Weekend Soccer Television Schedule - 31 October/1 November

I know this is kind of late, but things have been busy here in Buenos Aires. Look for the Stadium Tour entries to continue as I was able to attend the Boca Juniors / Chacarita Juniors match at La Bombonera on Thursday.

Putting together this list just keeps getting more and more frustrating. And it’s not ESPN’s fault, completely, this time. It’s the stupid November time change in the United States that gets it completely off-kilter over the weekend. I’ve tried to get all of the times right for the matches below. If I’m off by an hour here are there, I apologize, but the data I’m getting from “official” sites is inconsistent. Either ESPN Deportes is showing all of their matches from one to three hours delayed on Sunday, or the website is not taking daylight savings into consideration. Since I have already documented on many occasions the fact that ESPN’s website with respect to its weekend schedule is piss-poor, I’m going out on a limb and guessing the matches are being broadcast live and that the website is incorrect.

Anyway, daylight savings and all, here is this weekend’s schedule to the best of my ability. Have a great weekend!!!!

Top Five Matches of the Weekend:

1. Benfica at Sporting Braga (Saturday, 5:15 pm (EDT), ESPN 360)

2. Tottenham Hotspur at Arsenal (Saturday, 8:30 am, ESPN2)

3. Monaco at Bordeaux (Sunday, 10:15 am (EST), delayed, Setanta USA)

4. Bayer Leverkusen at Schalke 04 (Sunday, 11:00 am, delayed, GolTV0

5. Chivas USA at Los Angeles Galaxy (Sunday, 5:00 pm, ESPN2, ESPND, ESPN 360)

Saturday, October 31, 2009

7:00 am – Zenit St. Petersburg at FC Moscow (Setanta USA)

9:30 am – (23) Tottenham Hotspur at (7) Arsenal (ESPN2)

10:30 am – Bayern Munich at VfB Stuttgart (GolTV)

10:30 am – Liverpool at Fulham (Setanta USA)

10:30 am – Borussia Monchengladbach at (11) Hamburger SV (ESPND, ESPN 360)

11:00 am – (1) Chelsea at Bolton Wanderers (FSC, FSE)

1:00 pm – Getafe at (4) Real Madrid (ESPND, ESPN 360)

1:30 pm – Blackburn Rovers at (6) Manchester United (FSC, FSE)

3:00 pm – (2) Barcelona at Osasuna (GolTV)

3:00 pm – (12) Sevilla at Deportivo Xerez (ESPND, ESPN 360)

3:30 pm – Parma at AC Milan (FSC, FSE)

4:00 pm – Lyon at St. Etienne (Setanta USA)

5:00 pm – Atletico Madrid at Athletic Bilbao (GolTV)

5:00 pm – Vitesse at (21) PSV Eindhoven (Delayed) (ESPND, ESPN 360)

5:15 pm – (8) Benfica at (9) Sporting Braga (ESPN 360)

6:00 pm – Napoli at (19) Juventus (Delayed) (FSC)

6:00 pm – Aston Villa at Everton (Delayed) (Setanta USA)

7:00 pm – Monterrey at San Luis (TeleFutura)

7:15 pm – Junior Barranquilla at Atletico Huila (GolTV)

8:00 pm – West Ham United at Sunderland (Delayed) (FSC)

9:00 pm – UAG Tecos at Tigres (Telemundo)

9:00 pm – Puebla at Indios (ESPND)

9:15 pm – Santos at Flamengo (Delayed) (GolTV)

9:30 pm – Wolverhampton Wanderers at Stoke City (Delayed) (Setanta USA)

11:00 pm – Pachuca at Atlas (Telemundo)

11:15 pm – Wigan Athletic at Portsmouth (Delayed) (Setanta USA)

Sunday, November 1, 2009

2:00 am – Wellington Phoenix at Sydney FC (FSC)

6:00 am – Rostov at Spartak Moscow (Setanta USA)

6:30 am – Feyenoord at (22) Ajax (ESPND, ESPN 360)

9:00 am – (3) Inter Milan at Livorno (FSC, FSE, ESPN 360)

9:00 am – Bologna at Roma (ESPN 360)

10:15 am – Monaco at (13) Bordeaux (Delayed) (Setanta USA)

11:00 am – (5) Bayer Leverkusen at Schalke 04 (Delayed) (GolTV)

11:00 am – (16) Manchester City at Birmingham City (FSC, FSE)

1:00 pm – Corinthians at Palmeiras (GolTV)

1:00 pm – Queretaro at Tolcua (Telemundo)

1:00 pm – Almeria at Real Zaragoza (ESPND, ESPN 360)

2:00 pm – Chicago Fire at New England Revolution (FSC, FSE)

3:00 pm – Sporting Gijon at Deportivo La Coruna (GolTV)

3:00 pm – Paris St.-Germain at Sochaux (Setanta USA)

3:00 pm – Atlante at Cruz Azul (ESPND)

4:00 pm – Lanus at River Plate (Delayed) (FSE)

5:00 pm – Cerro at Nacional (Delayed) (GolTV)

5:00 pm – Jaguares at Club America (Univision)

5:00 pm – Chivas USA at Los Angeles Galaxy (ESPN2, ESPND, ESPN 360)

7:00 pm – Genoa at Palermo (Delayed) (FSC)

9:00 pm – UNAM Pumas at Santos Laguna (TeleFutura)

Monday, November 2, 2009

5:00 am - Valenciennes at Stade Rennes (Delayed) (Setanta USA)

Non-Televised Matches Involving WCR Top 25 Clubs

Fri., 4:15 pm – Os Belenenses at (15) Porto

Sat., 10:30 am – (14) Werder Bremen at Nurnberg

Sat., 2:45 pm – (17) Twente at Roda JC

Sun., 9:00 am – Bari at (10) Sampdoria

Sun., 12 noon – PAOK at (24) Panathinaikos

Sun., 12 noon – Iraklis at (25) Olympiakos

Sun., 3:00 pm – (20) Valencia at Malaga

WCR Top 25 Clubs in the World - (First) Buenos Aires Edition

My first day in Buenos Aires turned out to be the day of the superclasico, even though I scheduled it months before the schedule came out. Fate? Perhaps. Unfortunately, fate also worked to have me arrive too late to attend the match. Fate can be fickle. Because of the fickle finger of fate, the only picture I have is a blurry one of a television screen showing the end of the match in a café in Buenos Aires. Oh well, another time.

