This past week in world club football was not the most exciting, but it was a good set-up for next weekend, which should be one of the better weekends of the season, at least everywhere outside of England. Among the leaders of the top leagues in the world, there were no changes. Manchester United maintained its lead in the Premiership, defeating West Ham United. Inter Milan’s victory extended its lead in Serie A following an AC Milan draw. The same was true of Lyon’s lead-extending victory in Ligue Un and AZ Alkmaar’s victories in the Eredivisie. Barcelona won, of course, and maintained its likely insurmountable lead in La Liga’s Primera Division. Meanwhile, TSG Hoffenheim and Porto kept their place atop their respective leads despite only scoring draws. In South America, the big news was the opening of the Argentine Clausura, where San Lorenzo and Boca Juniors picked up where they left off the Apertura, with victories.As I alluded to in the prior paragraph, the upcoming weekend appears to be very promising. None of the upcoming matches is more promising than the derby between Inter Milan and AC Milan on Sunday. Sunday’s match between Fiorentina and Genoa may be nearly as good. In Scotland, I’ve made several comments about the fact that the only matches that ever matter are those between Rangers and Celtic. Well, we have one of those on Sunday. Four of the top Bundesliga clubs face off this weekend as TSG Hoffenheim hosts Bayer Leverkusen on Friday and Hertha Berlin hosts Bayern Munich on Saturday. Finally, in the Eredevisie, leaders-by-a-mile AZ Alkmaar head to Eindhoven to take on PSV, who has been playing very well recently. You throw in some FA Cup matches (like Aston Villa/Everton) and matches from elsewhere around Europe and South America and the weekend looks promising, indeed.
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The rest of the action is highlighted below. We are also getting close to prediction season, so look for those posts for the UEFA Cup and Champions League in the upcoming weeks.
World Club Rankings – 25 Best Clubs in the World – February 9, 2009
1. Manchester United (Eng) (1) – With yet another victory, this time 1-0 over West Ham United, Manchester United remains atop the Premiership and the World Club Rankings. Next Week: In a rematch of the Carling Cup semifinals, the Red Devils will take on Derby County on Sunday in an FA Cup matchup.
2. Inter Milan (Ita) (3) – Internazionale moved back up to second place in the rankings this week after an impressive 3-0 victory over Lecce, which extended its lead in Serie A. Next Week: The match to which everybody should be looking forward to takes place on Sunday as Inter Milan attempts to avenge its early-season loss to AC Milan.
3. Barcelona (Esp) (2) – Barca dropped back down to third this week, but it was not due to any fault of its own. In two matches against much weaker Spanish competition, Barcelona was successful twice. First, against Mallorca, winning 2-0 in a Copa del Rey match. On Sunday, Barcelona defeated Sporting Gijon 3-1 to maintain its huge Primera Division lead. Next Week: On Sunday, Barcelona heads to Seville to take on Real Betis.
4. Liverpool (Eng) (4) – It took some late game heroics for Liverpool to knock off Portsmouth 3-2 to stay in second place in the Premiership. Next Week: Having been knocked out of the FA Cup, Liverpool will take the week off from competitive action.
5. TSG Hoffenheim (Ger) (5) – Hoffenheim had to come from behind to avoid defeat and score a 1-1 draw with the last place club in the Bundesliga, Borussia Monchengladbach. The draw was enough, however, to keep TSG in first place in the Bundesliga. Next Week: TSG will have a test on Friday to see if it is a true contender for the title when it hosts Bayer Leverkusen.
6. Juventus (Ita) (11) – Juventus defeated Catania 2-1 to move back into second place in Serie A. Next Week: Juventus will host Sampdoria on Sunday in one of the less important Italian matches of the day.
7. Porto (Por) (7) – With a second-half penalty kick, Porto managed a 1-1 draw with Benfica to maintain its slim lead in the Liga Sagres. This followed an embarrassing 1-4 League Cup loss to Sporting CP at midweek. Next Week: The road gets a little easier for Porto this week when it hosts Rio Ave in a Liga Sagres match.
8. Real Madrid (Esp) (9) – There are multiple levels of talent in La Liga. First, by itself, is Barcelona. Below that, by itself, is Real Madrid, who defeated Racing Santander 1-0 this weekend. Below Real Madrid is a group of others and there are other groups before that, but just as Barcelona is the best of the league, Real Madrid is undeniably the second best. Next Week: I expect Real Madrid will provide further proof of this hypothesis when it takes on Sporting Gijon on Sunday.
9. Aston Villa (Eng) – Aston Villa finally moved into the Top Ten of the World Club Rankings by moving into third place in the Premiership with a 2-0 victory over Blackburn Rovers. Earlier in the week, Aston Villa defeated Doncaster Rovers 3-1 to advance in the FA Cup. Next Week: Aston Villa heads to Merseyside to take on Everton in the next round of the FA Cup in what promises, at least on paper, to be the best match of the next round.
