World Club Rankings - Top 25 Clubs in the World - 1984

(Note: Due to the minimal amount of club action this week, the weekly WCR Top 25 is taking the week off. It will return next week.)

We return to the annual rankings with a trip to the world of George Orwell’s future. 1984 saw the WCR Team of the Year award return to England. Liverpool once again took the European Cup championship. In the final, both Liverpool and Roma managed first-half goals, but nothing else through the second half and extra time. Liverpool came from behind to score a 4-2 victory on penalty kicks to take home the European title, helping them to the top of the WCR year-end rankings.

Liverpool was not the only English club to take home European hardware thanks to penalty kicks. After home and away matches with RSC Anderlecht, Tottenham Hotspur took home the UEFA Cup after defeating its Belgian competition 4-3 on penalty kicks. Juventus, on the other hand, didn’t need penalty kicks because its two first-half goals was enough to beat Porto 2-1 in the finals of the Cup Winners Cup.

The 1980s perhaps were the glory days of South American clubs. Despite disappointing domestic results in Argentina, Independiente took home its record seventh (and final, to date) Copa Libertadores title, defeating Brazil’s Gremio 1-0 in aggregate in the two-leg final. The poor domestic showing, however, was enough to keep Independiente from finishing in the Top 25, though runner-up Gremio finished the season at number four.

Meanwhile, a little to the north, Violette AC, from Haiti, was awarded the title in the Copa de Campeones y Subcampeones after the rest of the potential finalists were disqualified over their inability to agree on match dates. In Africa, there was a sweep of major hardware for Egyptian clubs as Zamalek won its first African Champions Cup in 1984 with a 3-0 (agg.) victory over Nigeria’s Shooting Stars and Ah-Ahly took home the African Cup Winners Cup with a penalty kick victory over Canon Yaounde, from Caermoon.

Domestically, the top five leagues in the world were won by Liverpool, VfB Stuttgart, Fluminense, Central Espanol and Juventus. The WCR Top 25 for 1984 may have been headed by Liverpool, but South American clubs, headed by Brazil, still were placing numerous clubs in the year-end rankings. The entire WCR Top 25 for 1984 is below.

World Club Rankings – Top 25 Clubs in the World – 1984

1. Liverpool (Eng) – European Cup – Champions; Second Number One ranking; Eight consecutive Top Five.
2. VfB Stuttgart (FRG) – UEFA Cup – 1R; Highest ever ranking.
3. Fluminense (Bra) – Only Top 25 ranking.
4. Gremio (Bra) – Copa Libertadores – Runner Up; Highest ever ranking.
5. Roma (Ita) – EC-RU; First Top 25 ranking.
6. Nacional (Uru) – CL-SF.
7. Flamengo (Bra) – CL-SF; Fifth consecutive Top 20.
8. Hamburger (FRG) – EC-2R; Sixth consecutive Top Ten.
9. Vasco da Gama (Bra) – First Top 25 ranking.
10. Southampton (Eng) – First Top 25 ranking.
11. Dinamo Bucuresti (Rom) – EC-SF; First Top 25 ranking.
12. Central Espanol (Uru) – Only Top 25 ranking.
13. Juventus (Ita) – Cup Winners Cup-Champion.
14. Nottingham Forest (Eng) – UEFA-SF.
15. Borussia Monchengladbach (FRG)
16. Chivas de Guadalajara (Mex) – Copa de Campeones-Finalist; First Top 25 ranking.
17. Penarol (Uru)
18. Bayern Munich (FRG) – UEFA-3R; Sixth consecutive Top 25.
19. Manchester United (Eng) – CWC-SF.
20. Argentinos Juniors (Arg) – First Top 25 ranking.
21. Cobreloa (Chi)
22. Dundee United (Sco) – EC-SF; Only Top 25 ranking.
23. Athletic de Bilbao (Esp) – EC-2R; Final Top 25 ranking.
24. Werder Bremen (FRG) –UEFA-2R.
25. Queen’s Park Rangers (Eng) – Final Top 25 ranking.

Past Final Season Top 25s: 2008 ,2007, 1983, 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 Television Schedule - 28/29 March 2009

We focus on club football on this site, and not so much on the international stuff, so this feels like an off-weekend here. Most of the televised action will be international matches – either World Cup qualifiers or international friendlies. While many of these team are awesome, and some of the matches can be fun, we don’t get too excited here until it’s World Cup time. Nevertheless, in our never-ending quest to let you know your entertainment options, below is a list of the matches on television this weekend here in the U.S., where the national team is hosting El Salvador on Saturday.

There are a few matches this week. There’s even one involving a WCR Top 25 club as Sao Paulo hosts Palmeiras in a Paulista League match on GolTV on Saturday. Also, there is assorted MLS action on the television if you’re into that.

What excites me most is that South American qualifiers are being broadcast (delayed a few days) on Setanta USA. The matches are being broadcast on Monday and Tuesday, so they are not on the schedule below, but I wanted to mention them anyway. They usually are also re-broadcast on ESPN Desportes, but since mi espanol no es muy bueno (obviously), I’m looking forward to watching them in English.

No Top Five Matches of the Weekend this week, since I have trouble differentiating among international matches, but below is the schedule. Enjoy and have a great weekend!!!

Saturday, March 28, 2009

10:30 am – Saudi Arabia at Iran (FSC)
11:00 am – Finland at Wales (GolTV, ESPN 360)
12:30 pm – Azerbaijan at Russia (Delayed) (FSC)
2:00 pm – Greece at Israel (Setanta USA)
3:00 pm – Liechtenstein at Germany (GolTV)
3:30 pm – Czech Republic at Slovenia (FSC)
4:00 pm – Paraguay at Uruguay (ESPND)
4:45 pm – Sweden at Portugal (Setanta USA)
5:00 pm – Turkey at Spain (GolTV)
6:45 pm – Italy at Montenegro (Delayed) (Setanta USA)
7:00 pm – Scotland at Netherlands (Delayed) (GolTV) (Live at 3:45 pm on ESPN 360)
7:00 pm – Costa Rica at Mexico (Telemundo)
7:30 pm – New England Revolution at New York Red Bulls (FSC)
8:30 pm – France at Lithuania (Delayed) (Setnata USA)
9:00 pm – Palmeiras at (7) Sao Paulo (Delayed) (GolTV)
9:00 pm – El Salvador at United States (ESPN2, TeleFutura, ESPN 360)
11:00 pm – Bahrain at Japan (Delayed) (FSC)

Sunday, March 29, 2009

3:00 pm – Chivas USA at FC Dallas (TeleFutura)
4:45 pm – Slovakia at England (Delayed) (Setanta USA)
6:30 pm – Bulgaria at Ireland (Delayed) (Setanta USA)
8:15 pm – Poland at Northern Ireland (Delayed) (Setanta USA)

WCR Top 25 Clubs in the World - Man United Needs a Bailout Edition

Manchester United’s Premiership lead is disappearing quicker than an AIG executive’s bonus, with Liverpool taking part of the tax collector. Down to nine men by the end, United fell 0-2 to Fulham in embarrassing fashion while Liverpool was busy taking slumping Aston Villa out behind the proverbial shed for a 5-0 arse-whooping. Couple in Chelsea choking against Tottenham and Liverpool is now in second place an only a point behind the Red Devils for the lead, though Manchester United still has a game in hand.

In the Bundesliga, Bayern Munich, like Liverpool, scored a victory to move within one point of the league leader. Lyon and Marseille both won to maintain the status quo in France, as did Inter Milan and Juventus in Italy and Barcelona and Real Madrid in Spain. In Scotland, Celtic and Rangers both drew, but the status quo was maintained all the same. That is to say, nothing terribly exciting took place this weekend.

The lack of movement in the standings made for a lack of movement in the rankings. There was some change, as Aston Villa and Lanus found their ways out of the Top 25, making room for Gremio and Genoa. Even less movement will take place next week since most clubs will be out of action for the international break. For this reason, the World Club Rankings will be taking next week off, at least with respect to the weekly rankings. In their stead, we will return to the annual rankings. I believe we are up to 1984, so look for that next week during the international break. The weekly rankings will be back in two weeks, however, just in time for the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup.

World Club Rankings – 25 Best Clubs in the World – March 23, 2009

1. Manchester United (Eng) (1) – If the weekly rankings were based solely on recent form, Manchester United certainly would not be ranked this high. Fortunately for the Red Devils, the rankings are based on season-to-date numbers and United remains atop the rankings despite its 0-2 defeat at the hands of Fulham. Coming Up: Man United will return to action on April 5 when Aston Villa comes to Old Trafford, which will host the battle of two of the coldest clubs at the top of the Premiership table. (I had to limit that to the top because they are both still doing much better than Newcastle United.)

2. Barcelona (Esp) (2) – In a match that I didn’t get an opportunity to see, Barcelona crushed Malaga by a 6-0 score. Even though I didn’t see it, with a 6-0 score, I assume “crushed” was an appropriate word to use to describe it. Coming Up: After the international break, Barcelona will return to action against Real Valladolid.

3. Liverpool (Eng) (5) – The fire in Anfield that is Liverpool just kept getting hotter this week as Liverpool thoroughly demolished Aston Villa 5-0 to move into second place in the Premiership and a little closer to the top of the rankings. Coming Up: Upon its return from international play, Liverpool will attempt to do better against Fulham than Manchester United managed to do.

