WCR Top 25 Clubs - AS Roma and Sporting CP Move Up

Not a whole lot of movement this week, but I guess that makes sense. After all, why should the best 25 clubs in the world this week be all that different from the best 25 clubs in the world last week? It's not like most of them have changed or anything.

The big mover of the week wasn't even ranked last week. Sporting CP shot back into the rankings at number eighteen as they smite the mighty FC Porto 2-0 in Lisbon this weekend. In addition to Sporting, the result also helped catapult Roma past Porto for the first time all season.

Not much changed otherwise as we are at the time of the year where many of the more interesting games are domestic cup games and, frankly, those are only marginally reflected in the rankings. Speaking of the rankings . . .

World Club Rankings Top 25 - January 28, 2008

1. Internazionale (Ita) (1) - Two games, two draws this week, but they weren't enough to knock them out of the top spot, considering one was against #8 Juventus in the Coppa Italia and the other was a 0-0 draw at recently ranked Udinese with only ten players most of the match. This week sees Inter play the second leg against Juventus before playing Empoli over the weekend.

2. Manchester United (Eng) (2) - Defeated Tottenham in FA Cup action, where Fergie expects to see the big four all reach the semis. Get a rematch with Tottenham over the weekend after facing Portsmouth at midweek.

3. Real Madrid (Esp) (3) - The only game amongst ranked teams this past weekend saw Real Madrid defeat Villarreal 3-2 in a fun game to watch. Should find things a little easier against Almeria this weekend, but you newver know, now, do you?

4. Roma (Ita) (5) - Not exactly within sniffing distance of Inter in Serie A, but at least they gained some ground this weekend by defeating Palermo as Inter and Udinese were both being held scoreless. Rematch with Sampdoria tomorrow and a trip to play Siena over the weekend.

5. Porto (Por) (4) - Finally get knocked out of the top four as they lose for the second time in BWIN play this season, 2-0 to Sporting CP. They still have a good-sized league lead, though, and manage to stay in the top five.

6. Arsenal (Eng) (6) - Crushed like a bug by Tottenswine in the Carling Cup before dismantling Newcastle United in FA Cup action. This week, they (likely) get to dismantle Newcastle once again before having to travel to Manchester to play the other team there this weekend.

7. Barcelona (Esp) (7) - Late goal leaves Barca with a draw in Basque country and further away from Real Madrid. Play Copa del Rey second leg match with Villarreal at midweek before trying to get back on track against Osasuna this weekend.

8. Juventus (Ita) (8) - Defeated Livorno 3-1 to follow up its midweek draw with Inter. Return leg with Inter at midweek and then host Cagliari this weekend.

9. Sao Paulo (Bra) (9) - Two games, two draws this week for Sao Paulo, the latter one coming against Corinthians. If Inter could stay put after two draws, so can Sao Paulo. Two more games in the Paulista League this week, including a match against the current leader Ponte Preta.

10. Benfica (Por) (10) - Beat an occasionally tough Vitoria Guimaraes 3-1 this weekend to inch closer to Porto. Still a distant second, however, and looking over its shoulders at Sporting CP. Face Nacional this weekend.

11. Chelsea (Eng) (11) - Eliminated Everton from the Carling Cup this week before eliminating Wigan Athletic from the FA Cup. Face Reading and Portsmouth this week with no chance of anybody being eliminated from anything.

12. Lyon (Fra) (12) - Managed to gain some breating room from Bordeaux by taking a point on the road against St. Etienne. Play Croix Savoie this week for some cup or another.

13. Bayern Munich (Ger) (13) - Say it with me - the Bundesliga is back!!! Thank goodness. It all kicks off on Friday as Bayern plays Hansa Rostock, following a Pokal match against Wupperfaler. I'm not sure if I spelled that right, but since I don't foresee having to spell it again, I'm not going to bother to look it up right now.

14. PSV Eindhoven (Ned) (14) - Extended its Eredivisie lead with a pair of victories this week. Face a make-up game against #20 Ajax at midweek and AZ Alkmaar over the weekend.

15. Fiorentina (Ita) (15) - Rebounded from loss at Lazio with victory over Empoli over the weekend. Get a chance at some revenge against Lazio in the Coppa Italia before facing what should be a great game against #25 AC Milan this weekend.

16. Everton (Eng) (16) - Lost to Chelsea at midweek to guarantee that they will not win any domestic cups this year. Big whoop. More important are its Premiership matches this week against Tottenham and Blackburn Rovers.

17. Lanus (Arg) (17) - Say it with me - Copa Libertadores is back!!! At least the qualifiers. Lanus kicks off its first action since winning the Argentine Apertura against CD Olmedo of Ecuador.

18. Sporting CP (Por) (NR) - Earned its way back into the Top 25 the hard way - by beating Porto. Play Penafiel this weekend in the something-or-other cup and then Os Belenenses over the weekend.

19. Liverpool (Eng) (19) - Maintained its spot by beating semi-pro Havant and Waterlooville in FA Cup action. Return to Premiership action this week against semi-pro West Ham and semi-pro Sunderland.

20. Ajax (Ned) (18) - Lost ground to PSV this weekend by drawing with Vitesse, but they get their chance to make it back up, and more, when they face PSV in a few days. That is followed by a match against formerly ranked Feyenoord. Life ain't easy in Amsterdam.

