Weekend Soccer Television Schedule - 30/31 August 2008

Hail, hail the gang’s all here!!! Finally, all of the top domestic leagues are under way and all of the WCR Top 25 Clubs are in action this weekend except for Manchester United, who plays Zenit St. Petersburg in the UEFA Super Cup on Friday, so you can’t hold that against the weekend.

Not only are all of the clubs in action this weekend, more than half of them will be on American television. It will make for some tough choices as you may have to choose between Werder Bremen and Everton, Schalke and Arsenal, Chelsea or Roma, Bayern Munich or Liverpool and Juventus or Real Madrid. Thank the heavens for Tivo!!!

There is one matchup this weekend in which WCR Top 25 Clubs go head-to-head. That takes place on Sunday afternoon when Fiorentina hosts Juventus. The two most intriguing matches beyond that are not being televised, however. In Portugal, Porto hosts Benfica and in Glasgow, Celtic will host Rangers. I’m sure you can find a local watering hole that will let you watch the Celtic/Rangers derby for a $20 cover charge, but, frankly, I’d rather watch Chelsea for free.

In addition to what I currently have listed below, ESPN 360 will broadcast numerous Italian Serie A games. Once I have a list of the games that it will broadcast, I will add those games to the schedule.

As far at the Top Five Matches of the Weekend are concerned, I was torn among six matches. I’d love to put the Chicago Fire / Houston Dynamo match on the list, but since it isn’t being nationally televised for free, I decided to leave it off. I’m putting the Rangers and Porto matches on the list because of their importance, but the fact that they are not televised keeps either from being number one. I love the fact that I can put the Magpies on the list, since they have started off well. As always, if you have any additional information, please pass it on and I will update the list as needed. Have a great weekend!!!

Top Five Matches of the Weekend:

1. Juventus at Fiorentina (Sun., 2:30 pm, FSC)
2. Rangers at Celtic (Sun., 7:30 am, Not Televised)
3. Porto at Benfica (Sat., 3:45 pm, Not Televised)
4. Liverpool at Aston Villa (Sun., 11:00 am, FSC)
5. Newcastle United at Arsenal (Sat., 12:30 pm, FSC)

Saturday, August 30, 2008

3:35 am – Shandong Luneng at Guangzhou Yiyao (ESPN 360)
7:30 am – Shanghai Shenhua at Zhejiang Lucheng (ESPN 360)
8:00 am – CSKA Moscow at Locomotiv Moscow (ESPN 360)
9:30 am – (13) Werder Bremen at Borussia Monchengladbach (GolTV)
9:45 am – Portsmouth at (24) Everton (Setanta)
10:00 am – Blackburn Rovers at West Ham United (FSC) (SBB)
11:30 am – VfL Bochum at (19) Schalke 04 (GolTV)
12:30 pm – Newcastle United at (7) Arsenal (FSC)
2:00 pm – Valladolid at Espanyol (GolTV)
2:15 pm – West Bromwich Albion at Bolton (Delayed) (Setanta)
2:30 pm – Sampdoria at (2) Inter Milan (FSC)
4:00 pm – Stoke City at Middlesbrough (Delayed) (Setanta)
4:00 pm – Mallorca at Valencia (GolTV)
4:30 pm – Palermo at Udinese (Delayed) (FSC) (Live at noon on ESPN 360)
6:00 pm – Necaxa at Cruz Azul (FSE)
6:00 pm – Santos Laguna at Monterrey (Galavision)
7:20 pm – America de Cali at Deportivo Cali (GolTV)
7:30 pm – New York Red Bulls at D.C. United (FSC)
7:30 pm – Los Angeles Galaxy at New England Revolution (HDNet)
9:00 pm – Columbus Crew at FC Dallas (MLS Direct Kick)
10:00 pm – Kansas City Wizards at San Jose Earthquakes (MLS Direct Kick)
10:00 pm – San Luis at Atlante (TeleFutura)
10:30 pm – Toronto FC at Chivas USA (MLS Direct Kick)

Sunday, August 31, 2008

3:00 am – Central Coast Mariners at Queensland Roar (FSC)
8:30 am – Tottenham Hotspur at (4) Chelsea (Setanta)
9:00 am – Napoli at (6) Roma (FSC)
9:45 am – FC Moscow at Dynamo Moscow (ESPN 360)
11:00 am – Hertha Berlin at (5) Bayern Munich (GolTV)
11:00 am – (15) Liverpool at Aston Villa (FSC)
1:00 pm – (16) Barcelona at Numancia (GolTV)
1:00 pm – Jaguares at Puebla (FSE)
1:00 pm – Atlas at UNAM (Univision)
2:30 pm – (10) Juventus at (23) Fiorentina (FSC)
3:00 pm – (3) Real Madrid at Deportivo La Coruna (GolTV)
4:30 pm – Manchester City at Sunderland (Delayed) (FSC)
5:00 pm – Tigres at Club America (TeleFutura)

5:30 pm - Bologna at (25) AC Milan (Delayed) (FSE)
7:00 pm – Atletico Junior at Tolima (Delayed) (GolTV)
7:00 pm – Chicago Fire at Houston Dynamo (MLS Direct Kick)
11:00 pm – San Lorenzo at River Plate (Delayed) (FSC) (Live at 3 pm on FSE)

Non-Televised Games Involving WCR Top 25 Clubs

Sat. 12:45 pm – (17) Ajax at Willem II
Sat. 2:45 pm – (12) PSV Eindhoven at FC Utrecht
Sat. 3:00 pm – (22) Palmeiras at Atletico-PR
Sat. 3:45 pm – (9) Porto at Benfica
Sun. 7:30 am – Rangers at (18) Celtic
Sun. 11:00 am – (21) Bordeaux at Lille
Sun. 1:00 pm – (14) Villarreal at Osasuna
Sun. 1:10 pm – (20) Boca Juniors at Huracan
Sun. 3:00 pm – Vasco Da Gama at (8) Gremio
Sun. 3:00 pm – (11) Lyon at St. Etienne

What's Going On . . . in all these Super Cups

This is the Super Cup season and its coming to an end. They go by different names, e.g., Community Shield, Recopa Sudamericana, etc., and they tend to come in two forms – domestic and continental. In the domestic versions, they usually take place a week or so before the beginning of the regular season and serve as a tune-up for the upcoming season. Generally, they take place between the previous season’s domestic league champion and the domestic cup champion. In Europe, several have taken place recently. A sample of results is below:

England: (Community Shield) Manchester United 0 Portsmouth 0 (Manchester United won on penalty kicks.)

Italy: Inter Milan 2 Roma 2 (Inter Milan won on penalty kicks.)

Spain: Real Madrid 6 Valencia 5 (Two game aggregate score)

Germany: Borussia Dortmund 2 Bayern Munchen 1

France: Bordeaux 0 Lyon 0 (Bordeaux won on penalty kicks.)

Netherlands: PSV Eindhoven 2 Feyenoord 0

Portugal: Sporting CP 2 Porto 0

That’s what’s gone on this year in Super Cup season. What’s going on in Super Cup season? This week marks the end of continental Super Cup season. Up first, on Wednesday, is the second leg of the two-leg Recopa Sudamericana, which I wrote about a few weeks ago. The Recopa Sudamericana pits the 2007 Copa Libertadores champion (Boca Juniors) against the 2007 Copa Sudamerican champions (Arsenal de Sarandi). After winning the first leg 3-1, Boca Juniors hosts the second leg this week.

