World Club Rankings - Top 25 Clubs in the World - 2009

It’s that time of year again. It’s time for us to select the annual WCR Top 25 Clubs in the World and for us to select the 2009 WCR Club of the Year. For the third consecutive year, we have opened up voting on the top spot. In 2007, we received less than 100 votes. This season we have several hundred and we appreciate your interest. And even though the voting has no standing in the final season rankings, for the third year in a row, your votes for the top spot match the actual winner.

Without going into a ton of detail, because that’s been done ad nauseum in these pages, the annual rankings consider only the statistics from the most recently completed season (2008-09 for most domestic leagues, 2009 for some) and the most recently completed continental championships (2008-09 UEFA Champions League, 2009 Copa Libertadores, etc.). For that reason, you’ll see Liverpool and Atletico Madrid on these rankings despite disappointing 2009-10 campaigns. Keep that in mind before the hate mail comes in. Oh, nevermind. Most of the hate mail will come from people who didn’t bother to read this far anyway.

Twenty-three of the twenty-five clubs come from Europe, so we’ll begin there. For the third year in a row, England placed three clubs into the final four in the UEFA Champions League, so English clubs dominate the charts. This season, however, Manchester United’s run of WCR Club of the Year titles came to an end at two as Barcelona won the UEFA Champions League (and everything else, it seems) on the foot of Eto’o and the head of Messi, defeating Manchester United 2-0 in the final. This victory was enough to kick Barcelona to the top of the WCR Annual Rankings for the third time. With respect to the final UEFA Cup, that title was taken by the Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk, who scored a 2-1 extra time victory over Werder Bremen in the final.

None of the other continental champions managed to make the final WCR Top 25 rankings. Estudiantes de la Plata came from behind in Belo Horizonte to defeat Cruzeiro 2-1 in the second and deciding leg of the 2009 Copa Libertadores final, but Estudiantes struggled all year in the Argentine Primera Division and still managed to miss the rankings. Cruzeiro is below, however, as is fellow Brazilian club Gremio.

Mexico’s Atlante also managed to win a continental title despite mediocre domestic results by defeating Cruz Azul 2-0 in aggregate to take home the CONCACAF Champions League title. Elsewhere around the world, TP Mazembe (Democratic Republic of Congo) won the CAF Champions League by defeating Nigeria’s Heartland on away goals in the final and Pohang Steelers from South Korea defeated Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ittihad 2-1 in the final of the AFC Champions League for the Asian title.

Once again, this is the annual ranking, which is a summary of the latest complete season, and not the weekly ranking, which is a snapshot of the current season to date. The weekly rankings will return next week. Congratulations to Barcelona for taking another title!!!

World Club Rankings – Top 25 Clubs in the World – 2009

1. Barcelona (Esp) – UEFA Champions League- Champions; Club World Cup- Champions; Sixth consecutive Top 25 ranking; Third Number One ranking (1992, 2006, 2009).

2. Manchester United (Eng) – UCL- RU; Thirteenth consecutive Top 25 ranking.

3. Chelsea (Eng) – UCL- SF; Sixth consecutive Top 10 ranking.

4. Arsenal (Eng) – UCL- SF; Twelfth consecutive Top 25 ranking; Highest ever ranking.

5. Liverpool (Eng) – UCL- QF; Fifth consecutive Top 25 ranking.

6. Inter Milan (Ita) – UCL- R16; Eighth consecutive Top 25 ranking.

7. VfL Wolfsburg (Ger) – UEFA Cup- R32; First ever ranking.

8. Real Madrid (Esp) – UCL- R16; Tenth consecutive Top 25 ranking.

9. AC Milan (Ita) – UEFA- R32.

10. Porto (Por) – UCL- QF.

11. Bordeaux (Fra) – UEFA- R32; Highest ever ranking.

12. Bayern Munich (Ger) – UCL- QF.

13. AZ Alkmaar (Ned) – First ranking since 1981.

14. Juventus (Ita) – UCL- R16.

15. Marseille (Fra) – UEFA- QF; First ranking since 1994.

16. Sevilla (Esp) – UEFA- GS; Highest ranking ever.

17. Cruzeiro (Bra) – Copa Libertadores- RU.

18. Gremio (Bra) – Copa Libertadores- SF.

19. Rangers (Sco) – UCL- 2QR; First ranking for a Scottish club since 1976.

20. Atletico Madrid (Esp) – UCL- R16; First ranking since 1996.

21. VfB Stuttgart (Ger) – UEFA- R32.

22. Sporting CP (Por) – UCL- R16; Fifth consecutive Top 25 ranking.

23. Everton (Eng) – UEFA- 1R.

24. Twente (Ned) – UEFA- R32; First ranking since 1997.

25. Lyon (Fra) – UCL- R16; Sixth consecutive Top 25 ranking.

Past final season Top 25s: 2008, 2007, 1991, 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 - 26/27 December

The bad news is that there’s no football on this weekend except English Premier League Boxing Day weekend matches. The good news is that there’s English Premier League Boxing Day weekend matches on this weekend. I don’t have much to add except the schedule, but I will add that the highlight should be the Aston Villa doubleheader in which it hosts Arsenal on Sunday and takes on Liverpool at Anfield on Tuesday. Both of those matches will be on Setanta USA.

Don’t forget that this week’s edition of the Weekly WCR Top 25 Clubs in the World will be replaced with the 2009 Annual Rankings. Don’t miss it!!!

The Top Five Matches of the Weekend will return when the schedule warrants. For now, have a Happy Boxing Day and a great weekend!!!