4. Porto (Por) (4) – Porto defeated Estrela Amadora 2-0 in a Taca de Portugal match. Coming Up: After the break, Porto returns to Liga Sagres action against Viotira Guimaraes.

5. Chelsea (Eng) (3) – Chelsea had an opportunity to move a little closer to Manchester United this week, but blew the opportunity by falling 0-1 to Tottenham Hotspur. Coming Up: The road gets easier for Chelsea after the break as it leads to St. James’ Park and Newcastle United.

6. Bayern Munich (Ger) (6) – With a 1-0 victory over Karlsruher, Bayern moved within a single point of the leader in an extremely tight Bundesliga table. Coming Up: One of the biggest matches of the weekend after the international break will be Bayern’s trip to Wolfsburg for a battle for second (or possibly first) place in the Bundesliga.

7. Sao Paulo (Bra) (7) – Sao Paulo traveled to Uruguay to take on Defensor Sporting in a Copa Libertadores match and returned home with a 1-0 victory. In Paulista League action, Sao Paolo played Paulista to a 1-1 draw. Coming Up: Unlike the European leagues, the Paulista League will not take a break this week. On Thursday, Sao Paulo will take on Naroeste. More importantly, Sao Paulo will host Palmeiras on Sunday.

8. Arsenal (Eng) (8) – After scoring a 2-1 victory over Hull City to advance to the FA Cup semifinals, Arsenal stayed with recent form with a 3-1 victory over hapless Newcastle United. That’s right. I said it. Newcastle United has no hap. Coming Up: Along with Aston Villa’s recent slump, Arsenal now is securely in fourth place in the Premiership. Upon its return to action, Arsenal will host Manchester City.

9. Inter Milan (Ita) (9) – Now that it is no longer playing English competition, it looks like a great club again. This week, Inter defeated Reggina 3-0. Coming Up: On April 5, Inter Milan will take on Udinese in Serie A action.

10. Juventus (Ita) (10) – Juventus sent Roma further away from a return to next season’s Champions League by scoring a 4-1 victory over the club from the capital. Coming Up: Juve will host Chievo Verona in a few weeks in its return to Serie A action.

11. Real Madrid (Esp) (11) – Real Madrid scored a 3-0 victory over Almeria to stay six points back of Barcelona in La Liga’s Primera Division. Coming Up: After the international break, Real Madrid will take on Malaga in league play.

12. AZ Alkmaar (Ned) (12) – Once again, AZ scored a clean sheet in an Eredivisie match. This time, however, AZ was held scoreless itself in a goalless draw against Feyenoord. Coming Up: AZ will host ADO Den Haag in its return to Eredivisie action on April 4.

13. AC Milan (Ita) (13) – AC fell a few more points behind the top Serie A clubs this week with a goalless draw against Napoli. Coming Up: Next up for AC Milan will be Lecce on April 4 at the San Siro.

14. Hertha Berlin (Ger) (14) – Despite losing 0-2 to VfB Stuttgart, Hertha remains in first place in the Bundesliga, if only by a single point. Coming Up: As Hertha attempts to hold off Bayern and Wolfsburg, it welcomes Borussia Dortmund to the German capital in a few weeks.

15. Villarreal (Esp) (18) – Following a 2-0 victory over Athletic Bilbao, the Yellow Submarine finds itself moving slightly up the rankings. Coming Up: Villarreal will host Almeria in its return to Primera Division action on April 5.

16. Sporting CP (Por) (15) – Sporting drops a notch after losing on penalty kicks to Benfica in the final of the Carlsberg Cup. Coming Up: After the break, the Liga Sagres returns and Sporting will take on Leixoes.

17. Sevilla (Esp) (20) – Sevilla, like Villarreal, also moves up the rankings. Sevilla moves up by virtue of a 4-1 victory over Real Valladolid. Coming Up: Sevilla’s next Primera Division match will be in a few weeks against Recreativo de Huelva.

18. Wolfsburg (Ger) (16) – A 3-0 victory over Arminia Bielefeld allows Wolfsburg to stay hot on the heels of Hertha Berlin. Coming Up: With Wolfsburg’s victory and Hertha’s defeat, the April 4 match in which Wolfsburg hosts Bayern Munich perhaps will be the most important match in all of Europe during the weekend following the international break.

19. Cruzeiro (Bra) (19) – Cruzeiro continued to cruise in its Copa Libertadores group, scoring a 2-0 victory over Universitario Sucre. In state action, Cruzeiro played Rio Branco to a 1-1 draw this past weekend. Coming Up: Like other Brazilian clubs, Cruzeiro will be in action this week, taking on Democrata on Thursday.

20. Celtic (Sco) (17) – A late goal allowed Celtic to escape with a 2-2 draw against Dundee United. Next Up: After the international break, Celtic will return to SPL action at home against Hamilton Academicals.

21. Genoa (Ita) (BU) – The Italian sleeper returns to the rankings this week following a 2-0 victory over Udinese, the only Italian club remaining in European action. Coming Up: Reggina will be Genoa’s opponent when Serie A action returns in a few weeks.

22. Twente (Ned) (22) – Twente was able to take advantage of AZ’s slip and creep a few points closer to the top of the Eredivisie table with a 2-1 victory over Groningen this past weekend. Coming Up: Twente’s international break will end a little earlier than most when it takes on NEC in Njimegen on April 3.

23. Gremio (Bra) (BU) – I’m not sure why Gremio left the rankings last week or why they’re back this week, but the rankings work in mysterious ways sometimes. In two matches this week, Gremio defeated Sao Jose 6-1 and drew 1-1 with Ulbra. Coming Up: Gremio takes on Aurora in the only Copa Libertadores match of the week on Wednesday night. On Sunday, Gremio will host Sao Luiz.

24. Benfica (Por) (23) – Benfica scored some hardware this weekend as it defeated Sporting CP on penalty kicks following a 1-1 match to take home Portugal’s Carlsberg Cup. Coming Up: Benfica will return to Liga Sagres play in a few weeks when it takes on Estrela Amadora.

25. Rangers (Sco) (24) – Rangers could manage only a 2-2 draw against Hearts this weekend, though Celtic failed to take advantage and so Rangers remains three points out of the SPL lead. Coming Up: After the international break, Rangers will take on Falkirk in domestic action.

Bubbling Under (alphabetically): Ajax (Ned), Aston Villa (Eng), Colon (Arg), Lyon (Fra), Marseille (Fra).

Next Five (alphabetically): Atletico de Madrid (Esp), Everton (Eng), Fiorentina (Ita), TSG Hoffenheim (Ger), LDU Quito (Ecu).

Matches Between Top 25 Clubs in Next Two Weeks:
4 April – (6) Bayern Munich at (18) Wolfsburg

Weekend Soccer Television Schedule - 21/22 March 2009

After a few really good weekends of football on television, we return to the mid-late-season funk this weekend. There are two matches between WCR Top 25 clubs this weekend, but only one of them is being televised here in the U.S. On Sunday, FSC will broadcast the match between Aston Villa and Liverpool at Anfield. It should be interesting because Liverpool is playing better than any other club in the world at the moment and Aston Villa has been ice cold recently, recently being eliminated from the UEFA Cup and falling back down to fifth in the Premiership. The other match between featuring ranked clubs is the Portuguese League Cup final between Sporting CP and Benfica.

Another feature of the weekend will be the return of the MLS. It may not be the best action on television, but it is always competitive and I enjoy it. FSC will show a doubleheader of MLS matches on Saturday night and TeleFutura will open its MLS season with a match between DC United and the Los Angeles Galaxy.

The rest of the matches are the typical matches from around the world that are available around the dial and on the internet (ESPN 360). My list of top matches and all of the other matches are listed below. Have a great weekend!!!

Top Five Matches of the Weekend:

1. Aston Villa at Liverpool (Sunday, Noon (-4:00 GMT), FSC)
2. Sporting CP vs. Benfica (Saturday, 3:45 pm, Not Televised)
3. Juventus at Roma (Saturday, 3:30 pm, FSC)
4. Columbus Crew at Houston Dynamo (Saturday, 8:00 pm, FSC)
5. Santos at Corinthians (Sunday, 6:00 pm (delayed), GolTV)

Saturday, March 21, 2009

8:40 am – Everton at Portsmouth (Setanta USA)
10:30 am – Karlsruher at (6) Bayern Munich (GolTV)
11:00 am – (3) Chelsea at Tottenham Hotspur (FSC)
11:00 am – (1) Manchester United at Fulham (Setanta USA)
12:30 pm – (14) Hertha Berlin at VfB Stuttgart (Delayed) (GolTV)
1:30 pm – (8) Arsenal at Newcastle United (FSC)
2:30 pm – Defensor Sporting at Penarol (GolTV)
2:45 pm – Vitesse at PSV Eindhoven (ESPND, ESPN 360)
3:30 pm – (10) Juventus at Roma (FSC)
4:00 pm – Nantes at Marseille (Setanta USA)
5:00 pm – Real Valladolid at (20) Sevilla (GolTV)
5:30 pm – Lazio at Catania (Delayed) (FSC)
7:00 pm – Indios at San Luis (Galavision)
7:15 pm – Independiente Santa Fe at Millonarios (GolTV)
7:45 pm – West Ham United at Blackburn Rovers (Delayed) (Setanta USA)
8:00 pm – Columbus Crew at Houston Dynamo (FSC)
8:00 pm – Monterrey at Jaguares (ESPND)
9:00 pm – Necaxa at Pachuca (TeleFutura)
9:00 pm- Chivas de Guadalajara at Tigres (Telemundo)
9:30 pm – Bolton Wanderers at West Bromwich Albion (Delayed) (Setanta USA0
10:30 pm – Colorado Rapids at Chivas USA (FSC)
11:00 pm – Puebla at Atlante (Telemundo)

