WCR Top 25 Clubs in the World - AC Milan Returns Edition

I’m not sure what else Chelsea would have to do to demonstrate that it is the best club in the world at the moment. This week, it faced two clubs that are advancing to the knockout round of the Champions League, both in away matches, and walked away with two victories. Granted the Champions League match against Porto was virtually meaningless, but that can’t be said about the Arsenal match and the Blues crushed the Gunners 3-0.

Meanwhile, to the southeast, Barcelona reestablished itself as the top club in the second best domestic league in the world by defeating Real Madrid 1-0 in a match in which it played most of the second half down a man.

Coming up, we have a handful of matches involving ranked clubs, including a pair of Carling Cup matches involving Chelsea and Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur taking on Manchester United at Old Trafford. The biggest match of the week should probably end up being Juventus and Inter Milan on Saturday. Also this week, LDU Quito should be crowned Copa Sudamerica champions after taking down Fluminense 5-1 in the first leg of the final thanks to an Edison Mendez hat-trick.

The rest of both action past and action future is below.

World Club Rankings – Top 25 Clubs in the World – November 30, 2009

1. Chelsea (Eng) (1) – Okay, am I through gushing over Chelsea? Almost. The 1-0 victory over Porto was anticlimactic since both clubs already had clinched advancement, but you have to admit that the 3-0 victory over Arsenal was impressive as hell. Arsenal was lucky to finish that close. Coming Up: Of the top clubs in the Premiership table, Chelsea has the lightest time in its Carling Cup match this week, taking on Blackburn Rovers on Wednesday. The Premiership match of the week should be Saturday’s matchup of Chelsea and Manchester City at Eastlands.

2. Barcelona (Esp) (5) – Similar to Chelsea, Barcelona faced two top clubs this week and walked away victorious both times. Unlike Chelsea, Barca’s antics were at home. First, in an important Champions League matchup, Barcelona defeated Inter Milan 2-0 at midweek. As you must know already, Barcelona also beat Real Madrid 1-0 in Sunday’s superclasico. Coming Up: To make up for missed matches coming up in the Club World Cup, Barcelona will play a midweek Primera Division match against Deportivo Xerez. It’s regularly scheduled match will be Saturday against Deportivo La Coruna.

3. Inter Milan (Ita) (3) – Inter really needs to do something in Europe for a change. Although its destiny still is in its own hand, Tuesday’s 0-2 loss to Barcelona doesn’t help Inter’s chances of advancement in the Champions League. Domestically, on the other hand, Inter just keeps rolling along, defeating Fiorentina 1-0 this weekend on a late Milito penalty kick. Coming Up: Inter’s next match likely will be the WCR “Match of the Weekend” when it goes to Turin to take on Juventus on Saturday.

4. Manchester United (Eng) (6) – Hail, hail Wayne Rooney. I know it didn’t matter, but Manyoo must be a little disappointed in losing at Old Trafford to Besiktas 0-1 in its Champions League match this week. Domestically, however, Rooney’s hat-trick allowed the Red Devils to trudge past lowly Portsmouth 4-1. Coming Up: In a potentially interesting midweek Carling Cup match, Manchester United will host Tottenham on Tuesday. In league play, United heads to London to take on West Ham United on Saturday.

5. Bayer Leverkusen (Ger) (7) – Leverkusen was finally able to move a little further way from Werder Bremen this week with a 4-0 victory over VfB Stuttgart. Coming Up: The schedule gets a little easier for Leverkusen in the Bundesliga in the immediate future starting this week against Hannover 96 on Saturday.

6. Real Madrid (Esp) (2) – Real Madrid drops out of the top spot in the Primera Division this week and a few spots down the rankings following its 0-1 loss to short-handed Barcelona in the superclasico. On a higher note, Real did beat Zurich FC 1-0 in its Champions League. Coming Up: Real Madrid is off until Saturday when it hosts Almeria.

7. Arsenal (Eng) (8) – In its Champions League match, Arsenal defeated Standard Liege 2-0. Now the bad news. Arsenal looked really bad against the best club in the world on Sunday, falling 0-3 at Emirates Stadium. Coming Up: Arsenal heads to Manchester to take on City on Wednesday for an interesting Carling Cup matchup. In league play, Arsenal will host Stoke City on Saturday.

8. Benfica (Por) (4) – Prosperity didn’t work out well for Benfica as it finally moved to the top of the Liga Sagres table only to fall into a 0-0 draw with struggling Sporting CP this weekend. Coming Up: Still the best club in Portugal, probably, Benfica will host Academica next weekend. Before that, however, in the Europa League, Benfica will face BATE Borisov on Wednesday.

9. Sporting Braga (Por) (12) – No current matches. Coming Up: Sporting Braga can take back the top spot in the Liga Sagres with a victory over Uniao de Leiria on Monday. Following that match, Braga will be off until Saturday, when it takes on Leixoes.

10. Werder Bremen (Ger) (9) – After making a mad dash towards the top of the Bundesliga table, Bremen hit a bump in the road this week with a 2-2 draw against defending Bundesliga champions Wolfsburg. Coming Up: On Thursday, Bremen will host Portugal’s Nacional in a Europa League matchup. Domestically, Werder Bremen returns to action on Sunday at FC Koln.

11. Sevilla (Esp) (11) – In a match that mattered little to Sevilla, the Spanish club fell to Unirea Urziceni 0-1 in the Champions League. More painful, however, was Sevilla’s failure to capitalize on Real Madrid’s loss by only picking up a single point in a 2-2 draw at home against Malaga. Coming Up: Sevilla is off until Saturday when it hosts Real Valladoid in La Liga action.

12. Bordeaux (Fra) (24) – Bordeaux really bounced back from its horrible week the week before. After defeating Juventus 2-0 at home in its Champions League tie, Bordeaux defeated Nancy Lorraine 3-0 and moved back atop the French Ligue Un. Coming Up: In what should be a fun matchup, Bordeaux will host Paris St.-Germain on Saturday.

13. AC Milan (Ita) (BU) – After slowly moving its way up the charts the past several weeks, Milan finally returns to the rankings after a week that saw it finish with a 1-1 draw against Marseille in the Champions League and defeat Catania 2-0 to move into second place in Serie A. Coming Up: AC Milan will welcome hot-starting Sampdoria to the San Siro on Saturday.

14. Tottenham Hotspur (Eng) (13) – In the first of a series of matches that could prove the Spurs’ worthiness for the high ranking it has attained, Tottenham pulled a point out of Aston Villa in Birmingham with a 1-1 draw. This Week: The Spurs will have their hands full on Tuesday when they take on Manchester United in a Carling Cup matchup at Old Trafford. On Sunday, Tottenham will be at Goodison Park to take on Everton in a Premier League match.

