Weekend Soccer Television Schedule - 1/2 August 2009

As we head into August, the real action begins. The big news of the football television world is that Friday begins the opening weekend of the Eredivisie, with Ajax and PSV both being broadcast on ESPN 360 and the PSV match also being broadcast on ESPN Deportes. The other relatively exciting action takes place in Spain where the most star-studded of the pre-season tournaments concludes. On Friday, Juventus will face Real Madrid and Aston Villa will take on Porto in the semifinals of the Peace Cup. The winners of those matches will face off in the Peace Cup finals on Sunday. In London, this weekend also will see the two-day Emirates Cup involving host Arsenal, Atletico de Madrid, Rangers and Paris St.-Germain.

Elsewhere is the regular early-season action coming out of Colombia and Mexico and mid-season play in Brazil, Russia and the United States. Next weekend, Germany and France kick into action, with the English and Scots following a week later. Once that happens, we’ll re-institute the Top Five Matches of the Weekend list. But for now, have a great weekend!!!

Friday, July 31, 2009

2:30 pm – Juventus vs. Real Madrid (GolTV)
4:30 pm – Aston Villa vs Porto (GolTV)
8:00 pm – Queretaro at Pachuca (Galavision)

Saturday, August 1, 2009

8:00 am – Kuban at Spartak Moscow (Setanta USA)
9:30 am – Paris St. Germain vs. Rangers (GolTV)
11:30 am – Atletico de Madrid at Arsenal (GolTV)
5:30 pm – Gremio Barueri at Botafogo (GolTV)
6:00 pm – Atlas at Monterrey (Telemundo)
6:00 pm – Toluca at Jaguares (ESPND)
7:30 pm – Atletico Nacional at Deportes Quindio (GolTV)
8:00 pm – Tigres at Chivas de Guadalajara (Telemundo)
8:30 pm – D.C. United at Houston Dynamo (FSC, FSE)
9:30 pm – Atletico Huila at Millonarios (GolTV)
11:00 pm – Barcelona at Los Angeles Galaxy (FSC, FSE)

Sunday, August 2, 2009

8:30 am – Ajax at Groningen (ESPN 360)
9:15 am – Zenit St. Petersburg at Saturn Moscow (Setanta USA)
10:30 pm – VVV-Venlo at PSV Eindhoven (ESPND, ESPN 360)
11:00 am – Rangers at Arsenal (GolTV)
1:00 pm – Tecos at Puebla (FSE)
1:15 pm – Paris St.-Germain vs. Atletico de Madrid (Delayed) (GolTV)
1:00 pm – Cruz Azul at UNAM Pumas (Telemundo)
3:00 pm – Seattle Sounders at San Jose Earthquakes (TeleFutura)
4:00 pm – Peace Cup Final (GolTV)
5:00 pm – Indios at Santos Laguna (TeleFutura)
5:00 pm – Morelia at Club America (Univision)
6:00 pm – Sao Paolo at Vitoria (Delayed) (GolTV)

2009-10 UEFA Champions League - And then there were fifty-seven

With the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League upon us, and excellent clubs beginning action including some in the WCR Pre-Season Top 25, it seems like an appropriate time to take a look at what is coming up. At the moment, there are 57 clubs that are still alive in the competition for the 2009-10 Champions League title. Those 57 clubs can be broken into three categories:

22: Twenty-two clubs already have guaranteed spots in the 32-club Champions League group stage. None of those clubs are participating in the qualifying rounds, so we are going to ignore them for now except for a quick listing of them by nation: Spain (Barcelona, Sevilla, Real Madrid), England (Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester United), Italy (Inter Milan, AC Milan, Juventus), Germany (Wolfsburg, Bayern Munich), France (Bordeaux, Marseille), Russia (CSKA Moscow, Rubin Kazan), Portugal (Porto), Netherlands (AZ Alkmaar), Scotland (Rangers), Ukraine (Dynamo Kyiv), Turkey (Besiktas), Belgium (Standard Liege) and Romania (Unirea Urziceni).

20: Twenty clubs are designated in the champions section of the third qualifying rounds. Five of these clubs are guaranteed a spot in the Champions League group stage. These clubs are identified in the schedules below. The qualification process for these clubs is straight forward. The twenty clubs will meet in the third qualifying round in ten head-to-head matchups over the next two weeks. The ten winners from this round will be drawn against each other in the playoff round, essentially a fourth qualifying round. The five head-to-head winners in the playoff round will advance to the Champions League group stage.

15: Fifteen clubs are in the non-champions section of the Champions League qualifiers/playoff round. Of these fifteen clubs, ten will participate in the third qualifying round in five head-to-head matchups. Again, those clubs will be identified in the schedule below. The five winners in the third qualifying round will be drawn in the playoff round against five clubs that have received a bye into the playoff round. The five clubs that the non-champions third round victors will be drawn against in the playoff round are: Arsenal (Eng), Atletico Madrid (Esp), Fiorentina (Ita), VfB Stuttgart (Ger), Lyon (Fra).

