A complete 360 took place in the 1996 rankings from 1995. In 1995, Ajax won the European Champions Cup only to finish second to Juventus in the rankings because of the lower ranking of the Eredivisie. In 1996, Juventus defeated Ajax on penalty kicks in the final of the European Champions Cup, but still finished behind Ajax in the rankings because AC Milan was able to take the Serie A title away from Juventus. The other European tournaments both involved French clubs in the finals as Paris St.-Germain defeated Rapid Vienna 1-0 to win the European Cup Winners’ Cup and Bordeaux fell 1-5 in aggregate to Bayern Munich in the final of the UEFA Cup.
The two major South American cups both ended in 2-1 aggregate victories for Argentine clubs over Colombian clubs in the final with River Plate winning its second (and most recent) Copa Libertadores title with a final victory over América de Cali and Lanús defeating Independiente Santa Fe in the final of the Copa CONMEBOL. Further north, Cruz Azul won it’s fourth Copa de Campeones y Subcampeones, and first in 25 years, by finishing two points ahead of fellow Mexican club Necaxa in the final group.
Zamalek also won its fourth continental title in 1996, defeating Nigeria’s Shooting Stars on penalty kicks in the final of the African Champions Cup. Fellow Egyptian club Al Mokaoulun had an easier time in the final of the African Cup Winners’ Cup, defeating AC Sodigraf (Zai) 4-0 in aggregate. Finally, the CAF Cup was won by Morocco’s RAC Marrakech, which took the cup from Tunisia’s Etoile du Sahel by virtue of away goals.
In Asia, South Korea began a streak of dominance in the Asian Champions Cup with Ilhuwa Chunma’s 1-0 extra time victory over Saudi Arabia’s Al Nasr in the 1996 final. In the Asian Cup Winners’ Cup, Bellmare Hiratsuka (Jap) defeated Talaba (Irq) 2-1 in the tournament final.
World Club Rankings – Top 25 Clubs in the World – 1996
1. Ajax (Ned) – European Champions League- Runner-Up; Fourth Number One Ranking; First Number One Ranking since 1973.
2. Juventus (Ita) – European Champions League- Champion; Fifth consecutive Top 25 ranking.
3. AC Milan (Ita) – UEFA Cup- QF; Tenth consecutive Top 25 ranking.
4. Auxerre (Fra) – UEFA- 2R; Highest ever ranking.
5. Atlético Madrid (Esp) – Highest ever ranking.
6. América de Cali (Col) – Copa Libertadores- Runner-Up; Highest ever ranking.
7. Panathinaikos (Gre) – ECL- SF; Highest ever ranking.
8. Paris St.-Germain (Fra) – Cup Winners’ Cup- Champion; Highest ever ranking.
9. PSV Eindhoven (Ned) – UEFA- QF.
10. Lazio (Ita) – UEFA- 2R.
11. Cruz Azul (Mex) – Copa de Campeones y Subcampeones- Champion; First ranking since 1971.
12. Gremio (Bra) – SACL- SF.
13. Vélez Sarsfield (Arg) – First Top 25 ranking since 1974.
14. Nantes (Fra) – ECL- SF.
15. Porto (Por) – ECL- GS.
16. Necaxa (Mex) – CdCyS- RU; Highest ever ranking.
17. Cruzeiro (Bra)
18. Deportivo Cali (Col) – Only Top 25 ranking.
19. Valencia (Esp)
20. Monaco (Fra) – UEFA- 1R.
21. Barcelona (Esp) – UEFA- SF.
22. Alajuense (Crc) – CdCyS- QF.
23. Palmeiras (Bra) – Copa CONMEBOL- 1R.
24. Feyenoord (Ned) – ECWC- SF.
25. Fiorentina (Ita) – First Top 25 ranking since 1969.
Past final season Top 25s: 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 1995, 1994, 1993, 1992, 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.
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