15. Juventus (Ita) (10) – Not everybody had a good week this week. Juve’s started off with a 0-2 Champions League loss in France to Bordeaux. It got worse in domestic play when it lost 0-2 to Cagliari to drop to third place in Serie A. Coming Up: It’s not going to get any easier for Juventus any time soon as it will have to host Serie A leaders Inter Milan on Saturday.

16. Twente (Ned) (14) – Twente remains atop the Eredivisie following its 3-1 victory this weekend over Willem II. Coming Up: On Wednesday, the top two clubs in Europa League’s Group H face off when Twente hosts Fenerbahce. Domestically, Twente will take on NEC in Nijmegen on Sunday.

17. Valencia (Esp) (16) – Valencia has to be a little disappointed, but the Mallorca club that drew 1-1 with Valencia this week is playing very well this season. Coming Up: Valencia’s survival will be at stake when it takes on Lille on Wednesday. In Primera Division action, Valencia will have an away match that is always difficult when it heads into Basque country to take on Athletic Bilbao on Saturday.

18. Porto (Por) (17) – Porto lost to Chelsea 0-1 in its Champions League match but it’s advancing anyway, so . . . you know . . . who cares? Domestically, Porto gained a little ground on Benfica with a 2-1 victory over Rio Ave. Coming Up: Porto’s weekend starts early this week when it takes on Vitoria Guimaraes on Friday.

19. PSV Eindhoven (Ned) (18) – Perhaps it was a little closer than expected but three road points are three road points as PSV knocked off Sparta Rotterdam 3-2 this week. Coming Up: As is becoming common in this week’s rankings, the top two clubs in Europa League’s Group K face off on Thursday when PSV hosts Sparta Praha. In Eredivisie play, PSV will take on RKC Waalwijk on Sunday.

20. Schalke 04 (Ger) (19) – In a disappointing outing, Schalke 04 fell 0-1 to Borussia Monchengladbach this weekend. Coming Up: In a golden opportunity to bounce back, Schalke will host cellar dwellers Hertha BSC on Sunday.

21. Ajax (Ned) (21) – In its continuing demolition of the bottom clubs in the Eredivisie, Ajax thrashed Vitesse 5-1 this week. Coming Up: Ajax can clinch advancement in the Europa League with a victory this week against Timisoara on Wednesday. In league play, a blowout is not guaranteed when Ajax takes on Utrecht on Sunday.

22. Olympiakos (Gre) (NF) – Olympiakos returns to the rankings by returning to the top of the Greek Super Ligi following a 2-0 defeat of former leaders Panathinaikos. In Champions League play, Olympiakos moved a little closer to the next round by picking up an away point against AZ Alkmaar with a 0-0 draw. Coming Up: Olympiakos returns to action on Saturday against Xanthi.

23. Manchester City (Eng) (25) – Man City drew this week for what I believe is the 345^th consecutive time, this time 1-1 against Hull City. Coming Up: City will have to face two of the top clubs in England and the world this week. On Wednesday, Manchester City hosts Arsenal in the Carling Cup. Even bigger, on Saturday, City will host Chelsea in a Premiership matchup.

24. Newell’s Old Boys (Arg) (NF) – No current matches. Coming Up: On the heels of its first ever trip to the rankings, NOB can take over the top spot in the Argentine Apertura if it can score a victory over Colon later today. On Sunday, Newell’s Old Boys will host Arsenal de Sarandi.

25. Banfield (Arg) (15) – Prosperity stopped working out for Banfield as they fell 1-2 on Sunday to a very popular, but very flawed, Racing Club. Coming Up: Banfield no longer controls its own destiny. On Friday, Banfield will take on Huracan in a match I would go to except that cab drivers won’t even drop you off in that neighborhood on game day.

Bubbling Under: Bayern Munich (Ger), Flamengo (Bra), Internacional (Bra), Liverpool (Eng), Rangers (Sco).

Next Five: Celtic (Sco), Colon (Arg), Deportivo La Coruna (Esp), Hamburger (Ger), Mallorca (Esp).

Matches This Week Between WCR Top 25 Clubs:

1 December – (14) Tottenham Hotspur at (4) Manchester United

2 December – (7) Arsenal at (23) Manchester City

5 December – (1) Chelsea at (23) Manchester City

5 December – (3) Inter Milan at (15) Juventus

Weekend Soccer Television Schedule - 28/29 November

Ever since Real Madrid spent unfathomable amounts to sign Ronaldo, Kaka, Benzema, et al., this is the weekend for which we have all been waiting. On Sunday, the most expensive club in the world will take on the defending Champions League and Club World Cup champions as Real Madrid heads to Camp Nou to take on Barcelona. What’s better is that it is arguably not even the biggest match of the weekend as two London powerhouses do battle at Emirates Stadium where Arsenal hosts Chelsea, the top-ranked club in the world. The fact that these matches are back-to-back means that we will have four of the best hours of football this season on Sunday.

If that was all there was, it would be enough. But, of course, there’s more. There’s also a series of matches involving various combinations of ranked clubs and clubs in the UEFA Champions League group stage. These include Inter Milan hosting Fiorentina, Panathinaikos taking on Olympiakos, and a Bundesliga battle between Werder Bremen and Wolfsburg.

On top of all this, we have playoffs from Mexico, the end of the Russian Premier League season, Benfica taking on Sporting CP and some random early-round FA Cup action. All-in-all, it promises to be fun. Have a great weekend!!!

Top Five Matches of the Weekend:

1. Real Madrid at Barcelona (Sunday, 1:00 pm (EST), GolTV, ESPND, ESPN 360)

2. Chelsea at Arsenal (Sunday, 11:00 am, FSC, FSE)

3. Tottenham Hotspur at Aston Villa (Saturday, 12:30 pm, FSC)

4. Panathinaikos at Olympiakos (Sunday, 11:30 am, Not Televised)

5. Fiorentina at Inter Milan (Sunday, 9:00 am, FSC, FSE)

Friday, November 27, 2009

2:45 pm – (18) PSV Eindhoven at Sparta Rotterdam (ESPND)

Saturday, November 28, 2009

9:30 am – Wolfsburg at (9) Werder Bremen (ESPND, ESPN 360)

10:00 am – Burnley at West Ham United (FSC)

10:00 am – Hull City at (25) Manchester City (Setanta USA)

10:00 am – (6) Manchester United at Portsmouth (ESPN2)

12 noon – Villarreal at Sporting Gijon (GolTV)

