As I mentioned in the pre-season rankings, and many times prior to that, early season rankings don’t account for much, especially on this site. As explained ad nauseum on this site, it’s because this is a reflective ranking and not a predictive ranking, and as such, the rankings on based on recent performance and, for most clubs anyway, there has been no recent performance. Therefore, the rankings are based largely on last season’s results, and primarily domestic results at that.
So, why do we do the early-season rankings? The primary reason is that so you won’t forget me. The interwebs produces a fickle audience and we don’t want you searching for something new , now do we? The other reason is that it gives us an opportunity to identify what is going on because even the early action can be exciting. So, going back to what we’ve done in the past, this week includes commentary on recent action and what is coming up.
Finally, you will notice that there are few references to pre-season friendlies and other matches that don’t otherwise count in the standings. These matches, though entertaining, aren’t considered in the rankings at all. Please keep this in mind before asking me how I can rank your team below some other team that just lost to some low-money club from a near-anonymous league in a friendly played in some neutral location. I just don’t care and they just don’t matter.
So here are the current rankings. Again, they are based largely on last season’s action, at least for the European clubs. The next weekly ranking will appear in two weeks, when most clubs will have returned to action.
World Club Rankings – Top 25 Clubs in the World – August 10, 2009
1. Manchester United (Eng) (1) – Manchester United faced off with Chelsea in England’s Community Shield (or Super Cup anywhere other than England), playing to a 2-2 draw before losing on penalty kicks to (one of) its rivals from London. Coming Up: The Red Devils will have three Premiership matches under its belt by the time the weekly rankings return, taking on Birmingham City (8/16), Burnley (8/19) and Wigan Athletic (8/22).
2. Barcelona (Esp) (2) – No current action. Coming Up: Although La Liga’s season starts later than others, Barcelona will get some action in as it takes on Athletic Bilbao over the next two weekends in Spain’s Super Cup.
3. Liverpool (Eng) (3) – No current action. Coming Up: Liverpool’s Premier League season starts in full throttle next week. Over the next two weeks, Liverpool will take on Tottenham (8/16), Stoke City (8/19), and Aston Villa (8/24).
4. Inter Milan (Ita) (4) – Internazionale took on Lazio in Italy’s Super Cup this weekend, losing 1-2 to the club from Rome. Coming Up: Inter’s Serie A season begins on August 23 when Inter hosts Bari.
5. VfL Wolfsburg (Ger) (5) – The Bundesliga has already returned to action for 2009-10 and the season started off in style on Friday as Wolfsburg defeated VfB Stuttgart 2-0 in the season opener. Coming Up: Over the next two weeks, Wolfsburg will play an away match against Cologne and a home match against Hamburger.
6. Porto (Por) (6) – Porto defeated Pacos de Ferreira 2-0 this weekend to take home the Portuguese Super Cup. Coming Up: This coming weekend sees the return of the Liga Sagres and Porto will take on Pacos de Ferreira (again) and Nacional in the league’s first two weekends.
7. Real Madrid (Esp) (7) – Only friendlies this week, including a 3-0 defeat of D.C. United. (I break with my policy of ignoring friendlies only in this case because I was at the match and the photo at top is from that match. Not because it was important. It wasn’t.). Coming Up: Nothing immediate.
8. Chelsea (Eng) (8) – Chelsea joined Porto and Lazio as domestic Super Cup winners by defeating Manchester United on penalty kicks in the FA Community Shield. Coming Up: Like most other Premiership clubs, Chelsea has three league matches coming up over the next two weeks. Chelsea’s are against Hull City (15th), Sunderland (18th) and Fulham (23rd).
9. AC Milan (Ita) (9) – No current action. Coming Up: AC Milan’s first meaningful match will be its Serie A debut on 22 August against Siena.
10. Bayern Munich (Ger) (10) – Bayern began its Bundesliga season in dubious fashion, managing only a -1- draw against last season’s first-half champions, TSG Hoffenheim. Coming Up: Over the next two weeks, Bayern’s Bundesliga competition will be at home against Werder Bremen and away at Mainz 05.
