Sorry for the long absence. I’ve spent the past two months in Mexico and Central America and it turned out that finding free and convenient wifi in the area wasn’t so convenient. Plus, I was just having way too much fun. (Feel free to read about the adventures here.)
But, we’re back. As I write this introduction, the numbers haven’t yet been crunched. (I’m waiting for the Western Hemisphere matches to be completed.) I can tell you without crunching them, though, that this most recent rankings will be significantly different from the last set of rankings. There are three reasons for that.
First, there’s been two months since the last rankings and there has been a lot of movement within the domestic tables. That reason is pretty obvious.
Second, the rankings of the leagues have been adjusted in order to reflect results in the continental championship tournaments. These numbers will continue to change as the tournaments advance but for now, the big change is that the Spanish Primera Division has moved past the Italian Serie A into second place in the world league rankings. Good news for the Spanish clubs and bad news for the Italian clubs in the rankings.
Finally, we have reached the point in the season where bonus points are being rewarded for performance in the continental championship tournaments. For those tournaments that have reached the final four (UEFA & CONCACAF Champions Leagues), Super Bonus Points have been awarded for those qualifying clubs and the Super Bonus Points will shoot those clubs way up the rankings. For others (Copa Libertadores, AFC Champions League and CAF Champions League), Moderate Bonus Points have been awarded to those clubs that are leading or have won their groups. Those qualifying clubs have moved a little bit up the charts.
How all of these things will affect the rankings, I’ll find out once I crunch the numbers and you’ll find out shortly thereafter, once I’ve typed in all of the results and updates that will be below by the time I post this. Sorry again for being gone for two months, but we’re back, baby!!!
World Club Rankings – Top 25 Clubs in the World – April 18, 2011
1. Manchester United (Eng) (1) – Yes, Manyoo is still top and will be until Barcelona or Real Madrid or Schalke 04 (had to throw them in there) knocks it off. It was a mixed week for the top-ranked club, defeating Chelsea 2-1 to advance to the UEFA Champions League semifinals but following it up with a 0-1 loss to Manchester City at Wembley to be eliminated in the FA Cup semifinals. Coming Up: Tomorrow, United heads to St. James’ Park to take on Newcastle United. On Saturday, the Red Devils will head to Liverpool to take on a hot Everton club.
2. Barcelona (Esp) (2) – Barça also advanced to the Champions League semifinals by finishing off Shakhtar Donetsk with a 1-0 victory in the Ukraine. Domestically, Barcelona fought Real Madrid to a 1-1 draw on Saturday. Coming Up: On Wednesday, Round Two (three if you count the disgrace from 2010) of the Barcelona – Real Madrid fight takes place as the two clubs face off in the Copa del Rey finals. In domestic league action, Barcelona will take on Osasuna on Saturday.
3. Real Madrid (Esp) (7) – Real Madrid defeated Tottenham Hotspur again, this time 1-0, to advance to the Champions League semifinals, pick up Super Bonus Points and set up another epic battle with Barcelona. Speaking of epic battles with Barcelona, in La Liga, Real Madrid and Barcelona both had to settle for a 1-1 draw in this past weekend’s skirmish. Coming Up: As mentioned above, Los Blancos and Barcelona will take each other on for the Copa del Rey title on Wednesday. Domestically, Madrid heads east to take on third-place Valencia on Saturday.
4. AC Milan (Ita) (3) – Milan’s stronghold on the top spot in Serie A got a little stronger this week after it defeated Sampdoria 3-0. Coming Up: The Coppa Italia semifinals start this week and Milan will host Palermo on Wednesday. In Serie A play, Milan takes on Brescia on Saturday.
5. Borussia Dortmund (Ger) (4) – Dortmund also strengthened its domestic title hopes with a 3-0 victory over Freiburg. Coming Up: Borussia Dortmund returns to Bundesliga action on Saturday at Borussia Monchengladbach.