Saturday, December 26, 2009

8:00 am – (18) Tottenham Hotspur at Fulham (FSC, FSE)

8:00 am – Portsmouth at West Ham United (Setanta USA)

8:00 am – (1) Chelsea at Birmingham City (ESPN2)

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

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

12:30 pm – Wolverhampton at Liverpool (FSC, FSE)

2:30 pm – Bolton Wanderers at Burnley (Delayed) (FSC)

3:00 pm – Blackburn Rovers at Wigan Athletic (Delayed) (Setanta USA)

Sunday, December 27, 2009

3:00 am – Adelaide United at Sydney FC (FSC)

8:30 am – (12) Aston Villa at (4) Arsenal (Setanta USA)

11:00 am – (9) Manchester United at Hull City (FSC, FSE)

Monday, December 28, 2009

7:30 am – West Ham United at (18) Tottenham Hotspur (FSC)

10:00 am – Sunderland at Blackburn Rovers (FSC)

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

12 noon – Burnley at Everton (Delayed) (Setanta USA)

2:30 pm – Manchester City at Wolverhampton (ESPN2)

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

11:15 am – Hamilton at Celtic (Delayed) (Setanta USA)

2:45 pm – Liverpool at (12) Aston Villa (Setanta USA)

3:00 pm – Hull City at Bolton Wanderers (FSC)

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

11:15 am – Rangers at Hibernian (Delayed) (Setanta USA)

3:00 pm – Wigan Athletic at (9) Manchester United (Setanta USA)

WCR Top 25 Clubs in the World - FInal Weekly Edition of 2009 Edition

Due to the light schedule over the next week, this will be the final “weekly” WCR Top 25 of the season. Next week, in place of the weekly ranking will be the fiftieth Annual Rankings in which we will anoint the 2009 WCR Club of the Year. If you haven’t voted (though, be warned, voting is just for fun and doesn’t decide the winner), feel free to go the left side of the screen and vote.

Chelsea remains atop the rankings for now, though their lead in points is shrinking following a draw against West Ham United. Meanwhile, Barcelona was busy winning the Club World Cup, coming from behind to defeat Estudiantes de La Plata 2-1 in extra time. Congrats to Lionel Messi and the rest of the Barcelona dream team for winning yet another title.

The big movement in the rankings came from a few sources. Arsenal and Manchester United basically traded places in the rankings after Manchester United’s embarrassing 0-3 loss to Fulham. Panathinaikos replace Olympiakos in the rankings after taking over the top spot in the Greek Super League. And, perhaps undeservedly, Rangers returns to the rankings following two Scottish Premier League matches in which it outscored its opponents 9-1.

The weekly rankings will return in two weeks. For the next fourteen days, though, this is the image on the snapshot.

World Club Rankings – Top 25 Clubs in the World – December 21, 2009

1. Chelsea (Eng) (1) – Chelsea didn’t have a perfect week, but it did finally win another match with a 2-1 victory over Portsmouth. On the weekend, Chelsea drew 1-1 with West Ham United, but that was still good enough to pick up a point on Manchester United. Coming Up: Over the next week, Chelsea will take on two hot but overlooked clubs in Birmingham City on Boxing Day and Fulham a few days later. In two weeks, Chelsea will host Watford in an FA Cup match.

2. Barcelona (Esp) (2) – Barcelona defeated CONCACAF Champions Atlante 3-1 en route to the Club World Cup championship, in which it came from behind to disappoint South American Champions Estudiantes de La Plata with a 2-1 victory to win the title. Coming Up: Barcelona returns to action in two weeks when it hosts Villarreal in a Primera Division match.

3. Inter Milan (Ita) (3) – Inter started the week with a 1-0 victory over Livorno in a Coppa Italia match. In league play, Internazionale defeated Lazio 1-0 to move even further ahead in the Seire A table. Coming Up: No matches in next two weeks.

4. Arsenal (Eng) (8) – Arsenal moves up despite a disappointing 1-1 midweek draw with Burnley. The Gunners did bounce back to rough up Hull City 3-0 over the weekend. Coming Up: On Sunday, Arsenal will host Aston Villa in what should be the best match of the next few weeks. On the thirtieth, Arsenal will take on Portsmouth. In two weeks, Arsenal will face West Ham United in FA Cup play.

5. Real Madrid (Esp) (5) – Real played one match this week and it wasn’t pretty, unless you’re a Real Madrid supporter, as Real Madrid crushed Real Zaragoza 6-0 to stay close to Barcelona in La Liga. Coming Up: Real Madrid is off next week, but returns to face Osasuna on January 3.

6. Bayer Leverkusen (Ger) (6) – With a 3-2 come-from-behind victory over Borussia Monchengladbach, Bayer Leverkusen takes the first-half title for the Bundesliga. That’s the good news. The bad news is that Hoffenheim did that last year and the season turned south immediately for it. Coming Up: No matches in next two weeks.

7. Benfica (Por) (7) – First Benfica beat AEK Athens 2-1 in a midweek Europa League match. Domestically, and more importantly, Benfica stopped Porto’s hot streak with a 1-0 victory over its bitter rivals. Coming Up: Benfica’s next match will be a League Cup match against Nacional on New Year’s Day.

8. Bordeaux (Fra) (9) – Bordeaux solidified its hold on the top spot in Ligue Un with two victories this week, first a 1-0 version over Montpellier and then a 4-1 win against Lorient. Coming Up: Ligue Un is in action at midweek and Bordeaux will take on Toulouse on Wednesday.

9. Manchester United (Eng) (4) – The week started off normally enough for the Red Devils, beating the Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-0, but then things went batshit crazy as Man United fell 0-3 to Fulham. I didn’t see it because I was traveling, but I’m not sure I would have believed it even had I seen it. Coming Up: Manyoo’s two Premiership matches coming up next week will be against Hull City and Wigan. In two weeks, Manchester United welcome Leeds United to Old Trafford for an FA Cup matchup.

10. Sevilla (Esp) (10) – Sevilla maintains the final spot in the Top Ten despite falling 1-2 to Getafe at home this weekend. Coming Up: Sevilla returns to action on January 2 when it heads to Madrid to take on Atletico.

11. Schalke 04 (Ger) (11) – Schalke defeated Mainz 05 1-0 to keep itself within fingernail distance of Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga table. Coming Up: No matches in next two weeks.