Sunday, March 22, 2009

2:45 am – Motherwell at Kilmarnock (Delayed) (Setanta USA)
5:15 am – Khimki at Dinamo Moscow (Delayed) (Setanta USA)
7:00 am – Saturn at Zenit St. Petersburg (Setanta USA)
9:30 am – Ajax at NAC Breda (ESPN 360)
9:30 am – Hull City at Wigan Athletic (Setanta USA)
10:00 am – Siena at Fiorentina (ESPN 360)
10:00 am – Reggina at (9) Inter Milan (FSC, ESPN 360)
12 noon – Almeria at (11) Real Madrid (GolTV)
12 noon – (25) Aston Villa at (5) Liverpool (FSC)
2:00 pm – Cruz Azul at Toluca (Telemundo)
2:00 pm – Santos Laguna at Monarcas (ESPND)
3:00 pm – Boca Juniors at Tigre (FSE)
3:00 pm – D.C. United at Los Angeles Galaxy (TeleFutura)
3:30 pm – (13) AC Milan at Napoli (FSC)
4:00 pm – Paris St. Germain at Toulouse (Setanta USA)
4:00 pm – Atletico de Madrid at Mallorca (GolTV)
5:30 pm – Sunderland at Manchester City (Delayed) (FSC)
6:00 pm – Santos at Corinthians (Delayed) (GolTV)
6:00 pm – UNAM Pumas at Club America (Univision)

Monday, March 23, 2009

5:30 am – Bordeaux at Le Havre (Delayed) (Setanta USA)
7:15 am – Sochaux at Lyon (Delayed) (Setanta USA)

Non-Televised Matches Involving WCR Top 25 Clubs

Sat., 10:30 am – (16) Wolfsburg at Arminia Bielefeld
Sat., 11:00 am – Hearts at (24) Rangers
Sat., 3:00 pm – Athletic Bilbao at (18) Villarreal
Sat., 3:45 pm – (15) Sporting CP vs. (25) Benfica
Sun., 9:30 am – Feyenoord at (12) AZ Alkmaar
Sun., 9:30 am – Groningen at (22) Twente
Sun., 10:00 am – (17) Celtic at Dundee United
Sun., 2:00 pm – Malaga at (2) Barcelona
Sun., 3:00 pm – (7) Sao Paulo at Paulista
Sun., 3:00 pm – (19) Cruzeiro at Rio Branco
Sun., 4:10 pm – (21) Lanus at Huracan
Sun., 4:45 pm – Estrela Amadora at (4) Porto

WCR Top 25 Clubs in the World - England Rules Edition

It’s finally time for the bonus points to be thrown into the calculations and it caused a little shuffling in the rankings, though not quite as much as you might think seeing as most of the clubs that benefit were already ranked pretty high. The UEFA Champions league once again is turning into an FA Cup tournament in which the coaches don’t bench their best players – unless you’re Manchester United and you’re playing your first leg against Inter Milan, in which case it makes sense to bench Wayne Rooney.

Since AC Milan defeated Liverpool in the final in 2007, no English club has been knocked out of the Champions League by anybody but another English club. That remained intact this week as English clubs eliminated Real Madrid and the entire nation of Italy from the European competition. There were no major surprises since there were no heavy favorites in the Round of Sixteen – unless you count Barcelona by your votes and Porto by my rankings, but both of those clubs won. Meanwhile, in the Western Hemisphere, the group stage of the Copa Libertadores is nearing its halfway point and the CONCACAF Champions League’s semifinals begin this coming week.

In domestic play, the match of the week took place at Old Trafford, where Liverpool absolutely demolished the top ranked club in the world. Manchester United is still ranked at the top because it’s atop the Premiership, but with a 4-0 victory over Real Madrid and a 4-1 victory over Manchester United, Liverpool can claim the title of hottest club in the world. In other places around the globe, Inter Milan bounced back to defeat Fiorentina to maintain the top spot in Serie A, Paris St.-Germain lost to Marseille, keeping PSG from taking over the top spot in Ligue Un, and Celtic defeated Rangers to win the Scottish League Cup.

In the upcoming week, most of the top clubs get midweek off for a change. The highlight of the midweek will be the aforementioned CONCACAF Champions League semifinals (or the Mexican Cup) and the second leg of the second knockout round of the UEFA Cup. Also, the Copa Libertadores group stage will continue. Over the weekend, there will be two matches involving ranked clubs. The hottest ranked club, Liverpool, will host the coldest club, Aston Villa. Meanwhile, like Scotland this past week, the top two clubs face off in the Portuguese League Cup as Porto takes on Sporting CP.

There are five clubs out this week, which means there are five new clubs in this week, some of which is due to bonus points. Also, both Celtic and Rangers return to the rankings as Greece’s clubs’ elimination from European play helped the rankings of the Scottish Premiership. Long story. Below are the rest of the stories. Enjoy.

World Club Rankings – Top 25 Clubs in the World – March 16, 2009

1. Manchester United (Eng) (1) – The Red Devils hold on to this position because it is still is on top of the Premiership table. It helped that Manchester United defeated Inter Milan 2-0 to advance to the Champions League quarterfinals. It didn’t help that it lost 1-4 at home to Liverpool. This Week: As I said before, most of the top clubs get midweek off for a change. Manchester United returns to action on Saturday when it takes on Fulham.

2. Barcelona (Esp) (2) – The once-hottest club in the world is the current second-best club in the world. Not surprisingly, Barcelona eliminated Lyon with a 5-2 victory to advance to the Champions League quarterfinals. Barca also defeated Almeria 2-0 to nobody’s surprise to maintain its six-point lead in the Primera Division. This Week: Barcelona will host Malaga on Sunday in La Liga.

3. Chelsea (Eng) (4) – It was only a 2-2 draw, but it was enough to eliminate Juventus from Europe and advance to the UEFA CL quarterfinals. A 1-0 victory over Manchester City also allowed Chelsea to stay in second place in England, by virtue of a shrinking lead over Liverpool in goal differential. This Week: Chelsea stays in London this week and will visit Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.

4. Porto (Por) (5) – The voters didn’t expect it, but Porto’s scoreless draw with Atletico de Madrid allowed the Liga Sagres leaders to advance to the Champions League quarterfinals. In addition, a 2-0 victory over Naval allowed Porto to stretch its lead in the Liga Sagres. This Week: This coming weekend, Porto will host Estrela Amadora in a Portuguese Cup match.

5. Liverpool (Eng) (8) – If Liverpool could just play the same way against clubs like Middlesbrough as it does against the top clubs, it would be ranked much higher. Liverpool crushed Real Madrid 4-0 to advance in the UEFA Champions League and then administered a similar crushing of Manchester United 4-1. This Week: Liverpool will host Aston Villa this weekend as it tries to chase down both Manyoo and Chelsea in the Premeirship table.

6. Bayern Munich (Ger) (9) – Bayern finished its historic butt kicking of Sporting CP with a 7-1 victory in the second leg. Bayern kept the good times rolling with a 3-0 Bundesliga defeat of Bochum. This Week: Bayern Munich will host Karlsruher on Saturday.

7. Sao Paulo (Bra) (12) – European clubs aren’t the only clubs that get Bonus Points. Sao Paulo also receives them as current leader of its group in the Copa Libertadores. Sao Paulo scored two Paulista League wins this week, 5-0 over Mirassol and 2-1 over Marilia. This Week: Sao Paulo returns to Copa Libertadores action this week, heading to Uruguay to take on Defensor Sporting on Thursday. On Sunday, Sao Paulo will take on Paulista in state league action.

8. Arsenal (Eng) (18) – It was a double move for Arsenal up the rankings this week. First, after losing 0-1 in its match against Roma, Arsenal defeated the Italian club on penalty kicks to advance to the Champions League quarterfinals, picking up some bonus points. Then, Arsenal defeated Blackburn Rovers 4-0, allowing the club to move back into fourth place in the English Premiership. This Week: Arsenal will host Hull City on Tuesday in an FA Cup quarterfinal match. On Saturday, Arsenal heads to St. Jame’s Park to take on struggling Newcastle United.

9. Inter Milan (Ita) (2) – This is what happens to you when you don’t get any bonus points. Internazionale was eliminated from the Champions League in a 0-2 loss to Manchester United. Inter did bounce back, however, to defeat Fiorentina 2-0 in Serie A action. This Week: Inter Milan will host Reggina on Sunday.

10. Juventus (Ita) (6) – Likewise, no bonus points for Juventus following a 2-2 draw with Chelsea, and it falls in the rankings. A 4-1 defeat of Bologna helped Juve to keep pace with Inter Milan in Serie A. This Week: One of the better matches this weekend will take place when Juventus heads to the capital to take on Roma on Saturday.