12:15 pm – Norwich at Carlisle (Joined in Progress) (Setanta USA)

12:30 pm – (13) Tottenham Hotspur at Aston Villa (FSC)

1:00 pm – Auxerre at Paris St.-Germain (Setanta USA)

2:00 pm – (19) Schalke 04 at Borussia Monchengladbach (GolTV)

2:00 pm – Mallorca at (16) Valencia (ESPND, ESPN 360)

2:45 pm – Sampdoria at Genoa (FSC, ESPN 360)

3:00 pm – Marseille at Lens (Setanta USA)

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

5:00 pm – Livorno at Udinese (Delayed) (FSC) (Live at noon on ESPN 360)

5:00 pm – Bolton at Fulham (Delayed) (Setanta USA)

6:00 pm – Puebla at Cruz Azul (Azteca)

6:15 pm – Pereira at Junior Barranquilla (GolTV)

7:00 pm – Sunderland at Wigan Athletic (Delayed) (FSC)

8:15 pm – Atletico Huila at Tolima (GolTV)

8:30 pm – Stoke City at Blackburn Rovers (Delayed) (Setanta USA)

9:00 pm – Millwall at Staines (Delayed) (FSC)

10:00 pm – Monterrey at Club America (TeleFutura)

Sunday, November 29, 2009

1:00 am – Newcastle Jets at Sydney FC (FSC)

6:00 am – Rubin Kazan at Kuban (Setanta USA)

6:30 am – (21) Ajax at Vitesse (ESPN 360)

8:30 am – Liverpool at Everton (Setanta USA)

9:00 am – Fiorentina at (3) Inter Milan (FSC, FSE)

9:00 am – (10) Juventus at Cagliari (ESPN 360)

11:00 am – (1) Chelsea at (8) Arsenal (FSC, FSE)

11:15 am – Leeds United at Kettering (Delayed) (Setanta USA)

11:30 am – Bayern Munich at Hannover 96 (ESPN 360)

1:00 pm – San Luis at Toluca (Telemundo)

1:00 pm – (2) Real Madrid at (5) Barcelona (GolTV, ESPND, ESPN 360)

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

3:00 pm – Rennes at Lyon (Setanta USA)

3:00 pm – Espanyol at Atletico de Madrid (ESPN2, ESPN 360)

4:00 pm – Flamengo at Corinthians (Delayed) (GolTV)

5:00 pm – Swindon at Wrexham (Delayed) (FSC)

5:00 pm – Boca Juniors at San Lorenzo (Delayed) (FSE)

5:00 pm – Santos Laguna at Morelia (Azteca)

7:00 pm – Birmingham City at Wolverhampton Wanderers (Delayed) (FSC)

Monday, November 30, 2009

5:00 am – (24) Bordeaux at Nancy Lorraine (Delayed) (Setanta USA)

6:45 am – Spartak Moscow at Zenit St. Petersburg (Delayed) (Setanta USA)

Non-Televised Matches Involving WCR Top 25 Clubs:

Sat., 7:45 am – (20) Rangers at Aberdeen

Sat., 9:30 am – Borussia Dortmund at (23) TSG Hoffenheim

Sat., 4:15 pm – (4) Benfica at Sporting CP

Sun., 9:30 am – VfB Stuttgart at (7) Bayer Leverkusen

Sun., 11:30 am – (22) Panathinaikos at Olympiakos

Sun., 2:45 pm – (14) Twente at Willem II

Sun., 3:15 pm – Rio Ave at (17) Porto

Sun., 7:15 pm – Racing Club at (15) Banfield

Mon., 3:15 am – Uniao Leiria at (12) Sporting Braga

South American Stadium Tour - La Bombonera

I feel like it’s possible that I have found football heaven and it’s called the chocolate box. I was expecting great things before I went to La Bombonera for my first Boca Juniors match in Buenos Aires. I wasn’t disappointed.

All of the indicators pointed to a disappointing experience before I left. The match I went to took place on a Thursday afternoon, around 3:00 pm local time. Boca Juniors’ opponent was one of the bottom clubs in the Argentine table – Chacarita Juniors – though I had hope that since it was a BsAs derby, there might be some added excitement. Also, it was 32 degrees Celsius (around 90 Fahrenheit) and I was worried the heat might keep some people away.

The heat didn’t keep anybody away; it just made them more active. Rather than go to a match in Buenos Aires by myself and risk injury, robbery or other unfortunate incidents, I went with a small tour group. We arrived an hour before the match and had to go through three levels of heavy security before getting into the stadium. Our seats were in the end zone, directly beneath the seats for the Chacarita Juniors supporters. This meant that projectiles were coming down frequently, but they all landed without incident.

Despite the heat, despite being a Thursday afternoon and despite the subpar competition, the stadium was packed. It wasn’t just packed. It was loud. It wasn’t just loud. It moved. From about twenty minutes before the match until the end, the singing and jumping and yelling continued. To be honest, it probably helped that I’m a Boca Juniors supporter and Boca crushed Chacarita 3-0. I’ve written about a number of stadiums now, but my experience at La Bombonera was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before.

No beer was sold at the stadium. None was needed. The fans appeared to carry it with them in their bellies. They carried other things, too, and I had flashbacks to my time in Amsterdam a few weeks prior. With the tour group before the match, we were told that lighters were prohibited in the stadium, so if you wanted to smoke, put your lighter in your sock and nobody would check. You’d think they’d either catch on to that and start checking socks or just lift the “prohibition” on lighters in the stadium, but I digress . . .

One of the interesting features of the stadium is the stands on the right (at least it was on my right) side of the stadium. Because of the lack of property for the stadium, the stands are built straight up, rather than the bowl-like shape you see in the rest of the stadium and other stadiums. It gives the appearance of playing against a wall, though the wall was filled with fans watching the match. Another interesting feature was that all of the Coca-Cola advertisements were in black-and-white rather than the traditional red-and-white. Even Coca-Cola doesn’t want to be confused with a River Plate supporter at La Bombonera.

Another new experience for me at La Bombonera was the post-match lockdown. After the match, the Boca Juniors supporters section at both ends of the field were locked down to allow the Chacarita Juniors supporters an opportunity to escape. We had to wait around forty-five minutes before we could leave and the entire time, the crowd was singing, jumping and celebrating the victory.

In the past few months, I’ve been to football matches in six countries on three continents and all of the experiences have been great, but La Bombonera certainly provided the most unique experience as well as the most exciting.

WCR Top 25 Clubs in the World - Lots o' Goals Edition

Sorry that we’re several hours late with the rankings this week, but things have been very busy this weekend here in Buenos Aires. That’s not your problem, though.

