Soccer Source

No more questions: Barca's the best

2009-05-28T20:50:00.004-04:00

There was much debate, going into yesterday's Champions League final, about which team was the best in the world. The consensus choice, it seemed, was to favor Manchester United--despite the fact that Barcelona led the Soccer Source Top 25 for most of the season (we know that many soccer fans, for reasons yet obscure, do not accept Soccer Source as the final authority on all matters great and small. Their loss).

Okay, so most of the "consensus" was supplied by UK media and their parrots in North America. But whatever its origin, it was wrong. Very wrong. Just how wrong was demonstrated yesterday in Rome, where the newly-crowned Spanish champions dominated all but the opening 10 minutes of the Champions League finale.

It was a clinic. Cristiano Ronaldo was almost completely neutralized. Wayne Rooney? Invisible. Ryan Giggs suddenly looked every one of his 35 years. Michael Carrick ineffectual (to put it politely). The United defense (including its goalkeeper) were left looking like slow, old men on the first goal by Samuel Eto'o. Carlos Tevez, in all likelihood playing his last game in a Man United kit, brought little when subbed in after halftime. Dimitar Berbatov even less.

On the other side, Barcelona's Andres Iniesta and Xavi established their dominance in midfield. Lionel Messi threw the odd hissy fit but was otherwise unperturbed by the big, bad United defenders. His goal midway through the second half settled matters, though Red Devils appeared to have given up the fight long before that. They showed no real sense of desperation or resolve. A team that had met its match and knew it.

Sure there were some tactical decisions by Sir Alex Ferguson that can (and should) be second-guessed (the 4-2-3-1 formation, for starters). Yes, Darren Fletcher and Owen Hargreaves were sorely missed. But Barca's dominance was so thorough, you have to wonder if any of this would have made a difference. It takes a lot to beat the best team in the world. And Man United didn't have it.

Photo taken from uefa.com without permission.

Just how good is the Ukrainian league, really?

2009-05-21T15:48:00.004-04:00

It's good. Real good. Try the best outside the Big Three good. Read on to find out why.

Last year's Ukrainian champs (and runners-up this season) Shakhtar Donetsk (yes that's their logo. Not sure what Waxtap means in Ukrainian or how it factors in) captured its biggest title ever by defeating Werder Bremen at yesterday's UEFA Cup finale in Istanbul. It's an impressive accomplishment for a team that few can claim to have heard of prior to this season. Keeping in mind that Ukraine supplied half of the semifinalists in this year's UEFA Cup tournament (and three of the quarterfinalists), and with the country preparing to co-host the Euro championships in 2012, it naturally begs the question of just how good the Ukrainian Premier Liga is--especially compared to some of the other leagues outside the "Big Three" (that would be England, Spain and Italy). Our view: Very good. No match for the Big Three of course, but comparable to virtually anything else.

Though they needed overtime to win the game, Shakhtar's accomplishment should be no surprise to anybody who has followed the team this year. That includes the Soccer Source ranking committee of course (the folks who bring you the Top 25 (nearly) every week).

Last week, the Ukrainian side made its first push into the Top 10, where they relieved in-country rivals Dynamo Kiev (the other Ukrainian semifinalist and traditionally the more illustrious of the two clubs). Sports betting fans need to take notice Shakhtar Donetsk are the real deal.

Shakhtar have lost just six games all season in all competition. Half of those were in the Champions League group stage: against Barcelona and twice to Sporting Lisbon. The latter two were particularly painful and remain the club's only blemishes on an otherwise superb season. The loss to Barca came at home on the second matchday but only after Shakhtar led for 86 minutes. Then Lionel Messi struck twice, once in the dying moments of stoppage time and Shakhtar's Champions League hopes never really recovered. The two losses to Sporting immediately followed and by the final group stage game at Camp Nou they were headed to the UEFA Cup (they happened to win that game, though it should be noted that Barca had already clinched the group and suited up a bunch of scrubs; no Messi, no Carlos Puyol, no Thierry Henry, no Xavi).

In the UEFA Cup, against the wisdom of football oddsmakers, Shakhtar made short work of Tottenham Hotspur (3-1 on aggregate), CSKA Moscow (2-1), Olympique Marseille (4-1) and Dynamo Kiev (3-1). Each of those is impressive enough in its own right, but we think the win over Marseille is the most telling as far as the Ukrainian league's place is concerned. L'OM sit second in France and still have a (outside) shot at the Ligue Un title.

But just who are these guys anyway? Who do they have on their team? No fewer than five (5) Brazilians make up the team's core, including its entire attack; an attacking midfield of Ilsinho, Jadson and Willian and Luiz Adriano at forward. No surprise then, that the Brazilians supply an overwhelming majority of the team's goals, including both last night (Jadson and Luiz Adriano). Yet to date, only one of these Brazilians has received so much as a look from the country's national team (that would be Ilsinho, who was capped once, in 2007) though Willian was capped at the U-20 level.

It's not just Brazilians though. The club also has Polish (Mariusz Lewandowski), Romanian (Razvan Rat), Czech (Tomáš Hübschman) and Croatian (Darijo Srna, the team's captain) internationals. And of course Ukrainian: goalkeeper Andriy Pyatov and left mid Oleksiy Hai start for club and country, defenders Oleksandr Kucher, Dmytro Chyhrynskyi and Vyacheslav Shevchuk have a few caps to their credit (so does reserve striker Yevhen Seleznyov) and another reserve striker, Oleksandr Hladky, is at 21 one of the bright young hopes for the country (he too is a regular starter for the national team, though not for the club due to the Brazilians).

Interesting stuff, but none of this tells us how good the league is as a whole. Okay, take a look at Dynamo Kiev: The team that won this year's Ukrainian championship also made it to the Champions League and had a slightly better time of it than Shakhtar, drawing Arsenal once and defeating Porto away--a feat only one other European club pulled off this season (Man U. fans know who, of course). In the UEFA Cup it eliminated Valencia, who currently sit fifth in Spain, as well as Paris Saint Germain (fourth in France).

But wait, there was another Ukrainian clubs that played in Europe. Metalist Kharkov won a UEFA Cup group that included Hertha Berlin (fourth in Germany), Benfica Lisbon (third in Portugal), Galatasaray (third in Turkey) and Greek champions Olympiakos. The wins over Galatasaray and Benfica came away and the team did not give up a single goal in the entire group stage. They then eliminated Sampdoria Genoa (okay just 12th in Serie A) before coming up short against Dynamo Kiev in the quarterfinals.

The moral of the story? Pound for pound, we will take the top three clubs in the Ukraine over any other (non Big Three) country's. Disagree? Go ahead and name a country. We dare ya. We double dare ya.

No Top 25 this week--holding mode

2009-05-18T15:18:00.005-04:00

The Soccer Source Top 25 was not going to change much this week, so instead of going through the labor-intensive process of putting a whole list together, we offer the following highlights from the world of top club soccer:

Congratulations to FC Barcelona, Manchester United and Inter Milan, all of whom clinched their domestic league titles over the weekend. They are joined by FC Porto, Dynamo Kiev, AZ Alkmaar and Olympiakos, who had previously clinched their countries' leagues.

Olympique Lyonnais will not repeat as French champs. This despite an impressive 3-1 victory at Olympique Marseille yesterday. Put that one down in the "too little, too late" column. It will be the first time since 2001 that l'OL are not crowned French champions. The end of an era.

Lyon's victory is nevertheless significant, as it puts Girondins Bordeaux in the driver's seat for Ligue Un glory. With a three point lead and two matchdays remaining, a victory Saturday against 11th-placed Monaco will in all likelihood give les Girondins their first French league title in a decade. But if Bordeaux blow it at home this weekend, and Marseille win at Nancy (which they should. Nancy sit 13th and have nothing left to play for, not even the threat of relegation) it sets up an intriguing final match day. Lyon play their last game at Caen, who are struggling against relegation (two points clear of the drop zone at time of this writing) while Marseille host seventh-placed Rennes. Bordeaux have the edge in goal difference--for now (plus 28 to Marseille's plus 27). So to paraphrase Harvey Keitel's character in Pulp Fiction: let's not get ahead of ourselves.

Perhaps even more interesting than the French race is the German one, where VfL Wolfsburg can all but taste their first-ever Bundesliga title. The "Wolves" will in all likelihood need just one point from their clash with UEFA Cup finalist Werder Bremen this weekend. Perhaps by then Werder will be UEFA Cup champs, which might lead to a bit of a (literal and figurative) hangover when the clubs meet Saturday. The other two clubs with a shot at the Bundesliga "Schale" (it means bowl and is used to refer to the Bundesliga silverware, which is literally a big plate. Don't know why they don't call it "Teller", the German word for plate. Maybe one of our German readers can explain) Bayern Munich and VfB Stuttgart, face each other in Munich this weekend. With Wolfsburg's goal difference seven better than Bayern's (and 14 better than Stuttgart's) that game will not only need a winner, but also a loss by Wolfsburg for it to have an impact on who takes the aforementioned silverware.

Finally, in Scotland, Glasgow Rangers are in the driver's seat for their first title since 2005. To accomplish this feat, Walter Smith's men just need to win at Dundee United Sunday. With a two point lead over their friendly rivals from Parkhead, a draw might suffice as well--assuming, that is, that Celtic don't win their final match against Hearts. With the better goal difference (barely), Gordon Strachan's club would leapfrog their rivals in that scenario.

As for the Top 25, we'll be back next week when these matters (with one possible exception; the French title) are settled.

The world's top 25 soccer clubs, May 11, 2009

2009-05-11T18:11:00.004-04:00

A lot has happened and much of it exactly like readers of this blog might have anticipated. The Top 25 once again rang true as predictor of European Champions League results. But in the UEFA Cup, things did not exactly go according to script. Meanwhile, the swine flu has thrown a wrench in the Copa Libertadores, which will unfortunately prevent us from getting realistic gauge of Mexican league clubs against their South American rivals. Read on.

1 (1). FC Barcelona
A lot has been said and written about Barca's advance past Chelsea into the Champions League final. So we're not going to add more fuel to that fire, least of all because we covered the matter already. Suffice it to say that despite a small slip-up over the weekend (a 3-3 draw against Villareal) right now Barcelona are the best soccer club in the world. Period. Only one team can challenge them to this claim and that event will take place May 27 in Rome.
Next Up: Against Atletico Bilbao in the Copa del Rey final Wednesday. We think the final is only one leg as opposed to all the other stages? If so, the blaugrana have a very realistic chance to pick up two pieces of silverware next week. Barca's La Liga lead is eight points with three games remaining. According to our calculations that means a point at Mallorca Sunday will suffice to take home the second piece of silverware.
Against Top 25 (when they were Top 25): Beat Atletico Madrid at home (6-1, Oct. 4), beat Sporting Lisbon at home (3-1, Sept. 16), beat Sporting Lisbon away (5-2, Nov. 26), beat Sevilla away (3-0, Nov. 29), beat Valencia at home (4-0, Dec. 6), beat Real Madrid at home (2-0, Dec. 13), won at Villareal (2-1, Dec. 21), beat Atletico Madrid over two legs (5-2 aggregate) in the Copa del Rey, beat Olympique Lyon in the Champions League round of 16, beat Bayern Munich in Champions League quarterfinal, won at Real Madrid (6-2, May 2), beat Chelsea in Champions League semifinal.

2 (2). Manchester United
No surprises here. Sir Alex' men put Arsenal to the sword as expected at Old Trafford and followed this up with a 2-0 win over Man City on the weekend. Their three point Premiership lead is larger than it appears as Red Devils have a game in hand over Liverpool, who can rightfully be viewed as their only real opposition at this stage of affairs.
Next Up: Visit Wigan Wednesday. Host Arsenal again Saturday.
Against Top 25: Lost to Zenit St. Petersburg (2-1), lost at Liverpool (2-1, Sept. 13), tied Villareal at home (0-0, Sept. 17) and away (0-0, Nov. 25), tied at Chelsea (1-1, Sept. 21), beat Celtic at home (3-0, Oct. 22) and tied at Celtic Park (1-1, Nov. 6), lost at Arsenal (2-1, Nov. 8), beat Chelsea at home (3-0, Jan. 11), beat Inter Milan in Champions League round of 16, lost at home to Liverpool (4-1, March 14), beat Porto in the Champions League quarterfinals.

3. (3). Chelsea
After the embarrassing display at Stamford Bridge at midweek, Blues took out their frustrations on poor Arsenal at Emirates on Sunday. The final 4-1 score serves as a reminder once more of just how wide the gap is between the "Big Three" and Gunners. More importantly, it is the type of "quality victory" Chelsea needed to convince the Soccer Source ranking committee they deserve a higher spot than Liverpool (whom they trail in the Premiership standings). Further reason being that Blues eliminated Reds from the Champions League final. Yes Liverpool beat Chelsea twice in Premiership action but the Champs League carries more weight, folks. Sorry.
Next Up: Host Blackburn Sunday. Chelsea's ship has sailed as far as the Premiership is concerned. Six points are too much to make up in three games and if Man U. win at midweek Blues will be mathematically eliminated as well. But there's still the FA Cup final to look forward to. That takes place May 30.
Against Top 25 clubs: Tied Man U at home (1-1, Sept. 21), lost to Liverpool (1-0, Oct. 25), lost to Arsenal at home (2-1, Nov. 30), lost at Man United (3-0, Jan. 11), lost at Liverpool (2-0, Feb. 1), won at Aston Villa (1-0, Feb. 21), beat Liverpool in the Champions League quarterfinal, lost to Barcelona in the Champions League semifinals.

4 (4). Liverpool
Reds continue to play out the string, hoping (it appears in vain) that Man U slip up. Last week they did their duty against West Ham, winning 3-0 at Upton Park.
Next Up: Visit West Brom Sunday and Spurs May 24. And that's all she wrote.
Against Top 25: Beat Manchester United (2-1, Sept. 13), beat Olympique Marseille on the road (2-1, Sept. 16), tied Atletico Madrid (1-1 at Madrid, Oct. 22 and 1-1 at Anfield, Nov. 6), won at Chelsea (1-0, Oct. 26), tied at Arsenal (1-1, Dec. 21), beat Chelsea at home (2-0, Feb. 1), beat Real Madrid in the Champions League round of 16, won at Man United (4-1, March 14), lost to Chelsea in the Champions League quarterfinals, tied Arsenal at home (4-4, April 22).

5 (5). Inter Milan
The nerazurri were unable to take advantage of AC Milan's slip-up against Juventus (more on that later), managing just a 2-2 draw with lowly Chievo. If we had somewhere to put Inter (i.e. a lower spot in the table) we'd send them there. But with Jose Mourinho's men approaching another scudetto in spite of the resent result, fifth place is theirs. For now.
Next Up: Host Siena Sunday. Three games remain in the Serie A season, with Inter holding on to a seven point lead. In other words: if they win this game, they wrap up the scudetto. If not, they have another chance at Cagliari in the penultimate matchday. Or if that fails againt Atalanta Bergamo on the last day. Of those teams, only Cagliari are a top half of the table side. So we don't see Inter blowing this one.
Against Top 25: Lost to AC Milan (1-0, Sept. 28), won at Panathinaikos (2-0, Sept. 16), tied at Fiorentina (0-0, Oct. 29), beat Udinese (1-0, Nov. 9), beat Juventus (1-0, Nov. 22), beat AS Roma in Coppa Italia (2-1, Jan. 21), beat AC Milan (2-1, Feb. 15), tied AS Roma (3-3, March 1), lost to Manchester United in Champions League round of 16, tied at Juventus (1-1, April 18).

6 (7). Porto
Beat Nacional Funchal to wrap up Liga Sagres. Their fifth (we think?) domestic title in a row. That piece of silverware is enough to move them past Arsenal and into sixth place in our Top 25 (yes, we know Arse beat them 4-nil back in September, which remains Porto's worst game of the year--by a significant margin). The Champions League quarterfinal with Man United showed us just how good this team is. One could even make the case for the fifth slot in the Top 25. If they wrap up the Portuguese cup (the final is May 31 against Pacos de Ferreira) the Soccer Source ranking committee may just have the evidence it needs. We shall see.
Next Up: Who cares? It's over. Just the cup finale May 31 remains worth keeping an eye on.
Against Top 25: Lost at Arsenal (4-0, Sept. 30), won at Sporting Lisbon (2-1, Oct. 5), lost at home to Dynamo Kiev (1-0, Oct. 21), won at Kiev (2-1, Nov. 5), beat Arsenal at home (2-0, Dec. 10), beat Atletico Madrid over two legs in the Champions League round of 16, lost to Manchester United in Champions League quarterfinal.

7 (6). Arsenal
Gunners got stomped on twice last week, at Old Trafford in the second leg of the Champions League semifinal and at home to Chelsea. Not that the latter result matters much. Or at all, even (other than to us of course). Arse are solidly in fourth place and with just a pair of games left cannot move in either direction.
Next Up: A last chance to play spoiler as they visit Old Trafford again. Sorry Liverpool fans, it's unlikely to happen.
Against Top 25: Tied Dynamo Kiev away (1-1, Sept. 17) won at home (1-0, Nov. 25), beat Man United at home (2-1, Nov. 8), beat Chelsea away (2-1, Nov. 30), tied Liverpool at home (1-1, Dec. 21), beat AS Roma in the Champions League round of 16, beat Villareal in the Champions League quarterfinal, tied at Liverpool (4-4, April 22), lost to Man United in the Champions League semifinal.

8 (8). Real Madrid
We were expecting good, even great things from Real this season. Unfortunately the 2008-2009 campaign has turned out to be a bitter disappointment. A week after the debacle against Barcelona, los merengues went down 3-0 at Valencia. With three games remaining there is no chance of slippage from second place. There's no way to advance their position either, however.
Next Up: Visit Villareal Saturday. Play out the string against Mallorca (home) and Osasuna (away).
Against Top 25: Beat Zenit St. Petersburg twice (2-1 on the road, Sept. 30 and 3-0 at home, Dec. 9), beat Atletico Madrid (2-1, Oct. 18), lost to Juventus (2-1 on the road, Oct. 22 and 2-0 at home, Nov. 5), lost at Barca (2-0, Dec. 14), beat Valencia at home (1-0, Dec. 20), beat Villareal at home (1-0, Jan. 4), tied Atletico Madrid at home (1-1, March 7), lost to Liverpool in Champions League round of 16, lost at home to Barcelona (6-2, May 2).

9 (11). Shakhtar Donetsk
Beat Dynamo Kiev 2-1 in the return leg of the UEFA Cup semifinal to advance to the grand finale (against Werder Bremen) on Wednesday, May 20. Even though they trail Dynamo in the Ukrainian table (by a substantial margin at that) we are moving Shakhtar ahead of their rivals and into the Top 10. Which is where they belong, as anybody who has watched them play this seasons can attest. Remember this is the same club that won at Barcelona in the Champions league (though Barca had wrapped up the group and had nothing left to play for at that point, which is why we do not technically include that victory in our records).
Next Up: Host Dynamo Kiev again, this time in first leg of the Ukrainian cup semis.
Against Top 25: Lost to Barcelona at home (2-1, Oct. 1), beat CSKA Moscow in the UEFA Cup Round of 16, beat Olympique Marseille in the UEFA Cup quarterfinals, beat Dynamo Kiev in the UEFA Cup semifinals.

10 (10). Juventus
Played AC Milan to a 1-1 draw at San Siro. Too little too late from Juve, who are now struggling to hold on to third place and the automatic Champions League qualifier that comes with it.
Next Up: Host Atalanta Bergamo Sunday.
Against Top 25: Beat Zenit St. Petersburg at home (1-0, Sept. 17) and tied on the road (0-0, Nov. 25), tied at Fiorentina (1-1, Aug. 31), tied at BATE Borisov (2-2, Sept. 30), beat Real Madrid (2-1 at home, Oct. 22 and 2-0 at the Bernabeu, Nov. 5), lost at Inter Milan (1-0, Nov. 22), beat AC Milan at home (4-2, Dec. 14), lost to Chelsea in Champions League round of 16, tied Inter Milan at home (1-1, April 18), drew at AC Milan (1-1, May 10).

11 (9). Dynamo Kiev
The UEFA Cup semifinal loss to Shakhtar hurts. A lot. Had they managed victory we could be talking about eighth place in the Top 25. But they didn't. So we aren't. Instead the Ukrainian champs (they wrapped up the title over the weekend) can forget about their top 10 spot.
Next Up: A chance to revenge the UEFA Cup loss against Shakhtar on Wednesday. The two sides meet in the first leg of the Ukrainian cup semifinal.
Against Top 25: Tied Arsenal at home (1-1, Sept. 17), lost at Emirates (1-0, Nov .25), lost to Shakhtar Donetsk in the UEFA Cup semifinals.

12 (12) Olympique de Marseille
Idle last week. A nice respite before a final push in the Ligue Un campaign. L'OM are level on points with Girondins Bordeaux with four games remaining.
Next Up: Visit Nice Wednesday and host Lyon Sunday.
Against Top 25: Lost at Liverpool (2-1, Sept. 16), lost at Atletico Madrid (2-1, Oct. 1), lost to Liverpool at home (1-0, Nov. 26), tied Atletico Madrid at home (1-1, Dec. 1), tied at Olympique Lyon (0-0, Dec. 14), won at Girondins Bordeaux (1-0, Feb. 8), won at Paris Saint Germain (3-1, March 15), lost to Shakhtar Donetsk in the UEFA Cup quarterfinals.

13 (13). AZ Alkmaar
The newly-crowned Eredivisie champs...ah who cares. They're the champs, let's leave it at that.
Next Up: More Eredivisie action.

14 (16). Bayern Munich
Maybe, just maybe, the change in command was what Bayern needed to salvage their season. The Jupp Heynckes era is off to a flying start with two wins from two games. But another German championship won't be easy, because...
Next Up: Host Bayer Leverkusen later today. Leverkusen knocked Bayern out of the German cup so we imagine they won't lack for motivation. Then it's at Hoffenheim Saturday and at home versus fourth-placed VfB Stuttgart in the season finale. But what a completely crazy Bundesliga season! Things are far from settled, with third-placed Hertha Berlin and fourth-placed Stuttgart (one and two points removed from first, respectively) still having everything left to play for. With the way things have been going we wouldn't be surprised to see fifth-placed Borussia Dortmund (who play at Wolfsburg later today) and sixth-placed Hamburg SV to make a late run. Both clubs are five points behind the leaders.
Against Top 25: Tied Olympique Lyon at home (1-1, Sept. 30), won at Steaua Bucharest (1-0, Sept. 17), beat Fiorentina at home (3-0, Oct. 22), tied at Fiorentina (1-1, Nov. 6), beat Hoffenheim (2-1, Dec. 5), beat Olympique Lyon on the road (3-2, Dec. 10), beat Sporting Lisbon in first leg of Champions League round of 16 (5-0).

15 (21). Werder Bremen
The Bundesliga campaign has been a complete disaster for Thomas Schaaf's club. But the cup and international seasons have been stellar. In both, they eliminated Hamburg SV in the semifinals. They face Shakhtar Donetsk in the UEFA Cup final on May 20. The "DfB-Pokal" will be decided at Berlin May 30 against Bayer Leverkusen.
Next Up: See above. That's all it's about at this point.
Against Top 25: Won at Bayern Munich (5-2, Sept. 20), tied at Inter Milan (1-1, Oct. 1), beat Inter Milan (2-1, Dec. 9), beat AC Milan over two legs in the UEFA Cup round of 32, tied Bayern Munich at home (0-0, March 1), beat Hamburg SV in German cup semis (penalties, April 22), beat HSV in UEFA Cup semifinals, beat HSV at home in Bundesliga (2-0, May 10).

16 (14). VfL Wolfsburg
The "wolves" were soundly beaten by fourth-placed VfB Stuttgart Saturday, going down 4-1 at the South German side. They are now level with Bayern Munich at the top of the Bundesliga table.
Next Up: Host Borussia Dortmund later today. Then visit Hannover Saturday before ending their season against Werder Bremen next week. That's some tricky games. It may not happen for Wolfsburg.
Against Top 25: Lost at Bayern Munich (4-2, Oct. 25), drew AC Milan (2-2, Dec. 17), won at HSV (3-1, March 1), beat Bayern Munich (5-1, April 4)

17 (17). Olympique Lyon
Idle last week. The perennial French champs trail Olympique Marseille by seven points with four games remaining.
Next Up: They get their shot at Marseille Sunday but it may be too late for another title, even if they do win.
Against Top 25: Tied Fiorentina at home (2-2, Sept. 17) and Bayern Munich on the road (1-1, Sept. 30), won at Fiorentina (2-1, Nov. 25), lost to Bayern at home (3-2, Dec. 10), lost to Barcelona in the Champions League round of 16.

18 (20). Atletico Madrid
Came back from a 2-0 halftime deficit to beat Espanyol Barcelona to remain one point behind fourth-placed Valencia, who surprisingly (or maybe not) beat Real Madrid.
Next Up: Host Valencia Sunday and should win and take fourth place and the chance at the Champions League that comes with it.
Against Top 25: Lost at Barcelona (6-1, Oct. 4), lost to Real Madrid (2-1, Oct. 18), tied Liverpool (1-1, Oct. 23), tied Villareal (4-4, Oct. 26), tied at Liverpool (1-1, Nov. 5), lost to Barcelona over two legs in the Copa del Rey (5-2 aggregate), beat Barca at home (4-3, March 1), tied at Real Madrid (1-1, March 7), lost to Porto in Champions League quarterfinal, beat Villareal at home (3-2, March 15).

19 (18). Corinthians
Ronaldo and his mates won one and lost one last week. The victory came in the Brazilian cup over Atletico Paranaense and means they will face Fluminense in the quarterfinals. The first leg is Thursday. The Paulista state champions lost their first Campeonato match against Internacional.
Next Up: Host Fluminse in aforementioned cup tie Thursday. Visit Botafogo in Campeonato action Suunday.
Against Top 25: Tied at Sao Paulo (1-1, Feb. 15), beat Sao Paulo over two legs in the Paulista semifinals.

20 (15). Sao Paulo Futebol Clube
Sao Paulo got a pass in the Copa Libertadores Round of 16 where they were due to face a tough Chivas de Guadelajara side. Now, with Mexican clubs effectively boycotting Libertadores action from now and forever, Sao Paulo is through to the quarterfinals. Domestically, things got off to a bad start in the Campeonato Brasileiro which opened this weekend. Sao Paulo lost at Fluminense, 1-0.
Next Up: Host Atletico Paranaense in the second Brasileiro matchday Sunday.

21 (22). Panathinaikos
Won at PAOK Saloniki in the first match day of the mini-tournament to decide finishers 2-6 in the Greek Super League. Through some complex formula, the teams start said tourney with up to three points. Pana started with two, which means they now have five--good enough for first place. Or we should say, second. Confused? We'll admit it's a bit complex but it's also kind of a novel way to decide the Champions League and UEFA Cup participants. And the regular season champs (Olympiakos in this case) get a pass.
Next Up: Host AEK Athens Wednesday and AE Larisa Sunday.
Against Top 25: Lost to Inter Milan at home (2-0, Sept. 16), beat Inter Milan (1-0 away on Nov. 25), lost to Villareal in Champions League round of 16.

22 (23). AC Milan
Drew Juventus, 1-1 to all but settle the question of whether they will be able to make a (very) late run at the scudetto. Still, second place ain't bad. Even in an off-year for Serie A and even though Milan's European campaign was an abject disappointment.
Next Up: Visit Udinese Sunday. Their last two games are then against Roma and at fourth-placed Fiorentina. Fortunately for the rossoneri, third-placed Juventus dont' seem capable of winning games. The four points that separate the two sides will likely be enough for Milan to claim second.
Against Top 25: Beat Inter Milan (1-0, Sept. 28), beat Lazio (4-1, Sept. 21), lost at Juventus (4-2, Dec. 14), tied at AS Roma (2-2, Jan. 11), lost to Inter Milan (2-1, Feb. 15), lost to Werder Bremen over two legs in the UEFA Cup round of 32, tied Juventus at home (1-1, May 10).

23 (-). Standard Liege
Go ahead and laugh. But if you're a fan of Liverpool, Everton, Sampdoria, Sevilla or of course Belgian soccer you aren't laughing right now. With the exception of Liverpool, each of the aforementioned was defeated by Standard this season. And Reds had quite a scare put in them back in Champions League qualifiers, needing an extra-time goal in the home leg to get past the Belgian side. Right now they are caught in a dogfight for first place in the Belgian Jupiler League (by the way, don't they mean Jupiter? Or maybe Jupiler means Jupiter in Belgian? Or maybe "ls" are "ts" in their language? Well whatever). With one matchday remaning, Standard are deadlocked with RSC Anderlecht at the top of the table, even on points (but Anderlecht have the better goal difference).
Next Up: Visit third-placed KAA Gent Saturday.
Against Top 25: Lost to Liverpool in Champions League qualifiers (1-0 in aggregate on an overtime goal in the second leg), beat Sevilla at home (2-0, Nov. 6).

24 (25). Sevilla
Beat Mallora 3-1 to all but cement their hold on third place in La Liga. With a four point lead over fourth-placed Valencia there is little that can keep them from automatic Champions League qualification at this point.
Next Up: Manolo Jimenez side face Osasuna, Deportivo la Coruna and Numancia in their last three games. Only Deportivo are at all decent (they sit seventh). Osasuna are fighting for relegation. Numancia are dead last. So yeah, chances are good los palanganas will finish third and qualify automatically for next season's Champions League. Whether they go anywhere is an entirely different question of course.
Against Top 25: Won at Atletico Madrid (1-0, Sept. 28), won at Real Madrid (4-3, Dec. 7), lost to Barcelona at home (3-0, Nov. 29), beat Villareal at home (1-0, Dec. 13), beat Valencia over two legs in the Copa del Rey, won at Villareal (2-0, May 2).

25 (-). Deportivo Toluca
With Mexican clubs now gone from Libertadores (there were only two, Chivas and San Luis but still) we are forced to turn our attention to the Mexican league, which just completed its Clausura regular season. Chivas lost on the final matchday by the way and will not participate in the post season. The Diablos Rojos, for their part, beat San Luis 5-1 to conclude a stellar regular season (just one loss in 17 matches).
Next Up: The first leg of the quarterfinals is on Friday at Indios. The return leg is Sunday. Yes, one rest day.
Against Top 25: Won at Chivas (2-1, Feb. 19)

Dropping Out:
Hamburg SV (19), Chivas de Guadelajara (24)

One handball aside, Chelsea only have themselves to blame

2009-05-06T19:16:00.005-04:00

A stoppage time equalizer by Barcelona's Andres Iniesta sealed the deal at Stamford Bridge, giving us a Man United - Barca Champions League finale in three weeks' time. Chelsea led most of the match and even had a man advantage after a somewhat harsh red card to Eric Abidal. Blues had plenty of chances to put the game to bed as well. Their failure to do so (especially with a man advantage) leaves us without much sympathy for Guus Hiddinck's men.

To be sure, Chelsea were robbed when a late handball by Gerard Pique was not called. But the way Chelsea's attackers were missing the net, we're not sure they would have converted the penalty anyway. Didier Drogba, how do you not put that one (early in the second half) past the goalkeeper? There's simply no excuse for that at this level of the competition. It should have been game, set and match at that point.

