SBI European Club Top 25

    

It is a few days late but I finally got around to doing a new SBI European Club Top 25.

Arsenal and Man U met with the No. 1 spot on the line last weekend and while the teams tied in a thrilling affair, Man U did enough in mid-week to merit a move into the No. 1 place. Arsenal's 0-0 tie against Slavia Prague drops them to No. 2.

All the teams in the previous Top 10 are back, but another team has joined them. Villarreal, coming off an impressive 4-3 win against Atletico Madrid, forced its way in.

Wondering where your team is ranked? Wonder no more. Here is the new SBI European Club Top 25:

SBI EUROPEAN CLUB TOP 25

1. (2). MANCHESTER UNITED (8-1-3). Last week: tied Arsenal, 2-2, on Saturday, beat Dynamo Kiev, 4-0. This week: vs. Blackburn on Sunday.

2. (1) ARSENAL (8-0-3 in league play). Last week: tied Manchester United, 2-2, on Saturday, tied Slavia Prague (UCL), 0-0, on Wednesday. This week: at Reading on Monday.

3. (3). BARCELONA (7-1-3). Last week: tied Valladolid, 1-1, on Nov. 1, beat Real Betis, 3-0, on Sunday, beat Rangers, 2-0, on Wednesday. This week: at Getafe on Sunday.

4. (5). INTER MILAN (7-0-4). Last week: beat Genoa, 4-1, on Oct. 31, tied Juventus, 1-1, on Sunday, beat CSKA Moscow (UCL), 4-2, on Wednesday. This week: vs. Lazio on Sunday.

5. (4) REAL MADRID (8-2-1). Last week:  beat Valencia, 5-1, on Oct. 31, lost to Sevilla, 2-0, on Saturday, tied Olympiakos (UCL), 0-0, on Tuesday. This week: vs. Mallorca on Sunday.

6. (6) ROMA (6-1-4). Last week: beat Lazio, 3-2, on Oct. 31, tied Empoli, 2-2, on Sunday, tied Sporting Lisbon (UCL), 2-2, on Wednesday. This week: vs. Cagliari on Sunday.

7. (8) CHELSEA (7-2-3). Last week: beat Wigan, 2-0 on Saturday, tied Schalke 04 (UCL), 0-0, on Tuesday. This week: vs. Everton on Sunday.

8. (7) BAYERN MUNICH (8-0-4). Last week: beat Borussia Moechengladbach, 3-1, on Wednesday, tied Eintracht Frankfurt, 0-0, on Saturday, tied Bolton (UEFA), 2-2, on Thursday. This week: at Stuttgart on Saturday.

9. (10) FIORENTINA (6-0-5). Last week: beat Napoli, 1-0, on Oct. 31, beat Lazio, 1-0, on Sunday, beat Elfsborg (UEFA), 6-1, on Thursday. This week: vs. Udinese on Sunday.

T 10. (12) VILLARREAL (8-3-0). Last week: beat Levante on Oct. 31, beat Atletico Madrid, 4-3, on Sunday, beat Mlada Boleslav (UEFA), 2-1, on Thursday. This week: vs. Sevilla on Sunday.

T 10. (9) FC PORTO (8-0-1). Last week: tied Belenenses, 1-1, on Nov. 2, beat Marseille (UCL), 2-1. This week: at Estrela Amadora on Saturday.

• 12. (13) Juventus (6-2-3)
• 13. (14) Liverpool (5-0-6)
• 14. (17) Lyon (10-2-1)
• 15. (15) Hamburg (8-2-2)
• 16. (16) Rangers (8-3-1)
• 17. (19) Atletico Madrid (6-3-2)
• 18. (20) Manchester City (8-3-1)
• 19. (24) Fenerbahce (6-1-4)
• 20. (11) PSV Eindhoven (7-1-2)
• 21. (NR) Celtic (9-2-1)
• 22. (22) Werder Bremen (7-2-3)
• 23. (21) AEK Athens (6-1-0)
• 24. (25) Olympiakos (4-0-3)
• 25. (NR) Sporing Lisbon (5-1-3)

(UCL- UEFA Champions League, UEFA- UEFA Cup)

COUNTRIES REPRESENTED- England (5), Spain (4), Italy (4), Germany (3), Greece (2), Portugal (2), Scotland (2), France (1), Holland (1), Turkey (1).

