Over on MLS News & Analysis someone posted the Fox Sports World Club Ratings which lists the Galaxy as the number 25 club team in the world. This is a list that includes the usual suspects, like Arsenal, Man(yuck)U, Real, Inter, etc. plus a few big clubs from other countries such as River Plate (yuck!), Galatasary, etc. But there, at #25 are our own, MLS, USA, LA Galaxy. Now this may or may not be a serious rating on FSW's part. Rumor has it that they extend "courtesy" ratings to clubs that win their domestic championship as a sort of tip of the cap. And, certainly, any kind of serious rating demands head to head competition, as in the World Cup, Champions League, Libertadores Cup, etc. But, the fact is, they chose to rate LA and that is nothing but good for us. My question is, here we are at the end of a long season and seven years into MLS. Where would you put the current Revs on the world scene? Stevie Nicol, during his first tenure as interim coach, compared them to Portvale, then of the English Second Division. In fact, I think he said that the 1999 Revs were better than Portvale, but only just. What would be the equivalent now? Wolves, Scunthorpe, Ferrocaril Este, Atletico Madrid, Sporting Braga, Birmingham City, Hearts of Oak, Aberdeen, Grampus 8? I'm not sure but I would love to hear what others think. I'll start the ball rolling by saying that with no one injured the current Revs could beat West Ham and draw with Boca; my other two clubs who are currently in serious decline but in their respective top divisons. For the sake of comparison we should agree that squad size is not a measuring stick, we are talking the top 15/18 on each team with no injuries. How would the Revs do against your favorite world club(s) right now, with the team that SN has forged? JIM DOW
Revs didnt even get a vote! I wouldn't expect them too even though the run to the Finals was great we still had a losing record. http://foxsports.lycos.com/content/view?contentId=579751
But the question isn't the rating, or lack of it, by FSW. The question is how do you rate the Revs vs. your favorite foreign side? The rating business was just the starting point. JIM DOW
I like Jim's idea, and only wish there was money enough to have the Revs go barnstorming in Europe. It would help to pass the winter hearing about their adventures as they passed through Oslo, Eindhoven, Lausanne, Vienna, Tel Aviv, Istanbul, and so on. Leaving aside the entertainment value, I suspect they would kick some butts and take some names, and leave a little respect in their wake. Please note that I didn't say we were ready for Celtic, Ajax, Arsenal, and AC Milan. Not yet.
Unfortunately? They would kick ass* in the bottom of the Brazilian First division. They would beat Flamengo in a 3 out of 5 series. The three big teams in the bottom Flamengo, Botafogo and Palmeiras are very inconsistent. The REVs were consistent in the last 6 games or so.
My guess is that the Revs would be low to mid-table in the English first division, and probably around the same place in Germany, Spain, and Italy. In the other European countries, they'd be fighting relegation in the French top flight, but doing better in the rest of the top divisions in smaller countries. They'd be champions of the minnow countries, and possibly challenging for a UEFA Cup bid in Holland, Portugal, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, Hungary, etc. They are still a cut below the "big" clubs in these countries such as Benfica, Sporting, Porto, Ajax, PSV, Feyernoord, Anderlecht, Standard Liege, etc. but they certainly wouldn't embarass themselves. Last spring I saw QPR, who just missed promotion from the English second (defacto 3rd), and they looked like the Revs from around 1998. Tom
Tom, Have you seen the Jupiler League table this year? While your Anderlecht is doing well (20 pts on 9 games), my Standard Liege is struggling at the bottom (6 pts on 9 games). I think the Revs would beat Standard if they played tomorrow. I think Brugges would be a better representation of a top qualtity Belgian side (25 pts on 9 games). - Frank
did you forget to set your clock back tom? If so, you had your 420 session early cause my clock only reads 346PM. In any event, We could not compete with any La Liga, Italy's premiere league, Bundesliga, or premiere League teams. We may be able to take some wins from some first division teams but its highly unlikely. We are still a step below even most of the Mexican Teams. I think the best way to explain to people on here what you are saying is that.... its like the Miami Hurricane, or Oklahoma Sooners beating the Likes of the Patriots, or Giants. Sure maybe they could get lucky one game and beat the likes of the Lions, but other then that.... 9 times out of 10 they are gonna lose the the lions. It kinda dissappoints me that the Gals have been ranked 25th world wide when their sallary cap is alot less then the likes of most Division two strikers playing in Europe. Whats up with that? 25th? no way.... maybe 100, but the LA Gals are no way 25th best team in the world.