In Europe, the current version of the UEFA Super Cup takes place on Friday between the reigning Champions League victor (Manchester United) against the reigning UEFA Cup champs (Zenit St. Petersburg). The match takes place at Stade Louis II in Monaco. While the Super Cup and Recopa Sudamericana, like the domestic Super Cups, are little more than exhibitions, hardware is hardware and you should always take it when you can.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008 – Recopa Sudamericana
Arsenal de Sarandi at (20) Boca Juniors

Friday, August 29, 2008 – UEFA Super Cup
(1) Manchester United vs. Zenit St. Petersburg

WCR Top 25 Clubs in the World - Plan A Edition

If you’re reading this, then we should congratulate Manchester United on defeating Portsmouth on Monday. This week, I ran the numbers on each of three scenarios, a United win, a United draw and a United loss. The only scenario that keeps Manchester United on top is a victory over Portsmouth. Since I don’t know if I’ll have a chance to do this article on Monday, I’m going to go ahead and draft it now, assuming the most likely outcome. I’ll set my site not to post it until after the match, so I have time to change it if that outcome doesn’t take place – in which case, I’ll rerank the clubs, rewrite this paragraph and you’ll never see it.

It was a tough week for a few teams at the top of the list as Arsenal was upset by Fulham, Roma lost a heartbreaker to Inter Milan and Bayern could manage only a draw against Dortmund, though they put up quite a fight to do that. As was the case last week, there is very little movement in the rankings this week as this season’s stats count only as a continuation of last season’s stats until Matchday Five for each league. Substantial movement will take place once we get there, but the rankings will remain semi-rigid until then. (Unless Manchester United didn’t win today, in which case, you’ll see a change at the top this week.)

With the Olympics winding down, I got back into my old habit of watching way more football that any person has the right to do. The highlights of the weekend had to be the Super Cups in Italy and Spain. In Italy, the match was heavily contested the whole way and, after extra time, saw Inter Milan defeat AS Roma on penalty kicks. In Spain, Real Madrid was down in the aggregate and down to nine players when they kicked things into high gear and stole the cup from out of Valencia’s hands.

There’s one match in the coming week among WCR Top 25 clubs, as Fiorentina hosts Juventus in both clubs’ Italian Serie A season debut. In addition, a pair of classic rivalries are renewed this weekend when Celtic takes on Rangers and Porto takes on Benfica. While you wait for those matches, there are tons of international club matches during the week as UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup qualifiers continue, as does the Copa Sudamericana, the debut of the CONCACAF Champions League, and the UEFA Super Cup and Recopa Sudamericana finale. Perhaps most importantly, this weekend is the first weekend of the season in which all WCR Top 25 Clubs are in action. I may have to quit my job in order to catch all the action, but I’m pretty sure it would be worth it. You can make your own judgment with respect to your job.

World Club Rankings – Top 25 – August 25, 2008

1. Manchester United (Eng) (1) – As discussed above, if Manchester United is still in the top spot, they must have defeated Portsmouth today. If they hadn’t, I would have changed this before you had a chance to read it. The upcoming excitement for United this week come in the form of the UEFA Super Cup, when Manchester United takes on UEFA Cup champions Zenit St. Petersburg on Friday.

2. Inter Milan (Ita) (2) – The season hasn’t even started yet and Jose Mourinho has already brought some hardware to Milan. Are you watching, Chelsea? The hardware was in the form of the Italian Super Coppa, where Inter defeated Roma on penalty kicks after a 2-2 battle. Inter starts the defense of its Serie A title this weekend against Sampdoria on Saturday.

3. Real Madrid (Esp) (3) – Perhaps Real Madrid should play nine men every game. Their nine were considerably better than Valencia’s eleven in the second leg of the Spanish Super Cup, which Real Madrid won 4-2. The Spanish Primera Division kicks off this weekend and Real Madrid will take on Deportivo La Coruna as it attempts to defend its title.

4. Chelsea (Eng) (4) – Chelsea wasn’t as impressive this weekend as it was last weekend, but it was impressive enough to defeat Wigan Athletic 1-0. Chelsea will host Tottenham this weekend in Premiership action.

5. Bayern Munich (Ger) (5) – Bayern is one of those clubs that is benefitting by having this season’s and last season’s numbers combined, even if it is temporary. Actually, Bayern played very well this weekend as they were shorthanded almost the entire game against Borussia Dortmund and still managed a 1-1 draw. These draws, however, aren’t going to win another Bundesliga title or keep them in the Top Ten once last season’s numbers drop away. In desperate need of a victory, Bayern hosts Hertha Berlin on Saturday.

6. Roma (Ita) (6) – On the verge of winning the Super Coppa, Roma suffered a heartbreaking loss to Inter Milan yesterday. In the big scheme of things, however, that’s probably not that important. What is important is getting to play in a Super Coppa, because it means you either won the Coppa Italia or the Scudetto. The first step in winning this season’s Serie A title takes place on Sunday when Roma hosts Napoli.

7. Arsenal (Eng) (7) – Like Bayern, Arsenal will have to pick things up soon if it wants to remain in the Top Ten after last season’s numbers drop off. Losing 0-1 to Fulham (and falling a point behind Newcastle United) is not a good sign. This week, Arsenal hosts FC Twente, where it will try to qualify for the Champions League group stage. This weekend, Arsenal hosts Newcastle United at Emirates Stadium. (No offense Gunner fans – but Go Magpies!!!)

8. Gremio (Bra) (8) – Gremio had a rough time this week, taking only a single point in two matches, including a 1-1 draw with Nautico. Gremio’s once-huge lead is down to five points. This week, Gremio plays its home match against Internacional in the Copa Sudamericana and hosts Vasco Da Gama in Serie A play.

9. Porto (Por) (9) – Porto began its defense of the bwin Superliga title this weekend with a 2-0 victory over Os Belenenses. This weekend’s matchup for Porto will be against archrival SL Benfica.

10. Juventus (Ita) (11) – With a 4-0 lead, Juventus should have no problems this week advancing to the Champions League proper against Artmedia. Sunday’s Serie A debut may be a little more difficult when they travel to take on Fiorentina.

11. Lyon (Fra) (12) – As expected, Lyon ended Grenoble’s short-lived reign at the top of Ligue Un, defeating Grenoble 2-0. Now tied for first, Lyon takes on St. Etienne on Sunday.

12. PSV Eindhoven (Ned) (10) – PSV continued its dominance of domestic competition by defeating Feyenoord this weekend to win the Dutch Super Cup. The Eredivisie gets underway this weekend and PSV starts off its title defense against FC Utrecht.

13. Werder Bremen (Ger) (13) – Took on Schalke 04 this weekend and walked away with a 1-1 draw, which wasn’t a horrible result, considering the competition. This week, Bremen takes on Bundesliga returnee Borussia Monchengladbach.

14. Villarreal (Esp) (14) – Villarreal’s season finally gets underway this weekend when it takes on Osasuna.

15. Liverpool (Eng) (15) – ‘Pool fans are upset with me because of this ranking, but Liverpool looks to be a team that should shoot up the rankings very quickly after last season’s numbers fall away. Two matches, two victories for Liverpool as it defeated Middlesbrough 2-1 this weekend. Nothing but a victory will do this week when Liverpool faces Standard Liege, if Liverpool wants to advance in the Champions League. Premiership action returns over the weekend when Liverpool takes on Aston Villa.

16. Barcelona (Esp) (16) – Will Barcelona improve upon last season’s disappointing third-place finish? If so, by how much? We’re getting to the time to start getting answers. Barcelona should face little competition from Wisla Krakow in Champions League qualifiers this week and, perhaps, even less against Numancia this weekend as it starts off its Primera Division season.

17. Ajax (Ned) (17) – The Eredivisie is about to start and for Ajax, it begins against Willem II Tiburg on Saturday.

18. Celtic (Sco) (18) – Celtic has looked good in this young season, defeating Falkirk 3-0 this weekend. The match that everybody looks forward to takes place this weekend as the next page in the Celtic – Rangers Glasgow derby is written.

