Sorry to be way, way, way late with this, folks, but I’m back in travelling mode and will be for the next eight weeks. During that time, the posts will be as timely as I’m able to make them and that’ll depend on where I am and how my luck is with wi-fi. At the moment, I’m in Mexico City, so wi-fi hasn’t been an issue, but my time as a tourist has taken away from my dedication to this particular post. Here it goes, though.
Also, I guess it’s time for a little explanation as to why Manchester United is still number one despite its embarrassing loss to Wolverhampton over the weekend. Well, if I was a betting man, I’d probably put my money on Barcelona for the Champions League title, but that has nothing to do with these rankings. These rankings are a snapshot of the current standings and not intended as a predictor of future performance. The formulas were set up to determine annual rankings rather than any particular date’s rankings, so it heavily favors performances in the Champions League and clubs haven’t differentiated themselves in that competition yet. Basically, Manchester United will remain number one until a) somebody catches them in the Premier League or b) somebody stops them in the Champions League. I explained this last year when everybody said Barcelona should have been number one (and how did that work out for you?) and it’s the same this year. It doesn’t have to be Barcelona to stop Manchester United in the Champions League to move Barcelona to number one, but somebody has to do it. And if nobody does it, then there’s not much of an argument to move Manchester United from number one anyway.
Okay that’s enough for explanations and apologies. Here’s the rankings:
World Club Rankings – Top 25 Clubs in the World – February 7, 2011
1. Manchester United (Eng) (1) – The Red Devils followed up an impressive 3-1 victory over Aston Villa with its first Premier League loss of the season, falling 1-2 to Wolverhampton Wolves in its most embarrassing “performance” of the season. Coming Up: It’s not going to get any easier for Manyoo as it takes on city rivals Mansee in the Manchester Derby at Old Trafford on Saturday.
2. Barcelona (Esp) (2) – After a 3-0 Copa del Rey victory over Almeria to set up a dream final against Real Madrid, Barcelona won it’s sixteenth (if I remember correctly) consecutive Primera Division match, defeating Atlético Madrid 3-0. Coming Up: Barça’s next victim, I mean match will be against Sporting Gijón on Saturday.
3. AC Milan (Ita) (3) – Milan is letting everybody back into the Serie A race after managing only two points in two matches this week, drawing 0-0 with Lazio at midweek and securing another goalless draw with Genoa over the weekend. Coming Up: Milan returns to action on Saturday at the San Siro against Parma.
4. Borussia Dortmund (Ger) (4) – Dortmund dropped a couple points this weekend in a 0-0 draw with Schalke 04, but still has a dominating lead in the German Bundesliga. Coming Up: Dortmund’s next league match will an away match on Saturday against Kaiserslautern.
5. Arsenal (Eng) (5) – The Gunners 2-1 victory over Everton at midweek made sense. I have no clue what happened Sunday. I’m a Newcastle supporter and I turned on the match at the twelve-minute mark and we were down 0-3. After it went to 0-4, I took a nap. I woke up and Newcastle and Arsenal had finished at 4-4. The Gunners blew a huge opportunity to gain ground on leaders Man United. Coming Up: Arsenal will host Red Devil Killers Wolverhampton on Saturday.
6. Porto (Por) (6) – Porto fell to archrivals Benfica 0-2 in a midweek Taça de Portugal match. In the Liga Sagres, however, Porto continued to roll, beating Rio Ave 1-0. Coming Up: On Sunday, Porto will take on last season’s sensation Sporting Braga.
7. Real Madrid (Esp) (7) – Barça and Real Madrid will face off in the Copa del Rey finals after Real Madrid eliminated Sevilla in a 2-0 semifinal match. In La Liga, Real Madrid defeated Real Sociedad 4-1. Coming Up: On Sunday, Real Madrid will head to Barcelona for its next match. Don’t get too excited, though. That match is against Espanyol.
8. Napoli (Ita) (8) – Despite a 0-2 loss to Chievo at midweek, Napoli crept into striking distance of slumping Milan by scoring a 2-0 victory over Cesena. Coming Up: Next up for Napoli will be an away match against Parma on Saturday.
9. Lille (Fra) (9) – At midweek, Lille defeated Nantes 1-1 in a Coupe de France match, thanks to penalty kicks. Unfortunately for Lille, it’s 1-1 match with Auxerre over the weekend resulted in only a draw. Coming Up: The Sunday night primetime match in France’s Ligue Un this week will see Lille hosting Toulouse.
