Let’s start this off by congratulating our two new continental champions. South Korea’s Ponang Seelers took the AFC Champions League title this weekend with a 2-1 defeat of Saudi club Al-Ittihad. In Africa, the CAF Champions League title was won by Congo Democratic Republic’s TP Mazembi who defeated Nigeria’s Heartland FC. Congratulations to the new champions!!!
If you weren’t following the Ponang or Mazembi championships, then likely your focus was on London where Chelsea kept the top spots in both the Premiership an the World Club Rankings by scoring a 1-0 victory over (now, third-place) Manchester United in a contentious match. After that match, perhaps you tuned in to Lyon for the wild, ten-goal match between Lyon and Marseille that finished in a 5-5 draw. Since neither club is ranked, I won’t talk about it any more, but man, what a match!!!
Some of the things that forced movement in the rankings this week include Arsenal’s trip to second place in the Premiership, Panathinaikos finally making some ground between it and Olympiakos and Banfield moving top in the Argentine Apertura. And although it didn’t have a massive effect on the rankings, it is worth mentioning that FC Twente defeated Ajax 1-0 to maintain the top spot in the Eredivisie over PSV Eindhoven. All of these items and much more are discussed below.
As a housekeeping note, the WCR Top 25 Clubs in the World will not be here next week since all of the European clubs are taking the weekend off to allow for World Cup qualifiers. We hope to bring you the next entry in our Annual Rankings countdown, with 1991 being next on the agenda.
World Club Rankings – Top 25 Clubs in the World – November 9, 2009
1. Chelsea (Eng) (1) – In a match that should matter little to Chelsea, the Blues played Atletico Madrid to a 2-2 draw in midweek Champions League action. In a match that should matter much, much more to Chelsea, the boys from London stopped Manchester United by a 1-0 score to maintain its lead in the Premiership and in the World Club Rankings. Coming Up: After the international break, Chelsea welcomes Wolverhampton Wanderers to Stamford Bridge (much in the same way a spider welcomes a fly).
2. Barcelona (Esp) (2) – Barcelona continues to struggle against Rubin Kazan in the Champions League, managing only a 0-0 draw in Russia. Domestically, Barcelona beat up on Mallorca, winning by a 4-2 score, including two goals by Pedro Rodriguez. Coming Up: Barca has the home leg of its Copa del Rey matchup with Cultural y Deportivo Leonesa on Tuesday. In La Liga action, Barcelona will take on Athletic Bilbao on November 21st.
3. Arsenal (Eng) (7) – The Gunners rolled this week, knocking off AZ Alkmaar by a 4-1 score and then repeating the scoreline against Wolverhampton Wanderers over the weekend that allowed to club to move into second place in the Premiership. Coming Up: Arsenal’s first match after the break will be an away match against Sunderland.
4. Inter Milan (Ita) (3) – It took two late goals for Inter Milan to defeat Dynamo Kyiv in the Ukraine, but that was enough to put Inter top in the most interesting group in the Champions League. Domestically, Inter had to settle for a 1-1 draw in its Serie A match with Roma. Coming Up: Inter Milan will take on Bologna immediately following the break.
5. Bayer Leverkusen (Ger) (6) – Leverkusen is now four points clear in the Bundesliga and finds itself up a notch after crushing Eintracht Frankfurt 4-0 on Friday. Coming Up: A big test for Leverkusen on the Sunday after the break when it must take on Bayern Munich at Allianz Arena.
6. Real Madrid (Esp) (5) – Real had fair results against decent competition this week, but the results were only fair and the competition was only decent. At the San Siro, Madrid fought AC Milan to a 1-1 draw. Back in Madrid, Real defeated its cross-town rival Atletico by a 3-2 score. Coming Up: On Monday, Real will try to overcome a four-goal deficit when it takes on AD Alcorcon in the home leg of their Copa del Rey matchup. After the break, Real Madrid will host Racing Santander.
7. Benfica (Por) (9) – Once again, Benfica humiliated Everton, this time beating the English club 2-0 in Liverpool in their Europa League match. Coming Up: Benfica can go top in the Liga Sagres with a victory later today against Naval.
8. Juventus (Ita) (12) – Juventus moved a little closer to advancement in the Champions League with a 1-0 victory over Maccabi Haifa. Domestically, Juventus dominated Atalanta by a 5-2 score which included two quick goals by Mauro Camoranesi in the first-half. Coming Up: Juventus will host Udinese on its first match after the international break.
9. Manchester United (Eng) (4) – Man United could score only a 3-3 draw with CSKA Moscow at midweek, but that’s not why United dropped in the rankings. The fall was caused by the drop to third place in the Premiership following the Red Devils’ disappointing 0-1 loss to Chelsea in London. Coming Up: As it looks to rebound from disappointment, Manyoo will begin at home against Everton.
10. Sporting Braga (Por) (8) – Braga finally tasted the bitter pill of defeat this weekend as it lost to Vitoria Guimaraes by a 0-1 score. Coming Up: No matches currently scheduled.
11. Sevilla (Esp) (11) – Despite its 1-1 draw with VfB Stuttgart, Sevilla has qualified for the knockout stage of the Champions League. In Primera Division play, Sevilla fared a little better, defeating Villarreal 3-2. Coming Up: First is a Tuesday Copa del Rey match against CA Ciudad de Lorqui. After the break, Sevilla will return to action against Tenerife.
