Weekend Soccer Television Schedule - 1/2 November 2008

The season continues in high gear this week, with two matches involving two WCR Top 25 Clubs. On Saturday, the top two clubs in the Eredivisie face off as NAC Breda hosts FC Groningen. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find a broadcast option for this match. On Sunday, AC Milan hosts Napoli in what I anticipate should be one of the best matches of the weekend. This match will be featured on Fox Soccer Channel.

Of course, there are plenty of other great matches coming this weekend. In England, upstart Hull City goes to Old Trafford to take on Manchester United. Lyon hosts Le Mans as it tries to fight off the rest of Ligue Un from its traditional place atop the rankings. On this side of the pond, so to speak, the MLS playoffs begin. A little further south, Mexican powers Chivas de Guadalajara will host UNAM Pumas. Even further south, Boca Juniors hosts Argentine Apertura leaders San Lorenzo. In Italy, Juventus will host Roma is what is usually a match to look forward to for weeks, but which is missing a little of its normal luster. The current number one club in the WCR Top 25, Udinese, will not have its match against Genoa televised this week.

Sorry it’s a little late this week, but it happens. Any corrections? Any additions? Let me know. And have a great weekend!!!

Top Five Matches of the Weekend:

1. Napoli at AC Milan (Sun., 2:30 pm, FSC)
2. FC Groningen at NAC Breda (Sat., 2:45 pm, Not Televised)
3. Hull City at Manchester United (Sat., 10:40 am, Setanta USA)
4. Le Mans at Lyon (Sun., 3:00 pm, Setanta USA)
5. San Lorenzo at Boca Juniors (Sun., 5:00 pm, FSC)

Saturday, November 1, 2008

4:00 am – Shanghai Shenhua at Shaanxi Baorong (ESPN 360)
4:00 am – Central Coast Mariners at Sydney FC (ESPN 360)
8:40 am – Fulham at Everton (Setanta USA)
9:00 am – Spartak Moscow at CSKA Moscow (ESPN 360)
10:30 am – Karlsruhe at (6) TSG Hoffenheim (GolTV)
10:40 am – (13) Hull City at Manchester United (Setanta USA)
11:00 am – Sunderland at (4) Chelsea (FSC)
12:30 pm – Arminia Bielefeld at Bayern Munich (Delayed) (GolTV)
1:30 pm – (2) Liverpool at Tottenham Hotspur (FSC)
1:45 pm – FC Twente at Ajax (ESPN 360)
2:45 pm – PSV Eindhoven at Willem II (ESPND, ESPN 360)
3:00 pm – (5) Barcelona at Malaga (GolTV)
3:30 pm – Roma at Juventus (FSC)
4:00 pm – St. Etienne at (23) Marseilles (Setanta USA)
4:00 pm – Houston Dynamo at New York Red Bulls (MLS Direct Kick)
5:00 pm – Racing Santander at (3) Valencia (GolTV)
5:00 pm – Sporting CP at Rio Ave (ESPN 360)
6:00 pm – Chivas USA at Real Salt Lake (FSC)
6:00 pm – (12) Arsenal at Stoke City (Delayed) (Setanta USA) (Live at 10:30 am on SBB)
7:00 pm – Atlante at Monterrey (Telemundo)
7:15 pm – Independiente Medellin at Deportivo Cali (GolTV)
7:45 pm – Wigan Athletic at Portsmouth (Delayed) (Setanta USA)
8:00 pm – Columbus Crew at Kansas City Wizards (HDNet)
9:00 pm – Puebla at Indios (FSE)
9:00 pm – UNAM Pumas at Chivas de Guadalajara (Telemundo)
11:00 pm – (7) Inter Milan at Reggina (Delayed) (FSC) (Live at 1pm on ESPN 360)
11:00 pm – San Luis at Necaxa (TeleFutura)

Sunday, November 2, 2008

2:00 am – Queensland Roar at Newcastle Jets (FSC)
9:00 am – Rubin Kazan at Saturn (ESPN 360)
9:00 am – Chievo at Palermo (ESPN 360)
9:00 am – Catania at Lazio (FSC) (ESPN 360)
11:00 am – Sevilla at Valladolid (GolTV)
11:00 am – Manchester City at Bolton Wanderers (FSC)
1:00 pm – (10) Real Madrid at Almeria (GolTV)
1:00 pm – Atlas at Toluca (Telemundo)
2:30 pm – (14) Napoli at (18) AC Milan (FSC)
2:45 pm – Benfica at Vitoria Guimaraes (ESPN 360)
3:00 pm – Le Mans at (17) Lyon (Setanta USA)
3:00 pm – Jaguares at Monarcas (ESPND)
3:00 pm –Deportivo La Coruna at Real Betis (GolTV)
5:00 pm – (20) San Lorenzo at Boca Juniors (Delyaed) (FSC) (Live at 2pm on FSE)
5:00 pm – Tigres at Santos Laguna (FSE)
5:30 pm – Once Caldas at Millonarios (GolTV)

Monday, November 3, 2008

3:00 pm – (25) Aston Villa at Newcastle United

Non-Televised Matches Involving Top 25 Clubs

Fri., 2:30 pm – Wolfsburg at (9) Bayer Leverkusen
Sat., 9:00 am – (16) Celtic at Hearts
Sat., 2:45 pm – (8) Groningen at (19) NAC Breda
Sat., 3:00 pm – (22) Villarreal at Athletic de Bilbao
Sat., 3:45 pm – (21) AZ Alkmaar at SC Heerenveen
Sun., 9:00 am – Genoa at (1) Udinese
Sun., 4:10 pm – Internacional at (15) Sao Paulo
Mon., 2:45 pm – (24) Nacional at Maritimo

WCR Best Clubs in the World - Udinese On Top Edition

I’m almost afraid to post the WCR Top 25 this week because I know there is going to be nothing but disagreement.  The worst part is that most of it will be justified.  Some of it won’t be, however, so I hope people read before they abuse me.  How can Udinese be number one?  Unfortunately, it’s not because it is the best club in the world, even though it officially is this week.  Here’s the explanation, though.  As I wrote several weeks ago, the early-season ranking are often screwy for several reasons, among them the fact that strength of schedule isn’t taken into account beyond the fact that clubs get credit for playing in their own domestic league.  Udinese has taken advantage of a relatively light Serie A early-season schedule to move atop the league and the WCR Top 25.  Do I expect them to stay there?  No, not really.  I checked and re-checked the numbers because I was hoping a better club would be at number one, but each time Udinese was on top.  Even though I didn’t want to see them on top, I vowed when I started posting the WCR Top 25 that I wouldn’t fudge the numbers, so Udinese is number one.  Any way, it’s interesting for a change.

A look at the past week sees a lot of international action and changes at the top of the domestic league.  In the Champions League, there were no jaw-dropping surprises, though Dynamo Kyiv defeating Porto in Portugal had to be considered an upset.  With half of the group stage matches complete, it can’t be too surprising that the group leaders include three English clubs, two Italian clubs, two Spanish clubs and Bayern Munich.  One of the English leaders is tied with a Spanish club and one of the Spanish leaders is tied with a fourth English club.  If the group stage was over, however, Anorthosis Famagusta and CFR Club would advance to the knockout round, so there still may be some interesting matches to come.  Of course, it’s only half over.