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I know Arsenal fans are going to jump on the fact that I dropped the Gunners behind Man U but for my money Man U is in better form. They tied Arsenal on the road and have thrashed everyone else. Arsenal delivered an uninspired performance against Slavia Prague. These teams are very close but I give the edge to Man U right now. If the Red Devils knock off a strong Blackburn team this weekend then their hold on No. 1 will be secure.

Barcelona is starting to hit on all cylinders and could challenge the Top Two if either of them slips. Real Madrid has had a dip in form and needs to thrash Mallorca to get things back in order.

Bayern Munich fans, I'm finding it tougher and tougher to justify all the grand talk about how great the Bavarians are. They have struggled to post consistent results against the top teams in Germany and their tie against lowly Bolton in the UEFA Cup had me considering whether or not to drop them out of the Top 10 completely. I know injuries are an issue but you are the ranking you earn and if they get healthy and start to dominate again then they will climb again.

One team I wanted to drop in the standings but couldn't was Roma. Consecutive ties against Empoli and Sporting Lisbon should have dropped them from No. 6 but Chelsea and Bayern also had unconvincing recent results so I kept Roma as is. I could have moved Chelsea ahead of Roma but decided to wait. If Chelsea beats a solid Everton side then I'll move the Blues up.

Are the Fiorentina doubters still questioning my inclusion of the Viola? They are one of only two unbeatens in Italy and recent wins against Napoli and Lazio have boosted them even further in my eyes. You need to see them play before you write them off.

I couldn't choose between FC Porto and Villarreal. Both teams deserved to be in the Top 10 in my book. I almost dropped Bayern to get them both in but decided otherwise. Villarreal's ranking will be tested by a red-hot Sevilla team this weekend. Porto, which had its perfect league record tarnished by a tie against Belenenses, has a slightly easier match-up this weekend.

PSV Eindhoven has plummeted. Consecutive losses to Heerenveen and Fenerbahce was enough for me. I nearly dropped them out completely but decided to keep them in for now.

Shaktar Donetsk and Valencia have dropped out of the Top 25 for now. Consecutive Champions League losses to AC Milan cost Donetsk while Valencia's woes got their coach fired.

Celtic is in after a quality win against Benfica in Champions League. They just missed out the last time I did rankings but are clearly deserving of a spot. Sporting Lisbon is another newcomer to the list. It's tie against Roma in Champions League and continued solid form on the domestic front earned them a place.

AEK Athens nearly dropped out after suffering its first league loss of the season but the Greek League is strong this year and AEK deserves to stay for now. AEK will be replaced by Panathanaikos if Panathanaikos wins their top of the table clash this weekend.

So who is just missing out, aside from the teams that just fell out? Blackburn, Portsmouth and Panathanaikos are knocking on the door. Sevilla's league record is still mediocre but they are rolling right now and would deserve a place with a win against Villarreal.

I will post the new rankings on Tuesday. The Bruce Arena firing forced me to push it back this week.

What do you think of the rankings? Share your thoughts on the SBI European Club Top 25 below (also let me know if you like the rankings being posted early in the week or later in the week).

Comments

[jkr]

I agree. The only changes I would make is Bayern at 6, Roma at 7, and Chealski at 8.

[jkr]

Also, I am an Arsenal supporter and agree with ManU on top. It was a tie at the Emirates. That is enough to move them up. The Gunners should only stay at the top if they would have taken the 3 points.

[Matt]

Dunno if Chelsea should be that high up - 7th or 8th sounds about right. They were dreadful against Schalke, but got out of jail with a point. The Everton game will be telling, as you say.