12. Werder Bremen (Ger) (10) – Werder Bremen qualified for the next round in the Europa League with a 2-0 defeat of Austria Wien. Domestically, Bremen lost ground to Leverkusen because of its 1-1 draw with Borussia Dortmund. Coming Up: Werder Bremen should have an easier time when it takes on Freiburg following the break, but we’ll see.
13. Bordeaux (Fra) (13) – Bordeaux stands in great shape in the Champions League after pulling off a 2-0 defeat of Bayern Munich at Allianz Arena. Domestically, however, Bordeaux suffered a major disappointment, falling 0-2 to Lille. Coming Up: Bordeaux needs to bounce back quickly to hold off Lyon in Ligue Un. Bordeaux’s next match will be at home against Valenciennes.
14. Twente (Ned) (17) – Twente began the week by defeating Sheriff 2-1 to move into second place in Europa League Group H. Domestically, Twente held on to the top spot in the Eredivisie by defeating Ajax by a 1-0 score. Coming Up: FC Twente returns to action on the 21st against Vitesse.
15. Valencia (Esp) (18) – In its battle to advance in the Europa League, Valencia managed only a 2-2 draw with Slavia Praha in the Czech Republic. Domestically, Valencia had an easier time with Real Zaragoza in its 3-1 victory. Coming Up: Valencia’s Copa del Rey match will be against CD Alcoyano on Tuesday. After the break, Valencia will return to action against Osasuna.
16. Hamburger SV (Ger) (15) – Stagnant week for the club from Hamburg as it managed only a scoreless draw with Celtic in a midweek Europa League matchup and then drew 2-2 with Hannover 96 in the Bundesliga. Coming Up: On the Sunday after the break, HSV will host VfL Bochum.
17. Porto (Por) (14) – Porto continues to do well in the Champions League, this week defeating APOEL 1-0 in Cyprus, but the results in the Liga Sagres have been less than expected as Porto fell to Maritimo this weekend by a 0-1 score. Coming Up: No scheduled matches.
18. PSV Eindhoven (Ned) (19) – PSV is leading Europa League’s Group K despite scoring only a 1-1 draw against FC Kobenhavn in Denmark this week. Domestically, PSV scored a huge win with a 5-1 victory over ADO Den Haag on the foot of four goals by Ola Toivonen. Coming Up: PSV hosts Heracles after the break as it continues to chase down FC Twente.
19. Tottenham Hotspur (Eng) (NF) – The Spurs return to the rankings after a one-week absence after defeating Sunderland 2-0 at White Hart Lane and moving back into fourth place in the Premiership. Coming Up: Tottenham is home again after the break to host Wigan Athletic.
20. Banfield (Arg) (BU) – In a topsy-turvy Argentine Apertura, Banfield is once again on top and makes its WCR debut (if I remember correctly) following a 1-0 victory over San Lorenzo. Coming Up: The South American clubs do not take next weekend off, so Banfield has two matches over the next two weeks. Next weekend, it will host Velez Sarsfield. The following week, it will take on Big Five club Independiente.
21. Panathinaikos (Gre) (24) – At midweek, Panathinaikos defeated Sturm Graz 1-0 in a Europa League match. Over the weekend, Panathinaikos finally had a wedge placed between it and Olympiakos at the top of the Greek Super League after Panathinaikos defeated Levadiakos 2-0 to move top of the league. Coming Up: Panathinaikos will host Asteras Tripolis on November 22nd.
22. Ajax (Ned) (23) – In its Thursday Europa League match, Ajax defeated Dinamo Zagreb 2-0 to pick up three vital away points. Domestically, Ajax fell 0-1 to Eredivisie leader FC Twente. Coming Up: Ajax has struggled against the best clubs in the Eredivisie this season, but has completely dominated the weaker ones. After the break, one of the weaker ones, SC Heerenveen, will come to Amsterdam to take on Ajax.
23. Manchester City (Eng) (16) – After a terrific and exciting start to the season, City finds itself stumbling a bit at the moment as demonstrated in its 3-3 draw with lowly Burnley. Coming Up: Whatever put MC in the doldrums, the club needs to find a way out quick as it is scheduled to take on Liverpool at Anfield the Saturday after the break.
24. Fenerbahce (Tur) (BU) – Fenerbahce returns to the rankings this week following some terrific results. In the Europa League, it defeated Steaua Bucuresti 3-1 to move top of a group that includes Eredivisie leader FC Twente. Domestically, Fenerbache maintained its lead in the Turkish Super Ligi with a 3-0 victory over Ankaraspor. Coming Up: In what always is an exciting match, Fenerbach will face Besiktas immediately following the break.
25. Rangers (Sco) (NF) – Rangers returns to the rankings after several weeks not based on what its doing in Europe, though it did manage a 1-1 draw with Unirea Urziceni this week, but on the basis of what its doing in Scotland, where it defeated St. Mirren 2-1 this weekend. Coming Up: The next SPL match for Rangers will be at home against Kilmarnock after the break.
Bubbling Under: Aston Villa (Eng), Fiorentina (Ita), Olympiakos (Gre), Sao Paolo (Bra), Schalke 04 (Ger).
Next Five: Celtic (Sco), Estudiantes (Arg), Milan (Ita), Newell’s Old Boys (Arg), Palmeiras (Bra).
Matches In Next Two Weeks Between WCR Top 25 Clubs:
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