I don’t think any of the leaders of the domestic leagues wanted to stay there this week.  In the match of the weekend, first-place (at the time) Chelsea lost the top spot to Liverpool.  In Germany, TSG Hoffenheim took over the top spot of the Bundesliga by defeating Hamburger.  First place Porto lost its match and its first-place status in Portugal, NAC Breda and Inter Milan managed only draws and both lost their domestic leads, and Valencia and Lyon managed to hold on to the lead of the Primera Division and Ligue Un, respectively, despite drawing their matches.  In South America, San Lorenzo lost, though its lead was big enough to hold on to the top of the Argentine Apertura.  Of the leaders of the top nine domestic leagues in the world coming in to the weekend, only Gremio managed a win and it was by a 1-0 score.

Coming up this week is a whole lot of football.  The twenty-five clubs in this week’s WCR Top 25 play a combined fifty matches.  If you’re not good at math, that’s two each – for all of them.  There are three matches this week involving multiple Top 25 clubs.  The first is at midweek, when Hull City finally has a chance to prove itself to everybody by hosting Chelsea.  Over the weekend, the top two Dutch clubs so far this season take on each other when FC Groningen hosts NAC Breda.  Also this weekend, AC Milan, who returns to the rankings this week, hosts Napoli in a Serie A .

Even though you may disagree with number one, and I assume at least a few of you will not, I hope you enjoy the rest of the rankings.  At the moment, I expect that next week’s rankings will be delayed or truncated because of the upcoming U.S. Presidential elections, on which I expect to be doing some campaign and other work.  If I am unable to post on Sunday night, however, I will post later in the week.  Now, on to the rankings.

World Club Rankings – Top 25 – October 27, 2008

1.  Udinese  (Ita) (5) – This Week:  Took advantage of two clubs that played well last season, but have been seven different kinds of crappy this season, beating Tottenham 2-0 in the UEFA Cup and AS Roma 3-1 domestically.  Next Week:  Things get a little tougher for the top-ranked club as they play two away Serie A matches against Catania and Genoa.

2.  Liverpool  (Eng) (2) – This Week:  Could only manage a draw against Atletico de Madrid in the Champions League, but saved the best for the weekend, knocking off last week’s number one club Chelsea, 1-0.  Next Week:  Liverpool will face two English clubs that looked better last year than they do so far this season, Portsmouth and Tottenham.

3.  Valencia  (Esp) (2) – This Week:  A 1-1 draw against Recreativo de Huelva was just enough to leave Valencia on top of the Primera Division.  Next Week:  Valencia, like all of the top Spanish clubs this week, will go minnow hunting at midweek in the Copa del Rey.  This week’s victim should be Club Portugalete.  In league action, Valencia will host Racing Santander.

4.  Chelsea  (Eng) (1) – This Week:  Chelsea defeated Roma 1-0 in Champions League action, but fell 0-1 to Liverpool to drop to second in the Premiership and fourth in the rankings.  Next Week:  In what promises to be the best of the midweek matchups, Chelsea will take on upstart Hull City.  This weekend, Chelsea will host Sunderland.

5.  Barcelona  (Esp) (13) – This Week:  If it is not the best team in the world, Barcelona is, at the very least, the hottest team in the world, defeating Basel 5-0 in European action and then crushing Almeria by the same score.  Next Week:  Barcelona could conceivably do better than this week’s 10-0 aggregate next week when it faces Bendham (which I at first thought was shorthand for Bend it like Beckham) in the Copa del Rey and then faces Malaga domestically.

6.  TSG Hoffenheim  (Ger) (7) – This Week:  Hoffenheim handily harassed Hamburger, winning 3-0 and taking over the top spot in the Bundesliga.  Maybe they are for real?  Next Week:  Two chances to prove itself, first against VfL Bochum and then against Karlsruher.

7.  Inter Milan  (Ita) (3) – Oh, what might have been.  After defeating Anorthosis Famagusta 3-0, Inter could have taken over the top spot in the world if it could have scored better than a 0-0 draw against Genoa.  But it didn’t happen.  Next Week:  Internazionale plays two Serie A away matches this week against Fiorentina and Reggina.

8.  FC Groningen  (Ned) (11) – This Week:  Groningen defeated Sparta Rotterdam 3-0, and got some help, to move back on top in the Eredivisie.  Next Week:  We’ll see if Groningen can hold on.  After facing NEC at midweek, Groningen will face second-place NAC Breda this weekend.

9.  Bayer Leverkusen  (Ger) (14) – This Week:  Leverkusen defeated Cologne 3-0 to move into second place in the Bundesliga.  Next Week:  As it chases down Hoffenheim, Bayer Leverkusen faces Werder Bremen and Wolfsburg in league action.

10.  Real Madrid  (Esp) (24) – This Week:  As it moves up the Primera Division, it moves up the rankings.  Despite falling 1-2 to Juventus in Turin in the Champions League, Real defeated Athletic de Bilbao 3-2 to improve its standing in La Liga.  Next Week:  Real’s Copa del Rey minnow is Real Union Club de Irun.  Domestically, Real Madrid once again gets Barcelona’s leftovers when it faces Almeria.

11.  Gremio  (Bra) (10) – This Week:  With a 1-0 victory over SPORT Recife, Gremio finally opened its Brasileiro Serie A lead back up to three points, but now Gremio has powerhouse Sao Paulo on its heels.  Next Week:  Gremio still needs to fight to stay on top and will have to do well against Cruzeiro and Figueirense in the coming week.

12.  Arsenal  (Eng) (8) –This Week:   I have no explanation as to how Arsenal fell in the rankings after a great week, defeating Fenerbahce 5-2 and West Ham United 2-0.  I predict they’ll move up next week, though, after taking over third place from Hull City.  Next Week:  In order to move back up, though, Arsenal will have to take over third place.  I don’t expect matches against Tottenham Hotspur and Stoke City will be much of an impediment, but you never know.

13.  Hull City  (Eng) (NR) – This Week:  Hull City finally debuts in the WCR Top 25 after securing its third place spot in the Premiership with a 3-0 victory over West Bromwich Albion.  Next Week:  This is the week that the Hull City Haters have been pointing to all season.  It’s time to put up or shut up as Hull City hosts Chelsea on Wednesday and visits Old Trafford on Saturday to take on Manchester United.

14.  Napoli  (Ita) (25) – This Week:  Napoli’s see-saw trip in the rankings continues this week as Napoli moves up eleven notches after defeating Lazio 1-0 in Rome.  Next Week:  After hosting Reggina at midweek, Napoli will take on a rising AC Milan club in a tough Serie A away match.

15.  Sao Paulo  (Bra) (NR) – This Week:  After defeating Vitoria 2-1 to move into second place in the Brasileiro Serie A, Sao Paulo makes its return to the WCR Top 25.  Next Week:  Sao Paulo will continue to try to chase down Gremio for its rightful position atop the standings, facing Botafogo and Internacional in a pair of Serie A matches.

16.  Celtic  (Sco) (22) – This Week:  In Champions League play, Celtic looked bad, losing 0-3 to Manchester United, but it still moves up the rankings on the basis of its 4-2 defeat of Hibernian in the Scottish Premier League.  Next Week:  Celtic will face Kilmarnock in the Scottish League Cup on Wednesday.  On Sunday, Celtic will take on Heart of Midlothian.