Generally speaking, not counting advancement in continental tournaments, there are two things that make clubs jump around in the rankings. One of those things is huge goal differential. The other is movement up-or-down the table. We had a lot of both of those this week so we also have a lot of movement in the rankings.

When it comes to huge goal differentials, none were bigger than Tottenham’s 9-1 humiliating of Wigan Athletic thanks, in part, to five second-half Jermain Defoe goals. Other clubs also ran up the socre, with nine ranked clubs winning by at least three goals, including Werder Bremen, who defeated Freiburg 6-0.

As far as table-hopping, two of the top leagues in the world have new leaders at the moment. In France, Bordeaux was upset by Valenciennes and Lyon was unable to take advantage, leaving the top spot to a red-hot Auxerre club. In Spain, Barcelona faltered against Athletic Bilbao and Real Madrid took over the top spot in the Primera Division table heading into the much-anticipated battle between the clubs boasting the last three FIFA Players of the Year.

This weekend, of course, is just a prelude to Champions League action taking place this week and one of the best weekends of the season coming up next week. There are five matches in the coming week featuring ranked clubs and that’s not even counting the matches between Benfica and Sporting or Panathinaikos and Olympiakos. If you don’t enjoy this coming week, you don’t enjoy football. And now, the rankings.

World Club Rankings – Top 25 Clubs in the World – November 23, 2009

1. Chelsea (Eng) (1) – No rust grew on Chelsea during the international break as it was able to dismantle Wolverhampton Wanderers 4-0 in its first match back. Coming Up: This week sees Chelsea travel to two tough places to play as it takes on Porto in Portugal on Wednesday in a Champions League match and faces Arsenal at Emirates Stadium on Sunday.

2. Real Madrid (Esp) (6) – With a 1-0 victory over Real Santander this weekend, Real Madrid was able to take advantage of Barcelona’s stumble and move into the top spot in Spain’s Primera Division. Coming Up: Real Madrid is still fighting to secure a spot in the next Champions League round so a victory over Zurich on Wednesday is imperative. Domestically, the Spanish Superclasico between Real Madrid and Barcelona will take place on Sunday.

3. Inter Milan (Ita) (4) – Inter Milan strengthened its hold on the top spot in Serie A with a 3-1 victory over Bologna. Coming Up: In perhaps the most important of all of this week’s Champions League matches, Inter Milan heads to Spain to take on Barcelona on Tuesday. Domestically, Fiorentina comes to the San Siro to take on the Serie A leaders on Sunday.

4. Benfica (Por) (7) – Benfica moves up after finally finishing a week in first place in the Liga Sagres. That didn’t help Benfica this weekend, htough, as it fell 0-1 to Vitoria Guimaraes in domestic cup action. Coming Up: Benfica takes on one of its biggest rivals in this weekend’s Lisbon Derby against Sporting CP.

5. Barcelona (Esp) (2) – Barcelona picked the worst time of the season to hit a slump. Drawing 1-1 with Athletic Bilbao leaves Barcelona in second place in La Liga. Coming Up: At the moment, Barcelona is in third place in its group in the Champions League. On top of that it’s next opponent is Inter Milan. If that’s not pressure enough, Sunday will see Barcelona take on its biggest rival when Real Madrid comes to town. The good news for Barcelona is that both of these matches are taking place at Camp Nou.

6. Manchester United (Eng) (9) – The Red Devils move up for both of the reasons mentioned in the introduction. Not only did it defeat Everton by a 3-0 score, the win was enough to move United into second place in the Premiership. Coming Up: With advancement already secured, Manyoo’s match against Besiktas on Wednesday should prove anti-climactic. Domestically, Manchester United will take on the trouble Portsmouth on Saturday.

7. Bayer Leverkusen (Ger) (5) – Leverkusen finished off a tough stretch of matches with a 1-1 draw against perennial Bundesliga powerhouse Bayern Munich, which turned out to be enough to leave Leverkusen top of the table for now. Coming Up: It’s never easy in the Bundesliga and Leverkusen will host VfB Stuttghart on Sunday in its next match.

8. Arsenal (Eng) (3) – After climbing all the way up to the top three of the World Club Rankings, Arsenal made us (and themselves) look bad with a 0-1 loss to Sunderland. Coming Up: Arsenal is on the verge of clinching a second round spot in the Champions League and are expected to claim that spot following its match with Standard Liege at Emirates Stadium on Tuesday. The big match, however, will be on Sunday when Chelsea comes to town for a classic London derby.

9. Werder Bremen (Ger) (12) – Bremen jumps three spots in the rankings after crushing Freiburg 6-0 to maintain second place in the Bundesliga and move a few points closer to first-place Bayer Leverkusen. Coming Up: Werder Bremen is off until Saturday when it will host defending champions VfL Wolfsburg.

10. Juventus (Ita) (8) – With a 1-0 victory over Udinese, Juventus maintained pace with Inter Milan in Italy’ Serie A. Coming Up: Juventus can clinch advancement in the Champions League (and eliminate Bayern Munich) with a victory against Bordeaux in France on Wednesday. Domestically, Juventus will take on Cagliari on Sunday.

11. Sevilla (Esp) (11) – While giants collide, Sevilla keeps in step with a 2-1 victory over Tenerife this past weekend. Coming Up: Sevilla has already clinched Champions League advantage but can clinch first place in the group with a win or draw against Unirea Urzeceni on Tuesday. Domestically, Sevilla hopes to gain points on the loser of the Superclasico with a victory over Malaga on Saturday.

12. Sporting Braga (Por) (10) – Unlike Porto, Sporting Braga advanced in Portuguese Cup play with a 3-0 victory over Vitoria Setubal. Coming Up: With no European action on the schedule, Braga doesn’t face another opponent until it takes on Uniao Leiria next Monday.

13. Tottenham Hotspur (Eng) (19) – I’m not sure how many superlatives can be heaped upon Tottenham following its embarrassingly impressive 9-1 victory over Wigan Athletic. Jermain Defoe became the first Premier League player to score five goals in a single half. Too bad he was such a slacker in the first half . . . Coming Up: If Tottenham is going to seriously compete for a top four spot in the Premiership, this weekend’s match against Aston Villa will provide a good test since it involves another club that is trying to take the spot that Liverpool is trying to vacate.

14. Twente (Ned) (14) – It wasn’t as impressive as many others in the rankings, but Twente’s 1-0 victory over Vitesse was enough to leave Twente atop the Eredivisie rankings. Coming Up: Twente’s next match will be a domestic league match against Willem II on Saturday.