11. Palmeiras (Bra) (17) – Despite managing only a 1-1 draw against Gremio, Palmeiras maintained its narrow lead in the Brasileirao. Coming Up: The Brasileirao will be busy with four match days over the next two weeks. Palmeiras matches will be against, Atletico Mineiro, Botafogo, Coritiba and Internacional. These next two weeks could prove to be the most important of the season for Palmeiras.
12. Juventus (ita) (12) – No current action. Coming Up: Juve will have its Serie A debut at home on 22 August against Chievo Verona.
13. Sporting CP (Por) (13) – With a 1-1 draw against FC Twente, Sporting advanced to the playoff round of the UEFA Champions League. Coming Up: There will be a lot of action coming up for Sporting coming up as it opens up its Liga Sagres season with matches against Nacional and Sporting Braga. In between those weekend bookends, Sporting will begin its Champions League playoff round bout with Fiorentina.
14. Arsenal (Eng) (14) – No current action. Coming Up: Arsenal is the only ranked club that has two matches over the next two weeks against other ranked clubs. Arsenal faces Everton and Portsmouth in weekend Premiership matches over the next two weeks. Between and following those, Arsenal will take on Celtic in the UEFA Champions League playoff round.
15. AZ Alkmaar (Ned) (15) – After faltering in its Eredivisie debut, AZ bounced back this weekend to defeat Sparta Rotterdam 2-0. Coming Up: Over the next two weekends, AZ will take on RKC Waalwijk and host SC Heerenveen in Dutch action.
16. Sevilla (Esp) (16)
17. Bordeaux (Fra) (20) – Bordeaux made its return to Ligue Un play this weekend by ruining Racing Lens’ return to top-level football. Bordeaux won its debut by a 4-1 score. Coming Up: Over the next two weekends, Bordeaux will face off against Sochaux and Nice in Ligue Un play.
18. Rangers (Sco) (19) – No current action. Coming Up: The next two weekends will be the first two for the 2009-10 SPL season. Rangers’ first two matches will be against Falkirk and Hearts.
19. Atletico de Madrid (Esp) (18) – No current action. Coming Up: While it waits for the beginning of the Primera Division’s season, Atletico will keep busy taking on Panathinaikos in the UEFA Champions League playoff round.
20. Atletico Mineiro (Bra) (11) – No current action. Coming Up: Over the busy next two weeks in the Brasileirao Serie A, Atletico Mineiro will take on Palmeiras, Corinthians, Avai and Gremio in league play.
21. Marseille (Fra) (24) – Like Bordeaux, Marseille was successful in this past weekend’s Ligue Un debut, defeating Grenoble 2-0. Coming Up: Over the next two weekends, Marseille will host Lille and face Stade Rennais away.
22. Benfica (Por) (22) – No current action. Coming Up: Benfica will take on Maritimo and Vitoria Guimaraes in Liga Sagres play over the next two weekends. Between those matches, Benfica will host Vorskla Poltava in an UEFA Europa League match.
23. Velez Sarsfield (Arg) (23) – No current action. Coming Up: Nothing this week for Velez Sarsfield, but it will take on Boca Juniors in a Copa Sudamericana match on the 21st and begin another Argentine semester against Arsenal de Sarandi on the 23rd.
24. Everton (Eng) (25) – No current action. Coming Up: In the most interesting match of the Premier League’s opening week, Everton will host Arsenal on 15 August. Midweek, the following week, Everton will take on Sigma Olomouc in an UEFA Europa League match, followed by another Premiership match against Burnley.
25. Celtic (Sco) (BU) – Celtic did the unusual this week, coming back to defeat Dinamo Moscow 2-0 to advance in the UEFA Champions League despite losing the first leg at home. Coming Up: Over the next two weekends, Celtic will take on Aberdeen and St. Johnstone in SPL action. In between, Celtic will play the home leg of its UEFA Champions League playoff round matchup with Arsenal.
Bubbling Under: Ajax (Ned), Genoa (Ita), Huracan (Arg), Olympiakos (Gre), VfB Stuttgart (Ger).
Next Five: Borussia Dortmund (Ger), Fiorentina (Ita), Hertha Berlin (Ger), Nacional (Por), Valencia (Esp).
