WCR Goes Global!!!

Since we here at WCR are getting a ton more hits of late than ever before, I wanted to post a welcome message to all of the people who are new to the site. The reason behind the influx of new guests is our inclusion on the website at our new friends at www.cmonyuirons.com. From there, we were picked up on a number of fan forums in the United Kingdom, as well as others in Lithuania and I’m going to guess Thailand based on the language on the site, but I am just guessing. Glad you came on by and I hope you have a chance to look around and click on some sponsor links.

I’ve seen a lot of comments on the sites where the WCR Top 25 has been re-published have been, umm . . ., harsh. That’s fine. As I posted on another site, you don’t publish a Top 25 list without expecting to piss off a lot of people who believe that their team is being underrated. I do have a request, though. If you just want to bitch and moan and drop an insult or two, that’s okay, it’s a free country. (At least this one is. I can’t speak for wherever you are reading this.) However, if you disagree with the rankings, the site would be better served with your advice than your insults. For instance, I’m a little concerned that the formulas I’m using are giving too much credit to the Champions League and Copa Libertadores results, thus ranking teams like Barcelona and Liverpool too high. What do you think? I’m open to constructive criticism. (The hit-and-run insults . . . not so much.)

I’m moving the www.cmonyuirons.com site to the top of my blog list because any site that can boost my hit counter by 1000 hits in two days deserves some credit. Also, because it’s been over a month since the last posting by Soccer Source. (Nat, why have you abandoned us?) Anyway, thanks for stopping by and I hope that you like the site and, if not, there’s plenty of stuff on the internet that I’m sure you will like. Keep looking.

WCR Top 25 Clubs in the World - Let's Do It Again

Champions League games, UEFA Cup games, CONCACAF Champions Cup game, all played in the past week and what have we decided? Not a damned thing. Five games, five draws. Nevermind. Now, we’re playing all of them as one-game series. Let’s do it all over again!!! (For the WCR Predictions, click here.) One game that actually had a victor this week made the two teams that played in it, you guessed it, tied. Number two Chelsea defeated number one Manchester United to move into a tie in the Premiership, though with Manyoo’s overwhelming goal differential lead, Chelsea will still need help to overtake Manyoo.

On the other side of the world, the Copa Libertadores group stage came to an end and the teams have been seeded for the knockout rounds. (Official WCR Predictions can be found here.) Sao Paulo and River Plate moved to the tops of their respective groups and Boca Juniors slided into the Round of Sixteen by the skin of Riquelme’s teeth. Throw in Santos and Estudiantes, this will be one of the most star-studded Copa Libertadores and the next round begins on Tuesday on Fox Sports Espanol.

This weekend, as you’re coming off of your Champions League, UEFA Cup, Copa Libertadores and Champions Cup highs, there are plenty of great games to help you mellow slow. The only battle among Top 25 teams will be the battle between Arsenal and Everton. Even more important, however, are the two great matchups between Internazionale and AC Milan and, in Argentina, between Boca Juniors and River Plate. If you can’t get up for those matches, then why in the hell are you reading this?

Same Top 25 as last week; different order. Here we go:

World Club Rankings Top 25 – April 28, 2008

1. Manchester United (Eng) (1) – Played road games against the numbers two and three teams in the world last week and couldn’t come away with a victory. Did manage a road draw against Barcelona, which is always a good Champions League result, but did not score a goal, which could come back to haunt them. Fell 1-2 to Chelsea to fall even, but they still hold the advantage in the Premiership, so they still hold the advantage here. In addition to the Barcelona rematch this week, host West Ham United on Saturday to maintain their domestic league.

2. Chelsea (Eng) (2) – Like Manyoo, Chelsea scored a road draw in the Champions League, which is always nice. Unlike Manyoo, Chelsea scored an away goal, which is even nicer. Also unlike Manyoo, Chelsea won the Chelsea/Manchester United game, which is the nicest of all. Play the rematch against Liverpool at Stamford Bridge, though I hope they aren’t going to wait for another own goal to score this time. As they chase down Manyoo in the Premiership, they travel to play my beloved Newcastle United.

3. Barcelona (Esp) (3) – Just doesn’t seem fair to rank them this high the way they’ve been playing in the Primera Division. Rested a lot of their best players this weekend in losing to Deportivo La Coruna 0-2. It would seem that they are willing to surrender second place in La Liga to Villarreal for a chance to defeat Manchester United in the Champions League. We’ll see if the sacrifice works out on Tuesday. This weekend they host Valencia, which could be a good game if both teams bother to try this week.

4. Sao Paulo (Bra) (11) – Defeated Colombia’s Atletico Nacional 1-0 to win their group and gain home field advantage in the first round of the Copa Libertadores knockout rounds. Plays on the road on Wednesday in Uruguay against Nacional, which is a really tough draw for my pre-knockout stage favorite to win it all.

5. Liverpool (Eng) (4) – A 94th minute own goal is all that kept Liverpool from heading to London with a lead in its Champions League draw with Chelsea. That’s gotta hurt. Could manage only a draw with Birmingham City this weekend, but the domestic matches are second stage at this point. Face Chelsea on Wednesday and they must be hoping that Saturday’s match against Manchester City won’t be their last match this season against a team from Manchester.

6. Internazionale (Ita) (5) – Defeated Cagliari 2-1 to move closer to their second consecutive (more if you count the ones abandoned by the cheating bastards) Serie A championship, but it’s not clinched yet. Just to make it interesting, Inter faces cross-town rival AC Milan on Sunday in what would be the most anticipated game of the weekend if it wasn’t for the next one I’m going to talk about.

7. River Plate (Arg) (8) – Defeated Argentios Juniors 4-2 to stay tied atop the Clausura with Estudiantes de la Plata. Like Sao Paulo, River Plate got an unfortunately tough draw in the Copa Libertadores, having to face fellow Argentine San Lorenzo, who defeated Boca Juniors this weekend, on Wednesday. Speaking of Boca, the game of the weekend will be when River goes on the road this weekend to face Boca Juniors in the Superclasico. Wish I could be there.

8. Porto (Por) (6) – You’ve got to hand it to Porto. They’ve already clinched the bwin Liga and this weekend they went on the road to play the second-place team in Portugal and they didn’t only come to play, they came to kick ass and take names, defeating Vitoria Guimaraes 5-0. Host Nacional in domestic action this weekend.

9. Real Madrid (Esp) (7) – Moved to within a Ruud Van Nistelrooy (sp?) nose hair of clinching the Primeral Division title, defeating Athletic de Bilbao 3-0. It helps that nobody in Spain other than Villarreal seems to give a damn about winning, and even Villarreal cares only every other week. Should clinch this weekend against Osasuna, or even sooner if everybody else loses again.

10. Roma (Ita) (9) - It got ugly quickly this weekend in Rome as Roma manhandled Torino 4-1 to keep Inter Milan in their sights. While Inter is facing AC Milan this weekend, Roma won’t exactly have it easy, playing a road match against Sampdoria.

11. Estudiantes (Arg) (12) – Defeated Rosario Central 3-1 on Friday to keep pace with River Plate atop the Argentine Clausura. Begin their Copa Libertadores knockout stage in Ecuador, facing a tough LDU Quito team. This weekend, they are on the road playing the Argentinos Juniors club that fell this weekend to River Plate.

12. Arsenal (Eng) (10) – At the time that I am typing this up, Arsenal has not yet played their match against Derby County. Whatever happens, though, they are in third place and don’t have anything else of any importance going on. Play in the only game this weekend between two ranked teams as Everton comes to Emirates Stadium for what should be a good game, if Arsenal shows up.

13. Lyon (Fra) (14) – Could manage only a 2-2 draw against Caen this weekend as they remain four points clear of second-place Bordeaux. The Ligue Un title still appears inevitable, but they should probably win one of these games sooner or later, just to be safe. Travel to Nice this weekend to play the team that drew with Bordeaux this weekend.

14. Juventus (Ita) (13) – Not sure why they moved down after crushing Lazio 5-2 at home this weekend, but these things happen. On Sunday, they travel to play Siena as they play the season out.

15. Fluminense (Bra) (16) – Fluminense had the week off to begin preparing for their Copa Libertadores matchup with Atletico Nacional. Not much else to add.

16. Bayern Munchen (Ger) (15) – Moved within an Oliver Kahn ear hair from its first consecutive Bundesliga title, handily defeating defending champion VfB Stuttgart 4-1. Their luck wasn’t as good at home in the UEFA Cup, where they could manage only a 1-1 draw against surprising Zenit St. Petersburg. They should be focusing on that as they travel to Russia for the rematch on Thursday. Play at Wolfsburg in domestic action this weekend, when they should be crowned as Bundesliga champions.

17. Villarreal (Esp) (17) – Held off Real Betis 1-0 to solidify their second place spot in the Primera Division, as Barcelona appears distracted. As you know, there are no easy games in La LIga and Villarreal hosts a dangerous Getafe team this weekend.

18. Sporting CP (Por) (22) – Big move up for Sporting as they defeated Maritimo 2-1 to move into second place in the bwin Liga. Still a tight race behind Porto for the final two Champions League (corrected) spots, so Sporting will not be able to take it easy this weekend against Paco Ferreira.