21. Rangers (Sco) (23) - Two wins this week by a combined score of 10-0. Play Hearts at midweek. Guess it's better than playing crazy eights.

22. Werder Bremen (Ger) (22) - Since we've already performed our "Bundesliga is back" chant, we don't have to this time. After facing Borussia Dortmund in cup action, they get back to it against Bochum.

23. Villarreal (Esp) (20) - After having to play Real Madrid AND Barcelona last week, they get a lighter week this week. Lighter in that they play Barcelona and Real Mallorca.

24. Atletico de Madrid (Esp) (21) - My favorite Primera Division team let me down last week - twice. Rematch against Valencia in Copa del Rey action before they win back my affections against Real Murcia this weekend.

25. AC Milan (Ita) (24) - They finally score a spot in the Top 25 and they celebrate by losing to Atalanta before bouncing back against Genoa. Still making up for lost games from the Club World Cup, so they play both Reggina and Fiorentina this week.

Bubbling Under (alphabetically): Atletico Nacional (Col), Celtic (Sco), Fluminense (Bra), Nancy Lorraine (Fra), Santos (Bra)

Some other random sampling: (40) Manchester City (Eng), (50) Portsmouth (Eng), (60) Vitoria Guimaraes (Por), (70) Atletico Mineiro (Bra), (80) OS Belenenses (Por)

Games between ranked teams this week:

30 Jan - (1) Internazionale at (8) Juventus

30 Jan - (14) PSV Eindhoven at (20) Ajax

31 Jan - (23) Villarreal at (7) Barcelona

3 Feb - (25) AC Milan at (15) Fiorentina

World Club Rankings - 1966

1966 saw old champions knock long-time defending champions out of the throne to return to their rightful spots. In the Copa Libertadores, Penarol knocked off River Plate in the finals to replace two-time defending champion Independiente and become the first club with three titles. Likewise, in Europe, Real Madrid knocked out two-time defending champion (and current number one)Internazionale in the semis on its way to winning an unprecedented sixth Champions Cup.

Liverpool made a run to the finals of the Cup Winners Cup, helping it to its first ever WCR Top 25 ranking, before ultimately falling to Borussia Dortmund. The Inter Cities Fairs Cup became an all-Spanish affair as Barcelona knocked off Real Zaragoza in the finals.

Despite being knocked off in the semifinals of the Champions Cup, Internazionale became the first team to score back-to-back top rankings in the World Club Ranking Annual Top 25 as Real Madrid failed to win the Primera Division despite winning the Champions Cup. Nevertheless, Real Madrid finished in the Top 5, as it had in every prior WCR Top 25. Penarol found itself in the top five for the third consecutive year and Benfica found itself in the top ten for the seventh straight year. Scoring a spot for the first, last, only time was Yugoslavia's Vojvodina Novi Sad.

World Club Rankings - 1966

1. Internazionale (Ita) - Champions Cup - SF

2. Real Madrid (Esp) - Champions Cup - Winner

3. River Plate (Arg) - Copa Libertadores - RU

4. Sporting CP (Por) - Inter-Cities Fairs Cup - 2R

5. Penarol (Uru) - Copa Libertadores - Winner

6. Atletico de Madrid (Esp) - Cup Winners Cup - QF

7. Manchester United (Eng) - CC - SF

8. Benfica (Por) - CC- QF

9. Liverpool (Eng) - CWC - RU

10. Bologna (Ita)

11. Racing Club (Arg)

12. Anderlecht (Bel) - CC - QF

13. Independiente (Arg) - CL - SF

14. Leeds United (Eng) - ICFC - SF

15. Nacional (Uru) - CL - SF

16. Napoli (Ita)

17. Vojvodina Novi Sad (Yug)

18. Porto (Por) - ICFC - 2R

19. Celtic (Sco) - CWC - SF

20. Barcelona (Esp) - Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Winner

21. Fiorentina (Ita)

22. Ajax (Ned)

23. Burnley (Eng)

24. Rangers (Sc0)

25. Universidad Catolica (Chi) - CL - SF

Other Published Annual Top 25s - 2007, 1965, 1964, 1963, 1962, 1961, 1960

WCR Top 25 - Weekend Television Schedule

Here we go again. Lots of great action this weekend involving Top 25 teams, though much of it is not on cable this weekend. If I had to pick 'em, I'd say the game of the week takes place on Sunday in Madrid where Number Three Real Madrid hosts Villarreal (on GolTV). Other picks to consider are Sunday's Porto/Sporing CP matchup on Setanta Broadband and the Internazionale/Udinese game on (let me know if you have any idea). Lest we forget, although it is in a relatively unimportant tournament, Boca Juniors and River Plate face off in another Superclasico on FSC and you never want to miss one of those, even if many of the starters will not be on the field.

Of course, if you can't wait for the weekend, there are great domestic cup games today and tomorrow and Everton takes on Chelsea (Setanta), Internazionale takes on Juventus (GolTV) and Villarreal takes on Barcelona (GolTV - tomorrow).

