porto (Por) (20) – Porto played a pair of matches in Liga Sagres, picking up four points and moving into second place. After defeating Estrela Amadora 4-2, Porto played Maritimo to a scoreless draw. Next Two Weeks: Porto’s next match will take place the opening weekend of 2009 against Nacional.
14. Sao Paulo (Bra) (12) – No current matches.
15. AC Milan (Ita) (21) – AC Milan drew 2-2 with Wolfsburg in an entertaining UEFA Cup match. In Serie A play, Milan struck Udinese early and often in its 5-1 victory. Next Two Weeks: No matches.
16. Aston Villa (Eng) (14) – Villa was pretty much manhandled by Hamburger in a 1-3 UEFA Cup loss. In the Premier League, Aston Villa gained ground on the leaders with a 1-0 defeat of West Ham United. Next Two Weeks: Boxing Day will be fun at Villa Park when the Gunners come for its annual visit. On the 30th, Aston Villa will take on Hull City.
17. Ajax (Ned) (18) – Ajax kept pace with AZ in the Eredivisie, following up its 2-2 UEFA Cup draw with Slavia Praha with a 6-0 beat down of De Graafschap. Next Two Weeks: Ajax is in Ajaxion this weekend, hosting ADO Den Haag.
18. Olympiakos (Gre) (15) – The current Greek Super League leaders dismantled Hertha Berlin by a 4-0 score in an UEFA Cup match before defeating last place Thrasivoulos Fylis 2-1 in domestic play. Next Two Weeks: Olympiakos doesn’t play this week, but will take on Asteras Tripolis on January 4.
19. Fiorentina (Ita) (25) – La Viola fell 0-1 to Torino in a Coppa Italia match, but rebounded to defeat Sampdoria 1-0 and move into fourth place in Serie A. Next Two Weeks: No matches.
20. Celtic (Sco) (BU) – Celtic maintained its lead over Rangers in the SPL with a 3-0 defeat of Falkirk. Next Two Weeks: This weekend, the only match that matters in the Scottish Premier League takes place when Celtic and Rangers face off on Saturday. The following weekend, Celtic will host Dundee United.
21. Valencia (Esp) (9) – Big drop this week for Valencia as they drop to fourth in the Primera Division following its 0-1 loss to Real Madrid. Earlier in the week, Valencia drew 2-2 with St. Etienne in an UEFA Cup match. Next Two Weeks: Valencia will host new second-place club Atletico de Madrid when the Primera Division season resumes on January 3.
22. Arsenal (Eng) (19) – Shorthanded, Arsenal fought off Liverpool to score a 1-1 draw with the former WCR Number One club. Next Two Weeks: It could be a very telling week for the Gunners as they take on Aston Villa on Boxing Day and Portsmouth on Sunday.
23. Gremio (Bra) (17) – No current matches.
24. Lyon (Fra) (24) – Lyon enters the winter break in France with a three-point lead over Bordeaux following a 1-0 victory over Caen on Saturday. Next Two Weeks: No matches.
25. Rangers (Sco) (NR) – Rangers returns to the rankings following its 1-0 defeat of Hibernian in SPL action. Next Two Weeks: Another Glasgow Derby takes place on Saturday when Rangers faces Celtic in a battle for the lead of the Scottish Premier League. The following weekend, Rangers will take on Inverness.
Bubbling Under (alphabetically): Bayer Leverkusen (Ger), Hertha Berlin (Ger), Napoli (Ita), San Lorenzo (Arg), Twente (Ned).
Other Champions League Clubs: (32) Real Madrid (Esp), (34) Sporting CP (Por), (38) Villarreal (Esp), (40) Panathinaikos (Gre), (96) Roma (Ita).
Matches Between Top 25 Clubs Next Two Weeks:
26 December – (22) Arsenal at (16) Aston Villa
27 December – (20) Celtic at (25) Rangers
3 January – (11) Sevilla at (21) Valencia
Based on comments and hate-mail that I’ve received recently, everybody wants Barcelona to be number one. Hell, I want Barcelona to be number one. I think they are the most consistently great club in the world right now. But they’re not number one in the WCR rankings. Chelsea is. Because they are the best club in England right now. And until an English club can be eliminated from the Champions League by anybody other than another English club (which hasn’t happened since AC Milan beat Liverpool in May 2007), then the top English club likely will sit atop the WCR rankings. Stay tuned until late February / early March for the next big movement in the domestic league rankings.