15. Banfield (Arg) (20) – Banfield keeps rolling in the Argentine Apertura and scored a huge come-from-behind 2-1 away victory over Independiente on Saturday night as I watched from a bar in barrio Palermo. Coming Up: Banfield will try to move closer to the title on Sunday when it faces another of Buenos Aires’ Big Five in Racing.

16. Valencia (Esp) (15) – Valencia picked up a few points on Barcelona this week with a 3-1 win over Osasuna. Coming Up: Valencia will host a surprisingly tough Mallorca club on Saturday.

17. Porto (Por) (17) – No recent matches. Coming Up: Having already qualified for the next round, Porto’s match against Chelsea probably won’t be as exciting as it could have been on Wednesday. Domestically, Porto will return to Liga Sagres action on Sunday against Rio Ave.

18. PSV Eindhoven (Ned) (18) – Like several other clubs in this part of the countdown, PSV rolled with ease this weekend, defeating Heracles Almelo 4-0. Coming Up: PSV’s next encounter will be a Friday match in Rotterdam against Sparta.

19. Schalke 04 (Ger) (BU) – Schalke moved within two points of leader Leverkusen in the Bundesliga with a 2-0 victory over Hannover 96. Coming Up: Schalke’s next match will be an away fixture at Borussia Monchengladbach on Saturday.

20. Rangers (Sco) (25) – Over the weekend, Rangers strengthened its position in an unnaturally close Scottish Premier League with a 3-0 victory over Kilmarnock. Coming Up: Rangers will try to keep its fading hopes of Champions League advancement alive on Tuesday when it hosts VfB Stuttgart. In SPL play, Rangers’ next opponent will be Aberdeen on Saturday.

21. Ajax (Ned) (22) – Now that it’s back to playing Eredivisie minnows, Ajax is back to winning big, this week 5-1 over Heerenveen. Coming Up: The next item on the menu for Ajax will be Vitesse on Sunday.

22. Panathinaikos (Gre) (21) – Panathinaikos stumbled this weekend against Asteras Tripolis, finishing only with a 1-1 draw, though that was enough to allow it to hold onto the Greek Super Ligi top spot. Coming Up: The two best clubs in Greece go head-to-head on Sunday when Panathinaikos takes on Olympiakos in Piraeus on Sunday.

23. TSG Hoffenheim (Ger) (NR) – Hoffenheim returns to the rankings after several weeks following its 4-0 victory over Koln that moved the club into fourth place in the German Bundesliga, passing Hamburger SV. Coming Up: Next up for Hoffenheim will be a home match against Borussia Dortmund on Saturday.

24. Bordeaux (Fra) (13) – Bordeaux drops significantly this week after a 0-1 loss to Valenciennes, which dropped Bordeaux to second place in Ligue Un behind AJ Auxerre. Coming Up: Like compatriots Lyon, Bordeaux has already clinched a second round spot in the Champions League, so it’s match against Juventus in France on Wednesday lacks a little significance for the French club, though it is battling for top spot in the group. Domestically, Bordeaux takes on Nancy Lorraine on Sunday as it tries to recapture the Ligue Un lead.

25. Manchester City (Eng) (23) – How bad a season is Liverpool having when a club can go to Anfield, walk away with a 2-2 draw, and still be disappointed with the result? Coming Up: Manchester City will return to action on Saturday against Hull City.

Bubbling under: Aston Villa (Eng), Deportivo La Coruna (Esp), Milan (Ita), Sampdoria (Ita), Sao Paolo (Bra).

Next Five: Fenerbahce (Tur), Hamburger SV (Ger), Mallorca (Esp), Newell’s Old Boys (Arg), Olympiakos (Gre).

Matches This Week Between WCR Top 25 Clubs:

24 November – (3) Inter Milan at (5) Barcelona

25 November – (1) Chelsea at (17) Porto

25 November – (10) Juventus at (24) Bordeaux

29 November – (1) Chelsea at (8) Arsenal

29 November – (2) Real Madrid at (5) Barcelona

Weekend Soccer Television Schedule - 21/22 November

As seems to be common, the week following an international break sort of works as a slow start back into the stream of futbol. The great matches don’t start until the Champions League picks up on Tuesday. Most clubs are back in action this weekend, but there aren’t any marquee matchups to talk about.

The lack of classic matchups, however, as well as the lack of matches involving WCR Top 25 Clubs, allows us to go to nonconventional places to find our top five matches of the week. One of those places is Russia, where Rubin Kazan can clinch a second consecutive championship with a victory. Another place is the United States where one club definitely will clinch a championship by winning the MLS Cup.

There are several ranked clubs that are not being televised this weekend, including five from Portugal and the Netherlands alone. The best non-televised match of the weekend promises to be the battle in Turkey between Besiktas and Fenerbahce, although the match between Banfield and Independiente here in Buenos Aires should be great as well. All of these and more are listed below. Have a great weekend!!!

Top Five Matches of the Weekend:

1. Bayer Levekusen at Bayern Munich (Sunday, 9:30 am (EST), ESPND, ESPN 360)

2. Manchester City at Liverpool (Saturday, 7:45 am, ESPN2)

3. Real Salt Lake vs. Los Angeles Galaxy (Sunday, 8:30 pm, ESPN, ESPN 360, Galavision)

4. Fenerbahce at Besiktas (Saturday, 1:00 pm, Not Televised)

5. Zenit St. Petersburg at Rubin Kazan (Saturday, 6:00 am, Setanta USA)

Friday, November 20, 2009

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

Saturday, November 21, 2009

6:00 am – Zenit St. Petersburg at Rubin Kazan (Setanta USA)

7:45 am – (23) Manchester City at Liverpool (ESPN2)

9:30 am – Hannover at Schalke 04 (GolTV)

9:30 am – Nurnberg at Wolfsburg (ESPND, ESPN 360)

10:00 am – (3) Arsenal at Sunderland (FSC, FSE)

10:00 am – Wolverhampton Wanderers at (1) Chelsea (Setanta USA)

12 noon – (11) Sevilla at Tenerife (GolTV)

12 noon – Atletico de Madrid at Deportivo La Coruna (ESPND, ESPN 360)

12:30 pm – Everton at (9) Manchester United (FSC, FSE)

2:00 pm – Racing Santander at (6) Real Madrid (ESPND, ESPN 360)

2:45 pm – Parma at Fiorentina (FSC, ESPN 360)

3:00 pm – Monaco at Auxerre (Setanta USA)

4:00 pm – (2) Barcelona at Athletic Bilbao (GolTV)

5:00 pm – (4) Inter Milan at Bologna (Delayed) (FSC) (Live at noon on ESPN 360)