12. Aston Villa (Eng) (12) – Aston Villa hasn’t disappointed as a challenger to the Big Four, scoring two victories this week. At midweek, Villa defeated Sunderland 2-0. On the weekend, Villa defeated Stoke City 1-0 for three more points. Aston Villa’s week of Premiership matches will be a tough one as it will face Arsenal at Emirates Stadium on the 27^th and then Liverpool on the 29^th. In it’s FA Cup match in two weeks, Villa will host Blackburn Rovers.

13. Bayern Munich (Ger) (14) – The newly fantastic Bayern Munich club continued hot this week with a 5-2 victory over last-place Hertha BSC. Coming Up: No matches in next two weeks.

14. AC Milan (Ita) (13) – Match against Fiorentina was postponed this weekend. Coming Up: No matches scheduled in next two weeks.

15. Panathinaikos (Gre) (NF) – Following a 3-0 victory over Dinamo Bucuresti in its Europa League match, Panathinaikos used a 4-0 victory over PAS Giannina to move past Olympiakos into the top spot in the Greek Super League. Coming Up: No matches scheduled in next two weeks.

16. Valencia (Esp) (16) – In an away match against a tough Spanish club, Valencia walked away with a point in a goalless draw with Deportivo La Coruna. Coming Up: Valencia’s next match will be a January 2 Primera Division matchup against Espanyol.

17. Marseille (Fra) (25) – At midweeks, Marseille defeated Lorient 2-1 to move into second place in Ligue Un. This weekend, Marseille could manage a scoreless draw with St. Etienne, but it remains in second place. Coming Up: Marseille has a midweek matchup at home against Auxerre before its winter break begins.

18. Tottenham Hotspur (Eng) (NF) – The Spurs return to the rankings following a week in which it defeated Manchester United 3-0 and then followed it up with a 2-0 victory over Blackburn Rovers. Coming Up: The Spurs will take on Fulham and West Ham United in the days immediately following Christmas. On January 2, it will host Petersborough United in an FA Cup matchup.

19. Twente (Ned) (18) – Twente played Steaua Bucuresti to a 1-1 draw in a Europa League match before seeing its weekend match against Utrecht postponed. Coming Up: Twente’s next match will be a KNVB Beker match against Helmond Sport on Wednesday.

20. Juventus (Ita) (17) – Juve’s slide continued this week with a 1-2 home loss to Catania. Coming Up: No matches scheduled in next two weeks.

21. PSV Eindhoven (Ned) (19) – PSV remained lossless in the Europa League group stage following a 2-0 victory over CFR Cluj. PSV’s schedule match against Roda JC this weekend was postponed. Coming Up: PSV has a KNVB Beker match scheduled against SC Heerenveen on Wednesday.

22. Sporting Braga (Por) (22) – In a match from last Monday, Braga and Naval fought to a 0-0 draw. Over the weekend, Braga picked up three points with a 1-0 victory over Pacos de Ferreira. Coming Up: Braga’s next match will be on New Year’s Day when it faces Sporting CP in a League Cup match.

23. Rubin Kazan (Rus) (24) – No current matches.

24. Hamburger SV (Ger) (NF) – Hamburger SV moved a little further up the Bundesliga table this week with at 2-1 victory over Werder Bremen. Coming Up: No matches scheduled in next two weeks.

25. Rangers (Sco) (NF) – I’m not sure how Rangers worked its way back into the rankings, but I guess it can be attributed to two league victories with a +8 goal differential, beating Dundee United 3-0 and smashing Motherwell 6-1. Coming Up: Rangers has three SPL matches in the next two weeks taking on Hibernian and Dundee United before its classic with Celtic on January 3.

Bubbling Under: Ajax (Ned), Banfield (Arg), Mallorca (Esp), Olympiakos (Gre), Porto (Por).

Next Five: Flamengo (Bra), Internacional (Bra), Lille (Fra), Manchester City (Eng), Roma (Ita).

Matches in Next Two Weeks Between Ranked Clubs:

27 December – (12) Aston Villa at (4) Arsenal

Weekend Soccer Television Schedule - 19/20 December

As we wind down the year, the matches on television become fewer, but that doesn’t mean that many of them aren’t important.

We have a few more championships to settle in this mini-championship season. The big one, of course, will be the final of the Club World Cup. As always, it will feature European champions Barcelona against South American champions Estudiantes. It’ll be 1 pm here in my final day in Argentina and maybe Estudiantes can make it interesting. In another South American championship, Independiente Medellin and Atletico Huila will face off in the second leg of the matchup that will decide the champions of Colombia.

There will be one match this weekend featuring a pair of clubs in the WCR Top 25. It won’t be televised but it will be available online of ESPN 360. That match features Portuguese powerhouses Benfica and Porto and is highlighted this week as the Match of the Weekend. The entire schedule is listed below. Have a great weekend!!!

Top Five Matches of the Weekend:

1. Porto at Benfica (Sunday, 3:15 p.m. (EST) (CET -6:00), ESPN 360)

2. Estudiantes vs. Barcelona (Saturday, 11:00 am, FSE)

3. AC Milan at Fiorentina (Saturday, 2:45 pm, FSC)

4. Atletico Huila at Independiente Medellin (Sunday, 6:00 pm, GolTV)

5. Valencia at Deportivo La Coruna (Sunday, 3:00 pm, ESPND, ESPN 360)

Saturday, December 19, 2009

5:00 am – Sydney FC at Melbourne Victory (FSC)

8:00 am – Liverpool at Portsmouth (ESPN2)

9:30 am – Hertha Berlin at (14) Bayern Munich (ESPND, ESPN 360)

10:00 am – Sunderland at Manchester City (FSC)

10:00 am – (4) Manchester United at Fulham (Setanta USA)

11:00 am – Estudiantes vs. (2) Barcelona (FSE)