I anticipate that you’ll also find the Portuguese clubs are overrated. Again, you’re probably right. But they have two clubs in the final sixteen of the Champions League and, until we see what happens to them in the knockout stages, the Portuguese clubs will be overrated in the meantime. The Scottish clubs also returned to the rankings this week, but not quite as high as they were a few weeks ago.
There were some pretty big matches this weekend, none of which was bigger than Liverpool’s 1-1 draw with Arsenal at Emirates Stadium. It wasn’t terribly impressive, but a point at Emirates may prove to be the difference at the end of this close Premiership season. Barcelona continued to roll, defeating Villarreal 2-1 to extend its lead to ten points in the Primera Division, and Real Madrid finally showed a little life for a change, scoring a big 1-0 victory over Valencia.
There’s nothing going on this weekend except in the Premier Leagues of England and Scotland and a lot is going on there. The big matches of this weekend will take place when Aston Villa welcomes Arsenal to Villa Park on Boxing Day and the Glasgow Derby between Rangers and Celtic on Saturday. The biggest match of the following week sees Atletico de Madrid host Valencia in La Liga action.
The weekly rankings will not be around next week because of the lack of action in international club play. In its place will be the 2008 Top 25 Clubs of the Year. If you want any information on what those rankings are based upon, click here. If you want to check out other annual rankings dating back to 1960, click here. If you want to see the final weekly Top 25 of the year, don’t click anything, just look below.
World Club Rankings – Top 25 Clubs in the World – December 22, 2008
1. Chelsea (Eng) (4) – Chelsea returns to the top spot without even playing a game in the past week. The big news of the week for Chelsea was that it paid the price for failing to win its Champions League group by drawing Juventus in the round of sixteen. Next Two Weeks: Chelsea has three Premiership matches in the next week, facing Everton today, West Bromwich Albion on Boxing Day and Fulham two days after that.
2. Inter Milan (Ita) (2) – Internazionale continues to lead in Serie A and look almost untouchable in domestic play. This week, the victim was Siena in a 2-1 match. Next Two Weeks: No matches.
3. Barcelona (Esp) (3) – You may just as well end La Liga’s season now. With a ten-point lead, it’s hard to conceive of anybody even making it close. This week, Barcelona spotted a goal to Villarreal, then came back to score a 2-1 victory. Next Two Week: Barcelona returns to action on January 3 against Real Mallorca.
4. Liverpool (Eng) (1) – Another draw knocks Liverpool from the top of the charts in a topsy-turvy Premier League season. In the match of the weekend, Liverpool did manage to hold Arsenal to a 1-1 draw at Emirates Stadium. Next Two Weeks: The Reds’ holiday doubleheader see the club facing Bolton Wanderers on Boxing Day and Newcastle United on Sunday.
5. TSG Hoffenheim (Ger) (5) – No current matches.
6. Juventus (Ita) (6) – Juve defeated Atalanta 3-1 to keep pace with Inter Milan in Serie A. Next Two Weeks: No matches.
7. Benfica (Por) (8) – After losing 0-1 to Metalist Kharkiv and being knocked out of the UEFA Cup, it’s pretty clear that this ranking is too high for Benfica, but the club remains undefeated in the Liga Sagres, which has placed two clubs in the Champions League knockout stage. Next Two Weeks: Later today, Benfica will try to extend its Liga Sagres lead when it hosts Nacional. Benfica will return to Liga action on January 4 against Trofense.
8. Manchester United (Eng) (7) – The Red Devils keep the Club World Cup in Europe for a second consecutive season. After a high-scoring 5-3 victory over Gamba Osaka in the semis, a shorthanded United defeated LDU Quito 1-0 in the finals. Next Two Weeks: Manchester United’s Boxing Day opponent will be Stoke City. The following Monday, United will host Middlesbrough.
9. Bayern Munich (Ger) (19) – No current matches.
10. AZ Alkmaar (Ned) (11) – Another Eredivisie match, another shutout as AZ defeated FC Utrecht 2-0 on Friday. Next Two Weeks: The Eredivisie is still in action this weekend and AZ Alkmaar will host NEC Nijmegen.