If I had to pick a top story of the week, it would have to be the upsets at the Champions League. Particularly, the top two Spanish sides both losing at home, Real Madrid losing 2-3 to AC Milan and even more surprisingly, Rubin Kazan making believers out of the world with a 2-1 victory over Barcelona. Liverpool and Rangers also lost at home in the Champions League, while Arsenal could manage no more than a tie against a troubled AZ Alkmaar. I guess that’s why they play the matches.

Domestically, Chelsea went back top of the Premiership after a great week when Liverpool continued its mastery of Manchester United with a 2-0 victory. Bordeaux also regained the top spot in Ligue Un after Lyon went down in a 4-1 drubbing at the hands of Nice. In the tight Argentine Apertura, Colon moved to the top of the table following a 2-1 defeat of former leader San Lorenzo.

Coming up this week, we have three league matches featuring WCR Top 25 clubs. At midweek, in a battle for second place in Serie A, Juventus will host Sampdoria. In a highly anticipated London Derby, Arsenal welcomes Tottenham Hotspur to Emirates Stadium. Perhaps the biggest of them all, however, will be on Saturday when Sporting Braga hosts Benfica in a battle of the top two clubs thus far this season in the Liga Sagres.

All this and much more is discussed in the rankings below.

World Club Rankings – Top 25 Clubs in the World – October 26, 2009

1. Chelsea (Eng) (5) – Chelsea returns to the top of the topsy-turvy rankings after a week that saw it outscore two opponents 9-0 at Stamford Bridge. First, Chelsea dismantled Atletico de Madrid 4-0 in its Champions League match. Next, Chelsea used a four-goal second half to take down Blackburn Rovers 5-0. Coming Up: On Wednesday, Chelsea will host Bolton Wanderers in a Carling Cup fixture. Saturday will see the same two clubs face off in a Premier League match at Bolton.

2. Barcelona (Esp) (2) – The defending champions were shocked in Champions League play, falling at home to Russian champions Rubin Kazan 1-2. Barca fared much better in La Liga play, crushing Real Zaragoza 6-1. Coming Up: Barcelona will take on Cultural y Deportivo Leonesa (who?) in a midweek Copa del Rey match before taking on Osasuna on Saturday in a Primera Division match.

3. Inter Milan (Ita) (3) – Inter was no stranger to the midweek Champions League carnage as it could only fight out a 2-2 draw with Dynamo Kyiv. Domestically, Inter held on to its Serie A lead with a 2-1 victory over Catania. Coming Up: There are two Serie A matchdays this week and Inter will take on Palermo on Thursday and Livorno on Sunday.

4. Real Madrid (Esp) (4) – Perhaps the worst week of the season thus far for Real Madrid. It started off with a surprise loss at home to AC Milan in Champions League play. It ended with a goalless draw against Sporting Gijon in a Primera Division match. Coming Up: Madrid’s midweek Copa del Rey match will be against AD Alcoron on Tuesday. On Saturday, Real will try to return to glory against Getafe.

5. Bayer Leverkusen (Ger) (6) – A 1-1 draw at home against Borussia Dortmund was enough to leave Leverkusen on top of the Bundesliga table, for now. Coming Up: Bayer Leverkusen will face another tough battle on Saturday when it takes on Schalke 04.

6. Manchester United (Eng) (1) – After avoiding the Champions League upsets with a 1-0 victory over CSKA Moscow in Russia, the Red Devils fared much worse at Anfield, falling 0-2 to hated rival Liverpool. Coming Up: The competition should be a little lighter this week as Manyoo takes on Barnsley on Tuesday in a Carling Cup match and hosts Blackburn Rovers on Saturday as both clubs try to rebound from horrible losses.

7. Arsenal (Eng) (7) – This week was a week of draws for the Gunners, drawing 1-1 with AZ Alkmaar in a Champions League match and 2-2 with West Ham United in a Premier League match, both on the road, though the West Ham match could have been attended via the Underground. Coming Up: Arsenal welcomes Liverpool to Emirates Stadium on Wednesday in a marquee Carling Cup matchup and Tottenham Hotspur comes to visit on Saturday in another big London derby.

8. Benfica (Por) (9) – Everton’s 2009-10 woes were highlighted by Benfica’s 5-0 thrashing of the English club in Europa League play. Coming Up: Thanks to its annoying habit of playing on Monday, Benfica will host Nacional later today. On Saturday, Benfica will travel to take on Sporting Braga in a battle for the top of the Liga Sagres.

9. Sporting Braga (Por) (8) – All good things must come to an end and Braga’s winning streak ended with a 1-1 draw against Rio Ave this past weekend. Coming Up: Braga proved its worth earlier this season by defeating Porto at home. On Saturday, it gets a chance to do it again when second-place Benfica comes to visit.

10. Sampdoria (Ita) (12) – Sampdoria kept pace with Inter Milan in their Serie A race with a 4-1 defeat of Bologna. Coming Up: Like Braga, Sampdoria earlier proved its mettle by defeating Inter. It will have another opportunity to shine on Wednesday when it travels to Turin to take on Juventus. On Sunday, Sampdoria will host Bari.

11. Hamubrger SV (Ger) (10) – HSV added to the Scottish Premier League’s misery with a 1-0 victory at Celtic Park in a Europa League match. Domestically, Hamburger fought Schalke 04 to an exciting 3-3 draw. Coming Up: Hamburger is off until Saturday when its hosts Borussia Monchengladbach in a Bundesliga match.

12. Sevilla (Esp) (11) – Sevilla held up the Spanish banner in the Champions League this week, defeating VfB Stuttgart 3-1. It had a little more trouble over the weekend, scoring a goalless draw with Espanyol. Coming Up: Sevilla’s midweek Copa del Rey match will be against Ciudad de Lorqui. In Primera Division play, Sevilla will take on Deportivo Xerez on Saturday.

13. Bordeaux (Fra) (NR) – Bordeaux returns to the rankings after defeating Bayern Munich 2-1 in their Champions League matchup. It also returns to the top of the Ligue Un table following a 3-0 victory over Le Mans. Coming Up: The top two clubs in the Ligue Un table take on each other on Saturday when Bordeaux hosts AS Monaco.