Saturday, January 26, 2007

8:30 a.m. TSV 1860 Munchen at (13) Bayern Munchen (Friendly)
10:00 a.m. Havant and Waterlooville at (19) Liverpool (FA Cup)
10:00 a.m. Newcastle United at (6) Arsenal (FA Cup)
10:00 a.m. St. Mirren at (23) Rangers
10:00 a.m. Middlesbrough at Mansfield Town (FA Cup) (Delayed) (FSC)
10:00 a.m. Blackburn Rovers at Aston Villa (Setanta)
12:00 noon (11) Chelsea at Wigan Athletic (FA Cup) (FSC)
1:00 p.m. Corinthians at (9) Sao Paulo (Paulista League)
1:30 p.m. Excelsior at (14) PSV Eindhoven
2:30 p.m. Palermo at (5) Roma (FSC)
3:30 p.m. (10) Benfica at Vitoria Guimaraes (Setanta Broadband)
4:00 p.m. Osasuna at Sevilla (GolTV)
4:30 p.m. Siena at Sampdoria (FSC)
6:30 p.m. Nacional vs. Vaduz (Copa Ricard) (GolTV)
7:00 p.m. Boca Juniors vs. River Plate (Torneo de Verano) (FSC)
8:30 p.m. Olimpia vs. Saprissa (Copa Ricard) (Delayed) (GolTV)


Sunday, January 27, 2007

6:30 a.m. (18) Ajax at Vitesse (Setanta)
9:00 a.m. Tottenham Hotspur at (2) Manchester United (FA Cup)
9:00 a.m. (25) Celtic at Falkirk
9:00 a.m. Genoa at (24) AC Milan (FSC)
9:00 a.m. (1) Internazionale at Udinese
9:00 a.m. (15) Fiorentina at Empoli
11:00 a.m. Manchester City at Sheffield United (FA Cup) (FSC)
11:00 a.m. (21) Atletico de Madrid at Mallorca (GolTV)
12:00 noon Bordeaux at Lorient (Setanta)
1:00 p.m. (7) Barcelona at Athletic de Bilbao (GolTV)
2:30 p.m. (8) Juventus at Livorno (FSC)
3:00 p.m. (12) Lyon at St. Etienne (Setanta)
3:00 p.m. (20) Villarreal at (3) Real Madrid (GolTV)
3:00 p.m. (4) Porto at Sporting CP (Setanta Broadband)
6:00 p.m. Groningen at Feyenoord (Delayed) (Setanta)
7:00 p.m. Independiente vs. Racing (Torneo de Verano) (FSC)

World Club Top 25 - AC Milan Debuts

Not much change in the top half of the of the rankings, with the exception of Lyon, who drops three spots after having its clock rung by Lens on Saturday and being eliminated from the League Cup in mid-week. The second half of the rankings, however, are all shook up as Udinese, Nancy Lorraine, Sporting CP and Espanyol are all forced out of the Top 25 to make room for the returns of Villarreal and Celtic and the debuts of Everton and AC Milan.

AC Milan has played well in European competition as well as winning the Club World Cup. Their domestic play, however, has been lackluster at best over the course of the season. Recently, though, AC Milan has strengthened their battle to finish in the top four of Serie A and, despite their elimination from the Coppa Italia, are making their first appearance of the season in the WCR Top 25.

There are several good games this week, due in no small part to action taking place in domestic cup competitions. Where does your club rank? Let's get to it.

WCR World Club Top 25 - January 21, 2008

1. Inter Milan (Ita) (1) - A lot of media outlets are reporting that Inter benefitted from a horrible call in defeating Parma 3-2. Having watched the game live, I must say that it looked like a good call at full speed at the time. Big games this week as they take on Top Ten Juventus in the Coppa Italia before matching up with recently-ranked Udinese over the weekend.

2. Manchester United (Eng) (2) - Hung on to the top spot in the Premiership this weekend with a victory over Reading. Face Tottenham this weekend in FA Cup action.

3. Real Madrid (Esp) (3) - Eliminated from the Copa del Rey by Real Mallorca, but rebounded well with a 2-0 semi-drubbing of crosstown rival Atletico on Sunday. Match up with Top 20 Villarreal this weekend.

4. Porto (Por) (4) - Very little to report other than their advancement in the Portugal Cup. Big BWIN Liga match this weekend as they play recently ranked Sporting CP in Lisbon.

5. Roma (Ita) (5) - Victory over Catania allows them to stay within shouting distance of Inter Milan in Serie A. Play Sampdoria in Cup action this week before taking on Palermo in Serie A action over the weekend.

6. Arsenal (Eng) (6) - Kept pace with Manchester United with a 3-0 victory over Fulham. Play Tottenham in the second leg of the Carling Cup semis in mid-week before playing the newly Kevin Keegan-led Toon this weekend.

7. Barcelona (Esp) (7) - Playing well in La Liga, which is good since Real Madrid is not giving them any room for error. Face Top 20 Villarreal in the Copa del Rey and Athletic de Bilbao in Primera Division action.

8. Juventus (Ita) (8) - They didn't look all that daunting this weekend against Sampdoria. They better not bring that weak stuff against Internazionale in the Coppa Italia, though they may be able to get away with it against Livorno.

9. Sao Paulo (Bra) (10) - Won their opening two games in the Paulista League and move up by virtue of Lyon's stumble. Face a potentially interesting game next weekend against Corinthians.

10. Benfica (Por) (11) - Return to the top ten by attrition. Play a good Vitoria Guimaraes team this weekend. No walkover, even if you've never heard of them.