19. PSV Eindhoven (Ned) (18) – Since their season is over, there’s not much to say beyond see you next year in the Champions League group stage.

20. Deportivo Saprissa (Crc) (19) – Could manage only a 1-1 draw against Pachuca in the CONCACAF Champions Cup final. Now they have to face the elevation in the return match – and DC United can tell them how difficult that can be, especially in the second half. Final game is on Wednesday night. Don’t miss it!!! Could only score a draw against Herediano in domestic action, where Saprissa has been pretty ordinary recently. Play San Carlos this weekend regardless of what happens against Pachuca.

21. Cruzeiro (Bra) (24) – Took the week off as they had already won their group in the Copa Libertadores. They ended up with the toughest draw of any ranked team in the Copa Libertadores as they have to travel to Argentina on Wednesday to face defending champion Boca Juniors in the Round of Sixteen. Should be a great matchup.

22. Ajax (Ned) (20) – I’m glad to hear that the Eredivisie is doing away with their convoluted playoff system to determine Champions League and UEFA Cup spots. Unfortunately for Ajax, those changes don’t go into effect until next year. This year, Ajax still has to win a four-team tournament to qualify for next year’s Champions League. Up first for Ajax is Michael Bradley and Heerenveen. Ajax plays the away match on Thursday and the home match on Sunday.

23. Bordeaux (Fra) (21) – By managing only a goalless draw against Nice this weekend, Bordeaux blew a golden opportunity to move within a whisper of Lyon in La Championnat. They have, however, already clinched a spot in next year’s Champions League and this week they travel to Marseille to play Cisse and a team that is trying to do the same.

24. Fiorentina (Ita) (25) – Played Rangers to a scoreless draw in Glasgow in the UEFA Cup semifinals. At home, this weekend, they gave up a late goal to Sampdoria to finish tied at 2-2. They are only two points clear of AC Milan for the final Italian Champions League spot and will need to pick up all three points this weekend when they hit the road to play Cagliari.

25. Everton (Eng) (23) – Couldn ‘t get past Aston Villa this weekend, drawing 2-2. It doesn’t get any easier this week, as Everton tries to hold on to fifth place in the Premiership, because they have to go to London to play Arsenal.

Bubbling Under (alphabetically): Atletico de Madrid (Esp), Benfica (Por), Flamengo (Bra), AC Milan (Ita), River Plate (Uru)

Next Five: Chivas de Guadalajara (Mex), Rangers (Sco), Aston Villa (Eng), Werder Bremen (Ger), Santos (Bra)

Games This Week Between Top 25 Teams:
29 April – (3) Barcelona at (1) Manchester United
30 April – (5) Liverpool at (2) Chelsea
4 May – (25) Everton at (12) Arsenal

Fearless Copa Libertadores Predictions

Here at World Club Rankings, we have been making predictions of the European tournaments for months. As you are well aware, however, there are other great tournaments, including the CONCACAF Champions Cup, which will be settled this week, and the CAF Champions League, which is currently in the Round of Sixteen.

The greatest tournament in the world, aside from the European Champions League, concluded its group stage this week and we are now ready to start the knockout stage in the Copa Libertadores. It seems only natural that since the WCR takes into account all of the South American leagues (except maybe Bolivia), we should be making predictions in this great tournament, as well.

There are six nations represented in the Copa Libertadores Round of Sixteen. Brazil (with four group winners) and Argentina (two group winners) lead the group, placing five teams each into the knockout stage. Colombia and Mexico each had the other group winner and place two teams each in the Round of Sixteen. Rounding out the knockout rounds are a team each from Uruguay and Ecuador.

If you’ve been following the predictions, you know that the predictions are always dictated by the WCR Top 25 (and beyond) rankings. There is a slight difference in this round because the group winners have been awarded temporary Moderate Bonus Points. Those MBPs are not taken into consideration in making the predictions. As for the predictions . . . here you go . . .

Aggregate Score Predictions – Copa Libertadores Round of Sixteen

Fluminense (Bra) 5 Atletico Nacional (Col) 0
Sao Paulo (Bra) 4 Nacional (Uru) 3
Boca Juniors (Arg) 3 Cruzeiro (Bra) 3 (Penalty Kicks)
Atlas (Mex) 4 Lanus (Arg) 2
Estudiantes (Arg) 4 LDU Quito (Ecu) 2
River Plate (Arg) 3 San Lorenzo (Arg) 3 (Away Goals)
Santos (Bra) 4 Cucuta (Col) 1
Flamengo (Bra) 6 Club America (Mex) 0

Although I’ll make predictions after each round, since you know who plays who in future rounds in the Copa Libertadores, you can actually predict all the way through. My pre-Round of Sixteen predictions for future rounds are as follows: Final Four: Sao Paulo (Bra), Boca Juniors (Arg), River Plate (Arg), Santos (Bra). Finals: Sao Paulo (Bra), River Plate (Arg). Winner: Sao Paulo (Bra). Of course, these are merely preliminary.

World Club Rankings - Top 25 - 1968

Just as 1967 saw the rise to prominence of a European champion whose fan base remains strong to this day – Celtic – so did 1968. Despite falling in the Premiership to its cross-town rivals, English upstart Manchester United took advantage of home field advantage, playing before 100,000 fans at Wembley Stadium, to win its first European Champions Cup. After finishing 90 minutes in the final tied with WCR Team of the Year Benfica, Manyoo opened the floodgates in extra time, scoring three times in six minutes, starting with a goal by legend Georgie Best. Despite being kept from the top spot in the WCR rankings by its second-place finish in the Premiership, Manyoo’s title was just a prelude to the European dominance that England would demonstrate in years to come and are starting to demonstrate once again.

While the European Champions Cup was the most prominent championship of the year, there were plenty more to go around. Additional silverware found its way to the island as Leeds United won the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, defeating 1968 Hungarian champions Ferencvaros 1-0 in a two-match aggregate. Meanwhile, 1968 Serie A champions AC Milan were busy defeating Hamburger 2-0 to win the European Cup Winners Cup and establishing themselves as the highest ranked team of the year that didn’t reach the semifinals of either the European Champions Cup or the Copa Libertadores.

Speaking of the Copa Libertadores, the cup made its first of three consecutive trips to La Plata, Argentina. Despite an extremely poor domestic showing, and thus the lack of a presence in the final season rankings, Estudiantes defeated Palmeiras 2-0 in the tie-breaking game in Motevideo after the teams split their first two games, each winning at home.

As far as the domestic champions go, the champions of the five best domestic leagues in 1968 were AC Milan, Real Madrid, Manchester City, Velez Sarsfield and Benfica. Did your favorite team make the WCR Top 25 in 1968? Check below to find out:

World Club Rankings – 1968

1. Benfica (Por) – Champions Cup – Runners-Up, Third Number One ranking, last Number One ranking for 22 years.
2. Real Madrid (Esp) – CC- SF, Ninth consecutive Top Five ranking.
3. Manchester United (Eng) – CC-Winners. Best ranking until 1999.
4. Penarol (Uru) – Copa Libertadores – Semifinalist, Fifth consecutive Top Ten ranking.
5. Racing Club (Arg) – CL-SF, Highest ever ranking.
6. Juventus (Ita) – CC-SF.
7. AC Milan (Ita) – Cup Winners Cup – Winner.
8. Velez Sarsfield (Arg) – Highest ever ranking.
9. Manchester City (Eng) – First Top 25 ranking, Only Top 10 ranking.
10. Celtic (Sco) – CC-1R, Third consecutive Top 20 ranking.
11. River Plate (Arg)
12. Barcelona (Esp) – ICFC-1R, Third consecutive Top 20 ranking.
13. Rangers (Sco) – ICFC-QF
14. Red Star Belgrade (Yug) – Highest ranking until 1987.
15. Palmeiras (Bra) – CL – RU, Last Top 25 ranking until 1993.
16. Napoli (Ita) – ICFC-2R, Third consecutive Top 20 ranking.
17. Porto (Por) – ICFC-1R, Eighth consecutive Top 20 ranking, last until 1987.
18. Sporting CP (Por) – ICFC – 3R
19. Liverpool (Eng) – ICFC-3R
20. Ajax (Ned) – CC-1R, Third consecutive Top 25 ranking.
21. Las Palmas (Esp) – First Top 25 ranking.
22. Ujpest Dozsa (Hun) – First Top 25 ranking.
23. Rosario Central (Arg) – First Top 25 ranking.
24. Nacional (Uru) – CL-1R, Fifth consecutive Top 25 ranking.
25. Spartak Trnava (Tch) – CWC-2R, First Top 25 ranking.

Past Final Season Top 25s: 2007, 1967, 1966, 1965, 1964, 1963, 1962, 1961, 1960

Note: For those of you coming here to see the most recent Weekly Top 25, or this Weekend’s American Television Schedule, click as appropriate.

WCR Top 25 Weekend American Television Schedule

Some weeks it’s difficult to pick the game of the weekend. This week, that isn’t the case – and there are some really good matches this weekend. For the first time this season, however, the top two ranked teams in the WCR Top 25 face off as Manchester United travels to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea. Not only is it two great teams facing each other, it’s an important game as well since Chelsea will draw even with Manyoo in the Premiership with a victory. I’m not particularly fond of waking up so early on a Saturday morning to watch football, but I’m damn sure going to do it.