14. Werder Bremen (Ger) (22) – A big jump for Werder Bremen this week despite scoring only a 2-2 draw against Austria Wien in a Europa League match. The big jump comes as a result of a 4-1 victory over VfL Bochum and moving into third place in the Bundesliga. Coming Up: As one of the few top clubs remaining in the DFB Pokal, Bremen has a midweek match against Kaiserslautern. In Bundesliga play, Werder Bremen will take on Nurnberg on Saturday.

15. Porto (Por) (13) – Porto looks to be on its way to the knockout stage of the Champions League following a 2-1 defeat of APOEL at midweek. It also continued to chase down Braga and Benfica with a 3-2 defeat of Academica de Coimbra in Liga Sagres action. Coming Up: Porto’s next match will be a Liga Sagres match against Os Belenenses on Friday.

16. Manchester City (Eng) (14) – Man City has begun to slip from early form, pulling only a single point at home from a 2-2 draw with Fulham. Coming Up: In its early-round Carling Cup match, Manchester City will host Scunthorpe United on Wednesday. On Sunday, Man City will take on Birmingham City in its Premier League match.

17. Twente (Ned) (21) – After being upset by Sheriff by a 0-2 score in a Europa League match, Twente did what the rest of the clubs at the top of the Eredivisie did and won big. Twente’s victim was Groningen by a 4-0 score. Coming Up: Twente faces Capelle in a midweek KNVB Beker match before taking on Roda JC on Saturday in an Eredivisie matchup.

18. Colon (Arg) (23) – Colon has taken over the top spot in the Argentine Apertura by virtue of a 2-1 victory over San Lorenzo, who had been leading the group heading into the weekend. Coming Up: Colon faces two Apertura opponents this week; Independiente on Wednesday and Huracan on Saturday.

19. Juventus (Ita) (16) – Juventus managed to win its Champions League match this week, but only by a 1-0 score over Maccabi Haifa. 1-0 was also the score of Juventus’ victory over Siena in league play. Coming Up: Both of Juve’s Serie A matches are at home this week, but both are against tough opponents with Sampdoria coming to town on Wednesday and Napoli on Saturday.

20. Valencia (Esp) (NR) – David Villa and the boys return to the rankings after defeating Almeria 3-0 and moving into fourth place in the Primera Division. This made up for a disappointing 1-1 draw against Slavia Praha earlier in the week in a Europa League match. Coming Up: On Tuesday, Valencia will face CD Alcoyano in a Copa del Rey match. In La Liga action, Valencia will take on Malaga on Sunday.

21. PSV Eindhoven (Ned) (BU) – PSV also returns, after a much shorter absence, after a two-victory week. PSV defeated Kobenhavn 1-0 to take three points in its Europa League group and followed it up with a 4-0 crushing of NEC Nijmegen. Coming Up: PSV will take on familiar Roda JC in its midweek KNVB Beker match. Over the weekend, PSV will welcome Vitesse to Eindhoven.

22. Ajax (Ned) (20) – Like PSV, Ajax also pulled off two victories this week, defeating Dinamo Bucuresti 2-1 in the Europa League and defending champions AZ Alkmaar 4-2 in the Eredivisie. Coming Up: Ajax faces Dordecht in its midweek cup match. On Sunday, Ajax will host Feyenoord in an interesting Eredivisie matchup.

23. Tottenham Hotspur (Eng) (19) – After a hot start, Tottenham received a slap in the face this week at the hands of Stoke City in a 0-1 home loss. Coming Up: It won’t get any easier for the Spurs this week. Everton visits White Hart Lane for a Tuesday Carling Cup match. On Saturday, the Spurs will head across town to Emirates Stadium to take on Arsenal.

24. Panathinaikos (Gre) (24) – Panathinaikos remains in a dead heat for the lead of the Greek Super League after a 2-1 defeat of PAOK this past weekend. Earlier, Panathinaikos defeated Sturm Graz 1-0 in a Europa League match. Coming Up: Panathinaikos is off until Sunday when it will take on Panionios.

25. Olympiakos (Gre) (25) – If Panathinaikos won 2-1, Olympiakos had to do it also, against Ergotelis, to maintain the dead heat at the top of the league. Olympiakos also scored a 2-1 victory over Standard Liege in its Champions League matchup. Coming Up: Olympiakos has a Tuesday cup match against Panserraikos. In league play, Olympiakos will take on Atromitos on Saturday.

Bubbling Under: Celtic (Sco), Estudiantes (Arg), Fenerbahce (Tur), Palmeiras (Bra), Schalke 04 (Ger).

Next Five: Aston Villa (Eng), Liverpool (Eng), Mallorca (Esp), Monaco (Fra), Palermo (Ita).

Matches This Week Between WCR Top 25 Club:

28 October – (10) Sampdoria at (19) Juventus

31 October – (23) Tottenham Hotspur at (7) Arsenal

31 October – (8) Benfica at (9) Sporting Braga

Weekend Soccer Television Schedule - 24/25 October

We are now in high gear with the regular season in club football and the schedule demonstrates it. I lost count at 40-something as the number of matches being broadcast this weekend. It should be enough to keep people with even the most severe cases of football-ADD happy.

By our calculus, the match of the weekend takes place in Germany on Sunday when Schalke 04 hosts Hamburger SV because that’s the only match featuring a pair of WCR Top 25 Clubs. If that’s not the highest priority on your viewing list, however, that’s perfectly understandable given the number of matches – and number of good matches – that are taking place this weekend.

In the English-speaking world, the focus likely will be on Anfield as a disappointing-thus-far Liverpool hosts Premiership leaders Manchester United in a battle between Big Four clubs, as well as clubs that have combined for 36 top division titles in England. In the Spanish-speaking world, however, there will be matches that outrank that battle. In Argentina, the top two clubs in the Apertura table take on each other as Colon hosts San Lorenzo in a non-televised match. The match that will be televised out of Argentina, of course, is the superclasico in Buenos Aires as River Plate hosts Boca Juniors. (Wish me luck in being able to go since I arrive in Buenos Aires on Sunday.) Farther north and a few hours later is Mexico’s superclasico as Club America welcomes Chivas de Guadalajara to Mexico City.