[Matt]

Oops, I see they are 7th. OK, never mind.

[Neil B.]

Not that Man U doesn't deserve to be #1, but I don't think you can really blame Arsenal for an "uninspired" performance in Prague when:

- the home side lost 0-7 at the Emirates and was looking to regain some pride
- it was 3 degrees celsius with rain pouring from the heavens
- arsenal was missing fabregas, hleb, toure, and rosicky (besides van persie); adebayor didn't start

meanwhile, man u destroyed a kyiv side that had very little to offer in the way of positive play. plus they were at old trafford, plus man u had rooney and tevez and ronaldo, plus it wasn't absolutely freezing. . .

so the difference in results really should have been expected. in any case, man u deserves to be #1, at least until this morning when rooney suffered an ankle injury that'll keep him out for 4 weeks.

ugh. i feel really bad for him. he can't avoid the injury bug. second coming of michael owen? england needs to find a durable striker who isn't woefully inconsistent.

(i'm looking at you, theo.)

[Brian]

As a Bayern supporter who has been giving you grief earlier this European season, I agree with their placement now. Two straight scoreless draws in the league, follwed by the gafe at teh end of the Bolton match shows that Bayern need to work on finishing their matches.

Once everyone is back on teh same page, I expect to see them return to beinging a stronger side, but right now, they are dragging along.

[David]

Great job as always Ives.

I would like to say how important it is to look at all the teams playing around the world, and your doing a good job at that. A lot of times when magazines, websites, or blogs present their rankings, it becames very booring to see the same teams taking over the top 10 the whole season. By the end we may in fact still see the same teams in those top spots. But it's a long season so we should see some teams hitting the highs and lows. That's the whole fun around european football.

I'm a bit biass because it gives me great please to see football fans in general recognize the work of portuguese teams. Both Sporting and Porto will have tough tests when the champions league gets back, with visits to both Manchester United and Liverpool. But overall they have shown great results this year.

Again Ives, thanks for a good and fair ranking. Also, thanks for listing my club Sporting Portugal and of course omitting Benfica (nothing against Adu just against his club).

Best regards

[SteveJW]

Really don't agree with Hamburg being in the top 25 especially at 15, they have played a lot of the bottom teams in the league. In the next 3 weeks they play Bremen and Schalke.

[Mr. Baker]

Man City doesn't belong on this list. Neither does Atletico.

[Ives]

You are entitled to your opinion Baker, as we all are.

[nico]

Good list.

[Tim Crawford]

Arsenal and Man U tied 2-2, not 1-1.

[Tim Crawford]

And when do the Revs get on here? lol.

[Rocco]

Keep an eye on Hamburg...if they win this weekend and Bayern lose, HSV will take over first and should move into the top 10 based on their table-topping as well as their recent run of form. Pretty good for being in dead last place in the BL just a year ago. Now, I just hope they can keep Rafael van der Vaart from skipping away to Valencia in the winter.

[Rocco]

Hey SteveJW - you should do more research before spouting off against any one particular team. Of the top 9/10 BL teams (because HSV is one of the top 10), HSV has played 6 of the other teams - their record is 3-1-2 for 11 of their 26 points. Only one loss (on the road) against the top-10 teams so far is doing pretty well.

[noel]

Ives-

take your blue tinted specs off.

How could a Rangers team-trophyless for the last 2 years-and currently 3 points behind CELTIC be 5 places ahead of The Hoops ?

Their current SPL form has them in 6th place.

Your table is ignorant of the facts.

[tito]

Milan is sucking these days, but come on... at its worst they still beat most of the teams on your list.

[papa bear]

you are being far too harsh on Bayern. The draws aren't ideal in the league, but blaming them for a draw in a competition they don't give a rat's a$$ about (it's all about Bundesliga this year) is a bit much.
Especially considering you are putting ManU over Arsenal. Ridiculous. If not for a silly own goal Arsenal kills ManU last week and, BTW they are still have a better record than ManU.