19. Schalke 04 (Ger) (20) – Drawing 1-1 with Werder Bremen, in Bremen, is not an easy accomplishment. Schalke’s big match of the week takes place in Spain, where Schalke takes its 1-0 lead into the away match of its Champions League qualifier against Atletico de Madrid. On Saturday, Schalke takes on VfL Bochum in Bundesliga action.

20. Boca Juniors (Arg) (NR) – With a 2-1 come from behind victory against Lanus, Boca Juniors returns to the Top 25. Boca takes on Arsenal this week in the home match of the Recopa Sudamericana, where it holds a 3-1 lead. In domestic action next weekend, Boca will take on Huracan.

21. Bordeaux (Fra) (21) – Bordeaux defeated Nantes 2-0 this weekend in Ligue Un action. Next weekend, Bordeaux’s opponent will be Lille.

22. Palmeiras (Bra) (25) – With a 4-2 victory over Portuguesa this weekend, Palmeiras moves into second place in the Brasileiro Serie A and to within five points of Gremio. Palmeiras will take on Atletico Paranaense this coming weekend.

23. Fiorentina (Ita) (22) – Fiorentina looks to reach the promised land this week as it takes its 2-0 lead to Prague to face Slavia with a Champions League group stage spot on the line. On Sunday, Fiorentina will host Juventus in both clubs’ opening Serie A match.

24. Everton (Eng) (24) – Everton took care of business this weekend, defeating West Bromwich Albion 2-1. Everton will host Portsmouth, who already has taken on Chelsea and Manchester United, this weekend.

25. AC Milan (Ita) (25) – Milan has a lot to prove this season, like proving that it shouldn’t be ranked this low, but it has had little opportunity to prove much yet. Milan can start proving things this weekend in Serie A when they host Bologna.

Bubbling Under (alphabetically): Atletico de Madrid (Esp), Cruzeiro (Bra), Hamburger (Ger), Rangers (Sco), Sevilla (Esp)

CAF: (108) ES Sahel (Tun), (137) Al Ahly (Egy), (154) Club Africain (Tun), (160) El Ismaily (Egy), (191) Petrojet (Egy)

Matches Between Top 25 Clubs This Week:
31 August – (10) Juventus at (23) Fiorentina

Weekend Soccer Television Schedule - 23/24 August 2008

Somebody, please correct me because I hope I’m wrong, but it appears that the Italian Super Coppa isn’t being televised anywhere in the U.S. How is a match between Inter Milan and Roma not televised? Sad, sad, sad. Maybe it is somewhere, but I can’t find it.

I did find a lot, though. The highlight of the week, for me, will be the Schalke 04 / Werder Bremen match, witch pits two WCR Top 25 Clubs. Also, as usual, there is a full slate of English action on tap. I’m anxious to see if Newcastle United can keep its hot streak alive and see how both Manchester United and Portsmouth bounce back on Monday.

There is also some good MLS action this weekend for a change. (Not that there’s not good MLS action, just that it always seems to be at midweek.) I think I’d call the Real Salt Lake / Columbus Crew the best of the matchups this week, but you can make your own mind up about that. (I should not that I believe the Univision site is a little slow in posting weekend action this week, so I’ll update that information when it becomes available.)

As usual, there’s also an array of action from all over the place: Russia and Japan on ESPN 360, Colombia and Uruguay on GolTV, Australia on FSC. This is the last weekend before Italy, Spain and the Netherlands kick in, so get ready. Have a good weekend!!!

Top Five Games of the Weekend:

1. Inter Milan vs Roma (Sunday, 2:45 pm, Not Televised)
2. Schalke 04 at Werder Bremen (Saturday, 11:30 am, GolTV)
3. Valencia at Real Madrid (Sunday, 3 pm, FSC)
4. Manchester United at Portsmouth (Monday, 3pm, FSC)
5. Real Salt Lake at Columbus Crew (Saturday, 7:30 pm, MLS Direct Kick)


Saturday, August 23, 2008

6:00 am – Vissel Kobe at Gamba Osaka (ESPN 360)
9:30 am – (5) Bayern Munich at Borussia Dortmund (GolTV)
9:30 am – Middlesbrough at (15) Liverpool (Setanta)
10:00 am – Dynamo Moscow at Spartak Moscow (ESPN 360)
10:00 am – Sunderland at Tottenham (FSC)
11:30 am – (20) Schalke 04 at (13) Werder Bremen (Delayed) (GolTV)
12:30 pm – (7) Arsenal at Fulham (FSC)
2:30 pm – Aston Villa at Stoke City (Delayed) (FSC)
2:30 pm – Nacional at Juventud (GolTV)
5:00 pm – Bolton Wanderers at Newcastle United (Delayed) (Setanta) (Live at 10am on SBB)
6:00 pm – Monterrey at Cruz Azul (ESPND)
6:45 pm – (24) Everton at West Bromwich Albion (Delayed) (Setanta)
7:15 pm – Independiente Medellin at America de Cali (GolTV)
7:30 pm – New England Revolution at Toronto FC (FSC)
7:30 pm – Real Salt Lake at Columbus Crew (MLS Direct Kick)
7:30 pm – Colorado Rapids at D.C. United (MLS Direct Kick)
8:00 pm – Toluca at Indios (FSE)
8:00 pm – FC Dallas at Kansas City Wizards (MLS Direct Kick)
10:30 pm – San Jose Earthquakes at Chivas USA (HDNet)

Sunday, August 24, 2008

3:00 am – Adelaide United at Queensland Roar (FSC)
7:00 am – Zenit St. Petersburg at Krylia Sovetov (ESPN 360)
8:30 am – (5) Chelsea at Wigan Athletic (Setanta)
11:00 am – West Ham United at Manchester City (FSC)
11:00 am – Eintracht Frankfurt at Cologne (GolTV)
1:00 pm – Monarcas at Puebla (FSE)
2:30 pm – Penarol at Wanderers (GolTV)
3:00 pm – Houston Dynamo at New York Red Bulls (TeleFutura)
4:00 pm – Valencia at (3) Real Madrid (FSC)
6:00 pm – Lanus at Boca Juniors (Delayed) (FSC) (Live at 3pm on FSE)
6:30 pm – Millonarios at Pereira (GolTV)

Monday, August 25, 2008

3:00 pm – (1) Manchester United at Portsmouth (Setanta)

Non-Televised Games Involving Top 25 Clubs

Sat., 10:00 am – Falkirk at (18) Celtic
Sat., Noon – (10) PSV Eindhoven vs Feyenoord
Sat., 3:00 pm – Grenoble at (12) Lyon
Sun., 2:15 pm – Os Belenenses at (9) Porto
Sun., 2:45 pm – (2) Inter Milan vs. (6) AS Roma
Sun., 3:00 pm – Portuguesa at (25) Palmeiras
Sun., 3:00 pm – Nantes at (21) Bordeaux
Sun., 5:10 pm – (19) Cruzeiro at Santos
Sun., 5:10 pm – (8) Gremio at Nautico

WCR Top 25 Clubs in the World - 18 August 2008

I think we can say that we are now well underway to the start of the season. Action kicked off again in England, Germany and Argentina this past weekend and picks up in Portugal this coming weekend. We also have Super Cup action in the Netherlands, Italy and Spain on the horizon and it’s just another couple weeks before those nations are full throttle again. Oh, how I’ve missed it.

This week’s WCR Top 25 does not provide a great difference from last week’s. This is a data-driven countdown. As I explained in the Pre-Season Edition of the Top 25, for the first five weeks of each domestic league’s new season, data from this season will be added to data from last season in order to work the numbers. The reasons for this are clear after just a week or two as it is obviously too early to put clubs like Hull City and Grenoble in my top ten. That’s not to say they won’t make it (although, it’s probably a safe bet that they won’t), it’s just that there needs to be additional data before they qualify for a ranking.