That’s it. It’s pretty simple, really. With that laid out, below is the schedule for this week’s third-round qualifiers, broken down by whether each match is in the champions draw or the non-champions draw.

Champions Draw

Wednesday, July 28, 2009

Maccabi Haifa (Isl) at Aktobe (Kaz) (Final: 0-0)
Levski Sofia (Bul) at Baku (Aze) (Final: 0-0)

Thursday, July 29, 2009

11:00 17:00 – BATE (Bls) at Ventspils (Lat)
12:00 18:00 – Debrecen (Hun) at Levadia (Est)
13:00 19:00 – Slavia Prague (Cze) at Sheriff Tiraspol (Mol)
13:00 19:00 – Partizan (Ser) at APOEL (Cyp)
14:00 20:00 – Olympiakos (Gre) at Slovan Bratislava (Svk)
14:15 20:15 – Stabaek (Nor) at Copenhagen (Den)
14:15 20:15 – Maribor (Svn) at Zurich (Sui)
14:30 20:30 – Dinamo Zagreb (Cro) at Red Bull Salzburg (Aut)

Non-Champions Draw

Wednesday, July 28, 2009

Panathinaikos (Gre) at Sparta Prague (Cze) (Final: Sparta 3-1. Holmeda 26, Vacek 32, Kalouda 86; Salpingdis 67)
Sivasspor (Tur) at Anderlecht (Bel) (Final: Anderlecht 5-0. De Sutter 17, 76, Boussoufa 22, Chatelle 32, Frutos 90)

Thursday, July 29, 2009

13:00 19:00 – Timisoara (Rom) at Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukr)
14:45 20:45 – Dynamo Moscow (Rus) at Celtic (Sco)
15:45 21:45 – Twente (Ned) at Sporting CP (Por)

WCR Top 25 Clubs in the World - Second Annual Pre-Season Edition

For the first time since I’ve started the Weekly Rankings, I’m writing the introduction prior to doing the calculations for the rankings. I’m doing this because where the clubs fall in the rankings isn’t very important in this edition because this is the second annual pre-season edition of the rankings. While I’m sure I’ll get complaints about the rankings, I hope that you will at least read the following prior to complaining. Of course, as always, you should feel free to complain to your heart’s content after reading everything.

The World Club Rankings weekly list is not intended as a predictive tool. As such, the rankings below are in no way intended as a prediction of what will happen in the upcoming season. If we knew what was going to happen in the upcoming season, there wouldn’t be any point in playing it, would there?

The World Club Rankings weekly list is intended as a reflective tool. It is determined by numerous factors, all of which are thrown into a blender (spreadsheet) and is dictated by the numbers. Because of this, there is really little point in doing a pre-season ranking, or any ranking for the first several weeks, because there is precious few results to reflect. Nevertheless, as soon as I cease publishing current lists, I inevitably get asked when the next current list will be published. Since I’m eager to please, the lists continue even though, as I said, they are not very informative for the first month or two of the season.

To make up for the lack of results upon which rankings can be based early in the season, I generally rely upon results from the previous season until any particular domestic league completes five matchdays. I had an opportunity to explain this in more detail last season so if you would like a more detailed explanation, please follow this link.

Essentially, the list below is the most recent weekly rankings, based on last season’s results (with the exception of certain domestic leagues, such as in Brazil, that have matured to such a point that this season’s results are measurable) with all of the bonus points and super bonus points that were given for continental action stripped away. League rankings also have been altered, eliminating the oldest results.

Again, the rankings are not intended to be predictive of the upcoming season, they are merely the best reflection I have of recent domestic results, though much has changed for several of the clubs listed. Will Real Madird improve with all of its post-season purchases? Yes, probably. Will Manchester United decline without Cristiano Ronaldo? Perhaps. At the very least, there likely will be an adjustment period while Sir Alex learns how to move the new pieces on his chessboard. Is any of this reflected in the rankings? No. As the season plays out, the rankings will adjust, as always. For now, here is the WCR pre-season ranking. (Note: The weekly rankings will return in a few weeks. The continuing Annual Ranking listings will be in their place until then.)

World Club Rankings – Top 25 Clubs in the World – 2009-10 Pre-Season Edition.

1. Manchester United (Eng) (2)
2. Barcelona (Esp) (1)
3. Liverpool (Eng) (5)
4. Inter Milan (Ita) (6)
5. VfL Wolfsburg (Ger) (7)
6. Porto (Por) (10)
7. Real Madrid (Esp) (8)
8. Chelsea (Eng) (3)
9. AC Milan (Ita) (9)
10. Bayern Munich (Ger) (13)
11. Atletico Mineiro (Bra) (11)
12. Juventus (Ita) (15)
13. Sporting CP (Por) (23)
14. Arsenal (Eng) (4)
15. AZ Alkmaar (Ned) (14)
16. Sevilla (Esp) (18)
17. Palmeiras (Bra) (19)
18. Atletico Madrid (Esp) (21)
19. Rangers (Sco) (20)
20. Bordeaux (Fra) (12)
21. VfB Stuttgart (Ger) (22)
22. Benfica (Por) (NR)
23. Velez Sarsfield (Arg) (NR)
24. Marseille (Fra) (17)
25. Everton (Eng) (25)

Bubbling Under: Celtic (Sco), Genoa (Ita), Huracan (Arg), Olympiakos (Gre), Twente (Ned).