All of these matches are potential classics, and they’re all on Sunday. You’ll have a whole day’s worth of matches to enjoy before they even start. This all has the makings of a super few days. Have a great weekend!!!

Top Five Matches of the Weekend:

1. Hamburger SV at Schalke 04 (Sunday, 4:00 pm (EDT), Delayed – GolTV)

2. San Lorenzo at Colon (Sunday, 6:15 pm, Not Televised)

3. Manchester United at Liverpool (Sunday, 10:00 am, FSC, FSE)

4. Boca Juniors at River Plate (Sunday, 3:00 pm, FSE)

5. Chivas de Guadalajara at Club America (Sunday, 6:30 pm, Univision)

Friday, October 23, 2009

2:30 pm – Borussia Dortmund at (6) Bayer Leverkusen (GolTV)

9:00 pm – Toluca at Tecos UAG (Galavision)

Saturday, October 24, 2009

7:30 am – Aston Villa at Wolverhampton Wanderers (ESPN2)

9:30 am – Eintracht Frankfurt at Bayern Munich (ESPND, ESPN 360)

10:00 am – Sunderland at Birmingham City (FSC, FSE)

10:00 am – Stoke City at (19) Tottenham Hotspur (Setanta USA)

12 noon – Mallorca at Atletico de Madrid (ESPND, ESPN 360)

12:30 pm – Blackburn Rovers at (5) Chelsea (FSC, FSE)

2:00 pm – (4) Real Madrid at Sporting Gijon (GolTV)

2:45 pm – Catania at (3) Inter Milan (FSC, FSE)

3:00 pm – Montpellier at Stade Rennes (Setanta USA)

4:00 pm – Espanyol at (11) Sevilla (GolTV)

5:00 pm – Wigan Athletic at Burnley (Delayed) (FSC)

5:00 pm – Bologna at (12) Sampdoria (Delayed) (FSE)

5:00 pm – Portsmouth at Hull City (Delayed) (Setanta USA)

6:00 pm – Vitoria at Atletico Mineiro (Delayed) (GolTV)

6:00 pm – Cruz Azul at Queretaro (TeleFutura)

6:00 pm – Santos Laguna at Jaguares (ESPND)

8:00 pm – Independiente Medellin at Millonarios (GolTV)

8:00 pm – Indios at Pachuca (TeleFutura)

9:00 pm – Colorado Rapids at Real Salt Lake (FSC, FSE)

Sunday, October 25, 2009

2:00 am – Brisbane Roar at Sydney FC (FSC)

5:15 am – Saturn at Lokomotiv (Delayed) (Setanta USA)

7:00 am – FC Moscow at CSKA Moscow (Setanta USA)

9:30 am – (20) Ajax at AZ Alkmaar (ESPND, ESPN 360)

10:00 am – Everton at Bolton (Setanta USA)

10:00 am – (1) Manchester United at Liverpool (FSC, FSE)

10:00 am – (16) Juventus at Siena (ESPN 360)

10:00 am – Livorno at Roma (ESPN 360)

11:30 am – PSV Eindhoven at NEC Nijmegen (ESPND, ESPN 360)

12 noon – (17) Deportivo La Coruna at Real Valladolid (GolTV)

12 noon – (7) Arsenal at West Ham United (FSC, FSE)

12 noon – Fulham at (14) Manchester City (Delayed) (Setanta USA)

12:30 pm – (22) Werder Bremen at VfL Bochum (ESPN 360)

2:00 pm – Gremio at Internacional (GolTV)

2:00 pm – Toulouse at Lens (Delayed) (Setanta USA)

2:00 pm – Monterrey at UNAM Pumas (Telemundo)

2:00 pm – Valencia at Almeria (ESND, ESPN 360)

3:00 pm – Boca Juniors at River Plate (FSE)

3:00 pm – Houston Dynamo at Chivas USA (TeleFutura)

3:45 pm – AC Milan at Chievo (FSC)

4:00 pm – (10) Hamburger SV at (18) Schalke 04 (Delayed) (GolTV)

4:00 pm – Paris St.-Germain at Marseille (Setanta USA)

4:00 pm – Real Zaragoza at (2) Barcelona (ESPN2, ESPND, ESPN 360)

6:00 pm – New England Revolution at Columbus Crew (ESPN2, ESPND, ESPN 360)

6:30 pm – Chivas de Guadalajara at Club America (Univision)

Monday, October 26, 2009

5:00 am – Le Mans at Bordeaux (Delayed) (Setanta USA)

4:15 pm – Nacional at (9) Benfica (ESPN 360)

Non-Televised Matches Involving WCR Top 25 Clubs

Sat., 12 noon – Ergotelis at (25) Olympiakos

Sat., 1:00 pm – (15) Lyon at Nice

Sat., 1:45 pm – Groningen at (21) Twente

Sat., 4:15 pm – (8) Sporting Braga at Rio Ave

Sun., 1:00 pm – PAOK at (24) Panathinaikos

Sun., 3:15 pm – Academica de Coimbra at (13) Porto

Sun., 6:15 pm – San Lorenzo at (23) Colon

WCR Top 25 Clubs in the World - Back in the USA Edition

We’re back in the United States for the week while club football returns to action around the world. All of the top clubs were in action this past weekend and most of them play twice in the coming week, so we are back in full force.

The volatility that marked the past few weeks in the rankings has slowed down this week, though top-ranked Chelsea did manage to lose to Aston Villa to give up its place at the top spot both in the Premiership and the rankings. With Valencia forcing a draw with Barcelona, both of the spots vacated by Chelsea were taken by Manchester United.

Among other world leaders, Hamburg and Leverkusen fought to a draw to keep the status quo in Germany. Palmeiras, Barcelona and Lyon all faltered but managed to hold on to their top spots in Brazil, Spain and France, respectively. Meanwhile, Inter Milan and FC Twente scored big wins over top clubs to hold on to the top spots in Italy and the Netherlands. Joining Chelsea in the scrap heap of discarded leaders is Estudiantes, who fell this weekend to Tigre to fall to fifth-place in a tight Argentine Clausura race, currently led by San Lorenzo.

The current rankings are below. We will be joining you next week for the rankings from Buenos Aires, Argentina. For now, enjoy!!!