11. Chelsea (Eng) (12) - Playing as well as they have all season. Still trying to make up ground lost during a troubled autumn. Go to 'Pool to play newly ranked Everton in the second leg of the Carling Cup semis before hosting Wigan Athleticf this weekend.

12. Lyon (Fra) (9) - Talk about a crappy week. Eliminated from the French League Cup at the hands of Le Man and then manhandled by Lens 3-0. La Championnat has two matchdays this week and Lyon will play Lorient and St. Etienne.

13. Bayern Munchen (Ger) (13) - Still on a break from the Bundesliga and keeping busy with meaningless friendlies. This week's are against Fortuna Dusseldorf and 1860 Munchen.

14. PSV Eindhoven (Ned) (14) - Managed only a draw this weekend against VVV, but maintained the top spot in the Eredivisie. Face fellow Dutch teams Sparta Rotterdam and Excelsior this week.

15. Fiorentina (Ita) (23) - Hard team to figure out. Looked like they were having a breakthrough year early on before stumbling in the early winter. Looks like it has found its form again and is threatening Juventus for third place in Serie A. Face Lazio in the Coppa Italia at midweek and Empoli in Serie A action.

16. Everton (Eng) (NR) - Who would have thought they would become the best team in Liverpool? Playing very well at the moment, but face a tough test at home against Chelsea in the Carling Cup semis. Get the weekend off by virtue of already being eliminated in the FA Cup.

17. Lanus (Arg) (17) - Only a week and a half away from starting its next quest in the Copa Libertadores.

18. Ajax (Ned) (19) - Still in second in the Eredivisie in the midst of a dogfight with PSV. Face Utrecht and Vitesse in Eredevisie action this week.

19. Liverpool (Eng) (16) - Maintains a spot in the WCR Top 25 thanks only to Crouch's late goal to tie things up today with Aston Villa. Success against Internazionale in the Champions League is looking more and more unlikely despite Liverpool's recent and historical CL success.

20. Villarreal (Esp) (NR) - How can you tell life is hard? When your next three games are against Barcelona, Real Madrid and Barcelona. It hasn't been easy thus far for the Yellow Submarine and it's definitely not getting any easier.

21. Atletico de Madrid (Esp) (15) - Didn't look like a Top 25 team against Real Madrid, but then how many teams actually do. Play a dissappoiting Valencia team in the Copa del Rey before looking to rebound in the Primera Division against Real Mallorca over the weekend.

22. Werder Bremen (Ger) (20) - I got nothing for them while they are breaking from Bundesliga action, but I'm already preparing for their match against Bayern in the second matchday following the break.

23. Rangers (Sco) (22) - Still in front in the Scottish Premier League. Play its postponed Scottish FA Cup matchup this week against East Stirling and play St. Mirren in Scottish action.

24. AC Milan (Ita) (NR) - Finally!!! The talent has been there all year but they are just recently showing the form that they need to show in Serie A. Debuts by virtue of its 1-0 defeat of previously ranked Udinese. Play a make-up match against Atalanta at midweek and follow that up with a match against Genoa on Sunday.

25. Celtic (Sco) (NR) - Return to the WCR Top 25 thanks to the faltering of many teams at the bottom of last week's rankings. Go to Falkirk for a Scottish Premier League matchup this weekend.

Next Five (alphabetically): Atletico Nacional (Col), Fluminense (Bra), Nancy Lorraine (Fra), Santos Laguna (Mex), Sporting CP (Por)

A Few Others: (35) Espanyol (Esp), (40) Vitoria Setubal (Por), (45) Cruzeiro (Bra), (50) Danubio (Uru), (55) Chivas de Guadalajara (Mex)

Games Between Top 25 Teams

23 January - (8) Juventus at (1) Internazionale (Coppa Italia)

23 January - (11) Chelsea at (16) Everton (Carling Cup)

24 January - (8) Barcelona at (20) Villarreal (Copa del Rey)

27 January - (20) Villarreal at (3) Real Madrid

Weekend Top 25 TV Schedule - 19/20 January

It's that time of the week again, so below is listed the US television schedules for the upcoming weekend from FSC, GolTV and Setanta (all times EST). (No Setanta Broadband exclusives this week since the BWIN Liga is off.) At first blush, the best games appear to be on Sunday with the battle of ranked Madrid teams on GolTV and a clash between AC Milan and Udinese on . . . I can't find it anywhere. (If you can, please let me know where.) I'll have to catch these on my DVR Sunday night since I'll be playing poker in Atlantic City all day Sunday, but maybe I'll wear my Atletico de Madrid jersey for good luck.

As we like to do here at WCR, we've also included games for all of the remaining Top 25 teams, as well as a USMNT friendly, even though we can't find all of them on television here in the states. Any additional information would be, as always, appreciated.