The result is that Manchester United is still in the pole position, though it maintained the apex by only the skin of its teeth after managing only a draw at home against Newcastle United. There has been some movement in the rankings – and that movement will become very fluid after each club has played at least five matches, but for this week, the list is pretty static. Still, this is an opportunity to link to stories of the weekend’s action and highlight what is coming up in the coming week. Enjoy.

World Club Rankings – Top 25 – August 18, 2008

1. Manchester United (Eng) (1) – How badly do they miss Cristiano Ronaldo. While it’s true that Shay Given played well, Man United looked like a team in desperate need of a striker in its 1-1 draw with Newcastle United. Another match like this and Manchester United can forget about the top spot, defending European Champions or not. United is off until next Monday when they travel to Portsmouth for their next Premiership match.

2. Inter Milan (Ita) (2) – No matches of any significance this past week. That changes on Sunday when Inter takes on fellow powerhouse Roma in the Italian Super Cup.

3. Real Madrid (Esp) (3) – Real Madrid fell 2-3 to Valencia in the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup. On Saturday, Real Madrid will get a chance to seek revenge against their Spanish foes in the final tune up for the Primera Division season.

4. Chelsea (Eng) (5) – Chelsea moves up a notch by crushing poor Portsmouth 4-0 in both clubs’ Premiership debut. Chelsea is on the verge of moving up three more notches following Manchester United’s stumble. Chelsea’s victim, I mean opponent, this coming weekend is Wigan Athletic.

5. Bayern Munchen (Ger) (4) – Bayern could not hold on to a 2-0 lead against a tough Hamburger team this past weekend in a match that ended in a 2-2 draw. Bayern will look to bounce back this weekend when it takes on Borussia Dortmund.

6. Roma (Ita) (6) – Like Inter, Roma is coming off of a week in which it saw no action of significance, but that ends this weekend when last year’s two top clubs in Italy’s Serie A face off in the Italian Super Cup.

7. Arsenal (Eng) (7) – Arsenal is far off from reaching Manchester United themselves in the two-year aggregate numbers after defeating West Bromwich Albion 1-0. This was after Arsenal defeated FC Twente 2-0 in the Netherlands to take an overwhelming lead in the Champions League qualifiers. Arsenal hits the road this weekend to take on Fulham in Premier League action.

8. Gremio (Bra) (8) – Gremio looked lackluster against fellow-Brazilian club Internacional in its 1-1 draw in the Copa Sudamericana, but was able to defeat defending Serie A champion Sao Paolo 1-0 in domestic action this weekend, extending its lead. This week sees Gremio playing two away matches in three days when it takes on Flamengo and Nautico in Brasileiro Serie A action.

9. Porto (Por) (9) – Porto fell 0-2 to Sporting CP in Portugal’s Super Cup action this past weekend, but it’ll take more than that to drop Porto out after its dominant performance in the bwin Liga last year. The new season starts this weekend when Porto takes on Os Belenenses.

10. PSV Eindhoven (Ned) (12) – PSV moves up two notches despite doing nothing of note over the past week. Funny how that happens sometimes. This weekend, PSV will play a match of note when it takes on Feyenoord in the Dutch Super Cup.

11. Juventus (Ita) (10) – Juve defeated Slovakian club Artmedia Petrzalka 4-0 to all but secure its advancement to the group stage of the Champions League. No matches of note take place for Juventus in the upcoming week.

12. Lyon (Fra) (11) – Lyon could manage no more than a goalless draw against Lorient this past weekend. The hiccup puts Grenoble on top of the Ligue Un standings two weeks into the season. Lyon will try to remedy that when they host Grenoble on Saturday.

13. Werder Bremen (Ger) (13) – Like archrival Bayern Munich, Bremen could manage only a 2-2 draw against Arminia Bielefeld in its Bundesliga premier this past weekend. In what should be one of the matches of the week, Bremen hosts Schalke 04 on Saturday in domestic action.

14. Villarreal (Esp) (14) – Nothing of significance took place on the field for Villarreal this past week and I don’t expect anything in the coming week, either.

15. Liverpool (Eng) (15) – ‘Pool bounced back from a disappointing goalless draw against Standard Liege in Champions League qualifying action to defeat Sunderland 1-0 in its opening Premiership match. Liverpool tries to build on that success at home this weekend against Middlesbrough.

16. Barcelona (Esp) (16) – Barcelona defeated Wisla Krakow handily, 4-0, in its first Champions League match of the season, before defeating Boca Juniors (I’m sorry for mentioning a friendly) over the weekend. There are no consequential matches involving Barca this week.

17. Ajax (Ned) (17) – There were no noteworthy matches involving Ajax this week and there are none upcoming.

18. Celtic (Sco) (18) – Celtic slipped up a little this past weekend scoring only a 1-1 draw against Dundee United. This weekend’s SPL match for Celtic is at home against Falkirk.

19. Cruzeiro (Bra) (19) – Cruzeiro maintained second place in the Brasileiro Serie A with a 4-1 defeat of Vitoria. Cruzeiro plays two interesting away matches this week in domestic action against Botafogo and Santos.

20. Schalke 04 (Ger) (20) – Unlike the other ranked German teams, Schalke was impressive in its opening Bundesliga match, scoring a 3-0 victory over Hannover 96. This victory was on the heels of Schalke’s 1-0 defeat of Atletico de Madrid in the best Champions League qualifying matchup of the year. Before Schalke plays the return match against Atletico, it will have to face Werder Bremen in a battle of ranked clubs.

21. Bordeaux (Fra) (21) – Bordeaux went to Paris and fell to PSG 0-1 in Ligue Un action, making its spot in the rankings that much more tenuous. Bordeaux needs to bounce back this weekend and will look to do that when they host Nantes on Sunday.

22. Fiorentina (Ita) (22) – Fiorentina defeated Slavia Praha 2-0 to take a big step towards the Champions League group stage. This week, there are no consequential matches involving Fiorentina.

23. AC Milan (Ita) (24) – AC Milan is pretty much idle, at least as far as significant matches are concerned, until the beginning of the Italian Serie A in a few weeks.

24. Everton (Eng) (23) – Like Manchester United, Everton is holding on to this position based on last season’s numbers and not by virtue of its 2-3 defeat at the hands of Blackburn Rovers. Everton should be able to improve on that result against West Bromwich Albion, but they appear to be on the verge of exiting the Top 25.

25. Palmeiras (Bra) (NR) – Palmeiras returns to the rankings despite falling 1-3 to Vasco da Gama in the Copa Libertadores by virtue of its 1-0 defeat of Coritiba this weekend. As they try to hold back the Brazilian clubs knocking on its third-place door, Palmeiras takes on Internacional and Portuguesa in the upcoming week.

Bubbling Under (alphabetically): Atletico de Madrid (Esp), Boca Juniors (Arg), Rangers (Sco), River Plate (Arg), Sevilla (Esp)

Next Five CONMEBOL: (32) Botafogo (Bra), (33) CD Olmedo (Ecu), (41) Sao Paolo (Bra), (42) River Plate (Uru), (49) Flamengo (Bra)

Matches Between Top 25 Clubs This Week:
23 August – (20) Schalke 04 at (13) Werder Bremen
24 August – (2) Inter Milan vs. (6) AS Roma

WCR Premier League - Fantasy Football

Are you ready for some fantasy football? It's about that time of year, so I've started a fantasy league on the official Barclay's Premier League website. The league is called WCR Premier League and the code to join is 273430-61080. It costs nothing to join and takes as little or as much time as you like to maintain from week to week. A few of us from last year have joined and we'd like to add whoever else would like to participate.