Like I said, though, though it’s definitely the most anticipated game of the weekend, other great games will follow. In Argentina, San Lorenzo hosts Boca Juniors, who is coming off a victory over Maracaibo to squeak into the knockout rounds of the Copa Libertadores. The game is on FSC at 11pm, but can be seen live on FSE, if that’s an option for you. In Germany, four of the top five teams in the Bundesliga do battle as Hamburger hosts Schalke 04 on Saturday and first-place Bayern Munchen hosts defending champion VfB Stuttgart on Sunday. Rounding out the top five, the top two teams in the bwin Liga go head-to-head in a game that is meaningless to Porto but should still matter to Guimaraes, who is fighting off Sporting CP and Benfica for a Champions League position.

That’s all I have for this week. As always, if I’ve missed anything or if you have additional information that you wouldn’t mind sharing, please leave a comment or send me an e-mail and we will add it to the list. Cheers.

Top Five Games of the Weekend:

1. Manchester United at Chelsea (Saturday, 7:30 am, Setanta)
2. Boca Juniors at San Lorenzo (Sunday, 3:00 pm, FSE (11pm – FSC))
3. Schalke 04 at Hamburger (Saturday, 11:30 am, GolTV)
4. VfB Stuttgart at Bayern Munchen (Sunday, 11:00 am, GolTV)
5. Porto at Vitoria Guimaraes (Sunday, noon, Setanta Broadband)

Saturday, April 26, 2008

7:30 am – (1) Manchester United at (2) Chelsea (Setanta)
9:30 am – Werder Bremen at Karlsruhe (GolTV)
10:00 am – Middlesbrough at Sunderland (FSC)
10:00 am – (4) Liverpool at Birmingham (Setanta)
11:30 am – Schalke 04 at Hamburger (Delayed) (GolTV)
12 noon – Bolton Wanderers at Tottenham Hotspur (Delayed) (FSC)
2:00 pm – Reading at Wigan Athletic (Delayed) (FSC)
2:00 pm – (3) Barcelona at Deportivo La Coruna (GolTV)
2:15 pm – Newcastle United at West Ham United (Delayed) (Setanta) (Live at 10am on SBB)
3:30 pm – Kansas City Wizards at Toronto FC (MLS Direct Kick)
4:15 pm – Fulham at Manchester City (Delayed) (Setanta)
5:00 pm – Emelec at Espoli (GolTV)
6:00 pm – Atlas at San Luis (Galavision)
7:15 pm – Independiente at Millonarios (GolTV)
7:30 pm – Houston Dynamo at Columbus Crew (MLS Direct Kick)
7:30 pm – Real Salt Lake at DC United (MLS Direct Kick)
8:00 pm – Puebla at Guadalajara (TeleFutura)
8:30 pm – Colorado Rapids at Chicago Fire (HDNet)
10:00 pm – Monterrey at Atlante (Galavision)
10:30 pm – Chivas USA at Los Angeles Galaxy (FSC)
12 midnight – Santos Laguna at Tigres (Delayed) (Galavision)

Sunday, April 27, 2008

3:30 am – Shaanxi at Beijing (ESPN 360)
4:00 am – Shandong at Dalian Shide (ESPN 360)
8:00 am – Spartak Moscow at FC Moscow (ESPN 360)
9:00 am – AC Milan at Livorno (ESPN 360)
9:00 am – Lazio at (13) Juventus (FSC)
11:00 am – Aston Villa at (23) Everton (FSC)
11:00 am – VfB Stuttgart at (15) Bayern Munchen (GolTV)
12 noon – Nancy Lorraine at Valenciennes (Setanta)
12 noon – (6) Porto at Vitoria Guimaraes (Setanta Broadband)
12 noon – Feyenoord at Roda JC (ESPN 360)
1:00 pm – (17) Villarreal at Real Betis (GolTV)
1:00 pm – Tecos at Toluca (Univision)
2:00 pm – Pachuca at Jaguares (ESPN Deportes)
2:30 pm – Torino at (9) Roma (Delayed) (FSC) (Live at 9am on ESPN 360)
2:45 pm – Marseilles at Monaco (Setanta)
3:00 pm – Athletic de Bilbao at (7) Real Madrid (GolTV)
3:00 pm – San Jose Earthquakes at New York Red Bulls (TeleFutura)
4:30 pm – Cagliari at (5) Inter Milan (Delayed) (FSC)
5:00 pm – Club America at Necaxa (TeleFutura)
5:00 pm – Atletico de Madrid at Getafe (Delayed) (GolTV)
7:00 pm – Envigado at Deportivo Cali (Delayed) (GolTV)
7:00 pm – Blackburn Rovers at Portsmouth (Delayed) (Setanta)
11:00 pm – Boca Juniors at San Lorenzo (Delayed) (FSC) (Live at 3pm on FSE)

Monday, April 28, 2008

3:00 pm – (10) Arsenal at Derby County (Setanta)

Non-Televised Games Involving Top 25 Teams

Fri. 6:00 pm – Rosario Central at (12) Estudiantes de la Plata
Sat. 2:00 pm – Caen at (14) Lyon
Sat. 2:00 pm – Nice at (21) Bordeaux
Sun. 9:00 am – Sampdoria at (25) FIorentina
Sun. Noon – (19) Deportivo Saprissa at Herediano
Sun. 1:00 pm – Argentinos Juniors at (8) River Plate
Sun. 3:30 pm – Maritimo at (22) Sporting CP

Off this weekend: (11) Sao Paulo, (16) Fluminense, (18) PSV Eindhoven, (20) Ajax, (24) Cruzeiro

WCR Top 25 Clubs - The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Very angry day today because I typed this entire thing up – all four pages or so – and then lost it somehow, so don’t look for me to be my normal, happy self trying to recreate the whole damned thing right now.

As expected, not a lot of stuff going on this past weekend. The big movers of the week were Villarreal and River Plate. Villarreal moved up seven notches, from 24th to 17th, as they took over second place in the Primera Division. Meanwhile, River Plate moved up seven notches from 15th to 8th, despite losing for the first time in the Clausura, because they moved into the top spot in their Copa Libertadores group this week. Does Villarreal’s move up mean Barcelona is the big loser? It would make sense, huh? Didn’t work out that way because of the Super Bonus Points that Barcelona has gotten for making the Champions League semifinals. Sometimes life ain’t fair. Just ask my computer.

Anything happening this week? There’s the Champions League semifinals, where the top four ranked teams are all playing each other. Want more? There’s the UEFA Cup semifinals, featuring ranked teams Bayern Munchen and Fiorentina. (Predictions for the Champions League and UEFA Cup semifinals can be found here.) Want more? Theres the first leg of the CONCACAF Champion’s Cup finals, with Deportivo Saprissa hosting defending champion Pachuca. Want more? There’s the first matchup of the year between the number one and number two teams in the world at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea hosts Manchester United. Want more? If so, you’re too damned greedy. You should work on that. Here’s something to read while you’re working on it.

World Club Rankings Top 25 – April 21, 2008

1. Manchester United (Eng) (1) – Just when everything is going both hunky and dory for the number one team, along comes a trip to play the Blackburn Rovers where they could manage no more than a 1-1 draw. At least they don’t have any big games coming up. Oh, well there’s Barcelona in the Champions League, but they’re only ranked number three. Then they play Chelsea this weekend, but they’re only ranked number two. And both games are on the road. If any team can survive this, however, I guess it’s the number one team.

2. Chelsea (Eng) (2) – Defeated Everton 1-0 on Thursday to move within three points of Manyoo in the Premiership. Travel back to the west coast tomorrow to face Liverpool in the Champions League. After that, they have an opportunity to tie Manyoo on top of the Premiership as the two face off in the regular season match of the year.

3. Barcelona (Esp) (3) – No, of course they shouldn’t be this high since they managed only a goalless draw against Espanyol this weekend and dropped to third in the Premiership. Nevertheless, here they are thanks to being in the Champions League semifinals. Host Manchester United on Wednesday. Unfortunately, the Manyoo witch doctor that put a spell on Totti in the quarterfinals has put a similar spell on Henry in the semifinals, since word on the street is that he will be out. Face Deportivo La Coruna this weekend as they try to chase down Villarreal for second. There will be no chasing down of Real Madrid this year.

4. Liverpool (Eng) (4) – Another overrated team due to a strong Champions League showing. Face Chelsea tomorrow as they try to prove that they belong up here. It’s a tough matchup, but Liverpool does seem to excel in these two-leg set-ups. Firmly grasped the final English Champions League spot this weekend with a 2-0 victory over the Fulhamericans. Travel to Birmingham to play City this weekend in a match that I can’t imagine that they will be paying very much attention to.

5. Inter Milan (Ita) (5) – Defeated Torino 1-0 this weekend to extend its Serie A lead to six points. Nice bounce back after a disappointing goalless draw at home against Lazio in the first leg of the Coppa Italia semifinals. Host Cagliari this weekend as they move closer to the championship.

6. Porto (Por) (6) – Even though the bwin Liga championship is already theirs, Porto is still playing strong, defeating Veitoria Setubal 3-0 in Cup action at midweek before defeating troubled Benfica 2-0 in Liga action this weekend. Here’s to them maintaining their dominance as they play Vitoria Guimaraes this weekend.