World Club Rankings – Top 25 Clubs in the World – October 19, 2009

1. Manchester United (Eng) (9) – Big jump this week for United this week as neither of the English clubs ahead of it in the last rankings could manage a victory. Meanwhile, Man United was defeating Bolton Wanderers 2-1 at Old Trafford to move atop the Premiership table. Coming Up: On Wednesday, Manyoo heads to Russia to take on CSKA Moscow. Perhaps more importantly, it will travel to Anfield on Sunday to take on a struggling Liverpool club.

2. Barcelona (Esp) (2) – Barca keeps a one-point lead atop the Primera Division standings following a goalless draw with Valencia on Saturday. Coming Up: On Tuesday, Barcelona will host Russian power Rubin Kazan in a Champions League match. Barca will return to action in La Liga with a home match against Real Zaragoza on Saturday.

3. Inter Milan (Ita) (4) – Inter showed some Serie A dominance with a 5-0 thrashing of formerly-ranked Genoa, putting a little space between it and Sampdoria at the top of the Italian table. Coming Up: Inter will try to bounce back from its Champions League doldrums with a match against Dynamo Kiev at the San Siro on Tuesday. Internazionale will host Catania on Saturday in league action.

4. Real Madrid (Esp) (3) – After the upset at the hands of Sevilla a few weeks ago, Real Madrid bounced back this week with a 4-2 victory over Real Valladolid with help by two early goals by Raul. Coming Up: Real Madrid will host a floundering AC Milan club in Champions League action on Wednesday. On Saturday, Madrid will take on Sporting Gijon.

5. Chelsea (Eng) (1) – Once again demonstrating an inability to adjust to success, Chelsea again gave up the top spot in the Premiership and the rankings with a 1-2 loss at the hands of Aston Villa. Coming Up: Chelsea hosts a disappointing Atletico Madrid club on Wednesday in a Champions League match in London. On Saturday, Chelsea will try to bounce back against Blackburn Rovers.

6. Bayer Leverkusen (Ger) (5) – Nothing changed in Germany as Leverkusen battled Hamburger SV to a goalless draw in Bundesliga play, leaving Leverkusen on top of the table by virtue of goal differential. Coming Up: No European action for Leverkusen, so it will wait until Friday for its next match against Borussia Dortmund.

7. Arsenal (Eng) (13) – Like Manchester United, a quick jump up the table in the Premiership has propelled Arsenal up the rankings following a 3-1 defeat of Birmingham City in league play. Coming Up: On Tuesday, Arsenal heads to the Netherlands to take on an AZ Alkmaar club that hasn’t looked nearly as good this year as last. In league play, Arsenal will head to London to take on West Ham United on Sunday.

8. Sporting Braga (Por) (7) – In Portugal this weekend, the top clubs played in the Taca de Portugal. Sporting Braga won its first match over Sporting Covilha by a 1-0 score. Coming Up: Braga returns to Liga Sagres action on Saturday against Rio Ave.

9. Benfica (Por) (8) – In its Taca de Portugal match, Benfica completely crushed Recreativo de Monsanto by a 6-0 score. Coming Up: In what promises to be an interesting Europa Cup match, Benfica will host Everton on Thursday. In league action, Benfica will host Nacional next Monday.

10. Hamburger SV (Ger) (11) – With a goalless draw against Bayer Leverkusen, HSV stayed tied with Bayer Leverkusen in points atop the Bundesliga table. Coming Up: In another good Europa Cup matchup, Hamburger will head to Scotland to take on Celtic on Thursday. In the only matchup of the weekend between ranked clubs, HSV will take on Schalke 04 on Sunday.

11. Sevilla (Esp) (10) – Not as good of a week for Sevilla this time around as it falls in an away match to Deportiva La Coruna, though it managed to hold on to second place in the Primera Division. Coming Up: Sevilla will be in Germany to take on VfB Stuttgart in a Tuesday Champions League match. Domestically, Sevilla will host Espanyol on Saturday.

12. Sampdoria (Ita) (12) – Sampdoria keeps its position in the rankings despite only scoring a 1-1 draw with Lazio this weekend in Rome. Coming Up: There’s nothing going on for Sampdoria in Europe, so it will return to action on Saturday when it hosts Bologna.

13. Porto (Por) (16) – Porto advanced in the Taca de Portugal tournament with a 4-0 victory over Sertanense. Coming Up: With the return of the Champions League this week, Porto will host Cypriot club APOEL on Wednesday. In its return to the Liga Sagres, Porto will host Academica de Coimbra on Sunday.

14. Manchester City (Eng) (6) – Since our last meeting, Man City has played two matches and didn’t win either of them. It followed its 1-1 draw with Aston Villa with another 1-1 draw, this time against Wigan Athletic. Coming Up: Manchester City will host Fulham on Sunday as it tries to get back to its winning ways.

15. Lyon (Fra) (14) – Despite being embarrassed at home, losing 0-2 to Sochaux this weekend, Lyon holds on to a narrow lead over Montpellier in Ligue Un for the moment. Coming Up: Tuesday’s match at Anfield against Liverpool could be the most interesting of the week in the Champions League’s third group stage matchday. Domestically, Lyon returns to action on Saturday at Nice.

16. Juventus (Ita) (17) – Juve gave up two home points this weekend as it could manage only a 1-1 draw against Fiorentina. Coming Up: Juventus will welcome Maccabi Haifa to Turin on Wednesday in a Champions League match. Over the weekend, Juve will take on Siena in Serie A play.

17. Deportivo La Coruna (Esp) (21) – It’s official. Deportivo is a club to be reckoned with in La Liga. It proved it this weekend with a 1-0 defeat of third-place Sevilla. Coming Up: Deportivo’s next match will be in the Primera Division on Sunday at Real Valladolid.

18. Schalke 04 (Ger) (20) – Schalke 04 gained on both Leverkusen and Hamburger this weekend with a 2-1 away victory over VfB Stuttgart. Coming Up: Schalke will try to gain even more ground on Sunday when it will host HSV.

19. Tottenham Hotspur (Eng) (23) – Unlike Chelsea, Tottenham keeps beating the clubs that it should beat. This week’s victim was Portsmouth in a 2-1 match at Pompey. Coming Up: Tottenham faces another club it should beat this weekend when it hosts Stoke City on Saturday.