Tom never said that the Revs would do well in the main Premier leagues (La Liga, Serie A, EPL, etc.). He said they'd be low-to-mid-table in the First Division for all those countries (as in "the equivalent of A-league to MLS"). And I'd personally agree with him on his statements. We could do very well in Scotland, Holland, Austria, and Belgium, among others. We'd probably be like Nottingham Forest if we were in the French Division (always jumping from relegation to advancement). But I still think we have some major work to do back here first.
Fair enough, Frank. I guess I'm showing my age, but I remember the Standard Liege of old with guys like Eric Gertes. Man, was not the kind of defender you'd want to take on 1 on 1 if you still wanted to have both your legs functioning. Makes Ivan McKinley and Cle Kooiman look like the Newton U6 girls team. But I bet the Revs could beat Racing Atlas (or are they called Jet now?) Brussels or my old neighborhood team, Saint Gilloise and even Racing White Daring Molenbeek. And Crewbasher is correct. What I meant was that the Revs would do OK in the de facto second divisions of the biggest leagues (whatever they decide to call them), and would hold their own in the top divisions of the second-tier leagues. Tom
This is from ESPN. http://espn.go.com/soccer/1999/1020/124746.html 1. Inter Milan - Italy 2. Liverpool - England 3. AC Milan - Italy 4. Arsenal - England 5. Bayern Munich - Germany 6. Valencia - Spain 7. Manchester United - England 8. Real Sociedad - Spain 9. Juventus - Italy 10. Borussia Dortmund - Germany 11. Independiente - Argentina 12. Real Madrid - Spain 13. Barcelona - Spain 14. Ajax - Netherlands 15. Celta Vigo - Spain 16. PSV Eindhoven - Netherlands 17. Deportivo La Coruna - Spain 18. America - Mexico 19. Club Brugge - Belgium 20. Auxerre - France 21. Galatasaray - Turkey 22. Morelia - Mexico 23. San Lorenzo - Argentina 24. Boca Juniors - Argentina 25. Lazio - Italy Why Galaxy isn't on this top 25?
b/c espn isn't so blatantly lame as to put l.a. in a list where they obviously don't belong just so they can pander to a hungry u.s. soccer audience that wants to believe an mls team belongs in there....and in turn pick up a few cheap viewers for the usoc match that just happened to be on their station on the night they released those numbers. btw....do they stop doing this list thru the summer? what a list that would be, eh?....6 mls teams, some jamaican & t + t squads, and new zealand sides all logjamming the top 25. oh, and the revs v a favorite other side? well, fulham came over last year i believe and stomped on t.b. and mia like 10 goals to 2 or something. i don't think the revs would fair all that much better.
I think Celtic would line up pretty well against us. Unless Rab is in net, then we still have a shot.
Gee, everybody who cares to can carp about why the FSW list is so pisspoor etc, etc. Fair enough. My question was and is how you all see the current Rev faring v. your other favorite team(s). As far as the Fulham/Fusion debacle of last summer, I remember reading an account written at the time that said the two teams were relatively evenly matched, despite the scoreline but that may just be my pathetic, rose/MLS-colored glasses last worn by the Portugese back four. Seriously, I make no claim to the Galaxy being in the top 25 (or Rev, for that matter) but I also don't think MLS is worthy of the scorn that is sometimes a bad caricature of John Ashcroft in one of his hissy fits. JIM DOW