17.  Lyon  (Fra) (20) – This Week:  Like all of the other leaders in the major European leagues, Lyon tried to give away this weekend, managing only a goalless draw against AJ Auxerre.  This is following the best match of Champions League Matchday Three, coming from behind to defeat Steaua Bucuresti 5-3.  Next Week:  Lyon’s upcoming matches in Ligue Un are against a pair of good clubs in Sochaux and Le Man.  Holding on to the Ligue Un pinnacle will not be easy.

18.  AC Milan  (Ita) (NR) – This Week:  Victories over Heerenveen (3-1) in the UEFA Cup and Atalanta (1-0) in Serie A help Milan return to the Top 25.  Next Week:  Milan faces two Serie A clubs this week, both at the San Siro, hosting Siena at midweek and Napoli over the weekend.

19.  NAC Breda  (Ned) (9) – This Week:  NAC drops ten notches in the rankings and out of the Eredivisie lead after a goalless draw against FC Utrecht.  Next Week:  NAC gets to play two matches at home this week in the Eredivisie, but the competition will be tough as they host both FC Twente and (new) first-place FC Groningen.

20.  San Lorenzo  (Arg) (17) – This Week:  San Lorenzo’s lead was big enough in the Argentine Apertura to absorb its disappointing 1-2 upset at the hands of Racing.  Next Week:  San Lorenzo’s margin for error is gone, so it will have to pick up its play against Gimnasia y Esgrima and Boca Juniors in the upcoming week.

21.  AZ Alkmaar  (Ned) (23) – This Week:  AZ defeated Volendam 3-0.  That’s all I know about the match.  Next Week:  AZ plays two away Eredivisie matches in the coming week, first about Roda JC and then SC Heerenveen.

22.  Villarreal  (Esp) (12) – This Week:  Villarreal looked great, as it should have, defeating Aalborg 6-3.  In what had to be the most fun match of the past weekend, Villarreal went down by two goals, then up by two goals, then eventually settled for a 4-4 draw with a ten-man Atletico de Madrid.  Next Week:  Polideportivo Ejido, or something like that, is the club hosting Villarreal in the Copa del Rey.  Athletic de Bilbao will be the club hosting the Yellow Submarine over the weekend.

23.  Marseille  (Fra) (18) – This Week:  With a chance to take over the LIgue Un throne, temporarily, Marseille fell 2-4 to Paris St. Germain on Sunday.  Prior to falling to PSG, it fell to PSV in the Champions League.  Next Week:  With a weaker schedule than Lyon this week, Marseille will have another shot at the top spot if it can get past Nantes and St. Etienne.

24.  Nacional  (Por) (NR) – This Week:  By defeating Vitoria Setubal 1-0 and taking over the lead of the Liga Sagres, Nacional enters the Top 25 for the first time.  Next Week:  Nacional has two away matches this week, first against Uniao Leira in the Portuguese League Cup and then against Maritimo in league action.

25.  Aston Villa  (Eng) (NR) – This Week:  Aston Villa returns to the rankings after defeating Ajax 2-1 in the UEFA Cup and Wigan Athletic 4-0 in the Premiership.  Next Week:  Aston Villa has a chance to move up even further this week after facing Blackburn Rovers and troubled Newcastle United in Premiership play.

 

Bubbling Under (alphabetically):  Fiorentina  (Ita), Flamengo  (Bra), Manchester United  (Eng), Rangers  (Sco), Sevilla  (Esp).

Next Five UEFA:  (31) Le Man  (Fra), (32) VfB Stuttgart  (Ger), (34) Catania  (Ita), (36) Bayern Munich  (Ger), (37) Manchester City  (Eng).

Matches Between Top 25 Clubs This Week: 

29 October – (4) Chelsea at (13) Hull City 

1 November – (8) FC Groningen at (19) NAC Breda  

2 November – (14) Napoli at (18) AC Milan

WCR Weekend Soccer Television Schedule - 25/26 October

Sometimes the world teases you. Perhaps it’s the current freakiness in the WCR Top 25 Clubs ranking that throws things off. I don’t know. I do know, however, that with all of the matches on television or the intertubes this weekend, there are still eleven matches involving Top 25 clubs that aren’t televised, and that’s sad. GolTV is showing Spanish football, but no Sevilla, and Bundesliga football, but not Bayer Leverkusen (and they are delaying Hamburger/Hoffenheim for something like twelve hours). FSC is showing Italian football, but no Napoli. ESPN 360 is showing Eredivisie action, but no NAC, Groningen or AZ. Setanta USA is showing French football, but no Lyon.

Enough of what we don’t have, though, because we do have some good ones this week. The best of all, of course, promises to be one of the matches of the season when top-ranked Chelsea hosts fourth-ranked Liverpool on Sunday morning for the top of the Premiership and, probably, top of the rankings. The other matchup involving two Top 25 clubs takes place in Germany, where Hoffenheim hosts Bundesliga-leader Hamburger SV in an aforementioned match that will be broadcast very delayed on GolTV. Atletico de Madrid continues the doomsday portion of its schedule when it faces Villarreal on Sunday. Also this weekend, two classic rivalries are revisited as Club America hosts Chivas de Guadalajara and Juventus hosts Torino. If you have any additional information or if you see anything that needs to be corrected, please let me know. Aside from that – have a great weekend!!!  (Ed:  Please take note that some of the times for the Sunday games are off by an hour because of differences in daylight savings time around the world.  I don't have time to look everything up and fix them, but I've fixed what I could.  Sorry for the incovenience.)

Top Five Matches of the Weekend:

1. Liverpool at Chelsea (9:30 am, Sunday, Setanta USA)
2. Hamburger SV at TSG Hoffenheim (10:00 pm (delayed), Sunday, GolTV)
3. Atletico de Madrid at Villarreal (1:00 pm, Sunday, GolTV)
4. Chivas de Guadalajara at Club America (7:00 pm, Sunday, Univision)
5. Torino at Juventus (2:30 pm, Saturday, FSC)

Saturday, October 25, 2008

2:00 am – Jubilo Iwata at Nagoya Grampus (ESPN 360)
4:00 am – Sydney FC at Melbourne Victory (ESPN 360)
7:00 am – (19) Manchester United at Everton (Setanta USA)
9:30 am – Stoke City at Manchester City (Setanta Broadband)
10:00 am – Hull City at West Bromwich Albion (FSC)
10:30 am – Terek Grozni at Spartak Moscow (ESPN 360)
11:30 am – Wolfsburg at Bayern Munich (Delayed) (GolTV)
12:30 pm – Middlesbrough at Blackburn Rovers (FSC)
2:00 pm – Real Betis at Osasuna (GolTV)
2:30 pm – Torino at Juventus (FSC)
2:45 pm – PSV Eindhoven at Roda JC (ESPN 360)
3:00 pm – AS Monaco at Toulouse (Setanta USA)
4:00 pm – Almeria at (13) Barcelona (GolTV)
4:30 pm – (15) Catania at Siena (Delayed) (FSC) (Live at Noon on FSE, ESPN 360)
6:00 pm – Monterrey at San Luis (Univision)
6:00 pm – Toluca at Jaguares (ESPND)
6:45 pm – Newcastle United at Sunderland (Delayed) (Setanta USA)
7:15 pm – Millonarios at Independiente Santa Fe (GolTV)
7:30 pm –Kansas City Wizards at New England Revolution (MLD Direct Kick)
8:00 pm – Necaxa at UANL (Telemundo)
9:30 pm –Real Salt Lake at Colorado Rapids (HDNet)
10:00 pm –Toronto FC at San Jose Earthquakes (MLS Direct Kick)
10:00 pm – Santos Laguna at Atlas (Telemundo)
10:30 pm – Houston Dynamo at Chivas USA (FSC)