Next Five: Ajax (Ned), FIorentina (Ita), PSV Eindhoven (Ned), Valencia (Esp), Vitoria (Bra).

Weekend Soccer Television Schedule - 25/26 July 2009

It’s beginning to feel like we’re back, baby!!! True, most of the matches involving good clubs this weekend are exhibitions and don’t count for much, but there are a butt-load of matches on television and some of the top clubs are involved. It’s a great way to get back into gear for the regular season.

The four big exhibition tournaments in action this weekend include the Amsterdam Tournament (Ajax, Benfica, Atletico de Madrid), Wembley Cup (Celtic, Al Ahly, Barcelona, Tottenham), Peace Cup (Real Madrid, Juventus, LDU Quito, Lyon, Porto, Aston Villa, Sevilla) and the World Football Challenge (AC Milan, Chelsea, Inter Milan). Tons of matches showing up on your television set and computer to enjoy.

In addition, there is the final of the 2009 Gold Cup taking place on Sunday. As I type this, the semifinals are just getting underway, so I don’t know who will be participating, but I’m hoping for another United States / Mexico matchup as a preliminary to the nations’ World Cup qualifier coming up in a few weeks, though Honduras and Costa Rica are also possibilities for the final. If you’re in North America, the other big news is that the 2009/10 Mexican Apertura gets underway this week, as well, adding another half dozen or so matches to the television schedule. Hope you’re looking forward to it as much as I am. As always, have a great weekend!!!

Friday, July 24, 2009

12 noon – Celtic vs. Al-Ahly (ESPND, ESPN 360)
1:00 pm – Sunderland vs. Benfica (ESPN 360)
2:30 pm – LDU Quito vs. Al-Ittihad (GolTV)
3:00 pm – Tottenham Hotspur vs. Barcelona (ESPND, ESPN 360)
3:15 pm – Atletico de Madrid at Ajax (ESPN 360)
4:30 pm – Juventus at Sevilla (GolTV)
8:00 pm – AC Milan vs. Chelsea (ESPN, ESPND, ESPN 360)
9:00 pm – Pachuca at Estudiantes Tecos (Galavision)

Saturday, July 25, 2009

2:30 pm – Lyon vs Besiktas (GolTV)
3:00 pm – Chicago Fire at Seattle Sounders (ESPN, ESPND, ESPN 360)
4:30 pm – Aston Villa at Malaga (GolTV)
6:00 pm – Jaguares at Cruz Azul (ESPND)
7:15 pm – Santa Fe at Atletico Huila (GolTV)
8:00 pm – Monterrey at Indios (FSE)
8:00 pm – Puebla at Tigres (Telemundo)
9:00 pm – Los Angeles Galaxy at Kansas City Wizards (ESPN2, ESPND, ESPN 360)
9:15 pm – Deportivo Pereira at Deportivo Cali (GolTV)
10:00 pm – UNAM Pumas at Atlas (Telemundo)
10:30 pm – DC United at San Jose Earthquakes (FSC, FSE)

Sunday, July 26, 2009

6:15 am – Rubin Kazan at Zenit St. Petersburg (Delayed) (Setanta USA)
7:00 am – Liverpool at Singapore (FSC)
8:00 am – Spartak Moscow at CSKA Moscow (Setanta USA)
8:00 am – Barcelona vs Al-Ahly (ESPND, ESPN 360)
11:00 am – Tottenham Hotspur vs. Celtic (ESPND, ESPN 360)
12:30 pm – Chivas de Guadalajara at Toluca (Telemundo)
1:00 pm – Sunderland vs. Atletico de Madrid (ESPN 360)
1:00 pm – Santos Laguna at Monarcas (FSE)
2:30 pm – Seongnam at Sevilla (GolTV)
3:00 pm – Gold Cup Final (FSC, Univision)
3:15 pm – Benfica at Ajax (ESPN 360)
4:30 pm – Al Ittihad at Real Madrid (GolTV)
5:00 pm – AC Milan vs. Inter Milan (ESPN2, ESPND, ESPN 360)
6:30 pm – Palmeiras at Corinthians (Delayed) (GolTV)
7:00 pm – Chelsea vs. Club America (ESPN2, ESPND, ESPN 360)

Monday, July 27, 2009

2:30 pm – Atlante at Malaga (GolTV)
4:30 pm – Lyon vs. Porto (GolTV)

WCR Top 25 Clubs in the World - Post Libertadores Edition

Congratulations to Estudiantes de La Plata, 2009 Copa Libertadores Campeones!!!