Chelsea will have a handful of claims for other penalties. Only one is even close to legitimate (Yaya Toure's first half foul on Drogba). Michael Ballack's antics after the non-call in the closing seconds were embarrassing and frankly worthy of fine or suspension or both. No way that should have been a penalty, so the referee's decision was the right one. If you factor in a few calls that favored Blues (the aforementioned red card and the first half free kick outside the area on what was a blatant dive come to mind) then there really is no great sense of injustice here. Instead of claiming one, Chelsea should look in the mirror and ask themselves why they were unable to put this game away.

Lastly, a word on the equalizer. Having watched the replay several times, we think Petr Cech should have done better to get a hand on it. He didn't move quickly enough across his goal line in anticipation of the shot and was not in a good position to save it as a result. He basically gave Iniesta the short corner instead of making the Spaniard shoot across his body (and through a sea of defenders) into the far corner of the goal. Was it a great shot? Yes. Was there a blown defensive assignment in there? Absolutely. But Cech needed to do better with it. A truly worldclass goalkeeper would have made the save.

The world's top 25 soccer clubs, May 4, 2009

2009-05-04T00:08:00.001-04:00

The question of who is the best club in Spain was clearly and emphatically answered Saturday in Barca's 6-2 (not a typo) beatdown of Real Madrid. Barring a miracle, FC Barcelona will now go on to claim their first Spanish liga title since 2006. The result gives Pep Guardiola's side the top spot in our ratings as well. For now. As we all know there is still the matter of the UEFA Champions League to decide. But we're definitely in late stages. Only three clubs can claim to have a spot at the No. 1 position by season's end.

1 (2). FC Barcelona
It was by no means a well-played game, but for about 35 minutes of the first half it sure was exciting. We are referring of course to Saturday's beat down of Real Madrid at the Bernabeu (though if you make it "five minutes" instead of 35 you could supposedly be speaking about the midweek Champions League tie with Chelsea), a game that, for all intents and purposes wraps up the Spanish liga title in Barca's favor. All that remains before a (likely) epic showdown with Man U is the return leg against Chelsea.
Next Up: The aforementioned return leg at Stamford Bridge, Wednesday. Nothing else matters now.
Against Top 25 (when they were Top 25): Beat Atletico Madrid at home (6-1, Oct. 4), beat Sporting Lisbon at home (3-1, Sept. 16), beat Sporting Lisbon away (5-2, Nov. 26), beat Sevilla away (3-0, Nov. 29), beat Valencia at home (4-0, Dec. 6), beat Real Madrid at home (2-0, Dec. 13), won at Villareal (2-1, Dec. 21), beat Atletico Madrid over two legs (5-2 aggregate) in the Copa del Rey, beat Olympique Lyon in the Champions League round of 16, beat Bayern Munich in Champions League quarterfinal, won at Real Madrid (6-2, May 2).

2 (1). Manchester United
Man United give the No. 1 spot back to Barca by no fault of their own. Red Devils won both games they played last week, neither with much difficulty, against Arsenal in the first leg of the Champions League semis and at Middlesbrough Saturday.
Next Up: Visit Arsenal Wednesday in the return leg of the Champions League semifinals. We don't expect Man U. to have much trouble with that one. But we've been wrong before. Also host Man City in the derby Sunday.
Against Top 25: Lost to Zenit St. Petersburg (2-1), lost at Liverpool (2-1, Sept. 13), tied Villareal at home (0-0, Sept. 17) and away (0-0, Nov. 25), tied at Chelsea (1-1, Sept. 21), beat Celtic at home (3-0, Oct. 22) and tied at Celtic Park (1-1, Nov. 6), lost at Arsenal (2-1, Nov. 8), beat Chelsea at home (3-0, Jan. 11), beat Inter Milan in Champions League round of 16, lost at home to Liverpool (4-1, March 14), beat Porto in the Champions League quarterfinals.

3. (3). Chelsea
Blues are ostensibly in a decent position going into the return leg of their Champions League semifinal with Barcelona. Unfortunately, we saw Saturday what Barca can do with a little space on the pitch. Unless Guus Hiddinck plans to bunker and play for penalties, Chelsea may not have much of a chance. Or, Barca's suspect defense (partly done in by injuries, partly by a yellow card ban) could give the game away. There's no real way of telling. That's why they play these games, after all.
Next Up: Host Barca in the return leg of their Champions League semifinal Wednesday (first leg: 0-0). Then another cracker, at Emirates (the stadium, not the country) Sunday. By that time Blues may just have the Premiership and FA Cups left to play for. We shall see.
Against Top 25 clubs: Tied Man U at home (1-1, Sept. 21), lost to Liverpool (1-0, Oct. 25), lost to Arsenal at home (2-1, Nov. 30), lost at Man United (3-0, Jan. 11), lost at Liverpool (2-0, Feb. 1), won at Aston Villa (1-0, Feb. 21), beat Liverpool in the Champions League quarterfinal.

4 (4). Liverpool
Reds had no problems with Newcastle, beating Alan Shearer's men 3-0 at Anfield.
Next Up: Three games remain in Liverpool's season: at West Ham Saturday, West Brom a week from Sunday and Spurs May 24. Needless to say they'll need to win all three to have a chance at their first ever Premiership glory. Even then it's a longshot.
Against Top 25: Beat Manchester United (2-1, Sept. 13), beat Olympique Marseille on the road (2-1, Sept. 16), tied Atletico Madrid (1-1 at Madrid, Oct. 22 and 1-1 at Anfield, Nov. 6), won at Chelsea (1-0, Oct. 26), tied at Arsenal (1-1, Dec. 21), beat Chelsea at home (2-0, Feb. 1), beat Real Madrid in the Champions League round of 16, won at Man United (4-1, March 14), lost to Chelsea in the Champions League quarterfinals, tied Arsenal at home (4-4, April 22).

5 (5). Inter Milan
The nerazurri managed to rebound from the disastrous prior week by defeating Lazio 2-0. They maintain a seven point lead over AC Milan with four games remaining.
Next Up: Visit Chievo, Sunday. Their final games are (in order) against Siena, at Cagliari and versus Atalanta Bergamo. Only Cagliari are a top half of the table side. So we don't see Inter blowing this one.
Against Top 25: Lost to AC Milan (1-0, Sept. 28), won at Panathinaikos (2-0, Sept. 16), tied at Fiorentina (0-0, Oct. 29), beat Udinese (1-0, Nov. 9), beat Juventus (1-0, Nov. 22), beat AS Roma in Coppa Italia (2-1, Jan. 21), beat AC Milan (2-1, Feb. 15), tied AS Roma (3-3, March 1), lost to Manchester United in Champions League round of 16, tied at Juventus (1-1, April 18).

6 (6). Arsenal
Arse were flattered by the 1-0 score at Old Trafford but it will be a monumental upset if they can somehow pull out the victory when the two teams meet at Emirates tomorrow. Why? Simple. No Arshavin. But Gunners are one or two veteran players away from being a real threat next season.
Next Up: Host Man United in the return leg of their Champions League matchup tomorrow. Host No. 3 Chelsea Sunday in a game that is of far greater importance to the visiting side.
Against Top 25: Tied Dynamo Kiev away (1-1, Sept. 17) won at home (1-0, Nov. 25), beat Man United at home (2-1, Nov. 8), beat Chelsea away (2-1, Nov. 30), tied Liverpool at home (1-1, Dec. 21), beat AS Roma in the Champions League round of 16, beat Villareal in the Champions League semifinal, tied at Liverpool (4-4, April 22).

7 (8). Porto
Won at Martimo Funchal to edge closer to another league title. With three games remaining and a six point lead over second-placed Sporting Lisbon, it's all but a fait accompli.
Next Up: More Liga Sagres action.
Against Top 25: Lost at Arsenal (4-0, Sept. 30), won at Sporting Lisbon (2-1, Oct. 5), lost at home to Dynamo Kiev (1-0, Oct. 21), won at Kiev (2-1, Nov. 5), beat Arsenal at home (2-0, Dec. 10), beat Atletico Madrid over two legs in the Champions League round of 16.

8 (7). Real Madrid
It really wasn't pretty on Saturday. After a hot start, Real fell apart at the back and had no answers to Barca's prowess. A disappointing way to decide a disappointing year for los merengues.
Next Up: It doesn't matter anymore, but a tough pair of away games, at Valencia and Villareal over the next fortnight.
Against Top 25: Beat Zenit St. Petersburg twice (2-1 on the road, Sept. 30 and 3-0 at home, Dec. 9), beat Atletico Madrid (2-1, Oct. 18), lost to Juventus (2-1 on the road, Oct. 22 and 2-0 at home, Nov. 5), lost at Barca (2-0, Dec. 14), beat Valencia at home (1-0, Dec. 20), beat Villareal at home (1-0, Jan. 4), tied Atletico Madrid at home (1-1, March 7), lost to Liverpool in Champions League round of 16, lost at home to Barcelona (6-2, May 2).

9 (9). Dynamo Kiev
The Ukrainian side suffered a setback in their quest to make the UEFA Cup final, managing just a 1-1 draw in the first leg of the semifinal with in-country rivals Shakhtar Donestks. This means Dynamo will likely need to win the return leg in Donetsk Thursday.
Next Up: The return leg of the UEFA Cup semifinal. They've all but wrapped up the Ukrainian Premier-Liga, with a 12-point lead four games from the finish.
Against Top 25: Tied Arsenal at home (1-1, Sept. 17), lost at Emirates (1-0, Nov .25).

10 (10). Juventus
Managed just a 2-2 draw at home against Lecce to drop four points behind third-placed AC Milan
Next Up: Have a chance to make things interesting when they visit AC Milan at San Siro. If they don't win they can pretty much forget about third place.
Against Top 25: Beat Zenit St. Petersburg at home (1-0, Sept. 17) and tied on the road (0-0, Nov. 25), tied at Fiorentina (1-1, Aug. 31), tied at BATE Borisov (2-2, Sept. 30), beat Real Madrid (2-1 at home, Oct. 22 and 2-0 at the Bernabeu, Nov. 5), lost at Inter Milan (1-0, Nov. 22), beat AC Milan at home (4-2, Dec. 14), lost to Chelsea in Champions League round of 16, tied Inter Milan at home (1-1, April 18).

11 (11). Shakhtar Donetsk
The other Ukrainian side in the top 25 got the better of the first one, playing a 1-1 draw at Dynamo Kiev in the first leg of their UEFA Cup semifinal. We'll wait for the return leg before we adjust any of these teams' positions.
Next Up: Host the return leg Thursday.
Against Top 25: Lost to Barcelona at home (2-1, Oct. 1), beat CSKA Moscow in the UEFA Cup Round of 16, beat Olympique Marseille in the UEFA Cup quarterfinals.

12 (12) Olympique de Marseille
What was a five team race for Ligue Un glory has now effectively become a matter of just two teams. L'OM are one. Girondins Bordeaux are the other. L'OM managed just a 2-2 draw with Toulouse Saturday and are now level on points with les Girondins with four games remaining.
Next Up: Visit Nice Wednesday and host Lyon Sunday.
Against Top 25: Lost at Liverpool (2-1, Sept. 16), lost at Atletico Madrid (2-1, Oct. 1), lost to Liverpool at home (1-0, Nov. 26), tied Atletico Madrid at home (1-1, Dec. 1), tied at Olympique Lyon (0-0, Dec. 14), won at Girondins Bordeaux (1-0, Feb. 8), won at Paris Saint Germain (3-1, March 15), lost to Shakhtar Donetsk in the UEFA Cup quarterfinals.

13 (13). AZ Alkmaar
The newly-crowned Eredivisie champs...ah who cares. They're the champs, let's leave it at that.
Next Up: More Eredivisie action.

14 (16). VfL Wolfsburg
The "wolves" won decisively over Hoffenheim (whom you haven't heard from for good reason; they've been awful since the winter break and now are a distant ninth in the Bundesliga) by 4-0. Still a way to go before their first ever (we think) Bundesliga title but we're moving them up just in case.
Next Up: A tough one, at fourth-placed Stuttgart Saturday.
Against Top 25: Lost at Bayern Munich (4-2, Oct. 25), drew AC Milan (2-2, Dec. 17), won at HSV (3-1, March 1), beat Bayern Munich (5-1, April 4)

15 (15). Sao Paulo Futebol Clube
Idle but learned their opponent in the Copa Libertadores Round of 16: Chivas de Guadelajara. The first leg is Thursday, presumably in Mexico, though there is some question due to the H1M1 virus, otherwise known as the Swine Flu.
Next Up: After Thursday's game, wherever it's played, visit Fluminense Sunday for the curtain raiser of the Campeonato Brasileiro season.

16 (17). Bayern Munich
The Jupp Heynckes era is off to a good start, after Bayern defeated Borussia Moenchengladbach to move back into second place in the Bundesliga. They remain three points behind Wolfsburg with four games remaining.
Next Up: Visit Energie Cottbus Saturday.
Against Top 25: Tied Olympique Lyon at home (1-1, Sept. 30), won at Steaua Bucharest (1-0, Sept. 17), beat Fiorentina at home (3-0, Oct. 22), tied at Fiorentina (1-1, Nov. 6), beat Hoffenheim (2-1, Dec. 5), beat Olympique Lyon on the road (3-2, Dec. 10), beat Sporting Lisbon in first leg of Champions League round of 16 (5-0).

17 (14). Olympique Lyon
The perennial French champs suffered another major setback when they lost at Valenciennes Saturday. They now trail Olympique Marseille by seven points with four games remaining.
Next Up: They get their shot at Marseille Sunday but it may be too late for another title, even if they do win.
Against Top 25: Tied Fiorentina at home (2-2, Sept. 17) and Bayern Munich on the road (1-1, Sept. 30), won at Fiorentina (2-1, Nov. 25), lost to Bayern at home (3-2, Dec. 10), lost to Barcelona in the Champions League round of 16.

18 (-). Corinthians
Time to give Ronaldo and his mates their due. While they are tragically not in the Copa Libertadores the Sao Paulo side won the Paulista championship through an aggregate victory over Santos that ended in penalties yesterday. The Paulista state championship is arguably the second-biggest title in Brazil after the Brazileiro. Corinthians have a solid record against quality competition as well. So why aren't they higher-placed than Sao Paulo? No continental action to deal with, simple.
Next Up: Host Atletico Paranaense in a cup tie Thursday. Host Internacional in the first round of the Campeonato Sunday.
Against Top 25: Tied at Sao Paulo (1-1, Feb. 15), beat Sao Paulo over two legs in the Paulista semifinals.

19 (20). Hamburg SV
Martin Jol's side won the first leg of the UEFA Cup semifinal at Werder Bremen 1-0 but suffered a setback in the Bundesliga title chase, playing Hertha Berlin to a 1-1 draw at home.
Next Up: Werder Bremen again, twice. At home in the return leg of the UEFA Cup semis and on the road in Bundesliga action.
Against Top 25: Tied at Bayern Munich (2-2, Aug. 15), beat Bayern at home (1-0, Jan. 30), lost at home to Werder Bremen in German cup semis (penalties, April 22).

20 (21). Atletico Madrid
Won at Real Betis yesterday to move up to fifth in La Liga, just one point behind fourth-placed Valencia.
Next Up: Host Espanyol Sunday. Then the aforementioned Valencia, at home on Sunday, May 17.
Against Top 25: Lost at Barcelona (6-1, Oct. 4), lost to Real Madrid (2-1, Oct. 18), tied Liverpool (1-1, Oct. 23), tied Villareal (4-4, Oct. 26), tied at Liverpool (1-1, Nov. 5), lost to Barcelona over two legs in the Copa del Rey (5-2 aggregate), beat Barca at home (4-3, March 1), tied at Real Madrid (1-1, March 7), lost to Porto in Champions League quarterfinal, beat Villareal at home (3-2, March 15).

21 (18). Werder Bremen
Lost the first leg of the UEFA Cup semifinal with Hamburg SV less than a week after beating Martin Jol's side in a penalty shoot-out to reach the German cup final.
Next Up: The return leg at Hamburg Thursday. Then host HSV again, this time for a league match. If you're keeping score, that's four games in a row with their north-German rivals.
Against Top 25: Won at Bayern Munich (5-2, Sept. 20), tied at Inter Milan (1-1, Oct. 1), beat Inter Milan (2-1, Dec. 9), beat AC Milan over two legs in the UEFA Cup round of 32, tied Bayern Munich at home (0-0, March 1), beat Hamburg SV in German cup semis (penalties, April 22).

22 (22). Panathinaikos
Appear to have been idle.
Next Up: Play at PAOK Saloniki in the first matchday of the mini-tournament to decide finishers 2-6 in the Greek Super League.
Against Top 25: Lost to Inter Milan at home (2-0, Sept. 16), beat Inter Milan (1-0 away on Nov. 25), lost to Villareal in Champions League round of 16.

23 (24). AC Milan
A week after returniing to the top 25, the rossoneri cemented their position and second place in Serie A with it. By beating Catania 2-0, Milan have five straight victories and an eight game unbeaten run. Their goal differential in the past five games is 13-1. If any of those had come against quality competition we might be tempted to say AC Milan are one of the hottest teams in the world right now. But they haven't, so we won't.
Next Up: Host third-placed Juventus Sunday.
Against Top 25: Beat Inter Milan (1-0, Sept. 28), beat Lazio (4-1, Sept. 21), lost at Juventus (4-2, Dec. 14), tied at AS Roma (2-2, Jan. 11), lost to Inter Milan (2-1, Feb. 15), lost to Werder Bremen over two legs in the UEFA Cup round of 32.

24 (23) Chivas de Guadelajara
Tied at Everton of Chile (not Liverpool) to secure advancement to the Libertadores Round of 16, where they will face No. 15 Sao Paulo. The first game is Thursday. Needless to say if Chivas win this round they will be in the Top 20. Also played a scoreless draw against Puebla yesterday. That drops them to third place in their Clausura group with one match day remaining. The top two qualify for the playoffs though the best third-placed teams can enter through some kind of backdoor tournament, the liguilla.
Next Up: The aforementioned first leg with Sao Paulo followed by the final Clausura regular season game at Indios Sunday. Not sure if they'll allow fans for that one.
Against Top 25: Lost to Internacional over two legs in the Copa Sudamericana quarterfinals.

25 (-). Sevilla
Return to the top 25 after a three week absence (or whenever April 13 was). Their 2-0 victory at Villareal (last week's No. 19 team) did the trick. Keep in mind this club is third in Spain, so that has to count for something, disappointing European campaign aside. Or maybe Spain is just a "big two" league?
Next Up: Host Mallorca Saturday. Manolo Jimenez side then face Osasuna, Deportivo la Coruna and Numancia in their last three games. Only Deportivo are at all decent (they sit seventh). Osasuna are fighting for relegation. Numancia are dead last. So yeah, chances are good los palanganas will finish third and qualify automatically for next season's Champions League. Whether they go anywhere is an entirely different question of course.
Against Top 25: Won at Atletico Madrid (1-0, Sept. 28), won at Real Madrid (4-3, Dec. 7), lost to Barcelona at home (3-0, Nov. 29), beat Villareal at home (1-0, Dec. 13), beat Valencia over two legs in the Copa del Rey, won at Villareal (2-0, May 2).

Dropping Out:
Villareal (19), Universitario Lima (25)

Petr Cech keeps Blues in it

2009-04-29T07:17:00.005-04:00

Some superb saves from Chelsea's Czech backstop Petr Cech kept Barcelona off the score sheet at Camp Nou last night. Blues didn't score any either (done in by some key saves by Cech's counterpart Victor Valdes) putting Guus Hiddinck's team in a good position to advance to the UEFA Cup Champions League final when the two sides meet again at Stamford Bridge next week. We at Soccer Source treat these two-legged affairs as 180 minute games and while we like what we saw from Chelsea in the first half, we still view Barca as favorites to advance (and not just because of their higher rank in the Top 25, though that clearly does factor in).

Which does not mean it will be easy. Barca will be without defensive anchor Rafa Marquez, who left the game with an injury. Carlos Puyol, who replaced Marquez in the 52nd minute, picked up a yellow card and also will miss the return leg as a result. So Pep Guardiola's men could be severely short-staffed defensively, which also plays into Chelsea's hands. We view the narrower confines of Stamford Bridge as a further handicap to Guardiola's free-flowing brand of soccer.

But let's not forget the pressure is now on Chelsea to score, which could put Blues exactly where Barca wants them--vulnerable to counter-attack. It will all depend on how the blaugrana deal with Chelsea's pressure. Scoring goals has been a bit of an issue for Blues lately (just one in their last three games). So don't book that trip to Rome yet, Chelsea fans!

The world's top 25 soccer clubs, April 27, 2009

2009-04-27T00:02:00.002-04:00

We have a new No. 1 team. It's the same as the old No. 1 but different than the No. 1 from last week. Confused? Don't be. All we're trying to tell you is that Man. United have relieved FC Barcelona at the top of the Top 25 standings. Read on for the partics.

1 (2). Manchester United
A week after their dream of an unprecedented "quintuple" went up in smoke at Wembley, Man United got back to business, winning both games to reestablish their dominance in the Premiership--and the world (as personified in this ranking). The Spurs game was a wild affair, with Red Devils coming back from a 2-0 halftime deficit. But the bottom line is with four games remaining in the Premiership season (five for Man U.), Sir Alex' men are in the driver's seat. What happens in Europe is of course an entirely different story.
Next Up: Host Arsenal Wednesday in the first leg of the Champions League semifinals. We don't expect Man U. to have much trouble with that one. But we've been wrong before. Also visit Middlesbrough Saturday.
Against Top 25: Lost to Zenit St. Petersburg (2-1), lost at Liverpool (2-1, Sept. 13), tied Villareal at home (0-0, Sept. 17) and away (0-0, Nov. 25), tied at Chelsea (1-1, Sept. 21), beat Celtic at home (3-0, Oct. 22) and tied at Celtic Park (1-1, Nov. 6), lost at Arsenal (2-1, Nov. 8), beat Chelsea at home (3-0, Jan. 11), beat Inter Milan in Champions League round of 16, lost at home to Liverpool (4-1, March 14), beat Porto in the Champions League quarterfinals.

2 (1). FC Barcelona
Barca beat up on Sevilla 4-0 at midweek but were held to a 2-2 draw at Valencia Saturday. With Real winning, their lead at the top of the Liga standings is now four points. The two sides meet at Bernabeu Saturday.
Next Up: The first leg of the Champs League semifinal with Chelsea is on for tomorrow at Camp Nou. Then the aforementioned trip to Madrid. A week that could define Barca's season.
Against Top 25 (when they were Top 25): Beat Atletico Madrid at home (6-1, Oct. 4), beat Sporting Lisbon at home (3-1, Sept. 16), beat Sporting Lisbon away (5-2, Nov. 26), beat Sevilla away (3-0, Nov. 29), beat Valencia at home (4-0, Dec. 6), beat Real Madrid at home (2-0, Dec. 13), won at Villareal (2-1, Dec. 21), beat Atletico Madrid over two legs (5-2 aggregate) in the Copa del Rey, beat Olympique Lyon in the Champions League round of 16, beat Bayern Munich in Champions League quarterfinal.

3. (3). Chelsea
Last week at this time we were writing about how Chelsea had a legitimate shot at three pieces of silverware. Now we're not sure they can get any. Their midweek scoreless draw against Everton leaves them all but out of the Premiership race. The weekend victory over West Ham was not all that convincing either.
Next Up: Visit Camp Nou tomorrow for the first leg of the Champions League semifinal. Host Fulham Saturday.
Against Top 25 clubs: Tied Man U at home (1-1, Sept. 21), lost to Liverpool (1-0, Oct. 25), lost to Arsenal at home (2-1, Nov. 30), lost at Man United (3-0, Jan. 11), lost at Liverpool (2-0, Feb. 1), won at Aston Villa (1-0, Feb. 21), beat Liverpool in the Champions League quarterfinal.

4 (4). Liverpool
Reds played a crazy 4-4 draw with Arsenal at midweek that does them no favors in the Premiership title race. Another frustrating month of May seems to be in the works for Liverpool. But at least they've made things interesting.
Next Up: Host Newcastle United (with John Carver?) Sunday.
Against Top 25: Beat Manchester United (2-1, Sept. 13), beat Olympique Marseille on the road (2-1, Sept. 16), tied Atletico Madrid (1-1 at Madrid, Oct. 22 and 1-1 at Anfield, Nov. 6), won at Chelsea (1-0, Oct. 26), tied at Arsenal (1-1, Dec. 21), beat Chelsea at home (2-0, Feb. 1), beat Real Madrid in the Champions League round of 16, won at Man United (4-1, March 14), lost to Chelsea in the Champions League quarterfinals, tied Arsenal at home (4-4, April 22).

5 (5). Inter Milan
A tough week for the nerazurri. After exiting the Coppa Italia semis at midweek, Jose Mourinho's men lost at Napoli, 1-0 yesterday. Ther Serie A lead is suddenly back down to seven points, now over a resurgent AC Milan side. Five games remain.
Next Up: Host Lazio Saturday.
Against Top 25: Lost to AC Milan (1-0, Sept. 28), won at Panathinaikos (2-0, Sept. 16), tied at Fiorentina (0-0, Oct. 29), beat Udinese (1-0, Nov. 9), beat Juventus (1-0, Nov. 22), beat AS Roma in Coppa Italia (2-1, Jan. 21), beat AC Milan (2-1, Feb. 15), tied AS Roma (3-3, March 1), lost to Manchester United in Champions League round of 16, tied at Juventus (1-1, April 18).

6 (7). Arsenal
After the eight goals at Anfield at midweek, Arsenal settled down and beat Middlesbrough 2-0 at Emirates (the stadium, not the country). The question remains: do they have a chance of beating Man United? We don't think so, but we've been wrong before as our many critics can attest.
Next Up: Visit Old Trafford for the first leg of the Champions League semifinal. Visit Pompey Saturday.
Against Top 25: Tied Dynamo Kiev away (1-1, Sept. 17) won at home (1-0, Nov. 25), beat Man United at home (2-1, Nov. 8), beat Chelsea away (2-1, Nov. 30), tied Liverpool at home (1-1, Dec. 21), beat AS Roma in the Champions League round of 16, beat Villareal in the Champions League semifinal, tied at Liverpool (4-4, April 22).

7 (8). Real Madrid
Real struggled to win both games last week, a 3-2 midweek decision over Getafe and a 4-2 win over Sevilla yesterday. But that doesn't matter (well maybe a little if you're Pepe). The key is Juande Ramos' men are within striking distance of their hated rivals from the Catalan capital, with a game between the two sides on the docket Saturday.
Next Up: Host Barca Saturday.
Against Top 25: Beat Zenit St. Petersburg twice (2-1 on the road, Sept. 30 and 3-0 at home, Dec. 9), beat Atletico Madrid (2-1, Oct. 18), lost to Juventus (2-1 on the road, Oct. 22 and 2-0 at home, Nov. 5), lost at Barca (2-0, Dec. 14), beat Valencia at home (1-0, Dec. 20), beat Villareal at home (1-0, Jan. 4), tied Atletico Madrid at home (1-1, March 7), lost to Liverpool in Champions League round of 16.

8 (6). Porto
Exited the Portuguese cup with a loss at Estrela Amadora Wednesday. Rebounded to beat Vitoria Setubal in league action yesterday. Their lead remains four points with four games to go.
Next Up: Visit Estrela Amadora in a cup tie Wednesday. Host Vitoria Setubal in league action Sunday.
Against Top 25: Lost at Arsenal (4-0, Sept. 30), won at Sporting Lisbon (2-1, Oct. 5), lost at home to Dynamo Kiev (1-0, Oct. 21), won at Kiev (2-1, Nov. 5), beat Arsenal at home (2-0, Dec. 10), beat Atletico Madrid over two legs in the Champions League round of 16.

9 (10). Dynamo Kiev
What's this? A Ukrainian team in the top 10? Believe it. Dynamo are in the UEFA Cup semifinals (where they face another Ukrainian club) and lead their league by 12 points. They have lost but five games all year; three in the Ukraine and two to teams that are in the top 10. Their UEFA Cup victims include Paris Saint-Germain and Valencia. So yes, we think this is the ninth-best team in the world right now. Belittle us all you want. And feel free to suggest a better alternative.
Next Up: Things are about to get very interesting, as Dynamo are matched with fellow Ukranian side Shakhtar Donetsk (more on them in a bit) in the UEFA Cup semis. The first leg is at Donetsk Wednesday.
Against Top 25: Tied Arsenal at home (1-1, Sept. 17), lost at Emirates (1-0, Nov .25).

10 (9). Juventus
A horrible week for Juve, who exited the Coppa Italia semis to Lazio at midweek, then managed just a draw at Reggina yesterday. They drop to third place in Serie A, dreams of a scudetto suddenly a (very) distant memory. Third place, and automatic Champions League qualificaton, looks secure, with a seven point lead over fourth-placed Fiorentina with five games remaining. Then again, who knows?
Next Up: Host Lecce, Sunday. Have a chance to take back second place a week afterwards when they visit AC Milan at San Siro.
Against Top 25: Beat Zenit St. Petersburg at home (1-0, Sept. 17) and tied on the road (0-0, Nov. 25), tied at Fiorentina (1-1, Aug. 31), tied at BATE Borisov (2-2, Sept. 30), beat Real Madrid (2-1 at home, Oct. 22 and 2-0 at the Bernabeu, Nov. 5), lost at Inter Milan (1-0, Nov. 22), beat AC Milan at home (4-2, Dec. 14), lost to Chelsea in Champions League round of 16, tied Inter Milan at home (1-1, April 18).

11 (12). Shakhtar Donetsk
Another Ukrainian team? Believe it. This is a team that played No. 1 Barca to the letter in a Champions League encounter back in October (and actually won the second game at Nou Camp, though we don't count that because neither club had anything left to play for at that point).
Next Up: Host the first leg of the UEFA Cup semis against No. 9 Dynamo Kiev on Wednesday.
Against Top 25: Lost to Barcelona at home (2-1, Oct. 1), beat CSKA Moscow in the UEFA Cup Round of 16, beat Olympique Marseille in the UEFA Cup quarterfinals.

12 (13) Olympique de Marseille
L'OM advance toward their first French title since 1992, beating Lille yesterday by 2-1 while Olympique Lyon and Paris Saint-Germain did each other no favors in playing to a scoreless draw. The Marsellais now hold a five game lead, but second-placed Girondins Bordeaux have a game in hand. Lyon, now six points in arrears (without a game in hand) get their shot on May 16.
Next Up: Host Toulouse Saturday.
Against Top 25: Lost at Liverpool (2-1, Sept. 16), lost at Atletico Madrid (2-1, Oct. 1), lost to Liverpool at home (1-0, Nov. 26), tied Atletico Madrid at home (1-1, Dec. 1), tied at Olympique Lyon (0-0, Dec. 14), won at Girondins Bordeaux (1-0, Feb. 8), won at Paris Saint Germain (3-1, March 15), lost to Shakhtar Donetsk in the UEFA Cup quarterfinals.

13 (18). AZ Alkmaar
The newly-crowned Eredivisie champs played Ajax Amsterdam to a 1-1 tie. They move up this far by virtue of a stellar record (only three losses, one last week after the league title was already clinched) albeit without any international action at all. That will change next year.
Next Up: More Eredivisie action.

14 (14). Olympique Lyon
The perennial French champs are on the ropes. With five match days remaining and six points and two teams keeping them from first place, their margin of error is now about nil.
Next Up: Visit Valenciennes Saturday. They get their shot at Marseille May 16.
Against Top 25: Tied Fiorentina at home (2-2, Sept. 17) and Bayern Munich on the road (1-1, Sept. 30), won at Fiorentina (2-1, Nov. 25), lost to Bayern at home (3-2, Dec. 10), lost to Barcelona in the Champions League round of 16.