Upcoming Matches Between Top 25 Clubs:
13 August – (11) Palmeiras at (20) Atletico Mineiro
15 August – (14) Arsenal at (24) Everton
18 August – (14) Arsenal at (25) Celtic
So, why do we do the early-season rankings? The primary reason is that so you won’t forget me. The interwebs produces a fickle audience and we don’t want you searching for something new , now do we? The other reason is that it gives us an opportunity to identify what is going on because even the early action can be exciting. So, going back to what we’ve done in the past, this week includes commentary on recent action and what is coming up.
Finally, you will notice that there are few references to pre-season friendlies and other matches that don’t otherwise count in the standings. These matches, though entertaining, aren’t considered in the rankings at all. Please keep this in mind before asking me how I can rank your team below some other team that just lost to some low-money club from a near-anonymous league in a friendly played in some neutral location. I just don’t care and they just don’t matter.
So here are the current rankings. Again, they are based largely on last season’s action, at least for the European clubs. The next weekly ranking will appear in two weeks, when most clubs will have returned to action.
World Club Rankings – Top 25 Clubs in the World – August 10, 2009
1. Manchester United (Eng) (1) – Manchester United faced off with Chelsea in England’s Community Shield (or Super Cup anywhere other than England), playing to a 2-2 draw before losing on penalty kicks to (one of) its rivals from London. Coming Up: The Red Devils will have three Premiership matches under its belt by the time the weekly rankings return, taking on Birmingham City (8/16), Burnley (8/19) and Wigan Athletic (8/22).
2. Barcelona (Esp) (2) – No current action. Coming Up: Although La Liga’s season starts later than others, Barcelona will get some action in as it takes on Athletic Bilbao over the next two weekends in Spain’s Super Cup.
3. Liverpool (Eng) (3) – No current action. Coming Up: Liverpool’s Premier League season starts in full throttle next week. Over the next two weeks, Liverpool will take on Tottenham (8/16), Stoke City (8/19), and Aston Villa (8/24).
4. Inter Milan (Ita) (4) – Internazionale took on Lazio in Italy’s Super Cup this weekend, losing 1-2 to the club from Rome. Coming Up: Inter’s Serie A season begins on August 23 when Inter hosts Bari.
5. VfL Wolfsburg (Ger) (5) – The Bundesliga has already returned to action for 2009-10 and the season started off in style on Friday as Wolfsburg defeated VfB Stuttgart 2-0 in the season opener. Coming Up: Over the next two weeks, Wolfsburg will play an away match against Cologne and a home match against Hamburger.
6. Porto (Por) (6) – Porto defeated Pacos de Ferreira 2-0 this weekend to take home the Portuguese Super Cup. Coming Up: This coming weekend sees the return of the Liga Sagres and Porto will take on Pacos de Ferreira (again) and Nacional in the league’s first two weekends.
7. Real Madrid (Esp) (7) – Only friendlies this week, including a 3-0 defeat of D.C. United. (I break with my policy of ignoring friendlies only in this case because I was at the match and the photo at top is from that match. Not because it was important. It wasn’t.). Coming Up: Nothing immediate.
8. Chelsea (Eng) (8) – Chelsea joined Porto and Lazio as domestic Super Cup winners by defeating Manchester United on penalty kicks in the FA Community Shield. Coming Up: Like most other Premiership clubs, Chelsea has three league matches coming up over the next two weeks. Chelsea’s are against Hull City (15th), Sunderland (18th) and Fulham (23rd).
9. AC Milan (Ita) (9) – No current action. Coming Up: AC Milan’s first meaningful match will be its Serie A debut on 22 August against Siena.
10. Bayern Munich (Ger) (10) – Bayern began its Bundesliga season in dubious fashion, managing only a -1- draw against last season’s first-half champions, TSG Hoffenheim. Coming Up: Over the next two weeks, Bayern’s Bundesliga competition will be at home against Werder Bremen and away at Mainz 05.
11. Palmeiras (Bra) (17) – Despite managing only a 1-1 draw against Gremio, Palmeiras maintained its narrow lead in the Brasileirao. Coming Up: The Brasileirao will be busy with four match days over the next two weeks. Palmeiras matches will be against, Atletico Mineiro, Botafogo, Coritiba and Internacional. These next two weeks could prove to be the most important of the season for Palmeiras.