7. Real Madrid (Esp) (7) – Extended their Primera Division lead even further this weekend with a 2-0 victory over Racing de Santander. Host the red-and-white from Basque country this weekend as Athletic de Bilbao come to town.

8. River Plate (Arg) (15) – Lost for the first time in the Clausura this weekend, falling to Rosario Central 1-2. Nevertheless, moved to the top of its Copa Libertadores group with a resounding 5-0 victory over Deportivo San Martin. As they wait for their Copa Libertadores draw, they will get ready for Argentinos Juniors in domestic action.

9. Roma (Ita) (8) – Fell even further behind Inter this weekend as they managed only a 1-1 draw against Livorno. Did manage to beat Catania at home 1-0 in the first leg of the Coppa Italia semifinals, though. Host the non-cheating team from Turin (Torino) this weekend in Serie A action.

10. Arsenal (Eng) (9) – Even though they are playing for nothing, they are playing well, defeating Reading 2-0 this weekend. Next weekend, another meaningless game against another meaningless opponent (no offense, Derby County).

11. Sao Paulo (Bra) (10) – Tough week for the defending Brazilian champions as they lose in the Paulista League semifinals, losing to Palmeiras 0-2. Get a shot at some Copa Libertadores redemption, however, when they host Colombian power Atletico Nacional.

12. Estudiantes (Arg) (11) – The team from La Plata was able to draw even with River Plate this week by virtue of its 1-1 draw with Tigre. Also won its Copa Libertadores group with a 2-0 victory over Deportivo Cuenca. This weekend, they host Rosario Central, who is coming off of an upset of River Plate.

13. Juventus (Ita) (13) – Absolutely mauled the Serie A competition this week, defeating Parma 3-0 and Atalanta 4-0. If my knowledge of numerical patterns isn’t failing me, they should defeat Lazio 5-0 this weekend, but I guess we’ll have to wait and see. Oh, yeah, before I forget – cheating bastards. (Some traditions should never be broken.)

14. Lyon (Fra) (12) – Advanced to the semifinals of the French Cup with a 1-0 victory over Metz and then defeated Strasbourg 2-1 to move closer to their 217th consecutive Ligue Un title. (Napoleon played center midfielder for them back then, I believe.) As they get closer to ending the battle for La Championnat, they host Caen this weekend.

15. Bayern Munchen (Ger) (14) – Gotta hand it to the Germans (I think there are some Germans on this team). They like to make things interesting. After a miracle victory against Getafe in the UEFA Cup, they let Borussia Dortmund back in the German Cup final at the last minute, only to break their hearts again in extra time. Also defeated Eintracht Frankfurt 3-1 to retain their rightful spot atop the Bundesliga. This weekend, the leader plays the defending champions as Bayern hosts VfB Stuttgart.

16. Fluminense (Bra) (16) – Like Sao Paulo, Fluminense had some problems domestically as they were eliminated in the Taca Rio Final this weekend by losing 0-1 to Botafogo. A victory over a good LDU Quito team, however, did allow them to finish atop their Copa Libertadores group and gain Moderate Bonus Points. This weekend, it’s all about the waiting. Waiting for the CL draw, that is.

17. Villarreal (Esp) (24) – Jump up seven notches in the rankings and one notch in the Primera Division as they defeat Valladolid 2-0 this weekend. Travel to Sevilla to play Real Betis this weekend as they try to stay ahead of Barcelona in La Liga.

18. PSV Eindhoven (Ned) (20) – Defeated Vitesse 1-0 this weekend to claim another Eredivisie title and a guaranteed trip to next year’s Champions League. As far as I can tell, this concludes PSV’s season. If anybody knows any differently, drop me a line.

19. Deportivo Saprissa (CRC) (17) – Saprissa got to take the week off as it prepares for the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions Cup final against defending champion Pachuca. Go Saprissa!!! (I’m pissed at Pachuca for knocking out DC United.) This weekend, Saprissa returns to domestic action, where results have been difficult to come by recently, as they host Herediano.

20. Ajax (Ned) (19) – Two big wins this week, 2-1 against Groningen and 5-1 against Heracles Almelo, weren’t enough as Ajax falls just short of PSV in the Eredivisie. This means there is no guaranteed Champions League spot for Ajax. Their next match is in the Dutch Champions League playoffs, where Ajax will face Michael Bradley and Heerenveen, but that’s not this week.

21. Bordeaux (Fra) (22) – Kept pace with Lyon this week by defeating Toulouse 1-0, but the championship is Lyon’s toulouse, I mean to lose. I like puns. Unfortunately, they were eliminated in the French Cup semifinals on penalty kicks after a goalless draw with Sedan. Their opponents this week will be nicer, though. I mean Nice. They host Nice this weekend. I like bad puns. The worse, the better.

22. Sporting CP (Por) (21) – Did a fine job eliminating Benfica from the Portugal Cup, as well as the rankings, defeating the troubled team 5-3. Unfortunately, they followed that up by getting humiliated 1-4 by lowly Uniao Leiria. Will they bounce back this week? I have no clue. They will have a chance, though, when they host Maritimo.

23. Everton (Eng) (20) – Doomed themselves to the UEFA Cup (in all likelihood) next year with a 0-1 loss to Chelsea on Thursday. Even that is not guaranteed, however, as they have a tough schedule remaining. It begins this week when they host Aston Villa.

24. Cruzeiro (Bra) (23) – Destroyed by Real Potosi 1-5 in Copa Libertadores action this week, but I can’t hold that against them since it was a meaningless game seeing as they had already won their group. No games for Cruzeiro this week, meaningless or otherwise.

25. Fiorentina (Ita) (NR) – Fiorentina returns to the countdown this week after a victory over Palermo this weekend. (It was Palermo, wasn’t it? I thought I saw pink jerseys in the pre-game show.) Host Sampdoria this weekend in what should be a great match as they try to retain their Champions League spot. In the meantime, however, they travel to Glasgow to play a very good, but recently erratic, Rangers club. Should be fun.

Bubbling Under (alphabetically): Atletico de Madrid (Esp), Benfica (Por), Flamengo (Bra), AC Milan (Ita), Rangers (Sco)

Next Five South American Clubs: (32) Boca Juniors (Arg), (35) Libertad (Par), (37) Santos (Bra), (41) River Plate (Uru), (49) San Lorenzo (Arg)

Matches Between Top 25 Clubs This Week:
22 April – (2) Chelsea at (4) Liverpool
23 April – (1) Manchester United at (3) Barcelona
26 April – (1) Manchester United at (2) Chelsea

WCR Champions League and UEFA Cup Semifinal Predictions

We’re finally to the semifinals of both the Champions League and the UEFA Cup. We’ve been making predictions here at WCR since the knockout stages began in both. While results have been mixed, we’ve been getting better as the season has gone along in the Champions League, now that we’ve lost the surprising Fenerbahce and Schalke 04, while we have been getting worse as time goes on in the UEFA Cup, not realizing that Zenit St. Petersburg is as good as it has been playing. With five of the final eight standing currently in the WCR Top 25, and Rangers and Fiorentina having been there before, we should look forward to some great games.

Are we the only ones making predictions? Of course not. Who else is doing it? Well, who isn’t? Our friends at Soccer City FC has done a tremendous job aggregating picks from journalists, bloggers, players and, if there are other types of people, them too. If you’re interested in predictions, please check it out.

Is the prediction season finally coming to an end? Only in the Northern Hemisphere. Down south, the Copa Libertadores group stages will end this week and we’ll take our crack prediction team to work because, well, what else are we going to do when the European club season is over? Concentrate on Euro 2008? Not likely.

Now, on to the predictions . . .

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE PREDICTIONS

(1) Manchester United over (3) Barcelona
Seventy-Eight percent of you have voted for this outcome and I can’t argue with you. Tevez, Ronaldo and Rooney should find the back of the net plenty of times. They are leading the best domestic league in the world and are the only first-place team in the semifinals. Meanwhile, Barcelona has fallen to third place in the Primera Division and have not appeared to have been able to take perhaps the greatest collection of individual players in the world and meld it into a championship team. Aggregate Prediction: Manchester United 4 Barcelona 2.

(2) Chelsea over (4) Liverpool
Too bad the winner doesn’t have to beat Barnsley to advance. Throughout the knockout stages, I have been conducting polls of who you think is going to win. This matchup has resulted in the closest vote yet, with Liverpool garnering 51% of the vote. This also marks the first time that I’m disagreeing with the voting. A minor blip against Wigan Athletic notwithstanding, Chelsea has played like one of the top two teams in the world over the past few months. Coming off a big match against Everton and heading into an even bigger one against Manchester United, Chelsea may be a little distracted in this matchup, but I still have to go with the better team. Liverpool has been hot and cold all year. One thing they have demonstrated over the past few years, however, is that they really know how to play these two-leg matchups. Now that they have closed in on closing up the fourth spot in the Premiership, they should have a better ability to focus on the Champions League. I wouldn’t be shocked if you were right and I was wrong, but we’ll just have to wait and see. Aggregate Prediction: Chelsea 3 Liverpool 2.

