Here is the year-end edition of the Top 25. With all but the English Premiership on hiatus this week, we will not have a new ranking until 2009. Happy Holidays!
The Rossoneri tied VFL Wolfsburg, not Werder Bremen. They drew Werder Bremen for the next round btw, I think you use the "meaningless" far too much... take Lyon vs Bayern, meaningless according to you, Bayern won match and group and drew Sporting, Lyon lost, thus they only finished second and drew Barca. It's not qualify-or-not-meaning, but the match did make a difference for the draw to the next round (just like Milans draw vs Wolfsburg, though for Milan the opponent shouldn't matter too much, they should be better than anyone else in the UEFA Cup). Really meaningless was eg the last matchday in Bacas group, the results couldn't change the standing at all.
Happy New Year! We're back and better than ever. Not all leagues played over the last fortnight but enough did to allow us to put together another edition of the always-popular Top 25! Read on to see how things transpired
With Serie A returning to action all three of the "big three" have played games in 2009. How did that affect the top 25? only one way to find out: Here.
I know there is like an inauguration of some sort that people are paying attention to, but when you're ready to revisit what's truly important, check out the latest Top 25!
Bayern already signed Olic from Hamburg who will replace Podolski. Olic isn't really a superstar, but he has been good enough for Hamburg in the last 2 seasons, he should be able to do at least as much as Podolski for Bayern.
The Bundesligas winterbreak is actually 6 weeks And the reason we still have it is threefold: first we only have 18 teams and thus, 4 matchdays less than all other big leagues. 2nd over here a lot of people think that the players should be given some rest in winter. Third, different to England, noone over here actually wants to watch football over the holidays (probably has something to do with local tradition). However the winterbreak will be shortened to 4 weeks starting next year.
Congratulations to the Pittsburgh Steelers, winners of Super Bowl XLIII in "that other football"--the one played in the U.S., which curiously does not involve feet striking balls very often. But that's not why we're here. There was a lot of action in association football (soccer here in the U.S.) that affected the top 25 ranking of best soccer clubs in the world. Let's get to it.
Figure they will break into the Top 20. Where exactly depends on how the other teams in that part of the table do. Plus don't forget Chivas play a second game this week, Sunday, though obviously Wednesday's is far more important.
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.
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? Only one way to find out. By clicking on this link to get to the Top 25!
You should have considered Paris St Germain... 0:0 in Grenoble isn't exactly a masterpiece, but they are 2nd in France and 2:0 against Wolfsburg isn't bad... it's Wolfsburgs first defeat in 2009 (after 4 wins and a draw in Cup & League). Of course I'm hoping for a surprise return of Wolfsburg on Thursday, so you'll have to look for another option next week, but anyway
You'll be glad to see PSG in this week's list. Pretty highly-ranked too: http://soccer-source.blogspot.com/2009/03/worlds-top-25-soccer-clubs-march-2-2009.html#16