15 (17). Sao Paulo Futebol Clube
The Brazilian champs won their final Copa Libertadores group stage match against America de Cali to win their group.
Next Up: Nothing until the Campeonato Brasileiro finally starts May 10, with a match at Fluminense.

16 (16). VfL Wolfsburg
What to make of this week's mess in the Bundesliga? For now, we're keeping Wolfsburg right where they are, even though the "Wolves" lost at lowly Energie Cottbus yesterday. They lead the Bundesliga by two points, now over Hertha Berlin. How will it look next week? Anybody's guess. With five games remaining three points is all that separate the top five clubs in the standings. Fasten your seatbelts.
Next Up: Host Hoffenheim Saturday.
Against Top 25: Lost at Bayern Munich (4-2, Oct. 25), drew AC Milan (2-2, Dec. 17), won at HSV (3-1, March 1), beat Bayern Munich (5-1, April 4)

17 (11). Bayern Munich
Bayern lost to fifth-placed Schalke 04, which would be a forgivable offense, except it came at home. The noose around Juergen Klinsmann's neck is tightening...
Next Up: Host Borussia Moenchengladbach Saturday.
Against Top 25: Tied Olympique Lyon at home (1-1, Sept. 30), won at Steaua Bucharest (1-0, Sept. 17), beat Fiorentina at home (3-0, Oct. 22), tied at Fiorentina (1-1, Nov. 6), beat Hoffenheim (2-1, Dec. 5), beat Olympique Lyon on the road (3-2, Dec. 10), beat Sporting Lisbon in first leg of Champions League round of 16 (5-0).

18 (21). Werder Bremen
A huge week for Thomas Shaaf's team, who beat HSV to advance to the German cup final where they will face Bayer Leverkusen. They won their Bundesliga match as well, over Bochum, though we don't need to talk about that (for all their international and cup success, it's been an awful Bundesliga campaign for Werder).
Next Up: Face HSV again Thursday, this time in the first leg of their UEFA Cup semifinal. Werder host the first leg.
Against Top 25: Won at Bayern Munich (5-2, Sept. 20), tied at Inter Milan (1-1, Oct. 1), beat Inter Milan (2-1, Dec. 9), beat AC Milan over two legs in the UEFA Cup round of 32, tied Bayern Munich at home (0-0, March 1), beat Hamburg SV in German cup semis (penalties, April 22).

19 (20). Villareal
The yellow submarine won both games they placed last week, over Recreativo Huelva and Getafe, by identical 2-1 scores. They sit fifth in La Liga, only one point behind fourth-placed Valencia and two behind third-placed Sevilla. If these rankings are at all accurate, Villareal will reach third by season's end, five games from now.
Next Up: Have a first chance to prove us right Saturday when they host Sevilla. Actually this is the start of a very tough stretch for Manuel Luis Pellegrini's side. After Sevilla they face (in order) Barca and Real Madrid and Valencia. So the next weeks will be very telling.
Against Top 25: Tied Man U twice (0-0 at Old Trafford, Sept. 18 and 0-0 at home Nov. 25), beat Celtic at home (1-0, Sept. 29), tied Atletico Madrid at home (4-4, Oct. 26), lost at Sevilla (1-0, Dec. 14), lost to Barcelona at home (2-1, Dec. 21), lost at Real Madrid (1-0, Jan. 4), tied Valencia on the road (3-3, Jan. 10), beat Panathinaikos over two legs in the Champions League round of 16, lost at Atletico Madrid (3-2, March 15).

20 (15). Hamburg SV
Martin Jol's side lost both games they played last week, against Werder Bremen on penalties in the DfB Pokal (German cup) and at Borussia Dortmund. They slip to fifth place but incredulously are very much alive in the title chase, trailing first-placed Wolfsburg by just three points.
Next Up: Werder Bremen again, this time on the road, in the first leg of the UEFA Cup semis. Also host second-placed Hertha Berlin Sunday.
Against Top 25: Tied at Bayern Munich (2-2, Aug. 15), beat Bayern at home (1-0, Jan. 30), lost at home to Werder Bremen in German cup semis (penalties, April 22).

21 (19). Atletico Madrid
Rebounded from their 5-1 midweek loss at Racing Santander to defeat Sporting Gijon 3-1 at home yesterday. Four points separate sixth-placed Atletico from fourth place and the Champions League spots with five games remaining. It can still happen.
Next Up: At Real Betis, Sunday.
Against Top 25: Lost at Barcelona (6-1, Oct. 4), lost to Real Madrid (2-1, Oct. 18), tied Liverpool (1-1, Oct. 23), tied Villareal (4-4, Oct. 26), tied at Liverpool (1-1, Nov. 5), lost to Barcelona over two legs in the Copa del Rey (5-2 aggregate), beat Barca at home (4-3, March 1), tied at Real Madrid (1-1, March 7), lost to Porto in Champions League quarterfinal, beat Villareal at home (3-2, March 15).

22 (23). Panathinaikos
Beat OFI Heraklion yesterday. The playoffs are next.
Next Up: It looks like they'll face AEK Athens? Can anybody confirm?
Against Top 25: Lost to Inter Milan at home (2-0, Sept. 16), beat Inter Milan (1-0 away on Nov. 25), lost to Villareal in Champions League round of 16.

23 (22) Chivas de Guadelajara
Tied at UNAM Pumas yesterday to drop to third place in their Clausura group. The top two teams qualify automatically for the playoffs, but some others get a play in liguilla. Two games remain in the regular season.
Next Up: Libertadores acton. Play at Everton CD (they're from Chile) Wednesday needing a draw to advance. Host Puebla Sunday.
Against Top 25: Lost to Internacional over two legs in the Copa Sudamericana quarterfinals.

24 (-). AC Milan
The rossoneri return to the Top 25 for the first time since Feb. 23, if memory serves. Four straight victories and a seven game unbeaten streak will do that. So will second place in Serie A.
Next Up: Visit Catania Calcio Sunday. Third-placed Juventus looms next weekend.
Against Top 25: Beat Inter Milan (1-0, Sept. 28), beat Lazio (4-1, Sept. 21), lost at Juventus (4-2, Dec. 14), tied at AS Roma (2-2, Jan. 11), lost to Inter Milan (2-1, Feb. 15), lost to Werder Bremen over two legs in the UEFA Cup round of 32.

25 (25). Universitario de Deportes
The Peruvian side beat CNI in domestic action Saturday. We found out what CNI stands for. It's (deep breath): Asociacion Deportiva Colegio Nacional de Iquitos. Don't ask us what that means. Something about sports and colleges and associations and nationals? Anyway, Universitario are in a good position to advance to the Copa Libertadores elimination round, sitting second in their group with eight points after five games and a three point lead over third-placed San Luis. One matchday remains.
Next Up: The final Libertadores group match is Wednesday at Argentina's San Lorenzo. Win or draw and they're in the elimination round. Also visit Mariano Melgar FBC Arequipa in league action Sunday. Love those names.
Against Top 25: Beat Libertad in Copa Libertadores group play (2-1, April 8).

Dropping Out:
Everton (24)

The world's top 25 soccer clubs, April 20, 2009

2009-04-20T00:44:00.004-04:00

A week that separated the men from the boys in European soccer. The four Champions League semifinalists are set. Do they represent the best four clubs in the world? Not by a longshot, though it is hard to argue that any of the four belong outside the Top 10. The UEFA Cup semifinalists are set as well. Did any of them crack the Top 10? You'll just have to read on to find out!

1 (1). FC Barcelona
By winning both games last week (we count two-legged match-ups such as Champions League elimination games as 180 minute games) Barca were able to stake their claim to the No. 1 spot. Granted, the second game, a 1-0 road win over Getafe, was a little close for comfort, with a 19th minute Messi goal the deciding factor. But style points count for little at this stage of the season. Barca maintain their six point lead over Real Madrid in the Liga BBVA with the victory. Seven rounds remain.
Next Up: A tough midweek game with third-placed Liga side Sevilla Wednesday at Nou Camp, followed by a trip to fourth-placed Valencia on Saturday. The first leg of the Champs League semifinal with Chelsea follows a week from tomorrow. Barca host that game.
Against Top 25 (when they were Top 25): Beat Atletico Madrid at home (6-1, Oct. 4), beat Sporting Lisbon at home (3-1, Sept. 16), beat Sporting Lisbon away (5-2, Nov. 26), beat Sevilla away (3-0, Nov. 29), beat Valencia at home (4-0, Dec. 6), beat Real Madrid at home (2-0, Dec. 13), won at Villareal (2-1, Dec. 21), beat Atletico Madrid over two legs (5-2 aggregate) in the Copa del Rey, beat Olympique Lyon in the Champions League round of 16, beat Bayern Munich in Champions League quarterfinal.

2 (2). Manchester United
Man United had no answers for Everton in yesterday's F.A. Cup semifinal, finally losing on penalty kicks after neither team managed to score in 120 minutes. But let's not forget Cristiano Ronaldo's heroics (click for YupeTube video) in the midweek victory at Porto. Certainly understandable that Red Devils would suffer a bit of a hangover after that one. Lest we forget they become the first team to win at Porto's Dragao this season (and first English team to pull the feat ever). It was a tremendous effort by Sir Alex' men, who would likely be the top club this week had they managed a better penalties display at Wembley (I mean Berbatov? Hello? Who taught him to take penalties, John Terry?)
Next Up: Host Pompey Wednesday and Spurs Saturday. The first leg of the Champions League semifinal with Arsenal is a week from Wednesday at Old Trafford. We don't expect Man U. to have much trouble with that one. But we've been wrong before.
Against Top 25: Lost to Zenit St. Petersburg (2-1), lost at Liverpool (2-1, Sept. 13), tied Villareal at home (0-0, Sept. 17) and away (0-0, Nov. 25), tied at Chelsea (1-1, Sept. 21), beat Celtic at home (3-0, Oct. 22) and tied at Celtic Park (1-1, Nov. 6), lost at Arsenal (2-1, Nov. 8), beat Chelsea at home (3-0, Jan. 11), beat Inter Milan in Champions League round of 16, lost at home to Liverpool (4-1, March 14), beat Porto in the Champions League quarterfinals.

3. (4). Chelsea
A massive week for Blues. Not only was there the Champions League victory over Liverpool (deemed all but inconceivable a few short weeks ago) but also the weekend win at Emirates to put them in the F.A. Cup final. There is now a very real chance of three pieces of silverware for Guus Hiddink's men.
Next Up: A warmup for the F.A. Cup final Wednesday at Stamford Bridge. Also visit West Ham Saturday. The Champions League semifinal with No. 1 Barca begins a week from tomorrow.
Against Top 25 clubs: Tied Man U at home (1-1, Sept. 21), lost to Liverpool (1-0, Oct. 25), lost to Arsenal at home (2-1, Nov. 30), lost at Man United (3-0, Jan. 11), lost at Liverpool (2-0, Feb. 1), won at Aston Villa (1-0, Feb. 21), beat Liverpool in the Champions League quarterfinal.

4 (3). Liverpool
It was not to be at Stamford Bridge, as Reds miracle comeback fizzled in the late going. They now turn their attention to the Premier League, where they are very much alive, trailing first-place Man U. by a single point (albeit with a game more played). But the top spot in this space is now out of the question.
Next Up: An enticing league match with Arsenal tomorrow at Anfield, followed by a visit to Hull City on Saturday.
Against Top 25: Beat Manchester United (2-1, Sept. 13), beat Olympique Marseille on the road (2-1, Sept. 16), tied Atletico Madrid (1-1 at Madrid, Oct. 22 and 1-1 at Anfield, Nov. 6), won at Chelsea (1-0, Oct. 26), tied at Arsenal (1-1, Dec. 21), beat Chelsea at home (2-0, Feb. 1), beat Real Madrid in the Champions League round of 16, won at Man United (4-1, March 14), lost to Chelsea in the Champions League quarterfinals..

5 (6). Inter Milan
Jose Mourinho's men drew 1-1 at Juventus Saturday, to all but wrap up their fourth consecutive scudetto. With six games remaining, the nerazurri have a 10-point lead over Juve and AC Milan.
Next Up: Host Sampdoria in the return leg of their Coppa Italia semifinal. Inter lost the first 3-0 so don't expect much. Also visit Napoli Sunday.
Against Top 25: Lost to AC Milan (1-0, Sept. 28), won at Panathinaikos (2-0, Sept. 16), tied at Fiorentina (0-0, Oct. 29), beat Udinese (1-0, Nov. 9), beat Juventus (1-0, Nov. 22), beat AS Roma in Coppa Italia (2-1, Jan. 21), beat AC Milan (2-1, Feb. 15), tied AS Roma (3-3, March 1), lost to Manchester United in Champions League round of 16, tied at Juventus (1-1, April 18).

6 (5). Porto
It was not to be for the perennial Portuguese champs, who lost to Man United to exit the Champions League. Still, they played Red Devils much closer than anybody, ourselves included, had expected. Rebounded to win their weekend match with Academica de Coimbra (what is it with Latin teams being named after universities, particularly in South America? Anybody know?). Porto lead their nation's league by four points over Sporting Lisbon with five match days remaining.
Next Up: Visit Estrela Amadora in a cup tie Wednesday. Host Vitoria Setubal in league action Sunday.
Against Top 25: Lost at Arsenal (4-0, Sept. 30), won at Sporting Lisbon (2-1, Oct. 5), lost at home to Dynamo Kiev (1-0, Oct. 21), won at Kiev (2-1, Nov. 5), beat Arsenal at home (2-0, Dec. 10), beat Atletico Madrid over two legs in the Champions League round of 16.

7 (8). Arsenal
Had no problems with Villareal at midweek in the return leg of the Champions League quarterfinal, winning 3-0. It will be a different story in the semifinal with Chelsea, as we saw Sunday (Arse lost at home, 2-1).
Next Up: It doesn't get any easier, with a date with No. 4 Liverpool at Anfield tomorrow. Also host Middlesbrough Saturday.
Against Top 25: Tied Dynamo Kiev away (1-1, Sept. 17) won at home (1-0, Nov. 25), beat Man United at home (2-1, Nov. 8), beat Chelsea away (2-1, Nov. 30), tied Liverpool at home (1-1, Dec. 21), beat AS Roma in the Champions League round of 16, beat Villareal in the Champions League semifinal.

8 (7). Real Madrid
Won at Recreativo Huelva, 1-0 to keep pace with No. 1 Barca, whom they trail by six points. Seven games remain in the Spanish league, including one between the two archrivals. So there is still everything left to play for.
Next Up: Host Getafe tomorrow and visit third-placed Sevilla on Sunday. The aforementioned Barca match is a week from Sunday at the Bernabeu.
Against Top 25: Beat Zenit St. Petersburg twice (2-1 on the road, Sept. 30 and 3-0 at home, Dec. 9), beat Atletico Madrid (2-1, Oct. 18), lost to Juventus (2-1 on the road, Oct. 22 and 2-0 at home, Nov. 5), lost at Barca (2-0, Dec. 14), beat Valencia at home (1-0, Dec. 20), beat Villareal at home (1-0, Jan. 4), tied Atletico Madrid at home (1-1, March 7), lost to Liverpool in Champions League round of 16.

9 (9). Juventus
Juve didn't manage to get the win they needed against Inter on Saturday, and are now stuck playing for second place in Serie A (they're tied with AC Milan on points; the rossoneri have the edge on goal difference). They also have the Coppa Italia to play for...
Next Up: Host Lazio in the return leg of the Coppa Italia semifinals (Juve lost the first game 2-1). Visit Reggina Calcio Sunday.
Against Top 25: Beat Zenit St. Petersburg at home (1-0, Sept. 17) and tied on the road (0-0, Nov. 25), tied at Fiorentina (1-1, Aug. 31), tied at BATE Borisov (2-2, Sept. 30), beat Real Madrid (2-1 at home, Oct. 22 and 2-0 at the Bernabeu, Nov. 5), lost at Inter Milan (1-0, Nov. 22), beat AC Milan at home (4-2, Dec. 14), lost to Chelsea in Champions League round of 16, tied Inter Milan at home (1-1, April 18).

10 (11). Dynamo Kiev
Had no problems with Paris Saint-Germain in the return leg of the UEFA Cup quarterfinal, trouncing PSG 3-0 at Valeri Lobanovski Stadion. Had they won their second game of the week we might have been tempted to move them up even further (actually we're tempted to do so anyway, just lack justification for it) but it was not to be, as a club by the name of Krivbas Krivoj Rog (at least we think that's what their name is) beat Dynamo 2-1 yesterday. But our heroes still have a 12-point lead in the Ukranian Premier-Liga.
Next Up: Things are about to get very interesting, as Dynamo are matched with fellow Ukranian side Shakhtar Donetsk (more on them in a bit) in the UEFA Cup semis. The first leg is at Donetsk Wednesday.
Against Top 25: Tied Arsenal at home (1-1, Sept. 17), lost at Emirates (1-0, Nov .25).

11 (10). Bayern Munich
As expected, Bayern were not even able to make things interesting against No. 1 Barcelona. They were able to win at Arminia Bielefeld Saturday to keep pace with Wolfsburg at the top of the Bundesliga table. Three points separate the two sides with six match days remaining.
Next Up: Host fifth-placed Schalke 04 Saturday.
Against Top 25: Tied Olympique Lyon at home (1-1, Sept. 30), won at Steaua Bucharest (1-0, Sept. 17), beat Fiorentina at home (3-0, Oct. 22), tied at Fiorentina (1-1, Nov. 6), beat Hoffenheim (2-1, Dec. 5), beat Olympique Lyon on the road (3-2, Dec. 10), beat Sporting Lisbon in first leg of Champions League round of 16 (5-0).

12 (15). Shakhtar Donetsk
With their victory over Olympique Marseille in the UEFA Cup quarterfinals and subsequent derby win at Metalurg, Shakhtar take a well-deserved three spot leap in the Top 25 standings. What's that? You don't agree with the "well-deserved" bit? That's fine, you're certainly entitled to your opinion, even if it's wrong. Shakhtar are for real. The fact that they don't even lead their domestic league speaks to its strengths. This is a team that played No. 1 Barca to the letter in a Champions League encounter back in October (and actually won the second game at Nou Camp, though we don't count that because neither club had anything left to play for at that point). Granted, Shakhtar were also able to take advantage of some unfortunate slip-ups of the teams immediately ahead of them in last week's Top 25. More on them below.
Next Up: Host the first leg of the UEFA Cup semis against No. 10 Dynamo Kiev on Wednesday.
Against Top 25: Lost to Barcelona at home (2-1, Oct. 1), beat CSKA Moscow in the UEFA Cup Round of 16, beat Olympique Marseille in the UEFA Cup quarterfinals.

13 (12) Olympique Marseille
L'OM exited the UEFA Cup at the hands of No. 12 Shakhtar Donetsk but came from behind to beat Lorient yesterday to hang on to first place in Ligue Un. They now have a two point lead over Girondins Bordeaux. Bordeaux? What happened to Lyon? Uh, hang on, we'll get to that.
Next Up: Visit Lille Sunday. A date with Lyon looms May 16.
Against Top 25: Lost at Liverpool (2-1, Sept. 16), lost at Atletico Madrid (2-1, Oct. 1), lost to Liverpool at home (1-0, Nov. 26), tied Atletico Madrid at home (1-1, Dec. 1), tied at Olympique Lyon (0-0, Dec. 14), won at Girondins Bordeaux (1-0, Feb. 8), won at Paris Saint Germain (3-1, March 15), lost to Shakhtar Donetsk in the UEFA Cup quarterfinals.

14 (13). Olympique Lyon
Suddenly, Lyon is in freefall. The perennial French champs gave up first place last week and yesterday suffered another defeat, this time to Girondins Bordeaux. L'OL drop to third with the loss. But there's still everything left to play for. Six match days remain and four points separate third place from first. Paris Saint Germain (five points behind the leaders) and perhaps even Toulouse (eight points behind l'OM) still need to be reckoned with as well.
Next Up: Speaking of the devil, PSG pay Lyon a visit Friday evening. Fasten your seatbelts!
Against Top 25: Tied Fiorentina at home (2-2, Sept. 17) and Bayern Munich on the road (1-1, Sept. 30), won at Fiorentina (2-1, Nov. 25), lost to Bayern at home (3-2, Dec. 10), lost to Barcelona in the Champions League round of 16.

15 (17). Hamburg SV
Martin Jol's side beat Hannover 96 by 2-1 yesterday to keep pace with Bayern Munich (whom they are tied with on points for second place) and first-placed Wolfsburg. Oh yeah, they also advanced to the UEFA Cup semifinals where they will meet Werder Bremen.
Next Up: Host Werder Bremen in the DfB Pokal Wednesday. Then visit Borussia Dortmund Saturday.
Against Top 25: Tied at Bayern Munich (2-2, Aug. 15), beat Bayern at home (1-0, Jan. 30).

16 (21) VfL Wolfsburg
The "Wolves" beat Bayer Leverkusen at home Saturday and remain in first place in the Bundesliga.
Next Up: Visit Energie Cottbus Sunday.
Against Top 25: Lost at Bayern Munich (4-2, Oct. 25), drew AC Milan (2-2, Dec. 17), won at HSV (3-1, March 1), beat Bayern Munich (5-1, April 4)

17 (14). Sao Paulo Futebol Clube
It was a rough week for the Brazilian champs, who lost their first Copa Libertadores game of the current campaign at Independiente Medellin at midweek before losing to Corinthians in the semifinals of the Paulista league yesterday. Actually the Copa Lib game is not so painful because they were assured advancement out of their group even before. Still...
Next Up: The final Copa Lib group stage fixture, against America de Cali, is on for Thursday. Not sure when the regular Brazilian championship starts. It must be soon.

18 (18). AZ Alkmaar
Lost at home to Vitesse Arnheim, 2-1, but it doesn't matter. With three match days remaining and an 11 point lead they are (we think?) the Eredivisie champs.
Next Up: More Eredivisie action. They aren't eligible for anything else and haven't been all season. Sadly we may not know how good this team is until the Champions League campaign starts anew this summer.

19 (19). Atletico Madrid
Beat Numancia 3-0 to remain within striking distance (three points) of the Champions League spots and fourth place.
Next Up: Visit Racing Santander Thursday. Host Sporting Gijon Sunday.
Against Top 25: Lost at Barcelona (6-1, Oct. 4), lost to Real Madrid (2-1, Oct. 18), tied Liverpool (1-1, Oct. 23), tied Villareal (4-4, Oct. 26), tied at Liverpool (1-1, Nov. 5), lost to Barcelona over two legs in the Copa del Rey (5-2 aggregate), beat Barca at home (4-3, March 1), tied at Real Madrid (1-1, March 7), lost to Porto in Champions League quarterfinal, beat Villareal at home (3-2, March 15).

20 (16). Villareal
After coming up well short against Arsenal at midweek, the yellow submarine had to settle for a goalless draw with Valladolid yesterday. They drop to sixth place in La Liga with the result.
Next Up: Host Recreativo Huelva Thursday. Visit Getafe Sunday.
Against Top 25: Tied Man U twice (0-0 at Old Trafford, Sept. 18 and 0-0 at home Nov. 25), beat Celtic at home (1-0, Sept. 29), tied Atletico Madrid at home (4-4, Oct. 26), lost at Sevilla (1-0, Dec. 14), lost to Barcelona at home (2-1, Dec. 21), lost at Real Madrid (1-0, Jan. 4), tied Valencia on the road (3-3, Jan. 10), beat Panathinaikos over two legs in the Champions League round of 16, lost at Atletico Madrid (3-2, March 15).

21 (20). Werder Bremen
After getting past Udinese to advance to the UEFA Cup semis (where they will face Hamburg SV in a "Nordderby"), Werder lost at Hertha Berlin over the weekend. They're in bad shape domestically. We're embarrassed to say how bad. But hey, what about the UEFA Cup?
Next Up: Face HSV in a cup tie (I think it's the semifinals?) Wednesday. Then Bochum Saturday, then HSV again a week from Thursday, this time for the UEFA Cup.
Against Top 25: Won at Bayern Munich (5-2, Sept. 20), tied at Inter Milan (1-1, Oct. 1), beat Inter Milan (2-1, Dec. 9), beat AC Milan over two legs in the UEFA Cup round of 32, tied Bayern Munich at home (0-0, March 1).

22 (24) Chivas de Guadelajara
It was a massive week for Chivas. While they didn't exactly get the result they wanted in their midweek Copa Lib match (scoreless tie with Lanus) it is enough to put them into second place in their group, which would carry a place in the elimination round. One game remains with one point separating Chivas from third-placed Everton CD. More importantly was their domestic league match, a 1-0 triumph over archrivals Club America that moves them into second place in their Clausura group (the top two teams qualify for the playoffs).
Next Up: Visit UNAM Pumas in domestic action Sunday. Play at the aforementioned Everton CD (they're from Chile by the way) a week from Wednesday needing a draw to advance.
Against Top 25: Lost to Internacional over two legs in the Copa Sudamericana quarterfinals.

23 (23). Panathinaikos
Idle, presumably because of Orthodox Easter.
Next Up: Host OFI Heraklion, Sunday.
Against Top 25: Lost to Inter Milan at home (2-0, Sept. 16), beat Inter Milan (1-0 away on Nov. 25), lost to Villareal in Champions League round of 16.

24 (-). Everton
Yes, we're biting the bullet and giving Everton their first-ever (we think?) Top 25 spot. The catalyst was obviously yesterday's victory over Man United on penalties. Having an American goalkeeper helps their cause as well (we never said this was purely objective). Everton have had a solid season, particularly in the F.A. Cup where they previously caused Liverpool's exit (see below). Their European campaign was a disappointment, losing the UEFA Cup first rounder to Standard Liege.
Next Up: Visit Chelsea in a Premiership game Wednesday. Host Man City Saturday.
Against Top 25: Lost to Liverpool at home (2-0, Sept. 27), lost at Arsenal (3-1, Oct. 18), tied Man U. at home (1-1, Oct. 25), tied Chelsea at home (0-0, Dec. 22), tied Liverpool at Anfield (1-1, Jan. 19), tied at Emirates (1-1, Jan. 28), lost at Man U. (1-0, Jan. 31), beat Liverpool in F.A. Cup (on penalties in replay match Feb. 4), beat Man U. on penalties in F.A. Cup semifinals (April 19).

25 (25). Universitario de Deportes
The Peruvian side had their weekend game with Deportes San Martin postponed. Not sure why. They are in a good position to advance to the Libertadores elimination round, sitting second in their group with eight points after five games and a three point lead over third-placed San Luis. One matchday remains.
Next Up: Host CNI, whoever that is, in a league match Sunday. We should mention Universitario sit third in their domestic league but it's early days (nine of 30 match days are in the books). The final Libertadores group match is April 29 at Argentina's San Lorenzo. Win or draw and they're in the elimination round.
Against Top 25: Beat Libertad in Copa Libertadores group play (2-1, April 8).

Dropping Out:
Sevilla (22)

The world's top 25 soccer clubs, April 13, 2009

2009-04-13T07:04:00.000-04:00

It was a wild and crazy week with plenty of upsets, particularly in the Champions League. Figuring out how this would affect the Top 25 was sure to be a convoluted affair. Our job, in other words. So let's get to it.

1 (1). FC Barcelona
This one's actually easy. Barca made Leberwurst out of Bayern Munich at midweek, winning the first leg of their quarterfinal Champions League matchup 4-0 (don't look for these results in the "Against Top 25" section. Those won't be tallied until the end of both legs, as this is effectively a 180 minute game. Not that there is much--or any--of a chance of Barca losing this one. But still, just on principle). They then won their domestic game Saturday, beating Recreativo Huelva 2-0 to keep their Liga lead at six points.
Next Up: The second leg of the Champions League quarterfinal at Bayern tomorrow. Visit Getafe Sunday followed by a tough midweek game with Sevilla a week from Wednesday.
Against Top 25 (when they were Top 25): Beat Atletico Madrid at home (6-1, Oct. 4), beat Sporting Lisbon at home (3-1, Sept. 16), beat Sporting Lisbon away (5-2, Nov. 26), beat Sevilla away (3-0, Nov. 29), beat Valencia at home (4-0, Dec. 6), beat Real Madrid at home (2-0, Dec. 13), won at Villareal (2-1, Dec. 21), beat Atletico Madrid over two legs (5-2 aggregate) in the Copa del Rey, beat Olympique Lyon in the Champions League round of 16.

2 (2). Manchester United
Okay so now things start getting interesting. What to do with Man United, who drew the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal with Porto (at home! Which means they have to win on the road this week, which hasn't been done at the Dragao in, like, ever) and struggled to win at Sunderland Saturday? Easy, keep them right where they are. For one, these Champs leagues match-ups are 180 minute games. No use making rash decisions at halftime (though let's face it, Sir Alex' men definitely have their work cut out for them). Man U. continue to lead the Premiership (by one point, albeit with a game in hand over second-placed Liverpool), largely thanks to the exploits of a certain Italian teenager. Hey is he eligible for Champions League play? If so, Sir Alex should play him!
Next Up: The aforementioned return leg at Porto Wednesday, followed by an F.A. Cup tie with Everton Sunday.
Against Top 25: Lost to Zenit St. Petersburg (2-1), lost at Liverpool (2-1, Sept. 13), tied Villareal at home (0-0, Sept. 17) and away (0-0, Nov. 25), tied at Chelsea (1-1, Sept. 21), beat Celtic at home (3-0, Oct. 22) and tied at Celtic Park (1-1, Nov. 6), lost at Arsenal (2-1, Nov. 8), beat Chelsea at home (3-0, Jan. 11), beat Inter Milan in Champions League round of 16, lost at home to Liverpool (4-1, March 14)

3 (3). Liverpool
After a shocking 3-1 home loss to Chelsea in the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal, Reds took out their frustrations on Blackburn, winning 4-0 to stay one point behind Man U. We keep them in third place, pending the release of more evidence, tomorrow.
Next Up: The return leg with Chelsea is tomorrow. Count Reds out at your own peril. There's still everything left to play for.
Against Top 25: Beat Manchester United (2-1, Sept. 13), beat Olympique Marseille on the road (2-1, Sept. 16), tied Atletico Madrid (1-1 at Madrid, Oct. 22 and 1-1 at Anfield, Nov. 6), won at Chelsea (1-0, Oct. 26), tied at Arsenal (1-1, Dec. 21), beat Chelsea at home (2-0, Feb. 1), beat Real Madrid in the Champions League round of 16, won at Man United (4-1, March 14).

4. (5). Chelsea
Suddenly surging Chelsea have emerged as a legitimate title contender, not only in Europe, where they are in the driver's seat for the semifinals after the road victory at Anfield, but also in the Premiership where they are just four points behind Man U. They played great soccer for 65 minutes against Bolton Wanderers Saturday, but unfortunately these games have 90 minutes. Still, a win is a win, even if it's 4-3, and we don't really care about style points all that much. If they only lose by a goal tomorrow they'll have another Champions League one over Liverpoool
Next Up: Host Reds tomorrow and Arsenal Saturday in an FA Cup tie. Everton is up in Premiership action a week from Wednesday.
Against Top 25 clubs: Tied Man U at home (1-1, Sept. 21), lost to Liverpool (1-0, Oct. 25), lost to Arsenal at home (2-1, Nov. 30), lost at Man United (3-0, Jan. 11), lost at Liverpool (2-0, Feb. 1), won at Aston Villa (1-0, Feb. 21), beat Juventus in Champions League round of 16.