Saturday, January 19, 2008

9:45 a.m. (2) Manchester United at Reading (Setanta) (Live)
10:00 a.m. (6) Arsenal at Fulham (FSC) (Live)
11:00 a.m. Feirense at (11) Benfica (Portugal Cup)
12:00 noon Lagoa at (21) Sporting CP (Portugal Cup)
12:00 noon Bolton at Newcastle United (FSC) (Live)
1:30 p.m. Aves at (4) Porto (Portugal Cup)
2:00 p.m. Sevilla at Getafe (GolTV) (Live)
2:30 p.m. Torino at (23) Fiorentina (FSC) (Live)
3:00 p.m. (12) Chelsea at Birmingham City (Setanta) (Delayed)
4:00 p.m. Valencia at Villarreal (GolTV) (Live)
4:30 p.m. Sunderland at Tottenham Hotspur (FSC) (Delayed)
6:00 p.m. Derby County at Portsmouth (Setanta) (Delayed)
8:30 p.m. United States vs. Sweden (FSC) (Live)


Sunday, January 20, 2008

4:45 a.m. Feyenoord at Excelsior (Setanta) (Delayed)
6:30 a.m. (14) PSV Eindhoven at VVV (Setanta) (Live)
8:30 a.m. Everton at Wigan Athletic (Setanta) (Live)
9:00 a.m. Sampdoria at (8) Juventus (FSC) (Live)
9:00 a.m. (22) Rangers at Inverness
9:00 a.m. AC Milan at (25) Udinese
9:00 a.m. Catania at (5) AS Roma
11:00 a.m. West Ham United at Manchester City (FSC) (Live)
11:00 a.m. Athletic Bilbao at Osasuna (GolTV) (Live)
11:00 a.m. (25) Espanyol at Valladolid
12:00 noon (18) Nancy Lorraine at Nice (Setanta) (Live)
1:00 p.m. (3) Real Madrid at (15) Atletico de Madrid (GolTV) (Live)
1:00 p.m. Rio Preto at (10) Sao Paulo (Paulista League)
2:30 p.m. Parma at (1) Internazionale (FSC) (Live)
2:45 p.m. (9) Lyon at Lens (Setanta) (Live)
3:00 p.m. Racing Santander at (7) Barcelona (GolTV) (Live)
4:30 p.m. Boca Juniors vs. San Lorenzo (FSC) (Live)
11:00 p.m. (19) Ajax at NEC (Setanta) (Delayed)

World Club Top 25 Teams - Man Utd Returns to Top Three

Lots of movement at the top of many major leagues this weekend. After Arsenal faltered this week, Manchester United took advantage by humiliating my beloved Magpies to claim first place (on goal differential) in the Premiership. In the game of the week, PSV won on the road against Feyenoord to secure its place on top of the Eredivisie. In the Greek Super League, AEK Athens once again took over the top spot.

AC Milan still hasn't cracked the Top 25, but for the first time this season they are in the "bubbling under" category and are just on the verge after crushing Napoli 5-2 this afternoon. A victory over Udinese next weekend may finally bring them into the fold.

A new addition to the Top 25 that I'm playing around this week is linking to a story about the past weekend's game for each team in the Top Ten, just in case you missed any of the action. Now, on to the countdown.

World Club Top 25 - January 14, 2008

1. Internazionale (Ita) (1) - Defeated Siena 3-2 today to remain squarely on top of Serie A. Every other team in the Top Ten has had its ups and downs this season. Inter has had nothing but ups. Even more impressive than last year now that Juventus has returned.

2. Manchester United (Eng) (5) - Totally humiliated coachless Newcastle United 6-0 yesterday. If it were up to me, I'd kick them out of the Top 25 just out of spite. My computer, on the other hand, was quite impressed. We'll go with the computer.

3. Real Madrid (Esp) (3) - Lost to Mallorca in the Copa del Rey, but they'll get another chance this week. On the other hand, they delivered a Ruud awakening to Levante. Play in the game of the weekend next Sunday as they meet their city rivals in an important game for both teams.

4. Porto (Por) (4) - Crushed Sporting Braga 4-0. Only a minor fixture this weekend in the Portugal Cup. They can use it as a warmup for their upcoming match against Sporting CP.

5. Roma (Ita) (6) - Kept pace with Inter with a late goal against Atalanta. They are still second, though a distant second, obviously.

6. Arsenal (Eng) (2) - Two games at Emirates Stadium this week, two draws, including a draw against Birmingham City which effectively knocked them into second in the premiership. Look ahead to Fulham on Saturday.

7. Barcelona (Esp) (7) - Ran all over Murcia over the weekend. Face Sevilla in the second leg of the Copa del Rey Round of 16 this week at home.

8. Juventus (Ita) (8) - Couldn't manage any more than a tie against Catania this weekend. Need to overcome one-goal defecit against Empoli this week in the Coppa Italia before traveling to Sampdoria next weekend.

9. Lyon (Fra) (9) - Defeated Toulouse 3-2 this weekend. Play in the League Cup quarterfinals during the week before going to play a (recently) hapless Racing Lens over the weekend.

10. Sao Paulo (Bra) (10) - Now training with Adriano goodness. Return to competitive action this week with games against Guaratinguesta and Rio Preto in the Paulista League.