The championship had very little affect on the rankings because Estudiantes had already completed its Argentine Clausura season at the time of our last rankings and it had already received Bonus Points for their Copa Libertadores success. Therefore, Estudiantes remains at number 24 in our rankings. The only changes in our rankings, in fact, occur based on the movement of clubs in the Brasileirao Serie A, which is approximately a quarter of the way through its 2009 campaign.

This is the final ranking of the 2008-09 season. Even though the Copa Libertadores has just been completed, however, several Latin American seasons have started or will start in the next few weeks. Furthermore, some of the top European clubs will be in action in just a few weeks in nations such as the Netherlands and France. For this reason, WCR’s second annual pre-season Top 25 will make its debut next week. As usual, it won’t be a predictive tool, but rather will be a similar ranking, stripping away all of the bonus points and slightly revising national league rankings as necessary.

It’s been a great season and another one is just around the corner. Thanks for following the rankings!!!

World Club Rankings – Top 25 Clubs in the World – July 20, 2009

1. Barcelona (Esp) (1)
2. Manchester United (Eng) (2)
3. Chelsea (Eng) (3)
4. Arsenal (Eng) (4)
5. Liverpool (Eng) (5)
6. Inter Milan (Ita) (6)
7. VfL Wolfsburg (Ger) (7)
8. Real Madrid (Esp) (8)
9. AC Milan (Ita) (9)
10. Porto (Por) (10)
11. Atletico Mineiro (Bra) (18)
12. Bordeaux (Fra) (11)
13. Bayern Munich (Ger) (12)
14. AZ Alkmaar (Ned) (13)
15. Juventus (Ita) (14)
16. Gremio (Bra) (21)
17. Marseille (Fra) (15)
18. Sevilla (Esp) (16)
19. Palmeiras (Bra) (NR)
20. Rangers (Sco) (19)
21. Atletico de Madrid (Esp) (20)
22. VfB Stuttgart (Ger) (22)
23. Sporting CP (Por) (23)
24. Estudiantes de La Plata (Arg) (24)
25. Everton (Eng) (25)

Bubbling Under: Celtic (Sco), Genoa (Ita), Gremio Barueri (Bra), Lyon (Fra), Twente (Ned).

Next Five: Ajax (Ned), Benfica (Por), Pachuca (Mex), Santos Laguna (Mex), Velez Sarsfield (Arg).

Weekend Soccer Television Schedule - 18/19 July 2009

We’re a little late this week with the television schedule, but we’ve been a little under the weather here at WCR, but hopefully we’re not too late.

Once again, following an exciting midweek of action, there is not a lot going on in club football this weekend. The two major highlights of the weekend football world, at least on American television, are the Gold Cup quarterfinals and exhibition action featuring European clubs taking on North American, hmm, competition. The Gold Cup could be interesting, though many nations sent their second-teams to the competition, and the exhibitions could be fun, though they don’t count for anything but ticket sales. Anyway, it’s what we’ve got, so take it or leave it. Have a great weekend!!!

Saturday, July 18, 2009

1:00 pm – Houston Dynamo at Toronto FC (ESPN2, ESPND, ESPN 360)
3:00 pm – Chelsea at Seattle Sounders (ESPN2, ESPND, ESPN 360)
5:00 pm – Canada vs. Honduras (Univision)
5:30 pm – Santo Andre at Palmeiras (GolTV)
7:30 pm – Millonarios at Deportes Quindio (GolTV)
8:00 pm – Panama at United States (FSC, TeleFutura)
9:30 pm – America de Cali at Independiente Medellin

Sunday, July 19, 2009

6:15 am – CSKA Moscow at Rubin Kazan (Delayed) (Setanta USA)
8:00 am – Krylya Sovetov at Spartak Moscow (Setanta USA)
3:00 pm – Corinthians at Cruzeiro (GolTV)
4:00 pm – Costa Rica at Guadalupe (TeleFutura)
7:00 pm – Mexico vs. Haiti (Univision)
7:00 pm – Club America vs. Inter Milan (ESPN2, ESPND, ESPN 360)

Monday, July 20, 2009

8:00 pm – AC Milan at Los Angeles Galaxy (FSC)

Thursday Morning Soccer Shorts - 16 July

Lots of stuff going on this week, even though little is going on this weekend. I thought I’d aggregate a few of the headlines in one place for people who haven’t had a chance to browse the football section of your local paper. (Note: In U.S., I’m not aware of any local paper with a football (soccer) section, so I’m guessing that if you’re reading this from the U.S., you haven’t had such an opportunity.)