10. AZ Alkmaar (Ned) (10) – AZ played two Eredivisie matches this week, winning both of them, but at least it finally gave up a goal. At midweek, AZ defeated Roda JC 1-0. It followed that victory with a 3-1 defeat of Willem II over the weekend. Next Week: AZ certainly appears to be the club to beat in the Eredivisie. One of its biggest tests takes place this coming Saturday when AZ Alkmaar heads to Eindhoven to take on a hot PSV club.
11. Bayern Munich (Ger) (24) – Bayern succeeded this weekend in what the other top Bundesliga clubs failed to do – it won a match, defeating Borussia Dortmund 3-1 after spotting Dortmund and early goal. Next Week: The current second place club takes on the club that was in second place this time last week as Bayern heads to Berlin to take on Hertha BSC.
12. AC Milan (Ita) (6) – After being on a mini-roll, AC Milan stumbled this week, drawing 1-1 with Reggina to drop to third place in Serie A. Next Week: AC Milan doesn’t have to leave the San Siro for its “away” match this weekend as it will play a derby against Inter Milan in what should be the match of the weekend.
13. Chelsea (Eng) (8) – Playing at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea still managed to only pick up a single point in a scoreless draw with Hull City. Next Week: The now-fourth-place club in the Premiership will take on Watford in an FA Cup match on Saturday.
14. Sao Paulo (Bra) (12) – Sao Paulo won both of its Paulista League matches this week, defeating Bragantino 2-1 and Botafogo by the same score. This Week: As it continues to prepare for the Copa Libertadores, Sao Paulo hosts two Paulista League matches this week, Ponte Preta on Wednesday and Corinthians on Sunday.
15. Benfica (Por) (13) – After defeating Vitoria Guimaraes 2-1 in a League Cup match, Benfica fought hard to score a 1-1 draw with Liga Sagres leaders Porto. Next Week: Next up for Benfica as it continues to chase down Porto is Pacos de Ferreira on Sunday.
16. Olympiakos (Gre) (16) – The week started off poorly for Olympiakos as it was eliminated from the Greek Cup, falling 0-1 to PAOK. The weekend was better, however, as Olympiakos defeated Panthraikos 2-0 to maintain its lead in the Greek Super League. Next Week: Coming up over the weekend for Olympiakos will be a home match against Aris Saloniki.
17. Fiorentina (Ita) (NR) – With a 1-0 victory over Lazio, Fiorentina has moved into fourth place in Serie A and has returned to our rankings. Next Week: In what should be a great match, Fiorentina will take on Genoa on Sunday in Serie A action.
18. Arsenal (Eng) (20) – Arsenal moves up a few notches despite managing only a scoreless draw against Tottenham Hotspur. Next Week: The Gunners will finally play its rematch against Cardiff City at Emirates Stadium on Monday, the sixteenth.
19. Sevilla (Esp) (19) – The week started well enough for Sevilla, defeating 2-1 in a Copa del Rey match. The weekend turned sour, however, as Sevilla fell to its hometown rival, Real Betis, by a 1-2 score. Next Week: Sevilla will head to Barcelona next weekend to take on Espanyol.
20. San Lorenzo (Arg) (BU) – The Argentine Clausura began this weekend and San Lorenzo began with a 3-1 victory over Tigre, who it competed with in the Apertura playoffs. Next Week: Next up for San Lorenzo will be a match with Godoy Cruz on Sunday.
21. Twente (Ned) (NR) – A good week, four points in two matches, allows Twente to move up to second place in the Eredivisie and into the rankings. Twente defeated NAC Breda 4-1 at midweek and then drew 2-2 with De Graafschap over the weekend. Next Week: It’s probably too late to catch AZ, but Twente must fight to stay ahead of Ajax this weekend when it hosts Volendam.
22. Gremio (Bra) (23) – Gremio lost a pair of Gaucho League matches, 1-3 to Veranopolis and 1-2 to Internacional. Neither matter much as Gremio prepares for the Copa Libertadores. Next Week: Two more Gaucho League matches for Gremio this week against Juventude and Avenida.
23. Lyon (Fra) (25) – Lyon looked better than it has in several weeks in defeating Nice 3-1 to extend its lead in Ligue Un. Next Week: The next match for Lyon will take place on Sunday against Le Havre.
24. Rangers (Sco) (BU) – No current matches. Next Week: Rangers returns to the rankings just in time for its derby with Celtic, which will take place at Celtic Park on Sunday.
25. Sporting CP (Por) (21) – After an impressive 4-1 victory over Liga Sagres leaders Porto in a League Cup match, Sporting CP was upset in Lisbon by Sporting Braga by a 2-3 score. Next Week: Sporting CP will take on Os Belenenses on Sunday as it tries to keep from falling even further behind Porto and Benfica in the Liga Sagres table.
Bubbling Under (alphabelically): Bordeaux (Fra), Genoa (Ita), Hertha Berlin (Ger), Panathinaikos (Gre), Valencia (Esp).
Next Five (alphabetically): Ajax (Ned), Atletico de Madrid (Esp), Bayer Leverkusen (Ger), Celtic (Sco), PSV Eindhoven (Ned).
Matches Between Top 25 Clubs in Coming Week:
15 February – (12) AC Milan at (2) Inter Milan
