As last week’s rankings were brought to you from a train from Munich to Vienna, this week’s is brought to you from a train from Prague to Berlin. I wasn’t able to attend a match in Prague, in part because the blood match between Sparta and Slavia was moved to today, so this week’s picture is just a random one that I took in Prague.
As last week’s rankings showed signs of volatility, this week’s rankings demonstrate that volatility is still the name of the so-called game. Going by traditional table rankings, points and then goal differential, the top spot in all five of the arguably top five domestic leagues in the world changed hands this weekend. Manchester United could only draw with Sunderland, so it leaves Chelsea on top of the Premiership. Sevilla’s upset of Real Madrid leave Barcelona top in Spain. Sampdoria and Juventus both stumbled, leaving Inter Milan back at its natural position atop Serie A. In France, Bordeaux’s Ligue Un win streak came to an end, allowing Olympique Lyon to move in as table leaders. In Germany, strictly on goal differential, Bayer Leverkusen passed Hamburger SV despite victories by both clubs. That’s not even mentioning the Eredivisie, which saw Twente take over the top spot from PSV Eindhoven this week.
Losses by Liverpool, Celtic and TSG Hoffenheim saw those clubs leave the WCR Top 25, to be replaced by such clubs as Arsenal, Fenerbahce and Schalke 04. Who knows how long the departed will stay as such or how long the new arrivals will stay? As long as volatility is the rule, no club in any position is safe.
The WCR Top 25 will take next week off since we are approaching an international week in football. If we get a chance while in Amsterdam, we may put together some entry for next Monday, but Amsterdam being Amsterdam, we’ll just have to see how that goes. As for now, here are your current rankings.
World Club Rankings – Top 25 Clubs in the World – October 5, 2009
1. Chelsea (Eng) (4) – A good week for Chelsea sees the London club return to the top of the rankings. In Champions League play, Chelsea defeated APOEL 1-0. More importantly, Chelsea was able to roll past Liverpool by a 2-0 score to re-take the Premiership lead. Coming Up: After the international break, Chelsea will return to action against Aston Villa at Villa Park.
2. Barcelona (Esp) (3) – Like Chelsea, Barcelona also moves up the domestic table and world rankings following a two-victory week. In it’s Champions League match, Barcelona defeated Dynamo Kyiv 2-0. Domestically, Barcelona defeated Almeria 1-0 to take advantage of Real Madrid’s stumble and move top of the Primera Division. Coming Up: In a matchup that is almost always entertaining, Barcelona will hit the road to take on Valencia on October 18.
3. Real Madrid (Esp) (1) – After a one-week visit to the top spot, Real Madrid has been deposed by a 1-2 loss to Sevilla in La Liga action. In Europe, Real Madrid was able to handily defeat Marseille 3-0 in a Champions League group match. Coming Up: The road gets a little easier after the break when Real Madrid hosts Real Valladolid on October 18.
4. Inter Milan (Ita) (15) – How do you jump eleven spots in a week in which you manage only a 1-1 draw against Rubin Kazan in the Champions League? You score a late goal to defeat Udinese 2-1 and take over the top spot in Serie A. Coming Up: Genoa will try to make Internazionale’s current stay at the top as short as the last stay when it hosts the club from Milan on October 17.
5. Bayer Leverkusen (Ger) (13) – A slightly smaller jump for the club that moved past Hamburger SV atop the Bundesliga table by virtue of its 4-0 thrashing of Nurnberg. Coming Up: Does Leverkusen deserve to be top instead of Hamburger? Perhaps we’ll find out for sure after the break because the two clubs will face off in Hamburg upon their return to league play.
6. Manchester City (Eng) (11) – Here’s how we do it here at WCR. Since some leagues have not played an even schedule, all of the results are normalized based on points and goal differential per game played. With 2.5 points per game, Manchester City is sitting second in the Premiership after its 3-1 defeat of West Ham United last Monday. Coming Up: With another game this Monday, Man City will take on Aston Villa this afternoon. After the break, City will face off with Wigan United.
7. Sporting Braga (Por) (10) – With no European action to worry about, Sporting Braga continued its perfect start to the Liga Sagres season with a 2-0 victory over Vitoria Setubal. Coming Up: No matches coming up in next two weeks.
8. Benfica (Por) (7) – Benfica’s large goal differential in the Liga Sagres is leaving ranked over its abilities for the time being, despite losing this past week in Europa League action to AEK Athens by a 0-1 score. Coming Up: Benfica’s next Liga Sagres match will actually be this afternoon when it takes on Pacos de Ferreira.
9. Manchester United (Eng) (2) – What do you know? Manchester United scored a huge goal in extra time at Old Trafford. Who woulda thunk it? That goal gave United a 2-2 draw with Sunderland, but it wasn’t enough to keep United top of the Premiership. Earlier in the week, the Red Devils were able to hold off Wolfsburg in Champions League action by a 2-1 score. Coming Up: After the international break, Manchester United will return to action at home against Bolton Wanderers.
10. Sevilla (Esp) (8) – It’s a crazy, bouncy-bouncy turbulent ranking that will allow Sevilla to drop two notches in the rankings in a week where it crushed Rangers 4-1 in the Champions League and upset Real Madrid 2-1 in La Liga action. The victory over Madrid, however, still leaves Sevilla in third-place, so it was jumped by clubs that moved up in their domestic tables. Coming Up: Having beaten the club directly ahead of it in the table, Sevilla next will play the club directly behind it in the table, Deportivo La Coruna, on October 18.