Sunday, October 26, 2008

2:00 am – Perth Glory at Adelaide United (FSC)
7:30 am – Dalian Shide at Beijing Guoan (ESPN 360)
8:30 am – NEC Nijmegen at Ajax (ESPN 360)
9:30 am – (4) Liverpool at (1) Chelsea (Setanta USA)
10:00 am – AC Milan at Atalanta (FSC)
10:00 am – Genoa at (3) Inter Milan (ESPN 360)
12 noon – (2) Valencia at Recreativo (GolTV)
12 noon – (8) Arsenal at West Ham United (FSC)
12 noon – Saturn at FC Moscow (ESPN 360)
1:00 pm – Fulham at Portsmouth (Setanta USA)
2:00 pm- Atletico de Madrid at (12) Villarreal (GolTV)
1:00 pm – Indios at UNAM Pumas (Telemundo)
4:00 pm – Athletic de Bilbao at (24) Real Madrid (GolTV)
3:00 pm – FC Dallas at Los Angeles Galaxy (TeleFutura)
3:00 pm – Naval at Benfica (ESPN 360)
3:30 pm – Fiorentina at Palermo (FSC) (ESPN 360)
4:00 pm – Paris St. Germain at (18) Marseille (Setanta USA)
5:00 pm – D.C. United at Columbus Crew (MLS Direct Kick)
5:00 pm – Sporting CP at Pacos Ferreira (ESPN 360)
6:00 pm – Stoke City at Manchester City (Delayed) (FSC)
6:30 pm – Tolima at Once Caldas (GolTV)
7:00 pm – Chivas de Guadalajara at Club America (Univision)
10:00 pm – (16) Hamburger SV at (7) TSG Hoffenheim (Delayed) (GolTV)
10:00 pm – Bolton Wanderers at Tottenham Hotspur (Delayed) (Setanta USA)
11:00 pm – (17) San Lorenzo at Racing (Delayed) (FSC) (Live at 3pm on FSE)

Non-Televised Matches Involving Top 25 Clubs

Fri., 1:30 pm – Cologne vs (14) Bayer Leverkusen
Sat., 10:00 am – Hibernian at (22) Celtic
Sat., 12:45 pm – FC Volendam at (23) AZ Alkmaar
Sat., 1:00 pm – (20) Lyon at AJ Auxerre
Sat., 1:45 pm – Sparta at FC Groningen
Sat., 4:00 pm – Leixoes at (21) Porto
Sat., 5:30 pm – SPORT Recife at (10) Gremio
Sun., 8:30 am – (9) NAC Breda at FC Utrecht
Sun., 9:00 am – Roma at (5) Udinese
Sun., 9:00 am – (25) Napoli at Lazio
Sun., 11:00 am – Malaga at (6) Sevilla

WCR Top 25 Clubs in the World - Return of the Red Devils Edition

We all knew it was a matter of time.  Despite its slow start in the Premiership, nobody believed that Manchester United was going to stay mid-table.  In fact, I doubt that anybody believes that they will not move even further up the table as the season continues.  For now, the Red Devils return to the Top 25, coming in at number nineteen.  Other clubs to debut (or return) to the rankings this week are Catania, AZ Alkmaar and Napoli – replacing Lazio, VfB Stuttgart, PSV Eindhoven and Sao Paulo.

At this point, all of last season’s data has been purged and all major domestic leagues are going on what they have done this season.  Big movers this week include Inter Milan, who moved to the top of Serie A this week and jumps nine notches, Hoffenheim, who also moves up nine spots this week, Bayer Leverkusen (eight spots) and Marseille (seven spots).  The biggest mover, however, is NAC Breda, who moves up from 24^th to ninth after defeating PSV Eindhoven (in what was touted as the game of the weekend) and taking the top of the Eredivisie away from FC Groningen.

Even though this is a UEFA Champions League week, there are very few matches coming up involving two Top 25 clubs.  The only one in the continental tournament takes place on Tuesday, when Manchester United hosts Celtic Glasgow.  There are two such matches this coming weekend as TSG Hoffenheim will host Hamburger SV for the top of the Bundesliga and, more importantly, top-ranked Chelsea will host Liverpool for the top of the Premiership, and perhaps top of the rankings.

What about everybody else?  See below for the rankings and details.  I missed this last week . . .

World Club Rankings – Top 25 – October 20, 2008

1.  Chelsea  (Eng) (1) – Leaving no doubt as to whether they should be number one, Chelsea crushed Middlesbrough 5-0 on Saturday.  Coming up, Chelsea will take on a disappointing AS Roma in the Champions League as a warmup to one of the matches of the season, taking place on Sunday, when Chelsea hosts Liverpool.

2.  Valencia  (Esp) (3) – With a 4-0 drubbing of Numancia, Valencia moved a little closer to the top spot, though it is still a distant second to the club from London.  Without any European matches this week, Valencia can look forward to its weekend Primera Division match against Recreativo de Huelva.

3.   Inter Milan  (Ita) (12) – Much like Manchester United’s return to the rankings, it was just a matter of time before Inter Milan returned to the top.  Inter crushed Roma 4-0 in what is usually an entertaining match.  On Wednesday, Inter will host Anorthosis Famagusta in the Champions League.  It will host Genoa in Serie A play on Sunday.

4.   Liverpool  (Eng) (4) – It was more difficult than it should have been, but Liverpool did triumph over Wigan Athletic by a 3-2 score.  Liverpool will face Atletico de Madrid, who has been playing well in European action despite domestic troubles, on Wednesday and then will travel to London to take on the club that is currently the best in the world on Sunday.

5.   Udinese  (Ita) (5) – The only club currently in the top nine who didn’t win this weekend is Udinese, who managed only a 2-2 draw against Lecce.  This week will be a big test for Udinese as it takes on two clubs with big reputations but poor results, thus far.  Udinese faces Tottenham Hotspur in the UEFA Cup on Thursday and will host AS Roma on Sunday.

6.   Sevilla  (Esp) (9) – It seems like forever since Sevilla last lost a match.  It didn’t happen this weekend as Sevilla picked up three away points, defeating Almeria 1-0.  In its UEFA Cup match, Sevilla will host a good VfB Stuttgart club.  Domestically, Sevilla will host Malaga this weekend.

7.   Hoffenheim  (Ger) (16) – I didn’t know anything about this club before this season.  I still don’t know much, but I know they are breezing in the Bundesliga, defeating Hannover 96 5-2 this weekend.  Hoffenheim will face its first major test this weekend when it hosts Hamburger SV on Saturday.

8.   Arsenal  (Eng) (11) – Arsenal returns to the Top Ten after defeating Everton 3-1.  Arsenal travels to Turkey to take on Fenerbahce on Tuesday and then returns to London to take on West Ham United in weekend Premiership action.

9.   NAC Breda  (Ned) (24) – Honestly, I thought that NAC had been playing over its head, but it scored a deserved 2-1 victory over PSV Eindhoven on Saturday to move atop the Eredivisie table.  No European action for NAC this week, so it will have to wait until the weekend for its next match against FC Utrecht.