First and foremost, congratulations to Estudiantes de La Plata on its brilliant come from behind victory over Cruzeiro to win the 2009 Copa Libertadores. (Mostly, I’m excited because I’ll be in Argentina for the Club World Cup . . . probably watching Estudiantes lose to Barcelona.) [Guardian]

In Uruguay, Nacional won the Uruguayan 2008-09 championship by following up its semifinal victory over Defensor Sporting with a finals victory over . . . Defensor Sporting. [ESPN]

The North American Superliga has determined its finalists with victories last night by Tigres and the Chicago Fire. [Boston Herald; Miami Herald]

Also, the first leg of the UEFA Champions League’s second qualifying round concluded yesterday. [UEFA.com]

So, what’s going on this weekend? Nothing nearly as exciting, unless you count the CONCACAF Gold Cup as exciting. [Extra Newspaper]

Photo: Goal.com

UEFA Champions League Second Qualifying Round Schedule/Links

Today, the second qualifying round of the 2009-2010 UEFA Champions League begins, with all of the participating clubs playing the first leg of the two-leg round on either Tuesday or Wednesday. This is where it starts getting important, sort of, because at least two clubs playing in this round are guaranteed to advance to the group stage under the new qualifying system. Which ones do you think will make it? I don’t know enough about these clubs to make a prediction worth depending upon, but that won’t stop me from trying. I’m going with APOEL Nicosia and FC Kobenhavn. If you have other guesses, feel free to leave a comment. (Although only two clubs are guaranteed spots, as many as five of these clubs may make the group stage.)

One of the more popular things on this site are links to the official sites of each of the clubs appearing in the Weekly Rankings. Since I don’t know enough about these clubs to do a proper preview, I am providing links to the official sites of each of the clubs in this round of the tournament, at least to the extent I could find official sites. (Where I couldn’t find anything official, I provide links to the best I could find.) Below is the schedule of matches with both Washington and London times. Enjoy the second qualifying round!!

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

11:00 16:00 BATE Barisov (Bls) at FK Makedonija (Mac)
11:00 16:00 Dinamo Zagreb (Cro) at FC Pynik (Arm)
14:00 19:00 APOEL Nicosia (Cyp) at EB Streymur (Far)
14:00 19:00 FK Baku (Aze) at FK Ekranas (Lit)
14:45 19:45 FK Partizan (Ser) at Rhyl (Wal)

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

11:00 16:00 F91 Dudelange (Lux) at FK Ventspils (Ltv)
11:30 16:30 Sheriff Tiraspol (Mol) at Inter Turku (Fin)
12:00 17:00 NK Maribor (Svn) at WIT Georgia Tbilisi (Geo)
12:45 17:45 Sant Julia (And) at Levski Sofia (Bul)
13:50 18:50 Glentoran (Nir) at Maccabi Haifa (Isr)
14:00 19:00 Stabaek (Nor) at SK Tirana (Alb)
14:00 19:00 Kalmar (Swe) at Debreceni VSC (Hun)
14:15 19:15 FK Mogren (Mon) at FC Kobenhavn (Den)
14:30 19:30 Slovan Bratislava (Svk) at Zrinjski (Bos)
14:30 19:30 Levadia Tallinn (Est) at Wisla Krakow (Pol)
14:30 19:30 Bohemian (Ire) at Red Bull Salzburg (Aut)
15:15 20:15 Aktobe (Kaz) at FH Hafnarfjordur (Ice)

World Club Rankings - Top 25 Clubs in the World - 1987

This installment of the Annual Rankings brings us to 1987. In the final rankings for 1987, a European club returns to the top of the rankings, though it was not the European Cup champion. That title belonged to the runners up in the Portuguese Liga, Porto, who defeated Bayern Munich 2-1 in the finals in Vienna by scoring two late goals to overcome a 0-1 halftime deficit. Bayern, 1986-87 Bundesliga champions, managed to finish atop the rankings for the third time despite the loss.

With the absence of English clubs in European competitions, nations that do not typically find themselves with clubs in the finals of European cup competitions made their way there in 1987. In the Cup Winners Cup, East Germany’s Lokomotive Leipzig made it to the final in Athens, where it was defeated 1-0 by Ajax on a goal by recent-former Netherlands and Ajax manager Marco van Basten. In the UEFA Cup, Sweden’s IFK Goteborg defeated Scotland’s Dundee United 2-1 in the aggregate in the final.

In the Western Hemisphere, the champions of the Copa Libertadores, Penarol, did not make the year-end rankings due to poor domestic play in Uruguay. Penarol won the title by defeating Colombian power America de Cali in the finals. After splitting victories in the home-and-away final, Penarol won the playoff in Santiago, Chile by a 1-0 score with a goal by Diego Aguirre in the 120th minute. The champion of the Copa de Campeones y Subcampeones did make the rankings, however, with Mexico’s Club America defeating Defence Force in the final.

Elsewhere, Egypt’s Al-Ahly won its second of many African Champions Cups by defeating Sudan’s Al-Hilal in the final. The African Cup Winners Cup went to Kenya’s Gor Mahia, who defeated Esperance from Tunisia in the final. In Asia, the title of Champions Cup winner went to Japan’s Furukawa, who finished on top of a four-team final group including clubs from China, Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

Note: With the 2009 Copa Libertadores concluding this week, the weekly rankings will return next week for the final time before the 2009-10 pre-season rankings.