I don't have much to offer in terms of prizes, but the winner will receive an opportunity to post an entry on this site bragging about how brilliant he/she is and how much of an idiot I am. There will also be occasional posts on this site regarding the status of those participating. It should be fun. So, if you've ever wanted to play fantasy football and would like to play in a league with like-minded folks, please join.

Another feature on the Barclay's Premier League site is an I Know The Score contest, allowing participants to compete with respect to predicting the scores of EPL games. I've started an ITKS league on the Barclay's Premier League site, as well. That league is called WCR ITKS and the code is FC710-KOH. If you have any problems joining either league, send me an e-mail at empshel (at) worldclubrankings.com and I will send you a link to join. Hope to see you there!!!

Weekend Soccer Television Schedule - 16/17 August 2008

We are not yet at full strength in world club action, but we are well on our way as the top domestic league in the world begins this weekend when Arsenal hosts West Brom at Emirates Stadium. Between FSC and Setanta, all of the top English clubs will be on a television near you this weekend. In addition to the premier of the Premiership, the beginning of the Bundesliga season occurs this weekend, giving GolTV something other than South American action to broadcast. (GolTV will also have the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup on Sunday, with Valencia hosting Real Madrid.)

Perhaps the best game of the weekend will not take place this weekend. It occurs on Friday, when Bayern Munchen and Hamburger kick off the Bundesliga season. The only matchup between WCR Top 25 clubs this weekend takes place in a friendly between Boca Juniors and Barcelona, which will be televised live on Saturday on ESPN Deportes.

Of course, there will be plenty of action from the MLS and Mexican Primera Division every time you turn around this weekend. The match of the weekend among these clubs will be the Real Salt Lake / Houston match for the top of the MLS Western Division.

Does anybody know if Setanta lost its rights to broadcast Ligue Un action in the U.S. because this is the second weekend in a row when there is no broadcast of French action. Anyway, there is plenty of action to watch. Below are my picks for the Top Five matches of the weekend. Below that is the list of all of the weekend’s action. Have a good weekend!!!

Top Five Matches of the Weekend:

1. Real Madrid at Valencia (Sunday, 4:00 pm, GolTV)
2. Portsmouth at Chelsea (Sunday, 8:30 am – Setanta)
3. Newcastle United at Manchester United (Sunday, 11:00 am, FSC)
4. Barcelona at Boca Juniors (Saturday, 4:00 pm, ESPND)
5. Real Salt Lake at Houston Dynamo (Saturday, 8:30 pm, MLS Direct Kick)

Saturday, August 16, 2008

7:30 am – West Bromwich Albion at (7) Arsenal (Setanta)
9:30 am – Borussia Dortmund at Bayer Leverkusen (GolTV)
9:45 am – Tottenham Hostspur at Middlesbrough (Setanta)
10:00 am – Blackburn Rovers at (23) Everton (FSC)
11:30 am – Saturn at Lokomotiv Moscow (ESPN 360)
11:30 am – Hannover 96 at (20) Schalke 04 (Delayed) (GolTV)
12:30 pm – (15) Liverpool at Sunderland (FSC)
2:15 pm – Fulham at Hull City (Delayed) (Setanta)
2:30 pm – Wigan Athletic at West Ham United (Delayed) (FSC)
4:00 pm – Stoke City at Bolton Wanderers (Delayed) (Setanta)
4:00 pm – (16) Barcelona vs. (25) Boca Juniors (ESPND)
7:00 pm – Atlante at Jaguares (FSE)
7:00 pm – Millonarios at Quindio (GolTV)
7:30 pm – FC Dallas at Columbus Crew (FSC)
8:00 pm – Tecos at Monterrey (TeleFutura)
8:30 pm – DC United at Chicago Fire (MLS Direct Kick)
8:30 pm – Real Salt Lake at Houston Dynamo (MLS Direct Kick)
9:30 pm – Kansas City Wizards at Colorado Rapids (MLS Direct Kick)
10:00 pm – San Luis at Atlas (Delayed) (Galavision)
10:00 pm – New England Revolution at San Jose Earthquakes (HDNet)

Sunday, August 17, 2008

8:30 am – Portsmouth at (5) Chelsea (Setanta)
3:00 am – Perth Glory at Adelaide United (FSC)
11:00 am – Newcastle United at (1) Manchester United (FSC)
11:00 am – VfB Stuttgart at Borussia Monchengladbach (GolTV)
12 noon – Shinnik at Zenit St. Petersburg (ESPN 360)
1:00 pm – UNAM at Monarcas (ESPND)
1:00 pm – Puebla at Toluca (Univision)
1:00 pm – Manchester City at Aston Villa (Delayed) (FSC)
4:00 pm – (3) Real Madrid at Valencia (FSC)
5:00 pm – Chivas de Guadalajara at Necaxa (TeleFutura)
5:00 pm – Toronto FC at New York Red Bulls (MLS Direct Kick)
6:00 pm – Rosario Central at River Plate (Delayed) (FSC) (Live at 3pm on FSE)
6:00 pm – Atletico Junior at Deportivo Cali (GolTV)

Non-Televised Matches Involving Top 25 Clubs

Sat., 9:30am – (13) Werder Bremen at Arminia Bielefeld
Sat., 10am – (18) Celtic at Dundee United
Sat., 3pm – (21) Bordeaux at Paris Saint Germain
Sat., 3:45pm – Sporting CP vs. (9) Porto
Sat., 5:30pm – Vitoria at (19) Cruzeiro
Sun., 10am – (11) Lyon at Lorient
Sun., 3pm – Sao Paulo at (8) Gremio

What's Going On . . . in the Recopa Sudamericana

Yes, we are talking about the Recopa Sudamericana – not to be confused with the Copa Sudamericana, which is also going on at the moment and in which the same two clubs participating in the Recopa have or will also participate.

What is the Recopa Sudamericana? The Recopa Sudamericana is the South American equivalent to the UEFA Super Cup. Unlike the UEFA Super Cup, the Recopa is a two-leg home-and-away championship, similar to the Copa Libertadores. The Recopa matches up the winners of the Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana. There is a lag, however, between the time that the Libertadores winner plays in the Recopa. For that reason, the most recent Copa Libertadores champion, LDU Quito, will not play in the instant Recopa. Rather, this year’s Recopa pits 2007 Libertadores champions Boca Juniors against 2007 Sudamericana champions Arsenal de Sarandi.

What has happened in the Recopa Sudamericana? Nothing yet, at least this year. This is the sixteenth installment of the championship since 1989. (The event was not held between 1999 and 2002.) In the prior fifteen events, five have been won by Argentine clubs, five by Brazilian clubs and five by clubs from other nations. This is the fourth time it has been held in the current format, with Boca Juniors winning two of the other three.

What’s going on in the Recopa Sudamericana? The Recopa begins this evening with Arsenal de Sarandi hosting Boca Juniors in Avellaneda, Argentina. The second leg will take place in Buenos Aires in two weeks. Current WCR Top 25 club Boca Juniors should be favored over Arsenal, which has been inconsistent since winning the Copa Sudamericana in 2007, but anything can happen, of course. The matches will be televised live here in the U.S. on Fox Sports Espanol. If you get a chance to catch the matches, it should be worth your time.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

(25) Boca Juniors at Arsenal de Sarandi

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Arsenal de Sarandi at (25) Boca Juniors

WCR Top 25 Clubs in the World - France, Scotland and Argentina Begin

Another week and another Top 25 ranking. As you can probably guess, this week’s list has only minor modifications from last week’s list. So why do it? This week, the majority of clubs in the rankings play meaningful matches, so consider this an update on what’s going on for each of the top clubs in the world.

As usual, the list below includes links to recently played matches for nearly all of the clubs in the Top 25. This week will be the last week with links to stories about friendlies because, frankly, they just don’t matter much and there are more important things going on in the world of football. Like what, you ask? This past week, the Scottish Premier League, Ligue Un and the Argentine Primera Division began. That’s not to mention (though I now mention it) the Brasileiro Serie A, which hit its midpoint this past week. This coming week marks the beginning of the regular season in the Premiership and Bundesliga.