5:00 pm – Aston Villa at Burnley (Delayed) (Setanta USA)

6:15 pm – Real Cartagena at Junior Barranquilla (GolTV)

7:00 pm – West Ham United at Hull City (Delayed) (FSC)

8:15 pm – Independiente Medellin at Perreira (GolTV)

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

Sunday, November 22, 2009

3:00 am – Sydney FC at Perth Glory (FSC)

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

8:30 am – Blackburn Rovers at Bolton Wanderers (Setanta USA)

9:00 am – Cagliari at AC Milan (FSC)

9:00 am – Bari at Roma (ESPN 360)

9:30 am – (5) Bayer Leverkusen at Bayern Munich (ESPND, ESPN 360)

10:00 am – Wigan Athletic at (19) Tottenham Hostpur (FSE)

11:00 am – Portsmouth at Stoke City (FSC)

11:00 am – Lorient at St. Etienne (Setanta USA)

11:30 am – VfL Bochum at (16) Hamburger SV (GolTV)

1:00 pm – Toluca at San Luis (Univision)

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

2:00 pm – Sao Paolo at Botafogo (GolTV)

2:45 pm – Udinese at (8) Juventus (FSC, FSE)

3:00 pm – Lille at Montpellier (Setanta USA)

4:00 pm – (15) Valencia at Osasuna (GolTV)

5:00 pm – Gimnasia La Plata at Boca Juniors (FSE)

6:00 pm – Morelia at Santos Laguna (Galavision)

8:30 pm – Real Salt Lake vs. Los Angeles Galaxy (ESPN, Galavision, ESPN 360)

Monday, November 23, 2009

5:00 am – Lyon at Grenoble (Delayed) (Setanta USA)

Non-Televised Matches Involving WCR Top 25 Clubs:

Sat., 9:30 am – (12) Werder Bremen at Freiburg

Sat., 9:30 am – (17) Porto at Oliveirense

Sat., 10:00 am – Kilmarnock at (25) Rangers

Sat., 1:00 pm – Valenciennes at (13) Bordeaux

Sat., 1:00 pm – (24) Fenerbahce at Besiktas

Sat., 2:45 pm – Vitesse at (14) Twente

Sat., 7:15 pm – (20) Banfield at Independiente

Sun., 9:45 am – Asteras Tripolis at (21) Panathinaikos

Sun., 10:30 am – Heracles at (18) PSV Eindhoven

Sun., 1:00 pm – Veitoria Setubal at (10) Sporting Braga

Sun., 2:45 pm – Vitoria SC at (7) Benfica

World Club Rankings - Top 25 Clubs in the World - 1991

(Note: Sorry that this is later than usual for the week, but the wifi in my current apartment in Buenos Aires is hit-and-miss and this week, mostly miss. I move this weekend and hopefully, this will improve.)

In 1991, for the seventh consecutive year, the club that won the Champions League did not finish on top of the World Club Rankings annual charts. In fact, Benfica actually played poorly in Europe, falling in the first round of the UEFA Cup. Its performance in one of the toughest leagues in the world (at the time), however, gave Benfica its fifth WCR Club of the Year title, making it the first club to win two in a row since PSV Eindhoven in 1975-76.

In Europe, the Champions Cup title went to Yugoslavia for the only time when Red Star Belgrade defeated Olympique Marseille by a 5-3 margin on penalty kicks in the final in Bari, Italy. This also marked the final Champions Cup in which no English club participated. English clubs did return to European tournaments in the 1990-91 season, however, and one of them – Manchester United – defeated Barcelona 2-1 to win the 1991 Cup Winners Cup in Rotterdam, Netherlands in a match featuring two second half goals by Mark Hughes. Finally, the UEFA Cup turned out to be a battle of Italian clubs with Inter Milan edging out AS Roma 2-1 in aggregate to take the title.

On this side of the planet, another club brought home its nation’s first trophy as Chile’s Colo Colo defeated Olimpia 3-0 in aggregate to win the 1991 Copa Libertadores. A little farther north, CONCACAF saw its third consecutive Mexican champion as Puebla defeated Police Force FC of Trinidad & Tobago 4-2 in aggregate in the final of the Copa de Campeones y Subcampeones.

In Africa, perennial power Club Africain from Tunisia took home its only Champions Cup following a 7-3 defeat over Nakivubo Villa SC of Uganda in the finals. Meanwhile, Zambia’s Power Dynamos defeated BCC Lions from Nigeria 5-4 to win the African Cup Winners Cup. Finally, in Asia, both major cups went to clubs from Iran as Esteghlal defeated Lianoning (China) in the final of the Asian Champions Cup and Piroozi defeated Muharraq (Bahrain) in the inaugural Asian Cup Winners Cup.

The rankings of the Top 25 for 1991 can be found below.

World Club Rankings – Top 25 Clubs in the World – 1991

1. Benfica (Por) – UEFA Cup- 1R. Fifth and final Number One ranking.

2. Crvena Zvezda (Yug) – European Champions Cup –Champions; Highest ever ranking.

3. Bayern Munchen (FRG) – ECC- SF.

4. Sampdoria (Ita) – Cup Winners Cup –QF; Highest ever ranking.

5. Marseille (Fra) – ECC- RU.

6. FC Kaiserslautern (FRG) – CWC- 1R.

7. Porto (Por) – ECC- QF; Fifth consecutive Top Ten ranking.

8. PSV Eindhoven (Ned) – CWC- 1R.

9. AC Milan (Ita) – ECC- QF; Fifth consecutive Top 25 ranking.

10. Defensor Sporting (Uru) – Highest ever ranking.

11. Colo Colo (Chi) – Copa Libertadores- Champions.

12. Atletico Nacional (Col) – CL- SF.

13. Boca Juniors (Arg) – CL- SF.

14. Ajax (Ned)

15. Inter Milan (Ita) – UEFA Cup- Champions.

16. Sporting CP (Por) – UEFA- SF.

17. Spartak Moscow (Sov) – ECC- SF; Highest ever ranking.

18. Dinamo Zagreb (Yug) – Highest ever ranking.

19. Nacional (Uru) – CL- QF; Sixteenth and final ranking.

20. Genoa (Ita) – Only ever ranking.

21. Junior Barranquilla (Col) – Only ever ranking.

22. Werder Bremen (FRG)

23. Universitatea Craiova (Rom) – Final ever ranking.

24. Hamburger SV (FRG)

25. FC Groningen (Ned) – Only ever ranking.

Past Final Season Top 25s: 2008 , 2007, 1990, 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

Weekend Soccer Television Schedule - 14/15 November 2009

Late again this week, but this time I’m blaming being busy in Buenos Aires, though I am. This week, I’m blaming the off again/on again wifi that I have where I am living in Buenos Aires. I move next week and I’m hoping it will improve then.