11. Benfica (Por) (11)

12. Chelsea (Eng) (12)

13. Bayern Munchen (Ger) (13)

14. PSV Eindhoven (Ned) (14)

15. Atletico de Madrid (Esp) (18)

16. Liverpool (Eng) (15)

17. Lanus (Arg) (19)

18. Nancy Lorraine (Fra) (17)

19. Ajax (Ned) (NR)

20. Werder Bremen (Ger) (21)

21. Sporting CP (Por) (20)

22. Rangers (Sco) (23)

23. Fiorentina (Ita) (24)

24. Udinese (Ita) (NR)

25. Espanyol (Esp) (16)

Going Down (and not in a good way): (22) Feyenoord (Ned), (25) Santos Laguna (Mex)

Bubbling Under (alphabetically): Celtic (Sco), Everton (Eng), Fluminense (Bra), Milan (Ita), Santos Laguna (Mex)

Next Five Western Hemisphere Clubs: (31) Atletico Nacional (Col), (33) Santos (Bra), (37) Boca Juniors (Arg), (38) Tigre (Arg), (41) Cerro Porteno (Par)

Upcoming Games Between Top 25 Teams:

20 January - (3) Real Madrid at (15) Atletico de Madrid

US Weekend Television Schedule

Below is a schedule of this week's first-run action from Fox Soccer Channel, GolTV, Setanta and Setanta Broadband (all times EST). In addition, I've included the times for all of the games being played by other teams in the current WCR Top 25.

As always, the games on each station are color coded for your enjoyment. Also, as always, I welcome any additional information that anybody may have with respect to television schedules for any games for which I have no information.

Saturday, January 12, 2008

9:00 a.m. China Olympic Team vs. (13) Bayern Munchen (Friendly)
9:30 a.m. (15) Liverpool at Middlesbrough (Setanta) (Live)
10:00 a.m. Stirling A. at (25) Celtic (Scottish FA Cup)
10:00 a.m. Birmingham at (2) Arsenal (FSC) (Live)
12:00 noon (21) Werder Bremen vs. Schalke 04 (Friendly)
12:00 noon Newcastle United at (4) Manchester United (FSC) (Live)
2:00 p.m. Murcia at (7) Barcelona (GolTV) (Live)
2:00 p.m. Leixoes at (11) Benfica
2:00 p.m. Toulouse at (9) Lyon
2:00 p.m. (17) Nancy Lorraine at Caen
2:30 p.m. (8) Juventus at Catania (FSC) (Live)
2:30 p.m. Fulham at West Ham United (Setanta) (Delayed)
4:00 p.m. Sevilla at Athletic Bilbao (GolTV) (Live)
4:15 p.m. Sporting Braga at (4) Porto (Setanta Broadband) (Live)
4:30 p.m. Manchester City at Everton (FSC) (Delayed)
6:00 p.m. Reading at Aston Villa (Setanta) (Delayed)
6:00 p.m. Zacapa at Comunicaciones (GolTV) (Delayed)
7:00 p.m. Independiente vs. River Plate (FSC) (Live)
7:45 p.m. Tottenham at (12) Chelsea (Setanta) (Delayed)
9:00 p.m. Municipal at Petapa (GolTV) (Live)


Sunday, January 13, 2008

6:30 a.m. (22) Feyenoord at (14) PSV Eindhoven (Setanta) (Delayed)
8:30 a.m. Portsmouth at Sunderland (Setanta) (Live)
9:00 a.m. Genoa at Lazio (FSC) (Live)
9:00 a.m. (1) Internazionale at Siena
9:00 a.m. (24) Fiorentina at Parma
9:00 a.m. (6) Roma at Atalanta
10:00 a.m. East Stirling at (23) Rangers (Scottish FA Cup)
11:00 a.m. Blackburn at Bolton (FSC) (Live)
11:00 a.m. Deportivo La Coruna at Villarreal (GolTV) (Live)
11:00 a.m. (16) Espanyol at Almeria
12:00 noon Lens at Paris Saint Germain (Setanta) (Live)
1:00 p.m. (3) Real Madrid at Levante (GolTV) (Live)
2:15 p.m. (20) Sporting CP at Academica de Coimbra
2:30 p.m. Napoli at AC Milan (FSC) (Live)
2:45 p.m. Marseilles at Rennes (Setanta) (Live)
3:00 p.m. Valencia at (18) Atletico de Madrid (GolTV) (Live)

Predictification

Okay, so this is a menaingless post. I can't say that I think individual predictions mean much, but everybody likes to do it this time of year. Since that's the case, I decided to clutter up my blog and allow people to make their picks with respect to the upcoming Champions League Round of 16. So stop by, vote, have a beer, look at the latest Top 25 and tell your friends to do the same. Just make sure they bring their own beer.

World Club Top 25 Teams - Inter, Arsenal, Real . . .

There wasn't a whole lot of action in the past week, so there isn't a whole lot of movement in this week's Top 25. The best action probably came out of Spain's Primera Division, where the top teams all made short work of inferior competition, highlighted by Espanyol's 3-0 rout of Villarreal, which has been fading into mediocrity following it's red-hot start.

A correction in the standings has been made with respect to the Dutch teams, reflecting PSV's return to the top of the table. Speaking of the Eredivisie, it provides the only matchup this week of Top 25 teams as PSV Eindhoven and Feyenoord face off for the league's top spot.

While some leagues will still be on hiatus, such as the Bundesliga, many of the top leagues are again in session as Serie A returns to action this coming weekend. There is also action in the Copa del Rey and the first leg of the Carling Cup semifinals.

World Club Rankings Top 25 - 7 January 2008

1. Internazionale (Ita) (1) - Defeated Ajax this weekend in the Dubai Cup, for whatever that's worth. Face 2006 Club World Cup Champion Internacional in the finals tomorrow.