On top of this, we have WCR Top 25 clubs participating in the UEFA Champions League and Copa Sudamericana. Also, the UEFA Cup picks up again this week. With all of this going on (and since I’ve got a touch of Olympic Fever), I won’t be spending too much time worrying about what’s going on in friendly competitions.

Below is the current list of the Top 25 clubs in the world:

World Club Rankings Top 25 - August 11, 2008

1. Manchester United (Eng) (1) – After ranting about friendlies above, I’ll start off with saying that I don’t think the Community Shield match is a true “friendly.” Manchester United started this season the way they ended last season – with a draw in regulation and good luck in a penalty kick competition, defeating Portsmouth this time, 0-0. Personally, I’m hoping this short-handed club remains scoreless when they open up the defense of their Premiership title this weekend against Newcastle United.

2. Inter Milan (Ita) (2) – This weekend, Inter drew with Sevilla and defeated Ajax 1-0 to come in second place in the Amsterdam International Tournament. (Yes, a friendly tournament.) I throw that in there because they have nothing of note coming up in the upcoming week.

3. Real Madrid (Esp) (3) – Real Madrid took place in an intercontinental friendly this past week, defeating Colombia’s Santa Fe 2-1. This weekend, Real travels to Valencia to play in the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup.

4. Bayern Munchen (Ger) (4) – It took a lot more work than it should have, but Bayern did manage a 4-3 victory over Rot-Wei Erfurt in the DFB Pokal. The Bundesliga season begins this Friday in what promises to be an awesome match as Bayern hosts Hamburger.

5. Chelsea (Eng) (5) – I don’t know of anything that went on with Chelsea this past week, but next week will be different as Chelsea hosts Portsmouth in its opening Premiership match.

6. Roma (Ita) (6) – AS Roma does not play a meaningful match this week. That’s probably good. They should sit in their locker room, hold hands, and discuss how Tottenham Hotspur put up five goals against them and how that should never happen to a club that is supposed to be this good.

7. Arsenal (Eng) (7) – When they play a friendly tournament at home, they tie for last place. When they travel to Amsterdam and do it, they defeat the hosts and tie Sevilla 1-1 and win the whole thing. All these friendlies are over, though. This week, action begins in earnest as Arsenal goes back to the Netherlands to take on Twente in Champions League preliminary action and begin Premiership action, hosting West Bromwich Albion.

8. Gremio (Bra) (8) – Gremio continues to dominate Serie A in Brazil, defeating Ipatinga 1-0 and Atletico-MG 4-0 this past week. Coming up, Gremio begins its play in the Copa Sudamericana against Internacional and then host Sao Paulo in Serie A action over the weekend.

9. Porto (Por) (9) – Defeated Lazio 2-1 in a friendly this evening. The first meaningful match of the season takes place this coming weekend for Porto when they face Sporting CP in the Portuguese Super Cup.

10. Juventus (Ita) (10) – We still have a few weeks before the Italian Serie A gets underway, but Juventus gets an early start on the season when they play in the third qualifying round of the Champions League. This week, Juventus hosts Slovakian club Artmedia Petrzalka.

11. Lyon (Fra) (12) – Lyon began the defense of its 248 consecutive Ligue Un titles this evening by defeating Toulouse 3-0. Next Sunday Lyon plays an away match against Lorient as it continues its defense.

12. PSV Eindhoven (Ned) (11) – PSV came to England for the week, drawing twice against Premier League clubs Newcastle United (2-2) and Everton (1-1). There are no matches of note this week for PSV.

13. Werder Bremen (Ger) (13) – I would have been disappointed if Werder Bremen scored less than eight goals in its first DFB Pokal match of the season. Bremen did not disappoint, defeating Nordhorn 9-3. Bundesliga action begins for Bremen on Saturday when it takes on Arminia Bielefeld.

14. Villarreal (Esp) (14) – Like PSV, Villarreal came to England this week and are returning home with a draw. Villarreal’s came in a 1-1 match with West Ham United.

15. Liverpool (Eng) (16) – If you’ve followed the rankings for a while, you know that sometimes things happen that are counterintuitive. This week, Liverpool moves up one notch for no easily-explainable reason. Liverpool did beat Valarenga 4-1 this week, but that’s not the reason. Whatever the reason, Liverpool faces a big week playing two away matches. On Wednesday, Liverpool takes on Standard Liege in Champions League action and on Saturday, ‘pool heads north to take on Sunderland.

16. Barcelona (Esp) (15) – Barca were in the States this past week, defeating the New York Red Bulls 6-2 at the Meadowlands as they prepare for the start of the new season. This week is Champions League qualifying week for Barcelona as they host Wisla Krakow in the third qualifying round.

17. Ajax (Ned) (17) – Ajax didn’t fare any better in its tournament than Arsenal did in the Emirates Cup. Ajax lost to Arsenal on Friday and Inter Milan on Saturday in its tournament. Oh, well. That’s what you get for inviting better clubs into your home.

18. Celtic (Sco) (18) – Celtic began the defense of its Scottish Premier League title today, defeating St. Mirren 1-0. Next week, an away match against Dundee United is on the agenda.

19. Cruzeiro (Bra) (19) – Cruzeiro maintained second place in Serie A this week despite falling 1-2 to Portuguesa on Sunday. (Defeating Internacional at midweek helped.) An unusually light week for Cruzeiro this week, playing only one match – hosting Vitoria – this week.

20. Schalke 04 (Ger) (20) – Like the other ranked German clubs, Schalke advanced in the DFB Pokal by defeating Homburg/Saar 3-0. Busy and important week for Schalke this time around. It begins when they host Atletico de Madrid in what should be the best of the Champions League qualifying round matchups. Schalke finishes the week hosting Hannover 96 to kick off its Bundesliga season.

21. Bordeaux (Fra) (21) – A lot of people think that this may be the year that somebody knocks off Lyon in Ligue Un and a lot of those people think Bordeaux is the team. Bordeaux started the season off right by defeating Caen 2-1. Up next is a trip to the capital to take on Paris St. Germain.

22. Fiorentina (Ita) (22) – Fiorentina gets a little pre-Serie A action this week when they host Slavia Praha in Champions League qualifying action.

23. Everton (Eng) (23) – Everton managed a draw against PSV Eindhoven this past weekend in friendly play. In a return to important matches, Everton hosts Blackburn Rovers as it kicks off its Premier League season on Saturday.

24. AC Milan (Ita) (24) – Traveled to England this weekend and walked away with a defeat at the hands of Manchester City.

25. Boca Juniors (Arg) (NR) – The Primera Division opened up its season this weekend and nobody started better than Boca, defeating Gimnasia y Esgrima de Jujuy 4-0. The next (potential) victim for Boca is Newell’s Old Boys, next Sunday.

Bubbling Under (Alphabetically): Atletico de Madrid (Esp), Hamburger (Ger), Palmeiras (Bra), Rangers (Sco), River Plate (Arg)

Next Five Euro: (31) Sevilla (Esp), (32) Aston Villa (Eng), (34) Sporting CP (Por), (35) Heerenveen (Ned), (36) Marseille (Fra)

Matches Between Top 25 Clubs This Week:

None

Weekend Soccer Television Schedule - 9/10 August 2008

There are a ton of great friendly matches this weekend involving WCR Top 25 clubs and, as usual, you can find them on . . . ESPN 360. Wait, what? Yes, ESPN 360. In addition to Russian and Japanese matches, ESPN 360 this weekend is broadcasting a plethora of friendlies, including PSV/Everton, Inter/Ajax, Roma/Tottenham, and Sevilla/Arsenal.