11. Real Madrid (Esp) (7) – Real Madrid falls out of the Top Ten following its 0-4 loss at the hands of Liverpool in the Champions League. Against weaker competition, Real looked much better over the weekend, defeating Athletic Bilbao 5-2. This Week: As always with the Primera Division schedule, Real Madrid gets Barcelona’s leftovers when it hosts Almeria on Sunday.

12. AZ Alkmaar (Ned) (10) – AZ finally lost a match, although it was a KNVB Beker match, losing 1-2 to NAC Breda. In Eredivisie play, AZ Alkmaar scored yet another shutout victory, beating FC Utrecht 1-0. This Week: AZ welcomes Feyenoord to Alkmaar on Sunday.

13. AC Milan (Ita) (13) – AC Milan did not suffer the humiliation of a midweek defeat because they suffered the humiliation of missing the Champions League last season and the humiliation of being knocked out of the UEFA Cup a few weeks ago. It did win its Serie A match, smacking Siena around consistently in a 5-1 match. This Week: Milan wiil take on a slumping Napoli club in Serie A action this weekend.

14. Hertha Berlin (Ger) (13) – Hertha Berlin defeated Bayer Leverkusen 1-0 to maintain its four-point lead over Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga. This Week: Hertha will try to keep the good times rolling on Saturday against VfB Stuttgart.

15. Sporting CP (Por) (23) – This move up the rankings seems inconsistent with its historic embarrassment at the hands of Bayern Munich in the Champions League, but Sporting’s 2-0 victory over Rio Ave allowed SCP to move into second place in the Liga Sagres. This Week: Next up for Sporting will be the Portuguese League Cup final against Benfica on Sunday.

16. Wolfsburg (Ger) (20) – With a 4-3 victory over Schalke 04, Wolfsburg passed TSG Hoffenheim into third place in the Bundesliga. This Week: On Sunday, Wolfsburg will take on Arminia Bielefeld.

17. Celtic (Sco) (BU) – The first place club in the SPL defeated Rangers (the second-place club in the SPL) 2-0 to win the Scottish League Cup. This Week: Celtic will return to Scottish Premiership action on Sunday against Dundee United.

18. Villarreal (Esp) (NR) – Bonus points allow Villarreal to return to the rankings following a 2-1 victory over Panathinaikos in the Champions League. The Yellow Submarine celebrated by going to Madrid. And losing 2-3 to Atletico de Madrid. This Week: On Sunday, Villarreal will host Athletic Bilbao in Primera Division play.

19. Cruzeiro (Bra) (NR) – Cruzeiro is another South American club that enters the countdown after receiving bonus points for leading its Copa Libertadores group. Cruzeiro’s only match over the past week was a 1-1 draw with America Mineiro in Brazil’s Mineiro League. This Week: Cruzeiro will take on Universitario Sucre in Copa Libertadores action this week before taking on Rio Branco over the weekend in a Mineiro League match.

20. Sevilla (Esp) (17) – Sevilla continues to be a distant third-place in La Liga’s Primera Division following a 2-2 draw with Malaga. This Week: Next up for Sevilla in the Primera Division is a home match against Real Valladolid.

21. Lanus (Arg) (NR) – Lanus returns to the rankings not by virtue of bonus points, since its currently in last place in its Copa Libertadores group, but by virtue of its quick start in the Argenine Clausura. Following a 1-1 draw with Everton (not that one) in the Copa Libertadores, Lanus defeated Colon 2-1 in Clausura action. This Week: Lanus will host Everton in a Copa Libertadores match on Thursday and will take on Huracan on Sunday in league play.

22. Twente (Ned) (25) – Twente defeated Willem II 2-0 to keep pace with AZ Alkmaar in the Eredivisie. This Week: On Sunday, Twente will host Groningen in league play.

23. Benfica (Por) (14) – SL Benfica drops nine spots after losing 0-1 to Vitoria Guimaraes and dropping to third place in the Liga Sagres. This Week: Benfica did make it to the final of the Portugues League Cup, where it will take on Sporting CP on Sunday.

24. Rangers (Sco) (BU) – Rangers returns to the rankings despite its 0-2 loss to Celtic in the Scottish League Cup. This Week: Rangers will host Hearts on Saturday in the Premiership.

25. Aston Villa (Eng) (16) – Things were going so well with Aston Villa’s Championship League dreams, but a 1-2 loss to Tottenham Hotspur makes it look like those dreams aren’t going to come true. This Week: It won’t get any easier for Villa in the next week because Aston Villa heads to Anfield to take on Liverpool on Sunday.

Bubbling Under: Ajax (Ned), Genoa (Ita), Gremio (Bra), Lyon (Fra), Velez Sarsfield (Arg).

Next Five: Atletico de Madrid (Esp), Everton (Eng), Fiorentina (Ita), TSG Hoffenheim (Ger), Marseille (Fra).

Matches Between Top Five Clubs Next Week
22 March – (25) Aston Villa at (5) Liverpool
22 March – (4) Porto vs. (15) Sporting CP

Weekend Soccer Television Schedule - 14/15 March

This weekend, we have a pair of great matches and a whole bunch of interesting matches. The two great matches both involve a pair of clubs in the WCR Top 25. The bigger of the two takes place on Setanta USA on Saturday when Liverpool travels to Old Trafford to take on Manchester United in an important Premiership matchup. As a follow-up, on Sunday, FSC will broadcast Fiorentina’s trip to the San Siro to take on Serie A leader Inter Milan. After this week’s Champions League matches, the rankings will be shuffled around a bit on Monday morning, but for now, all four of those clubs are ranked.

In a break with tradition, the matches that I’m ranking third through fifth in the Matches of the Weekend list all involve unranked clubs. Nevertheless, they involve interesting, if not important, matchups that I am looking forward to watching. These matches include Sunday’s matchup between Villarreal and Atletico de Madrid in La Liga, the Ligue Un matchup between Marseille and Paris St.-Germain, and the Scottish League Cup final between Razngers and Celtic.

Of course, there are a ton of other matches on the tube and off the tube this weekend. I have to point out that one of the things that I’m most looking forward to this weekend is the debut of the Russian Premier League on Setanta USA, which will broadcast the FC Moscow/Dinamo Moscow and Zenit St. Petersburg/Spartak Moscow matches on Sunday morning. I’ll be watching, though maybe not live because it will be awfully early here. Whether you watch or not, have a great weekend!!!

Top Five Matches of the Weekend:

1. Liverpool at Manchester United (Saturday, 8:40 am (-4:00 GMT), Setanta USA)
2. Fiorentina at Inter Milan (Sunday, 3:30 pm, FSC)
3. Villarreal at Atletico de Madrid (Sunday, 2:00 pm, GolTV)
4. Marseille at Paris St.-Germain (Sunday, 4:00 pm, Setanta USA)
5. Rangers v. Celtic (Saturday, 11:00 am, Not Televised)

Saturday, March 14, 2009

8:40 am – (8) Liverpool at (1) Manchester United (Setanta USA)
10:30 am – Bayer Leverkusen at (13) Hertha Berlin (GolTV)
11:00 am – Stoke City at Everton (FSC)
11:00 am – Blackburn Rovers at (18) Arsenal (Setanta USA)
12:30 pm – (9) Bayern Munich at VfL Bochum (Delayed) (GolTV)
1:00 pm – Genoa at Cagliari (FSC)
3:00 pm – Barueri at Palmeiras (Delayed) (GolTV)
3:30 pm – Bologna at (6) Juventus (FSC, ESPN 360)
4:00 pm – Nice at Bordeaux (Setanta USA)
5:30 pm – Newcastle United at Hull City (Delayed) (FSC)
7:00 pm – Pachuca at Monterrey (Telemundo)
7:15 pm – Deportivo Cali at Deportes Quindio (GolTV)
7:30 pm – Fulham at Bolton Wanderers (Delayed) (FSC)
7:45 pm – Wigan Athletic at Sunderland (Delayed) (Setanta USA)
9:15 pm – Boyaca Chico at America de Cali (GolTV)
9:30 pm – Portsmouth at Middlesbrough (Delayed) (Setanta USA)
11:00 pm – Morelia at Necaxa (TeleFutura)

Sunday, March 15, 2009

5:15 am – FC Moscow at Dinamo Moscow (Delayed) (Setanta USA)
7:00 am – Zenit St. Petersburg at Spartak Moscow (Setanta USA)
7:30 am – PSV Eindhoven at Feyenoord (ESPND, ESPN 360)
9:00 am – Manchester City at (4) Chelsea (Setanta USA)
9:30 am – De Graafschap at Ajax (ESPN 360)
10:00 am – (11) AC Milan at Siena (FSC)
10:00 am – Chievo Verona at Lazio (ESPN 360)
12 noon – Auxerre at (21) Lyon (Setanta USA)
12 noon – Tottenham Hotspur at (16) Aston Villa (FSC)
12:30 pm – Club America at Cruz Azul (ESPND)
2:00 pm – Villarreal at Atletico de Madrid (GolTV)
2:00 pm – Atlante at UNAM Pumas (Telemundo)
2:00 pm – San Luis at Puebla (FSE)
3:00 pm – Tigres at Indios (ESPND)
3:30 pm – (19) Fiorentina at (2) Inter Milan (FSC)
4:00 pm – (3) Barcelona at Almeria (GolTV)
5:30 pm – River Plate at Velez Sarsfield (Delayed) (FSC)
6:00 pm – Toluca at Santos Laguna (Univision)
6:00 pm – Corinthians at Santa Andre (Delayed) (GolTV)
7:00 pm – Atlas at Chivas de Guadalajara (Telemundo)
8:00 pm – (7) Real Madrid at Athletic Bilbao (Delayed) (GolTV)