11. Hamburger SV (Ger) (5) – Hamburger drops despite winning both of the past week’s matches by two-goal margins; a 4-2 victory over Hapoel Tel Aviv in Europa League action and a 3-1 victory over Hertha Berlin in the Bundesliga. Coming Up: HSV has a golden opportunity to take back the Bundesliga lead and its spots in the World Club Rankings when it hosts Bayer Leverkusen on October 17.
12. Sampdoria (Ita) (6) – For those of you waiting for Sampdoria to stumble, you got a little taste of it this past weekend when the former Serie A leaders managed only a 1-1 draw at home against Parma. Coming Up: It’s not going to get any easier after the break for Sampdoria when it heads to Rome to take on Lazio.
13. Arsenal (Eng) (BU) – Last week, I told you that Arsenal was bubbling under the rankings because the early-season charts love big goal differentials. Arsenal must have been listening because following its 2-0 Champions League defeat of Olympiakos, the Gunners came back twice against Blackburn Rovers and eventually put them away with a 6-2 drubbing. Coming Up: After the international matches, Arsenal will take on Birmingham City at Emirates Stadium.
14. Lyon (Fra) (22) – The last of the new leaders of the big five leagues, Lyon goes top in Ligue Un following a 2-0 defeat of Lens. In the Champions League, Lyon had an even bigger victory, defeating Debreceni VSC 4-0. Coming Up: In Lyon’s first match as leader in a while, it will host Sochaux on October 17.
15. Estudiantes (Arg) (16) – Like many other domestic league leaders this past weekend, Estudiantes had troubles, losing 0-1 to Argentinos Juniors. The one major difference is that Estudiantes stayed top of its league, at least for now. Coming Up: There is no international break for the clubs in Argentina, so Estudiantes has matches coming up against Lanus on October 10 and Newell’s Old Boys on October 17.
16. Porto (Por) (20) – The defending Liga Sagres champions move up a few notches this week following impressive victories over Atletico Madrid, 2-0 in Champions League action, and over Olhanense, 3-0 in domestic league play. Coming Up: No matches in coming two weeks.
17. Juventus (Ita) (12) – Troubles are taking place all around Juventus, but Juve keeps failing to take advantage of them. In its last four matches, Juventus as three draws and a loss, including a 0-0 draw against Bayern Munich in its Champions League match at Allianz Arena and a 0-2 loss to Palermo in Sicily last night. Coming Up: The schedule stays tough for Juve in the immediate future as it hosts Fiorentina on October 17.
18. Bordeaux (Fra) (9) – After twenty-something (I lost count) consecutive non-losses in Ligue Un, Bordeaux finally gave away a match, losing 1-3 to St.-Etienne. In its Champions League match, Bordeaux defeated Maccabi Haifa 1-0. Coming Up: As it looks to rebuild, Bordeaux will take on Auxerre on Saturday.
19. Palmeiras (Bra) (23) – With a 3-1 victory over Santos, Palmeiras picks up three huge away points and solidifies its position on top of the Brasileirao Serie A table. Coming Up: Nothing even close to a break in Brazil for Palmeiras. In the next two weeks, it will take on Avai (10/9), Nautico (10/12) and Flamengo (10/17).
20. Schalke 04 (Ger) (NR) – Schalke heads to third-place in the Bundesliga, and returns to these rankings, following a 2-0 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt. Coming Up: On October 17, Schalke 04 will be away to VfB Stuttgart, so it won’t be easy for Schalke to keep this spot.
21. Deportivo La Coruna (Esp) (NR) – To my memory, this is the first time Deportivo has made it onto the World Club Rankings, but it deserves the recognition with recent successes, including this past weekend’s 1-0 victory over Tenerife. Coming Up: It’s never easy to succeed in La Liga and in order to stay ranked, Deportivo will need results when it plays its home match against Sevilla on October 18.
22. Twente (Ned) (NR) – Despite a disappointing 0-0 draw at home against Steaua Bucuresti in a Europa League match, Twente returns to the rankings, and the top of the Eredivisie, after defeating Heracles 3-1. Coming Up: The top two clubs in last season’s Eredivisie face off on October 17 when Twente hosts AZ Alkmaar.
23. Tottenham Hotspur (Eng) (25) – After picking up an important point in an away match with a 2-2 draw with Bolton Wanderers on Saturday, Tottenham spends a second week in the rankings. Coming Up: Draws won’t keep the Spurs ranked indefinitely and it will be looking for a better result when it takes on last-place Portsmouth on its return from the international break.
24. Fenerbahce (Tur) (BU) – It’s been a while since Fenerbahce has been ranked, but its perfect start to the season, including a 3-0 defeat of Genclerbirligi this weekend, and recent 1-0 Europa League victory over Sheriff have earned it a spot once again. Coming Up: After the break, Fenerbahce will take on Gaziantepspor in Super Ligi action.
25. Ajax (Ned) (24) – Ajax keeps a spot in the rankings despite mediocre results this past week. In its Europa League match, Ajax scored only a 1-1 draw against RSC Anderlecht in a match played in Belgium. Domestically, Ajax picked up an away point with a 2-2 draw with Roda JC. Coming Up: Ajax will return to Eredivisie action on October 17 when it hosts Willem II.
Bubbling Under (alphabetically): Celtic (Sco), Hoffenheim (Ger), Panathinaikos (Gre), PSV Eindhoven (Ned), Werder Bremen (Ger).
Next Five (from north to south, just for a change): Rangers (Sco), Aston Villa (Eng), Valencia (Esp), Fiorentina (Ita), Sao Paolo (Bra).
Matches In Next Two Weeks Between WCR Top 25 Clubs:
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