Turmoil in Bavaria, while heads turn in Manchester

MAILBAG Submit a comment or question for Jonah. Your name: Your e-mail address: Your home town: Enter your question:

Put down your liters of Löwenbräu, Bavaria. The biggest absence on our new Rankings is Bayern Munich, a club buried in uncertainty.

Here's a prediction for you (although I'm no Nostradamus): I wouldn't be surprised if Bayern fails to win the Bundesliga this year. The Bavarians barely held on last season, needing a late fade by their rivals to claim their seventh German title in 10 years. But the specter of Michael Ballack's imminent departure loomed all year and was clearly a distraction.

This season isn't looking much better. Goal machine Lukas Podolski is in the house, but the Owen Hargreaves saga has brought the club to a standstill, and the team itself hasn't looked good on the pitch -- particularly in a lame 2-1 win over newly promoted Bochum and a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Barcelona. Worse yet, I still don't believe anyone is willing to step forward to lead the team. Hargreaves could do it, but he doesn't want to be there -- and when I asked him last week who would step up, he didn't even mention captain Oliver Kahn. That's not good.

So the door is now open for Hamburg and Werder Bremen, the two clubs who seemingly have the best shot at dethroning the champs. This year could signal a titanic shift in power in Germany -- if these clubs are up to the task. They're both into the Champions League group phase, and have a great chance to make a statement in Europe.

We're going on the sixth year since Bayern hoisted the European Cup. Besides Bayer Leverkusen, which reached the final in 2002, Bayern has been the only German club to even make the Champions League quarterfinals in the past seven years.

That makes zero German clubs on our Rankings, which begs the question: Whither the Bundesliga? E-mail me your thoughts.

• One quick reaction to Thursday's Champions League group-phase draw: I'm thinking Silvio Berlusconi owns someone at UEFA.

Note: All rankings, records and statistics are through Aug. 23.

World Soccer Power Rankings Rank Prev. Team 1 1 FC Barcelona Dynasty architect and club president Joan Laporta is staying put after going unopposed in a court-mandated reelection, and that's a good thing for Barça. Exhibit A: The Catalan lawyer promised to deliver David Beckham upon his appointment in 2003. Instead, Becks went to Real for $41 million, so Laporta went with Plan B: a Brazilian prospect at PSG with a Jheri curl and bad teeth. 2 3 Olympique Lyon One Diarra is out and another is in. Dumping defensive midfielder Mahamadou Diarra was something OL had to do, as he had become a malcontent -- not to mention a nice $33 million payday for his former club. Adding his namesake, the up-and-coming Parisian Alou Diarra (no relation), is a move that will give Lyon a quality replacement at that position. Wonder if they'll just hand the new guy the old one's jersey? 3 2 Chelsea Who was that team at Middlesbrough on Wednesday? I counted four men standing around as Mark Viduka scored the winning goal in the 90th minute. I call them "men" because they certainly weren't defenders. Worse, I didn't see a soul within six feet of Emanuel Pogatetz, who scored a beauty on a header for Boro's equalizer. Someone gently remind José Mourinho that ditching William Gallas is a big mistake. 4 7 Internacional de Porto Alegre Congratulations to the first-time Libertadores champions. And in the tradition of any good South American champ, let the Euro purge begin. Rafael Sóbis, Bolívar, Tinga and Jorge Wagner are headed overseas, and perhaps more are on their way. This will be a very different team down the stretch in Brazil, as well as at the Club World Cup in December. 5 4 Arsenal If the Gunners want a repeat performance in Champions League this season, they can't fall asleep against lesser competition the way they did on Wednesday against Dinamo Zagreb. Then again, it's still early. And Thierry Henry won't stand for coming off the bench once the group stage begins. 6 5 Liverpool Those Reds keep you sweatin'. A Champs-qualifying win over Maccabi Haifa was probably never in doubt, but things were still interesting until the end. Meanwhile, let's talk about how Rafa Benitez has slowly made himself into a Ferguson-Wenger-like institution at Anfield. The man is a genius in team-building and, like his Valencia sides, this Liverpool squad is clearly a team of his design. 7 6 Inter Milan Fans got their first taste of the Nerazzurri's revamped front line last Monday in Lisbon against Sporting. And the result was ... not much. Hernán Crespo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic may end up working well together, but they couldn't find the net in a scoreless draw. Saturday's Super Cup against Roma will be a more telling test of the new Inter's capabilities this season. 8 -- Manchester United Jeevy H. Christmas. As if all you screaming Manyoo fans weren't enough to get my attention; well, the scoring spree your team is on certainly did. Wayne Rooney and Paul Scholes are still suspended and offseason prize Michael Carrick is nursing a bum ankle, and we're still talking eight goals in two matches. I wish Sir Alex Ferguson were around to motivate me to get my lazy bum out of bed every morning. 9 8 São Paulo The chase is done for awhile, as the Tricolor get all their starters back from Libertadores duty and lick their wounds. Still within sight is a fourth Brazilian championship, which would be the club's first in 15 years. A special shout-out to one of our favorites here at the Rankings, the incomparable Rogério Ceni, who is now the leading scoring 'keeper of all time. 10 10 Boca Juniors Same old, same old in Buenos Aires. Three weeks into the season, and the Xeneizes are back in first. Ready for an earth-shattering prediction? Ricardo La Volpe will be successful at the Bombonera. The chain-smokin' Argentine gave the Mexican national team a youthful flair, which is exactly what Boca will continue to need over the next few years as the team ages. Honorable mentions: Real Madrid, FC Porto, Werder Bremen, PSV Eindhoven, AS Roma, Valencia Dropped out: Bayern Munich

Top Photo Galleries College Football Top 25 Review Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers Yankees World Series Parade Did You See That? Tweets of the Week

Most Popular Stories V. Zambrano's mother kidnapped Sports Illustrated's College Football Playoff Bracket TCU moves into fourth place in BCS standings Kurt Busch wins at Texas; Johnson wrecks on 3rd lap Cal tailback Jahvid Best released from hospital