10.  Gremio  (Bra) (8) – Gremio is doing everything it can think of in order to lose its once big lead in the Brasileiro Serie A.  Fortunately for Gremio, all of the other contenders keep beating up on each other, but two through five are all within striking distance now and Gremio’s luck is going to change if its play doesn’t.  This past weekend, Gremio fell 0-2 at Portuguesa.  This week, Gremio will host Sport Recife as it tries to hold on to the top spot.

11.   Groningen  (Ned) (6) – After making a splash two weeks ago, Groningen fell 0-1 to Ajax and fell out of the top spot in the Eredivisie table.  Groningen is still within striking distance of NAC Breda, however, and will look to bounce back against Sparta Rotterdam on Saturday.

12.   Villarreal  (Esp) (7) – The Yellow Submarine falls five notches after a scoreless draw against Espanyol in Barcelona.  Villa should have a light time of Aalborg BK at home in its Champions League match this week, but may have a much tougher time when it hosts Atletico de Madrid in Primera Division action on Sunday.

13.   Barcelona  (Esp) (15) – Slowly, Barca is working its way up the rankings.  A 1-0 victory over Athletic de Bilbo has Barcelona in fourth place in the Primera Division.  Barcelona travels to Switzerland to take on FC Basel on Wednesday and then returns home to host Almeria on Sunday.

14.   Bayer Leverkusen  (Ger) (22) – Leverkusen jumps eight notches after defeating Eintracht Frankfurt 2-0.  Leverkusen’s only match in the coming week will be when it hosts Cologne on Saturday in Bundesliga play.

15.   Catania  (Ita) (NR) – Catania makes the highest debut this week after defeating Palermo 2-0 (in a match I’m watching right now, coincidentally, because I had to work all weekend).  Will it be able to stay?  We’ll see.  Its first defense will be on Saturday when it faces Siena.

16.   Hamburger  (Ger) (17) – Hamburg SV remains atop the Bundesliga table, but continues to do this in less than convincing fashion, drawing with Schalke 04 1-1 on Sunday.  In UEFA Cup play, Hamburger will face MSK Zilina, but the best match of the week for the German club will be when it takes on second-place TSG Hoffenheim on Saturday.

17.   San Lorenzo  (Arg) (18) – San Lorenzo continued to extend its Apertura lead this week with a 1-0 victory over San Martin.  On Sunday, San Lorenzo plays away against Racing Club.

18.   Marseille  (Fra) (25) – It may still be in second place in Ligue Un, but Marseille has been the most impressive club in France, thus far, defeating Valenciennes 3-1.  One of the few interesting matches on this week’s Champions League schedule will be Marseille’s away match against PSV Eindhoven.  From PSV to PSG, Marseille will host Paris St. Germain on Sunday.

19.   Manchester United  (Eng) (NR) – The Red Devils return following its third consecutive Premiership victory, this one a 4-0 drubbing of West Bromwich Albion.  The best match of this week’s Champions League action should take place at Old Trafford on Tuesday when United hosts Celtic.  Manchester United will travel to the coast to take on Everton in domestic action this week.

20.   Lyon  (Fra) (13) – Lyon remains atop the Ligue Un table, but its 2-2 draw with Lille on Saturday was not very impressive.  Lyon will take on Steaua Bucuresti on Tuesday in Champions League play and will play AJ Auxerre domestically this weekend.

21.   Porto  (Por) (10) – Porto becomes the final club in the rankings to drop last season’s results and Porto drops eleven spots in the rankings as a result.  Porto remains atop the Sobres Liga, and did win its domestic cup match this weekend, but has not been as impressive as last year, at least not yet.  Porto hosts Dynamo Kyiv in CL play on Tuesday and will host Leixoes domestically on Sunday.

22.   Celtic  (Sco) (19) – Celtic remains in first place in the SPL after defeating Inverness 2-1.  As mentioned just above, Celtic will travel to England to take on Manchester United in the Champions League match of the matchday.  On Saturday, Celtic will host Hibernians.

23.   AZ Alkmaar  (Ned) (NR) – AZ returns to the rankings after being absent for a few seasons, moving to third place in the Eredivisie after a 2-0 defeat of De Graafschap.  There’s nothing going on in Europe for AZ, so it will wait until the weekend for its next match, which will be against FC Volendam.

24.   Real Madrid  (Esp) (24) – Real Madrid continues to have results that are good enough, but not great.  On Saturday, Real Madrid needed a penalty kick in what seemed like the twenty-eighth minute of injury time to defeat Atletico de Madrid 2-1.  Real hosts Juventus  this week in the Champions League, which should be great unless Juve plays like it has been in Serie A.  Once again, Real Madrid will get Barcelona’s leftovers this weekend when it hosts Athletic de Bilbao.

25.   Napoli  (Ita) (NR) – Napoli returns to the Top 25 in what has been a topsy-turvy early season for Serie A teams in the rankings.  Napoli came from behind to defeat Juventus 2-1 to earn its spot.  Next week, Napoli travels to Rome to face Lazio, who recently was ranked as high as number two in the rankings.  Got to love the early-season fluidity.

Bubbling Under (alphabetically):  Cruzeiro  (Bra), Hull City  (Eng), Lazio  (Ita), Le Man  (Fra), Nacional  (Por).

Next Five CONMEBOL:  (34) Sao Paulo  (Bra), (36) Palmeiras  (Bra), (43) Tigres  (Arg), (45) Flamengo  (Bra), (47) Deportivo Quito  (Ecu)

Matches Between Top 25 Clubs This Week:

21 October – (22) Celtic at (19) Manchester United

25 October – (16) Hamburger SV at (7) TSG Hoffenheim

26 October – (4) Liverpool at (1) Chelsea

 

WCR Weekend Soccer Television Schedule - 18/19 October

Not only is club football back this weekend, it’s back with the vengeance of a stock market correction. We have a Superclassico from Argentina, derbies in Spain and battles for the top in the Netherlands and Germany. We also have some English matches but, for a change, they are not at the top of the excitement list.

With all of the great matches this weekend, I know people will disagree with my choice as number one in the Top Five Matches of the Weekend section, but it is the only match of the weekend in which two clubs that currently are in the WCR Top 25 face-off and, as is the policy here at World Club Rankings, that puts the match at the top. In addition to the NAC/PSV match, Ajax will be hosting newly Top-Tenned FC Groningen, so the Eredivisie is in the unfamiliar position of having some of the top matches this weekend. These, and other Eredivisie matches, will be broadcast this weekend on ESPN 360.

Of course, there’s more. The clubs from Madrid, Real and Atletico, will face off as Atletico tries to bounce back from recent defeats (and other off-field issues) to claim dominance of the city. Roma will also need to pick things up a few notches as they host Inter Milan. In Argentina, nothing is bigger than when Boca and River get together, and get together they will on Sunday.