World Club Rankings – Top 25 Clubs in the World – 1987

1. Bayern Munich (FRG) – European Cup- Runner-up; Third Number One ranking.
2. Napoli (Ita) – UEFA Cup- 1R; Highest ever ranking.
3. Porto (Por) – European Cup- Champion; First Top 25 ranking since 1969.
4. Real Madrid (Esp) – EC- SF.
5. Everton (Eng)
6. Steaua Bucuresti (Rom) – EC- 2R.
7. Juventus (Ita) – EC- 2R; Fifth consecutive Top 20 ranking.
8. Liverpool (Eng) – Thirteenth consecutive Top 25 ranking.
9. Rosario Central (Arg) – Copa Libertaodres- 1R; Final Top 25 ranking.
10. Hamburger (FRG)
11. Dinamo Bucuresti (Rom) – Cup Winners Cup- 1R.
12. Benfica (Por) – CWC- 2R.
13. Club America (Mex) – Copa de Campeones y Subcampiones- Champion.
14. Inter Milan (Ita) – UEFA- QF.
15. Newell’s Old Boys (Arg)
16. Tottenham Hotspur (Eng) – Final Top 25 ranking.
17. Borussia Monchengladbach (FRG) – UEFA- SF; Final Top 25 ranking.
18. America de Cali (Col) – CL- RU.
19. Independiente (Arg) – CL- SF.
20. River Plate (Arg) – CL- SF.
21. Verona (Ita) – Final Top 25 ranking.
22. Arsenal (Eng)
23. Barcelona (Esp) – UEFA- QF.
24. AC Milan (Ita)
25. Vitoria Guimaraes (Por) – UEFA- QF.

Past Final Season Top 25s: 2008 ,2007, 1986, 1985, 1984, 1983, 1982, 1981, 1980, 1979, 1978,1977, 1976, 1975, 1974, 1973, 1972, 1971, 1970,1969, 1968, 1967, 1966,1965, 1964, 1963, 1962, 1961,1960

Weekend Soccer Television Schedule - 11/12 July

Once again, the dearth of football action on television is pretty deep this weekend, but there are a few pockets of action worth watching. In North America, the final leg of the group stage of the Gold Cup takes place Friday through Sunday, primarily on Spanish-language networks. In South America, Defensor Sporting and Nacional continue their seemingly never-ending battle for the championship of Uruguay on Sunday. Of course, nothing will be settled on Sunday because that would end the drama. In Colombia, the Copa Mustang II gets underway as Once Caldas defends its Copa Mustang I championship.

The other matches of note on television this weekend include Sunday’s matchup between Corinthians and Gremio, which features two of the best Brasileirao Serie A clubs in action, and features the only WCR Top 25 Club on television this weekend. Finally, Setanta USA returns to the schedule as the Russian Premier League returns with a pair of matches on the troubled network.

That’s it. Enjoy!!! Only a handful of weeks until top flight action returns. Until then, have a great weekend!!!

Friday, July 10, 2009

7:00 pm – Costa Rica vs. Canada (Galavision)
9:00 pm – El Salvador vs. Jamaica (TeleFutura)

Saturday, July 11, 2009

1:15 pm – Rubin Kazan at Kyrlya Sovetov (Delayed) (Setanta USA)
5:30 pm – Nautico at Palmeiras (GolTV)
7:00 pm – Haiti vs. United States (FSC, TeleFutura)
7:30 pm – America de Cali at Cucuta Deportivo (GolTV)
8:00 pm – Chicago Fire at Columbus Crew (ESPN2, ESPND, ESPN 360)
9:00 pm – Grenada vs. Honduras (TeleFutura)
9:30 pm – Deportivo Perreira at Once Caldas (GolTV)
11:00 pm – Los Angeles Galaxy at Chivas USA (FSC, FSE)

Sunday, July 12, 2009

6:00 am – FC Moscow at Zenit St. Petersburg (Setanta USA)
3:00 pm – Corinthians at Gremio (GolTV)
5:00 pm – Panama vs. Nicaragua (Galavision)
5:00 pm – Nacional at Defensor Sporting (Delayed) (GolTV)
7:00 pm – Mexico vs. Guadalupe (Univision)

Thursday Morning Soccer Shorts - 9 July

Lots of stuff going on in this mid-summer mid-week, so I thought a short rundown might be in order.