6. Arsenal (Eng) (5) – It’s not often that you see a club’s heart break in the 101st minute, but that’s what happened to the Gunners this weekend as a penalty kick allowed Liverpool to draw 1-1 with Arsenal. Coming Up: Arsenal faces two away Premier League matches this week, Wednesday against the Spurs and Sunday against Bolton Wanderers, as it’s increasingly more impossible (can something actually be “more impossible?” I don’t think so.) task of catching Manchester United continues.
7. Porto (Por) (6) – Porto advanced to the semifinals of the Europa League with a 5-2 victory over Spartak Moscow at midweek. In the Liga Sagres, Porto’s undefeated season continued with a 3-2 victory over Sporting CP at home. Coming Up: The top two clubs in Portugal face off on Wednesday as Porto tries to overcome a 0-2 deficit against Benfica in the away leg of the clubs Taça de Portugal matchup.
8. Chelsea (Eng) (20) – Despite falling 1-2 to Manchester United this week and being eliminated from the Champions League, Chelsea moves up a lot in the rankings due to a good two-month run including its 3-1 victory over West Bromwich Albion over the weekend. Coming Up: Chelsea will host two Premier League matches at Stamford Bridge this week, against Birmingham City on Wednesday and West Ham United on Saturday.
9. Lille (Fra) (9) – Lille stumbled this week, putting its Ligue Un title hopes in a little bit of jeopardy, by drawing 1-1 with Bordeaux at home. Coming Up: In a Coupe de France semifinal matchup on Tuesday, Lille will take on Nice. On Sunday, Lille will look to bounce back in Ligue Un action against Lorient.
10. Napoli (Ita) (8) – Napoli fell even further behind Milan in the Serie A table this weekend, losing 1-2 at home against Udinese. Coming Up: On Saturday, Napoli heads to Sicily to take on Palermo.
11. Olympiakos (Gre) (17) – Greek clubs benefit in the rankings by the downfall of the Ukranian and Danish clubs early in the knockout rounds of the UEFA Champions League. Olympiakos finished off its 38th championship season in high form by defeating Larissa 6-0 on the final day. Coming Up: Season completed.
12. Bayer Leverkusen (Ger) (13) – Leverkusen’s recent run at Dortmund for the Bundesliga title took a major kick in the groin this weekend as it was embarrassed at Allianz Arena by Bayern Munich in a 1-5 loss. Coming Up: On Saturday, Leverkusen will get back up and try to ride the horse again when it hosts Hoffenheim.
13. Valencia (Esp) (18) – Valencia defeated Almeria 3-0 this weekend to make its third-place spot in La Liga’s Primera Division a little more secure. Coming Up: Valencia’s challenge will be greater this weekend as it hosts Real Madrid on Saturday.
14. Benfica (Por) (15) – Three Portuguese clubs reached the semifinals of the Europa League, including Benfica who finished off PSV Eindhoven with a 2-2 draw in the second leg of the matchup between the two clubs. Domestically, Benfica defeated Beira-Mar 2-1 this weekend. Coming Up: Two cup matches are on tap for Benfica this week as it hosts Porto on Wednesday in the second leg of the clubs’ Taça de Portugal matchup and Benfica faces Paços de Ferreira on Saturday in the final of Portugal’s League Cup.
15. Bayern Munich (Ger) (16) – Bayern Munich won’t win the Bundesliga title this year but it can still play spoiler as it did this weekend by crushing second-place Bayer Leverkusen 5-1. Coming Up: Nothing to spoil on Saturday, but Bayern will take on Eintracht Frankfurt in its next Bundesliga match.
16. Manchester City (Eng) (10) – Mansee advanced to the finals of the FA Cup against Stoke City by upsetting its cross-town rival Manyoo 1-0 on Saturday. Coming Up: City’s is off until next Monday when it will play Blackburn Rovers.
17. Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukr) (11) – The Ukraine’s hopes for a Champions League title came to an end this week as Shakhtar fell 0-1 to Barcelona at midweek. Domestically, Shakhtar’s moved closer to another league title with a 2-1 victory over Tavriya. Coming Up: Next up for Shakhtar is another league match on Saturday, this time at home against Metalist.
18. Inter Milan (Ita) (14) – In one of the biggest shockers of this season’s Champions League, defending champions Inter Milan was eliminated from the competition by losing twice to Schalke 04, this week by a 1-2 score. Domestically, Inter could have moved into second place in Serie A, but failed in that as well by losing 0-2 to Parma. Coming Up: Tomorrow, Inter will head to Stadio Olimpico to take on Roma in the first leg of the clubs’ Coppa Italia semifinal matchup. In Serie A action, Inter will face off against the other club from Rome, Lazio, on Saturday, this time at the San Siro.
19. Marseille (Fra) (BU) – In the only truly exciting race among the top leagues of Europe, Marseille moved to within a point of leaders Lille with a 2-1 victory over Montpellier this past weekend. Coming Up: On Saturday, Marseille will take on Montpellier again, this time in the context of the Coupe de Ligue.
20. Cruzeiro (Bra) (NR) – Using Moderate Bonus Points in order to do it, Cruzeiro moves into the rankings following a 3-0 victory over Estudiantes de La Plata in the Copa Libertadores. Over the weekend, Cruzeiro secured top spot in Brazil’s Mineiro I League with a 1-0 victory over Uberaba. Coming Up: No matches this week.
21. Fluminense (Bra) (21) – Fluminense also won its group in the Carioca I League by defeating Nova Iguaçu 1-0. Coming Up: Fluminense needs a victory and some help in order to advance to the knockout stage of the Copa Libertadores. What it can control will be its Copa Libertadores match against Argentinos Juniors on Thursday.
22. Real Salt Lake (USA) (NR) – This is the first time a club from the United States has ever made it to the World Club Rankings. It can thank two things – a perfect start in the new MLS season and reaching the finals of the CONCACAF Champions League, the first American club to do this in a while. In the past week, Real Salt Lake beat regional rivals Colorado Rapids 1-0 to continue its perfect start. Coming Up: The first leg of the CONCACAF Champions League final, which will provide the first automatic spot in the Club World Cup, begins in Mexico on Wednesday when Real Salt Lake faces Monterrey. In the MLS, Real Salt Lake will face the Philadelphia Union on Saturday.
23. Lyon (Fra) (NF) – Lyon’s hopes for another Ligue Un title took a hit this weekend when it lost 0-1 to Paris St.-Germain at Parc des Princes. Coming Up: No matches this week.
24. Schalke 04 (Ger) (NR) – Only through the magic of Super Bonus Points could the tenth-place team in the Bundesliga make the rankings. Schalke earned the bonus points, though, by eliminating Inter Milan from the Champions League with a 2-1 victory to advance to the semifinals. Domestically, Schalke held form by settling for a 1-1 draw with Werder Bremen. Coming Up: Schalke 04 returns to action on Saturday at home against Kaiserslautern.
25. Villarreal (Esp) (22) – With a 3-1 victory in Enschede against Twente, Villarreal advanced to the semifinals of the Europa League. Coming Up: Later this afternoon, Villarreal will host Real Zaragoza in its weekly La Liga match. In its next weekly matchup, Villarreal will take on Sevilla on Sunday.
Bubbling Under: Celtic (Sco), Lazio (Ita), LDU Quito (Ecu), Tottenham Hotspur (Eng), Zenit St. Petersburg (Rus).
Next Five: Dynamo Kyiv (Ukr), PSV Eindhoven (Ned), Trabzonspor (Tur), Udinese (Ita), Vélez Sarsfield (Arg).
Matches This Week Between WCR Top 25 Clubs:
20 April – (2) Barcelona vs (3) Real Madrid
20 April – (7) Porto at (14) Benica
23 April – (3) Real Madrid at (13) Valencia
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