5 (6). Porto
Beat Estrela Amadora 3-0 on the weekend after shocking Man U. with the 2-2 draw at Old Trafford. Their Liga Sagres lead remains four points over Sporting Lisbon with six games remaining.
Next Up: The return leg against No. 2 Manchester United. Everything else, as they say, is secondary.
Against Top 25: Lost at Arsenal (4-0, Sept. 30), won at Sporting Lisbon (2-1, Oct. 5), lost at home to Dynamo Kiev (1-0, Oct. 21), won at Kiev (2-1, Nov. 5), beat Arsenal at home (2-0, Dec. 10), beat Atletico Madrid over two legs in the Champions League round of 16.

6 (4). Inter Milan
Jose Mourinho's men blew a 2-0 lead to Palermo, settling for a 2-2 draw at San Siro Saturday.
Next Up: Visit second-placed Juventus Saturday. We'll talk about Juve in a bit. Suffice it to say this will be their very last chance to even make the Serie A race interesting. The gap between the two teams is now 10 points.
Against Top 25: Lost to AC Milan (1-0, Sept. 28), won at Panathinaikos (2-0, Sept. 16), tied at Fiorentina (0-0, Oct. 29), beat Udinese (1-0, Nov. 9), beat Juventus (1-0, Nov. 22), beat AS Roma in Coppa Italia (2-1, Jan. 21), beat AC Milan (2-1, Feb. 15), tied AS Roma (3-3, March 1), lost to Manchester United in Champions League round of 16.

7 (7). Real Madrid
Beat Valladolid 2-0 at Bernabeu to remain within six points of first-placed Barcelona. Eight games remain, which is plenty.
Next Up: Visit Recreativo Huelva Saturday.
Against Top 25: Beat Zenit St. Petersburg twice (2-1 on the road, Sept. 30 and 3-0 at home, Dec. 9), beat Atletico Madrid (2-1, Oct. 18), lost to Juventus (2-1 on the road, Oct. 22 and 2-0 at home, Nov. 5), lost at Barca (2-0, Dec. 14), beat Valencia at home (1-0, Dec. 20), beat Villareal at home (1-0, Jan. 4), tied Atletico Madrid at home (1-1, March 7), lost to Liverpool in Champions League round of 16.

8 (9). Arsenal
After getting the draw at Villareal last Tuesday, Arse had no problems with Wigan, winning 4-1 at the JJB (do they call it that?).
Next Up: The return leg with Villareal Wednesday. Then No. 4 Chelsea in the F.A. Cup. That game is at Stamford Bridge.
Against Top 25: Tied Dynamo Kiev away (1-1, Sept. 17) won at home (1-0, Nov. 25), beat Man United at home (2-1, Nov. 8), beat Chelsea away (2-1, Nov. 30), tied Liverpool at home (1-1, Dec. 21), beat AS Roma in the Champions League round of 16.

9 (8). Juventus
Lost at Genoa, 3-2, to drop 10 points behind the leaders. Not only is first place in all likelihood out of the question at this point, but second place is by no means assured either. Third-placed AC Milan are just two points in arrears.
Next Up: Host Inter Saturday. Will obviously need to win it but even then with just seven games remaining in the Serie A season it may be too late.
Against Top 25: Beat Zenit St. Petersburg at home (1-0, Sept. 17) and tied on the road (0-0, Nov. 25), tied at Fiorentina (1-1, Aug. 31), tied at BATE Borisov (2-2, Sept. 30), beat Real Madrid (2-1 at home, Oct. 22 and 2-0 at the Bernabeu, Nov. 5), lost at Inter Milan (1-0, Nov. 22), beat AC Milan at home (4-2, Dec. 14), lost to Chelsea in Champions League round of 16

10 (10). Bayern Munich
Okay, so Bayern did not look like a top 10 side against Barcelona last week. No arguments about that. But they were without Lucio, van Buyten, Ribery and Lahm (yes all four). And more importantly rebounded (to in all likelihood save Juergen Klinsmann's job), beating Eintracht Frankfurt 4-0 Saturday. That said, there can be no question this team faces some major issues. But they're not out of the Bundesliga race yet, sitting second just three points behind surprising leaders VfL Wolfsburg. ~~Once~~ If they lose to Barca we will move them down to a more righteous spot. Or drop them altogether.
Next Up: The return leg against Barcelona tomorrow. Visit Arminia Bielefeld Saturday.
Against Top 25: Tied Olympique Lyon at home (1-1, Sept. 30), won at Steaua Bucharest (1-0, Sept. 17), beat Fiorentina at home (3-0, Oct. 22), tied at Fiorentina (1-1, Nov. 6), beat Hoffenheim (2-1, Dec. 5), beat Olympique Lyon on the road (3-2, Dec. 10), beat Sporting Lisbon in first leg of Champions League round of 16 (5-0).

11 (11). Dynamo Kiev
Played a scoreless draw against Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes last Thursday, leaving themselves in a good chance to advance to the UEFA Cup semifinals. Also won their domestic league game.
Next Up: Host Paris Saint-Germain in the return leg of the UEFA Cup quarterfinal Thursday.
Against Top 25: Tied Arsenal at home (1-1, Sept. 17), lost at Emirates (1-0, Nov .25).

12 (15) Olympique Marseille
After a 2-0 loss at Shakhtar Donetsk in the first leg of the UEFA Cup quarterfinals, l'OM rebounded to beat Grenoble 4-1 and take first place in Ligue Un for the first time since...it must have been last decade, no? Either way, they move up three spots as a result, even though the loss to Donetsk leaves them in a precarious position. If they can win Ligue Un they will likely remain a top 15 side regardless. If they make strides in the UEFA Cup a Top 10 spot becomes a very realistic possibility as well. But let's not get ahead of ourselves, especially since they're down two goals in their quarterfinal match-up.
Next Up: Host Donetsk in the return leg Thursday, followed by Lorient Sunday. A date with Lyon looms May 16.
Against Top 25: Lost at Liverpool (2-1, Sept. 16), lost at Atletico Madrid (2-1, Oct. 1), lost to Liverpool at home (1-0, Nov. 26), tied Atletico Madrid at home (1-1, Dec. 1), tied at Olympique Lyon (0-0, Dec. 14), won at Girondins Bordeaux (1-0, Feb. 8), won at Paris Saint Germain (3-1, March 15)

13 (12). Olympique Lyon
Managed just a 2-2 draw with AS Monaco to (wait for it!) drop to second place in Ligue Un. When was the last time they were not first this late in the season? It must have been the first term of the Bush administration. With seven games left, five (5!) points separate the top six clubs (Marseille, Bordeaux, Lille, Paris SG and Toulouse are the others) in France.
Next Up: Things get even more interesting, with a trip to third-placed Girondins Bordeaux on the docket for Sunday.
Against Top 25: Tied Fiorentina at home (2-2, Sept. 17) and Bayern Munich on the road (1-1, Sept. 30), won at Fiorentina (2-1, Nov. 25), lost to Bayern at home (3-2, Dec. 10), lost to Barcelona in the Champions League round of 16.

14 (13). FC Sao Paulo
FCSP won their Copa Libertadores match against Uruguay's Defensor Sporting at midweek and lost the first leg of the Paulista semifinals at Corinthians 2-1. Not sure if they play the goofy UEFA Cup away goals rule.
Next Up: Visit Independiente Medellin in Copa Lib action Thursday. Host Corinthians in the Paulista semifinal return leg Sunday.

15 (20). Shakhtar Donetsk
Shakhtar pulled off what is considered a surprise to anybody but us and people who have been reading this blog, beating then-No. 15 Olympique Marseille 2-0 in the home leg of the UEFA Cup quarterfinals. They also won their domestic league game and sit second in the Ukranian league, albeit a distant 15 points behind Dynamo Kiev.
Next Up: The return leg at Marseille Thursday.
Against Top 25: Lost to Barcelona at home (2-1, Oct. 1), beat CSKA Moscow in the UEFA Cup Round of 16

16 (14). Villareal
After an impressive 1-1 draw with Arsenal in the first leg of their Champs League quarterfinal, Villareal lost at home to Malaga, 2-0 Saturday. The yellow submarine sit fifth in La Liga, one point behind fourth-placed Valencia and the final Champions League spot for next season.
Next Up: Visit Emirates Wednesday and Valladolid Sunday.
Against Top 25: Tied Man U twice (0-0 at Old Trafford, Sept. 18 and 0-0 at home Nov. 25), beat Celtic at home (1-0, Sept. 29), tied Atletico Madrid at home (4-4, Oct. 26), lost at Sevilla (1-0, Dec. 14), lost to Barcelona at home (2-1, Dec. 21), lost at Real Madrid (1-0, Jan. 4), tied Valencia on the road (3-3, Jan. 10), beat Panathinaikos over two legs in the Champions League round of 16, lost at Atletico Madrid (3-2, March 15).

17 (16). Hamburg SV
Oh man. After a 3-1 win over Man City in the first leg of the UEFA Cup quarterfinals, Martin Jol's side lost a tough one at Stuttgart Sunday. With the Bundesliga race as tight as it is, they can ill afford to squander any points at this stage. HSV sit third, three points behind Wolfsburg.
Next Up: The return leg at Man City Thursday. Host Hannover 96 Sunday.
Against Top 25: Tied at Bayern Munich (2-2, Aug. 15), beat Bayern at home (1-0, Jan. 30).

18 (17). AZ Alkmaar
Won at NAC Breda, 1-0. With four Eredivisie games remaining, Alkmaar's Eredivisie lead remains 11 points, meaning there is just a mathematical possibility they will not win it.
Next Up: More Eredivisie action. They aren't eligible for anything else and haven't been all season. Sadly we may not know how good this team is until the Champions League campaign starts anew this summer.

19 (19). Atletico Madrid
Won at Deportivo La Coruna, 2-1 on Sunday to move back into sixth place.
Next Up: Host Numancia Sunday.
Against Top 25: Lost at Barcelona (6-1, Oct. 4), lost to Real Madrid (2-1, Oct. 18), tied Liverpool (1-1, Oct. 23), tied Villareal (4-4, Oct. 26), tied at Liverpool (1-1, Nov. 5), lost to Barcelona over two legs in the Copa del Rey (5-2 aggregate), beat Barca at home (4-3, March 1), tied at Real Madrid (1-1, March 7), lost to Porto in Champions League quarterfinal, beat Villareal at home (3-2, March 15).

20 (18). Werder Bremen
Beat Udinese 3-1 in the first (home) leg of the UEFA Cup quarterfinals and drew 1-1 at Leverkusen Sunday. Werder have had a horrible domestic campaign (they sit mid table with little hope of recapturing a place in Europe for next season) but are capable of some brilliance, as demonstrated in their record against quality competition below.
Next Up: The return leg at Udinese Thursday followed by a trip to third-placed Hertha Berlin Sunday. Also face HSV in a cup tie (I think it's the semifinals?) a week from Wednesday.
Against Top 25: Won at Bayern Munich (5-2, Sept. 20), tied at Inter Milan (1-1, Oct. 1), beat Inter Milan (2-1, Dec. 9), beat AC Milan over two legs in the UEFA Cup round of 32, tied Bayern Munich at home (0-0, March 1).

21 (-) VfL Wolfsburg
The "Wolves" make their first-ever appearance in the Top 25 thanks to their incredulous status as first-placed team in the German Bundesliga. Felix Magath's men have won nine Bundesliga games in a row to accomplish this feat. Their record in Europe is a little less impressive; they exited the UEFA Cup Round of 16 at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain.
Next Up: Host Leverkusen Saturday. The Bundesliga's all they got at this point; their cup campaign is done as well.
Against Top 25: Lost at Bayern Munich (4-2, Oct. 25), drew AC Milan (2-2, Dec. 17), won at HSV (3-1, March 1), beat Bayern Munich (5-1, April 4)

22 (21). Sevilla
Lost at home to Getafe yet still remain in third place in La Liga by a comfortable margin (eight points).
Next Up: Visit fourth-placed Valencia Sunday and No. 1 Barca a week from Wednesday.
Against Top 25: Won at Atletico Madrid (1-0, Sept. 28), won at Real Madrid (4-3, Dec. 7), lost to Barcelona at home (3-0, Nov. 29), beat Villareal at home (1-0, Dec. 13), beat Valencia over two legs in the Copa del Rey.

23 (23). Panathinaikos
Played a scoreless draw with Panserraikos, dropping to third in the Greek Super League as a result (but they have a playoff to decide spots 2-5)
Next Up: Host OFI Heraklion, but not until April 26 (presumably because of the Orthodox Easter holiday).
Against Top 25: Lost to Inter Milan at home (2-0, Sept. 16), beat Inter Milan (1-0 away on Nov. 25), lost to Villareal in Champions League round of 16.

24 (-) Chivas de Guadelajara
With Deportivo Toluca losing for their first Clausura game of the year (and being removed from the Top 25 as a result), the space opened up for another Mexican club to join these ranks. (Remember that CONMEBOL, UEFA and CONCACAF must be represented by at least one club each according to our bylaws). Chivas is the choice, largely as a result of their Copa Libertadores run, where they lead their group after four match days. Domestically it's been a different story: they have an even .500 record after 13 games (four wins, four losses, five draws), which puts them third in their group. The top two qualify automatically for the Clausura postseason with the best third-place finishers facing off in a "liguilla" so all is not yet lost for Chivas. Besides, they trail second-placed Club America by just one point.
Next Up: Host Lanus, who have been surprisingly impotent in Copa Libertadores action despite a very strong start to their domestic campaign. That game is Wednesday. Host the aforementioned Club America a week from tonight in their next Clausura game.
Against Top 25: Lost to Internacional over two legs in the Copa Sudamericana quarterfinals.

25 (25). Universitario de Deportes
The Peruvian side beat then-No. 24 Libertad by 2-1 in Copa Libertadores action Wednesday but lost their weekend domestic league match at Juan Aurich yesterday. The loss drops Universitario to second. Juan Aurich relieves them at the top. More importantly they are in a good position to advance to the Libertadores elimination round, sitting second in their group with eight points after five games and a three point lead over third-placed San Luis. One matchday remains.
Next Up: Visit Deportes San Martin in domestic action Sunday.
Against Top 25: Beat Libertad in Copa Libertadores group play (2-1, April 8).

Dropping Out:
Deportivo Toluca (22), Libertad (24)

Iberian clubs cause shockwaves on first day of Champions League quarterfinals

2009-04-07T18:07:00.002-04:00

It was a day of upsets in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals and Premiership clubs Arsenal and Manchester United were on the receiving end. Of the four quarterfinal match-ups, perhaps none were seen as one-sided as these two. Yet both clubs drew their games--Man. U at home against Porto and Arsenal at Villareal--and are now in very real danger of exiting the competition earlier than anticipated.

The danger is particularly acute in Man United's case. Sir Alex' men will need to win the return leg at Estádio do Dragão (Dragon Stadium?), a feat that has only been accomplished twice so far this season, and not since October. Arsenal at least can advance with a scoreless draw in the return leg at Emirates.

How could this happen? It makes perfect sense, for a few reasons. In Man U's case, the team has hit a morose stretch of form dating to the March 14 beatdown at the hands of Liverpool. This was masked by Red Devils' fortunate comeback against Aston Villa last weekend, where they scored twice in the last 10 minutes to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Had United lost that game (as they very nearly did) would anybody be surprised by today's result? Perhaps, but less so. Let's also not forget that Porto, while maybe not as good as its 2004 incarnation (or even close, then again who is?), are still a very good team. They are currently sixth in our Top 25 (a remarkably prescient call there if we dare say so ourselves; Man U. are second). We're talking about a team that has not lost a game since November--in any competition. That's a stretch of 26 games by our calculations. One of its three strikers, Argentine Lisandro Lopez, has six goals in nine Champions League games this season. Another is named Hulk. We're not making this up. Point is: These guys are good. Man U. will have their hands full in the return leg. They may yet pull it off but it won't be easy.

And Arsenal? Even easier: they just aren't that good. Today's result is only a surprise because Villareal aren't either. Like Gunners, they sit fourth in their domestic league. They too are only a few spots behind today's opponents in our top 25 (well five spots; Arse are ninth, Villareal 14th). Throw in the fact that Arshavin can't play for Arse and, well, you do the math. Arsene Wenger's side is still in a good--albeit by no means comfortable--position to advance, but we really don't see how they can go any further after that.

So we really don't see this as a huge surprise or "wakeup call" for the Premiership or anything like that. More like there are clubs outside of England that can still play the game at a very high level. And still, we could very well see three Premiership sides in the semifinal. So in the long run this may not even mean that much. Let's wait to see what happens next week.

The world's top 25 soccer clubs, April 6, 2009

2009-04-06T00:28:00.001-04:00

With the international break (thankfully) over we can get back to what matters most: club soccer, baby. There were not many changes seeing as this first weekend back was all about domestic competition, but that is subject to change at (very) short order. Like 24 hours or less. Here we go:

1 (1). FC Barcelona
Won at Valladolid (it's pronounced "Vayadolid") 1-0.
Next Up: The first leg of the Champions League quarterfinal with Bayern Munich is upon us. Barca host the first leg on Wednesday. Also host Recreativo Huelva Sunday, followed by the return leg at Munich on Tuesday, April 14.
Against Top 25 (when they were Top 25): Beat Atletico Madrid at home (6-1, Oct. 4), beat Sporting Lisbon at home (3-1, Sept. 16), beat Sporting Lisbon away (5-2, Nov. 26), beat Sevilla away (3-0, Nov. 29), beat Valencia at home (4-0, Dec. 6), beat Real Madrid at home (2-0, Dec. 13), won at Villareal (2-1, Dec. 21), beat Atletico Madrid over two legs (5-2 aggregate) in the Copa del Rey, beat Olympique Lyon in the Champions League round of 16.

2 (3). Manchester United
As we all know by now, Italian teenager Federico Macheda saved United's bacon with a dramatic (and superb) stoppage time winner against Aston Villa yesterday. The unlikely victory is not only timely after two successive defeats, it also sends Man U. top of the Premiership table. They have a one point lead and a game in hand over their rivals Liverpool
Next Up: Host the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinal against Porto tomorrow. Visit Sunderland Saturday.
Against Top 25: Lost to Zenit St. Petersburg (2-1), lost at Liverpool (2-1, Sept. 13), tied Villareal at home (0-0, Sept. 17) and away (0-0, Nov. 25), tied at Chelsea (1-1, Sept. 21), beat Celtic at home (3-0, Oct. 22) and tied at Celtic Park (1-1, Nov. 6), lost at Arsenal (2-1, Nov. 8), beat Chelsea at home (3-0, Jan. 11), beat Inter Milan in Champions League round of 16, lost at home to Liverpool (4-1, March 14)

3 (2). Liverpool
Reds booked a dramatic stoppage time victory of their own to (temporarily it turns out) move top of the table, beating Fulham 1-0 on Saturday afternoon.
Next Up: Host Chelsea in the UCL quarterfinal Wednesday. Host Blackburn Rovers Saturday.
Against Top 25: Beat Manchester United (2-1, Sept. 13), beat Olympique Marseille on the road (2-1, Sept. 16), tied Atletico Madrid (1-1 at Madrid, Oct. 22 and 1-1 at Anfield, Nov. 6), won at Chelsea (1-0, Oct. 26), tied at Arsenal (1-1, Dec. 21), beat Chelsea at home (2-0, Feb. 1), beat Real Madrid in the Champions League round of 16, won at Man United (4-1, March 14).

4 (4). Inter Milan
Beat Udinese on the road 1-0. With Juventus dropping points, Inter's Serie A lead is now nine points with eight games remaining. Juve has one last chance though...
Next Up: Host Palermo Saturday, then visit Juve on Saturday, April 18.
Against Top 25: Lost to AC Milan (1-0, Sept. 28), won at Panathinaikos (2-0, Sept. 16), tied at Fiorentina (0-0, Oct. 29), beat Udinese (1-0, Nov. 9), beat Juventus (1-0, Nov. 22), beat AS Roma in Coppa Italia (2-1, Jan. 21), beat AC Milan (2-1, Feb. 15), tied AS Roma (3-3, March 1), lost to Manchester United in Champions League round of 16.

5. (5). Chelsea
Blues beat Alan Shearer's Newcastle Saturday to keep pace with the leaders. They remain four points behind Man United and very much alive in the Premiership race. Let's face it though: Nobody is really viewing htis as anything but a two horse race at this point.
Next Up: Visit Anfield Wednesday for their Champions League date. Host Bolton Wanderers Saturday.
Against Top 25 clubs: Tied Man U at home (1-1, Sept. 21), lost to Liverpool (1-0, Oct. 25), lost to Arsenal at home (2-1, Nov. 30), lost at Man United (3-0, Jan. 11), lost at Liverpool (2-0, Feb. 1), won at Aston Villa (1-0, Feb. 21), beat Juventus in Champions League round of 16.

6 (6). Porto
Won at Guimaraes Saturday to maintain their four point lead atop Liga Sagres. Seven games remain.
Next Up: It's off to Old Trafford and the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals tomorrow. Host Estrela Amadora Saturday before hosting the return leg a week from Saturday.
Against Top 25: Lost at Arsenal (4-0, Sept. 30), won at Sporting Lisbon (2-1, Oct. 5), lost at home to Dynamo Kiev (1-0, Oct. 21), won at Kiev (2-1, Nov. 5), beat Arsenal at home (2-0, Dec. 10), beat Atletico Madrid over two legs in the Champions League round of 16.

7 (8). Real Madrid
Won at Malaga, 1-0 to remain six points behind Barca with nine games remaining. The two clubs meet May 3 to in all likelihood decide the Spanish title, if it isn't cleared up by then already. Real host that game.
Next Up: Host Valladolid (see above for pronunciation guide) Sunday.
Against Top 25: Beat Zenit St. Petersburg twice (2-1 on the road, Sept. 30 and 3-0 at home, Dec. 9), beat Atletico Madrid (2-1, Oct. 18), lost to Juventus (2-1 on the road, Oct. 22 and 2-0 at home, Nov. 5), lost at Barca (2-0, Dec. 14), beat Valencia at home (1-0, Dec. 20), beat Villareal at home (1-0, Jan. 4), tied Atletico Madrid at home (1-1, March 7), lost to Liverpool in Champions League round of 16.

8 (9). Juventus
Juve played Chievo to a 3-3 tie yesterday, to drop nine points behind Inter Milan. It's not over yet, but it's close. Or to quote Bob Dylan, "it's not dark yet, but it's getting there."
Next Up: Host fourth-placed Genoa Saturday before hosting Inter a week afterwards. That will be their last chance at Serie A glory. But second place isn't bad.
Against Top 25: Beat Zenit St. Petersburg at home (1-0, Sept. 17) and tied on the road (0-0, Nov. 25), tied at Fiorentina (1-1, Aug. 31), tied at BATE Borisov (2-2, Sept. 30), beat Real Madrid (2-1 at home, Oct. 22 and 2-0 at the Bernabeu, Nov. 5), lost at Inter Milan (1-0, Nov. 22), beat AC Milan at home (4-2, Dec. 14), lost to Chelsea in Champions League round of 16

9 (10). Arsenal
Gunners booked a solid victory over Man City Ssaturday to remain six points behind third-placed Chelsea. It may be a bit late for a move to third place. Fortunately for Arsenal, with the way Villa are playing they don't have to worry much about relinquishing fourth either. Gooners also caught a break when they drew Villareal in the Champions League quarterfinals.
Next Up: The first leg with Villareal, tomorrow. Visit Wigan Saturday.
Against Top 25: Tied Dynamo Kiev away (1-1, Sept. 17) won at home (1-0, Nov. 25), beat Man United at home (2-1, Nov. 8), beat Chelsea away (2-1, Nov. 30), tied Liverpool at home (1-1, Dec. 21), beat AS Roma in the Champions League round of 16.

10 (7). Bayern Munich
Bayern somehow managed to lose 5-1 at VfL Wolfsburg on Saturday to drop to fourth place in the Bundesliga standings. At this rate they have no chance at winning the title, much less advancing past Barcelona in the Champions League. As if they didn't have enough problems, Bayern could be without Lucio, van Buyten, Ribery and Lahm in the first leg of that series. Yes all four.
Next Up: It's off to the Camp Nou and the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals Wednesday. Host Eintracht Frankfurt Saturday.
Against Top 25: Tied Olympique Lyon at home (1-1, Sept. 30), won at Steaua Bucharest (1-0, Sept. 17), beat Fiorentina at home (3-0, Oct. 22), tied at Fiorentina (1-1, Nov. 6), beat Hoffenheim (2-1, Dec. 5), beat Olympique Lyon on the road (3-2, Dec. 10), beat Sporting Lisbon in first leg of Champions League round of 16 (5-0).

11 (11). Dynamo Kiev
Since we last met, Dynamo won two Ukrainian league matches by a combined 5-0 score. They lead the Ukrainian Premier-Liga by 15 points with eight games remaining. I'd say that race has run its course, wouldn't you?
Next Up: Visit Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of the UEFA Cup quarterfinal Thursday. Should be a good game. We think Dynamo are the better side (obviously, as PSG are nowhere to be found in this ranking, though they did make an appearance a few weeks back).
Against Top 25: Tied Arsenal at home (1-1, Sept. 17), lost at Emirates (1-0, Nov .25).

12 (12). Olympique Lyon
Won at Le Mans by 1-0 yesterday, to hold onto their one point lead in France's Ligue Un. With eight games left and six points separating the top six clubs (Marseille, Bordeaux, Lille, Paris SG and Toulouse are the others), the title chase is about as tight as they come.
Next Up: Host Monaco, Sunday.
Against Top 25: Tied Fiorentina at home (2-2, Sept. 17) and Bayern Munich on the road (1-1, Sept. 30), won at Fiorentina (2-1, Nov. 25), lost to Bayern at home (3-2, Dec. 10), lost to Barcelona in the Champions League round of 16.

13 (13). FC Sao Paulo
Since we last met, FCSP have played four Paulista games (it appears MLS is not the only league to ignore international competition, though in fairness the Paulista is just a municipal league). Sao Paulo won three of the four games, drawing the fourth at Sao Caetano yesterday. It looks like the Paulista regular season has now concluded, with a four team playoff to ensue at some point to decide the champion. SP finished second (behind Palmeiras, one of the teams they beat over the last fortnight) and will likely face third-placed Corinthians.
Next Up: Host Defensor Sporting in a Libertadores match Thursday.

14 (14). Villareal
Lost at Almeira by 3-0 on Saturday. Ouch! The yellow submarine remain fourth, but now only have a two point cushion over Valencia. Third place (in the form of Sevilla) is nine points in the distance.
Next Up: Host the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinal with Arsenal tomorrow. Also host Malaga, Saturday, before the return leg at Emirates, Wednesday, April 15.
Against Top 25: Tied Man U twice (0-0 at Old Trafford, Sept. 18 and 0-0 at home Nov. 25), beat Celtic at home (1-0, Sept. 29), tied Atletico Madrid at home (4-4, Oct. 26), lost at Sevilla (1-0, Dec. 14), lost to Barcelona at home (2-1, Dec. 21), lost at Real Madrid (1-0, Jan. 4), tied Valencia on the road (3-3, Jan. 10), beat Panathinaikos over two legs in the Champions League round of 16, lost at Atletico Madrid (3-2, March 15).

15 (17) Olympique Marseille
L'OM beat up on Saint Etienne yesterday, winning 3-0 on the road.
Next Up: Visit Saint Etienne Sunday. Visit Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk in the UEFA Cup quarters Thursday. Host Grenoble Sunday.
Against Top 25: Lost at Liverpool (2-1, Sept. 16), lost at Atletico Madrid (2-1, Oct. 1), lost to Liverpool at home (1-0, Nov. 26), tied Atletico Madrid at home (1-1, Dec. 1), tied at Olympique Lyon (0-0, Dec. 14), won at Girondins Bordeaux (1-0, Feb. 8), won at Paris Saint Germain (3-1, March 15)

16 (19). Hamburg SV
They did it! HSV managed to actually WIN a game after we ranked them in the Top 25! That's the first time this season this has happened. A sign of things to come? Martin Jol's side move up to second after the win over Hoffenheim (who after becoming "Wintermeister" are now sixth and seemingly in freefall).
Next Up: Face Man City in the UEFA Cup quarterfinals, with the first leg at Hamburg on Thursday. Visit Stuttgart Sunday.
Against Top 25: Tied at Bayern Munich (2-2, Aug. 15), beat Bayern at home (1-0, Jan. 30).

17 (20). AZ Alkmaar
Beat The Hague (that is what Den Haag means, right?) by 4-1. With second-placed Twente dropping points at Nijmegen, Alkmaar's Eredivisie lead is now 11 points with five games remaining.
Next Up: More Eredivisie action. They aren't eligible for anything else and haven't been all season. Sadly we may not know how good this team is until the Champions League campaign starts anew this summer.

18 (21). Werder Bremen
Beat Hannover 96 by 4-1.
Next Up: Host Udinese in the UEFA Cup quarterfinals' first Thursday. Visit Leverkusen Sunday.
Against Top 25: Won at Bayern Munich (5-2, Sept. 20), tied at Inter Milan (1-1, Oct. 1), beat Inter Milan (2-1, Dec. 9), beat AC Milan over two legs in the UEFA Cup round of 32, tied Bayern Munich at home (0-0, March 1).

19 (16). Atletico Madrid
Lost at home to Osasuna yesterday. Atletico are now a distant sixth in the Spanish Liga and in the top 25 only because of victory over Barcelona and other solid results against top competition (see below). In the Spanish Liga, they are five point behinds Villareal and the elusive fourth place that would allow them to qualify for the Champions League again. Meanwhile, their former coach Javier Aguirre was hired by the Mexican national team, which just fired Sven Goran Eriksson. Maybe they should hire him?
Next Up: Visit Deportivo La Coruna Sunday.
Against Top 25: Lost at Barcelona (6-1, Oct. 4), lost to Real Madrid (2-1, Oct. 18), tied Liverpool (1-1, Oct. 23), tied Villareal (4-4, Oct. 26), tied at Liverpool (1-1, Nov. 5), lost to Barcelona over two legs in the Copa del Rey (5-2 aggregate), beat Barca at home (4-3, March 1), tied at Real Madrid (1-1, March 7), lost to Porto in Champions League quarterfinal, beat Villareal at home (3-2, March 15).

20 (18). Shakhtar Donetsk
After returning to the Top 25 for the first time since Sept. 22, the Ukrainian club nobody can pronounce promptly lost at home to Zaporozhye, whoever that is.
Next Up: The first leg of the UEFA Cup quarterfinals against No. 15 Olympique Marseille. Shakhtar host the first leg on Thursday.
Against Top 25: Lost to Barcelona at home (2-1, Oct. 1), beat CSKA Moscow in the UEFA Cup Round of 16

21 (-). Sevilla
We're biting the bullet and putting Sevilla back in the Top 25 by virtue of their play in the Spanish Liga, where they sit third. Their international season was an unmitigated disaster, exiting in the group stage of the UEFA Cup. This week they beat Recreativo Huelva 1-0 on the road.
Next Up: Host Getafe, Sunday. Then it's fifth placed Valencia and No. 1 Barca.
Against Top 25: Won at Atletico Madrid (1-0, Sept. 28), won at Real Madrid (4-3, Dec. 7), lost to Barcelona at home (3-0, Nov. 29), beat Villareal at home (1-0, Dec. 13), beat Valencia over two legs in the Copa del Rey.