Currently, I don’t have information with respect to the Mexican Primera matches on the Univision networks, but I will post that as soon as I do. (Ed:  I found just a little, but it's been added.)  For now, here is the broadcast schedule for this weekend:

Top Five Matches of the Weekend:

1. PSV Eindhoven at NAC Breda  (Saturday, 1:45 pm, ESPN 360, ESPND)
2. Inter Milan at AS Roma (Sunday, 2:30 pm, FSC)
3. Real Madrid at Atletico de Madrid (Saturday, 2:00 pm, GolTV)
4. Boca Juniors at River Plate (Sunday, 4:30 pm, FSC (Live a 2pm on FSE))
5. Schalke 04 at Hamburger SV (Sunday, 11:00 am, GolTV)

Saturday, October 18, 2008

3:30 am – Shaanxi Baorong at Changchu Yatai (ESPN 360)
5:00 am – Melbourne Victory at Newcastle Jets (ESPN 360)
6:15 am – Shandong Luneng at Shanghai Shenhua (ESPN 360)
7:30 am – (1) Chelsea at Middlesbrough (Setanta)
9:40 am – Wigan Athletic at (4) Liverpool (Setanta)
10:00 am – Everton at (11) Arsenal (FSC)
11:00 am – Saturn at Spartak Moscow (ESPN 360)
11:30 am – Borussia Dortmund at Werder Bremen (Delayed) (GolTV)
12 Noon – Fiorentina at Reggina (ESPN 360)
12:30 pm – West Bromwich Albion at Manchester United (FSC)
1:45 pm – (14) PSV Eindhoven at (24) NAC Breda  (ESPND, ESPN 360)
2:00 pm – (21) Real Madrid at Atletico de Madrid (GolTV)
2:30 pm – Juventus at Napoli (FSC)
2:45 pm – (6) FC Groningen at Ajax (ESPN 360)
3:00 pm – Lille at (13) Lyon (Setanta)
3:30 pm – Chicago Fire at Toronto FC (MLS Direct Kick)
4:00 pm – (7) Villarreal at Espanyol (GolTV)
4:30 pm – Reggina at Fiorentina (Delayed) (FSC)
6:00 pm – UANL at Monterrey (Telemundo)
6:30 pm – Sunderland at Fulham (Delayed) (FSC)
7:30 pm – Columbus Crew at New York Red Bulls (MLS Direct Kick)
8:00 pm – Deportivo Cali at Once Caldas (Delayed) (GolTV)
8:00 pm – San Jose Earthquakes at Kansas City Wizards (MLS Direct Kick)
8:00 pm – Portsmouth at Aston Villa (Delayed) (Setanta) (Live at 10am on SBB)
8:00 pm – Atlante at Chivas de Guadalajara (Telemundo)
8:30 pm – Los Angeles Galaxy at Houston Dynamo (HDNet)
9:00 pm – FC Dallas at Real Salt Lake (FSC)
10:00 pm – Bayern Munich at Karlsruher (Delayed) (GolTV)

10:00 pm - Atlas at Necaxa  (TeleFutura)
10:15 pm – Blackburn Rovers at Bolton Wanderers (Delayed) (Setanta)

Sunday, October 19, 2008

1:00 am – Wellington Phoenix at Central Coast Mariners (ESPN 360)
3:00 am – Sydney FC at Perth Glory (FSC) (ESPN 360)
8:00 am – Amkar at CSKA Moscow (ESPN 360)
9:00 am – Feyenoord at Willem II (ESPN 360)
9:00 am – Palermo at Catania (FSC)
9:00 am – Bologna at (2) Lazio (ESPN 360)
9:00 am – AC Milan at Sampdoria (ESPN 360)
10:00 am – West Ham United at Hull City (Setanta)
11:00 am – Schalke 04 at (17) Hamburger (GolTV)
11:00 am – Tottenham Hotspur at Stoke City (FSC)
1:00 pm – (15) Barcelona at Athletic de Bilbao (GolTV)
1:00 pm – UNAM Pumas at Puebla (ESPND)
2:30 pm – (12) Inter Milan at Roma (FSC)
3:00 pm – (25) Marseille at Valenciennes (Setanta)
3:00 pm – Colorado Rapids at Chivas USA (TeleFutura)
3:00 pm – (9) Sevilla at Almeria (GolTV)
4:30 pm – Boca Juniors at River Plate (Delayed) (FSC) (Live at 2pm on FSE)
5:00 pm – Numancia at (3) Valencia (Delayed) (GolTV)
7:00 pm – Millonarios at Boyaca Chico (Delayed) (GolTV)

Non-Televised Matches Involving Top 25 Clubs

Sat., 7:30 am – (19) Celtic at Inverness
Sat., 9:30 am – (16) Hoffenheim at Hannover 96
Sat., 9:30 am – (20) VfB Stuttgart at Hertha Berlin
Sat., 9:30 am – (22) Bayer Leverkusen at Eintracht Frankfurt
Sat., 11:00 am – (10) Porto at Sertanense
Sat., 5:20 pm – San Martin at (18) San Lorenzo
Sun., 9:00 am – (5) Udinese at Lecce
Sun., 2:00 pm – (23) Sao Paulo at Palmeiras
Sun., 4:10 pm – (8) Gremio at Portuguesa

World Club Rankings - Top 25 Clubs - 1983

(Note: Due to minimal action among club participants over the past week, the weekly WCR Top 25 will be passed over for the next installment in the WCR Annual Rankings. The weekly club ranking will return next week.)

As was demonstrated in 1982, when Uruguay’s Penarol became the first South American club to finish atop the annual rankings, the 1980s were the glory years for South American clubs in the annual rankings.1983, however, did see the return of a European club to the pinnacle as Hamburger SV defeated Juventus 1-0 in Athens on an 8th minute goal by Feilix Magath to with the European Cup and make a trip to the top of the 1983 WCR Top 25. European glory was pretty evenly divided in 1982 as the finalists of the three major cup competitions came from six different countries and, contrary to form in the late 70s/early 80s, England was not one of those six nations. Scottish club Aberdeen defeated Real Madrid 2-1 in the Cup Winners Cup final on an extra time goal by John Hewitt. In its home-and-away format, RSC Anderlecht defeated Benfica 2-1 in the aggregate to take home the 1983 UEFA Cup.

For the second time in three years, the Copa Libertadores returned to Brazil, where Gremio defeated Uruguay’s Penarol 3-2 in aggregate, before defeating European champion Hamburger SV 2-1 in the Intercontinental Cup final, with both IC goals coming from Renato Gaucho. Gremio’s Intercontinental Cup victory marked the sixth in a row for South America.

Elsewhere around the world, Mexico’s Atlante earned one of the highest ever ranking for a current CONCACAF club after defeating Suriname’s Robin Hood in the finals of the Copa de Campeones y Subcampeones. In Africa, Asante Kotoko from Ghana defeated Egyptian club Al-Ahly 1-0 in aggregate to take the African Champions Cup away from the defending champions, but Egypt’s Al-Mokaoulun did repeat as African Cup Winners Cup, defeating Agaza Lome 1-0 in aggregate.

In addition to winning the European Cup, Hamburger SV also finished atop its domestic table in the Bundesliga. Other champions in major domestic leagues included Liverpool, Nacional, Flamengo and Athletic de Bilbao, all of which finished in the top six of the annual rankings. To see where others finished, see below:

WCR Top 25 Clubs in the World – 1983

1. Hamburger SV (FRG) – European Cup-Winner; Second Number One ranking (1980).
2. Nacional (Uru) – Copa Libertadores-Semifinalist; Second Number Two ranking (1969).
3. Liverpool (Eng) – EC-Quarterfinalist; Seventh consecutive Top Five ranking.
4. Flamengo (Bra) – CL-1R; Highest ever ranking.
5. Werder Bremen (FRG) – UEFA Cup-3R; Highest ever ranking.
6. Athletic de Bilbao (Esp) – Highest ever ranking.
7. Atlante (Mex) – Copa de Campeones y Subcampeones –Champion; Only season in Top 25.
8. Juventus (Ita) – EC-RU.
9. Watford (Eng) – Only Top 25 ranking.
10. VfB Stuttgart (FRG)
11. Danubio (Uru) – First Top 25 ranking.
12. Club America (Mex) – First Top 25 ranking.
13. Real Madrid (Esp) – Cup Winners Cup-RU; Sixth consecutive Top 25 ranking.
14. Manchester United (Eng) – UEFA-1R.
15. Penarol (Uru) – CL-RU.
16. Bayern Munchen (FRG) – Fifth consecutive Top 25 ranking.
17. Atletico-MG (Bra) – Highest ever ranking.
18. Santos (Bra)
19. Real Sociedad (Esp) – EC-SF.
20. Defensor (Uru)
21. Tottenham Hotspur (Eng) – CWC-2R.
22. Colo Colo (Chi) – CL-1R; First Top 25 ranking.
23. Cologne (FRG) – UEFA-3R; Final Top 25 ranking.
24. Cobreloa (Chi) – CL-1R.
25. Gremio (Bra) – Copa Libertadores-Winner.