UEFA CUP PREDICTIONS

(14) Bayern Munchen over Zenit St. Petersburg
Fresh off of winning their domestic cup competition, Bayern looks to solidify the position they’ve held all year as UEFA Cup favorites. Let’s face it, on paper at least, this should not be much of a contest. That being said, Bayern has had some problems in the UEFA Cup, with a hiccup against Aberdeen and needing a Luca Toni miracle to defeat Getafe. Also, Zenit St. Petersburg hasn’t been a favorite on paper throughout the tournament, but have proven that the UEFA Cup isn’t played on paper. I’m picking against Zenit again, but they have been proving me wrong for months now, so we’ll see. Aggregate Prediction: Bayern Munchen 5 Zenit St. Petersburg 1.

Fiorentina over Rangers
Of all of the matchups this week (with the exception of Saprissa and Pachuca, but that’s another story), I find this one to be the most unpredictable. Both teams have had periods of brilliance, while both have also appeared ordinary for long periods of time. Which one is hotter right now? I see Fiorentina, who let AC Milan back into the Champions League race and then bounce back to secure their spot recently. Meanwhile, I see Rangers letting Celtic back into the Scottish Premiership race, and that shouldn’t have happened. I think Fiorentina is a little hotter, so I am going with them. Okay, I’m kidding. I’m just going with the rankings. I always go with the rankings. This IS World Club Rankings for (Zenit St.) Pete’s sake. Aggregate Prediction: Fiorentina 2 Rangers 2, Fiorentina on penalty kicks.

WCR Top 25 Weekend Television Schedule (and a dedication)

After having tremendous matchups over the past few weeks, this week’s games represent a little bit of a slow down. There is only one game between WCR Top 25 Clubs this week and that game is available only online on Setanta Broadband. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t other potentially great games, however. There are some high profile MLS matches (New England/New York, Houston/Los Angeles), European matches (Espanyol/Barcelona), a domestic Cup final (Dortmund/Bayern) and, of course, anytime we get this late in the European season, most games have some sort of implication with respect to titles and European cup positions.

And now, the dedication. Usually when a site links to my site, I return the favor and place a link to the site on my blog roll. All of the sites on my blog roll are football sites (feel free to check them out). This week, however, I noticed that I had a site linking to me that wasn’t a soccer site at all. Rather, it’s a blog by a pretty young woman in Baltimore, MD about her life. It doesn’t fit into my blog roll theme, but one good turn deserves another, and it is a good blog, so I wanted to give a shout out to Kim at Out There 25 and thank her for the links.

Below is the schedule – all times EDT

Top Five Games of the Week:

1. Benfica at Porto (Sun., 3:30 pm, Setanta Broadband)
2. Espanyol at Barcelona (Sat., 2:00 pm, GolTV)
3. Borussia Dortmund vs. Bayern Munchen (Sat., 2:30 pm, Setanta)
4. Sao Paulo at Palmeiras (No television coverage)
5. Houston Dynamo at Los Angeles Galaxy (Sat., 10:30 pm, MLS Direct Kick)


Saturday, April 19, 2008

7:30 am – FC Moscow at Dynamo Moscow (ESPN 360)
7:30 am – Reading at (9) Arsenal (Setanta)
9:45 am – (4) Liverpool at Fulham (Setanta)
10:00 am – Tottenham Hotspur at Wigan Athletic (FSC) (SBB)
12 noon – (1) Manchester United at Blackburn Rovers (FSC)
12:30 pm – Real Salt Lake at Toronto FC (MLS Direct Kick)
2:00 pm – Espanyol at (3) Barcelona (GolTV)
2:00 pm – Borussia Dortmund vs. (14) Bayern Munchen (Setanta)
2:30 pm – Palermo at Fiorentina (FSC)
4:00 pm – Almeria at Sevilla (GolTV)
4:15 pm – Derby County at West Ham United (Delayed) (Setanta)
4:30 pm – Livorno at (8) Roma (Delayed) (FSC)
6:00 pm – Chivas de Guadalajara at Monterrey (Univision)
6:00 pm – Real Betis at Atletico de Madrid (Delayed) (GolTV)
6:30 pm – Bolton Wanderers at Middlesbrough (Delayed) (FSC)
7:30 pm – New England Revolution at New York Red Bulls (HDNET)
8:00 pm – Atletico Junior at America de Cali (Delayed) (GolTV)
9:30 pm – San Jose Earthquakes at Colorado Rapids (FSC)
10:00 pm – Tigres at Atlas (Delayed) (TeleFutura)
10:30 pm – Houston Dynamo at Los Angeles Galaxy (MLS Direct Kick)

Sunday, April 20, 2008

7:00 am – Birmingham City at Aston Villa (Setanta)
8:00 am – CSKA Moscow at Lokomotiv Moscow (ESPN 360)
9:00 am – Reggina at AC Milan (FSC)
9:00 am – Lazio at Catania (ESPN 360)
11:00 am – Portsmouth at Manchester City (FSC)
11:00 am – Valladolid at (24) Villarreal (GolTV)
12 noon – (22) Bordeaux at Toulouse (Setanta)
1:00 pm – Toluca at UNAM (TeleFutura)
1:00 pm – Pachuca at Puebla (FSE)
1:00 pm – (7) Real Madrid at Racing de Santander (GolTV)
2:30 pm – (5) Inter Milan at Torino (FSC)
3:00 pm – Kansas City Wizards at Chicago Fire (TeleFutura)
3:00 pm – Lille at Marseille (Setanta)

3:30 pm – (25) Benfica at (6) Porto (Setanta Broadband)
5:00 pm – Sunderland at Newcastle United (Delayed) (Setanta) (Live at 9 am on SBB)
5:00 pm – (15) River Plate at Rosario Central (Delayed) (FSC) (Live at 3pm on FSE)
5:00 pm – Wolfsburg at Nurnberg (Delayed) (GolTV)
6:00 pm – Atlante at Club America (Galavision)
7:00 pm – La Equidad at Once Caldas (Delayed) (GolTV)
8:00 pm – FC Dallas at Chivas USA (MLS Direct Kick)

Non-Televised Games of WCR Top 25 Teams:

Sat., 2:00 pm – (13) Lyon at Strasbourg
Sun., 8:30 am – (18) PSV Eindhoven at Vitesse Arnheim
Sun., 8:30 am – Heracles Almelo at (19) Ajax
Sun., 9:00 am – (12) Juventus at Atalanta
Sat., 2:15 pm – (21) Sporting CP at Uniao Leiria
Sun., 3:00 pm – Botafogo at (16) Fluminense
Sun., 3:00 pm – (10) Sao Paulo at Palmeiras
Sun., 5:40 pm – (11) Estudiantes at Tigre

(2) Chelsea, (20) Everton, (23) Cruzeiro – Off this weekend
(17) Deportivo Saprissa – No Data

WCR Top 25 Clubs in the World - Super Bonus Points Edition

Now that we are to the final four in Europe, it’s time for the final major overhaul in the rankings. If you’ve been following the charts for a while, then you know that we started awarding Moderate Bonus Points to the teams that reached the quarterfinals (or in South America, the Copa Libertadores group leaders). Now that we’ve reached the Final Four (sorry for the basketball terminology), the Moderate Bonus Points have been taken away. In their place, Super Bonus Points have been given to each of the top four teams in each continental tournament. This doesn’t mean good news only for Manyoo, Liverpool, Barcelona and Chelsea, but also for the Final Four teams in CONCACAF – DC United, Houston Dynamo, Pachuca and Deportivo Saprissa. Meanwhile, the Moderate Bonus Points will still be used with respect to the South American teams since we are still in the group stage in the Copa Libertadores. How will this affect the rankings? See below.

Boooorrrrring. How about Owen Hargreave’s shot against Arsenal. I don’t think that I’ve hidden that I’m not a Manyoo fan, but I do always root for them against Arsenal – no offense Gunners. Meanwhile, Juventus was busy moving AC Milan closer to next year’s UEFA Cup by winning the Great Cheating Bastard Derby. Inter Milan (yeah, I actually like Inter) kept pace with Roma to maintain its lead in Serie A and Villarreal blew a golden opportunity to remain in second place in the Primera Division.

We are getting near to the WCR Oompa Loompa’s summer vacation, when the weekly rankings will go on hiatus – or at least become less frequent. How long will Manyoo remain on top? Stay tuned. (As an aside, you probably haven’t noticed, but my little counter on the side hit 10,000 today. I’d like to thank everybody for stopping by, I hope you enjoy the site, and I hope you’ll come back frequently.)

World Club Rankings Top 25 – April 14, 2008

1. Manchester United (Eng) (1) – Huge win against Arsenal yesterday ended Arsenal’s Premiership dreams and solidified Manyoo’s. Victory goes along well with Manyoo’s defeat of Roma to advance to the Champions League semifinals. Things quiet down this week (and just for this week) as Manyoo plays Blackburn Rovers on Saturday.

2. Chelsea (Eng) (3) – Chelsea hits its high point of the season despite today’s draw by advancing past Fenerbahce into the CL semis. If you can’t beat Wigan Athletic at home, how are you going to beat Everton on the road on Thursday? Watch Thursday to find out, I guess.