22 (23). Deportivo Toluca
The Diablos Rojos picked right up where they left off, defeating Morelia 2-1 yesterday. They remain undefeated in 11 league games so far this season.
Next Up: More Clausura action.
Against Top 25: Won at Chivas (2-1, Feb. 19)

23 (24). Panathinaikos
Won at APO Levadiakos yesterday, 2-1 to remain second in the Greek Super League. The title race is (officially as well?) done and Pana will have to win a playoff to hold on to second place. But there are still a few league matches left.
Next Up: Host Asteras Tripolis in a cupt tie Wednesdday. Host AE Larisa, Sunday.
Against Top 25: Lost to Inter Milan at home (2-0, Sept. 16), beat Inter Milan (1-0 away on Nov. 25), lost to Villareal in Champions League round of 16.

24 (25). Libertad
If we're not mistaken Libertad become the first-ever Paraguayan side to make the Top 25. They do so by virtue of their stellar record in Copa Libertadores so far; four games, four victories, including two over Argentina's almost-Apertura champion San Lorenzo. Libertad have yet to play any domestic games this season, it appears. Something the Mexican and Argentine leagues may want to take a look at.
Next Up: Visit Peru's Universitario de Deportes in their next Libertadores game Wednesday (they won the first game).

25 (-). Universitario de Deportes
The Peruvian side make their debut in the Top 25, becoming the first club from that country to do so. They do this through a stellar domestic league record (they lead the Peruvian Apertura with just one loss in their first seven games) and a respectable 1-1-1 record in the Libertadores (a tough group with No. 24 Libertad, Argentina's San Lorenzo and Mexico's San Luis).
Next Up: Host No. 24 Libertad Wednesday in the penultimate match day of the Libertadores group stage. Visit Juan Aurich in Apertura action Sunday.

Dropping Out:
Hertha Berlin (15), Nacional (22)

No top club action = no Top 25 this week

2009-03-30T11:40:00.004-04:00

Of course no "top" club action does not mean there weren't some professional clubs in action. Here in the U.S., for example we had a full slate of Major League Soccer games (MLS does not honor FIFA's international match schedule. A result of the old tradition of isolationism perhaps?) Whatever. Rather than bore you with a recap of the national team games, we figure this as good time as any to get you caught up on what's been going on stateside.

But wait! There was top club action that took place, it just wasn't men's soccer. In Los Angeles, the Women's Professional Soccer league played its inaugural game. Having watched both yesterday's MLS match and the WPS one, we can say the latter was far more interesting. And not just because some of the girls are hot.

The WPS is not just for American ~~girls~~ women but a veritable all-star league of the best female players everywhere. Yesterday's game featured the Brazilian Marta (widely viewed as the best player in the woman's game these days) and U.S. national team captain Abby Wambach, among many others (most, though not all significantly better looking than the aforementioned. No, there cannot be a women's soccer article that doesn't mention their looks. We've come a long way but not that far yet. Get used to it). Marta's Los Angeles Sol defeated the Washington Freedom 2-0. Go ahead and laugh at the team names. The pure soccer skills on display were lightyears ahead of what is offered in MLS. These ~~girls~~ women can flat out play. They may lack the size and strength of their male counterparts but their technical skills are for the most part, picture perfect. Let me put it to you this way: If MLS players had the soccer skills of WPS players, it would be the EPL.

Now that we've offended all the purists with our talk of women's soccer, let's move on to MLS. After two match days, two teams remain with perfect records: Chivas USA and the Seattle Sounders. The latter are an expansion team that features a name (Freddie Ljungberg) Arsenal fans may be familiar with. The club hasn't needed Ljungberg's help thus far. He sat out the first game with some injury but got his debut in the second, coming on right after the hour mark when his team was leading 1-0. They ended up winning 2-0 over Real Salt Lake (so named because Utah's royal family are investors). Seattle has yet to give up a goal this season. They won their first game against the New York Red Bulls (last year's MLS Cup finalists) by 3-0. Speaking of the Red Bulls (who play their games in New Jersey), they hosted the New England Revolution in their home opener (in New Jersey) on Saturday night. New England, as some of you may know, are coached by a guy (Steve Nicol) Liverpool fans will have heard of. The game ended in a 1-1 draw but Nicol told me his team played better than they did in the season opener, when they defeated the San Jose Earthquakes 1-0.

Did I mention the Red Bulls play their games in New Jersey? They still have the New York name (as do the New York Giants and Jets, two (American) football teams that also play in Jersey). Apparently the league originally intended for two teams in the New York metropolitan area (and named the existing team the New York/New Jersey Metrostars to reflect this. The team later dropped the "New York/New Jersey" moniker, but when the Austrian energy drink company bought the team a few years ago they slapped the New York label on it, presumably because nobody in Austria has heard of New Jersey). The reason I mention this is that there will soon be a second team in the New York area, called FC New York. It will not compete directly with the Red Bulls, at least not yet, but will be placed in the United States Soccer League's top division. The USL is kind of like the second division to MLS, though this being America there is of course no promotion/relegation. But MLS has taken USL franchises and turned them into MLS squads before, most recently with Seattle (and will do so again with Vancouver and Portland in 2011). This information comes to me from the Borough Boys, a supporters group that launched a few years ago to help bring a team to one of the five boroughs (hence the name). The 'Boys may be a bit disappointed with FCNY however, as it will be neither a major league club nor (in the beginning at least) play its games in one of the five boroughs. Instead it has apparently targeted Hofstra University's stadium in Long Island as its home grounds. Long Island, of course, is quite possibly the only place that is more like New Jersey than New Jersey. But an official announcement is expected for Wednesday and more may be learned at that point.

The world's top 25 soccer clubs, March 23, 2009

2009-03-23T00:41:00.003-04:00

With Major League Soccer season upon us, the Yank contingent of Soccer Source's ranking committee were MIA virtually all of last week, which has unfortunately cut into our production capabilities (thus the ~~scarcity~~ complete lack of posts last week). Why do they cover MLS? Because it's their duty as U.S.-based soccer fanatics, say they. Fine by us. Needless to say, MLS clubs did not factor into this week's top 25 in any way, shape or form (nor will they at any time in the foreseeable future). But which ones did? Read on to find out:

1 (1). FC Barcelona
This one really shouldn't be a surprise seeing as Barca won their only game last week by a 6-0 score. Okay, so their opponents were from a coastal town in Southern Spain known primarily as the birthplace of Pablo Picasso (that would be Malaga, not that we expect you to know that. Picasso was some kind of artist, which we didn't expect you to know either). With the victory, Barca maintain their six point lead over Real Madrid atop Spain's Liga BBVA table.
Next Up: Visit Valladolid Sunday. Then the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinal with Bayern Munich. Barca host the first leg, Wednesday, April 4.
Against Top 25 (when they were Top 25): Beat Atletico Madrid at home (6-1, Oct. 4), beat Sporting Lisbon at home (3-1, Sept. 16), beat Sporting Lisbon away (5-2, Nov. 26), beat Sevilla away (3-0, Nov. 29), beat Valencia at home (4-0, Dec. 6), beat Real Madrid at home (2-0, Dec. 13), won at Villareal (2-1, Dec. 21), beat Atletico Madrid over two legs (5-2 aggregate) in the Copa del Rey, beat Olympique Lyon in the Champions League round of 16.

2 (2). Liverpool
Beat up on Aston Villa, 5-0 yesterday. The result is not quite fair but then again, neither is life. So much for Villa getting a Champions League spot though. As for Reds, they now trail Man United by one solitary point. Man U have a game in hand though.
Next Up: Visit Man U beaters Fulham, then host Chelsea in the UCL quarterfinal, a week from Wednesday.
Against Top 25: Beat Manchester United (2-1, Sept. 13), beat Olympique Marseille on the road (2-1, Sept. 16), tied Atletico Madrid (1-1 at Madrid, Oct. 22 and 1-1 at Anfield, Nov. 6), won at Chelsea (1-0, Oct. 26), tied at Arsenal (1-1, Dec. 21), beat Chelsea at home (2-0, Feb. 1), beat Real Madrid in the Champions League round of 16, won at Man United (4-1, March 14).

3 (3). Manchester United
What is going on with Man United? Losing to Liverpool was one thing (though at home and by a 4-1 margin something else entirely) but Fulham? Fulham? The team that was one Danny Murphy goal away from relegation on the final day of last season? Well at least it wasn't at Old Trafford. But this is a perilous time of the season for Red Devils to hit a stretch of bad form. It's crunchtime in the Premiership race and the Champions League quarterfinals are upon us. Luckily for Sir Alex' men, their opponents in said competition are probably the worst team not named Villareal. And of course they have that game in hand over the other contenders for the Premiership title.
Next Up: Host Aston Villa Sunday. The first leg of the Champions League quarterfinal with Porto is Tuesday at Old Trafford.
Against Top 25: Lost to Zenit St. Petersburg (2-1), lost at Liverpool (2-1, Sept. 13), tied Villareal at home (0-0, Sept. 17) and away (0-0, Nov. 25), tied at Chelsea (1-1, Sept. 21), beat Celtic at home (3-0, Oct. 22) and tied at Celtic Park (1-1, Nov. 6), lost at Arsenal (2-1, Nov. 8), beat Chelsea at home (3-0, Jan. 11), beat Inter Milan in Champions League round of 16, lost at home to Liverpool (4-1, March 14)

4 (5). Inter Milan
Inter had no problems with Reggina yesterday, beating the Serie A doormats 3-0. With a seven point lead over Juventus and nine games remaining, the Serie A race is not over yet.
Next Up: Visit Udinese Sunday. A date with Juventus looms April 18.
Against Top 25: Lost to AC Milan (1-0, Sept. 28), won at Panathinaikos (2-0, Sept. 16), tied at Fiorentina (0-0, Oct. 29), beat Udinese (1-0, Nov. 9), beat Juventus (1-0, Nov. 22), beat AS Roma in Coppa Italia (2-1, Jan. 21), beat AC Milan (2-1, Feb. 15), tied AS Roma (3-3, March 1), lost to Manchester United in Champions League round of 16.

5. (4). Chelsea
Blues lost an important game at White Hart Lane on Saturday. They remain in third place in the Prem, but drop off here. They'll need to raise their form soon because their Champions League date is with Liverpool. Again.
Next Up: Visit Newcastle Saturday and Anfield the following Wednesday.
Against Top 25 clubs: Tied Man U at home (1-1, Sept. 21), lost to Liverpool (1-0, Oct. 25), lost to Arsenal at home (2-1, Nov. 30), lost at Man United (3-0, Jan. 11), lost at Liverpool (2-0, Feb. 1), won at Aston Villa (1-0, Feb. 21), beat Juventus in Champions League round of 16.

6 (6). Porto
Beat Estrela Amadora in the Portuguese cup yesterday.
Next Up: The Portuguese league returns to action Sunday. Then it's off to Old Trafford and the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals a week from tomorrow.
Against Top 25: Lost at Arsenal (4-0, Sept. 30), won at Sporting Lisbon (2-1, Oct. 5), lost at home to Dynamo Kiev (1-0, Oct. 21), won at Kiev (2-1, Nov. 5), beat Arsenal at home (2-0, Dec. 10), beat Atletico Madrid over two legs in the Champions League round of 16.

7 (7). Bayern Munich
Bayern saw off Karlsruhe Saturday, winning 1-0. With Hertha Berlin losing, the Bavarian side close within one point of first place in the Bundesliga. Smart money says they'll take first place before long. The Champions League, where they face No. 1 Barca, is another matter entirely.
Next Up: Visit Wolfsburg Saturday. Then it's off to the Camp Nou and the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals.
Against Top 25: Tied Olympique Lyon at home (1-1, Sept. 30), won at Steaua Bucharest (1-0, Sept. 17), beat Fiorentina at home (3-0, Oct. 22), tied at Fiorentina (1-1, Nov. 6), beat Hoffenheim (2-1, Dec. 5), beat Olympique Lyon on the road (3-2, Dec. 10), beat Sporting Lisbon in first leg of Champions League round of 16 (5-0).

8 (8). Real Madrid
Had no problems with Almeira, winning 3-0 in Spanish league action. Real continue to trail Barca by six points with 10 games remaining. The two clubs meet May 3 to in all likelihood decide the Spanish title, if it isn't cleared up by then already. Real host that game.
Next Up: Visit the birthplace of Pablo Picasso, Sunday.
Against Top 25: Beat Zenit St. Petersburg twice (2-1 on the road, Sept. 30 and 3-0 at home, Dec. 9), beat Atletico Madrid (2-1, Oct. 18), lost to Juventus (2-1 on the road, Oct. 22 and 2-0 at home, Nov. 5), lost at Barca (2-0, Dec. 14), beat Valencia at home (1-0, Dec. 20), beat Villareal at home (1-0, Jan. 4), tied Atletico Madrid at home (1-1, March 7), lost to Liverpool in Champions League round of 16.

9 (9). Juventus
Juve apparently had no problems with Roma, winning 4-1 on the road Saturday. They're still alive in Serie A. Juventus that is, not Roma. The bianconeri trail Inter by seven points. The two clubs face each other at San Siro April 18.
Next Up: Host Chievo Verona Sunday.
Against Top 25: Beat Zenit St. Petersburg at home (1-0, Sept. 17) and tied on the road (0-0, Nov. 25), tied at Fiorentina (1-1, Aug. 31), tied at BATE Borisov (2-2, Sept. 30), beat Real Madrid (2-1 at home, Oct. 22 and 2-0 at the Bernabeu, Nov. 5), lost at Inter Milan (1-0, Nov. 22), beat AC Milan at home (4-2, Dec. 14), lost to Chelsea in Champions League round of 16

10 (10). Arsenal
Gunners won twice last week, against Hull City in the F.A. Cup and at Newcastle in the Premiership. They close to within six points of third-placed Chelsea with the latter victory. It may be a bit late for a move to third place. Fortunately for Arsenal, with the way Villa are playing they don't have to worry much about relinquishing fourth either. Gooners also caught a break when they drew Villareal in the Champions League quarterfinals.
Next Up: Host Man City Saturday. The first leg with Villareal is the following Tuesday.
Against Top 25: Tied Dynamo Kiev away (1-1, Sept. 17) won at home (1-0, Nov. 25), beat Man United at home (2-1, Nov. 8), beat Chelsea away (2-1, Nov. 30), tied Liverpool at home (1-1, Dec. 21), beat AS Roma in the Champions League round of 16.

11 (11). Dynamo Kiev
Dynamo advanced to the UEFA Cup quarterfinals where they will face Paris Saint Germain. The first leg is Thursday, April 9 at the Parc des Princes.
Next Up: A Ukrainian league match later today. They have a safe hold on first place there.
Against Top 25: Tied Arsenal at home (1-1, Sept. 17), lost at Emirates (1-0, Nov .25).

12 (12). Olympique Lyon
Beat Sochaux 2-0 yesterday, to hold onto their one point lead in France's Ligue Un.
Next Up: Visit Le Mans, Sunday.
Against Top 25: Tied Fiorentina at home (2-2, Sept. 17) and Bayern Munich on the road (1-1, Sept. 30), won at Fiorentina (2-1, Nov. 25), lost to Bayern at home (3-2, Dec. 10), lost to Barcelona in the Champions League round of 16.

13 (15). FC Sao Paulo
Won 1-0 at Uruguay's Defensor Sporting in the third matchday of the Copa Libertadores. With two wins and a draw, Sao Paulo lead the group and are all but assured a spot in the Round of 16. Their Paulista match did not go as well, finishing in 1-1. But we can forgive that.
Next Up: Paulista action, Thursday and Saturday. The latter game is against first-placed Palmeiras so it should be interesting.

14 (17). Villareal
Beat Atletic Bilbao, 2-0. With Atletico Madrid losing, the yellow submarine extend their hold on fourth place to five points. They're in a kind of no-man's land, trailing third-placed Sevilla by six.
Next Up: Visit Almeira Sunday. Then it's the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinal with Arsenal. Villareal host the first leg a week from tomorrow.
Against Top 25: Tied Man U twice (0-0 at Old Trafford, Sept. 18 and 0-0 at home Nov. 25), beat Celtic at home (1-0, Sept. 29), tied Atletico Madrid at home (4-4, Oct. 26), lost at Sevilla (1-0, Dec. 14), lost to Barcelona at home (2-1, Dec. 21), lost at Real Madrid (1-0, Jan. 4), tied Valencia on the road (3-3, Jan. 10), beat Panathinaikos over two legs in the Champions League round of 16, lost at Atletico Madrid (3-2, March 15).

15 (14). Hertha BSC Berlin
Lost at Stuttgart, 2-0. Hertha may be the German Aston Villa. Their Bundesliga lead over Bayern Munich is down to one point. The two sides do not meet again this season.
Next Up: Host Dortmund, Saturday.
Against Top 25: Lost at Bayern Munich (4-1, Aug. 31), beat Hoffenheim (1-0, Nov. 1), beat Bayern Munich (2-1, Feb. 14).

16 (13). Atletico Madrid
The rojiblancos lost at Mallorca by 2-0 yesterday. A curious result seeing how well they had been playing before, at least in Spain (victories over Barca and Villareal, a draw with Real Madrid).
Next Up: Host Osasuna, Sunday.
Against Top 25: Lost at Barcelona (6-1, Oct. 4), lost to Real Madrid (2-1, Oct. 18), tied Liverpool (1-1, Oct. 23), tied Villareal (4-4, Oct. 26), tied at Liverpool (1-1, Nov. 5), lost to Barcelona over two legs in the Copa del Rey (5-2 aggregate), beat Barca at home (4-3, March 1), tied at Real Madrid (1-1, March 7), lost to Porto in Champions League quarterfinal, beat Villareal at home (3-2, March 15).

17 (21) Olympique Marseille
L'OM did what they needed to to stay in the Top 25, advancing to the UEFA Cup quarterfinals (though needing overtime to do it against Ajax Amsterdam) and keeping the heat on Lyon in France's Ligue Un by beating Nantes 2-0 on the weekend.
Next Up: Visit Saint Etienne Sunday. Face Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk in the UEFA Cup quarters. The first leg is a week Thursday.
Against Top 25: Lost at Liverpool (2-1, Sept. 16), lost at Atletico Madrid (2-1, Oct. 1), lost to Liverpool at home (1-0, Nov. 26), tied Atletico Madrid at home (1-1, Dec. 1), tied at Olympique Lyon (0-0, Dec. 14), won at Girondins Bordeaux (1-0, Feb. 8), won at Paris Saint Germain (3-1, March 15)

18 (-). Shakhtar Donetsk
The Ukrainian club nobody can spell or pronounce (including us probably) returns to the Top 25 for the first time since Sept. 22. The team had a solid run in the Champions League, though not as solid as the records indicate (they have a victory at Barcelona to their credit, but it came on the final match day when Barca already had the group wrapped up. For this reason it has been omitted from their "against Top 25" tally). Last week they advanced to the UEFA Cup quarterfinals over CSKA Moscow (promptly dropping the Russian club from the Top 25) and won their Ukranian league match (they sit second, though nine points behind first-placed Dynamo Kiev).
Next Up: Another Ukrainian league match (Metalurg something) followed by the first leg of the UEFA Cup quarterfinals against No. 17 Olympique Marseille. Shakhtar host the first leg, April 9.
Against Top 25: Lost to Barcelona at home (2-1, Oct. 1), beat CSKA Moscow in the UEFA Cup Round of 16

19 (-). Hamburg SV
So far this season every time we placed HSV in the top 25 they returned the favor by losing, usually to lesser opponents. But we're doing it again anyway because they simply deserve to be here. Martin Jol's side won two massive games last week, the first at Galatasaray to advance to the UEFA Cup quarterfinals and the second at Schalke 04 to move into a tie for second place in the German Bundesliga, just one point behind first-placed Hertha Berlin. There is everything left to play for, in other words.
Next Up: Host Hoffenheim Saturday (remember them? They're now fifth in the Bundesliga). Face Man City in the UEFA Cup quarterfinals, with the first leg at Hamburg on Thurday, April 9.
Against Top 25: Tied at Bayern Munich (2-2, Aug. 15), beat Bayern at home (1-0, Jan. 30).

20 (20). AZ Alkmaar
Played a scoreless draw with Feyernoord Rotterdam. With second-placed Twente winning, Alkmaar's Eredivisie lead is now nine points with six games remaining.
Next Up: Eredivisie action of course. They aren't eligible for anything else. Sadly we may not know how good this team is until the Champions League campaign starts anew this summer.

21 (16). Werder Bremen
Werder advance to the UEFA Cup Round of 16 over France's Saint Etienne but are going nowhere in the German Bundesliga, where they lost at Dortmund on Saturday.
Next Up: Host Hannover 96 Sunday. Face Udinese in the UEFA Cup quarterfinals' first leg the following Thursday.
Against Top 25: Won at Bayern Munich (5-2, Sept. 20), tied at Inter Milan (1-1, Oct. 1), beat Inter Milan (2-1, Dec. 9), beat AC Milan over two legs in the UEFA Cup round of 32, tied Bayern Munich at home (0-0, March 1).

22 (24). Nacional
Uruguay's Apertura champions won a big Copa Libertadores match against Argentina's River Plate, beating the Buenos Aires side by 3-0. It was the third win in as many Libertadores games for the team from Montevideo (that is where they're from, right?). Unfortunately on Sunday they managed just a 2-2 draw at home to Cerra Largo in domestic action.
Next Up: Visit fellow Copa Lib participant Defensor Sporting in Clausura action Saturday. Their next Libertadores game is at River on April 7.

23 (23). Deportivo Toluca
The Diablos Rojos beat Cruz Azul by 3-1 in Mexican Clausura League action yesterday. They remain undefeated in 11 league games so far this season.
Next Up: More Clausura action.
Against Top 25: Won at Chivas (2-1, Feb. 19)

24 (19). Panathinaikos
Tied Asteras Tripolis 1-1. With first-placed Olympiakos winning, second is perhaps the best Pana can hope for at this point.
Next Up: Host AO Xanthi, Sunday.
Against Top 25: Lost to Inter Milan at home (2-0, Sept. 16), beat Inter Milan (1-0 away on Nov. 25), lost to Villareal in Champions League round of 16.

25 (-). Libertad
If we're not mistaken Libertad become the first-ever Paraguayan side to make the Top 25. They do so by virtue of their stellar record in Copa Libertadores so far; four games, four victories, including two over Argentina's almost-Apertura champion San Lorenzo. Libertad have yet to play any domestic games this season, it appears. Something the Mexican and Argentine leagues may want to take a look at.
Next Up: Visit Peru's Universitario de Deportes in their next Libertadores game, but not until April 8.

Dropping Out:
AS Roma (18), CSKA Moscow (22), Sport Recife (25)

The world's top 25 soccer clubs, March 16, 2009

2009-03-16T00:05:00.004-04:00

A decisive week. That giant wailing sound you hear is Italian soccer fans lamenting the exit of all three of their nation's clubs from the Champions League--and with it, any chance of one claiming the No. 1 spot in this space at the end of the season. But who is this week's number one? Was the ranking committee willing to forgive Man United's 4-1 home loss to Liverpool? Or would Barcelona reclaim the spot? Only one way to find out. By reading on below:

1 (2). FC Barcelona
Barca's the choice. The Catalan side get the top spot back after a three week absence (their last appearance in this space was the Feb. 23 edition). Pep Guardiola's men won both games they played last week, making mincemeat of Olympique Lyonnais in the Champions League and then putting Almeira to the sword yesterday.
Next Up: Host Malaga, Sunday.
Against Top 25 (when they were Top 25): Beat Atletico Madrid at home (6-1, Oct. 4), beat Sporting Lisbon at home (3-1, Sept. 16), beat Sporting Lisbon away (5-2, Nov. 26), beat Sevilla away (3-0, Nov. 29), beat Valencia at home (4-0, Dec. 6), beat Real Madrid at home (2-0, Dec. 13), won at Villareal (2-1, Dec. 21), beat Atletico Madrid over two legs (5-2 aggregate) in the Copa del Rey, beat Olympique Lyon in the Champions League round of 16.

2 (3). Liverpool
A stellar week for Reds, who won not one but two games against Top 10 competition, by a combined score of 8-1 no less. Rafa Torres' side has to be viewed as one of the favorites for the Champions League crown. And who knows, maybe the top spot in the Top 25 as well. Alas, their Premiership campaign faces an uphill climb; Liverpool sit third, four points behind their hated rivals from Manchester (who have a game in hand as well). In case you're wondering why Reds are still ahead of Man United in this space, we point you to the head-to-head competition: Liverpool beat them twice and generally have a better record against quality competition. In fact, Reds have lost just twice this entire season (those 10 draws in the Premiership is what has cost them).
Next Up: Host Aston Villa, Sunday.
Against Top 25: Beat Manchester United (2-1, Sept. 13), beat Olympique Marseille on the road (2-1, Sept. 16), tied Atletico Madrid (1-1 at Madrid, Oct. 22 and 1-1 at Anfield, Nov. 6), won at Chelsea (1-0, Oct. 26), tied at Arsenal (1-1, Dec. 21), beat Chelsea at home (2-0, Feb. 1), beat Real Madrid in the Champions League round of 16, won at Man United (4-1, March 14).

3 (1). Manchester United
Red Devils put on a solid display against Inter Milan. They were a bit fortunate, 'tis true, as Inter had their chances to do some damage, twice hitting the woodwork. Had Zlatan Ibrahimovic's first half header found the net instead of the crossbar, this would have been a completely different game. Then again, if my grandmother had wheels she'd be a bicycle (point being: the game of hypotheticals often, if not always, has no place in rational discourse). Sir Alex' side were then exposed on Saturday, suffering a 4-1 beatdown to Liverpool at Old Trafford.
Next Up: Visit Fulham, Saturday.
Against Top 25: Lost to Zenit St. Petersburg (2-1), lost at Liverpool (2-1, Sept. 13), tied Villareal at home (0-0, Sept. 17) and away (0-0, Nov. 25), tied at Chelsea (1-1, Sept. 21), beat Celtic at home (3-0, Oct. 22) and tied at Celtic Park (1-1, Nov. 6), lost at Arsenal (2-1, Nov. 8), beat Chelsea at home (3-0, Jan. 11), beat Inter Milan in Champions League round of 16, lost at home to Liverpool (4-1, March 14)

4. (5). Chelsea
Blues tied at Juventus, 2-2, which was enough to see them through to the Champions League quarterfinals. Followed this up with a 1-0 victory over Manchester City yesterday. Chelsea are right there with the contenders for the top spot.
Next Up: Visit Spurs on Saturday.
Against Top 25 clubs: Tied Man U at home (1-1, Sept. 21), lost to Liverpool (1-0, Oct. 25), lost to Arsenal at home (2-1, Nov. 30), lost at Man United (3-0, Jan. 11), lost at Liverpool (2-0, Feb. 1), won at Aston Villa (1-0, Feb. 21), beat Juventus in Champions League round of 16.

5 (4). Inter Milan
Inter put up a halfway decent fight at Old Trafford, hitting the post and the crossbar once each before dropping the decision 2-0 to Man United. Jose Mourinho's men rebounded with a 2-0 victory over Fiorentina yesterday to maintain their seven point lead in Serie A. We still think the nerrazurri are one of the best five clubs in the world. But no better than fifth-best.
Next Up: Host Reggina Sunday.
Against Top 25: Lost to AC Milan (1-0, Sept. 28), won at Panathinaikos (2-0, Sept. 16), tied at Fiorentina (0-0, Oct. 29), beat Udinese (1-0, Nov. 9), beat Juventus (1-0, Nov. 22), beat AS Roma in Coppa Italia (2-1, Jan. 21), beat AC Milan (2-1, Feb. 15), tied AS Roma (3-3, March 1), lost to Manchester United in Champions League round of 16.

6 (8). Porto
Held Atletico Madrid to a scoreless draw to advance to the Champions League quarterfinals thanks to the 2-2 draw in the first leg at Madrid. Then won their weekend league game. With Benfica Lisbon losing, the defending champs expand their Liga Sagres lead to four points.
Next Up: Host Estrela Amadora Sunday.
Against Top 25: Lost at Arsenal (4-0, Sept. 30), won at Sporting Lisbon (2-1, Oct. 5), lost at home to Dynamo Kiev (1-0, Oct. 21), won at Kiev (2-1, Nov. 5), beat Arsenal at home (2-0, Dec. 10), beat Atletico Madrid over two legs in the Champions League round of 16.

7 (9). Bayern Munich
Bayern won both games they played last week, neither a real surprise. In the first, they completed their bitch-slap of Sporting Lisbon by winning 7-1 at home. In the second, they won at Bochum, 3-0. Bayern remain in second place in the Bundesliga, four points behind Hertha Berlin.
Next Up: Host Karlsruhe Saturday.
Against Top 25: Tied Olympique Lyon at home (1-1, Sept. 30), won at Steaua Bucharest (1-0, Sept. 17), beat Fiorentina at home (3-0, Oct. 22), tied at Fiorentina (1-1, Nov. 6), beat Hoffenheim (2-1, Dec. 5), beat Olympique Lyon on the road (3-2, Dec. 10), beat Sporting Lisbon in first leg of Champions League round of 16 (5-0).

8 (6). Real Madrid
Exited the Champions League at the hand of Liverpool before rebounding to win at Atletic Bilbao, 5-2. Real has been a massive disappointment in the Champs League ever since they won it for the last time. We must admit, we were expecting more of the madrilenos this season. A top three spot (in the Top 25) is now obviously out of the question. Their only hope for silverware rests in the Spanish Liga, where they are six points behind Barca with nine games remaining. That's plenty.
Next Up: Host Almeira, Sunday.
Against Top 25: Beat Zenit St. Petersburg twice (2-1 on the road, Sept. 30 and 3-0 at home, Dec. 9), beat Atletico Madrid (2-1, Oct. 18), lost to Juventus (2-1 on the road, Oct. 22 and 2-0 at home, Nov. 5), lost at Barca (2-0, Dec. 14), beat Valencia at home (1-0, Dec. 20), beat Villareal at home (1-0, Jan. 4), tied Atletico Madrid at home (1-1, March 7), lost to Liverpool in Champions League round of 16.

9 (7). Juventus
Fought hard against Chelsea but were ultimately outclassed by the likes of Didier Drogba. Rebounded to beat up on Bologna, 4-1 on Saturday.
Next Up: Visit AS Roma Saturday.
Against Top 25: Beat Zenit St. Petersburg at home (1-0, Sept. 17) and tied on the road (0-0, Nov. 25), tied at Fiorentina (1-1, Aug. 31), tied at BATE Borisov (2-2, Sept. 30), beat Real Madrid (2-1 at home, Oct. 22 and 2-0 at the Bernabeu, Nov. 5), lost at Inter Milan (1-0, Nov. 22), beat AC Milan at home (4-2, Dec. 14), lost to Chelsea in Champions League round of 16

10 (11). Arsenal
It took penalties, but Gunners were able to get past AS Roma in the Champions League round of 16. Arsene Wenger's squad then put Blackburn Rovers to the sword, 4-0. Combined with Aston Villa's loss at White Hart Lane (pathetic, we know), Gunners recapture fourth place in the Premiership. With Villa playing Liverpool and Man United next, figure them to keep it.
Next Up: Host Hull City in an F.A. Cup tie tomorrow and visit Newcastle on Sunday.
Against Top 25: Tied Dynamo Kiev away (1-1, Sept. 17) won at home (1-0, Nov. 25), beat Man United at home (2-1, Nov. 8), beat Chelsea away (2-1, Nov. 30), tied Liverpool at home (1-1, Dec. 21), beat AS Roma in the Champions League round of 16.