In the most exciting two-legged championship in the world, Cruzeiro and Estudiantes fought to a 0-0 draw in the opening leg in La Plata. It’ll all come down to next week’s second leg in Belo Horizonte. [USA Today]

Not to be outdone . . . okay, to be outdone by quite a bit, the UEFA Champions League also is underway. Congratulations to FK Mogren, who will be joining Sant Julia and 32 others in the second qualifying round. [UEFA.com]

Thirty-four clubs is nothing, though. Forty-six clubs are battling today to see who will advance to the second qualifying round of the brand new Europa League. Schedules and results from last week can be found in a variety of places. [Wikipedia]

In Uruguay, Nacional defeated Defensor Sporting 3-0 to advance to the finals of the Uruguayan Championship where it will play . . . Defensor Sporting. Again. If your Spanish is better than mine and I’m missing something, feel free to ‘splain. [AFP]

Finally, Haiti and the United States both scored 2-0 victories in the CONCACAF Gold Cup. When eight of the twelve clubs are advancing, though, it’s hard to get but so excited about group stage play. [Goal-Haiti, Goal-US]

WCR Top 25 Clubs in the World - Copa Libertadores Finals Edition

Now that we have reached the finals of the Copa Libertadores, it’s time for an updated WCR Top 25 Clubs in the World list. The truth, however, is that the Copa Libertadores is having very little effect on the rankings. Primarily, this is because the clubs that are doing well in the Copa Libertadores are having significant trouble domestically. From Brazil, Cruzeiro got past compatriot Gremio to reach the Copa Libertadores finals, but as long as Cruzeiro is fifteenth in the Brasileirao Serie A, it’s not going to be able to qualify for the rankings. Meanwhile, the other finalist, Estudiantes de la Plata, finished the Argentine Clausura this weekend in sixth place. While it does make the rankings this week, it is unlikely to move much higher given its domestic mediocrity.

Domestic results, however, have had an affect on the rankings. In Argentina, Huracan gave up a controversial goal to Velez Sarsfield, losing 0-1 and giving the Clausura title to Velez Sarsfield. In Brazil, the Brasileirao Serie A season is approaching midseason. Since the previous rankings, Internacional has moved past Atletico Mineiro into the Serie A lead and into the rankings.

We’re picking Estudiantes to win the Copa Libertadores, but that’s neither here nor there. What is here, or at least below, is the current list of the WCR Top 25. Enjoy.

(Note: We’ll be back with one final Top 25 for the 2008-09 season in two weeks following the conclusion of the Copa Libertadores.)

World Club Rankings – Top 25 Clubs in the World – July 6, 2009

1. Barcelona (Esp) (1)

2. Manchester United (Eng) (2)

3. Chelsea (Eng) (3)

4. Arsenal (Eng) (4)

5. Liverpool (Eng) (5)

6. Inter Milan (Ita) (6)

7. Wolfsburg (Ger) (7)

8. Real Madrid (Esp) (9)

9. AC Milan (Ita) (10)

10. Porto (Por) (11)

11. Bordeaux (Fra) (12)

12. Bayern Munich (Ger) (13)

13. AZ Alkmaar (Ned) (14)

14. Juventus (Ita) (15)

15. Marseille (Fra) (16)

16. Sevilla (Esp) (17)

17. Internacional (Bra) (NR) – In the past week, Internacional fought Corinthians to a 2-2 draw at home but it wasn’t enough as it fell to Corinthians in the final of the Copa do Brasil. On a brighter note, however, Internacional did defeat Nautico 2-0 in Serie A play to move into first place in the Brazilian top division. This week, Internacional will play the away half of its Recopa Sudamericana matchup with 2008 Copa Libertadores champions LDU Quito, down 0-1 after losing at home in the the first leg. Internacional also has three matches coming up in Serie A play including a July 19 away match against Copa Libertadores semifinalist Gremio.

18. Atletico Mineiro (Bra) (8) – After starting the season on top of the Brasileirao Serie A, Atletico MG has hit a rough spot, drawing 1-1 at home this weekend against Botafogo and dropping into second place in Brazil. Several top clubs await Atletico Mineiro in the next few weeks with an away match against Copa Libertadores finalist Cruzeiro on July 12 and an away match against defending Serie A champion Sao Paolo on July 19.

19. Rangers (Sco) (18)

20. Atletico de Madrid (Esp) (19)

21. Gremio (Bra) (21) – Gremio managed to score a 2-2 draw with Cruzeiro this past week, but that wasn’t enough as it fell 2-4 in aggregate in the semifinals of the Copa Libertadores. Gremio did have more success domestically in the past week, defeating Atletico Paranaense 4-1. Now that its international season is over, Gremio can concentrate on domestic play, which is fortunate as Gremio will face Copa do Brasil champions Corinthians and Copa do Brasil runners-up and current Serie A leaders Internacional over the next two Sundays.

22. VfB Stuttgart (Ger) (20)

23. Sporting CP (Por) (22)

24. Estudiantes de La Plata (Arg) (BU) – With a 2-1 victory over River Plate, Estudiantes finished the Argentine Clausura in sixth place. More importantly, with a 2-1 victory over Uruguayan club Nacional, Estudiantes advanced to the finals of the Copa Libertadores, where it will face Brazil’s Cruzeiro over the next two Wednesday evenings.

25. Everton (Eng) (24)

Bubbling Under: Celtic (Sco), Genoa (ita), Lyon (Fra), Olympiakos (Gre), Twente (Ned).

Next Five: Ajax (Ned), Benfica (Por), Palmeiras (Bra), PSV Eindhoven (Ned), Velez Sarsfield (Arg).