European club football takes the weekend off, so there are fewer much fewer matches this week than in recent weeks. The highlight of the weekend will be in Europe where the World Cup qualification playoffs begin. All of those matches will be on Setanta USA this weekend, with three of the four matches being broadcast live.

In addition to the European playoffs, there are also matches going on in the Western Hemisphere, including the MLS conference championships, as well as several international friendlies. My personal highlight is a trip to Monumental to see my first ever River Plate match in Buenos Aires.

Below are the televised matches for the weekend. No Top Five Matches ranking this week, but that will return next week along with European club action. Until then, have a great weekend!!!!

Friday, November 13, 2009

11:00 pm – Los Angeles Galaxy at Houston Dynamo (ESPN2, ESPND, ESPN 360)

Saturday, November 14, 2009

2:00 am – Bahrain at New Zealand (FSC)

10:00 am – United States at Slovakia (FSC, Galavision)

10:00 am – Scotland at Wales (ESPN 360)

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

12 noon – England at Brazil (FSC, FSE)

1:00 pm – Ukraine at Greece (Setanta USA)

2:30 pm – Argentina at Spain (ESPND, ESPN 360)

2:45 pm – Netherlands at Italy (GolTV)

3:30 pm – Bosnia-Herzegovina at Portugal (Setanta USA)

4:45 pm – Vitoria at Sao Paolo (Delayed) (GolTV)

6:00 pm – Atlas at Jaguares (FSE)

6:00 pm – Tigres at Pachuca (TeleFutura)

6:00 pm – Morelia at Monterrey (Telemundo)

6:00 pm – Toluca at Puebla (ESPND)

8:00 pm – Real Salt Lake at Chicago Fire (FSC, FSE)

8:00 pm – San Luis at Queretaro (TeleFutura)

8:00 pm – Cruz Azul at Chivas de Guadalajara (Telemundo)

8:15 pm – Once Caldas at Independiente Medellin (GolTV)

10:00 pm – UAG Tecos at Atlante (Telemundo)

Sunday, November 15, 2009

1:00 pm – Indios at Pumas UNAM (Telemundo)

3:00 pm – Independiente at San Lorenzo (FSE)

3:30 pm – Millonarios at America de Cali (GolTV)

5:00 pm – Club America at Santos Laguna (Univision)

5:30 pm – Corinthians at Avai (GolTV)

6:15 pm – France at Ireland

WCR Top 25 Clubs in the World - New Continental Champions Edition

Let’s start this off by congratulating our two new continental champions. South Korea’s Ponang Seelers took the AFC Champions League title this weekend with a 2-1 defeat of Saudi club Al-Ittihad. In Africa, the CAF Champions League title was won by Congo Democratic Republic’s TP Mazembi who defeated Nigeria’s Heartland FC. Congratulations to the new champions!!!

If you weren’t following the Ponang or Mazembi championships, then likely your focus was on London where Chelsea kept the top spots in both the Premiership an the World Club Rankings by scoring a 1-0 victory over (now, third-place) Manchester United in a contentious match. After that match, perhaps you tuned in to Lyon for the wild, ten-goal match between Lyon and Marseille that finished in a 5-5 draw. Since neither club is ranked, I won’t talk about it any more, but man, what a match!!!

Some of the things that forced movement in the rankings this week include Arsenal’s trip to second place in the Premiership, Panathinaikos finally making some ground between it and Olympiakos and Banfield moving top in the Argentine Apertura. And although it didn’t have a massive effect on the rankings, it is worth mentioning that FC Twente defeated Ajax 1-0 to maintain the top spot in the Eredivisie over PSV Eindhoven. All of these items and much more are discussed below.

As a housekeeping note, the WCR Top 25 Clubs in the World will not be here next week since all of the European clubs are taking the weekend off to allow for World Cup qualifiers. We hope to bring you the next entry in our Annual Rankings countdown, with 1991 being next on the agenda.

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

1. Chelsea (Eng) (1) – In a match that should matter little to Chelsea, the Blues played Atletico Madrid to a 2-2 draw in midweek Champions League action. In a match that should matter much, much more to Chelsea, the boys from London stopped Manchester United by a 1-0 score to maintain its lead in the Premiership and in the World Club Rankings. Coming Up: After the international break, Chelsea welcomes Wolverhampton Wanderers to Stamford Bridge (much in the same way a spider welcomes a fly).

2. Barcelona (Esp) (2) – Barcelona continues to struggle against Rubin Kazan in the Champions League, managing only a 0-0 draw in Russia. Domestically, Barcelona beat up on Mallorca, winning by a 4-2 score, including two goals by Pedro Rodriguez. Coming Up: Barca has the home leg of its Copa del Rey matchup with Cultural y Deportivo Leonesa on Tuesday. In La Liga action, Barcelona will take on Athletic Bilbao on November 21^st.

3. Arsenal (Eng) (7) – The Gunners rolled this week, knocking off AZ Alkmaar by a 4-1 score and then repeating the scoreline against Wolverhampton Wanderers over the weekend that allowed to club to move into second place in the Premiership. Coming Up: Arsenal’s first match after the break will be an away match against Sunderland.

4. Inter Milan (Ita) (3) – It took two late goals for Inter Milan to defeat Dynamo Kyiv in the Ukraine, but that was enough to put Inter top in the most interesting group in the Champions League. Domestically, Inter had to settle for a 1-1 draw in its Serie A match with Roma. Coming Up: Inter Milan will take on Bologna immediately following the break.

5. Bayer Leverkusen (Ger) (6) – Leverkusen is now four points clear in the Bundesliga and finds itself up a notch after crushing Eintracht Frankfurt 4-0 on Friday. Coming Up: A big test for Leverkusen on the Sunday after the break when it must take on Bayern Munich at Allianz Arena.

6. Real Madrid (Esp) (5) – Real had fair results against decent competition this week, but the results were only fair and the competition was only decent. At the San Siro, Madrid fought AC Milan to a 1-1 draw. Back in Madrid, Real defeated its cross-town rival Atletico by a 3-2 score. Coming Up: On Monday, Real will try to overcome a four-goal deficit when it takes on AD Alcorcon in the home leg of their Copa del Rey matchup. After the break, Real Madrid will host Racing Santander.

7. Benfica (Por) (9) – Once again, Benfica humiliated Everton, this time beating the English club 2-0 in Liverpool in their Europa League match. Coming Up: Benfica can go top in the Liga Sagres with a victory later today against Naval.