In fact, you could probably watch nothing but ESPN 360 this weekend and get your football fill. But why do that? ESPN 360 is only on your computer and you may as well have your television on while you’re watching the small screen, right? (Television used to be the “small screen,” but I think the computer monitor / laptop should be the “small screen” now. But I digress.) I’m sure many of you are looking forward to the Community Shield as you warm up to Premiership action beginning next weekend. The C.S. is being broadcast in the U.S. on both FSC and Setanta. There are also meaningful matches this weekend as France, Scotland and Argentina get their domestic seasons underway.

Of course, GolTV has its normal variety of South American club action until Germany and Italy begin and there is always MLS and Mexican Primera Division football all over the place. The most intriguing of the bunch is Saturday night on HDNet, when Superliga champions New England Revolution host the Chicago Fire. Below are the five matches I’m most looking forward to and the schedule for those and the rest. If you have any additional information, please feel free to comment. Have a good weekend!!

Top Five Matches of the Weekend

1. Manchester United vs. Portsmouth (Sun., 10am, FSC/Setanta)
2. Inter Milan vs. Ajax (Sat., 3:15pm, ESPN 360)
3. PSV Eindhoven vs. Everton (Sat., 12:15pm, ESPN 360)
4. Sevilla vs. Arsenal (Sat., 1:00pm, ESPN 360)
5. Roma vs. Tottenham Hotspur (Sun., 10:00am, ESPN 360)

Saturday, August 9, 2008

6:30 am – Kashiwa Reysol at Urawa Red Diamonds (ESPN 360)
11:00 am – Khimki at Spartak Moscow (ESPN 360)
12:15 pm – (24) AC Milan vs Manchester City (ESPN 360)
12:15 pm – (11) PSV Eindhoven vs (23) Everton (ESPN 360)
1:00 pm – Sevilla vs (7) Arsenal (ESPN 360)
2:30 pm – Sunderland at Shamrock Rovers (Setanta)
3:15 pm – (3) Inter Milan vs (17) Ajax (ESPN 360)
4:00 pm – Olmedo at Azogues (GolTV)
4:00 pm – Toronto FC at Colorado Rapids (FSC)
6:00 pm – Jaguares at San Luis (Galavision)
7:20 pm – Tolima at Millonarios (GolTV)
7:30 pm – Chicago Fire at New England Revolution (HDNet)
8:00 pm – Chivas USA at Kansas City Wizards (MLS Direct Kick)
8:00 pm – Necaxa at Indios (FSE)
8:00 pm – Monterrey at Chivas de Guadalajara (TeleFutura)
10:00 pm – Pachuca at Atlante (Galavision)
12 midnight – Atlas at Tigres (Delayed) (Galavision)

Sunday, August 10, 2008

10:00 am – (1) Manchester United vs. Portsmouth (FSC, Setanta)
10:00 am – (6) Roma vs Tottenham Hotspur (ESPN 360)
11:00 am – Zenit St. Petersburg at Rubin (ESPN 360)
1:00 pm – Toluca at UNAM (Univision)
3:00 pm – Gimnasia EJ at Boca Juniors (FSC)
3:00 pm – Santos Laguna at Puebla (ESPND)
5:00 pm – Deportivo Quito at Barcelona (GolTV)
5:00 pm – DC United at New York Red Bulls (MLS Direct Kick)
5:00 pm – Morelia at Club America (TeleFutura)
7:00 pm – Independiente Santa Fe at Boyaca Chico (Delyaed) (GolTV)

Non-Televised Matches Involving Top 25

Sat., 7:30 am – (25) Rangers at Falkirk
Sat., 9:30 am – (13) Werder Bremen at Nordhorn
Sat., 10:00 am – (14) Villarreal at West Ham
Sat., 1:30 pm – (20) Schalke 04 at Homburg/Saar
Sat., 3:00 pm – Caen at (21) Bordeaux
Sat., 5:10 pm – (8) Gremio at Atletico-MG
Sun., 7:30 am – St. Mirren at (18) Celtic
Sun., 1:30 pm – Lazio at (9) Porto
Sun., 2:30 pm – (4) Bayern Munich at Rot-Wei Erfurt
Sun., 3:00 pm – (19) Cruzeiro at Portuguesa
Sun., 3:00 pm – Toulouse at (12) Lyon

WCR Top 25 Clubs in the World - Pre-Season Edition

It’s that time of year and I have been looking forward to running the numbers for months now. It may seem premature to provide a pre-season Top 25 list, seeing as people are still moving around in the transfer market, but that won’t stop me. The rankings have never been built on individual, but rather on results. Granted, it’s difficult to make a pre-season list based on results because, by virtue of there being no games played in the pre-season, there have been no results. Once again, I won’t let that stop me.

Of the leagues that have clubs in the Top 25, only Brazil is currently in action. For Brazilian clubs, data from the current season is used. For all other clubs, data from the past season is used. Current data will be combined with data from the previous season through matchday five in each domestic league’s individual schedules. Following matchday five, only data from the current season will be used.

Even though we are using data from last season, there is a significant difference between the pre-season ranking and the most recent weekly ranking. The reason for this is that the domestic league coefficients are based on a different set of data because data from the 2003-04 season is no longer taken into account. This affects some domestic leagues beneficially (e.g., Germany, Scotland) while hurting others (e.g., Portugal, Colombia, France). The results of these revised domestic league coefficients is reflected in the club rankings below.

A lot of stuff went on this past week, but I can’t really say much of it was all that important. Bordeaux upset Lyon on penalty kicks to win the French Super Cup. Also, there were two “friendly” tournaments this weekend involving top clubs. In the Emirates Cup, Arsenal had to be humiliated by finishing tied for last despite hosting the tournament. The cup went to Hamburg SV, over three of ten best clubs in the world – Real Madrid, Juventus and the hosts. In the Railway Cup, Sevilla took the title defeating Lokomotiv Moscow in the final. In a star-studded third-place match, Chelsea crushed AC Milan 5-0. Links to stories about this action and other action involving Top 25 clubs can be found below.

The best action this week should come from France, where Ligue Un becomes the first of the major European leagues to begin its 2008/2009 campaign, and England where Manchester United and Portsmouth face off for the Community Shield. There are also three friendlies this week involving matchups of Top 25 clubs: Bayern Munchen and Inter Milan on Tuesday, Manchester United and Liverpool on Wednesday, and PSV Eindhoven taking on Everton on Saturday.

Now, without further adieu, the WCR Pre-Season Top 25:

WCR Top 25 Clubs in the World – Pre-Season Edition

1. Manchester United (Eng) – In the words of the great philosopher Ric Flair, to be the man, you’ve got to beat the man. Until another club can demonstrate that they are better than the current champions, then the current champions should be number one. United defeated Espanyol 1-0 this weekend and have a busy week coming up, facing Petersbrough on Monday, Juventus on Wednesday and Portsmouth in the Community Shield on Sunday.

2. Inter Milan (Ita) – The defending Italian champions should be tough again and I’m anxious to see if Jose Mourinho can keep them from underachieving in European action for a change. Face Bayern Munchen on Tuesday, which should be one of the best friendly matchups of the pre-season.

3. Real Madrid (Esp) – Defeated Hamburger in the Emirates Cup on Saturday, but they couldn’t keep it going on Sunday against Arsenal, losing 0-1. I’m not aware of any matches involving Real Madrid in the upcoming week, but if that’s incorrect, feel free to leave a comment.

4. Bayern Munchen (Ger) – After putting together a great team last season and finishing first in the Bundesliga, Bayern gets a chance to take the team into the Champions League after a year’s absence. Bayern looked good against Urawa, winning 4-2 this week. This week, they host Inter Milan on Tuesday before opening the DFB Pokal season at Rot-Wei Erfert on Sunday.