12 noon – Atalanta at Bologna (ESPN 360)

12:30 pm – Hull City at (8) Arsenal (FSC)

12:30 pm – Hoffenheim at VfB Stuttgart (ESPND, ESPN 360)

2:00 pm – Getafe at (10) Sevilla (GolTV)

2:45 pm – (13) AC Milan at Fiorentina (FSC)

3:00 pm – (25) Marseille at St. Etienne (Setanta USA)

4:00 pm – Real Zaragoza at (5) Real Madrid (GolTV)

5:00 pm – Stoke City at (12) Aston Villa (Delayed) (FSC)

5:00 pm – Tottenham Hotspur at Blackburn Rovers (Delayed) (Setanta USA)

Sunday, December 20, 2009

8:30 am – Burnley at Wolverhampton Wanderers (Setanta USA)

9:00 am – Parma at Roma (FSC, FSE, ESPN 360)

9:00 am – Catania at (17) Juventus (ESPN 360)

10:30 am – (20) Werder Bremen at Hamburg (GolTV)

11:00 am – (1) Chelsea at West Ham United (FSC)

11:00 am – Le Mans at Lille (Setanta USA)

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

1:00 pm – Atletico de Madrid at Tenerife (GolTV)

1:00 pm – (19) PSV Eindhoven at Roda JC (Delayed) (ESPND, ESPN 360)

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

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

3:00 pm – (16) Valencia at Deportivo La Coruna (ESPND, ESPN 360)

3:15 pm – (21) Porto at (7) Benfica (ESPN 360)

5:00 pm – Birmingham at Everton (Delayed) (FSC, FSE)

6:00 pm – Atletico Huila at Independiente Medellin (GolTV)

Monday, December 21, 2009

5:00 am – Lorient at (9) Bordeaux (Delayed)

Non-Televised Matches Involving WCR Top 25 Clubs

Fri., 2:30 pm – Mainz 05 at (11) Schalke 04

Fri., 3:15 pm – (22) Sporting Braga at Pacos Ferreira

Sat., 9:30 am – Borussia Monchengladbach at (6) Bayer Leverkusen

Sat., 1:00 pm – Nancy Lorraine at (23) Montpelier

Sun., 8:30 am – (18) Twente at Utrecht

Sun., 12 noon – (15) Olympiakos at Aris Thessaloniki

WCR Top 25 Clubs in the World - Final Buenos Aires Edition

I’ve been going back and forth on what to call this entry, but after two months in Argentina, this will be the final WCR Top 25 from here and it seems fitting to commemorate that fact. This time next week, I’ll be back in the United States for a few weeks and the rankings will be based there.

I thought about commemorating more Western Hemisphere championships with the title. Here in Buenos Aires, the big news is that Banfield took home the Argentine Apertura title today despite losing to Boca Juniors at La Bombonera. In Mexico, the final of the Apertura is taking place as I write this and Monterrey is about five minutes from winning the championship. I will go ahead and congratulate them in hopes of invoking a jinx because I am rooting for Cruz Azul.

I thought about commemorating the historic nature of this particular edition of the rankings because it is the first countdown in which all of the WCR Top 25 clubs are European. With Banfield and Flamengo backing into championships in the two best non-European leagues in the world, no club from this continent made it into the rankings this week. Let’s hope it’s just a temporary glitch.

I thought about commemorating the fact that this week’s ranking is very different from the prior rankings of the season. The reason for this is that now that the Champions League group stage is over, the data from those matches finally has been included in the data set. (BTW, Monterrey just scored in the 90^th minute against Cruz Azul as is pretty much assured the Mexican Apertura title.) The effect of this inclusion is to provide help to clubs from certain domestic leagues (France, Greece, Russia) while hurting clubs from other leagues (Portugal, Netherlands, Scotland). This fact and the fact that there was significant movement in some of the top leagues in the world (Aston Villa jumping from sixth to third in the Premiership comes to mind) means that there is a lot of movement in this week’s rankings. How were your favorite clubs affected? Check it out below.

World Club Rankings – Top 25 Clubs in the World – December 14, 2009

1. Chelsea (Eng) (1) – It’s now been a while since Chelsea won a game and it’s wiggle room at the top of the rankings is getting rather small. In a meaningless Champions League match, Chelsea finished with a 2-2 draw against Cypriot club APOEL. Domestically, Chelsea could manage only a 3-3 draw with Everton. Coming Up: This non-winning streak almost has to end this week as Chelsea takes on cellar dwellers Portsmouth and West Ham United in this week’s Premier League action. If not, Chelsea may not be in this spot next week.

2. Barcelona (Esp) (2) – Barcelona finally qualified for the knockout stage of the Champions League with a 2-1 victory over Dynamo Kyiv at midweek. In Primera Division play, Barcelona won its city’s derby with a 1-0 victory over Espanyol. Coming Up: Up next for Barcelona is a trip to the Middle East to play in the Club World Cup. The tournament begins for Barca with a matchup with CONCACAF Champions League winners Atlante on Wednesday.

3. Inter Milan (Ita) (3) – Like the club just above it in the rankings, Inter had to wait until the final match of the group stage to clinch advancement in the Champions League with a 2-0 victory over Rubin Kazan. Domestically, although a 1-1 draw with Atalanta was disappointing, it allowed Inter to pick up a point on both AC Milan and Juventus. Coming Up: Inter Milan has a midweek Copa Italia match against Livorno. On Sunday, Inter will welcome Lazio to the San Siro for a Serie A match.

4. Manchester United (Eng) (4) – Manyoo holds onto this spot despite losing at Old Trafford to Aston Villa 0-1. In its Champions League matchup, United eliminated Wolfsburg with a 3-1 victory. Coming Up: The Red Devils’ two Premiership matches this week are against lighter competition as it faces the Wolverhampton Wanderers and Fulham.