12. Juventus (ita) (12) – No current action. Coming Up: Juve will have its Serie A debut at home on 22 August against Chievo Verona.
13. Sporting CP (Por) (13) – With a 1-1 draw against FC Twente, Sporting advanced to the playoff round of the UEFA Champions League. Coming Up: There will be a lot of action coming up for Sporting coming up as it opens up its Liga Sagres season with matches against Nacional and Sporting Braga. In between those weekend bookends, Sporting will begin its Champions League playoff round bout with Fiorentina.
14. Arsenal (Eng) (14) – No current action. Coming Up: Arsenal is the only ranked club that has two matches over the next two weeks against other ranked clubs. Arsenal faces Everton and Portsmouth in weekend Premiership matches over the next two weeks. Between and following those, Arsenal will take on Celtic in the UEFA Champions League playoff round.
15. AZ Alkmaar (Ned) (15) – After faltering in its Eredivisie debut, AZ bounced back this weekend to defeat Sparta Rotterdam 2-0. Coming Up: Over the next two weekends, AZ will take on RKC Waalwijk and host SC Heerenveen in Dutch action.
16. Sevilla (Esp) (16)
17. Bordeaux (Fra) (20) – Bordeaux made its return to Ligue Un play this weekend by ruining Racing Lens’ return to top-level football. Bordeaux won its debut by a 4-1 score. Coming Up: Over the next two weekends, Bordeaux will face off against Sochaux and Nice in Ligue Un play.
18. Rangers (Sco) (19) – No current action. Coming Up: The next two weekends will be the first two for the 2009-10 SPL season. Rangers’ first two matches will be against Falkirk and Hearts.
19. Atletico de Madrid (Esp) (18) – No current action. Coming Up: While it waits for the beginning of the Primera Division’s season, Atletico will keep busy taking on Panathinaikos in the UEFA Champions League playoff round.
20. Atletico Mineiro (Bra) (11) – No current action. Coming Up: Over the busy next two weeks in the Brasileirao Serie A, Atletico Mineiro will take on Palmeiras, Corinthians, Avai and Gremio in league play.
21. Marseille (Fra) (24) – Like Bordeaux, Marseille was successful in this past weekend’s Ligue Un debut, defeating Grenoble 2-0. Coming Up: Over the next two weekends, Marseille will host Lille and face Stade Rennais away.
22. Benfica (Por) (22) – No current action. Coming Up: Benfica will take on Maritimo and Vitoria Guimaraes in Liga Sagres play over the next two weekends. Between those matches, Benfica will host Vorskla Poltava in an UEFA Europa League match.
23. Velez Sarsfield (Arg) (23) – No current action. Coming Up: Nothing this week for Velez Sarsfield, but it will take on Boca Juniors in a Copa Sudamericana match on the 21st and begin another Argentine semester against Arsenal de Sarandi on the 23rd.
24. Everton (Eng) (25) – No current action. Coming Up: In the most interesting match of the Premier League’s opening week, Everton will host Arsenal on 15 August. Midweek, the following week, Everton will take on Sigma Olomouc in an UEFA Europa League match, followed by another Premiership match against Burnley.
25. Celtic (Sco) (BU) – Celtic did the unusual this week, coming back to defeat Dinamo Moscow 2-0 to advance in the UEFA Champions League despite losing the first leg at home. Coming Up: Over the next two weekends, Celtic will take on Aberdeen and St. Johnstone in SPL action. In between, Celtic will play the home leg of its UEFA Champions League playoff round matchup with Arsenal.
Bubbling Under: Ajax (Ned), Genoa (Ita), Huracan (Arg), Olympiakos (Gre), VfB Stuttgart (Ger).
Next Five: Borussia Dortmund (Ger), Fiorentina (Ita), Hertha Berlin (Ger), Nacional (Por), Valencia (Esp).
Upcoming Matches Between Top 25 Clubs:
13 August – (11) Palmeiras at (20) Atletico Mineiro
15 August – (14) Arsenal at (24) Everton
18 August – (14) Arsenal at (25) Celtic
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