3. Barcelona (Esp) (7) – Defeated Schalke 04 to advance in the Champions League, days before managing only a draw against Recreativo de Huelva in domestic action. It pretty much kills their chances for a domestic title, but it was good enough to return to second place in La Liga.

4. Liverpool (Eng) (8) – Fourth in the Premiership and fourth in the world? Is that possible? Yes. Fair? Questionable. At least they are back in winning ways, disposing of Arsenal in the Champions League and Blackburn in domestic action. A Champions League position is beginning to appear inevitable. Travel to Fulham this weekend as they try to make it even more inevitable.

5. Inter Milan (Ita) (2) – And this is where the Champions League talk stops, at least temporarily. Still got to play in a major game as they defeated Fiorentina 2-0 to maintain a four-point lead (is that right – I’m doing this from memory here, folks) in Serie A over Roma. A few games for Inter this week as they hose Lazio in the Coppa Italia semifinals at midweek and travel to Turin to play the non-cheating bastard team from that town on Sunday.

6. Porto (Por) (9) – The bwin Superliga champions continued their dominance over domestic foes this weekend, defeating Veitoria Setubal 2-1. They get a rematch against Setubal at midweek in Portugal Cup action before hosting Benfica this weekend in what is always one of the most anticipated matches of the year, even in years such as this, where it matters little, at least for Porto.

7. Real Madrid (Esp) (10) – ‘twasn’t pretty, but Madrid defeated Real Murcia 1-0 to extend its lead in the Primera Division over Barcelona and Villarreal. Since their Copa del Rey ended weeks and weeks ago, they can focus on Racing de Santander as they defend their domestic title.

8. Roma (Ita) (4) – Totti returns, and not a moment too soon (quite a few moments too late, as a matter of fact), as Roma self-medicated after losing to Manyoo in CL action by defeating a good Udinese team 3-1 to keep pace with Internazionale. Is it too little too late? It is too soon to tell. Host Catania in Coppa Italia action at midweek prior to hosting Livorno over the weekend.

9. Arsenal (Eng) (5) – I’d say something about how the mighty have fallen, but if you’re still ranked in the Top Ten in the world, then it’s not like you’ve fallen all that far, now is it. Well, after to losing to both Liverpool and Manchester United this week, despite having chances in both games, Arsenal is playing out the rest of the season for little more than pride. It should be a good test as to how much pride they still have this weekend as they host Reading.

10. Sao Paulo (Bra) (6) – Mixed results in the Copa Libertadores as they fell this week to Chilean team Audax Italiano, but they did bounce back to defeat Palmeiras in the first leg of the Paulista League semifinals. Go on the road for the return leg this weekend and take the week off in the Copa Libertadores.

11. Estudiantes de la Plata (Arg) (15) – Defeated Apertura Champion Lanus in domestic action this weekend. Finish off their Copa Libertadores group stage duties this week against Deportivo Cuenca. Play a road game against Tigre in the Clausura this weekend as they continue to chase down River Plate.

12. Lyon (Fra) (11) – Are they just trying to make Ligue Un interesting for a change? Draw with Stade Rennes 1-1 this weekend leave Lyon a mere four points ahead of Bordeaux. Host Metz at midweek in the quarterfinals of the French Cup before travelling to play Strasbourg in La Championnat action this weekend.

13. Juventus (Ita) (18) – As you know, I’ve been referring to Juventus as cheating bastards all season. After defeating AC Milan 3-2 this weekend, I will now refer to them as the best cheating bastards in all of Italy. Face two opponents this week in Serie A action this week, playing both Parma (at home) and Atalanta (on the road).

14. Bayern Munchen (Ger) (17) – In what had to be the best game of the week, Luca Toni scored two extra time goals to defeat Getafe and advance to the semifinals of the UEFA Cup. I’m sure it tired them out. Oh, wait, no it didn’t, unless they were tired and Dortmund was just asleep. Yes, Bayern won 5-0. Next week, we get to see a rematch in the DFB Pokal final – hope for a better (at least more competitive) game. In the meantime, Bayer faces Eintracht Frankfurt in Bundesliga action.

15. River Plate (Arg) – Facing a bit easier time in the Clausura, defeating Tigre 1-0, than they are in the Copa Libertadores, Attempt to remedy that situation against Deportivo San Martin at midweek before defending its top spot in the domestic league against Rosario Central this weekend.

16. Fluminense (Bra) (14) – Still leading its Copa Libertadores group, despite falling to Arsenal de Sarandi this week. Advanced to the finals of the Taca Rio, defeating Vasco Da Gama in penalty kicks this weekend. Should be another eventful week for Fluminense this weekend as they host LDU Quito in international action before playing Botafogo in the Taca Rio finals this weekend.

17. Deportivo Saprissa (CRC) (NR) – They’re baaaack. The only CONCACAF team to ride the bonus points into the rankings this week, Saprissa moved to the Champions Cup finals this week by eliminating the Houston Dynamo 3-0. This week, it is only domestic action for Saprissa, where they have begun to struggle recently, as they host Herediano.

18. PSV Eindhoven (Ned) (20) – Had a chance to clinch the Eredivisie this weekend, but failed by managing only a draw against Twente 1-1. Not a pleasant rebound from being eliminated from the UEFA Cup at the hands of Fiorentina. Get another chance to clinch this weekend against Vitesse, if Ajax doesn’t clinch it for them first.

19. Ajax (Ned) (22) – Didn’t get a chance to play this weekend because of flaming toilet paper. I hate flaming toilet paper. It’s cheaper, but I’d rather pay a little more for the non-flaming kind. Enough about me. They get another chance against Groningen this week if the Great 08 Toilet Paper Fire is extinguished, and then host Heracles Almelo over this weekend, which may or may not matter.

20. Everton (Eng) (23) – Dropped the ball against Birmingham City this weekend, drawing 1-1 and almost guaranteeing a return to the UEFA Cup next year. Maybe they can bounce back at home on Thursday against Chelsea, but that will be asking a lot.

21. Sporting CP (Por) (NR) – Doesn’t seem fair after being eliminated by Rangers in the UEFA Cup this week, but they did jump past the oft-overrated Benfica this week in bwin Liga action, so here they are. Host Benfica in the semifinals of the Portugal Cup this week before playing Uniao Leiria in domestic action over the weekend.

22. Bordeaux (Fra) (NR) – Bordeaux returns to the rankings as they move within four points of Lyon in Ligue Un. This week, they face Sedan in Cup action and Toulouse in Ligue action. (Note that I’m tiring, so my commentary is getting shorter.)

23. Cruzeiro (Bra) (25) – Didn’t play this week, which may or not explain why they moved up two notches. Finish up the Copa Libertadores group stage this week against Real Potosi from Bolivia.

24. Villarreal (Esp) (19) – With only ten players for the majority of the match, the Yellow Submarine held its own for most of the match, before ultimately falling to Almeria 0-1 and losing its hold on second place in the Primera Division. Attempt to bounce back this week when they host Valladolid.

25. Benfica (Por) (12) – Last team on the list and it’s probably still better than they deserve after being humiliated by Academica de Coimbra 3-0 this weekend. Still, play two interesting games in the upcoming week, facing number 21 Sporting CP in Cup action and number 6 Porto in liga action this week.

Bubbling Under (alphabetically): DC United (USA), Fiorentina (Ita), Flamengo (Bra), Pachuca (Mex), River Plate (Uru).

Next Five European Teams: (31) Rangers (Sco), (33) Atletico de Madrid (Esp), (34) AC Milan (Ita), (35) Vitoria Guimaraes (Por), (39) Werder Bremen (Ger)

Games Between Top 25 Teams This Week:
16 April – (25) Benfica at (21) Sporting CP
17 April – (2) Chelsea at (20) Everton
20 April – (25) Benfica at (6) Porto

Crystal Soccer Balls - How'd those predictions work out for you?

Another round of European action over and another chance to look back at the predictions to see how they worked out.

The Champions League matchups were a little easier to predict in the quarterfinals. Chelsea and Barcelona victories looked like foregone conclusions, even before the round started. Manchester United looked to face a tougher time against Roma, but without Totti, Roma was facing an uphill battle that they just couldn’t overcome. After a 4-4 record in the first round, we went 3-1 in the second round. Liverpool kept us from perfection, and even that pick was accurate for about 174 minutes, before Arsenal’s defense completely broke down.

After going 12-4 in the first knockout round of the UEFA Cup, the predictions got much tougher in the eighthfinals, as we went only 4-4. As the quarterfinals started, it looked like we were going from bad to worse. Thanks to a minor miracle in Spain, however, Bayern Munchen was able to sneak past Getafe to bring us to 2-2 for the round. The shocker of this round, as in past rounds, was the surprising success of Zenit St. Petersburg who keeps knocking out teams from seemingly better leagues. They will definitely have their hands full with Bayern in the semifinals, and I’ll pick them again, but I’m not sure they can shock me anymore.

Records thus far:
UEFA Cup 18-10
Champions League 7-5
Total 25-15

Weekend Soccer Television Schedule

Once again, there is a lot of great action on American television coming up this weekend. Of course, most eyes will be focused on Sunday’s matchup between Arsenal and Manyoo, but that’s not all. In Italy, six of the top seven teams face off in matches that will have implications in the selection of Italy’s Champions League spots.