5. Real Madrid (Esp) (6) – With two matches against clubs currently in the rankings, both away matches, Real Madrid scored two victories, first 3-1 over Marseille in the Champions League and then 3-2 over Valencia in La Liga. Coming Up: Real Madrid returns to action on Saturday when it hosts Real Zaragoza.

6. Bayer Leverkusen (Ger) (7) – Leverkusen picks up a spot despite scoring only a 2-2 draw against Bundesliga bottoms Hertha BSC. Coming Up: The Bundesliga has been up for grabs all season and every match is important, including Leverkusen’s match against Borussia Monchengladbach on Saturday.

7. Benfica (Por) (5) – Benfica and Sporting Braga can now smell Porto heading to the top of the Liga Sagres after Benfica drew 2-2 this week with Olahense. Coming Up: Benfica’s Euorpa League future is already settled before its midweek matchup with AEK Athens. Domestically, the European match of the weekend should take place in Lisbon when Benfica hosts Porto on Sunday.

8. Arsenal (Eng) (8) – It didn’t matter much, but for the record, Arsenal fell in Pireaus to Olympiakos 0-1 at midweek in a Champions League group stage match. Domestically, The Gunners piled on Liverpool’s pain with a 2-1 victory over the Reds on Sunday. Coming Up: Arsenal’s Premiership matches this week should be manageable ones against Burnley and Hull City.

9. Bordeaux (Fra) (13) – Bordeaux shoots into the top ten this week following two impressive away victories. First, Bordeaux scored a 1-0 victory over Maccabi Haifa in Israel. Perhaps more impressively, Bordeaux extended its Ligue Un lead with a 1-0 victory over Lyon. Coming Up: Like the Premiership, Ligue Un has two matches this week. Bordeaux’s first match will be another away match against surprise second-place club Montpellier. Over the weekend, Bordeaux will finally play at home again against Lorient.

10. Sevilla (Esp) (17) – Sevilla finished up its Champions League group stage with a 1-0 victory over disappointing Rangers. Domestically, Sevilla picked up three away points with a 1-0 victory over Sporting Gijon to move back into third place in the Primera Division. Coming Up: The only match for Sevilla this week will be a Saturday matchup against Getafe.

11. Schalke 04 (Ger) (21) – Schalke takes a huge jump in the rankings this week by moving into second place in the tight Bundesliga following a 2-0 away victory over Werder Bremen. Coming Up: As it moves closer to Leverkusen in the table, Leverkusen will host Mainz 05 on Friday.

12. Aston Villa (Eng) (BU) – This week marks a big move up the rankings for the club from Birmingham, and deservedly so. Not only did Villa move into third place in the Premiership, it did so by beating Manchester United at Old Trafford 1-0. Coming Up: Villa’s next two Premiership matches should be even easier as it faces Sunderland on Tuesday and Stoke City on Saturday.

13. AC Milan (Ita) (11) – Milan blew a golden opportunity to gain ground on its cross-town rials by losing 0-2 at home to Palermo. In its Champions League match earlier in the week, Milan drew 1-1 with Zurich. Coming Up: In one of the few intriguing weekend matches coming up, Milan will take on Fiorentina on Saturday.

14. Bayern Munich (Ger) (BU) – This was a good week for Bayern. First, it defeated Juventus 4-1 in Turin to advance to the knockout round of the Champions League. Its second away match of the week saw it score a 5-1 victory over VfL Bochum to move into third place in the German Bundesliga. Coming Up: Bayern will host Hertha BSC on Saturday, hoping to fare better against the last-place club than Bayer Leverkusen did last week.

15. Olympiakos (Gre) (24) – With a 1-0 victory over Arsenal, Olympiakos clinched advancement to the knockout stage of the Champions League. Domestically, Olympiakos maintained the top spot in the Greek Super League with at 3-0 victory over Panthrakikos this weekend. Coming Up: Olympiakos will take on Aris in a Sunday Super League match.

16. Valencia (Esp) (10) – Its trip to the top ten was short-lived as Valencia fell at home to Real Madrid by a 2-3 score in a hard-fought battle. Coming Up: Valencia heads to Italy to take on Genoa as it tries to clinch advancement in the Europa League in its final group stage match. Domestically, Valencia will take on Deportivo La Coruna on Sunday.

17. Juventus (Ita) (15) – As good a week as it was for Bayern Munich, it was that bad for Juve. First, Juventus lost 1-4 at home to Bayern to be eliminated from the Champions League for this season. Domestically, Juventus fell again, 1-3 to Bari, failing to take advantage of slip-ups by Milan and Internazionale. Coming Up: Juventus will host Catania on Sunday as it looks to bounce back from recent disappointments.

18. Twente (Ned) (16) – Twente was able to maintain its lead in the Eredivisie with a 3-1 victory over NAC Breda. Coming Up: Twente will need a positive result against Steaua Bucuresti if it wants to guarantee advancement to the knockout stage of the Europa League. Domestically, Twente will take on Utrecht on Sunday.

19. PSV Eindhoven (Ned) (19) – PSV kept hot on Twente’s heels in the Eredivisie with a 1-0 victory over defending Eredivisie champions AZ Alkmaar. Coming Up: PSV will take on CFR Cluj in a Europa League match that means nothing to PSV. Over the weekend, PSV will take on Roda JC in an Eredivisie match.

20. Werder Bremen (Ger) (9) – A big drop in the rankings for Bremen in a week in which it lost at home to Schalke 04 by a 0-2 score and dropped to fourth place in the German Bundesliga. Coming Up: Bremen will take on Athletic Bilbao in Spain in a match for the top spot of the Europa League’s Group L. Domestically, Werder Bremen will take on Hamburger on Sunday.

21. Porto (Por) (18) – It turned out not to matter for either club, but Porto added to Atletico Madrid’s misery with a 3-0 victory to close out the UEFA Champions League group stage. Domestically, Porto defeated Vitoria Setubal 2-0 to gain ground on both Benfica and Braga. Coming Up: Porto has a chance to make up even more ground on Sunday when it heads to Lisbon to take on Benfica on Sunday.