11. Sevilla (Esp) (16) – A surprising 0-1 loss to Sampdoria eliminated Sevilla from European play. Sevilla did only slightly better against Mallorca with a scoreless draw. That was good enough, however, to lift Sevilla into second place in the Primera Division. Next Two Weeks: Sevilla returns on January 4 to host Osasuna.
12. Atletico de Madrid (Esp) (22) – Like Sevilla, Atletico also moved up the Primera Division table with a 3-2 victory over Espanyol. Next Two Weeks: When Atletico comes back, it’ll be fun. It will face Valencia on January 3.
13. Porto (Por) (20) – Porto played a pair of matches in Liga Sagres, picking up four points and moving into second place. After defeating Estrela Amadora 4-2, Porto played Maritimo to a scoreless draw. Next Two Weeks: Porto’s next match will take place the opening weekend of 2009 against Nacional.
14. Sao Paulo (Bra) (12) – No current matches.
15. AC Milan (Ita) (21) – AC Milan drew 2-2 with Wolfsburg in an entertaining UEFA Cup match. In Serie A play, Milan struck Udinese early and often in its 5-1 victory. Next Two Weeks: No matches.
16. Aston Villa (Eng) (14) – Villa was pretty much manhandled by Hamburger in a 1-3 UEFA Cup loss. In the Premier League, Aston Villa gained ground on the leaders with a 1-0 defeat of West Ham United. Next Two Weeks: Boxing Day will be fun at Villa Park when the Gunners come for its annual visit. On the 30th, Aston Villa will take on Hull City.
17. Ajax (Ned) (18) – Ajax kept pace with AZ in the Eredivisie, following up its 2-2 UEFA Cup draw with Slavia Praha with a 6-0 beat down of De Graafschap. Next Two Weeks: Ajax is in Ajaxion this weekend, hosting ADO Den Haag.
18. Olympiakos (Gre) (15) – The current Greek Super League leaders dismantled Hertha Berlin by a 4-0 score in an UEFA Cup match before defeating last place Thrasivoulos Fylis 2-1 in domestic play. Next Two Weeks: Olympiakos doesn’t play this week, but will take on Asteras Tripolis on January 4.
19. Fiorentina (Ita) (25) – La Viola fell 0-1 to Torino in a Coppa Italia match, but rebounded to defeat Sampdoria 1-0 and move into fourth place in Serie A. Next Two Weeks: No matches.
20. Celtic (Sco) (BU) – Celtic maintained its lead over Rangers in the SPL with a 3-0 defeat of Falkirk. Next Two Weeks: This weekend, the only match that matters in the Scottish Premier League takes place when Celtic and Rangers face off on Saturday. The following weekend, Celtic will host Dundee United.
21. Valencia (Esp) (9) – Big drop this week for Valencia as they drop to fourth in the Primera Division following its 0-1 loss to Real Madrid. Earlier in the week, Valencia drew 2-2 with St. Etienne in an UEFA Cup match. Next Two Weeks: Valencia will host new second-place club Atletico de Madrid when the Primera Division season resumes on January 3.
22. Arsenal (Eng) (19) – Shorthanded, Arsenal fought off Liverpool to score a 1-1 draw with the former WCR Number One club. Next Two Weeks: It could be a very telling week for the Gunners as they take on Aston Villa on Boxing Day and Portsmouth on Sunday.
23. Gremio (Bra) (17) – No current matches.
24. Lyon (Fra) (24) – Lyon enters the winter break in France with a three-point lead over Bordeaux following a 1-0 victory over Caen on Saturday. Next Two Weeks: No matches.
25. Rangers (Sco) (NR) – Rangers returns to the rankings following its 1-0 defeat of Hibernian in SPL action. Next Two Weeks: Another Glasgow Derby takes place on Saturday when Rangers faces Celtic in a battle for the lead of the Scottish Premier League. The following weekend, Rangers will take on Inverness.
Bubbling Under (alphabetically): Bayer Leverkusen (Ger), Hertha Berlin (Ger), Napoli (Ita), San Lorenzo (Arg), Twente (Ned).
Other Champions League Clubs: (32) Real Madrid (Esp), (34) Sporting CP (Por), (38) Villarreal (Esp), (40) Panathinaikos (Gre), (96) Roma (Ita).
Matches Between Top 25 Clubs Next Two Weeks:
26 December – (22) Arsenal at (16) Aston Villa
27 December – (20) Celtic at (25) Rangers
3 January – (11) Sevilla at (21) Valencia
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