Most of the World’s Top 25 Teams are in action, but there’s more. Although Club America hasn’t been playing well domestically in the Clausura, they are doing well in the Copa Libertadores, as is Chivas de Guadalajara. The two teams face off on Sunday night in what should be fun, if nothing else. Is it one of the Top 5 games of the weekend? Let’s see:

Top Five Games of the Weekend:

1. Arsenal at Manchester United (Sunday, 11 am, FSC)
2. Fiorentina at Inter Milan (Sunday, 2:30 pm, FSC)
3. AC Milan at Juventus (Saturday, 2:30 pm, FSC)
4. Roma at Udinese (Sunday, 9 am, FSC)
5. Schalke 04 at Werder Bremen (Saturday, 11:30 am (delayed), GolTV)


Saturday, April 12, 2008

9:30 am – Duisburg at Hamburger (GolTV)
10:00 am – Fulham at Reading (FSC)
10:00 am – Middlesbrough at Tottenham (Setanta)
11:30 am – (16) Schalke 04 at Werder Bremen (Delayed) (GolTV)
12:00 noon – Newcastle United at Portsmouth (FSC)
2:00 pm – Racing Santander at Valencia (GolTV)
2:30 pm – AC Milan at (18) Juventus (FSC)
4:00 pm – (7) Barcelona at Recreativo de Huelva (GolTV)
4:30 pm – Chicago Fire at San Jose Earthquakes (FSC)
4:30 pm – Manchester City at Sunderland (Delayed) (Setanta) (Live at 10am on SBB)
6:00 pm – Tecos at San Luis (Galavision)
6:15 pm – Aston Villa at Derby County (Delayed) (Setanta)
7:30 pm – Chivas USA at Columbus Crew (MLS Direct Kick)
7:30 pm – Colorado Rapids at New England Revolution (MLS Direct Kick)
8:00 pm – LDU Quito at Barcelona (Ecu) (GolTV)
8:00 pm – Houston Dynamo at Kansas City Wizards (HDNET)
8:00 pm – Monarcas at Tigres (Galavision)
8:30 pm – New York Red Bulls at FC Dallas (MLS Direct Kick)
9:00 pm – Real Salt Lake at D.C. United (MLS Direct Kick)
9:00 pm – Catania at Palermo (Delayed) (FSC) (Live at noon on FSE)
10:00 pm – Once Caldas at Deportivo Cali (Delayed) (GolTV)
10:00 pm – Atlante at Necaxa (Galavision)
11:00 pm – (23) Everton at Birmingham (Delayed) (FSC)

Sunday, April 13, 2008

8:30 am – Blackburn Rovers at (8) Liverpool (Setanta)
9:00 am – (4) Roma at Udinese (FSC)
9:00 am – Siena at Lazio (ESPN 360)
11:00 am – (5) Arsenal at (1) Manchester United (FSC)
11:00 am – Borussia Dortmund at (17) Bayern Munchen (GolTV)
12:00 noon – Caen at Bordeaux (Setanta)
1:00 pm – Real Murcia at (10) Real Madrid (GolTV)
1:00 pm – Jaguares at Toluca (Univision)
2:30 pm – (24) Fiorentina at (2) Inter Milan (FSC)
3:00 pm – (19) Villarreal at Almeria (GolTV)
3:00 pm – Nice at Paris St.-Germain (Setanta)
3:00 pm – Toronto FC at Los Angeles Galaxy (TeleFutura)
5:00 pm – Twente at (20) PSV Eindhoven (Delayed) (Setanta)
5:00 pm – Atletico de Madrid at Valladolid (Delayed) (GolTV)
5:00 pm – Boca Juniors at Gimnasia y Esgrima de Jujuy (Delayed) (FSC) (Live at 3pm on FSE)
7:00 pm – Chico at Millonarios (Delayed) (GolTV)
8:30 pm – Club America at Chivas de Guadalajara (TeleFutura)


Non-Televised Games Involving Top 25 Teams:

Sat., 11:00 am – Stade Rennes at (11) Lyon
Sat., 4:15 pm – (9) Porto at Veitoria Setubal
Sat., 5:30 pm – Vasco da Gama at (14) Fluminense (Taca Rio Semifinals)
Sun., 8:30 am – (22) Ajax at FC Groningen
Sun., 12 noon – (13) Fenerbahce at Ankaraspor
Sun., 3:00 pm – Palmeiras at (6) Sao Paulo (Paulista League Semifinals)
Sun., 5:30 pm – Tigre at (21) River Plate

(12) Benfica and (15) Estudiantes play today (Friday). (3) Chelsea plays on Monday. (25) Cruzeiro does not play this weekend.

WCR Top 25 Clubs in the World

This is the last week of relative stagnation in the weekly charts. This week, of course, the semifinalists will be determined in the Champions League and the finalists will be determined in the CONCACAF Champions Cup. What does that mean to the charts? Two things First, it means that national rankings and coefficients will be refigured. This may or may not have a big effect on the rankings, depending upon the results of the week’s matches. Secondly, it means that we will finally dispose of the Moderate Bonus Points (with the exception of South America because it’s too early to be able to narrow those teams down to a final four) and the debut of the Super Bonus Points. The Super Bonus Points are like Moderate Bonus Points, only more . . . well . . . . super. The Moderate Bonus Points will be taken away from the losing quarterfinalists and give to the semifinalists, who will keep them the remainder of the season. This will be the last major upheaval of the rankings this season until more clarification can be made in the Copa Libertadores.

Sorry about that. That was my computer talking. Now that I’m back, what about all of the great games coming up this week? Champions League notwithstanding, there are also some excellent UEFA Cup matchups as Bayern Munchen attempts to shake of Getafe and PSV Eindhoven tries to use its home field advantage to its advantage. Then, this weekend, Arsenal gets a break after facing Liverpool three straight times to play who? Manyoo? So much for a break. AC Milan/Juventus and Inter Milan/Fiorentina also promise to be great games. Do they count as games between Top 25 teams? Let’s see . . .

World Club Rankings Top 25 – April 7, 2008

1. Manchester United (Eng) (1) – Big 2-0 victory in Italy against Roma puts Manyoo in great shape in the Champions League, although a draw against ‘Boro over the weekend have them looking over their shoulder at Chelsea. Play two of the top five teams in the world this week, both at home, facing Roma in the Champions League rematch and Arsenal in a huge Premiership battle.

2. Internazionale (Ita) (2) – Inter defeated Atalanta 2-0 this weekend to maintain its gradually decreasing lead in Serie A. A much tougher battle this weekend as Inter hosts Fiorentina.

3. Chelsea (Eng) (3) – Surprising, though not shocking, loss to Fenerbahce in Turkey last week places Chelsea in the unenviable position of having to play catch up in the Champions League this week. Victory over Man City, however, moved them a few points closer to the top of the Premiership, despite pundits (i.e., me) having written them off long ago. Host Wigan Athletic this weekend in a good opportunity to pick up even more ground on Manyoo.

4. Roma (Ita) (4) – Everyone knew that they’d miss Totti against Manyoo and they did losing 0-2. They’ll miss him again this week. Did manage to squeak past Genoa 3-2 this weekend to keep pace with Inter Milan in domestic action.

5. Arsenal (Eng) (5) – Granted that Liverpool is one of the finer teams in the world, but managing only two points in two games at home this time of year is a recipe for disaster. The third chance comes this week, but Arsenal has to go to Liverpool for this last leg in the trilogy. All of this is a great warmup for a matchup at Old Trafford on Sunday.

6. Sao Paulo (Bra) (6) – Defeated Sportivo Luqueno to maintain the top spot in its Copa Libertadores group and defeated Juventus (not that one) 3-1 to reach the Paulista League playoffs. This week, they travel to Chile to play Audax Italiano in more continental action.

7. Barcelona (Esp) (7)- Didn’t fare any better against Getafe this weekend than Bayern Munchen did last week. Moved a point closer to Villarreal, but since when has that been a reason to party in Barcelona. On a brighter note, they did defeat Schalke 1-0 in Germany to move closer to the Champions League semifinals. Once the second leg is finished, Barcelona can concentrate on Recreativo in Primera Division action.

8. Liverpool (Eng) (8) – Followed up a 1-1 draw in London on Wednesday with a 1-1 draw in London on Sunday. How boring. This week, the Arsenal/Liverpool road show travels to Liverpool for the final act. Host Blackburn Rovers this weekend as they try to stave off the cross-town rivals.

9. Porto (Por) (12) – And it’s official. With a 6-0 victory over Amadora, Porto has won the bwin Superliga. Not that it matters, but they face Vitoria Setubal this weekend.

10. Real Madrid (Esp) (10) – Could manage only a draw against Mallorca this weekend. Fortunately for Real Madrid, nobody else in La Liga wants to win either. Host Real Murcia this weekend as they approach a domestic title to go along with . . . nothing else.

11. Lyon (Fra) (14) – Just to show how fickle the charts can be, Lyon lost to Marseille this week and still moved up the rankings. Why? Circumstances in the Copa Libertadores and the Argentine Clausura wreaked havoc with everyone. For Lyon, havoc is good. Host Stade Rennes this weekend as they defend their increasingly decreasing lead in Ligue Un.