22. Sporting Braga (Por) (12) – Speaking of Braga, its scoreless draw with Naval this weekend didn’t help the cause. Coming Up: Braga will return to action on Friday when it takes on Pacos de Ferreira in a Liga Sagres matchup.

23. Montpellier (Fra) (NR) – Montpellier returns to the rankings as the surprising club moves to second place in Ligue Un following a 1-0 victory over Toulouse. Coming Up: The glory might be short-lived again for Montpellier as it faces Bordeaux and Nancy Lorraine this week in Ligue Un play. The good news for Montpellier is that both matches are at home.

24. Rubin Kazan (Rus) (NR) – Here is the “Russian Love.” Even though its only match of the week was a 0-2 loss to Inter Milan that eliminated the Russian champions from the Champions League, Rubin Kazan moves into the rankings because of the points brought to the Russian Premier League by CSKA Moscow’s Champions League advancement. Coming Up: No upcoming matches.

25. Marseille (Fra) (NR) – Marseille also returns to the rankings despite a 1-3 loss to Real Madrid that eliminated it from the Champions League. Domestically, Marseille fared better, defeating Boulogne 3-0. Coming Up: Marseille faces two Ligue Un opponents this week, both away. First up is Lorient on Wednesday, followed by St. Etienne on Saturday.

Bubbling Under: Ajax (Ned), Banfield (Arg), Internacional (Bra), Mallorca (Esp), Manchester City (Eng).

Next Five: Flamengo (Bra), Hamburger (Ger), Panathinaikos (Gre), Rangers (Sco), Tottenham Hotspur (Eng).

Upcoming Matches Between WCR Top 25 Clubs:

16 January – (9) Bordeaux at (23) Montpellier

20 January – (21) Porto at (7) Benfica

Weekend Soccer Television Schedule - 12/13 December

Things are still way behind here during my final full weekend in Buenos Aires, so let’s just get straight to the matches.

Perhaps the big news as far as club matches this week is that there should be a few more champions crowned here in the Western Hemisphere this week. With a victory on Sunday over Boca Juniors, Banfield can clinch a rare Argentine championship. Meanwhile, further north, Monterrey and Cruz Azul will play the second leg of their Apertura championship match.

Across the pond, the marquee matchup for the anglophiles will be Sunday’s battle between Arsenal and Liverpool. In France, perennial powerhouse Lyon will host current Ligue Un leaders Bordeaux. The two matches, however, that involve two WCR Top 25 clubs take place in Germany when Werder Bremen hosts Schalke 04 and in Spain where Valencia will host Real Madrid.

Those and all of the other matches are listed below. Have a good weekend!!!

Top Five Matches of the Weekend:

1. Real Madrid at Valencia (Saturday, 4:00 pm (EST), ESPND)

2. Schalke 04 at Werder Bremen (Saturday, 12:30 pm, ESPND)

3. Arsenal at Liverpool (Sunday, 11:00 am, FSC, FSE)

4. Bordeaux at Lyon (Sunday, 3:00 pm, Setanta USA)

5. Monterrey at Cruz Azul (Sunday, 6:00 pm, Azteca)

Friday, December 11, 2009

11:00 am – Pohang Steelers vs. TP Mazembe (FSC, FSE)

2:30 pm – (7) Bayer Leverkusen at Hertha Berlin (GolTV)

Saturday, December 12, 2009

9:30 am – Bayern Munich at VfL Bochum (GolTV)

9:30 am – Wigan Athletic at Stoke City (ESPN2)

10:00 am – (25) Manchester City at Bolton Wanderers (FSC)

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

11:00 am – Atlante vs. Auckland City (FSE)

12 noon – Athletic Bilbao at Real Zaragoza (GolTV)

12:30 pm – Aston Villa at Manchester United (FSC)

12:30 pm – (21) Schalke 04 at (9) Werder Bremen (ESPND, ESPN 360)

2:00 pm – Espanyol at (2) Barcelona (GolTV)

2:45 pm – (15) Juventus at Bari (FSC)

2:45 pm – AZ Alkmaar at (19) PSV Eindhoven (ESPN 360)

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

4:00 pm – (6) Real Madrid at (10) Valencia (ESPND, ESPN 360)

4:15 pm – (5) Benfica at Olhanense (ESPN 360)

5:00 pm – Woverhampton Wanderers at (14) Tottenham Hotspur (Delayed) (Setanta USA)

7:00 pm – Fulham at Burnley (Delayed) (FSC)

8:30 pm – West Ham United at Birmingham City (Delayed) (Setanta USA)

10:15 pm – Blackburn Rovers at Hull City (Delayed) (Setanta USA)

11:00 pm – Napoli at Cagliari (Delayed) (FSE)

Sunday, December 13, 2009

3:00 am – Melbourne Victory at Central Coast Mariners (FSC)

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

9:00 am – Palermo at (11) AC Milan (ESPN 360)

9:30 am – VfB Stuttgart at Mainz 05 (ESPND, ESPN 360)

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

11:00 am – Deportivo La Coruna at Almeria (ESPND, ESPN 360)

1:00 pm – Villarreal at Atletico Madrid (GolTV)

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

3:00 pm – Sevilla at Sporting Gijon (ESPND, ESPN 360)

3:00 pm – (20) Banfield at Boca Juniors (FSE)

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

Monday, December 14, 2009

5:00 am – Boulogne at Marseille (Delayed) (Setanta USA)

Non-Televised Matches Involving WCR Top 25 Clubs:

Fri., 2:45 pm – NEC Nijmegen at (22) Ajax

Sat., 12 noon – St. Johnstone at (23) Rangers

Sat., 1:45 pm – NAC Breda at (16) Twente

Sun., 9:45 am – Panthrakikos at (24) Olympiakos

Sun., 1:00 pm – Naval at (12) Sporting Braga

Sun., 3:15 pm – Veitoria Setubal at (18) Porto

WCR Top 25 Clubs in the World - South American Champions Edition

The biggest news in club action this past week has to be the championships won in South America. At midweek, Brazil’s Fluminense defeated Ecuador’s LDU Quito 3-0 but it wasn’t enough to keep LDU Quito from winning the final 5-4 in aggregate and take home the 2009 Copa Sudamericana. Over the weekend, the top domestic league in the Western Hemisphere, the Brasileirao Serie A, concluded with Flamengo dethroning Sao Paolo as the champions following a 2-1 victory over Gremio. Congratulations to both Liga and Flamengo!!!