Weekend Soccer Television Schedule - 4/5 July 2009

Okay, we are finally hitting rock bottom with the lack of world football on television. Only the need for continuity inspires me even to post this week’s edition of the weekly football schedule. But OCD I am, so the list must go on.

At least it’s fair to say that what we do have going on is pretty interesting. In Argentina, Huracan and Velez Sarsfield meet to determine the championship of the Argentine Clausrua. A win or draw by Huracan will deliver it the title, while a loss gives the title to Velez Sarsfield. Whether the game will be played is still not 100% certain because of swine flu scares in Argentina, but last I heard, the game is on.

In Uruguay, Apertura winners Nacional will host Clausura winners Defensor Sporting in the second and final leg of their championship matchup. The series is currently set at a goal apiece so Sunday’s match is for all the marbles. Also taking place this weekend is the opening matches of the 2009 Gold Cup, for those of you who enjoy the international game.

Well, that’s it. Not much, but enjoy while you wait for things to heat up in another month. And have a great weekend!!!

Friday, July 3, 2009

8:00 pm – Canada vs. Jamaica (Galavision)
10:00 pm – Costa Rica vs. El Salvador (TeleFutura)

Saturday, July 4, 2009

5:30 pm – Vitoria at Fluminenese (GolTV)
7:00 pm – Honduras vs. Haiti (Galavision)
7:00 pm – DC United at Columbus Crew (ESPN2, ESPND, ESPN 360)
9:00 pm – Grenada vs. United States (FSC)
11:00 pm – New England Revolution at Los Angeles Galaxy (FSC)

Sunday, July 5, 2009

3:00 pm – Defensor Sporting at Nacional (GolTV)
4:00 pm – Huracan at Velez Sarsfield (FSE)
5:00 pm – Sao Paolo at Coritiba (Delayed) (GolTV)
5:00 pm – Panama vs. Guadaloupe (Galavision)
7:00 pm – Mexico at Nicaragua (Univision)

Champions League Update / Europa League Schedule

The first leg of the first qualifying round of the 2009-10 Champions League is now complete. If you weren’t able to find your favorite club on the tele over the past few days, don’t be shocked because (a) your favorite team probably wasn’t playing and (b) you would have been hard pressed to find any of the matches on television unless you happen to live in San Marino. Who won? Montenegro’s FK Mogren lived up to its nation’s (modestly) superior UEFA coefficient by winning in Malta, defeating Hibernians FC 2-0. Meanwhile, the matchup between Tre Fiori and Sant Julia will come down to next Tuesday’s match in Andorra after the two clubs fought to a 1-1 draw in San Marino.

Is there anything else going on in Europe this week? Of course there is. The first ever Europa League gets under way today. Since there isn’t enough time for me to learn about all of the clubs playing today (there are forty-six of them), I will just leave you with the schedule below. The times listed are for New York and London, so choose whatever is most helpful to you. Again, I don’t know where any of these matches are on television, but if you have any information, please feel free to share in the comment section. Enjoy!!

09:30 14:30 B36 Torshavn (Far) at Olimpi Rustavi (Geo)

11:00 16:00 Kalju Nomme (Est) at Dinaburg Daugavplis (Lat)
11:00 16:00 Sinorki Brijeg (Bos) at FC Banants (Arm)
11:00 16:00 Bnei Yehuda (Isl) at Simurg Zagatala (Aze)
11:30 16:30 MTZ RIPO (Bls) at Sutjeska (Mon)
11:30 16:30 Keflavik (Ice) at Valletta FC (Mal)
11:30 16:30 KS Dinamo Tirana (Alb) at Lahti (Fin)
12:00 17:00 NK Rudar Velenje (Svn) at Trans Narva (Est)
12:00 17:00 Ohzhetpes (Kaz) at CSF Zimbru Chisinau (Mol)
12:00 17:00 Renova (Mac) at Dinamo Minsk (Bls)
13:00 18:00 Vetra (Lit) at CS Grevenmacher (Lux)
13:00 18:00 UN Kaerjeng (Lux) at Anorthosis Famagusta (Cyp)
13:00 18:00 Irtysh Omsk (Rus) at Haladas (Hun)
13:00 18:00 Birkirkara (Mal) at Slaven (Cro)
13:00 18:00 Khazar Universiteti (Aze) at Trnava (Svk)
13:00 18:00 Linfield (Nir) at Randers (Den)
14:00 19:00 Rosenborg (Nor) at NSI Runavik (Far)
14:00 19:00 KS Vllaznia (Alb) at Sligo Rovers (Irl)
14:00 19:00 New Saints (Wal) at Fram (Ice)
14:30 19:30 Polonia Warszawa (Pol) at Buducnost (Mon)
14:45 19:45 Mika Ashtarak (Arm) at Helsingborg (Swe)
14:45 19:45 Zestafoni (Geo) at Lisburn (Nir)
15:05 20:05 Llanelli (Wal) at Motherwell (Sco)