12. Benfica (Por) (15) – Same havoc, same results. At least Benfica did manage a goaless draw this weekend against Boavista to score second place in the bwin. Host Academica Coimbra this week as they look to maintain that position.

13. Fenerbahce (Tur) (13) – Awesome victory over Chelsea last week, but trying to do the same at Stamford Bridge is no easy task. Defeated Kayserispor 2-1 to maintain its Super Ligi lead. Play Ankaraspor this weekend, regardless of what happens in London at midweek.

14. Fluminense (Bra) (NR) – Defeated Libertad (once again) 2-0 to retake the top spot in its Copa Libertadores group. Travel to Argentina to face Copa Sudamericana champions Arsenal in continental action this week.

15. Estudiantes (Arg) (9) – Drew 3-3 against Lanus in Copa Libertadores action this week before scoring a goaless draw against Arsenal de Sarandi in Clausura action. Just to mix things up this week, they will play Lanus again, but this time for Argentine honor, as opposed to South American honor.

16. Schalke 04 (Ger) (21) – As they keep moving up the Bundesliga, they keep moving up the charts. Moved into second place this week after beating Hansa Rostock. (I think they won, anyway. I didn’t see the game.) Will move back down after losing their Moderate Bonus Points, however, unless they can come up with a miracle in Barcelona. Travel to Bremen this weekend in what should be a great Bundesliga match.

17. Bayern Munchen (Ger) (17) – Doesn’t seem fair that they should be behind the second place Bundesliga team does it? Well, then, they shouldn’t have sucked last year. They didn’t suck against Bochum, winning 3-1, but could manage only a draw against Getafe in UEFA Cup action and face an uphill battle in the return match in Spain. Host a tough Borussia Dortmund team this weekend as they shoot for their first consecutive Bundesliga title.

18. Juventus (Ita) (16) – Fall in the rankings after falling 2-3 in Sicily this weekend. Serves the cheating bastards right. Host other cheating bastards this weekend when AC Milan comes to town in a classic cheating bastard derby.

19. Villarreal (Esp) (18) – All good things come to an end. (As do bad things and other things.) So goes Villarreal’s win streak as they fall 0-2 to Sevilla and fail to make up ground on Real Madrid. Should be a little easier this weekend as they play Almeria, but you never know.

20. PSV Eindhoven (Ned) (19) – Managed a draw in Italy against Fiorentina in UEFA Cup action to set themselves in good shape for the return match at home. Moved closer to the Eredivisie title by defeating Heracles Almelo 2-0 this weekend. Host Twente this weekend as they move towards clinching.

21. River Plate (Arg) (11) – Significant fall after falling 4-3 to Club America, who has only two wins in eleven Mexican Clausura matches, in the Copa Libertadores. Managed, nonetheless, to stay atop the Argentine Clausura by defeating Lanus 1-0. Hosts Tigre in domestic action this weekend.

22. Ajax (Ned) (20) – Defeated De Graafschap 4-1 to keep pace with PSV, not that keeping pace is enough any more. Play a road match this weekend against FC Groningen.

23. Everton (Eng) (22) – Kept pace with Liverpool for the final English Champions League spot by defeating Derby County 1-0 this weekend. Play another team that may be bound for relegation in Birmingham City this weekend.

24. Fiorentina (Ita) (24) – Lost serve with a draw at home against PSV in UEFA Cup action but maintained its Italian Champions League position by defeating Reggina 2-0. Two tough road games this week against ranked teams, rematching with PSV at midweek and facing Inter Milan this weekend.

25. Cruzeiro (Bra) (25) – Defeated San Lorenzo 3-1 this week to maintain the lead in its Copa Libertadores group and clinch a spot in the knockout stage. No games for Cruzeiro this week.

Bubbling Under (alphabetically): Atletico de Madrid (Esp), Bordeaux (Fra), AC Milan (Ita), River Plate (Uru), Deportivo Saprissa (Crc)

Numbers 96-100: Almeria (Esp), Napoli (Ita), Lazio (Ita), Botafogo (Bra), Newell’s Old Boys (Arg)

Games Between Top 25 Teams This Week:
8 April – (13) Fenerbahce at (3) Chelsea
8 April – (5) Arsenal at (8) Liverpool
9 April - (4) Roma at (1) Manchester United
9 April – (16) Schalke 04 at (7) Barcelona
10 April – (24) Fiorentina at (20) PSV Eindhoven
13 April – (5) Arsenal at (1) Manchester United
13 April – (24) Fiorentina at (2) Inter Milan

WCR Top 25 (and beyond) Weekend Television Schedule

This is a day or two later than my usual Television Schedule posting, but I’ve been swamped the last few days, not that my personal problems concern you in the least. What does concern you is that there is once again a ton of great football games available from a broadcast provider near you. Not as many great games as last week, but they’re still out there. Ironically, the biggest game of the weekend was also the biggest game of this past midweek and is the biggest game of the coming midweek and the Arsenal/Liverpool trilogy makes a repeat performance in London this weekend before heading to Liverpool during the week.

As always, additional information is appreciated and feel free to post away in the comments section if you can provide additional broadcast info, particularly with regards to the WCR Top 25 teams at the bottom for which I have no information. Also, since I get a lot of hits from places all over the world – and this schedule is USA-centric – feel free to post links to television schedules from your country if you are aware of any. Thanks.

Top Five Games of the Week:

1. Liverpool at Arsenal (Sat, 7:30 am, Setanta)
2. Villarreal at Sevilla (Sun, 1pm, GolTV)
3. Lyon at Marseille (Sun, 2:45 pm, Setanta)
4. River Plate at Lanus (Sun, 11pm, FSC)
5. Hamburger at Stuttgart (Sat, 11:30am, GolTV)

Saturday, April 5, 2008

7:30 am – (8) Liverpool at (5) Arsenal (Setanta)
9:30 am – Werder Bremen at Hertha Berlin (GolTV)
10:00 am – Reading at Newcastle United (FSC)
10:00 am – (3) Chelsea at Manchester City (Setanta)
11:30 am – Hamburger at VfB Stuttgart (Delayed) (GolTV)
12 noon – Bolton Wanderers at Aston Villa (Delayed) (FSC)
2:00 pm – Recreativo at Osasuna (GolTV)
2:30 pm – Cagliari at AC Milan (FSC) (1pm on FSE)
3:00 pm – Amadora at (12) Porto (Setanta Broadband)
4:00 pm – (10) Real Madrid at Mallorca (GolTV)
4:30 pm – Genoa at (4) AS Roma (FSC) (Live at Noon on ESPN 360)
5:00 pm – Colorado Rapids at Kansas City Wizards (MLS Direct Kick)
6:00 pm – Sunderland at Fulham (Delayed) (Setanta) (Live at 10am on SBB)
7:00 pm – Chivas de Guadalajara at Atlante (TeleFutura)
7:15 pm – Deportivo Cali at Independiente Santa Fe (GolTV)
7:30 pm – Columbus Crew at New York Red Bulls (FSC)
7:30 pm – Toronto FC at D.C. United (MLS Direct Kick)
7:45 pm – Tottenham at Blackburn (Delayed) (Setanta)
10:30 pm – Real Salt Lake at Chivas USA (HDNet)

Sunday, April 6, 2008

8:30 am – (1) Manchester United at Middlesbrough (Setanta)
9:00 am – Reggina at (24) Fiorentina (FSC)
9:00 am – (2) Inter Milan at Atalanta (ESPN 360)
11:00 am – Cardiff City at Barnsley (FSC)
11:00 am – Bochum at (17) Bayern Munchen (GolTV)
1:00 pm – (18) Villarreal at Sevilla (GolTV)
1:00 pm – San Luis at UNAM (Univision)
2:30 pm – (16) Juventus at Palermo (FSC)
2:45 pm – (14) Lyon at Marseilles (Setanta)
3:00 pm – Getafe at (7) Barcelona (GolTV)
3:00 pm – FC Dallas at Houston Dynamo (TeleFutura)
4:30 pm – Derby County at (22) Everton (Delayed) (FSC) (Live at 10am on SBB)
5:00 pm – Pachuca at Club America (TeleFutura)
5:00 pm – Almeria at Atletico de Madrid (Delayed) (GolTV)
7:00 pm – Independiente Medellin at Once Caldas (Delayed) (GolTV)
10:00 pm – Bayer Leverkusen at Borussia Dortmund (Delayed) (GolTV)
11:00 pm – (11) River Plate at Lanus (Delayed) (FSC) (Live at 3pm on FSE)
11:00 pm – FC Utrecht at Feyenoord (Delayed) (Setanta)

Other Top 25 Matches

Sat. 9:30am – Hansa Rostock at (21) Schalke 04
Sat. noon – Kayserispor at (13) Fenerbahce
Sat. – Universidad de Costa Rica at (23) Deportivo Saprissa
Sat. 6pm – (9) Estudiantes at Arsenal de Sarandi
Sun. 8:30am – De Graafschap at (20) Ajax
Sun. 8:30am – Heracles Almelo at (19) PSV Eindhoven
Sun. 3pm – Juventus SP at (6) Sao Paulo
Sun. 3:45pm –Academica Coimbra at (15) benfica