Monday, March 16, 2009

7:15 am – Lorient at Nantes (Delayed) (Setanta USA)
11:00 am – Hearts at Hibernian (Delayed) (Setanta USA)
4:00 pm – West Bromwich Albion at West Ham United (Setanta USA)

Non-Televised Matches Involving WCR Top 25 Clubs

Fri., 3:30 pm – Schalke 04 at (20) Wolfsburg
Sat., 9:30 am – (10) AZ Alkmaar at Utrecht
Sat., 10:30 am – (15) TSG Hoffenheim at Eintracht Frankfurt
Sat., 2:45 pm – Vitoria Guimaraes at (14) Benfica
Sat., 2:45 pm – (25) Twente at Willem II
Sat., 5:00 pm – Rio Ave at (23) Sporting CP
Sun., 12 noon – (17) Sevilla at Malaga
Sun., 1:00 pm – Iraklis at (24) Olympiakos
Sun., 3:00 pm – (22) Gremio at Sapucaiense
Sun., 4:15 pm – Naval at (5) Porto
Sun., 7:10 pm – Marilia at (12) Sao Paulo

UEFA Cup Predictions - Round of Sixteen Edition

Well, I hope you weren’t waging large amounts based upon the WCR predictions in the first knockout round of the UEFA Cup, even though even at 4-12, it was probably still a safer bet than putting the money in your friendly, local stock market. None of the clubs in the current WCR Top 25 clubs advanced to make it into the UEFA Cup Round of Sixteen. Still, some quality clubs advanced. Since I’m not easily discouraged, we’ll go ahead and predict the next round as well. I make the same guarantees, or lack of guarantees as I made in the first round.

In the first round, I stated a bias against clubs from Russia and Ukraine. Sure enough, five of the final sixteen clubs are from one of those two nations. In fact, four of them are playing each other, so I finally have to pick some of them to win. The top two clubs in Ukraine at the moment are taking on each other. Dinamo Kiev, in fact, recently defeated Metalist 2-0 to extend its league lead. I expect that to continue, leading me to my first prediction.

Dinamo Kiev over Metalist

In the other battle between clubs from the former Soviet Union, I like Shakhtar Donetsk a lot, but this has not been a banner year for the club. On the other hand, CSKA Moscow, who is just about to start its season, is coming off of a second-place finish in Russia. Since both clubs defeated English clubs in the last round, both were on television here and I got to see both clubs play. I’m going Russian here.

CSKA Moscow over Shakhtar Donetsk

Over the past two years, I’ve picked Zenit St. Petersburg to lose six times. They’ve won every single time. I’m not going to stop when I’m on a roll.

Udinese over Zenit St. Petersburg

The lone English club remaining is coming off a victory over Kobenhavn, which is probably the best club in Denmark at the moment. If I remember the transitive property of UEFA Cup clubs correctly, if Manchester City > Kobenhavn and Kobenhavn > Aalborg, then Manchester City > Aalborg.

Manchester City over Aalborg

I thought that two of the best clubs entering into the first round were AC Milan and Olympiakos. As you know, they were knocked out in the first round. The clubs that knocked them out are taking on each other in the second round. Although Bremen has underperformed, I can’t convince myself to pick a club that is about to get relegated from Ligue Un, no matter how badly they embarrassed Olympiakos.

Werder Bremen over St. Etienne

Germany is the only nation from which I am picking two clubs to advance. Although I have a lot of respect for the Turkish clubs, and I love yelling “Fenerbahce” at the top of my lungs to confused bystanders, I’m going with the boys from Hamburg in this round.

Hamburger over Galatasaray

The final two matchups I think are complete toss-ups. I called four matchups “toss-ups” in the last round. For the record, I missed every single one of those picks – so take these picks with a grain (or pillar) of salt. For the close ones, I go strictly with the rankings. (Actually, I go strictly by the rankings for all of them, but I feel a special need to pass the buck for the close ones.)

(28) Ajax over (37) Marseille

(33) Paris St.-Germain over (41) Sporting Braga

WCR Top 25 Clubs in the World - Second Leg Edition

Yes, there were UEFA Cup matches this past week. There were also Copa Libertadores group stage matches. The CONCACAF Champions League finished its quarterfinal round with a brilliant come-from-behind victory by Sanots Laguna over Montreal, leaving Mexico as North America’s England – as in they seem to never lose in the Champions League except to each other. Still, it seems like this week was an off-week as we await the second leg of the UEFA Champions League first knockout round. The lack of great matches this weekend just added to the feeling that the upcoming week is what we are really looking forward to.

The major events this weekend that affected the rankings occurred, predictably, in the Bundesliga and, for a change, the Scottish Premier League. With a soul-crushing defeat of Hannover 96, Bayern Munich jumped from fifth to second in the Bundesliga and it was enough to take Bayern from “next five” all the way into the WCR Top Ten. In SPL play, Rangers was upset by then-last place Inverness, giving up the top spot of the table back to Celtic.

In the upcoming week, we will of course see the same matchups in the UEFA Champions League as we did two weeks ago, on in different locales. One of the things making the week more exciting is that seven of the eight matchups are still up for grabs. (Sorry, Sporting CP, you can stop grabbing, now.) At the very top of the list is the battle between the top two clubs in the world as Inter Milan and Manchester United go to battle at Old Trafford following a 0-0 draw at the San Siro. There are other classic matchups that will come to a conclusion this week, but I want to leave myself something to write about below. Speaking of which, I’m going to go ahead and start doing that now.

Before I do that, however, I want to make mention of two weekend matches that I’m looking forward to. Inter Milan will take on Fiorentina this weekend. And, more importantly, Liverpool and Manchester United will knock heads in Premiership play. Now, on to the rankings.

World Club Rankings – Top 25 Clubs in the World – March 9, 2009

1. Manchester United (Eng) (1) – A pair of victories for the Red Devils this week as Manchester United defeated Newcastle United 2-1 at midweek and then advanced to the semifinals of the FA Cup with a 4-0 victory over Fulham. This Week: Manchester United and Inter Milan start from scratch with the second leg of their UEFA Champions League match taking place at Old Trafford. If that’s not enough excitement for you, Liverpool will be coming to town for a Premiership match on Saturday.

2. Inter Milan (Ita) (2) – Inter was humiliated by Sampdoria 0-3 to be eliminated from the Coppa Italia. Inter Milan made up for it over the weekend by defeating Genoa 2-0 to maintain its Serie A lead. This Week: The club that advances from the Manchester United/Inter Milan matchup likely will be the number one club in the world in next week’s rankings. Like the Red Devils, Inter also hosts a tough opponent in league play this weekend, as Fiorentina comes to the San Siro.

3. Barcelona (Esp) (3) – A 1-1 draw with Mallorca was enough for Barcelona to advance in the Copa del Rey. Over the weekend, Barcelona finally got back on the winning track by defeating Athletic Bilbao 2-0. This Week: Barca needs to stay on the winning track in order to advance in the Champions League, following a 1-1 draw with Lyon two weeks ago. Domestically, Barcelona will take on Almeria on Sunday.

4. Chelsea (Eng) (4) – Like Manchester United, the Blues scored two victories in two tries this week, defeating Portsmouth 1-0 in Premiership action and defeating Coventry City 2-0 to advance to the FA Cup semifinals. This Week: Chelsea heads to Italy to take on Juventus with a 1-0 lead in their Champions League matchup. On Sunday, Chelsea welcomes Manchester City to Stamford Bridge.

5. Porto (Por) (7) – Porto maintained its Liga Sagres lead with a 4-1 victory over Leixoes this past weekend. This Week: Porto will get its home leg of its Champions League battle with Atletico after a 2-2 match in Madrid two weeks ago. In Liga Sagres play, Porto will host Naval on Sunday.

6. Juventus (Ita) (5) – Juventus was eliminated from the Coppa Italia following a 1-2 loss to Lazio at midweek. In the Turin Derby, Juventus defeated Torino 1-0 to keep pace with Inter Milan in Serie A. This Week: Juventus will host Chelsea in the second leg of the second-most interesting matchup of the Round of Sixteen. On Saturday, Juventus will host Bologna.

7. Real Madrid (Esp) (6) – In the Madrid Derby, Atletico and Real fought to a tough 1-1 draw, allowing Barcelona to extend its lead back to six points. This Week: It is an uphill battle for Real this week after Real fell 0-1 to Liverpool at home. The rematch at Anfield should be fun. On Sunday, Real Madrid heads to Basque country to take on Athletic Bilbao.

8. Liverpool (Eng) (8) – Speaking of the Real Madrid/Liverpool match, this is the other club playing in it. Duh. In its only match of the week, Liverpool defeated Sunderland 2-0 to keep up with the Manchester United and Chelseas of the world in the Premiership. This Week: Liverpool just needs a draw or better to advance to the Champions League quarterfinals past Real Madrid. Its toughest match of the week likely will be on Saturday when Liverpool heads to Old Trafford to take on Manchester United.