20. Ajax (Ned) (25) – Attention all Eredivisie minnows: Ajax is in the habit of running up scores. This week, Ajax demonstrated this to Willem II in a 4-0 drubbing. Coming Up: Ajax will host Dinamo Zagreb in a Europa League match on Thursday. On Sunday, Ajax heads to Alkmaar to take on defending champs AZ in an Eredivisie match.

21. Twente (Ned) (22) – Speaking of defending champions AZ, Twente defeated the club 3-2 to remain atop the Eredivisie table. Coming Up: In Europa League action, Twente will take on Sherriff on Thursday. Twente welcomes FC Groningen to Enschede on Sunday.

22. Werder Bremen (Ger) (BU) – Bremen returns to the rankings for the first time in a few seasons after a 2-0 victory over Hoffenheim moved Werder Bremen into fourth place in the German Bundesliga. Coming Up: Bremen faces Austria Wien on Thursday in a regional Europa League matchup. In Bundesliga action, Werder Bremen will take on VfL Bochum on Sunday.

23. Colon (Arg) (NR) – The only South American club in this week’s rankings is making its first ever appearance on these charts. With a 4-1 victory over Arsenal de Sarandi and a 2-1 victory over Gimnasia La Plata, Colon has moved into second place in the Argentine Clausura. Coming Up: So who’s in first in Argentina? Colon’s next opponent, San Lorenzo, who will take on Colon on Sunday.

24. Panathinaikos (Gre) (BU) – Despite a 2-2 draw with Kavala this weekend, Panathinaikos remains in a dead heat for the top spot in the Greek Super League. Coming Up: In Europa League action, Panathinaikos will host Sturm Graz on Thursday. In league play, Panathinaikos will host PAOK.

25. Olympiakos (Gre) (NR) – And this is the club with whom Panathinaikos is in the aforementioned dead heat. Olympiakos moved into a tie at first in Greece with a 3-0 defeat of Asteras Tripolis this weekend. Coming Up: On Tuesday, Olympiakos will host Belgian club Standard Liege in a Champions League match. On Saturday, Olympiakos will host Ergotelis in Greek Super League action.

Bubbling Under (alphabetically): Mallorca (Esp), Palmeiras (Bra), PSV Eindhoven (Ned), Rangers (Sco), San Lorenzo (Arg).

Next Five: Aston Villa (Eng), Bordeaux (Fra), Fenerbahce (Tur), Fiorentina (Ita), Montpellier (Fra).

Upcoming Matches Between Top 25 Clubs:

25 October – (10) Hamburger SV at (18) Schalke 04

Weekend Soccer Television Schedule - 17/18 October

I attribute it to the fact that I got on this late this week, but ESPN has its schedules up, so the list below should be pretty thorough.

As we return to club action this weekend (Thank God!!!), we have a large set of great games and most of them are going to take place on Saturday. Unfortunately, that is going to result in three of the best matches taking place at the same time. Decisions, decisions . . .

The top matches that aren’t in that cluster take place early on Saturday morning when Aston Villa hosts top-ranked Chelsea on ESPN2 and late in the afternoon, when Valencia hosts second-ranked Barcelona. The big midday group includes matches from Germany (Bayer Leverkusen at Hamburger SV), Italy (Fiorentina at Juventus), and Spain (Sevilla at Deportivo La Coruna).

All-in-all, eighteen clubs from the current WCR Top 25 Clubs in the World will be broadcast somewhere or another this weekend. I hope you’ve been looking forward to it as much as I have. Have a great weekend!!!

Top Five Matches of the Weekend

1. Bayer Leverkusen at Hamburger SV (Saturday, 12:30 pm (EDT), GolTV)

2. Sevilla at Deportivo La Coruna (Saturday, 12 noon, ESPND, ESPN 360)

3. Chelsea at Aston Villa (Saturday, 7:30 am, ESPN2)

4. Barcelona at Valencia (Saturday, 4:00 pm, GolTV)

5. Fiorentina at Juventus (Saturday, 12 noon, FSC)

Saturday, October 17, 2009

7:30 am – (1) Chelsea at Aston Villa (ESPN2)

9:30 am – Bayern Munich at Freiburg (GolTV)

9:30 am – (20) Schake 04 at VfB Stuttgart (ESPND, ESPN 360)

10:00 am – Liverpool at Sunderland (FSC)

10:00 am – (23) Tottenham Hotspur at Portsmouth (FSE)

10:00 am – Bolton Wanderers at (9) Manchester United (Setanta USA)

12 noon – Fiorentina at (17) Juventus (FSC)

12 noon – (10) Sevilla at (21) Deportivo La Coruna (ESPND, ESPN 360)

12:30 pm – (5) Bayer Leverkuse at (11) Hamburger SV (GolTV)

12:45 pm – Willem II at (25) Ajax (ESPN 360)

1:45 pm – AZ Alkmaar at (22) Twente (ESPN 360)

2:00 pm – Real Valladolid at (3) Real Madrid (ESPND, ESPN 360)

2:30 pm – (4) Inter Milan at Genoa (FSE, ESPN 360)

2:45 pm – Heerenveen at PSV Eindhoven (ESPN 360)

3:00 pm – Stade Rennes at Lille (Setanta USA)

4:00 pm – (2) Barcelona at Valencia (GolTV)

6:00 pm – Atletico Mineiro at Sao Paolo (GolTV)

6:00 pm – Chicago Fire at New England Revolution (FSC)

8:00 pm – Independiente Santa Fe at Millonarios (GolTV)

8:00 pm – Jaguares at Monterrey (Telemundo)

8:00 pm – Atlante at Indios (ESPND)

8:30 pm – Birmingham City at (13) Arsenal (Delayed) (Setanta USA)

10:00 pm – Queretaro at Atlas (Telemundo)

10:00 pm – UNAM Pumas at San Luis (TeleFutura)

10:15 pm – Wolverhampton at Everton (Delayed) (Setanta USA)

Sunday, October 18, 2009

2:00 am – Perth Glory at Gold Coast United (FSC)

4:15 am – Khimki at Rubin Kazan (Delayed) (Setanta USA)

6:00 am – Spartak Moscow at Lokomotiv (Setanta USA)

8:00 am – Burnley at Blackburn (Setanta USA)

9:00 am – (12) Sampdoria at Lazio (FSC, FSE, ESPN 360)