The biggest news of the upcoming week has to be the Champions League where eight of the sixteen are still up for grabs (to varying degrees) with on a single matchday left. Many of those still chasing down the final knockout round spots are among the top clubs in the world including Barcelona, Real Madrid, Inter Milan and AC Milan. It should make for a very exciting midweek of action.

Some of the top clubs stumbled this week and Chelsea and Inter Milan both fell to ranked clubs, but both also held on to the top spots in their respective domestic leagues so their rankings were unaffected. Next week, the Champions League group stage results will be factored into the equations (typically, we don’t apply group stage data until the round has been completed), so there might be a lot of movement next week. Or there might not be. We’ll just have to wait and find out. For now, here are the current rankings.

World Club Rankings – Top 25 Clubs in the World – December 7, 2009

1. Chelsea (Eng) (1) – After rolling through most of the first half of the season, Chelsea hit some rough waters this week. It started with a 3-3 penalty shot loss to Blackburn Rovers to be eliminated from the Carling Cup. It finished with a missed penalty kick and a 1-2 defeat at the hands of Manchester City. Coming Up: In its final group stage match, Chelsea will host APOEL on Tuesday. Domestically, Chelsea will host Everton on Saturday.

2. Barcelona (Esp) (2) – Barcelona took six away points in La Liga this week with a 2-0 victory over Deportivo Xerez and a 3-1 victory over a tougher Deportivo La Coruna as it gears up for the Club World Cup in a few weeks. Coming Up: Barcelona needs a positive result in the Ukraine against Dynamo Kyiv on Wednesday if it wants to guarantee a spot in the knockout round of the Champions League. Barca will host Espanyol in the Barcelona derby on Saturday.

3. Inter Milan (Ita) (3) – Inter Milan finally showed some vulnerability in Italy this weekend by falling 1-2 to Juventus in Turin. Coming Up: Inter welcomes a tough Rubin Kazan club to the San Siro on Wednesday in a match that is for all the marbles as far as Champions League advancement is concerned. Still in first place in Serie A, Internazionale will take on Atalanta on Sunday.

4. Manchester United (Eng) (4) – With a 2-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur at midweek, Manchester United has advanced to the semifinals of the Carling Cup. In Premiership play, United moved three points closer to Chelsea with a 4-0 victory over West Ham United in London. Coming Up: Manchester United will take on Wolfsburg on Tuesday, though it has already demonstrated that it’s not too interested in the group stage matches at this point. On Saturday, Manyoo will host Aston Villa in an important Premier League match for both clubs.

5. Benfica (Por) (8) – Although few people believe Benfica should be ranked this high, it is in first place in a tough Liga Sagres with a 35-7 goal differential following its 4-0 victory over Academica de Coimbra this weekend. Earlier in the week, Benfica scored a 2-1 win over BATE Barisov in Europa League action. Coming Up: We’ll see if Benfica maintains this position after the Champions League group stage data is added into the mix, but all it can do is take on Olhanense on Saturday and wait.

6. Real Madrid (Esp) (6) – Real Madrid scored an expected victory over Almeria this weekend by a 4-2 score to keep pace with Barcelona, at least as far as the weekend was concerned. Coming Up: Real Madrid has yet to clinch advancement in the Champions League, though it is in pretty good shape heading into its Tuesday match with Marseille. The European match of the weekend (no offense, Liverpool and Arsenal) likely will take place in Spain this weekend as third-place Valencia hosts second-place Real Madrid on Saturday.

7. Bayer Leverkusen (Ger) (5) – Leverkusen remains narrowly atop the Bundesliga following its 0-0 draw with Hannover 96 this weekend. Coming Up: On Friday, B.L. should have an easier time against Bundesliga cellar dwellers Hertha BSC.

8. Arsenal (Eng) (7) – Like Chelsea, Arsenal was eliminated from the Carling Cup this week, falling 0-3 to Manchester United. Unlike Chelsea, Arsenal bounced back over the weekend with a 2-0 victory over Stoke City. Coming Up: Arsenal’s goal this week will be to do damage to Olympiakos’ Champions League dreams because Wednesday’s match between the two clubs is of no other importance to the Gunners. On Sunday, Arsenal will head to Anfield to take on the disappointing but potentially dangerous Liverpool.

9. Werder Bremen (Ger) (10) – In a relatively meaningless match, Bremen defeated Nacional 4-1 in its Europa League match at midweek. Domestically, Werder Bremen failed to take advantage of Leverkusen’s draw by scoring only a 0-0 draw of its own against Koln. Coming Up: The Bundesliga match of the weekend will take place on Saturday when Bremen hosts Schalke 04.

10. Valencia (Esp) (17) – Valencia makes a huge jump up the rankings following a 2-1 victory over Athletic Bilbao that moves Valenica into third place in La Liga’s Primera Division. Coming Up: To keep this position, Valencia may need to do what Sevilla did earlier in the season and beat Real Madrid, who visits the orange club on Saturday.

11. AC Milan (Ita) (13) – Milan moved three points closer to the top of the Serie A table this weekend with a 3-0 victory over a Sampdoria club that started the season red-hot but recently has cooled down. Coming Up: It won’t be revenge that AC Milan will be seeking against Zurich this week but salvation as it attempts to clinch a Champions League spot at Stadion Letzigrund on Tuesday. Domestically, Milan will host Palermo in a Sunday Serie A match.