11 (14). Dynamo Kiev
Dynamo won both games they played last week, the first at home over Metalist Kharkov in the UEFA Cup round of 16, the second over some other Metalist club. After 20 games, Dynamo has a 12 point lead in Ukraine's Premier Liga. They've lost just two of those games and have a 51-13 goal differential. This is the same club that caused Valencia's exit from the UEFA Cup (while not a Top 25 club at the time, Valencia did hang around this list most of the season). They also held their own against Porto (winning 1-0 on the road and losing 2-1 at home in the Champions League group stage) as well as against Arsenal (see below). Keep all that in mind before you critique the ranking committee for putting Kiev here. Better yet, give us a better alternative. (No, not Everton).
Next Up: The return leg against Kharkov is on Thursday, followed by a league match Saturday.
Against Top 25: Tied Arsenal at home (1-1, Sept. 17), lost at Emirates (1-0, Nov .25).

12 (10). Olympique Lyon
A bad week for Lyon, who exited the Champions League to Barcelona after holding the Catalan side to a 2-2 draw in the first leg. But arguably worse was yesterday's 2-0 home loss to Auxerre in France's Ligue Un. If it hadn't been for Olympique Marseille winning at the Parc des Princes to take second place from Paris Saint Germain, Lyon would have been knocked from first place for the first time since the Clinton administration (for all we know). As is, their lead is now a solitary point over both Marseille and PSG, who are tied for second. The French league campaign may very well go down to the wire.
Next Up: Host Sochaux, Sunday.
Against Top 25: Tied Fiorentina at home (2-2, Sept. 17) and Bayern Munich on the road (1-1, Sept. 30), won at Fiorentina (2-1, Nov. 25), lost to Bayern at home (3-2, Dec. 10), lost to Barcelona in the Champions League round of 16.

13 (12). Atletico Madrid
The rojiblancos were unable to solve Porto's defense in the return leg of their Champions League match-up. The Portuguese champs advanced to the quarterfinals on the strength of the 2-2 draw in the first leg at Madrid. But Atletico rebounded this weekend, booking a massive victory over Villareal, 3-2, thus salvaging their place in the Top 25. More importantly, they close the gap with fourth-placed Villareal to two points. We admit to not knowing exactly what to do with Atletico. They are obviously capable of great quality, as evidenced when they beat Barca on March 1 (the only top 25 team to do so this season). But their season has also been marked by various disasters, which now find them in fifth place (but recovering slowly). We'll just have to wait and see. For now it's hard to argue they don't belong in this space. So we're keeping them.
Next Up: Visit Mallorca, Sunday.
Against Top 25: Lost at Barcelona (6-1, Oct. 4), lost to Real Madrid (2-1, Oct. 18), tied Liverpool (1-1, Oct. 23), tied Villareal (4-4, Oct. 26), tied at Liverpool (1-1, Nov. 5), lost to Barcelona over two legs in the Copa del Rey (5-2 aggregate), beat Barca at home (4-3, March 1), tied at Real Madrid (1-1, March 7), lost to Porto in Champions League quarterfinal, beat Villareal at home (3-2, March 15).

14 (16). Hertha BSC Berlin
Hertha beat Bayer Leverkusen at home, 1-0, to maintain their four point lead in the Bundesliga. They're out of European competition, which is going to limit how high they go even if they do win the German championship.
Next Up: Visit Stuttgart, Saturday.
Against Top 25: Lost at Bayern Munich (4-1, Aug. 31), beat Hoffenheim (1-0, Nov. 1), beat Bayern Munich (2-1, Feb. 14).

15 (18). FC Sao Paulo
Beat up on Mirassol, 5-0 and Marilia, 2-0 in Paulista action.
Next Up: Visit Uruguay's Defensor Sporting in the Copa Libertadores Thursday and visit Paulista in the Paulista Sunday. That's right there is both a club and a league called Paulista. Dont' ask.

16 (19). Werder Bremen
Werder maintain their top 25 status after winning both games they played last week, the first at home against Saint Etienne in the UEFA Cup round of 16, the second over Stuttgart in the Bundesliga yesterday (by an impressive 4-0 score).
Next Up: The return leg with Saint Etienne Wednesday, followed by a trip to Borussia Dortmund Saturday. It could be a telling week for Werder...
Against Top 25: Won at Bayern Munich (5-2, Sept. 20), tied at Inter Milan (1-1, Oct. 1), beat Inter Milan (2-1, Dec. 9), beat AC Milan over two legs in the UEFA Cup round of 32, tied Bayern Munich at home (0-0, March 1).

17 (20). Villareal
Won the return leg of their Champions League draw with Greece's Panathinaikos to advance to the quarterfinals. Then lost an important Liga match at Atletico Madrid, 3-2.
Next Up: Host Atletic Bilbao, Saturday.
Against Top 25: Tied Man U twice (0-0 at Old Trafford, Sept. 18 and 0-0 at home Nov. 25), beat Celtic at home (1-0, Sept. 29), tied Atletico Madrid at home (4-4, Oct. 26), lost at Sevilla (1-0, Dec. 14), lost to Barcelona at home (2-1, Dec. 21), lost at Real Madrid (1-0, Jan. 4), tied Valencia on the road (3-3, Jan. 10), beat Panathinaikos over two legs in the Champions League round of 16, lost at Atletico Madrid (3-2, March 15).

18 (13). AS Roma
Became the third and final Italian club to exit the Champions League, losing to Arsenal on penalties. Then managed just a tie at Sampdoria Saturday. This team can ill afford to lose points, sitting in a tie for fifth place with Fiorentina.
Next Up: Host Juventus Saturday.
Against Top 25: Lost at home to Inter (4-0, Oct. 19), lost at Chelsea (1-0, Oct. 22), lost at Udinese (3-1, Oct. 26), lost at Juventus (2-0, Nov. 1), beat Chelsea (3-1, Nov. 4), beat Fiorentina (1-0, Nov. 29), tied AC Milan at home (2-2, Jan. 11), lost at Inter (2-1, Jan. 21) in Coppa Italia, tied at Inter (3-3, March 1), lost to Arsenal in Champions League round of 16.

19 (15). Panathinaikos
Were unable to take advantage of a solid showing (and 1-1 away draw) with Villareal in the Champions League round of 16, but rebounded to win their Greek Super League match yesterday. They're still a distant second in Greece, but isn't there some kind of playoff to decide the champion? Can somebody confirm?
Next Up: Visit Asteras Tripolis Sunday.
Against Top 25: Lost to Inter Milan at home (2-0, Sept. 16), beat Inter Milan (1-0 away on Nov. 25), lost to Villareal in Champions League round of 16.

20 (21). AZ Alkmaar
Won at Utrecht, 1-0 to maintain their 11 point edge over second placed Twente (strange year for the Dutch Eredivisie).
Next Up: Eredivisie action of course. They aren't eligible for anything else. Sadly we may not know how good this team is until the Champions League campaign starts anew this summer.

21 (-) Olympique Marseille
L'OM return to the Top 25 for the first time since the Sept. 22 edition thanks to their 3-1 away win at Paris Saint Germain. Earlier in the week they beat Ajax Amsterdam in the first leg of the UEFA Cup round of 16. The 2-1 victory in that match-up doesn't leave much room for error in the return leg later this week, but we're confident Marseille are up to the task. If not, they probably won't live to see another Top 25 this season.
Next Up: The aforementioned return leg at Ajax Amsterdam on Wednesday. Host Nantes Saturday. Did we mention Marseille are now tied for second in Ligue Un, a solitary point behind perennial champs Lyon?
Against Top 25: Lost at Liverpool (2-1, Sept. 16), lost at Atletico Madrid (2-1, Oct. 1), lost to Liverpool at home (1-0, Nov. 26), tied Atletico Madrid at home (1-1, Dec. 1), tied at Olympique Lyon (0-0, Dec. 14), won at Girondins Bordeaux (1-0, Feb. 8), won at Paris Saint Germain (3-1, March 15)

22 (-). CSKA Moscow
The Russian side make their debut in the Top 25, replacing another Russian club from another city (the one formerly known as Leningrad). Looking at CSKA's "body of work" this season, including them was a no-brainer. More on that below, but they also won all four UEFA Cup group stage games, against Deportivo La Coruna, Feyernoord Rotterdam, Lech Pozan and AS Nancy. Last week, they beat Ukraine's Shakhtar Donetsk (themselves a Top 25 club earlier this season) in the first leg of the UEFA League Round of 16 (granted the 1-0 margin of victory does not leave much room for error in the return leg this week) and followed this up with a 3-0 victory in their Russian league opener (over Saturn something. Forgive us, we're bad with these Russian names).
Next Up: The return leg with Donetsk Thursday, followed by a home game with Tom Tomsk (appears to be their real name) Saturday. The derby match with Locomotive Moscow is a week after that (now that is a cool name: Locomotive Moscow).
Against Top 25: Won at Zenit St. Petersburg (3-1, Sept. 21), beat Aston Villa in UEFA Cup round of 32.

23 (22). Deportivo Toluca
The Diablos Rojos came from two goals down to tie Santos Laguna yesterday. They remain unbeaten in the Mexican Clausura--the only unbeaten team left after 10 match days. Unfortunately they aren't in the Copa Libertadores.
Next Up: More Clausura action.
Against Top 25: Won at Chivas (2-1, Feb. 19)

24 (-). Nacional
Uruguay's Apertura champions return to the Top 25 after a four week absence (their last appearance in this space was their debut in the Feb. 23 edition). What did they do to warrant inclusion? They won at Racing Montevideo on Saturday. Er, okay so maybe that's not that impressive. But the club is also unbeaten in Libertadores action this season, good enough for third place in Group 3.
Next Up: A big game at home to River Plate in Copa Libertadores on Friday. Then they play again Saturday in the Clausura. Can that be right? Surely the Uruguayan F.A. will reschedule that game, no?

25 (25). Sport Recife
Idle. The Brazilian side made their debut in the Top 25 last week thanks to a defeat of defending Copa Libertadores champions LDU Quito two weeks ago. They are now 2-0 in the young Libertadores season and have yet to play any domestic games. Some South American countries are weird like that.
Next Up: Host fellow Brazilian side Palmeiras in their next Libertadores match.
Against Top 25: Beat LDU Quito at home (2-0, March 5)

Dropping Out:
Paris Saint Germain (17), Zenit St. Petersburg (23), Caracas FC (24)

Blues, Reds advance in lockstep

2009-03-10T17:46:00.001-04:00

The English Premier League really is the best professional soccer league in the world. Chelsea and Liverpool provided further support to this argument on Tuesday, by vanquishing Italian and Spanish foes in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16. Both Juventus Turin (defeated by Chelsea 3-2 on aggregate) and Real Madrid (a 5-0 aggregate beatdown by Liverpool) occupy second place in their respective leagues, the Italian Serie A and Spanish Liga BBVA--the same position currently shared by Blues and Reds in the Premiership (Chelsea holds the edge on goal difference). There is now a very real chance we could see four English teams and no Italian clubs in the Champions League quarterfinals.

The Liverpool victory is particularly surprising, seeing as Real were resurgent under new coach Juande Ramos and had won 10 games in a row coming into the first leg at the Bernabeu a fortnight ago. Plus Real had exited the Copa del Rey and fallen off the pace of first-place Liga side Barcelona, leaving the Champions League as their last and best hope at silverware this season. It was also about redemption; Real had not made it past the Round of 16 since they last hoisted the Champs League trophy in 2002. No wonder then, that Ramos called the game "a matter of life and death."

Perhaps he wasn't taking it seriously enough. For whatever reason (probably because, um, Liverpool are a better team?) Real were unable to handle their opponents in the first leg, losing 1-0 at home. This forced the Madrilenos to atack from the word go tonight, which of course played right into Liverpool's hands. The Chelsea match was a bit hairier and not decided until Didier Drogba scored in the 83rd minute to tie the game at 2-2. With a 1-0 lead from the first leg, Juve needed to win by two goals once Chelsea scored. The 2-1 lead, established through a penalty kick in minute 74, had given them hope, even though they were playing with just 10 men after Giorgio Chiellini's second yellow card in the 71st minute.

There were no other real surprises from today's action., though we are of course a little disappointed Panathinaikos was unable to take advantage of its strong performance in the first leg of their match-up with Villareal. The Greek side were actually ranked higher than the Yellow Submarine in our most recent Top 25. But having now been eliminated from continental, domestic cup and, for all intents and purposes, domestic league competition (they are a distant second, nine points behind first-placed Olympiakos with five games to play), Panathinaikos are unlikely to see the Top 25 again this season.

The world's top 25 soccer clubs, March 9, 2009

2009-03-09T00:09:00.001-04:00

After all the shake up last week, this week was remarkably calmer. It's just the calm before the storm though, as the Champions League, which restarts tomorrow, is sure to provide one or more jolts. But for now, this week's rankings:

1 (1). Manchester United
A no brainer. Sir Alex' men won both games they played last week, by a combined score of 6-1. Granted the opponents were Fulham and Newcastle but at this point there can be little doubt Red Devils are in fact the best team in the world. However, that is all due to change at very short notice, because...
Next Up: The Champions League Round of 16 return leg against Inter Milan. The score is 0-0 after the first 90 minutes at San Siro a fortnight ago. If that weren't enough, Man United also host Liverpool Saturday, in what may very well be the deciding match in the Premiership season. Buckle up, boys and girls!
Against Top 25: Lost to Zenit St. Petersburg (2-1), lost at Liverpool (2-1, Sept. 13), tied Villareal at home (0-0, Sept. 17) and away (0-0, Nov. 25), tied at Chelsea (1-1, Sept. 21), beat Celtic at home (3-0, Oct. 22) and tied at Celtic Park (1-1, Nov. 6), lost at Arsenal (2-1, Nov. 8), beat Chelsea at home (3-0, Jan. 11).

2 (2). FC Barcelona
Barca rebounded from their worst week of the season (we've checked) to book a pair of victories. The first was actually a tie with Mallorca, but Barca held a comfortable 2-0 lead from the first leg of their Copa del Rey semifinal. They'll face Atletic Bilbao in the final, whom they ironically beat in a league match Saturday. With Real dropping points (more on them in a bit), Barca's lead is back to six points at the top of the Liga BBVA standings.
Next Up: The return leg of their Champions League Round of 16 match-up with Olympique Lyonnais. The score is 2-2 after the first leg at Lyon, so Barca hold the edge. We expect them to advance, but we've been wrong before.
Against Top 25 (when they were Top 25): Beat Atletico Madrid at home (6-1, Oct. 4), beat Sporting Lisbon at home (3-1, Sept. 16), beat Sporting Lisbon away (5-2, Nov. 26), beat Sevilla away (3-0, Nov. 29), beat Valencia at home (4-0, Dec. 6), beat Real Madrid at home (2-0, Dec. 13), won at Villareal (2-1, Dec. 21), beat Atletico Madrid over two legs (5-2 aggregate) in the Copa del Rey.

3 (4). Liverpool
Had no problem with Sunderland, winning 2-0 at Anfield. That moves them up a spot because of Inter Milan's letdown in the Coppa Italia (see below).
Next Up: Host Real Madrid tomorrow. Reds are in the driver's seat after winning the first leg at the Bernabeu 1-0, though we will by no means write off Real in this one. Then visit Old Trafford on Saturday.
Against Top 25: Beat Manchester United (2-1, Sept. 13), beat Olympique Marseille on the road (2-1, Sept. 16), tied Atletico Madrid (1-1 at Madrid, Oct. 22 and 1-1 at Anfield, Nov. 6), won at Chelsea (1-0, Oct. 26), tied at Arsenal (1-1, Dec. 21), beat Chelsea at home (2-0, Feb. 1).

4 (3). Inter Milan
Inter was soundly beaten by Sampdoria (who find themselves on a roll, but that's a different story) in the Coppa Italia semifinal before managing to save face against Genoa in Serie A action Saturday. They'll have a chance to save face (and who knows, maybe even a spot in the finale?) when they meet the Samp for the return leg at San Siro on April 22.
Next Up: Visit Old Trafford tomorrow, needing to win to advance to the Champions League quarterfinals. Also host fourth-placed Fiorentina Sunday.
Against Top 25: Lost to AC Milan (1-0, Sept. 28), won at Panathinaikos (2-0, Sept. 16), tied at Fiorentina (0-0, Oct. 29), beat Udinese (1-0, Nov. 9), beat Juventus (1-0, Nov. 22), beat AS Roma in Coppa Italia (2-1, Jan. 21), beat AC Milan (2-1, Feb. 15), tied AS Roma (3-3, March 1).

5. (6). Chelsea
Blues won both games they played last week, at Pompey (1-0) and Coventry (2-0). The latter game was an F.A. Cup tie.
Next Up: Visit Juventus tomorrow, holding a 1-0 lead from the first leg. Host Man City Sunday.
Against Top 25 clubs: Tied Man U at home (1-1, Sept. 21), lost to Liverpool (1-0, Oct. 25), lost to Arsenal at home (2-1, Nov. 30), lost at Man United (3-0, Jan. 11), lost at Liverpool (2-0, Feb. 1), won at Aston Villa (1-0, Feb. 21).

6 (5). Real Madrid
Real tied crosstown rivals Atletico Madrid 1-1 in a game they really should have lost Saturday at Bernabeu. The first time Real have dropped points in a league game this year. That's 10 straight wins.
Next Up: Visit Anfield tomorrow, needing to win by two goals to advance. Also visit Bilbao, Saturday. At that point Real could be fighting to stay in the Top 10 or contending for the top spot. What a week this could be!
Against Top 25: Beat Zenit St. Petersburg twice (2-1 on the road, Sept. 30 and 3-0 at home, Dec. 9), beat Atletico Madrid (2-1, Oct. 18), lost to Juventus (2-1 on the road, Oct. 22 and 2-0 at home, Nov. 5), lost at Barca (2-0, Dec. 14), beat Valencia at home (1-0, Dec. 20), beat Villareal at home (1-0, Jan. 4), tied Atletico Madrid at home (1-1, March 7).

7 (7). Juventus
Juve lost at Lazio 2-1 in the first leg of the Coppa Italia semifinal but rebounded to win the Turin derby, 1-0.
Next Up: The return leg with Chelsea is on tomorrow. Also host Bologna Saturday. A visit to AS Roma looms next week.
Against Top 25: Beat Zenit St. Petersburg at home (1-0, Sept. 17) and tied on the road (0-0, Nov. 25), tied at Fiorentina (1-1, Aug. 31), tied at BATE Borisov (2-2, Sept. 30), beat Real Madrid (2-1 at home, Oct. 22 and 2-0 at the Bernabeu, Nov. 5), lost at Inter Milan (1-0, Nov. 22), beat AC Milan at home (4-2, Dec. 14)

8 (9). Porto
Porto won their weekend league match to maintain their two-point lead atop the Liga Sagres table. We had them down for playing a cup match as well last week but can't seem to find any results. Oh well.
Next Up: Atletico Madrid visit Wednesday in what is sure to be a very hard-fought encounter. This one's too close to call. Also play a league match Sunday.
Against Top 25: Lost at Arsenal (4-0, Sept. 30), won at Sporting Lisbon (2-1, Oct. 5), lost at home to Dynamo Kiev (1-0, Oct. 21), won at Kiev (2-1, Nov. 5), beat Arsenal at home (2-0, Dec. 10).

9 (10). Bayern Munich
Bayern's skizophrenic season continues. After exiting the DfB Pokal at the hands of Bayer Leverkusen at midweek, they beat up on Hannover 96 by 5-1. Never a dull moment in the Bavarian capital.
Next Up: The return leg with Sporting Lisbon, tomorrow. Bayern hold a 3-0 lead from the first leg. If this were any other team we'd declare the series over. But this being Bayern, all bets are off. Also visit Bochum, Saturday.
Against Top 25: Tied Olympique Lyon at home (1-1, Sept. 30), won at Steaua Bucharest (1-0, Sept. 17), beat Fiorentina at home (3-0, Oct. 22), tied at Fiorentina (1-1, Nov. 6), beat Hoffenheim (2-1, Dec. 5), beat Olympique Lyon on the road (3-2, Dec. 10).

10 (8). Olympique Lyon
Lyon lost both games last week against the same opponent! Lille, a nice midtable side that should not really scare anybody in Lyon's position, were the perpetrators. The first game, at midweek, was in the Coupe de France. The second was over the weekend in Ligue Un and results in Lyon's lead being reduced to a solitary point over second-placed Paris Saint Germain. Wow!
Next Up: Visit Barcelona Wednesday, needing to win or (if it goes more than two goals apiece) tie. Quite a tough predicament, though Lyon seemed up to the task in the first leg. The best thing that could happen to their Ligue Un campaign is of course a loss to Barca. Not that their fans want that, of course. Also host Auxerre Sunday.
Against Top 25: Tied Fiorentina at home (2-2, Sept. 17) and Bayern Munich on the road (1-1, Sept. 30), won at Fiorentina (2-1, Nov. 25), lost to Bayern at home (3-2, Dec. 10).

11 (13). Arsenal
Gunners won both games, capping off a perfect week for Premiership sides, though admittedly against mostly weak competition. Very weak in fact. Case in point, Arse's victims were WBA and Burnley.
Next Up: Vist Roma in the return leg Wednesday, holding a 1-0 edge from the first leg at Emirates. Will that be enough to advance? We'll have to wait and see. Also host Blackburn, Sunday.
Against Top 25: Tied Dynamo Kiev away (1-1, Sept. 17) won at home (1-0, Nov. 25), beat Man United at home (2-1, Nov. 8), beat Chelsea away (2-1, Nov. 30), tied Liverpool at home (1-1, Dec. 21).

12 (14). Atletico Madrid
The rojiblancos showed they belonged in the Top 25 in playing Real Madrid to the letter (and then some) in a 1-1 tie at the Bernabeu Saturday. Atletico really should have won this game but missed too many chances in the second half. It seems this team is poised right on the precipice of greatness; capable of hanging with (and beating, see last week) the best teams in the world while also a victim of potential upsets that could drop them right back out of the Top 25.
Next Up: The return leg against Porto Wednesday. We're tied 2-2. Also host Villareal Sunday. Win both and this is a top 10 team, no questions. Lose both and, well, we may not see them again for awhile.
Against Top 25: Lost at Barcelona (6-1, Oct. 4), lost to Real Madrid (2-1, Oct. 18), tied Liverpool (1-1, Oct. 23), tied Villareal (4-4, Oct. 26), tied at Liverpool (1-1, Nov. 5), lost to Barcelona over two legs in the Copa del Rey (5-2 aggregate), beat Barca at home (4-3, March 1), tied at Real Madrid (1-1, March 7).

13 (12). AS Roma
Roma managed just a 1-1 tie against Udinese at home. This is a club (Roma) that can ill afford to lose points in the Serie A race.
Next Up: The return leg with Arsenal, Wednesday. Also visit Sampdoria on Sunday.
Against Top 25: Lost at home to Inter (4-0, Oct. 19), lost at Chelsea (1-0, Oct. 22), lost at Udinese (3-1, Oct. 26), lost at Juventus (2-0, Nov. 1), beat Chelsea (3-1, Nov. 4), beat Fiorentina (1-0, Nov. 29), tied AC Milan at home (2-2, Jan. 11), lost at Inter (2-1, Jan. 21) in Coppa Italia, tied at Inter (3-3, March 1).

14 (15). Dynamo Kiev
Dynamo staked their claim on another Ukrainian league title with a pair of solid victories last week, the first over second-placed (and UEFA Cup opponent) Metalist Kharkov, the second against then-third placed Vorskia Poltava. Dynamo's league lead is now 11 points.
Next Up: The aforementioned Metalist Kharkov, this time in the UEFA Cup. The first leg is home.
Against Top 25: Tied Arsenal at home (1-1, Sept. 17), lost at Emirates (1-0, Nov .25)

15 (11). Panathinaikos
Lost their cup tie at midweek to exit in the quarterfinals. Rebounded to beat AE Larisa on Saturday. With first-placed Olympiakos playing a scoreless tie in their game, the difference between the two clubs is now just nine points (it was like 15 at one point) at the top of the Greek Super League. But just five games remain, meaning the cup was likely their best chance at silverware. Now that that's gone...
Next Up: The return leg with Villareal, tomorrow. Pana have a solid chance to advance from this one, after the first leg in Spain ended 1-1. Also visit Thrasivoulos Sunday.
Against Top 25: Lost to Inter Milan at home (2-0, Sept. 16), beat Inter Milan (1-0 away on Nov. 25)

16 (-). Hertha BSC Berlin
Hertha is out of European competition and has not always played well domestically either. So why are they this high, as a newcomer (returner, actually. Their last appearance was Feb. 16) no less? Easy, they lead the German Bundesliga by four points, which is something we don't think anybody else has been able to accomplish yet this season. That and we simply had nobody else to put here.
Next Up: Host Leverkusen, Saturday.
Against Top 25: Lost at Bayern Munich (4-1, Aug. 31), beat Hoffenheim (1-0, Nov. 1), beat Bayern Munich (2-1, Feb. 14).

17 (16). Paris Saint Germain
PSG suffered an embarrassing upset to a club called Rodez Aveyron Football in the Coupe de France. We can't pretend to ever have heard of them, but the important thing for Paul Le Guen's side is that they managed to beat Lorient in their Ligue Un match, picking up valuable points on leaders Olympique Lyon. The difference between the two clubs is now a single point at the top of the French table. Wouldn't it be something if PSG, a club we haven't heard from in a decade, is the one to end Lyon's run of French championships?
Next Up: Things get very interesting, with Sporting Braga paying a visit to the Parc des Princes for the first leg of their UEFA Cup Round of 16 matchup. Then a game that is surely circled on the CRS calendar, with Olympique Marseille paying a visit, Sunday.
Against Top 25: Beat Olympique Lyon at home (1-0, Nov. 22)

18 (17). FC Sao Paulo
The good news is Sao Paulo won the more important of last week's games at Colombia's America de Cali, 3-1 in the Copa Libertadores. (Speaking of Colombia and speaking of America, why do Americans always spell the country like it's a certain Harlem, N.Y., university? It's ColOmbia, people! Get with it!) The bad news is Sao Paulo lost their second game, at Mogri Mirim in the Paulista. But it's just the Paulista so we don't really care all that much.
Next Up: More Paulista action. Host Mirassol Friday and Marilia Sunday. The next Libertadores action is Thursday, March 19 when they visit Uruguay's Defensor Sporting.

19 (20). Werder Bremen
Werder maintain their top 25 status after beating Wolfsburg in the German cup and playing a scoreless tie at second-placed Hoffenheim. They're well off the pace in the Bundesliga. We're embarrassed to say how far off. Just look at their games against Top 25 clubs, and you'll see they belong. But if they don't make it past the next stage of the UEFA Cup it will probably be over, at least as far as their Top 25 status is concerned.
Next Up: Host AS Saint Etienne in the first leg of the next round of the UEFA Cup on Thursday. Also host Stuttgart Sunday.
Against Top 25: Won at Bayern Munich (5-2, Sept. 20), tied at Inter Milan (1-1, Oct. 1), beat Inter Milan (2-1, Dec. 9), beat AC Milan over two legs in the UEFA Cup, tied Bayern Munich at home (0-0, March 1).

20 (21). Villareal
Beat Espanyol, 1-0, to maintain their hold on fourth place in La Liga.
Next Up: Visit Panathinaikos in the return leg of the Champions League Round of 16, tomorrow. The first leg ended 1-1. Also visit Atletico Madrid Sunday.
Against Top 25: Tied Man U twice (0-0 at Old Trafford, Sept. 18 and 0-0 at home Nov. 25), beat Celtic at home (1-0, Sept. 29), tied Atletico Madrid at home (4-4, Oct. 26), lost at Sevilla (1-0, Dec. 14), lost to Barcelona at home (2-1, Dec. 21), lost at Real Madrid (1-0, Jan. 4), tied Valencia on the road (3-3, Jan. 10).

21 (-). AZ Alkmaar
We're biting the bullet and finally giving Alkmaar their due. The Dutch side have led the Eredivisie virtually all season and hold a commanding 11 point lead. Unfortunately, that's all we know about this team. We can't even pretend to know where they play. (Is Alkmaar a city? Az perhaps?)
Next Up: Eredivisie action of course. They aren't eligible for anything else. Sadly we may not know how good this team is until the Champions League campaign starts anew this summer.

22 (25). Deportivo Toluca
The Diablos Rojos (red diables? Red diamonds? Red devils?!?) maintain their hold on 25th after beating Necaxa 1-0 to remain unbeaten in the Mexican Clausura--the only unbeaten team left after nine match days. Unfortunately they aren't in the Copa Libertadores.
Next Up: More Clausura action.
Against Top 25: Won at Chivas (2-1, Feb. 19)

23 (-). Zenit St. Petersburg
The defending UEFA Cup champs, sans their best player, return to the Top 25 for the first time since Dec. 8 thanks to their advance to the UEFA Cup Round of 16, where they face Udinese. They return just in time for the start of the Russian league season, which is Saturday.
Next Up: Visit Udinese in the aforementioned UEFA Cup on Thursday. Visit Spartak Moscow in the first game of the domestic season.
Against Top 25: Lost at Juventus (1-0, Sept. 17) tied at home (0-0, Nov. 25), lost to Real Madrid twice (2-1, Sept. 30 and 3-0, Dec. 9), tied at BATE Borisov (1-1, Oct. 22), beat BATE Borisov at home (2-0, Nov. 5).

24 (-). Caracas FC
The Venezuelan side returns to the Top 25 after a long absence (March 3, 2008 to be exact, which was right before we went on a lengthy, MLS-induced hiatus. Never again). They accomplish this feat by virtue of a strong start to both Libertadores and domestic campaigns (they are 2-1 in the former and 6-1-1 in the latter).
Next Up: Nothing, it appears, until March 12 when they visit Chivas de Guadelajara.
Against Top 25: Beat Chivas (2-0, March 4).

25 (-). Sport Recife
The Brazilian side make their debut in the Top 25 thanks to a defeat of defending Copa Libertadores champinos LDU Quito last week. They are now 2-0 in the young Libertadores season and have yet to play any domestic games. Some South American countries are weird like that.
Next Up: Host fellow Brazilian side Palmeiras in their next Libertadores match.
Against Top 25: Beat LDU Quito at home (2-0, March 5)

Dropping Out:
Hamburg SV (18), Sevilla (19), LDU Quito (22), Palmeiras (23), Chivas de Guadelajara (24)

The world's top 25 soccer clubs, March 2, 2009

2009-03-02T00:11:00.003-05:00

As is wont to happen after so many upsets in continental competition, the Top 25 sees its first real shake-up this week. We have a new number one, while clubs that looked like contenders (Aston Villa, AC Milan) were exposed as mere pretenders. A lot to report, in other words. Read on to get caught up on the carnage.

1 (2). Manchester United
After their scoreless draw at Inter Milan at midweek, Sir Alex' men beat Tottenham Hotspur in the League Cup for what is in all likelihood the first of several trophies they will hoist this season.
Next Up: Visit Newcastle Wednesday and Fulham Sunday in a pair of Premiership games.
Against Top 25: Lost to Zenit St. Petersburg (2-1), lost at Liverpool (2-1, Sept. 13), tied Villareal at home (0-0, Sept. 17) and away (0-0, Nov. 25), tied at Chelsea (1-1, Sept. 21), beat Celtic at home (3-0, Oct. 22) and tied at Celtic Park (1-1, Nov. 6), lost at Arsenal (2-1, Nov. 8), beat Chelsea at home (3-0, Jan. 11).