9. Bayern Munich (Ger) (NR) – After falling completely out of the Top 25 for a few weeks, Bayern Munich defeated Hannover 96 5-1 to jump into second place in the Bundesliga and back into the WCR Top Ten. This was a good bounce back from Bayern’s 2-4 loss in its cup match against Bayer Leverkusen. This Week: Bayern’s advancement in the Champions League is a foregone conclusion at this point, but it will play Sporting CP, nonetheless. On Saturday, Bayern will take on VfL Bochum in Bundesliga play.

10. AZ Alkmaar (Ned) (9) – AZ fell in cup action, losing to NAC Breda 1-2 at midweek. In Eredivisie play, however, AZ continues to be nearly perfect, this week defeating NEC Nijmegen 1-0. This Week: With no European action for AZ, its next match will be Sunday against FC Utrecht.

11. AC Milan (Ita) (10) – Milan scored a 3-0 victory over Atalanta to stay consistent with the rest of the top clubs in the world. (Now that I think about it, all of the clubs up to this point won their domestic league matches up to this point.) This Week: AC Milan will take on Siena on Sunday.

12. Sao Paulo (Bra) (11) – I don’t know anything about the Paulista League, so I’m not counting it as a national league. (I do know that it is a state league and not a national league. At least I think I know that.) I’m just doing this so I don’t have to count its 0-2 losst to Mogi Mirim as a national league loss. I will count its 3-1 victory over America de Cali as a Copa Libertadores match, since, well, it was. This Week: Two more Paulista League matches are on tap for Sao Paulo this week, both at home, against Mirassol and Manila.

13. Hertha Berlin (Ger) (13) – Hertha Berlin also won this week, defeating Energie Cottbus 3-1, to maintain its narrow lead in the Bundesliga. This Week: How long will the good times last for Hertha? We’ll see. On Saturday, Bayer Leverkusen comes to Berlin for a league match.

14. Benfica (Por) (12) – Benfica, like all of the clubs above it, won its league match, defeating Naval 2-1. It’s this type of consistency that make the rankings a bit static sometimes. This Week: Benfica will host Vitoria Guimaraes on Sunday.

15. TSG Hoffenheim (Ger) (15) – We finally get our first draw here at number fifteen. TSG Hoffenheim played Werder Bremen to a scoreless draw in Bundesliga action. This Week: As it tries to refind its lost form, TSG will take on Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday.

16. Aston Villa (Eng) (14) – And, finally, this is our highest ranked club that lost a domestic league match last week. Manchester City was able to defeat Aston Villa by a 2-0 score. This Week: Villa has been slipping recently. As it attempts to hold off Arsenal, Aston Villa will host Tottenham Hotspur this weekend.

17. Sevilla (Esp) (19) – Sevilla was ousted from the Copa del Rey at the hands of Athletic Bilbao following a 0-3 loss to the club from the north. Domestically, Sevilla did defeat Almeria 2-1. This week: The only match this week for Sevilla will be a Sunday match against Malaga.

18. Arsenal (Eng) (21) – Now that the Champions League is in high gear, it appears that Arsenal is playing uncharacteristically well. After defeating West Bromwich Albion 3-1 at midweek, Arsenal defeated Brunley 3-0 to advance to the semifinals of the FA Cup. Okay, maybe it was the competition. This Week: Arsenal can advance to the Champions League quarterfinals if it can manage to get past Roma in Italy this week, following a 1-0 victory two weeks ago in London. Domestically, it’s still relatively light play for Arsenal as they host Blackburn Rovers on Saturday.

19. Fiorentina (Ita) (18) – In what may have been the worst performance of any club currently in the Top 25, Fiorentina was defeated pretty handily 0-2 by Palermo. This Week: It’s just going to get tougher for La Viola as it has a date on Sunday at the San Siro with Inter Bilan.

20. Wolfsburg (Ger) (23) – Like Bayern Munich, Wolfsburg followed up a 2-5 loss to Werder Bremen in Cup play with a 1-0 victory over Karlsruher to maintain fourth place in the Bundesliga. (Except for the clubs and the numbers, that actually was like Bayern Munich’s results.) This Week: Wolfsburg will host Schalke 04 in the Bundesliga Friday match of the week.

21. Lyon (Fra) (16) – I guess the good news for Lyon is that it won’t have to play Lille any more this season, at least I don’t think it will. Lille eliminated Lyon from the Coupe de France with a 3-2 victory over the Ligue Un leaders. This weekend, Lille defeated Lyon again, this time 2-0, to cut Lyon’s Ligue Un lead to one over Paris St.-Germain. This Week: Lille will take on Barcelona on Wednesday, where a victory will allow it to advance to the Champions League quarterfinals. Its should be easy since it doesn’t have to play Lille again. In league play, Lyon will host Auxerre on Sunday.

22. Gremio (Bra) (24) – This week Gremio played two Gaucho league matches, drawing 1-1 with Ypiranga and losing 2-3 to Santa Cruz. This Week: Gremio has another Gaucho League match this week, against Sapucaiense, but its most important match will be a Copa Libertadores match against Boyaca Chico on Thursday.

23. Sporting CP (Por) (25) – Sporting defeated Pacos de Ferreira 2-0 to keep up with Porto and Benfica in Liga Sagres. This Week: The week starts off for Sporting CP in Germany against Bayern Munich in the most anti-climactic of the second leg matches. In Liga Sagres play, Sporting will host Rio Ave on Sunday.

24. Olympiakos (Gre) (20) – Like Lyon, Olympiakos played the same club twice this week. Unlike Lyon, Olympiakos didn’t lose both. Olympiakos defeated PAOK Saloniki 2-0 to advance in the Greek Cup, but could only manage a goalless draw against PAOK in Super League play. This Week: Olympiakos will host Iraklis on Sunday.

25. Twente (Ned) (22) – Twente got past De Graafschap 1-0 to advance in the KNVB Beker, but could only manage a 1-1 draw against PSV Eindhoven in Eredivisie play. This Week: Twente returns to action on Saturday against Willem II.

Bubbling Under: Ajax (Ned), Celtic (Sco), Genoa (Ita), Panathinaikos (Gre), Rangers (Sco).

Next Five: Everton (Eng), Lanus (Arg), Nacional (Por), Paris St.-Germain (Fra), Villarreal (Esp).

Matches Between Top 25 Clubs This Week:
10 March – (4) Chelsea at (6) Juventus
10 March – (7) Real Madrid at (8) Liverpool
10 March – (25) Sporting CP at (9) Bayern Munich
11 March – (2) Inter Milan at (1) Manchester United
14 March – (8) Liverpool at (1) Manchester United
15 March – (19) Fiorentina at (2) Inter Milan

WCR Weekend Soccer Television Schedule - 7/8 March 2009

I hate to sound like a complainer (then, don’t complain), but there’s not an awful lot of great football this weekend. There are a few matches that could be good, and I’m sure there are some matches that will be good that I’m not expecting to be good, but most of the matchups below appear to be good clubs against not-so-good clubs. The exceptions include a pair of derbies as Real Madrid hosts Atletico de Madrid on Saturday and Torino hosts Juventus at, you might have guessed it, pretty much the exact same time.

There may not be any matches involving WCR Top 25 Clubs, but the Inter Milan/Genoa match should be great, as well. I’m also looking forward to the PSV/Twente match. It is on ESPN 360 and it also will be on ESPN Deportes, though I don’t think it is being broadcast live this week, so you’ll have to look for it sometime on Sunday.

I think time changes in the US this week. I always find out because the late French match on Sunday is at a funky time. (Why is it at four? It’s always at three!!! Oh, time must be changing again.) Because of the time-change, Sunday’s schedule may be off, but I had a team of Swiss engineers working on the Sunday football times last night, so hopefully they are now correct. If you have corrections or additions, please let me know. In addition to screwing up the Sunday schedule, our early start to the daylight savings season always screws up my Sunday nights because I have to start the number crunching an hour later than usual. Oh, well. I’ll complain no more.

The midweek matches should be much more exciting than the weekend matches. But, for now, have a great weekend!!!

Top Five Matches of the Weekend:

1. Atletico de Madrid at Real Madrid (Saturday, 2:00 pm (-5:00 GMT), GolTV)
2. Inter Milan at Genoa (Saturday, 12 noon, FSC)
3. PSV Eindhoven at FC Twente (Saturday, 2:45pm, ESPN 360)
4. Athletic Bilbao at Barcelona (Sunday, 7:00 pm (delayed), GolTV)
5. Juventus at Torino (Saturday, 2:30 pm, FSC)

Saturday, March 7, 2009

7:30 am – (4) Chelsea at Coventry City (FSC)
10:00 am – Udinese at Roma (ESPN 360)
11:30 am – Hannover 96 at Bayern Munich (Delayed) (GolTV)
12 Noon – (2) Inter Milan at Genoa (FSC)
12 Noon – (1) Manchester United at Fulham (Setanta USA)
2:00 pm – Atletico de Madrid at (6) Real Madrid (GolTV)
2:30 pm – (5) Juventus at Torino (FSC)
2:45 pm – PSV Eindhoven at (22) Twente (ESPN 360)
3:00 pm – (16) Lyon at Lille (Setanta USA)
4:00 pm – Espanyol at Villarreal (GolTV)
6:00 pm – UNAM Pumas at San Luis (TeleFutura)
6:15 pm – Junior Baranquilla at Deportivo Cali (GolTV)
7:00 pm – Chivas de Guadalajara at Jaguares (ESPND)
8:00 pm – Monterrey at Moncarcas (FSE)
8:00 pm – Tecos at Pachuca (TeleFutura)
8:00 pm – Puebla at Tigres (Telemundo)
8:15 pm – Millonarios at Atletico Nacional (GolTV)
10:00 pm – Indios at Atlas (Telemundo)