5. Chelsea (Eng) – Chelsea is starting off this season like it finished last season – missing penalty kicks in a loss to Lokomotiv Moscow in the semifinals of the Railway Cup. Chelsea did bounce back well, however, humiliating AC Milan 5-0 in the consolation matchup.

6. Roma (Ita) – Roma got in some pre-season action this week, defeating Monaco 2-0 on Saturday. This coming weekend, they face Tottenham Hotspur as Roma’s series of pre-season friendlies continues.

7. Arsenal (Eng) – Hosted both Juventus and Real Madrid this weekend in the Emirates Cup. After falling to Juventus, Arsenal bounced back to defeat Real Madrid 1-0 in the second match. Nevertheless, this victory was enough only to tie Arsenal with Juventus for third-place in the tournament. On Wednesday this week, Arsenal will take on Huddersfield Town.

8. Gremio (Bra) – Gremio maintained its spot atop the Brasileiro Serie A with a pair of victories over Coritiba at midweek and Vitoria, 2-0, this weekend. Gremio has another pair of Serie A matches this week, this time against Ipatiga and Atletico-MG.

9. Porto (Por) – The dominant club in the bwin Liga last year was dominant in friendlies this week, including a 4-1 victory over Cagliari. Porto faces another Italian club next Sunday as Lazio comes to town.

10. Juventus (Ita) – Juventus went Jeckyll and Hyde this weekend, looking good (at least passable) in defeating Arsenal in London, but were defeated by Emirates Cup champion Hamburger 0-3. Faces the top club in the world on Wednesday in a friendly against Manchester United.

11. PSV Eindhoven (Ned) – I’m not aware of any matches that PSV played in during the past week, but they can make up for that this weekend when they host Everton.

12. Lyon (Fra) – After losing to Monaco earlier in the week, Lyon fell to Bordeaux in the French Super Cup on penalty kicks on Saturday. Is this the season that Lyon’s streak of Ligue Un titles finally comes to an end? We’ll see. Yet another defense begins this Sunday when Lyon takes on Toulouse.

13. Werder Bremen (Ger) – Bremen has been busy in the past week, playing three friendlies, winning two, but falling 1-3 to Trabzonspor on Sunday. The series goes on, including a match on Tuesday against Levski Sofia. In domestic Cup action this weekend, Bremen will play at Nordhorn.

14. Villarreal (Esp) – Held onto a goalless draw this week in a friendly against Liverpool. I’m not aware of any action involving the Yellow Submarine this week.

15. Barcelona (Esp) – Played some good international competition this week, first defeating Fiorentina and then coming to the States to defeat Chivas de Guadalajara 5-2 in Chicago.

16. Liverpool (Eng) – As mentioned earlier, Liverpool played Villarreal to a goalless draw early in the week. Liverpool came back this weekend to destroy Rangers 4-0 over the weekend. On Tuesday, Liverpool travels north (way north) to take on Valarenga.

17. Ajax (Ned) – It’s a shame that Ajax won’t be able to play in the Champions League this year based on the unfair way that spots were chosen in the Eredivisie up until this coming season. Ajax did get to play in some European action this weekend, defeating Sunderland 1-0.

18. Celtic (Sco) – This weekend was a busy one for Celtic against good, not great, competition. Celtic fell to Tottenham 0-1 during the week before defeating Feyenoord 3-1 over the weekend. On Wednesday, Celtic hosts Manchester City.

19. Cruzeiro (Bra) – Won a pair of games this week in Brasileiro Serie A action, including coming from behind to defeat Flamengo 2-1 on the road to hold onto second place. This week, Cruzeiro faces Internacional and Portuguesa in domestic action.

20. Schalke 04 (Ger) – Schalke is looking to a return to the knockout stage of the Champions League this year. Schalke defeated Aachen 4-0 in a friendly this week. This coming weekend, Schalke begins its DFB Pokal season atainst Homburg/Saar.

21. Bordeaux (Fra) – Defeated Lyon on penalty kicks after a scoreless draw to win an upset French Super Cup. Domestic action begins for Bordeaux this week as Bordeaux hosts Caen.

22. Fiorentina (Ita) – Fiorentina played, and lost to, Barcelona during the past week. I am not aware of any matches for Fiorentina in the upcoming week as they prepare for Serie A action later this month.

23. Everton (Eng) – Everton is currently in the United States playing friendlies against MLS clubs and, as far as I can tell, not getting into riots. Everton fell to the Chicago Fire 0-2 at midweek and played the Colorado Rapids this evening. Everton returns to Europe this week, where they will host PSV Eindhoven next weekend.

24. AC Milan (Ita) – As disappointing as AC Milan was last year and Ronaldinho was last year, I can’t wait to see what they have in store for us this year. Coming in fourth place out of four in the Railway Cup was a good start, especially the 0-5 thrashing at the hands of Chelsea. I think they’ll spend the next week licking their wounds.

25. Rangers (Sco) – I’m not sure about this one. After managing only a draw at home against FBK Kaunas and getting crushed 0-4 by Liverpool, this season is not starting off well. A shot at redemption comes up on Tuesday as Rangers fight for their European Cup action life in the return match against Kaunas.

Bubbling Under (alphabetically): Atletico de Madrid (Esp), Hamburger (Ger), Palmeiras (Bra), River Plate (Arg), Sevilla (Esp)

CONCACAF: (39) Chivas de Guadalajara (Mex), (54) Cruz Azul (Mex), (61) Santos Laguna (Mex), (89) LD Alajuelense (CRC), (102) San Luis (Mex)

Matches Between Top 25 Clubs This Week
5 August – (2) Internazionale at (4) Bayern Munchen
6 August – (10) Juventus at (1) Manchester United
9 August – (11) PSV Eindhoven at (23) Everton

What's Going On . . . in the Superliga

This week’s edition of What’s Going On takes us to the Superliga. For those of you who don’t follow North American soccer, the Superliga is a competition between top clubs from the Mexican Primera Division and the American/Canadian Major League Soccer. Even though this tournament officially died to me when D.C. United was eliminated, I’ll give it some keystrokes.

Theoretically, the Superliga should provide a little American revenge for the CONCACAF Champions Cup (soon to be Champions League). The reason for this is that the Champions Cup (and soon, the knockout stages of the Champions League) take place during the MLS pre-season, so while the Mexican clubs are in top form, the MLS clubs are in pre-season form. This situation is reversed in the Superliga and the MLS clubs participate in this tournament in mid-season form.

This didn’t hold true last year’s premier edition of the Superliga. Pachuca, winners of the CONCACAF Champions Cup in 2007 and 2008, maintained its dominance over its northern counterparts by winning the premier Superliga trophy, defeating the Los Angeles Galaxy in the final, thanks in part to Landon Donovan’s failure to finish a penalty kick that would have won the match for L.A. This year, however, the MLS clubs have played well and the Superliga finals is an all-American affair as the participants in the past two MLS Cups face off in the final. The Houston Dynamo have been victorious in both of its finals matchups with the New England Revolution, but this time the Revolution get the chance to face Houston in a final at home.

Will home field advantage be enough to change New England’s luck or will Houston continue its domination of its northern rival? To find out, you’ll have to watch. The final is 8:00 pm eastern time Tuesday night, August 5. It will be televised on TeleFutura in the United States in Spanish and can be viewed in English for free on the intertubes via the Superliga and MLS websites. A $1 million prize awaits the winner.

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

8:00 pm – Houston Dynamo at New England Revolution (Superliga Finals)

(Ed. Note: What’s Going On is being published a little early this week for two reasons. Firstly, because the match that is the subject of the entry is on Tuesday. Secondly, because the WCR Pre-Season Top 25 ranking will be published on Monday or Tuesday and I didn’t want the two entries to interfere with each other.)