2 (1). FC Barcelona
Yes folks, Barca are human. Far too human, it turns out. A week after their first loss of the 2009 calendar year, Pep Guardiola's side suffered another pair of upsets. The first, at Olympique Lyon on the Champions League, can still (and probably will be) overcome next week in the return leg. The second, a 4-3 loss at Atletico Madrid, might be worse on the long run. Barca's lead in the Spanish Liga is now down to six points over Real Madrid.
Next Up: A Copa del Rey tie with Mallorca is on for Wednesday. Barca won the first leg 2-0 so don't expect too much drama here (then again, with the way Barca have been playing lately, who knows?). Host Bilbao in a league match Sunday.
Against Top 25 (when they were Top 25): Beat Atletico Madrid at home (6-1, Oct. 4), beat Sporting Lisbon at home (3-1, Sept. 16), beat Sporting Lisbon away (5-2, Nov. 26), beat Sevilla away (3-0, Nov. 29), beat Valencia at home (4-0, Dec. 6), beat Real Madrid at home (2-0, Dec. 13), won at Villareal (2-1, Dec. 21), beat Atletico Madrid over two legs (5-2 aggregate) in the Copa del Rey.

3 (3). Inter Milan
A pair of draws leave Inter in a decent position. The first was of course with new number one Man United. There's still everything left to play for there, though surely Red Devils will be favored seeing as they get to host the return leg. The second draw was a zany 3-3 match with AS Roma. Inter were down 2-0 and 3-1 but managed to eke out the point. They were gifted a penalty by the referee to help out their cause, but those things happen in Serie A. Inter's lead is seven points over second-placed Juventus and fading AC Milan.
Next Up: A Coppa Italia tie with Milan-beaters Sampdoria. Then the other Genoa side, in Serie A action Saturday.
Against Top 25: Lost to AC Milan (1-0, Sept. 28), won at Panathinaikos (2-0, Sept. 16), tied at Fiorentina (0-0, Oct. 29), beat Udinese (1-0, Nov. 9), beat Juventus (1-0, Nov. 22), beat AS Roma in Coppa Italia (2-1, Jan. 21), beat AC Milan (2-1, Feb. 15), tied AS Roma (3-3, March 1).

4 (6). Liverpool
After their impressive victory at Real Madrid in the Champions League, Reds lost to Middlesbrough 2-0 on Saturday. The Premiership race may have run its course at this point so Reds' best hope may be in the Champions League anyway. And with the way they played last week, those chances might be very good indeed.
Next Up: Host Sunderland tomorrow. The return leg with Real Madrid is a week from tomorrow.
Against Top 25: Beat Manchester United (2-1, Sept. 13), beat Olympique Marseille on the road (2-1, Sept. 16), tied Atletico Madrid (1-1 at Madrid, Oct. 22 and 1-1 at Anfield, Nov. 6), won at Chelsea (1-0, Oct. 26), tied at Arsenal (1-1, Dec. 21), beat Chelsea at home (2-0, Feb. 1).

5 (4). Real Madrid
Real suffered a major European setback last week, losing at home to Liverpool in the Champions League. They could still overcome it in the return leg at Anfield of course--but they probably won't. The second part of the week was significantly better for Juande Ramos' men, who beat Espanyol 2-0. With Barca losing, it closes the gap to six points in the Spanish Liga. How unlikely did that seem, just a few short weeks ago?
Next Up: The Madrid derby. At the Bernabeu, Saturday.
Against Top 25: Beat Zenit St. Petersburg twice (2-1 on the road, Sept. 30 and 3-0 at home, Dec. 9), beat Atletico Madrid (2-1, Oct. 18), lost to Juventus (2-1 on the road, Oct. 22 and 2-0 at home, Nov. 5), lost at Barca (2-0, Dec. 14), beat Valencia at home (1-0, Dec. 20), beat Villareal at home (1-0, Jan. 4).

6. (7). Chelsea
Blues beat Juve, 1-0, in the Champions League at midweek and beat Wigan on the weekend. A solid week, in other words, though it may be too little too late in the Premiership.
Next Up: Visit Pompey tomorrow. Face Coventry in the FA Cup Saturday.
Against Top 25 clubs: Tied Man U at home (1-1, Sept. 21), lost to Liverpool (1-0, Oct. 25), lost to Arsenal at home (2-1, Nov. 30), lost at Man United (3-0, Jan. 11), lost at Liverpool (2-0, Feb. 1), won at Aston Villa (1-0, Feb. 21).

7 (5). Juventus
Juve lost the first leg of their Champions League tie at Stamford Bridge though the 1-0 margin leaves everything left to play for (at least on paper). They also beat Napoli 1-0. Seven points is now the difference between Juve and first-placed Inter.
Next Up: Visit Lazio in a Coppa Italia tie tomorrow, then visit Torino Saturday. The return leg with Chelsea is a week from tomorrow.
Against Top 25: Beat Zenit St. Petersburg at home (1-0, Sept. 17) and tied on the road (0-0, Nov. 25), tied at Fiorentina (1-1, Aug. 31), tied at BATE Borisov (2-2, Sept. 30), beat Real Madrid (2-1 at home, Oct. 22 and 2-0 at the Bernabeu, Nov. 5), lost at Inter Milan (1-0, Nov. 22), beat AC Milan at home (4-2, Dec. 14)

8 (8). Olympique Lyon
Lyon showed they belong in the top 10 by playing Barcelona to the letter last week before settling for a 1-1 result. Who knows? Perhaps they'll even manage to advance when the two sides meet again next week (though don't count on it). Unfortunately, Lyon suffered a bit of a hangover in their second game of the week, drawing Rennes 1-1 last night.
Next Up: A pair of games with Lille, the first in the Coupe de France tomorrow, the second in Ligue Un, Saturday. Both games will be played at Lille.
Against Top 25: Tied Fiorentina at home (2-2, Sept. 17) and Bayern Munich on the road (1-1, Sept. 30), won at Fiorentina (2-1, Nov. 25), lost to Bayern at home (3-2, Dec. 10).

9 (9). Porto
Porto did well to tie both games last week, getting two crucial away goals at Atletico Madrid in the Champions League. They settled for the scoreless variety in their weekend game with Sporting Lisbon. Things are tight in Portugal, with the defending champs holding just a two point lead over second-placed Benfica.
Next Up: A Portuguese cup tie Wednesday and league match Saturday before Atletico visit the following Wednesday.
Against Top 25: Lost at Arsenal (4-0, Sept. 30), won at Sporting Lisbon (2-1, Oct. 5), lost at home to Dynamo Kiev (1-0, Oct. 21), won at Kiev (2-1, Nov. 5), beat Arsenal at home (2-0, Dec. 10).

10 (18). Bayern Munich
What can we say about Bayern's 5-0 Champions League victory at Sporting Lisbon? Besides WOW? Unfortunately for Juergen Klinsmann's side, their Bundesliga form continues to suffer, as evidenced by their 0-0 game at Werder Bremen yesterday. Bayern slip to fifth with the result, though first place is only four points away in this, the most topsy-turvy Bundesliga season in recent memory (if not of all time).
Next Up: A cup match at Bayer Leverkusen Wednesday, followed by Hannover at home on Saturday.
Against Top 25: Tied Olympique Lyon at home (1-1, Sept. 30), won at Steaua Bucharest (1-0, Sept. 17), beat Fiorentina at home (3-0, Oct. 22), tied at Fiorentina (1-1, Nov. 6), beat Hoffenheim (2-1, Dec. 5), beat Olympique Lyon on the road (3-2, Dec. 10).

11 (11). Panathinaikos
Did well to get a 1-1 result at Villareal in the Champs League. Their second game of the week, a scoreless draw at Olympiakos, unfortunately does Pana no favors in the Greek Super League. They drop to third, 11 points behind Olympiakos.
Next Up: A Greek Cup game Wednesday. AE Larisa visits in Super League action Saturday. The return leg with Villareal is on a week from tomorrow.
Against Top 25: Lost to Inter Milan at home (2-0, Sept. 16), beat Inter Milan (1-0 away on Nov. 25)

12 (14). AS Roma
Roma are down a goal going into next week's return leg of their Round of 16 CL matchup with Arsenal. They nearly (and probably should have) defeated Inter Milan in an entertaining Serie A match yesterday, but ended up settling for a 3-3 draw. Still with AC Milan floundering (suddenly, perhaps Becks' forced move back to California is not such a bad thing?) and nobody really expecting Genoa to keep up their pace, the Champions League spots are a realistic possibility.
Next Up: Host Udinese, Saturday. The return leg with Arsenal is a week from Wednesday.
Against Top 25: Lost at home to Inter (4-0, Oct. 19), lost at Chelsea (1-0, Oct. 22), lost at Udinese (3-1, Oct. 26), lost at Juventus (2-0, Nov. 1), beat Chelsea (3-1, Nov. 4), beat Fiorentina (1-0, Nov. 29), tied AC Milan at home (2-2, Jan. 11), lost at Inter (2-1, Jan. 21) in Coppa Italia, tied at Inter (3-3, March 1).

13 (15). Arsenal
Managed to beat AS Roma 1-0 in the first leg of their Champions League tie at Emirates, then were not able to get past a scoreless draw against Fulham. At least Villa has come back down to earth, making fourth place a realistic possibility again. Six points separate the two sides.
Next Up: Visit WBA tomorrow. Host Burnley in the FA Cup on Sunday. The return leg at Roma is next Wednesday.
Against Top 25: Tied Dynamo Kiev away (1-1, Sept. 17) won at home (1-0, Nov. 25), beat Man United at home (2-1, Nov. 8), beat Chelsea away (2-1, Nov. 30), tied Liverpool at home (1-1, Dec. 21).

14 (-). Atletico Madrid
The rojiblancos did themselves no favors by drawing Porto 2-2 in their midweek Champions League tie. But their second game of the week, a 4-3 thriller over Barcelona, is the one their fans will be talking about for years to come. The victory may have just ushered in a turning point in the Spanish liga. We'll see. For now Abel Resino's men are back in the Top 25 where they belong. They are the only Top 25 team to defeat Barca this season.
Next Up: The Madrid derby, at the Bernabeu, Saturday.
Against Top 25: Lost at Barcelona (6-1, Oct. 4), lost to Real Madrid (2-1, Oct. 18), tied Liverpool (1-1, Oct. 23), tied Villareal (4-4, Oct. 26), tied at Liverpool (1-1, Nov. 5), lost to Barcelona over two legs in the Copa del Rey (5-2 aggregate), beat Barca at home (4-3, March 1).

15 (-). Dynamo Kiev
We were big fans of the Ukranian side earlier this season and were sad to see them narrowly miss advancement out of their Champions League group. Now they're back, courtesy of an impressive victory over Valencia in the UEFA Cup. Dynamo also lead the Ukranian league by six points. But it's not just Kiev who are seeing success on the continental stage; Metalist Kharkov and Shakhtar Donetsk are still alive in the UEFA Cup as well. Interestingly enough, Dynamo have to face one of them in the next round.
Next Up: The aforementioned Metalist Kharkov, though first in a league match pitting the country's top two against each other. Then third-placed Vorskia Poltava in another league game, followed by Kharkov again, this time in the UEFA Cup.
Against Top 25: Tied Arsenal at home (1-1, Sept. 17), lost at Emirates (1-0, Nov .25)

16 (-). Paris Saint Germain
We're biting the bullet and giving PSG their first ever place in the Top 25. It's long overdue, after the Parisian side established themselves as a title contender in France (where they sit second, just four points behind perennial champs Olympique Lyon) as well as in Europe, where they knocked off Wolfsburg to advance to the UEFA Cup Round of 16.
Next Up: Some French minnow in the Coupe de France at midweek, then a trip to Lorient Saturday. The next round of the UEFA Cup will feature Sporting Braga with the first leg taking place at the Parc des Princes a week from Thursday.
Against Top 25: Beat Olympique Lyon at home (1-0, Nov. 22)

17 (16). FC Sao Paulo
Won one and lost one in the Paulista league last week. The first was a 3-0 victory over Oeste, the second a 1-0 loss to Santos. Sao Paulo remain third in Paulista, with eight games remaining. We think third place is good enough for some postseason playoff they have, though we aren't positive about that one. Somebody here should know for sure.
Next Up: Back to Libertadores action, with a trip to Colombia's America de Cali, Friday. Also visit Mogri Mirim, whoever that is, in a Paulista game Sunday.

18 (17). Hamburg SV
Seriously, every single time we put Hamburg in the top 25 they lose. Though this week we're keeping them here. Partly because they also happened to win against Nijmegen at midweek to advance to the Round of 16 in the UEFA Cup. But the loss was costly, coming at home to Wolfsburg and with a 3-1 margin at that. HSV drop to second with the result, though only one point behind new table toppers Hertha Berlin.
Next Up: Wehen-Wiesbaden, some minnow club, in the DFB Pokal (German cup). Also visit Moenchengladbach, Saturday. Face Galatasaray in the next round of the UEFA Cup. The first leg is a week from Thursday at Hamburg.
Against Top 25: Tied at Bayern Munich (2-2, Aug. 15), beat Bayern at home (1-0, Jan. 30).

19(20). Sevilla
Won at Bilbao, 2-1.
Next Up: Another game with Atletic Bilbao, this one a cup tie to be played in the Basque capital Wednesday. Host Ulmeira in liga action Sunday.
Against Top 25: Won at Atletico Madrid (1-0, Sept. 28), won at Real Madrid (4-3, Dec. 7), lost to Barcelona at home (3-0, Nov. 29), beat Villareal at home (1-0, Dec. 13), beat Valencia over two legs in the Copa del Rey.

20 (-). Werder Bremen
Werder return to the Top 25 for the first time since Feb. 11, 2008 if you can believe that. They do so through a pair of impressive results last week. The first was of course the 2-2 draw at AC Milan which saw them come back from a 2-0 deficit to oust David Beckham and co. from the UEFA Cup. The second was a scoreless draw against No. 10 Bayern Munich. This from a team that is wasting away in 11th place in the Bundesliga. Check out their record against Top 25 teams though; it's pretty impressive.
Next Up: Visit Wolfsburg in a cup tie Wednesday and Hoffenheim in Bundesliga action Saturday. They face AS Saint Etienne in the next round of the UEFA Cup. The first leg is a week from Thursday at Bremen.
Against Top 25: Won at Bayern Munich (5-2, Sept. 20), tied at Inter Milan (1-1, Oct. 1), beat Inter Milan (2-1, Dec. 9), beat AC Milan over two legs in the UEFA Cup, tied Bayern Munich at home (0-0, March 1).

21 (21). Villareal
A pair of draws don't do Villareal any favors, but leave them hanging on to their Top 25 spot nonetheless. The first was a 1-1 game against Panathinaikos in the Champs League, the second a 2-2 draw with Real Betis in La Liga, where they remain in fourth place.
Next Up: Visit Espanyol Saturday.
Against Top 25: Tied Man U twice (0-0 at Old Trafford, Sept. 18 and 0-0 at home Nov. 25), beat Celtic at home (1-0, Sept. 29), tied Atletico Madrid at home (4-4, Oct. 26), lost at Sevilla (1-0, Dec. 14), lost to Barcelona at home (2-1, Dec. 21), lost at Real Madrid (1-0, Jan. 4), tied Valencia on the road (3-3, Jan. 10).

22 (22). LDU Quito
The defending Copa Libertadores champs beat up on Sociedad Deportivo, winning the Quito derby 4-0.
Next Up: A Libertadores match at Brazil's Sport Recife, Thursday. Also visit Deportivo Cuenca in local action Sunday.
Against Top 25: Beat Palmeiras (3-2, Feb. 17)

23 (24). Palmeiras
Won both games last week, though neither was exactly against what you might call quality competition. The first was at Sao Caetano Thursday, the second over Guarani, Saturday. Both were Paulista games.
Next Up: Their next Libertadores game, tomorrow, when they host Chile's Colo Colo.

24 (-). Chivas de Guadelajara
A pair of impressive victories puts Chivas back in the top 25 after a one week absence. The first of these saw them beat up on Chile's Everton Vina del Mar by 6-2 in a Copa Libertadores game. Doesn't "vina del mar" mean "wine of the sea"? Hmm. Well anyway, the second victory was arguably even more impressive, coming as it did against previously unbeaten Pachuca in the Mexican Clausura. Speaking of which, Chivas continue to lead their group in said tournament. And in the Libertadores as well.
Next Up: Visit Caracas, Wednesday, for another Libertadores tie. This one for first place in the group (the Venezuelan side are second, one point behind Chivas). Lanus, the other team in the group, are surprisingly last after losing to Caracas and tying Chivas. Also visit Jaguares Chiapas, Sunday.
Against Top 25: Lost to Internacional over two legs in the Copa Sudamericana quarterfinals.

25 (25). Deportivo Toluca
The Diablos Rojos maintain their hold on 25th after tying Monterrey 3-3 to remain unbeaten in the Mexican Clausura--the only unbeaten team left after eight match days. Unfortunately they aren't in the Copa Libertadores.
Next Up: Host Necaxa, Sunday.
Against Top 25: Won at Chivas (2-1, Feb. 19)

Dropping Out:
AC Milan (10), Sporting Lisbon (12), Aston Villa (13), River Plate (17), Nacional (23)

Champions League round-up: No major surprises, but...

2009-02-24T16:53:00.005-05:00

...many people might be a bit shocked that Barcelona barely managed to squeeze out a 1-1 draw at Olympique Lyonnais today. Barca being a team that prior to last week had not dropped any points at all since Nov. 23, while Lyon has been far from impressive all season. We're talking about a team (Lyon) that struggled to make it out of a pretty easy Champions League group (Bayern Munich, Fiorentina and Steaua Bucharest were the other teams) and at one point was in very real danger of relinquishing first place in Ligue Un as well. They were knocked out of the Coupe de France by a second division side, FC Metz and their only thing even remotely resembling a quality win came in a 2-1 decision at Fiorentina, Nov. 25. How were these guys supposed to compete with mighty Barca, the top-ranked team in the world?

Through Juninho, that's how. The 34-year old Brazilian has been with Lyon since the dawn of the 21st century. He showed off his skills by scoring on a freekick in the opening minutes of today's game (don't try this at home, kids. Trust us, you have no shot). Barca came back to tie around the hour mark and will in all likelihood beat Lyon on their home turn next week and advance to the quarterfinals as a result. But you can't help but feel a little apprehensive about their chances after that.

The Man U - Inter Milan battle ended in a stalemate but figure Red Devils to be better served with the result seeing as they host the return leg. Arsenal did the bare minimum, beating Roma 1-0 at Emirates. The fourth game, between Atletico Madrid and Porto, ended 2-2, which favors the Portuguese side who host the return leg.

Photo taken from elpais.com without permission.

The world's top 25 soccer clubs, Feb. 23, 2009

2009-02-23T00:18:00.003-05:00

Barcelona's place at the top of this list has been a constant for nearly the entire season. The Soccer Source Ranking Committee has been so impressed with Barca's play this season, we previously said it would take more than one loss to knock them from the top of this list. Did we keep our promise? Read on to find out.

1 (1). FC Barcelona
Yes, we're sticking with Barca. In so doing we are taking the entire season's "body of work" into account. Saturday's loss to Espanyol was just the team's second in all Spanish competition this season (including cup games), a run of 29 games. They did lose one other game this season but that was in a completely meaningless Champions League encounter with Shakhtar Donetsk. Man. United and Inter, the only two realistic alternatives for the No. 1 slot at this time, both suffered their second domestic league loss some time ago. Inter lost two Champions League games and didn't even win their group. Man United did win their's, but did not impress (ties with Celtic, Villareal and Aalborg). But now that Barca did take their second league loss, there is no margin for error left. Their next loss will likely cost them this spot (depending on what the teams behind them do, of course).
Next Up: Visit Lyon in the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16. Host Atletico Madrid on Sunday.
Against Top 25 (when they were Top 25): Beat Atletico Madrid at home (6-1, Oct. 4), beat Sporting Lisbon at home (3-1, Sept. 16), beat Sporting Lisbon away (5-2, Nov. 26), beat Sevilla away (3-0, Nov. 29), beat Valencia at home (4-0, Dec. 6), beat Real Madrid at home (2-0, Dec. 13), won at Villareal (2-1, Dec. 21), beat Atletico Madrid over two legs (5-2 aggregate) in the Copa del Rey.

2 (3). Manchester United
Man U. take back the second spot from Inter because they played (and won) two games last week, against Fulham and Blackburn, while Inter played (and won) just one. But the two sides will have a chance to decide this battle for themselves soon...
Next Up: It's off to Inter Milan for the Champions League tomorrow. Also host Pompey, Sunday.
Against Top 25: Lost to Zenit St. Petersburg (2-1), lost at Liverpool (2-1, Sept. 13), tied Villareal at home (0-0, Sept. 17) and away (0-0, Nov. 25), tied at Chelsea (1-1, Sept. 21), beat Celtic at home (3-0, Oct. 22) and tied at Celtic Park (1-1, Nov. 6), lost at Arsenal (2-1, Nov. 8), beat Chelsea at home (3-0, Jan. 11).

3 (2). Inter Milan
Inter drop a spot by no fault of their own, but because they only played (and won) one game, while Man U. did two (the roles were reversed in last week's Top 25 so it's only fair). Inter struggled a bit won at Bologna.
Next Up: The CL grudge match with Man United. Also host Roma, Sunday.
Against Top 25: Lost to AC Milan (1-0, Sept. 28), won at Panathinaikos (2-0, Sept. 16), tied at Fiorentina (0-0, Oct. 29), beat Udinese (1-0, Nov. 9), beat Juventus (1-0, Nov. 22), beat AS Roma in Coppa Italia (2-1, Jan. 21), beat AC Milan (2-1, Feb. 15).

4 (4). Real Madrid
Another blowout for Real, who really appear to have found their form since losing to Barca back on Dec. 13. This weekend it was Real Betis' turn to take the beating, by a 6-1 score. Their ninth straight victory.
Next Up: Host Liverpool in the first leg of their CL Round of 16 tie Wednesday. Then visit Barca-beaters Espanyol on Saturday.
Against Top 25: Beat Zenit St. Petersburg twice (2-1 on the road, Sept. 30 and 3-0 at home, Dec. 9), beat Atletico Madrid (2-1, Oct. 18), lost to Juventus (2-1 on the road, Oct. 22 and 2-0 at home, Nov. 5), lost at Barca (2-0, Dec. 14), beat Valencia at home (1-0, Dec. 20), beat Villareal at home (1-0, Jan. 4).

5 (6). Juventus
Juve beat Palermo, 2-0, to move up a spot.
Next Up: It's off to Stamford Bridge for the Champions League tie with Chelsea.
Against Top 25: Beat Zenit St. Petersburg at home (1-0, Sept. 17) and tied on the road (0-0, Nov. 25), tied at Fiorentina (1-1, Aug. 31), tied at BATE Borisov (2-2, Sept. 30), beat Real Madrid (2-1 at home, Oct. 22 and 2-0 at the Bernabeu, Nov. 5), lost at Inter Milan (1-0, Nov. 22), beat AC Milan at home (4-2, Dec. 14)

6 (5). Liverpool
Reds were not able to beat Man. City yesterday, settling for a 1-1 tie that does them absolutely no favors in the Premiership title race. If there is even a Premiership title race left at this point...
Next Up: Visit No. 4 Real Madrid Wednesday. Play at Middlesbrough, Saturday.
Against Top 25: Beat Manchester United (2-1, Sept. 13), beat Olympique Marseille on the road (2-1, Sept. 16), tied Atletico Madrid (1-1 at Madrid, Oct. 22 and 1-1 at Anfield, Nov. 6), won at Chelsea (1-0, Oct. 26), tied at Arsenal (1-1, Dec. 21), beat Chelsea at home (2-0, Feb. 1).

7. (7). Chelsea
Blues are back. Probably not in the Premiership title race, but as a factor in the Top 10. Guus Hiddink's men beat Aston Villa at Villa Park Saturday, their most impressive victory in, well, all season pretty much...
Next Up: Host Juve inthe first leg of the Champions League Round of 16 Wednesday. Wigin visit Stamford Bridge Saturday.
Against Top 25 clubs: Tied Man U at home (1-1, Sept. 21), lost to Liverpool (1-0, Oct. 25), lost to Arsenal at home (2-1, Nov. 30), lost at Man United (3-0, Jan. 11), lost at Liverpool (2-0, Feb. 1), won at Aston Villa (1-0, Feb. 21).

8 (8). Olympique Lyon
Won at Nancy, 2-0 (that's the actual name of a town in France, not some attempt at a backhanded slight of their masculinity). Lyon's lead in France is back to six points.
Next Up: Host No. 1 Barca, tomorrow! Be there. Also host Stade Rennes, Sunday.
Against Top 25: Tied Fiorentina at home (2-2, Sept. 17) and Bayern Munich on the road (1-1, Sept. 30), won at Fiorentina (2-1, Nov. 25), lost to Bayern at home (3-2, Dec. 10).

9 (11). Porto
Won at Pacos de Ferreira to expand their Liga Sagres lead to four points (second-placed Benfica lost the Lisbon derby to Sporting Saturday).
Next Up: The first leg of their Champs League knockout tie with Atletico Madrid tomorrow. That one will be at Madrid. Then they host Sporting Lisbon, Sunday. A tough week, that should demonstrate if they are deserving of a top 10 spot.
Against Top 25: Lost at Arsenal (4-0, Sept. 30), won at Sporting Lisbon (2-1, Oct. 5), lost at home to Dynamo Kiev (1-0, Oct. 21), won at Kiev (2-1, Nov. 5), beat Arsenal at home (2-0, Dec. 10).

10. (9) AC Milan
The rossoneri tied Werder Bremen 1-1 in the first leg of their UEFA Cup Round of 32 match-up. They lead most of the game before taking a late equalizer but should still be in a good position to advance, seeing as the return leg is at San Siro. Also beat Cagliari Saturday.
Next Up: The return leg with Werder at San Siro, Thursday and a visit to Sampdoria, Sunday.
Against Top 25: Beat Inter Milan (1-0, Sept. 28), beat Lazio (4-1, Sept. 21), lost at Juventus (4-2, Dec. 14), tied at AS Roma (2-2, Jan. 11), lost to Inter Milan (2-1, Feb. 15).

11 (17). Panathinaikos
Beat Panionios, 2-1, Saturday. With Olympiakos losing, the gap is now "only" 11 points. Panathinaikos are in this space mainly by virtue of winning their Champions League group. Do they deserve it? We'll have to wait and see.
Next Up: Visit Villareal in the Champions League and visit Olympiakos, Sunday.
Against Top 25: Lost to Inter Milan at home (2-0, Sept. 16), beat Inter Milan (1-0 away on Nov. 25)

12 (19). Sporting Lisbon
Beat crosstown rivals Benfica, 3-2, to move into a tie for second place (with Benfica), four points behind the leaders, No. 9 Porto.
Next Up: The first leg of their Champions League knockout rounder with Bayern Munich (at Lisbon) on Wednesday. Then visit the aforementioned Porto, Sunday.
Against Top 25: Lost to Barcelona (3-1 away, Sept. 19 and 5-2 home, Nov. 25).

13 (12). Aston Villa
It was a bad week for Martin O'Neill's men. First they managed just a 1-1 tie with CSKA Moscow at Villa Park in the first leg of their UEFA Cup tie, then lost 1-0 at home to No. 7 Chelsea. They still have a six point lead over fifth-placed Arsenal in the Premiership, but Villa's star may be fading...
Next Up: The return leg of the UEFA Cup Thursday. Host Stoke City Sunday.
Against Top 25: Tied Liverpool at home (0-0, Aug. 31), lost at Chelsea (2-0, Oct. 5), beat Arsenal away (2-0, Nov. 15) tied Man United at home (0-0, Nov. 22), lost to Chelsea (1-0, Feb. 21).

14 (15). AS Roma
Rebounded from an embarrassing 3-0 loss at Bergamo to beat Siena 1-0 on Saturday.
Next Up: It's off to Emirates (the stadium, not the country) tomorrow for the next stage of the Champions League. Then another huge game at Inter Milan, Sunday.
Against Top 25: Lost at home to Inter (4-0, Oct. 19), lost at Chelsea (1-0, Oct. 22), lost at Udinese (3-1, Oct. 26), lost at Juventus (2-0, Nov. 1), beat Chelsea (3-1, Nov. 4), beat Fiorentina (1-0, Nov. 29), tied AC Milan at home (2-2, Jan. 11), lost at Inter (2-1, Jan. 21) in Coppa Italia.

15 (13). Arsenal
Had no problems with Cardiff City in their F.A. Cup replay, winning 4-0. But were not able to get past a scoreless draw with Sunderland Saturday.
Next Up: Host No. 14 Roma, tomorrow and Fulham, Saturday.
Against Top 25: Tied Dynamo Kiev away (1-1, Sept. 17) won at home (1-0, Nov. 25), beat Man United at home (2-1, Nov. 8), beat Chelsea away (2-1, Nov. 30), tied Liverpool at home (1-1, Dec. 21).

16 (14). FC Sao Paulo
Managed only a 1-1 tie with Independiente Medellin in their first Copa Libertadores game last week. Had better luck in their Paulista match, winning 3-1 at Barueri Saturday. They're third in the Paulista.
Next Up: More Paulista action. Host Oeste, Friday and visit Santos Sunday.

17 (-). Hamburg SV
HSV return to the list with their highest ranking yet, thanks to two impressive road wins last week. The first was in the UEFA Cup at NEC Nijmegen, where they won 3-0 all but assuring advancement to the round of 16. The second was a 2-1 victory at Bayer Leverkusen yesterday. Martin Jol's side is now first in the German Bundesliga for the first time since Kevin Keegan played for the club (not really, but it's been awhile). Their last appearance in this space was in the Feb. 2 edition.
Next Up: The return leg with Nijmegen Thursday and Wolfsburg, also at home, Sunday.
Against Top 25: Tied at Bayern Munich (2-2, Aug. 15), beat Bayern at home (1-0, Jan. 30).

18 (10). Bayern Munich
Juergen Klinsmann's side lost again, this time at home to Cologne. Not good. They slip to fourth in the Bundesliga, but are still within four points of HSV. The way the Bundesliga's been going this season, that's nothing.
Next Up: The first leg of their Champions League tie with Sporting Lisbon takes place in Portugal, Wednesday. Also visit Werder Bremen Sunday.
Against Top 25: Tied Olympique Lyon at home (1-1, Sept. 30), won at Steaua Bucharest (1-0, Sept. 17), beat Fiorentina at home (3-0, Oct. 22), tied at Fiorentina (1-1, Nov. 6), beat Hoffenheim (2-1, Dec. 5), beat Olympique Lyon on the road (3-2, Dec. 10).

19 (-). River Plate
Los Millonarios return to the Top 25 for the first time since Jan. 28, 2008. That's more than a year. River had a forgettable Apertura season, finishing 20th (and dead last), but have turned it on in '09. After a 2-2 tie with Colon de Santa Fe in the Clausura opener, they have won three in a row, including a 1-0 decision over Paraguay's Nacional Asuncion in the Copa Libertadores.
Next Up: Visit San Lorenzo, Sunday. Their next Copa Lib game is March 6 at Peru's Deportivo San Martin.