11:00 am – (6) Manchester City at Wigan Athletic (FSC, FSE)

11:00 am – Almeria at Malaga (ESPND, ESPN 360)

1:00 pm – Sporting Gijon at Athletic Bilbao (GolTV)

1:00 pm – Tigres at Toluca (Telemundo)

1:00 pm – Borussia Monchengladbach at VfL Wolfsburg (Delayed) (ESPND, ESPN 360)

2:30 pm – Roma at AC Milan (FSC, FSE)

3:00 pm – Atletico Madrid at Osasuna (GolTV)

3:00 pm – Paris St.-Germain at Toulouse (Setanta USA)

3:00 pm – Los Angeles Galaxy at Houston Dynamo (TeleFutura)

3:00 pm – UAG Tecos at Cruz Azul (ESPND)

5:00 pm – Flamengo at (19) Palmeiras (GolTV)

5:00 pm – River Plate at Huracan (Delayed) (FSC, FSE)

5:30 pm – Puebla at Club America (Univision)

Monday, October 19, 2009

6:00 am – Marseille at Nancy Lorraine (Delayed) (Setanta USA)

7:45 am – Lens at Monaco (Delayed) (Setanta USA)

3:00 pm – Hull City at Fulham (ESPN2)

8:00 pm – Chivas de Guadalajara at Santos Laguna (TeleFutura)

Non-Televised Matches Involving WCR Top 25 Clubs

Sat., 1:00 pm – Sochaux at (14) Lyon

Sat., 1:00 pm – (19) Bordeaux at Auxerre

Sat., 4:15 pm – (7) Sporting Braga at Rio Ave

Sun., 9:00 am – (24) Fenerbahce at Gaziantepspor

Sun., 4:15 pm – Academica Coimbra at (16) Porto

Sun., 6:15 pm – (15) Estudiantes at Newell’s Old Boys

Mon., 4:15 pm – Nacional at (8) Benfica

World Club Rankings - Top 25 Clubs - 1990

First off, I noticed that I forgot to put links to the international cup tournaments and to prior annual rankings in my post for 1989. If you read that post and noticed those missing, I have gone back to that post and remedied that. Sorry.

1990 seemed fairly similar to 1989 in the big scheme of things. In Europe, AC Milan once again won the Champions Cup, defeating Benfica in the final in Vienna, Austria on a Frank Rijkaard goal midway through the second-half. Once again, however, Milan faltered in Serie A action, coming in second to Napoli, and finished in the runner-up position in the final season rankings to the club that it defeated to win the European title. Also, once again, all of the European cups saw Italian clubs in the final. In fact, the UEFA Cup had two of them, as Juventus defeated Fiorentina 3-1 in aggregate in the final to take the hardware. In the Cup Winners Cup, Sampdoria made it a complete sweep for Serie A clubs by defeating Belgian club RSC Anderlecht 2-0 in theUE final on two extra-time Vialli goals.

There also was a little bit of déjà vu going on in South America where Paraguay’s Olimpia once again made it to the final of the Copa Libertadores. Unlike the previous year, however, Olimpia won the 1990 title by defeating Barcelona (the one from Ecuador, not the one from Spain) 3-1 in the two-legged final. More déjà vu in North America, also, as Pinar del Rio returned to the final of the Copa de Campeones y Subcampeones, only to lose for a second consecutive year to a club from Mexico, this time Club America, who defeated the Cuban runners-up by an 8-2 aggregate score.

Six different nations factored into the other major continental cups. The African Champions Cup, once again (you’ve got to see the pattern by now, right/), was resolved in penalty kicks as JS Kabylie (Algeria) took the title from Nkana Red Devils (Zambia) 5-3, following a 1-0 home victory for both clubs in the two legs. It wasn’t as close in the African Cup Winners Cup as Nigeria’s BCC Lions defeated Tunisia’s Club Africain 4-1. Finally, the Asian Champions Cup saw China’s Liaoning win the first cup for that nation by beating Japan’s Nissan 3-2 in the two-legged final.

The complete rankings for 1990 are below. As always, feel free to complain about any of it or ignore it completely. The choice is entirely yours!!!

World Club Rankings – Top 25 Clubs in the World – 1990

1. Benfica (Por) – Champions Cup- Runner-up; Fourth time ranked Number One.

2. AC Milan (Ita) – Champions Cup- Winner; Second consecutive Number Two ranking.

3. River Plate (Arg) – Copa Libertadores- SF.

4. Porto (Por) – UEFA Cup- 3R.

5. Napoli (Ita) – UEFA- 3R; Fifth consecutive Top 25 ranking.

6. Club America (Mex) – Copa de Campeones y Subcampeones- Champions; Highest ever ranking for a North American club.

7. Bayern Munich (FRG) – CC- SF.

8. Dinamo Bucuresti (Rom) – Cup Winners Cup- SF; Final ever ranking.

9. Steaua Bucuresti (Rom) – CC- 2R; Final ever ranking.

10. America de Cali (Col)

11. Atletico Nacional (Col) – CL- SF; First ever ranking.

12. Real Madrid (Esp) – CC-2R; Fifth consecutive Top 20 ranking.

13. Olimpia (Par) – Copa Libertadores- Champions.

14. Inter Milan (Ita) – CC- 1R.

15. Bella Vista (Uru) – Only ever ranking.

16. Universitatea Craiova (Rom) – Highest ever ranking.

17. Marseille (Fra) – CC- SF; First ever ranking.

18. Sporting CP (Por) – UEFA- 1R.

19. Juventus (Ita) – UEFA Cup- Champions.

20. Barcelona (Ecu) – CL- RU.

21. Independiente (Arg) – CL- QF.

22. Ajax (Ned) – UEFA- 1R.

23. PSV Eindhoven (Ned) – CC- QF.

24. Club Brugge (Bel) – UEFA- 2R; Final ever ranking.

25. Vitoria Guimaraes (Por) – Final ever ranking.

Past Final Season Top 25s: 2008, 2007, 1989, 1988, 1987, 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

World Club Rankings - Top 25 Clubs - 1989

Since we didn’t have many significant domestic league matches this week, and I have time to kill on a train from Amsterdam to Brussels, here is the next edition of our Annual Rankings. This time, we are up to 1989.