2. Arsenal (Eng) (2) - Rolled to fairly easy victories in both the Premiership and the FA Cup this week. Carling Cup match with Tottenham at midweek could be interesting as Tottenham has been playing much better of late.

3. Real Madrid (Esp) (3) - Defeated Zaragoza to maintain its lead over Barcelona in the Primera Division. Face Mallorca in Copa del Rey action at midweek.

4. Porto (Por) (5) - Returns to its spot in fourth place, where it has been most of the year, after extending its lead in the BWIN League.

5. Manchester United (Eng) (4) - Drops a notch despite playing well in Premiership and FA Cup action this week.

6. Roma (Ita) (6) - Returns to action this weekend against Atalanta.

7. Barcelona (Esp) (8) - Leapfrogs past Juventus again by virtue of its performance against Mallorca. Matchup with Sevilla in the Copa del Rey is the best of the upcoming round, with Sevilla beginning to look like it's returning to its old form.

8. Juventus (Ita) (7) - Traditionally, I make a reference here to Juventus being cheating bastards. There. Now I'm done.

9. Lyon (Fra) (9) - Defends its home turf this weekend against Toulouse, who are coming off an embarassing loss in French Cup competition against third-division Paris FC.

10. Sao Paulo (Bra) (10) - The Copa Libertadores will begin someday. I promise.

11. Benfica (Por) (11)

12. Chelsea (Eng) (12)

13. Bayern Munchen (Ger) (13)

14. PSV Eindhoven (Ned) (16)

15. Liverpool (Eng) (14)

16. Espanyol (Esp) (19)

17. Nancy Lorraine (Fra) (18)

18. Atletico de Madrid (Esp) (NR)

19. Lanus (Arg) (20)

20. Sporting CP (Por) (17)

21. Werder Bremen (Ger) (21)

22. Feyenoord (Ned) (15)

23. Rangers (Sco) (23)

24. Fiorentina (Ita) (22)

25. Celtic (Sco) (24)

Dropping Out: Santos Laguna (Mex) (25)

Bubbling Under (Alphabetically): Ajax (Ned), Atletico Nacional (Col), Fluminense (Bra), Santos Laguna (Mex), Udinese (Ita).

Also bubbling, but not quite as much: Bayer Leverkusen (Ger), Everton (Eng), Manchester City (Eng), Santos (Bra), Tigre (Arg).

Matches Between Top 25 Clubs:

12 Jan. - (14) PSV Eindhoven at (22) Feyenoord

World Club Rankings - 1965

In 1965, Internazionale won its second consecutive Champions Cup, defeating Benfica 1-0 in the final at the San Siro. It also marked the first time that Inter Milan finished at the top of the annual WCR Annual Top 25. (They are seeking to do it again in 2008 as they are the current number one in the weekly rankings.) The other semifinalists in the Champions Cup failed to make the final Top 25 due to poor showings in their domestic leagues. (Liverpool - 7th England, Gyori V.ETO - 5th Hungary)

Among the South American teams, repeat Copa Libertadores champions Independiente failed to make the list due to its 13the place finish in Argentina. Runner-up Penarol, however, finished in the Top 5, as did semifinalist Boca Juniors.

Other major Cup winners in 1965 were West Ham United, who took home the Cup Winners Cup and Ferencvarosi, who took home the Inter-CIties Fairs Cup. 1965 marked the fifth straight season that Benfica finished in the top four, the sixth straight season for Real Madrid in the top five and the sixth straight season for AC Milan in the top twenty. Below are the final season rankings along with how each team did in major cup competitions in 1965.

World Club Rankings - 1965

1. Internazionale (Ita) Winner - Champions Cup

2. Benfica (Por) RU - CC

3. Penarol (Uru) RU - Copa Libertadores

4. Boca Juniors (Arg) SF - CL

5. Real Madrid (Esp) QF - CC

6. Palmeiras (Bra)

7. AC Milan (Ita) 1R - Inter-Cities Fairs Cup

8. Porto (Por) 2R - Cup Winners Cup

9. Atletico de Madrid (Esp) SF - ICFC

10. Werder Bremen (FRG)

11. Manchester United (Eng) SF - ICFC

12. Torino (Ita) SF - CWC

13. GD CUF (Por)

14. Feyenoord (Ned)

15. FC Koln (FRG) QF-CC

16. Real Zaragoza (Esp) SF-CWC

17. Academica (Por)

18. Sparta Praha (Tch) 2R-CWC

19. RSC Anderlecht (Bel) 2R-CC

20. Fiorentina (Ita) 1R-ICFC

21. Leeds United (Eng)

22. Borussia Dortmund (FRG) 2R-ICFC

23. Valencia (Esp) 1R-ICFC

24. River Plate (Arg)

25. Nacional (Uru)

Other Published Annual Top 25s - 2007, 1964, 1963, 1962, 1961, 1960

Weekend Top 25 Schedule - 6 January

A few more games this weekend than last weekend as La Liga and the BWIN Liga go back to work, as well as Cup action in England and France.

Not nearly as much Top 25 action on American television this weekend with the exception of the Spanish action on GolTV and a few Cup games on Fox Soccer Channel and Setanta.