20 (22). Sevilla
Beat Atletico Madrid 1-0 Saturday.
Next Up: A pair of games with Atletic Bilbao, the first in La Liga at Seville Saturday. The second is at Bilbao a week from Wednesday and is actually the first leg in their Copa del Rey tie. So they'll actually play Bilbao three times in three weeks. Got all that?
Against Top 25: Won at Atletico Madrid (1-0, Sept. 28), won at Real Madrid (4-3, Dec. 7), lost to Barcelona at home (3-0, Nov. 29), beat Villareal at home (1-0, Dec. 13), beat Valencia over two legs in the Copa del Rey.

21 (-). Villareal
Beat Sporting Gijon, 2-1 and return to the Top 25 for the first time since Feb. 9. Okay, so that's only a two week absence.
Next Up: Host. No. 11 Panathinaikos, Wednesday. Visit Real Betis, Sunday.
Against Top 25: Tied Man U twice (0-0 at Old Trafford, Sept. 18 and 0-0 at home Nov. 25), beat Celtic at home (1-0, Sept. 29), tied Atletico Madrid at home (4-4, Oct. 26), lost at Sevilla (1-0, Dec. 14), lost to Barcelona at home (2-1, Dec. 21), lost at Real Madrid (1-0, Jan. 4), tied Valencia on the road (3-3, Jan. 10).

22 (-). LDU Quito
The defending Copa Libertadores champs return to the Top 25 after being the first club in 2009 to beat Brazil's Palmeiras (they did so last Tuesday in the Copa Libertadores, winning 3-2). The Ecuadorian side are off to an unbeaten start in their country's Serie A Apertura, winning two and drawing two.
Next Up: Host Sociedad Deportivo Quito, Friday. Their next Libertadores match is March 5 at Brazil's Sport Recife.
Against Top 25: Beat Palmeiras (3-2, Feb. 17)

23 (-). Nacional
Uruguay's Apertura champs become the first ever club from the country to appear in the Top 25. They are unbeaten so far in 2009 and won their first two Copa Libertadores matches, against Peru's Deportivo San Martin and Paraguay's Nacional Asuncion. Okay, so maybe that's not all that impressive, but we were hard-pressed to fill out the Top 25 this week, with so many teams from last week's Top 25 losing.
Next Up: Visit Villa Espanola in Clausura action Friday.

24 (18). Palmeiras
Palmeiras lost their Copa Libertadores opener at LDU Quito, who, it should be noted, are the tournament's defending champions. Also tied Portuguesa in their Paulista game Saturday. They still lead the Paulista league but only by one point over Corinthians and two over Sao Paolo.
Next Up: A pair of Paulista games, at Sao Caetano Thursday and at home to Guarani, Saturday. Their next Libertadores game is March 3, when they host Chile's Colo Colo.

25 (-). Deportivo Toluca
The Diablos Rojos make their debut appearance on this list, replacing Chivas de Guadelajara as the CONCACAF representative (one club from CONCACAF is required according to our bylaws. Don't go looking for the bylaws online. They're top secret and only known by the Soccer Source Ranking Committee's inner circle. Maybe we'll divulge them in the interests of transparency at some point. But Toluca are unbeaten in seven Mexican Clausura games this season (four wins and one draw). Unfortunately they aren't in the Copa Libertadores.
Next Up: Visit Monterrey Sunday.
Against Top 25: Won at Chivas (2-1, Feb. 19)

Dropping Out:
Standard Liege (16), Boca Juniors (20), Hertha Berlin (21), Chivas (23) Olympiakos (24), Newell's Old Boys (25).

Conclusion/Commentary:
A very South America-heavy Top 25 this week. We just couldn't find any European teams worthy of inclusion. Standard Liege, who we (foolishly, it turns out) had as high as 16th, lost 3-0 to Sporting Braga in the first leg of their UEFA Cup tie and will in all likelihood exit said tournament next week. AZ Alkmaar are first in the Netherlands and have by all accounts been impressive there. But it is the Eredivisie, which is having a curious off year. And Alkmaar have not played in any European competition. None at all. Zilch. Zero. Zip. Okay so what about a club like Everton, who are sixth in the Premiership? They were beaten by Standard over two legs in the UEFA Cup. The same Standard we were so high on before last week. For fans of Genoa or Hoffenheim, who think their clubs warrant inclusion based on their domestic performances, we simply point to Alkmaar as another club who is better placed in their domestic league but are still not in the Top 25. Say what you want about the South American clubs, they definitely play each other regularly in intra-continental competition, while a club like Everton will be lucky to do so once a season (and before you ask, the same applies to the first-placed club in Turkey, Sivasspor). Having said that, however, we are a little nervous about putting River Plate as high as we did. But what's the worst that can happen? They end up being terrible? We'll just do what politicians do and deny we put them there!

Soccer Source Saturday Summary: Barca Falls

2009-02-21T15:38:00.004-05:00

You knew it would happen eventually. There were hints of this in last week's 2-2 draw with Real Betis. Signs, perhaps, that Barcelona were mortal after all. That an unbeaten streak stretching back to August might not last forever. Today, it ended. Barca were beaten by cross-town rival Espanyol Barcelona 2-1 on a brace by Ivan de la Pena. It was Barca's first loss in a domestic game since opening day Aug. 31. That's 22 Liga games and seven Copa del Rey matches. An impressive run. But now it's over.

Still, that it ended in such auspicious circumstances is a bit surprising. The Periquitos are struggling at the lower regions of the Liga table and remain anchored in a relegation slot despite today's victory. And the game was held at Camp Nou, Barca's fortress. But Espanyol had played Barca tough in the team's three previous meetings this season (two in the Copa del Rey). While this tends to happen in derbies, Barca also usually finds a way to win. But not today. Were Pep Guardiola's men perhaps "looking ahead" to Tuesday's Champions League tie with Olympique Lyon? Possible. But the Catalonian side may now have a fight on their hands in La Liga as well. Second-placed Real Madrid have been surging (nine straight victories) and today beat up on Real Betis by 6-1 (the same Real Betis that Barcelona fought so hard to draw a week ago). The difference between the two clubs is now seven points.

In Germany, the Juergen Klinsmann watch is back in effect after Bayern Munich dropped their second straight game. The Bavarian club today lost at home to Cologne, a team from the middle of the Bundesliga table. They did so at home, by 2-1, and drop to fourth in the standings with the loss--perhaps more if fifth-placed Bayer Leverkusen win tomorrow's game with Hamburg. Bayern are floundering at possibly the worst time. They visit Sporting Lisbon, who today defeated archrival Benfica in the Lisbon derby. A few weeks ago we thought this one was Bayern's to lose. Now? Who knows.

Sometimes we hate to be right. Not often, because we usually like to gloat and say things like "I don't want to say I told you so...ah, who am I kidding? I love saying it. Told ya so! There. That felt great." That and we frankly aren't right all that often either. But we told you earlier in the week that the tides might have turned in Aston Villa's season. And today, Martin O'Neill's side lost at home to Chelsea in a battle for third place in the Premiership. The Birmingham club still have a six point lead over Arsenal and fifth place, but those six points can go pretty quickly, especially to the club that signed that Arshavin fellow (even though they weren't able to get beyond a scoreless draw with Sunderland today). We hate being right here (well "hate" is a pretty strong word but you catch our drift) because Aston Villa is exactly what the Premiership needs right now: a "non big four" club with a smaller (by comparison at least) budget, a proud history, passionate fan base and iconic head coach (or manager as they're called over there). And owners who aren't Yanks. Oh wait, Villa's are. Forget it then. We may still see Villa in the Champions League next year. But don't count on it. And you can pretty much write off any title aspirations they might have been harboring.

Elsewhere in the Premiership, Blackburn made things interesting but ultimately lost to Man. United, who now lead the league by eight points pending tomorrow's game between Liverpool and Manchester City. Nothing new there, really. Red Devils keep finding ways to win. Their fans' biggest concern right now might be complacency ahead of Tuesday's clash with Inter Milan.

Speaking of Inter, the nerrazurri booked a late victory of their own today, beating Bologna 2-1 in a Serie A encounter. Second-place Juventus managed to match them. Inter's lead remains nine points.

In France, Olympique Lyon won their warm-up match for Tuesday's battle with Barca, which will take place at the Stade Gerland. L'OL beat Nancy 2-0 to expand their Ligue Un lead to six points thanks to second-place Paris Saint Germain dropping points at Grenoble. Yes, they play soccer in Grenoble, apparently.

Photo taken from Diarios de Football without permission.

The Wednesday Wrap: Was that the end of Villa's 15 minutes?

2009-02-18T16:48:00.001-05:00

We've said our share of nice things about Aston Villa this season. We've had every reason to--the club has performed above and beyond even the most optimistic forecasts and currently sit third in the Premiership. Think about that for a second. Third! In the Premiership! At the start of the season talk that anybody could break the Big Four was deemed sheer lunacy (though some pundits seemed to think Tottenham Hotspur could be up to the task. Talk about lunacy!). But here are Martin O'Neill's men showing up everybody but Man United and Liverpool and restoring order to The Force.

It had the makings of a great story. Alas, much like Episodes I-III (I can't stop with the Star Wars analogies now) its potential may be overshadowed by the end product. Over the weekend Villa were soundly beaten by Everton to exit the F.A. Cup and earlier today they drew CSKA Moscow 1-1 at Villa Park in the first leg of their UEFA Cup tie. Needless to say, a team that cannot defeat CSKA Moscow on their home grounds has no business being ranked with the top clubs in the world. But we'll probably keep them there this week anyway. After all, they may win the return leg and advance.

But even if they do, color us cautious on the whole Villa story. It was nice while it lasted, though.

To be fair, Villa weren't the only club to disappoint in tonight's UEFA Cup action. What were we thinking putting Olympiakos in the Top 25, for example? They lost 3-1 to St. Etienne, at home no less. This isn't 1970s era St. Etienne but a team that has spent most of the last two decades outside the top flight and is currently languishing in 18th place in France's Ligue Un. It appears Olympiakos has a habit of playing down to its opponents (remember these are the same guys who lost the Champions League qualifier to Anorthosis Famagusta). Sure, they could make up the two goal deficit in the return leg. This is St. Etienne we're talking about. But things are off to a very bad start for the Greek side.

Valencia didn't impress either, playing Dynamo Kiev to a 1-1 draw, though like Villa they might have done enough to clinch advancement in the return leg. Unlike Villa, however, the Spanish club gets to host that match in a week's time. So does AC Milan, which will be coming off an identical 1-1 result from its first leg match at Werder Bremen.

Really, the only impressive results were Paris Saint Germain's (2-0 winners over Wolfsburg, who sit sixth in Germany's Bundesliga) and Aalborg's (3-0 win over Deportivo La Coruna, who are eighth in the Spanish liga). PSG has been on the radar of the Top 25 ranking committee for some time. Is this enough to move them onto the list? You'll have to wait until Monday to find out (assuming they beat Grenoble on Saturday. If they don't you can forget about them making the Top 25). Aalborg has been a tough one to judge so far. They're sixth in the Danish league, which is only marginally better than being sixth in MLS but they managed to finish third in a tough Champions League group (alongside Man U, Villareal and Celtic).

Nobody should be surprised that Metalist Kharkov won at Sampdoria. The Genoa club are having a horrible time of it this season and sit 15th in the 20-team Serie A. Kharkov, meanwhile, beat Benfica Lisbon, Olympiakos and Galatasaray in the group stage, while also drawing Hertha Berlin 0-0. They sit second in the Ukrainian league, behind (you guessed it) Dynamo Kiev. That may be enough for inclusion in the Top 25 next week. We'll see.

Photo taken from Sky Sports without permission.

The world's top 25 soccer clubs, Feb. 16, 2009

2009-02-16T00:13:00.002-05:00

With most English Premiership clubs either idle or playing minnows in F.A. Cup ties, last week was a tough one for the Soccer Source ranking committee to come to terms with. Several top teams dropped points in key situations and the logjam at the back of the list grew deeper. Luckily, intra-continental action returns to Europe this week (after starting last week in South America with the Copa Libertadores) so some clarity should return. But first, this week's ranking:

1 (1). FC Barcelona
Barca actually did NOT win its game last week and came pretty close to losing to Real Betis. Pep Guardiola's men went down 2-0 before rallying on a brace by Samuel Eto'o. That's four goals in two games now for Eto'o. With Real winning, Barca's lead in the Liga is now "only" 10 points. But maybe, just maybe, the Catalan side are human after all. We will soon know more.
Next Up: Host cross-town rivals Espanyol, Saturday. Then it's off to Lyon for the Champions League. Atletico Madrid visits Camp Nou after that.
Against Top 25 (when they were Top 25): Beat Atletico Madrid at home (6-1, Oct. 4), beat Sporting Lisbon at home (3-1, Sept. 16), beat Sporting Lisbon away (5-2, Nov. 26), beat Sevilla away (3-0, Nov. 29), beat Valencia at home (4-0, Dec. 6), beat Real Madrid at home (2-0, Dec. 13), won at Villareal (2-1, Dec. 21), beat Atletico Madrid over two legs (5-2 aggregate) in the Copa del Rey.

2 (3). Inter Milan
Okay, so Adriano's goal was a handball. Still, you can't argue that Inter weren't the better team in yesterday's Milan derby, which the nerazurri won, 2-1. They expand their Serie A lead to nine points with the victory. Earlier in the week Inter beat up on Lecce 3-0. The Serie A race may be over, folks.
Next Up: Host Bologna Saturday, then the CL grudge match with Man United.
Against Top 25: Lost to AC Milan (1-0, Sept. 28), won at Panathinaikos (2-0, Sept. 16), tied at Fiorentina (0-0, Oct. 29), beat Udinese (1-0, Nov. 9), beat Juventus (1-0, Nov. 22), beat AS Roma in Coppa Italia (2-1, Jan. 21), beat AC Milan (2-1, Feb. 15).

3 (2). Manchester United
Man U. had no problem with Derby County, winning their F.A. Cup tie 4-1. United drop a spot here by no fault of their own; a victory over Derby is simply not as impressive as two over Lecce and AC Milan. But the two sides will have a chance to decide this battle for themselves soon...
Next Up: Host Fulham, Wednesday and Blackburn, Sunday. Then it's off to Inter Milan for the Champions League a week from tomorrow.
Against Top 25: Lost to Zenit St. Petersburg (2-1), lost at Liverpool (2-1, Sept. 13), tied Villareal at home (0-0, Sept. 17) and away (0-0, Nov. 25), tied at Chelsea (1-1, Sept. 21), beat Celtic at home (3-0, Oct. 22) and tied at Celtic Park (1-1, Nov. 6), lost at Arsenal (2-1, Nov. 8), beat Chelsea at home (3-0, Jan. 11).

4 (4). Real Madrid
Real beat up on Sporting Gijon, 4-0. Their eighth straight victory. They haven't even conceded a goal in five games. Is this team peaking at exactly the right moment? It may be...
Next Up: Host Real Betis, Saturday. Then Liverpool visit for the first leg of the CL round of 16.
Against Top 25: Beat Zenit St. Petersburg twice (2-1 on the road, Sept. 30 and 3-0 at home, Dec. 9), beat Atletico Madrid (2-1, Oct. 18), lost to Juventus (2-1 on the road, Oct. 22 and 2-0 at home, Nov. 5), lost at Barca (2-0, Dec. 14), beat Valencia at home (1-0, Dec. 20), beat Villareal at home (1-0, Jan. 4).

5 (5). Liverpool
Idle last week.
Next Up: Host Man City, Sunday.
Against Top 25: Beat Manchester United (2-1, Sept. 13), beat Olympique Marseille on the road (2-1, Sept. 16), tied Atletico Madrid (1-1 at Madrid, Oct. 22 and 1-1 at Anfield, Nov. 6), won at Chelsea (1-0, Oct. 26), tied at Arsenal (1-1, Dec. 21), beat Chelsea at home (2-0, Feb. 1).

6 (6). Juventus
Juventus hit the post and the upright something like a dozen times in their game with Sampdoria yesterday, but only managed to score once, before settling with a 1-1 draw that may have just sealed their Serie A title hopes.
Next Up: Visit Palermo Saturday, then it's off to Stamford Bridge for the Champions League tie with Chelsea.
Against Top 25: Beat Zenit St. Petersburg at home (1-0, Sept. 17) and tied on the road (0-0, Nov. 25), tied at Fiorentina (1-1, Aug. 31), tied at BATE Borisov (2-2, Sept. 30), beat Real Madrid (2-1 at home, Oct. 22 and 2-0 at the Bernabeu, Nov. 5), lost at Inter Milan (1-0, Nov. 22), beat AC Milan at home (4-2, Dec. 14)

7. (9). Chelsea
Blues beat Watford in the F.A. Cup, 3-1, in what was not quite the beginning of the Guus Hiddink era at Stamford Bridge (Luiz Felipe Scolari assistant Ray Wilkins was in charge for the game). We thought the Big Phil firing was necessary and believe Hiddink will breathe some life into the West London club. The Premiership title is probably still out of the question though, but we are bullish enough on Chelsea's chances to move them up two whole spots in the Top 25.
Next Up: Visit Aston Villa Saturday, then host Juve inthe first leg of the Champions League Round of 16 a week from Wednesday.
Against Top 25 clubs: Tied Man U at home (1-1, Sept. 21), lost to Liverpool (1-0, Oct. 25), lost to Arsenal at home (2-1, Nov. 30), lost at Man United (3-0, Jan. 11), lost at Liverpool (2-0, Feb. 1).

8 (10). Olympique Lyon
Beat Le Havre 3-1 yesterday. L'OL take advantage of slip-ups by some of the teams ahead of them to move up a few spots. Are they worthy of the honors? We should know soon...
Next Up: Visit Nancy, Saturday. Then host No. 1 Barca a week from tomorrow.
Against Top 25: Tied Fiorentina at home (2-2, Sept. 17) and Bayern Munich on the road (1-1, Sept. 30), won at Fiorentina (2-1, Nov. 25), lost to Bayern at home (3-2, Dec. 10).

9. (7) AC Milan
As previously noted, the rossoneri came up short in the Milan derby yesterday. They hang on to third place, but the title is probably out of the question now. So can David Beckham return to California now? Uh, probably not. He said he would "find it difficult" to return to LA next month. Yeah.
Next Up: Visit Werder Bremen in the UEFA Cup Wednesday. Then host Cagliari Sunday before the return leg with Werder at San Siro.
Against Top 25: Beat Inter Milan (1-0, Sept. 28), beat Lazio (4-1, Sept. 21), lost at Juventus (4-2, Dec. 14), tied at AS Roma (2-2, Jan. 11), lost to Inter Milan (2-1, Feb. 15).

10 (8). Bayern Munich
Juergen Klinsmann's side were defeated 2-1 by Hertha Berlin Saturday and drop all the way to fourth place in the Bundesliga.
Next Up: Host Cologne Saturday. The first leg of their Champions League tie with Sporting Lisbon takes place in Portugal the following Wednesday.
Against Top 25: Tied Olympique Lyon at home (1-1, Sept. 30), won at Steaua Bucharest (1-0, Sept. 17), beat Fiorentina at home (3-0, Oct. 22), tied at Fiorentina (1-1, Nov. 6), beat Hoffenheim (2-1, Dec. 5), beat Olympique Lyon on the road (3-2, Dec. 10), lost at Hertha Berlin (2-1, Feb. 14).

11 (18). Porto
The defending Portuguese champions won their league match to maintain a slim (one-point) lead atop the Liga Sagres table. They get an enormous bump here, due to all the clutter ahead of them.
Next Up: Another Sagres match Sunday, followed by the first leg of their Champs League knockout tie with Atletico Madrid a week from tomorrow.
Against Top 25: Lost at Arsenal (4-0, Sept. 30), won at Sporting Lisbon (2-1, Oct. 5), lost at home to Dynamo Kiev (1-0, Oct. 21), won at Kiev (2-1, Nov. 5), beat Arsenal at home (2-0, Dec. 10).

12 (11). Aston Villa
Martin O'Neill's side were beaten pretty soundly by Everton in an F.A. Cup tie yesterday. Their first loss in a long time. Is this a top four club? We'll have to wait and see.
Next Up: The UEFA Cup returns, with CSKA Moscow playing the first leg at Villa Park, followed by a visit from Chelsea Saturday.
Against Top 25: Tied Liverpool at home (0-0, Aug. 31), lost at Chelsea (2-0, Oct. 5), beat Arsenal away (2-0, Nov. 15) tied Man United at home (0-0, Nov. 22)

13 (13). Arsenal
Idle last week.
Next Up: Host Cardiff in the replay of their FA Cup tie later today.
Against Top 25: Tied Dynamo Kiev away (1-1, Sept. 17) won at home (1-0, Nov. 25), beat Man United at home (2-1, Nov. 8), beat Chelsea away (2-1, Nov. 30), tied Liverpool at home (1-1, Dec. 21).

14 (15). FC Sao Paulo
The Brazilian champs (third year in a row) beat Ponte Preta at midweek before drawing Corinthians 1-1. That was in the Paulista league, the regional championship for what we assume is the Sao Paulo area. FCSP are third in said league, behind Corinthians and Palmeiras.
Next Up: Host Independiente Medellin in their first Copa Libertadores game Wednesday. Also visit Barueri, whoever that is, in Paulista action.

15 (12). AS Roma
Were trounced at Atalanta di Bergamo yesterday, 3-0. This would be the worst time of the season for Roma to lose their form again. The gialorossi are now sixth in Serie A.
Next Up: Host Siena, Saturday. Then it's off to Emirates (the stadium, not the country) a week from tomorrow for the next stage of the Champions League.
Against Top 25: Lost at home to Inter (4-0, Oct. 19), lost at Chelsea (1-0, Oct. 22), lost at Udinese (3-1, Oct. 26), lost at Juventus (2-0, Nov. 1), beat Chelsea (3-1, Nov. 4), beat Fiorentina (1-0, Nov. 29), tied AC Milan at home (2-2, Jan. 11), lost at Inter (2-1, Jan. 21) in Coppa Italia.

16 (17). Standard Liege
Won their Jupiler League game Saturday, their sixth win and fourth clean sheet in a row. Have a two point lead in the standings, but second-placed Anderlecht has a game in hand.
Next Up: Sporting Braga in the UEFA Cup Wednesday, followed by the aforementioned Anderlecht, Sunday. Both games are on the road. We shall soon know what Standard are made of...
Against Top 25: Lost to Liverpool in Champions League qualifiers (1-0 in aggregate on an overtime goal in the second leg), beat Sevilla at home (2-0, Nov. 6).

17 (16). Panathinaikos
Played a scoreless tie with Iraklis Saloniki yesterday. With first-placed Olympiakos winning, Panathinaikos are now 14 points behind the leaders, albeit still in second place. It looks like only the Super League champion gets a chance at Champions League spots next year. Can anybody confirm that?
Next Up: Host Panionios, Saturday before a visit to Villareal in the Champions League.
Against Top 25: Lost to Inter Milan at home (2-0, Sept. 16), beat Inter Milan (1-0 away on Nov. 25)

18 (19). Palmeiras
Palmeiras continue their perfect start to the 2009 campaign, where they have nine wins in all nine matches played. Last week they won 3-2 at Mirasol and beat Paulista 1-0. They lead the Paulista league with 21 points from seven matches (the other two wins were in their Libertadores qualifier).
Next Up: Their Libertadores opener at LDU Quito, Wednesday. Quito, it should be noted, are the tournament's defending champions. The other teams in the group are Chile's Colo Colo and fellow Brazilian side Sport Club do Recife.

19 (21). Sporting Lisbon
Beat Belenenses 2-1 yesterday.
Next Up: Things get earnest with second-placed Benfica paying a visit Saturday and the first leg of their Champions League knockout rounder with Bayern Munich (at Lisbon) on Wednesday, Feb. 25.
Against Top 25: Lost to Barcelona (3-1 away, Sept. 19 and 5-2 home, Nov. 25).

20 (14). Boca Juniors
Argentina's Apertura champs suffered a set-back last week, losing 2-0 to Newell's Old Boys Saturday. At home, no less. Boca are probably not as good as we had given them credit for. But we'll have a better idea what they're capable of soon, because...
Next Up: Their first Copa Libertadores tie, at home to Deportivo Cuenca Wednesday. Visit Lanus in Clausura action Sunday.
Against Top 25: Beat San Lorenzo (3-1, Dec. 20), lost to Newell's Old Boys (2-0, Feb. 14).

21 (-). Hertha Berlin
Hertha make their debut appearance in the Top 25 thanks to a 2-1 victory over Bayern Munich that catapulted them into first place in the Bundesliga. Unfortunately, the European campaign was an entirely forgettable one for Lucien Favre's side: Draws with Benfica Lisbon and Metalist Kharkov and losses to Galatasaray and Olympiakos have them watching the proceedings from home the second half of the season. Granted, that's a pretty tough UEFA Cup group right there. Still, it will likely keep Hertha from advancing very far in this space, regardless of how well they defend their perch in the Bundesliga (one point separates Hertha from second-placed Hoffenheim, who were thrashed 4-1 by Leverkusen and voted off the Top 25 island as a result).
Note to our Greek readers: We are keenly aware that Hertha Berlin were beaten 4-0 by Olympiakos earlier this season. But unfortunately, leading the Bundesliga simply overshadows that at this point. Still, hang read on and there will be some consolation...
Next Up: Visit Wolfsburg, Saturday.
Against Top 25: Lost at Bayern Munich (4-1, Aug. 31), beat Hoffenheim (1-0, Nov. 1), beat Bayern Munich (2-1, Feb. 14).

22 (23). Sevilla
Beat relegation-threatened Espanyol Barcelona, 2-0. Solidly in third place in La Liga now, nine points behind Real Madrid, three ahead of fourth-placed Valencia.
Next Up: Host Atletico Madrid, Saturday.
Against Top 25: Won at Atletico Madrid (1-0, Sept. 28), won at Real Madrid (4-3, Dec. 7), lost to Barcelona at home (3-0, Nov. 29), beat Villareal at home (1-0, Dec. 13), beat Valencia over two legs in the Copa del Rey.

23 (22). Chivas de Guadelajara
After taking a last minute equalizer in the Copa Libertadores opener at Lanus, Chivas lost at Santos Laguna in Mexican Clausura action yesterday. They continue to lead their group, however. And the result at Lanus was impressive and shows they are deserving of this spot.
Next Up: Visit Lanus in the first game of the Copa Libertadores group stage (the other teams in the group are Caracas of Venezuela and Everton of Chile). Then visit Santos Laguna, Sunday.
Against Top 25: Lost to Internacional over two legs in the Copa Sudamericana quarterfinals.

24 (-). Olympiakos
We're finally biting the bullet and giving Olympiakos their due here. We had a soft spot for the Greek champions (and cup holders) last season but wrote them off after they inexplicably lost their Champions League qualifier to Anorthosis Famagusta this season. They're back now though, mainly by virtue of their 14 point lead in the Greek Super League. But their European campaign is still alive and well in the UEFA Cup, where they notched impressive victories over Hertha Berlin and Benfica Lisbon (while also losing to Galatasaray and Metalist Kharkov). So why aren't Olympiakos ahead of Hertha now? For one, the 4-0 victory in the UEFA Cup was a little misleading, coming as it did at home and on the last match day. If it had been a home-and-home series, we figure Berlin would not have taken as many late goals as they did. It actually would have been a completely different match, because Hertha would not have been forced to attack from the word go as they did. Also, Olympiakos have not beaten anybody of Bayern's caliber, the way Hertha did last week. Finally, the Bundesliga is simply a better league than the Super League, so placing first in Germany is worth more than placing first in Greece. Sorry!
Next Up: Host St. Etienne in the first stage of their UEFA Cup knockout tie. St. Etienne are struggling in France so this shouldn't be a problem for Olympiakos. Also visit AE Ergotelis Sunday.
Against Top 25: Tied at Panathinaikos (0-0, Nov. 9).

25 (-). Newell's Old Boys
The club with one of the strangest names this side of Young Boys Bern (also known as Michael Jackson's favorite team), Newell's quickly established themselves at the top of the Argentine Clausura table after an impressive 2-0 victory over Boca Juniors at the Bombonera yesterday. We can't pretend to know anything else about this team. They aren't in the Copa Libertadores, which makes it difficult for them to advance from this spot very far.
Next Up: More Clausura action, none against teams you would have ever heard of.
Against Top 25: Won at Boca Juniors (2-0, Feb. 15).

Dropping Out:
Hoffenheim (20), Villareal (24), Atletico Madrid (25)

Also receiving votes:
AZ Alkmaar, Olympique Marseille, Paris Saint Germain, San Lorenzo, Caracas FC, Everton.

Big Phil goes bye bye

2009-02-09T16:02:00.003-05:00

Chelsea FC today fired (or sacked, as they say in certain parts of the world) Luiz Felipe Scolari after just seven months on the job. This move should surprise noone. The team has been playing ~~like crap~~ below expectations for some time now and Roman Abramovich is notoriously trigger-happy when it comes to coaches (if you're keeping track, we're now at four in less than three seasons. Maybe more depending on when and if they appoint a permanent replacement). But we can't really fault Roman the Barbarian on this one. Letting Mourinho go was questionable. Failing to resign Avram Grant was stupid. But this, unfortunately, was necessary.

We know Big Phil had many complaints about the transfer budget (or lack thereof) at Stamford Bridge early on. This was apparently sparked by Manchester City outbidding Blues for Robinho's services. But let's not forget he did sign Deco and Jose Boswinga, who have, how do we say this politely? Not worked out as expected? One would think that money could have been better spent elsewhere, even if it was "only" GBP23 million.

Chelsea started the season strong and held the top spot in our Top 25 until Oct. 6. It's been downhill since. To date, Blues have simply not booked any decent victories against quality competition; they managed a 1-1 home draw with Man United back on Sept. 12, then lost to Liverpool and Arsenal at home, before being completely outclassed by Man U. at Old Trafford last month then losing, admittedly unluckily, at Anfield. Their Champions League group, while not the worst, was hardly a group of death either. The other team to advance from the group, Roma, were buried in the second half of the Serie A table when Chelsea beat them (Chelsea lost the return leg at Roma, by which point they had already wrapped up the group).

Did Scolari deserve more time to mold the club to his liking? Yes. But O.J. Simpson deserves to be in...oh wait, he is in jail now. Point is, we are entering a crucial point of the season and with Chelsea essentially eliminated from Premiership title contention (again) their greatest hopes for glory are in the Champions League. They face Juventus Turin in the knockout round, with the first leg in a fortnight's time. Oh yeah, they also play at Aston Villa next week. Martin O'Neill's side, lest we forget, are third in the Premiership with a budget a fraction of Chelsea's. A loss there and Blues face the very real possibility of missing the Champions League next season. That would be a catastrophe--least of all from a financial perspective.

If anything, one could argue the firing is overdue. The Jan. 11 loss to Man United probably would have been a better catalyst, though we can forgive Roman the Barbarian for giving Big Phil the benefit of the doubt at that time. If Steven Lampard hadn't rescued Blues with a stoppage time winner against Stoke City on Jan. 17, we imagine the axe would have fallen then. As it was, a victory over Middlesbrough followed. Then the debacle at Anfield and then the scoreless tie with Hull City. And now, with Villa and Juve looming, the move became necessary. A shame, and we hate to see anybody lose their job (though Scolari will easily find work if he hasn't already and probably doesn't need the money to begin with) but Chelsea's season is on the brink and desperate times call for desperate measures. As for a replacement, that's another story for another day, but Roman may want to wait until the Mexican national team plays in Columbus, Ohio on Wednesday night. If they lose the World Cup qualifier with the U.S., a certain Sven Goran Erickson figures to become available. Whether he's the best man for the job is of course another debatable matter. Maybe Avram Grant will come back?