8. Juventus (Ita) (12) – Juventus moved a little closer to advancement in the Champions League with a 1-0 victory over Maccabi Haifa. Domestically, Juventus dominated Atalanta by a 5-2 score which included two quick goals by Mauro Camoranesi in the first-half. Coming Up: Juventus will host Udinese on its first match after the international break.

9. Manchester United (Eng) (4) – Man United could score only a 3-3 draw with CSKA Moscow at midweek, but that’s not why United dropped in the rankings. The fall was caused by the drop to third place in the Premiership following the Red Devils’ disappointing 0-1 loss to Chelsea in London. Coming Up: As it looks to rebound from disappointment, Manyoo will begin at home against Everton.

10. Sporting Braga (Por) (8) – Braga finally tasted the bitter pill of defeat this weekend as it lost to Vitoria Guimaraes by a 0-1 score. Coming Up: No matches currently scheduled.

11. Sevilla (Esp) (11) – Despite its 1-1 draw with VfB Stuttgart, Sevilla has qualified for the knockout stage of the Champions League. In Primera Division play, Sevilla fared a little better, defeating Villarreal 3-2. Coming Up: First is a Tuesday Copa del Rey match against CA Ciudad de Lorqui. After the break, Sevilla will return to action against Tenerife.

12. Werder Bremen (Ger) (10) – Werder Bremen qualified for the next round in the Europa League with a 2-0 defeat of Austria Wien. Domestically, Bremen lost ground to Leverkusen because of its 1-1 draw with Borussia Dortmund. Coming Up: Werder Bremen should have an easier time when it takes on Freiburg following the break, but we’ll see.

13. Bordeaux (Fra) (13) – Bordeaux stands in great shape in the Champions League after pulling off a 2-0 defeat of Bayern Munich at Allianz Arena. Domestically, however, Bordeaux suffered a major disappointment, falling 0-2 to Lille. Coming Up: Bordeaux needs to bounce back quickly to hold off Lyon in Ligue Un. Bordeaux’s next match will be at home against Valenciennes.

14. Twente (Ned) (17) – Twente began the week by defeating Sheriff 2-1 to move into second place in Europa League Group H. Domestically, Twente held on to the top spot in the Eredivisie by defeating Ajax by a 1-0 score. Coming Up: FC Twente returns to action on the 21^st against Vitesse.

15. Valencia (Esp) (18) – In its battle to advance in the Europa League, Valencia managed only a 2-2 draw with Slavia Praha in the Czech Republic. Domestically, Valencia had an easier time with Real Zaragoza in its 3-1 victory. Coming Up: Valencia’s Copa del Rey match will be against CD Alcoyano on Tuesday. After the break, Valencia will return to action against Osasuna.

16. Hamburger SV (Ger) (15) – Stagnant week for the club from Hamburg as it managed only a scoreless draw with Celtic in a midweek Europa League matchup and then drew 2-2 with Hannover 96 in the Bundesliga. Coming Up: On the Sunday after the break, HSV will host VfL Bochum.

17. Porto (Por) (14) – Porto continues to do well in the Champions League, this week defeating APOEL 1-0 in Cyprus, but the results in the Liga Sagres have been less than expected as Porto fell to Maritimo this weekend by a 0-1 score. Coming Up: No scheduled matches.

18. PSV Eindhoven (Ned) (19) – PSV is leading Europa League’s Group K despite scoring only a 1-1 draw against FC Kobenhavn in Denmark this week. Domestically, PSV scored a huge win with a 5-1 victory over ADO Den Haag on the foot of four goals by Ola Toivonen. Coming Up: PSV hosts Heracles after the break as it continues to chase down FC Twente.

19. Tottenham Hotspur (Eng) (NF) – The Spurs return to the rankings after a one-week absence after defeating Sunderland 2-0 at White Hart Lane and moving back into fourth place in the Premiership. Coming Up: Tottenham is home again after the break to host Wigan Athletic.

20. Banfield (Arg) (BU) – In a topsy-turvy Argentine Apertura, Banfield is once again on top and makes its WCR debut (if I remember correctly) following a 1-0 victory over San Lorenzo. Coming Up: The South American clubs do not take next weekend off, so Banfield has two matches over the next two weeks. Next weekend, it will host Velez Sarsfield. The following week, it will take on Big Five club Independiente.

21. Panathinaikos (Gre) (24) – At midweek, Panathinaikos defeated Sturm Graz 1-0 in a Europa League match. Over the weekend, Panathinaikos finally had a wedge placed between it and Olympiakos at the top of the Greek Super League after Panathinaikos defeated Levadiakos 2-0 to move top of the league. Coming Up: Panathinaikos will host Asteras Tripolis on November 22^nd.

22. Ajax (Ned) (23) – In its Thursday Europa League match, Ajax defeated Dinamo Zagreb 2-0 to pick up three vital away points. Domestically, Ajax fell 0-1 to Eredivisie leader FC Twente. Coming Up: Ajax has struggled against the best clubs in the Eredivisie this season, but has completely dominated the weaker ones. After the break, one of the weaker ones, SC Heerenveen, will come to Amsterdam to take on Ajax.

23. Manchester City (Eng) (16) – After a terrific and exciting start to the season, City finds itself stumbling a bit at the moment as demonstrated in its 3-3 draw with lowly Burnley. Coming Up: Whatever put MC in the doldrums, the club needs to find a way out quick as it is scheduled to take on Liverpool at Anfield the Saturday after the break.

24. Fenerbahce (Tur) (BU) – Fenerbahce returns to the rankings this week following some terrific results. In the Europa League, it defeated Steaua Bucuresti 3-1 to move top of a group that includes Eredivisie leader FC Twente. Domestically, Fenerbache maintained its lead in the Turkish Super Ligi with a 3-0 victory over Ankaraspor. Coming Up: In what always is an exciting match, Fenerbach will face Besiktas immediately following the break.

25. Rangers (Sco) (NF) – Rangers returns to the rankings after several weeks not based on what its doing in Europe, though it did manage a 1-1 draw with Unirea Urziceni this week, but on the basis of what its doing in Scotland, where it defeated St. Mirren 2-1 this weekend. Coming Up: The next SPL match for Rangers will be at home against Kilmarnock after the break.

Bubbling Under: Aston Villa (Eng), Fiorentina (Ita), Olympiakos (Gre), Sao Paolo (Bra), Schalke 04 (Ger).

Next Five: Celtic (Sco), Estudiantes (Arg), Milan (Ita), Newell’s Old Boys (Arg), Palmeiras (Bra).

Matches In Next Two Weeks Between WCR Top 25 Clubs:

None