12. Sporting Braga (Por) (9) – Braga’s white-hot start to the season is history, but it still is battling with Benfica for the top spot in the Liga Sagres. Braga lost that position this weekend after drawing 1-1 with Leixoes in league play. Coming Up: Braga will return to Liga Sagres action on Sunday when it hosts Naval.

13. Bordeaux (Fra) (12) – With a 1-0 victory over Paris St.-Germain this weekend, Bordeaux remains on top of the Ligue Un table. Coming Up: Having already clinched its group, Bordeaux’s trip to Israel to take on Maccabi Haifa is pretty much meaningless. On the other hand, Bordeaux’s weekend matchup against Lyon has a lot of meaning for the defending Ligue Un champions.

14. Tottenham Hotspur (Eng) (14) – Not a good week for the Spurs. It started off with a 0-2 loss to Manchester United to be eliminated from the Carling Cup. Domestically, a late missed penalty kick allowed victory to elude the Spurs as Tottenham finished with a 2-2 draw against Everton. Coming Up: Next up for Tottenham will be a Saturday matchup with Wolverhampton at White Hart Lane.

15. Juventus (Ita) (15) – This weekend saw Juventus bring Internazionale a little closer to the rest of the Italian pack with a 2-1 victory over the several-time defending champions. Coming Up: Juventus needs a draw or better on Tuesday when it hosts Bayern Munich if it wants to advance to the next Champions League round. Domestically, Juventus will face Bari on Saturday.

16. Twente (Ned) (16) – Twente fell 0-1 to Fenerbahce, keeping it from clinching a spot in the knockout round of the Europa League. Domestically, Twente maintained its narrow lead over PSV with a 4-3 victory over NEC Nijmegen. Coming Up: Saturday, Twente will host NAC Breda in its next Eredivisie match.

17. Sevilla (Esp) (11) – Following a surprising 1-1 draw with Real Valladolid, Sevilla finds itself dropping to fourth place in Spain’s Primera Division. Coming Up: Sevilla will try to clinch the top spot in Group G this week when it hosts Glasgow’s Rangers on Wednesday. On Saturday, Sporting Gijon will host Sevilla in league play.

18. Porto (Por) (18) – As Benfica and Sporting Braga fight it out at the top of the Liga Sagres, Porto is slowly moving within shooting distance as it gained ground on Braga this week with a 4-1 victory over Vitoria Guimaraes. Coming Up: Porto already has secured second place in Group D, so its match against Atletico de Madrid will matter little to anybody outside of Spain. On Sunday, Porto will host Vitoria Setubal in the Liga Sagres.

19. PSV Eindhoven (Ned) (19) – With a 1-0 victory over Sparta Praha at midweek, PSV clinched advancement to the knockout stage of the Europa League. Domestically, PSV defeated RKC Wallkwijk 2-0 to keep pace with Twente in the Eredivisie. Domestically. On Saturday, PSV welcome defending Eredivisie champions AZ Alkmaar to Eindhoven.

20. Banfield (Arg) (25) – Banfield moved back to the top of the Argentine Apertura this week with a 1-0 win over Huracan. Coming Up: Banfield enters the final week of the Apertura season with championship dreams in its head. In its final two matches, Banfield will host Tigre on Tuesday and finishes its season at La Bombonera on Saturday against Boca Juniors.

21. Schalke 04 (Ger) (20) – This weekend was Schalke’s turn to beat up on the club from the capital as it defeated Hertha BSC Berlin 2-0 to stay in third place in Germany. Coming Up: In one of the bigger matches of the weekend, Schalke 04 will take on second-place Werder Bremen on Saturday.

22. Ajax (Ned) (21) – Like PSV Eindhoven, Ajax clinched a trip to the Europa League’s knockout stage with a 2-1 victory over Timisoara at midweek. In Eredivisie action, Ajax was shocked by a 0-2 smackdown at the hands of Utrecht. Coming Up: Ajax will try to get back on track on Friday when it hosts NEC Nijmegen in its next Eredivisie match.

23. Rangers (Sco) (BU) – Okay, I don’t agree with this one either, and it’ll probably change next week when the Champions League group stage results are applied, but for now Rangers returns to the rankings following a 3-1 victory over Falkirk. Coming Up: Rangers will head to Spain to take on Sevilla on Wednesday in a match that cannot save the season for Rangers. Domestically, Rangers will host St. Johnstone in a Saturday SPL matchup.

24. Olympiakos (Gre) (22) – Over the weekend, Olympiakos was able to keep its spot atop the Greek Super League with a 1-0 defeat of Xanthi. Coming Up: If Olympiakos can secure a point against Arsenal, and maybe even if it doesn’t, it will advance to the knockout stage of the UEFA Champions League. In Greek action, Olympiakos will host Panthrakikos on Sunday.

25. Manchester City (Eng) (23) – The rankings are a fickle thing and I have no explanation why Man City drops two notches despite beating Arsenal and Chelsea this week. City’s victory over Arsenal moved it into the semifinals of the Carling Cup. This weekend, Manchester City staked a claim as a club to be reckoned with in the Premier League with a 2-1 victory over Chelsea. Coming Up: City will take on Bolton Wanderers on Saturday in its next league match.

Bubbling Under: Aston Villa (Eng), Bayern Munich (Ger), Celtic (Sco), Flamengo (Bra), Internacional (Bra).

Next Five: Deportivo La Coruna (Esp), Hamburger SV (Ger), Mallorca (Esp), Newell’s Old Boys (Arg), Panathinaikos (Gre).

Matches Between WCR Top 25 Clubs This Week:

9 December – (8) Arsenal at (24) Olympiakos

9 December – (23) Rangers at (17) Sevilla

12 December – (6) Real Madrid at (10) Valencia

12 December – (21) Schalke 04 at (9) Werder Bremen