Sunday, March 8, 2009

7:30 am – Ajax at ADO Den Haag (ESPN 360)
9:30 am – Burnley at (21) Arsenal (FSC, Setanta USA)
9:30 am – Feyenoord at NAC Breda (ESPN 360)
10:00 am – Lazio at Napoli (ESPN 360)
12 Noon – VFL Bochum at Bayer Leverkusen (GolTV)
12 Noon – Middlesbrough at Everton (FSC)
2:00 pm – Necaxa at Toluca (Telemundo)
3:00 pm – Corinthians at Palmeiras (GolTV)
3:00 pm – Atalanta at AC Milan (Delayed) (FSC)
3:15 pm – (12) Benfica at Naval (ESPN 360)
4:00 pm – Nantes at St. Etienne (Setanta USA)
5:00 pm – Almeria at (19) Sevilla (Delayed) (GolTV) (Delayed)
5:00 pm – Palermo at (18) Fiorentina (FSC) (Delayed)
5:30 pm – Boca Juniors at Independiente (FSE)
6:00 pm – Cruz Azul at Santos Laguna (Galavision)
6:00 pm – Club America at Atlante (Telemundo)
7:00 pm – Athletic de Bilbao at (3) Barcelona (GolTV) (Delayed)

Monday, March 9, 2009

5:30 am – Bordeaux at Toulouse (Delayed) (Setanta USA)
7:15 am – Auxerre at Stade Rennes (Delayed) (Setanta USA)

Non-Televised Matches Involving Top 25 Clubs

Sat., 9:30 am – (13) Hertha Berlin at Energie Cottbus
Sat., 9:30 am – Werder Bremen at (15) TSG Hoffenheim
Sat., 9:30 am – Karsruher at (23) Wolfsburg
Sat., 2:00 pm – Pacos de Ferreira at (25) Sporting CP
Sat., 4:00 pm – (7) Porto at Leixoes
Sun., 9:30 am – (9) AZ Alkmaar at NEC Nijmegen
Sun., 11:00 am – Hamilton Academicals at (17) Rangers
Sun., 1:00 pm – (20) Olympiakos at PAOK Saloniki
Sun., 6:10 pm – (11) Sao Paulo at Mogi Mirim

Bonus Points and Super Bonus Points - An Explanation

This post has no importance as a stand-alone post, but since this will be a slow week for me posting-wise, I wanted to take advantage of the lull to post an explanation of Bonus Points (BPs) and Super Bonus Points (SBPs).

As I’ve explained before, the purpose of this blog, originally, was to have an outlet for annual rankings of world football clubs using data from over the past several decades. When I started putting together weekly rankings, the formulas were based primarily on the same formulas that I used for the annual rankings. At some times, for a few reasons, the annual rankings formula didn’t translate well into the weekly rankings. One reason was that the annual rankings give extra credit to clubs that finish in the top four in their continental championship competitions. It seemed to me that I needed to find a way to make an adjustment for the weekly rankings.

To address this issue, I’ve employed two sets of changes to the formulae for the weekly rankings. I call them Bonus Points and Super Bonus Points. (For ease of explanation, I’m going to describe them in terms of the UEFA Champions League.) At the end of the first knockout stage, each of the eight clubs remaining in the tournament will have the formula adjusted to help them in the rankings. The help may not be significant in the rankings, but it will help them. I call this help “Bonus Points.” After the Quarterfinals, the four losing clubs will lose their Bonus Points, while the four victorious clubs will have their formulae adjusted again in such a way that their rankings will be significantly helped. I call this change “Super Bonus Points,” and you will see them referenced often throughout the final quarter of the season. I believe these changes will make the weekly rankings better reflect how the annual rankings will look.

UEFA will not be the only confederation that receives Bonus Points and Super Bonus Points. They are also awarded for COMNEBOL (Copa Libertadores) and CONCACAF (Champions League). (For the record, the CAF and Asian confederation also receive these points in the annual rankings, but because their championship tournaments are in a different time of the year, they are not affected in the weekly rankings.) An issue occurs because Europe, South America and North America do not hold their tournaments on the same schedule. For purposes of the Bonus Points and Super Bonus Points, UEFA controls when they are awarded. After the Round of Sixteen, the Bonus Points are awarded in Europe. At that time they are also awarded to the eight group leaders in the Copa Libertadores (and it may change week-by-week) and to the final four clubs in CONCACAF. When the UEFA Champions League Quarterfinals are over, the Super Bonus Points are awarded to the final four for both European and North American clubs. For South American clubs, the Bonus Points are not converted to Super Bonus Points until we reach the final four of the Copa Libertadores.

I’m sure you’re not finding any of this interesting, but I am going to start talking about Bonus Points and Super Bonus Points in the Weekly Rankings very soon and I wanted a post on this blog that would give an explanation.

WCR Top 25 Clubs in the World - Victorious Victory Edition

Championships are fun. People get excited, players perform at their best and some sort of hardware is distributed at the end. There were a handful of championships over the past few days, so I thought I’d begin this week’s Top 25 by recognizing them. Melbourne Victory won the A-League Grand Final, defeating Adelaide United in a match that took place in the wee hours of Saturday morning here in the States. On Sunday, Manchester United took home what many expect to be the first of several trophies by defeating Tottenham Hotspur on penalty kicks to win the Carling Cup final. Also, I just read that Internacional defeated Gremio to win the Gaucho League first half title. Congratulations to all our newly crowned champions.

In the week that was, the big news was, of course, the Champions League. I don’t think there were any major shockers, but that’s partly because the clubs were so evenly matched. I expected Bayern to get past Sporting, but I didn’t expect Bayern to make Sporting its bitch. Like clockwork, however, Bayern followed that up with a loss to drop to fifth place in the Bundesliga and out of the rankings, making room for, of all clubs, Sporting to return. Liverpool defeated Real Madrid in Spain, giving it a big advantage heading into the second leg. Lyon’s draw with Barcelona was surprising to some, but is pretty consistent with the recent form of both clubs. I still expect Barcelona to pull it out at home, though.

As a rule, two-leg competitions are not reflected in the WCR Top 25 until both legs have been played. For this reason, Liverpool and Bayern’s good fortunes are not yet portrayed in the list, but if their fortunes continue to be good, it will show once the Round of Sixteen is over.

I should probably mention the UEFA Cup as well. Many of the results were surprising, at least to me. The overwhelming success of the Ukranians, Russians and French really threw me off. Seeing ranked clubs like AC Milan and Twente fall so early in the tournament is rather disappointing, but watching Zenit make its run last year was fun to watch. Who will be this year’s Zenit? Perhaps Zenit. UEFA Cup matches only play a minor role in the calculations of the rankings, so you may see some inconsistencies in the rankings. It’s just that the rankings are geared at the best clubs in the world, not the best of the rest, so the UEFA Cup results are nowhere near as influential in the calculations as the Champions League.

The European tournaments take this week off, which means that much of Europe returns to Cup play. This happens in England, Scotland, Netherlands, Germany France and Greece, to name just a few. Elsewhere on the big blue marble, the Copa Libertadores continues in the group stage and the Quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Champions League concludes. The biggest match of the weekend, off the top of my head, should be the derby in Madrid, where Atletico will try to follow its stunning upset of Barcelona with another over Real Madrid.

That’s enough non-club-specific commentary. Below are the rankings, chock full of scrambling made possible by the constant changing of the table in the Bundesliga. Enjoy.

World Club Rankings – Best Clubs in the World – March 2, 2009

1. Manchester United (Eng) (1) – With the exceptions of a championship, this week provided a whole lot of nothing in Manchester United’s matches. Its Champions League match against Inter Milan ended in a 0-0 draw. Its Carling Cup final against Tottenham Hotspur also saw no goals through extra time. Some great play from Ben Foster, however, allowed United to win the match and win the cup on penalty kicks. This Week: Coming up on Wednesday is a Premiership match in the northeast against Newcastle United. On Saturday, Manchester United will take on Fulham in the FA Cup quarterfinals.

2. Inter Milan (Ita) (2) – Since they played each other, it makes sense that the top two clubs in the world had the same result in their Champions League match. I don’t have much to add to the 0-0 result. Domestically, Inter came back from two goals down to salvage a point with a 3-3 draw against Roma. This Week: On Wednesday, Inter Milan hosts Sampdoria in the semifinals of the Coppa Italia. In one of the better matches of the weekend, Inter will take on Genoa on Saturday as it prepares for its rematch with Manchester United.

3. Barcelona (Esp) (3) – Things just keep getting worse for Barcelona. Its 1-1 draw against Lyon in France wasn’t a bad result, but it was less than what was desired. Then, in La Liga, Barcelona did something it hasn’t been doing recently against Atletico de Madrid – it scored first. And then it scored again. It wasn’t enough, however, as Atletico fought back for a 4-3 upset victory over the Primera Division leaders. In three weeks, Barcelona’s “insurmountable” lead has dropped from twelve points to four. This Week: Barcelona will play its away leg against Mallorca in a Copa del Rey match at midweek. Over the weekend, Barcelona will try to end its current two-match losing streak when it welcomes Athletic Bilbao to town.