WCR Top 25 Schedule - Week Ending 7 January

Saturday, January 5, 2008

10:00 Dundee United at (22) Rangers

10:00 Queen's Park Rangers at (12) Chelsea (FA Cup)

12:00 Ajax vs (1) Internazionale (Dubai Cup)

12:15 (4) Manchester United at Aston Villa (FA Cup)

14:00 (8) Barce4lona at Mallorca (GolTV)

14:15 (11) Benfica at Vitoria Setubal

15:00 Stade Reims at (18) Nancy Lorraine (French Cup)

16:00 Villarreal at (19) Espanyol (GolTV)

16:15 (17) Sporting CP at Boavista

Sunday, January 6, 2008

9:00 (2) Arsenal at Burnley (FA Cup) (FSC)

11:00 (14) Liverpool at Luton Town (FA Cup)

12:00 (9) Lyon at Creteil (French Cup) (Setanta)

13:00 Real Zaragoza at (3) Real Madrid (GolTV)

15:15 Naval at (5) Porto

WCR Top 25 Blogs - Are you on the list?

For the past few days, I have been trolling football-related blogs in order to finally put a blogroll up on my page. Since this is a ranking website, I decided that it would be appropriate to rank the blogs that I liked and to place the Top 25 in the blogroll, in order.

Unlike the weekly club rankings, this ranking is by no means scientific. Rather, it is merely a list of my favorite blogs, for whatever reason. I'm sure, of course, that there are several great blogs out there with which I am not familiar. Therefore, I'm sending out another request for blogs that should be included. If you have a site, or know of a really good site that you think should be included, let me know because I'd love to add them.

You may be familiar with all or most of these, but just in case you're not, I'm including a brief description on why each is on my list of favorites.

World Club Rankings - Top 25 Blogs

1. Soccer Source - Why is Soccer Source number one? Look at my url. It's the only other blog of which I'm aware that ranks world teams. Other than mine, of course. It's hard to appreciate just how thankless a job it is. If you like thankless jobs, like ranking world club teams, we are always looking for people to join our ranks.

2. The Offside - Awesome site with multiple writers covering leagues and players from all over the world. It's the kind of site I'd do if I had time. And money. And talent. And skill.

3. Caught Offside - Excellent EPL/SPL news and information site. Lots of news and other stories.

4. Soccer by Ives - Excellent site covering MLS/American soccer, with additional European coverage as well. Brought to you by a journalist for the Herald News.

5. Hasta El Gol Siempre - Site devoted to Argentinian futbol with commentary regarding other South American action. Bonus points for being in English.

6. World Cup Blog - Great blog related to world football. I haven't paid much attention to it thus far, but I expect to spend a lot more time on it as the World Cup qualifiers start to heat up.

7. Newcastle United Web Site - As far as blogs go, there are probably much better ones, but this one is about my favorite European club. Your website could have all kinds of bells and whistles and could pay me to view it, but if it's about Arsenal, I'm not going to read it. This one, on the other hand, has earned a place on my Google reader.

8. My Soccer Blog - Not to be confused, of course, with my soccer blog, World Club Rankings. Nice blog with MLS and U.S. team-related content.

9. Yanks Abroad - Great blog related to American players playing in Europe. Really good site if you want to fill your fantasy team with players with players who are trying to make the 2010 U.S. World Cup team.

10. Football Focus - Another site providing good coverage of the EPL. It strikes me as I'm doing this that I have a lot of those.

11. DCenters - It's a DC United blog. I'm a DC United fan. You do the math.

12. mCalcio - Site focusing on Italian football. Finally veering off of that EPL mania that was gripping me a few spots back.

13. Hexagonal Blog - Nice blog focusing on CONCACAF football. A lot of USA content, of course, but also one of the few I've found that actually recognizes that some interesting ball is played in Central America.

14. Only Time Will Tell - Good soccer blog from a fellow Tar Heel fan. Most importantly, his is the first blog I've seen to have a permanent link to World Club Rankings. (Hint Hint) Any site hosted by someone with that much taste has to be on this list.

15. du Nord - Site that links to news stories from around the world. Also home of the most artistic blogroll that I've come across.

16. Last Kick - Blog with a focus on Iranian football but with lots of articles on other Asian football and links to various European teams.

17. Soccer y Futbol - From the Houston Chronicle. Lots of posts about American and Mexican football, focusing of course on the two-time defending MLS Cup holders.

18. Sports Net Live - Okay, we're back to another EPL news site. At least these sites are good, though.

19. Spanish Football and Sports - The name says it all. Tons of information on Spanish football and La Liga.

20. WVHooligan - Frequently updated MLS-oriented news site. I particularly like the MLS Coach on the Hotseat feature.

21. Soccer Lens - More British football news. Who knew there was so much?

22. Soccer Insider - Great American football / MLS / DC United site from my hometown newspaper.

23. Soccer Blog - Great blog, but it is ranked lower because it has so many videos that it occasionally freezes my computer when I try to open it. My apologies to you if it does the same to yours.

24. English Soccer Talk - As the name says, yes it's another one. I can't help it. They're so good.

25. BobbyBoswell.com - He's a footballer, he's a blogger . . . Gotta love it. Would probably be ranked higher if he hadn't been traded.

That's what I have for now. Like I said, nothing scientific and feel free to spam me others you think should be on the site.