Past Final Season Top 25s: 2007, 1982, 1981, 1980, 1979, 1978, 1977, 1976, 1975, 1974, 1973, 1972, 1971, 1970, 1969, 1968, 1967, 1966, 1965, 1964, 1963, 1962, 1961, 1960

WCR Weekend Soccer Schedule - 11/12 October

What do we like here at World Club Rankings?  Club football.  What do we have this weekend?  International football.  Don’t get me wrong, I do love international football . . . come World Cup time.  The qualifiers, however, often are powerhouse vs. minnow and can make for good drama, at times, but also sometimes appear to be exhibition matches.

 Who cares about what I like, though?  If you like international World Cup qualifiers, there’s plenty of action this weekend of Setanta, GolTV and FSC.  Setanta will spread the love out over two days, showing eight matches on Saturday and Sunday, mostly tape delayed.  Don’t have GolTV?  Usually, that’s too bad.  This week, however, all of the matches on GolTV also will be broadcast on ESPN 360.  Don’t have GolTV or ESPN 360?  Well, that is too bad.

 None of the WCR Top 25 Clubs are in action this week, but there are some matches up and down the dial and on the internet, primarily out of the United States and Mexico.  Of course, for those of you reading this domestically, the United States will play Cuba on Saturday evening.  I’ll be there, rooting on the USA.

 There’s no Top Five Matches of the Weekend this week, since there’s not enough league action to make it worthwhile, but if I had to pick a club match of the week, it would be Santos Laguna at Pachuca, which ESPND is broadcasting delayed on Sunday evening.  As always, have a great weekend!

 Saturday, October 11, 2008

 7:30 am – Zheijang at Shandong Luneng  (ESPN 360)

10:00 am – Norway at Scotland  (GolTV) (ESPN 360)

12 noon – Kazakhstan at England  (FSC)

12:30 pm – Liechenstein at Wales  (GolTV) (ESPN 360)

2:00 pm – Portugal at Sweden  (Setanta)

2:30 pm – Spain at Estonia  (FSC)

2:45 pm – Russia at Germany  (GolTV) (ESPN 360)

3:00 pm – Peru at Boloivia  (ESPND)

4:00 pm – France at Romania  (Delayed) (Setanta)

4:45 pm – Iceland at Netherlands  (Delayed) (GolTV) (ESPN 360)

5:45 pm – Italy at Bulgaria  (Delayed) (Setanta)

6:00 pm – Necaxa at Jaguares  (ESPND)

6:00 pm – Chivas de Guadalajara at San Luis  (Univision)

7:00 pm – United States at Cuba  (ESPNC) (ESPN 360)

7:30 pm – Northern Ireland at Slovenia  (Delayed) (Setanta)

8:00 pm – New England Revolution at Kansas City Wizards  (MLS Direct Kick)

8:00 pm - Mexico at Jamaica  (Telemund0)

8:30 pm – Toronto FC at FC Dallas  (FSC)

10:00 pm – Chivas USA at San Jose Earthquakes  (HDNet)

10:00 pm - Monterrey at Atlas  (Telemundo)

11:00 pm – Bosnia-Herzegovina at Turkey  (Delayed) (Setanta)

 Sunday, October 12, 2008

 1:00 pm – Toluca at Monarcas Morelia  (FSE)

1:00 pm - Cruz Azul at Pumas UNAM  (Telemundo)

3:00 pm – Columbus Crew at Chicago Fire  (TeleFutura)

3:00 pm - Italy at Bulgaria  (Delayed) (Telemundo)

5:00 pm – Moldova at Greece  (Delayed) (Setanta)

5:00 pm – Puebla at Club America  (Univision)

6:45 pm – Czech Republic at Poland  (Delayed) (Setanta)

7:00 pm – D.C. United at Houston Dynamo  (MLS Direct Kick)

8:00 pm – Colorado Rapids at Los Angeles Galaxy  (MLS Direct Kick)

8:30 pm – Croatia at Ukraine  (Delayed) (Setanta)

9:00 pm – Santos Laguna at Pachuca  (Delayed) (ESPND)

WCR Top 25 Clubs in the World - Groningen Debut Edition

Things are still crazy in the WCR Top 25 since it’s the early season and there is not a ton of data on which to work the numbers.  That being said, although there are still many untraditional clubs in the Top Ten,  things are beginning to normalize as many of the big money clubs made huge jumps within the Top 25 this week, including Inter Milan (up from 21^st to 12^th), Barcelona (up from 23^rd to 15^th), Sevilla (22^nd to 9^th) and Arsenal (13^th to 11^th).  Also, returning to the WCR Top 25 are additional traditional powerhouses Celtic and Sao Paulo.  Manchester United hasn’t quite returned, yet, but it is bubbling just below the Top 25 and it’s just a matter of time before they make up for their shaky start and move up the rankings.

Lots of international club action took place this week, with some surprises, but nothing earth-shattering.  I doubt many people expected CFR Cluj to hold the best club in the world to a scoreless draw, but in the group stages, such results are not of great consequence in isolation.  Some of the most interesting matches of the weekend saw Arsenal almost suffer a second consecutive humiliating defeat and Barcelona thoroughly crushed Atletico de Madrid, 6-1.

Club action is about to go on to another hiatus, so the WCR Top 25 will go on hiatus next week, though we’ll be back with something, most likely the next in our series of Annual Rankings.  I believe next up is 1984.

Once action returns, some of the top matches will include Ajax/Groningen, Inter Milan/Internazionale, Sao Paulo/Palmeiras and Arsenal/Everton.  In addition, there will be one match involving two WCR Top 25 clubs when NAC Breda hosts PSV Eindhoven.  Until then, enjoy the WCR Top 25 and we’ll see you back here in two weeks when we return.

WCR Top 25 Clubs in the World – October 6, 2008

1.   Chelsea  (Eng) (1) – As predicted, Chelsea defeated Aston Villa 2-0 to maintain its lead in the Premiership.  This was a nice way for the Blues to bounce back from its surprising  goalless draw against CFR Cluj in the Champions League.  When the Premiership season returns, Chelsea faces Middlesbrough.

2.  Lazio  (Ita) (2) – Lazio was just a late goal from losing its Serie A lead, and thus its spot near the top of the Top 25, but managed to draw Lecce 1-1 on Sunday.  Lazio also defeated Atalanta 2-0 to advance in the Coppa Italia.  On October 19^th, Lazio will return to Serie A action against Bologna.