4. Chelsea (Eng) (8) – They may not be able to beat the other top clubs in England, but they move back up the rankings because, unlike Liverpool and Arsenal, they beat the clubs that they should beat. Following up a 1-0 home victory over Juventus in Champions League play, Chelsea defeated Wigan Athletic 2-1 to move back into the runner-up position in the Premiership. This Week: The Blues’ midweek Premeirship match will take place against Portsmouth. On Saturday, Chelsea takes on Coventry City in the FA Cup quarterfinals.

5. Juventus (Ita) (6) – Juventus had to be disappointed to not come up with an away goal in its 0-1 loss to Chelsea in the first leg of their Champions League battle. Domestically, Juventus is a little more happy about its 1-0 defeat of Napoli. This Week: In its Coppa Italia semifinal match on Tuesday, Juventus goes to Rome to take on Lazio. In Serie A play, Juventus will take on its neighbors, Torino, on Saturday.

6. Real Madrid (Esp) (7) – Real’s 0-1 home loss to Liverpool perhaps was the most surprising outcome of the first week of Champions League knockout action. Real did bounce back to defeat Espanyol 2-0 to move within four points of Barcelona in the Primera Division table. This Week: Real Madrid is off until Sunday when, like Juventus, it faces its cross-town rival. Unlike Torino, however, Atletico de Madrid is coming off a huge upset of Barcelona and is still alive in the Champions League.

7. Porto (Por) (5) – Faring better than Barcelona, Porto managed a 2-2 draw against Atletico de Madrid when the two clubs faced off in Spain in Champions League play. Porto had similar results on Saturday when it played rival Sporting CP to a 0-0 draw in Liga Sagres action. This Week: Portugal is one of the few European nations without prominent cup action this week, so Porto will be off until Sunday, when it will face Leixoes.

8. Liverpool (Eng) (4) – Don’t get all upset yet. Yes, I know that Liverpool defeated Real Madrid 1-0 in their Champions League match. As noted above, results from two-leg matches aren’t reflected in the rankings until after the second leg. In the meantime, Liverpool pays the price for its 0-2 loss to Middlesbrough. This Week: No FA Cup match for Pool, so its only match will be on Tuesday when Sunderland comes to Anfield.

9. AZ Alkmaar (Ned) (9) – AZ continues to be the cream of the Eredivisie, defeating Groningen 3-0 to maintain its national league lead. It’s a shame this club didn’t have the opportunity to play in Europe. This Week: KNVB Beker matches return to Holland and AZ will host NAC Breda on Thursday. On Sunday, AZ Alkmaar returns to Eredivisie action in Nijmegen against NEC.

10. AC Milan (Ita) (11) – AC Milan’s improvement in the rankings is due more to Hoffenheims drop to third place in the Bundesliga than anything the Red and Black did on its own this week. AC Milan managed a 2-2 draw against Werder Bremen at the San Siro, but it wasn’t enough to keep AC from being eliminated from the UEFA Cup. Domestically, AC Milan fell to Sampdoria by a 1-2 score. This Week: Milan gets to sit at home for a week and reflect on the past week. It should be sitting in a corner. Ons Sunday, Atalanta will stop by to take on AC Milan in a Serie A matchup.

11. Sao Paulo (Bra) (12) – Sao Paulo had mixed results in Paulista League action this week. At midweek, it scored a 3-0 victory over Oeste, but Sao Paulo fell 0-1 to Santos on Sunday. This Week: Sao Paulo returns to action in the Copa Libertadores on Thursday when it travels to Colombia to take on America de Cali. In the Paulista League, Sao Paulo takes on Mogi Mimm on Sunday.

12. Benfica (Por) (14) – With a 2-1 victory over Leixoes, Benfica moved back to within two points of Porto atop the Liga Sagres table. This Week: Benfica continues to try to chase down Porto next Sunday when it takes on Naval.

13. Hertha Berlin (Ger) (NR) – I’m not sure how good this club is, but with a 2-1 victory over last place Borussia Monchengladbach, Hertha has moved once again to the top of the Bundesliga table. This Week: Hertha’s next match shouldn’t be much tougher when it takes on Energie Cottbus.

14. Aston Villa (Eng) (13) – Not a good week for the Boys from Birmingham. To begin with, Aston Villa lost 0-2 to CSKA in Moscow to be eliminated from the UEFA Cup. Then came Stoke City. Honestly, I almost turned the channel late in the match. I’m glad I didn’t as I got to see Stoke City score two late goals to finish off a 2-2 draw. This Week: Since the Villains have been eliminated from the FA Cup, its only match this week is a midweek Premiership match against Manchester City.

15. TSG Hoffenheim (Ger) (10) – The shine is fading as TSG Hoffenheim gradually slides down the Bundesliga table. With a goalless draw against Borussia Dortmund, TSG fell to third place in the Bundesliga and falls out of the WCR Top Ten. This Week: The road back to the top just keeps getting bumpier. This week, TSG will host Werder Bremen in a Bundesliga matchup.

16. Lyon (Fra) (15) – Lyon’s results this week were nothing if not consistent, yet the club’s feelings about the two matches probably are much different. At home, Lyon fought Barcelona to a 1-1 draw, which it has to be happy about. It’s 1-1 home draw against Stade Rennes, however, had it leave Lyon feeling a little empty. This Week: Lyon plays two away matches against Lille this week. At midweek, it will be in a Coupe de France match. Over the weekend, it will be in a Ligue Un match.

17. Rangers (Sco) (16) – Rangers defeated Hamilton Academicals 1-0 to remain atop the Scottish Premier League table by virtue of a superior goal differential over Celtic. This Week: At midweek, Rangers hosts Inverness in a Scottish Premier League match. On Sunday, it will take on Hamilton Academicals once again, this time in a Scottish FA Cup match.

18. Fiorentina (ita) (17) – Fiorentina, like AC Milan and Aston Villa, were eliminated from the UEFA Cup this week following a 1-1 home draw against Ajax. Domestically, Fiorentina had another 1-1 draw, this time against Reggina. This Week: La Viola is off until the weekend when it will host Palermo in a Serie A match.

19. Sevilla (Esp) (18) – Only one match for Sevilla, but it made the most of it, defeating Athletic Bilbao 2-1. This Week: Sevilla will take on Athletic Bilbao again on Wednesday in a Copa del Rey matchup. In Primera Division play, Sevilla will host Almeria on Sunday.

20. Olympiakos (Gre) (19) – Yes, Olympiakos also was eliminated from the UEFA Cup, falling 1-2 to St. Etienne in the return match. Domestically, Olyompiakos and Panathinaikos battled to a scoreless draw. This Week: It’s a whole lot of PAOK for Olympiakos this week. On Wednesday, Olympiakos take on PAOK in Piraeus in a Greek Cup match. On Sunday, the two will face off in Saloniki in a Super League match.

21. Arsenal (Eng) (20) – Where has all the scoring gone, long time passing . . .. Following a 1-0 victory over Roma in its Champions League match, the Gunners played their fourth consecutive goalless draw in Premiership action, this time against Fulham. This Week: Will they make it five? We’ll see on Tuesday when it takes on West Bromwich Albion. On Sunday, Arsenal will host Burnley in an FA Cup match.

22. Twente (Ned) (22) – Of course, since Twente is a ranked club, it was eliminated from the UEFA Cup this week. Twente was vanquished by Marseille, losing 0-1 on Thursday. Domestically, Twente defeated ADO Den Haag 1-0 to keep pace with AZ in the Eredivisie. This Week: Twente’s KNVB Beker opponent will be De Graafschap. Twente’s Eredivisie opponent will be PSV Eindhoven on Saturday.

23. Wolfsburg (Ger) (NR) – Since the rankings are full of clubs that were knocked out of the UEFA Cup this week, it just feels right that Wolfburg enters the rankings following a 1-3 elimination defeat to Paris St. Germain. Wolfburg’s domestic results were much better, however, with a 3-1 defeat of Hamburger SV. This Week: Wolfsburg begins the week with a DFB Pokal matchup against Werder Bremen. On Saturday, Wolfsburg will host Karlsruher in a return to Bundesliga play.

24. Gremio (Bra) (23) – It was a busy week for Gremio. It began with a goalless draw with Universidad de Chile in a Copa Libertadores match. The next day, yes the next day, Gremio defeated Veranopolis 1-0 to move to the finals of the Gauco League first half Finals. The good times ended there, however, as Gremio fell 1-2 to Internacional in the final. This Week: No action this week (of which I’m aware).

25. Sporting CP (Por) (NR) – It doesn’t feel right seeing Sporting CP return to the rankings following a 0-5 butt kicking at the hands of Bayern Munich, but that won’t count for a few weeks and in the meantime, Sporting held Top Ten Porto to a scoreless draw in a Liga Sagres match on Saturday. This Week: As it awaits Bayern Munich, in a match it can’t be looking forward to too much, Sporting will take on Pacos de Ferreira in the Liga Sagres.

Bubbling Under (alphabelticallly): Ajax (Ned), Atletico de Madrid (Esp), Celtic (Sco), Genoa (Ita), San Lorenzo (Arg).

Bubbling a Little Further Under: Bayern Munich (Ger), Everton (Eng), Hamburger (Ger), Nacional (Por), Villarreal (Esp).

Matches Between WCR Top 25 Clubs This Week:
None