10. Manchester City (Eng) (10) – Man City had to be disappointed to settle for a 2-2 draw with Birmingham City at midweek. This weekend, however, Mansee was the only club to take full advantage of Manyoo’s stumble by recording a victory, 3-0 over West Bromwich Albion. Coming Up: Nothing less than the best for Man City this week as it heads across town to Old Trafford to take on Premier League-leaders and archrivals Manchester United on Saturday.
11. Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukr) (11) – No current matches.
12. København (Den) (12) – No current matches.
13. Inter Milan (Ita) (20) – Internazionale jumps up the Serie A table and the rankings after a six-point week in which it stopped Bari in a 3-0 match and won a huge match against Roma by a 5-3 score. Coming Up: Things just stay tough for the defending World Champion as it heads to Turin to take on Juventus on Sunday.
14. Benfica (Por) (16) – In a battle for pride, Benfica defeated Porto 2-0 at Porto in a midweek Taça de Portugal match. In domestic league action, Benfica defeated Vitória Setúbal 2-0, as well. Coming Up: Another Vitoria match for Benfica on Sunday when it hosts Vitória Guimarães.
15. Chelsea (Eng) (16) – The week started out well enough with a 4-2 victory over Sunderland but a 0-1 loss at the hands of Liverpool at Stamford Bridge has left even my most reasonable Reds fan friends insufferable. Coming Up: Chelsea stays in town this weekend even though it plays an away match on Monday against Fulham at Craven Cottage.
16. Villarreal (Esp) (13) – The Yellow Submarine fell even further behind Spain’s Big Two with a 0-1 loss to Levante. Coming Up: Villarreal will be looking to bounce back on Sunday when it takes on Deportivo La Coruña.
17. Olympiakos (Gre) (17) – Olympiakos was eliminated from the Greek Cup this week in a 0-1 loss to PAOK. In Super League action, Olympiakos fared better, defeating Xanthi by the same 1-0 score line. Coming Up: On Saturday, Olympiakos will play away at Aris.
18. Bayer Leverkusen (Ger) (14) – Leverkusen was surprised this past weekend with a 0-1 loss at Nurnberg. Coming Up: Leverkusen returns to action in the Bundesliga on Saturday at Eintracht Frankfurt.
19. Fluminense (Bra) (21) – After scoring yet another Carioca League victory at midweek, 3-1 over Duque de Caxias, Fluminense suffered its first Carioca League loss of the season, falling 2-3 at home against Botafogo. Coming Up: Technically, its not coming up anymore because I watched Fluminense draw 2-2 with Argentinos Juniors at home in its 2011 Copa Libertadores debut. On Sunday, Fluminense will return to Carioca League action against Madureira.
20. Valencia (Esp) (23) – Valencia moved three points closer to Villarreal by defeating Hércules 2-0 this weekend. Coming Up: On Saturday, Valencia travels to Estadio Vicente Lopez to take on Atlético Madrid.
21. Estudiantes (Arg) (24) – No matches this past week. Coming Up: The Argentine Clausura debuts this week and its first match will be on Friday as Estudiantes hosts Newell’s Old Boys.
22. Dynamo Kyiv (Ukr) (25) – No current matches.
23. Lazio (Ita) (19) – Lazio failed to take advantage of Milan’s rough patch as it also scored two draws this week. Granted, the first one was in its 0-0 match against Milan, but the other one, 1-1 against Chievo, actually hurt. Coming Up: Lazio’s next Serie A match will be Sunday against Brescia.
24. Mainz 05 (Ger) (NF) – Mainz moves back in the rankings by passing by Bayern Munich again following a 1-1 draw with Werder Bremen. Coming Up: Mainz 05 will face Cologne in an away match on Sunday.
25. Paris St.-Germain (Fra) (22) – PSG was successful in the Coupe de France, defeating Martigues 4-1, but was less so in Ligue Un, falling to Stade Rennes by a 0-1 score. Coming Up: PSG will host Lens on Saturday as it tries to keep Stade Rennes below it in the Ligue Un table.
Bubbling Under: Bayern Munich (Ger), Celtic (Sco), Metalist (Ukr), Tottenham Hotspur (Eng), Zenit St. Petersburg (Rus).
Next Five: Palermo (Ita), PSV Eindhoven (Ned), Sporting CP (Por), Trabzonspor (Tur), Vélez Sarsfield (Arg).
Matches This Week Between WCR Top 25 Clubs:
12 February – (10) Manchester City at (1) Manchester United
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