3.  Valencia  (Esp) (3) – Valecnia’s roll continued this week with a 2-1 victory over Maritimo in the UEFA Cup and a 1-0 victory over Real Valladolid in the Primera Division.  Coming up for Valencia will be Numancia a couple of weeks.

4.  Liverpool  (Eng) (4) – Liverpool had a good week in the Champions League, defeating PSV Eindhoven 3-1.  It had to come from two goals down to defeat Manchester City 3-2 and remain in second place behind Chelsea.  Liverpool will host Wigan Athletic after the international competition break.

5.  Udinese  (Ita) (10) – Udinese fell at home to Borussia Dortmund by a 0-2 score, but still managed to advance on penalty kicks.  In Serie A, Udinese defeated Torino 2-0 to remain tied with Lazio at the top of the table.  Udinese will try to do better against Lecce on October 19 than Lazio managed to do this past weekend.

6.  Groningen  (Ned) (NR) – This week hit the Eredivisie like last week hit the Premiership, Serie A and the Bundesliga.  More specifically, the Dutch league had last season’s data purged, which is good news for Groningen, who defeated ADO Den Haag 3-0 this week and sits atop the domestic table.  A good test for the newly-ranked club will take place in two weeks when Groningen takes on Ajax.

7.  Villarreal  (Esp) (5) – Nothing tremendous, but Villarreal had back-to-back good results this week, beating Celtic 1-0 in the Champions League and Real Betis 2-1 in the Primera Division.  Upon its return to the tremendously unimaginative Primera Division schedule, Villarreal will head to Barcelona and take on Espanyol.

8.  Gremio  (Bra) (15) – Gremio finally got back to its former winning ways this week, defeating Botafogo 2-1.  The Brasileiro Serie A will play midweek matches this week, when Gremio will host Santos.  After the international competitions, Gremio will take on Portuguesa.

9.  Sevilla  (Esp) (21) – Sevilla has looked good this week with victories over FC Salzburg 2-0 in UEFA Cup play and Athletic de Bilbao 4-0, domestically.  In two weeks, Sevilla returns to Primera Division action, taking on Almeria.

10.  Porto  (Por) (11) –The Liga Sagres is the last important domestic league in which last season’s data has yet to be purged.  It shouldn’t matter too much, however, since Porto has already worked its way to the top of the League with a 2-1 victory over Sporting CP.  This was a good result for Porto, especially following its 0-4 drubbing at the hands of Arsenal in the Champions League.  Porto does not have a match scheduled for the weekend of October 19^th.

11.  Arsenal  (Eng) (13) – Perhaps Arsenal should have moved up higher after destroying Porto 4-0, but it needed a late goal to score a 1-1 draw with Sunderland and avoid consecutive humiliating Premier League upsets.  Arsenal will host struggling Everton when Premiership action returns in a few weeks.

12.  Inter Milan  (Ita) (21) – Internazionale walked away from its match with Werder Bremen with a disappointing 1-1 draw in the Champions League.  Inter defeated Bologna 2-1 to move into a tie with Lazio and Udinese in Serie A.  After the break, one of the better matches of the weekend will take place in Rome where Inter will face Roma.

13.  Lyon  (Fra) (7) – Perhaps Lyon shouldn’t count on its 435^th consecutive Ligue Un title this season.  After starting off the season red-hot, Lyon slowed down in a big way, losing 0-3 to Stade Rennais.  Earlier in the week, Lyon fought Bayern Munich to a 1-1 draw.  After the international break, Lyon will host Lille.

14.  PSV Eindhoven  (Ned) (14) – PSV looked like the weaker club that it is against Liverpool this week, falling 1-3.  PSV bounced back in the Eredivisie, defeating De Graafschaap 3-0 on Saturday.  The only battle between Top 25 clubs next week takes place in the Netherlands when PSV takes on NAC Breda on the 18^th.

15.  Barcelona  (Esp) (23) – Barcelona takes an eight-place jump in the WCR Top 25 after defeating Atletico de Madrid 6-1.  Earlier in the week, Barcelona grabbed three points in the Champions League, defeating Shakhtar Donetsk 2-1.  Upon its return to Primera Division play, Barcelona will face Athletic de Bilbao.

16.  TSG Hoffenheim  (Ger) (NR) – I really don’t know much about this club, but they have performed surprisingly well in the Bundesliga, where it defeated Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1 this weekend.  In two weeks, Hoffenheim will play Hannover 96.

17.  Hamburger SV  (Ger) (19) – Hamburger remains on to p of the Bundesliga by virtue of its defeat of Erergie Cottbus 2-1.  One of the top matches of the return weekend will take place in Hamburg when Schalke 04 comes to visit.

18.  San Lorenzo  (Arg) (18) – San Lorenzo has managed to extend its lead to five points in the Argentine Apertura after defeating Velez Sarsfield 1-0.  ON the 19^th, San Lorenzo will host San Martin

19.  Celtic  (Sco) (NR) – Celtic returned to the top of the Scottish Premier League, as well as the WCR Top 25, bouncing back from a 0-1 loss to Villarreal to defeat Hamilton Academy 4-0.  Coming up in a few weeks, Celtic will face Inverness.

20.  VfB Stuttgart  (Ger) (NR) – Stuttgart drew 2-2 with Cherno Morets, but still managed to advance in the UEFA Cup and followed that up with a 4-1 upset of Werder Bremen in Bundesliga action.  After the international break, Stuttgart will play Hertha Berlin.

21.  Real Madrid  (Esp) (8) – Real defeated Zenit St. Petersburg to pick up three points in the Champions League, but could manage only a 2-2 draw with Espanyol, dropping it down to fifth in the Primera Division.  The Madrid Derby is coming up in a few weeks, since it wasn’t enough for Atletico to take on Sevilla and Barcelona in consecutive weeks.

22.  Bayer Leverkusen  (Ger)(6) – Leverkusen appeared to be over-ranked last week and it proved that it was against Hertha Berlin, falling 0-1.  In order to stay in the Top 25, Leverkusen will have to bounce back in two weeks against Eintracht Frankfurt.

23.  Sao Paulo  (Bra) (NR) – After playing mediocre ball from half a season, Sao Paulo has been coming on strong recently, defeating Ipatinga 3-1 this week to move into third place in the Brasileiro Serie A.  Sao Paulo will host Nautico at midweek and will face second-place Palmeiras upon its return to domestic action.

24.  NAC Breda  (Ned) (NR) – NAC has had a great start to the new Eredivisie season, defeating Volendam 4-2 this week.  Coming up after the international break will be NAC’s biggest test thus far in this new season when it hosts defending champion PSV Eindhoven.

25.  Marseille  (Fra) (25) – Unlike what seems like the entire Spanish Primera Division, Marseille actually managed to lose to Atletico de Madrid 1-2, but it did manage to score a much-needed 2-1 victory over Caen.  In two weeks, Marseille will return to domestic action against Valenciennes.

Bubbling Under (alphabetically):  Aston Villa  (Eng), Manchester United  (Eng), Palermo  (Ita), Palmeiras  (Bra), Rangers  (Sco).

CONCACAF Top Five:  (54) San Luis  (Mex), (58) Atlante  (Mex), (75) Pumas UNAM  (Mex), (80) Tecos  (Mex), (99) Brujas  (Crc).

Matches Among Top 25 Clubs in Next Two Weeks:

18 October – (14) PSV Eindhoven at (24) NAC Breda