[Lawrence]

Come on Ives! You Idiot! Where is the Leeds United! They are like, totally tearing up League One!

Man, you are just ignorant to the facts!!!!

And I can say that, because I take this way more seriously than it's suppose to be, and have no life.

Wait... I'm not a Celtic fan...

P.S. Sounds like the farthest fallen NJ prodigy (Gaven) might be figuring out what it's going to take to be the great professional he can be. He and Rogers could really make it hard on his (and your) home team next season.

[Sean]

I agree wholeheartedly with Tito...adding Greek and Turkish teams based solely on record (with the season still young, and those teams unproven as yet in Europe) is a bit of a joke when AC Milan - dominant winners of the Champions League just months ago, taking Man U (current #1) to school in the semis - is excluded from the Top 25.

[noel]

Lawrence-

I'm not biting.

[anon_e_moose]

I am one of those doubters that has seen them play.

Them being in the Top 10 comes down to one's opinion of Serie A in general. It's not as good as people think it is. Start watching more GolTV and less FSC or TLN if u r in Canada.

IMO, being third in La Liga is a greater accomplishment than 2nd in Serie A. Ties against teams like Milan(bad in Serie A) Juventus and Roma are good results, but wins against Valencia(bad in CL) Atletico and Barca are better results. Fiorentina seems unable to win big games, Villarreal has.

Put them 11th, Im ok with that. But not 9th. Villarreal and Porto are the better teams this year. Lyon is getting better and Atletico might win UC.

BTW, im glad u put Sporting in the Top 25. They outplayed Roma all game and bad luck took away a win. Two deflections before the ball went in just before the 89th minute. F*******K!!!!

[Ives]

A few things.

First, Noel, Rangers smashed Celtic in their head-to-head meeting and own convincing wins against Lyon and Stuttgart and a tie against Barcelona. How are you arguing them being placed ahead of Celtic?

Secondly, ManU and Arsenal is a toss-up in my book. Yes, ManU has a loss but their form from October on is better than anybody's. Also, please spare me the "If A had happened then they win" scenarios. If Geovanni doesn't hit a ridiculous blast for Man City then Man U is still unbeaten. Who cares? Arsenal dropped points at home to Man U AND dropped points in Champions League play while Man U won, therefore I move Man U ahead of them. It's pretty simple really.

Lastly, I love AC Milan as much as the next guy but they are NOT getting it done these year. You don't get your ranking based on reputation. It isn't a "who should be good" ranking. Teams like Fenerbahce and Olympiakos have shown well against top competition. Fenerbahce is the only team to beat Inter Milan in any competition this year so why shouldn't they be ranked? Olympiakos was a fringe team I ranked because they showed well in Champions League. They'll likely fall out after this weekend anyway.

All that said, AC Milan doesn't deserve to in the Top 25 with a 3-3-5 domestic record. They will climb back in as the results start to change but for the above rankings, you can't put them up there unless you're going by reputation (And again, these rankings are based purely on the current season so there's no point in mentioning last year's Champions League title).

Again, I'm not going to pretend that my rankings are perfect. NOBODY'S are, but I need to hear some better arguments for the changes people suggested this week.

[tito]

Hey it's your list and it's a good one. But to look at a team with this cl record

2002/03- winners
2003/04- quarters
2004/05 – runners up
2005/06 – semi-finals
2006/07 – winners

and say they're not among the top 25 in the world seems to make your list more of a "who played better this weekend" than a genuine top 25 teams.

Whatever the case, I enjoy your lists and have no intentions of publishing my own ;^>

[Ives]

Tito, it's a Top 25 for the current season. Prior seasons don't mean a thing for this ranking, just as prior years don't mean anything in any rankings. The previous year helps establish you at the start but after that it's up to your current performance to keep you in the rankings. Posting just three wins out of a dozen league matches isn't good enough to keep Milan in. Will they come back once they win some games? I'm sure they will, but for right now they don't deserve to be ranked.