1989 was one of those seasons in which the European Cup winner did not manage to finish atop the World Club Rankings for the year. In the European Cup final, AC Milan trounced Steaua Bucuresti 4-0, on braces by Ruud Gullit and Macro Van Basten, but still finished second to Steaua in the rankings because it finished in third-place in Serie A, behind both Inter Milan and Napoli. Speaking of Napoli, Diego Maradona’s club was able to claim some silverware of its own by defeating VfB Stuttgart 5-4 in aggregate in the final of the 1988-89 UEFA Cup. Yet another Italian club made it to the final of the Cup Winners Cup, held in Berne, Switzerland, but Barcelona defeated Sampdoria 2-0 to take the cup.

Unlike the European Cup, the 1989 Copa Libertadores had plenty of excitement in the final as both Colombia’s Atletico Nacional and Paraguay’s Olimpia scored 2-0 victories in the final’s two legs. Atletico Nacional took the title, however, after defeating Olimpia in a 5-4 penalty kick shootout. Further north, Mexico’s UNAM Pumas defeated Cuba’s Pinar del Rio 4-2 in aggregate to take the final of the Copa de Campeones y Subcampeones.

Elsewhere in the world, the trophies were spread around. In the African Champions Cup, Raja Casablanca took the cup home to Morocco after defeating Algeria’s Oran 4-2 on penalty kicks following 1-0 home victories by both clubs. Al-Merreikh from Sudan took the African Cup Winners Cup, defeating Nigeria’s Bendel United 1-0 in the two-leg final. Finally, the Asian Champions Cup went to Qatar after Al Saad defeated Iraq’s Al Rasheed on away goals after the two clubs split six goals in their two matches.

That’s it for 1989. We’ll try to be back with 1990’s rankings in a few days.

World Club Rankings – Top 25 Clubs in the World – 1989

1. Steaua Bucuresti (Rom) – European Cup- Runner-up; Only number one ranking.

2. AC Milan (Ita) – European Cup- Champions; Highest ranking to date.

3. Real Madrid (Esp) – EC- SF.

4. Inter Milan (Ita) – UEFA Cup- 3R; Highest ranking since 1967.

5. Benfica (Por) – UEFA- 2R.

6. Dinamo Bucuresti (Rom) – Cup Winners Cup- QF; Highest ever ranking.

7. Napoli (Ita) – UEFA Cup- Champions.

8. Independiente (Arg)

9. Porto (Por) – EC- 2R.

10. Olimpia (Par) – Copa Libertadores- Runner-up; First ever ranking.

11. PSV Eindhoven (Ned) – EC- QF.

12. Progreso (Uru) – Only ever ranking.

13. Boca Juniors (Arg) – UEFA-2R.

14. Victoria Bucuresti (Rom) – UEFA- QF; Best ever ranking.

15. Barcelona (Esp) – Cup Winners Cup- Champions.

16. Danubio (Uru) – CL- SF; Final ever ranking.

17. Puebla (Mex) – Final ever ranking.

18. Ajax (Ned) – UEFA- 1R.

19. Juventus (Ita) – UEFA- QF.

20. Boavista (Por)

21. Espanyol (Esp) – Only ever ranking.

22. Flacara Moreni (Rom) – Only ever ranking.

23. UNAM Pumas (Mex) – Copa de Campeones y Subcampeones- Champions; Only ever ranking.

24. River Plate (Arg)

25. Nacional (Uru) – CL- 2R.

Past Final Season Top 25s: 2008 ,2007, 1988, 1987, 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 - 10/11 October

Welcome back, football fans. For the moment, I’m temporarily suspending my feud with ESPN. (I call it a feud even though I believe that in order for it to actually be a feud, ESPN would have to start arguing with me or, at least, recognize that I exist.) It does appear that ESPN has posted it’s schedule for the weekend with days to spare for a change, for what it’s worth given the few games being broadcast, so those matches are included below.

As you probably are aware, this weekend is an international weekend in Europe, where World Cup qualifiers are being played. They also are being played in North and South America but for reasons known only to them, domestic play is not suspended on those continents so there also will be action from Brazil, Argentina, Mexico and the United States.

Since there are so few matches on this weekend, and even fewer that I care about (I’m not that interested in international matches except for the World Cup), I’m not doing a “Top Five Matches of the Weekend” list this weekend, but it will be back next weekend. Also, I’m only listing the earliest time for each match that I’ve found so, for instance, since the Paraguay/Venezuela match is being shown live, I’m not listing rebroadcasts of that match, just the original live broadcast. That’s it for now. Have a great weekend!!!

Friday, October 9, 2009

4:30 am – Melbourne at Sydney FC

Saturday, October 10, 2009

11:00 am – Germany at Russia (Setanta USA)

11:30 am – New Zealand at Bahrain (FSC)

12 noon – Spain at Armenia (FSE)

2:00 pm – Azerbaijan at Liechtenstein (ESPN 360)

2:00 pm – Sweden at Denmark (FSE)

3:00 pm – Sao Paolo at Flamengo (GolTV)

3:00 pm – Faroe Islands at France (FSC)

3:45 pm – Hungary at Portugal (Setanta USA)

5:45 pm – Latvia at Greece (Delayed) (Setanta USA)

6:00 pm – El Salvador at Mexico (Telemundo)

7:30 pm – Columbus Crew at New England Revolution (FSC, FSE)

7:30 pm – Turkey at Belgium (Delayed) (Setanta USA)

8:30 pm – Chivas de Guadalajara at UAG Tecos (Galavision)

10:00 pm – Trinidad at Tobago at Costa Rica (GolTV)

11:55 pm – Paraguay at Venezuela (ESPND)

Sunday, October 11, 2009

3:30 pm – Italy at Ireland (Delayed) (Setanta USA)

5:00 pm – Atlante at San Luis (Univision)

5:15 pm – Poland at Czech Republic (Delayed) (Setanta USA)

7:00 pm – Independiente at River Plate (FSE)

7:00 pm – Romania at Serbia (Delayed) (Setanta USA)

Monday, October 12, 2009

4:30 pm – Chile at Colombia (Delayed) (Setanta USA)

6:15 pm – Peru at Argentina (Delayed) (Setanta USA)

8:00 pm – England at Ukraine (Delayed) (Setanta USA)

9:45 pm – Uruguay at Ecuador (Delayed) (Setanta USA)