Chelsea is making a habit of scoring goals with irregular parts of the body -- Damien Duff netted one off his arm against Spurs. Ben Radford/Getty Images
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Just when the European season kicked off, those annoying World Cup qualifiers went and got in the way. But international week may be a boon for a handful of players whose egos sorely needed a boost before reporting back to their clubs -- especially in Italy.

A calmer, gentler Adrian Mutu put Romania on his back in a 2-0 upset of the Czech Republic. That can only be good for Juventus, who could use him sooner rather than later. Similarly, Andriy Shevchenko didn't have to do literally everything as Ukraine qualified for the Big Dance. That's got to relax him a little bit, as he seemingly had to do everything to save AC Milan from a near opening-day loss to newly promoted Ascoli on Aug. 28.

Then again, the entire Brazilian national team got a huge ego boost in crushing Chile to qualify for its 18th straight Cup. Should we just phone in the entire tournament now, nine months ahead of schedule?

But the biggest reason the qualifiers were a nice breath of fresh air? They allowed us some time to come to terms with the inevitable: Chelsea has overtaken everyone to claim the No. 1 spot in the World Soccer Power Rankings.

But first, as promised, a few of your rants and raves ...

How can the European champions be left off? I'm not claiming Liverpool is the best team in the world -- far from it -- but surely it deserves to be on this list more than Man Utd, who have done nothing of note the past two seasons and look set to continue to be second-rate. Liverpool is a club on the rise with a fantastic manager and it has shown it with a wonderful run through Champions League.
-- Verley Harrison, Charlottetown

I got this from many of you over the past couple weeks. I'm not going to argue the Reds' accomplishments aren't inspirational. Their comeback over AC Milan in the Champions League final was nothing short of legendary. But you can't seriously convince me that they're currently any better than the third-best team in the Premier League.

Yes, 'Pud has had more time to warm up than other squads, having to fight for a spot in this year's Champions League. But their wins have come against a Little Rascals gang of European patsies, and they needed a real scare from CKSA Moscow in the UEFA Super Cup before deciding to actually show up. And thus far, they've played uninspired soccer in the EPL. Prove me wrong, Rafa's gang.

I agreed with your first rankings up to the point where you placed AC Milan after El Real. Milan should at least be next to Chelsea. Holler back at Milan!
-- Delrio, Redwood City, Calif.

Isn't the correct term "Holla?" The Rossoneri should be mortified, quite frankly. Get your boys playing better and I'll think about it.

I would like an honorable mention for Enyimba of Nigeria, who are going for an unprecedented third African Champions League title. They've also won two African Super Cups in 2004 and '05 and are the most successful club in Nigeria's football history.
-- Austen Nwaochei, Nigeria via Walnut Creek, Calif.

Noted, Austen. Your side gets bonus points for having one of the best nicknames in all of professional sports: the People's Elephant. If they claim that title next month and book a spot in December's revamped FIFA Club World Championship, you've got your spot on the rankings.

Anyone got some great Web sites to recommend dedicated to African soccer? Share them and I'll post them next time.

On to the rankings ...