Lyon claims No. 1 with superb mix of talent, fireworks

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

A hearty Ben Thatcher elbow-to-the-face welcome back to the Rankings.

Let's throw out a few random thoughts and banter before we kick off the biweekly rundown:

• With apologies to Peter Crouch, this spectacular bicycle-kick strike by Houston's Brian Ching against D.C. United gets my vote for world's best goal of the month so far, and perhaps the best in MLS this season. Is this the kind of talent that earned Ching a nod from Bruce Arena on the U.S. World Cup team? Because I can't remember ever seeing this kind of creativity from the Hawaiian.

• He may be playing as good as he's ever played, but I can never resist a dig at Manchester United and England national defender Rio Ferdinand. And I can't decide which version of "Snoop" looks more canine-like: braided or bald? Your thoughts?

• And finally, my Culturally Ignorant Dumb American comment of the week: Kaká has been a stalwart of the Brazilian national roster for three years, and now new head coach Dunga seems to have tabbed the similarly scatologically nicknamed Dudu as a young star for the future. I wonder if this encourages Brazilian parents to tell their kids, "If you want to become a soccer star, learn to play like s---."

Comments, complaints, death threats, mama jokes or other assorted insults? You know where to send 'em.

Note: All rankings, records and statistics are through Oct. 4.

World Soccer Power Rankings Rank Prev. Team 1 2 Olympique Lyon For the first time in Rankings history, the No. 1 hails from a country other than England, Spain or Italy. And Les Lyonnais are plenty deserving. Not only are they far and away the best team in France, but they're playing some of the prettiest soccer of any team in the world in a distinctly Brazilian style. For that we can thank playmaker Juninho. Lyon is finally deserving of the top spot. 2 1 FC Barcelona Are we glad Javier Saviola stayed put now? With Samuel Eto'o apparently out for the rest of 2006, the cast-aside Argentine striker has found a place in the rotation and a role on a team that suddenly needs him desperately. Eidur Gudjohnsen is plenty capable of being a first-team forward, but now Saviola has become indispensable. 3 6 Valencia ¿Che pasa? Sí. Valencia has kicked off its season with seriously impressive flair, including a draw against Barcelona at Camp Nou and a solid defeat of Roma. Los Ches also take the biggest leap this week. David Villa is becoming one of the finest forwards in Europe, but what about his strike-mate Fernando Morientes? Moro is currently the leading scorer in both Spain and Champions League. 4 4 Chelsea What's worse? A home draw with Aston Villa or a road draw with promoted Reading? It's a toss-up, but Chelsea maintains its edge over Man Utd this week because it has riddled holes through two Champions League opponents so far. Our man Greg Lalas says Didier Drogba is off to a torrid start because defenses are keying on new guy Andriy Shevchenko. Possible, but Drogba is still doing what he does best (poach goals), and Sheva will soon get back to doing what he does best (drive keepers bonkers). 5 5 Manchester United Man Utd had a golden chance to avenge its Champions League ghosts and make a big statement against Benfica. It did no such thing. Louis Saha scored the goal, but United escaped with a 1-0 win in Lisbon thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo, who seemed to be the only player in white who wanted to win. The Portuguese star also tormented Newcastle last Sunday -- he didn't score but hit the goal frame three times. Anyone wondering who's ahead in the supposedly dead Ronaldo-Rooney feud right now? 6 3 Boca Juniors Rodrigo Palacio was the hero again as Boca bagged a dramatic come-from-behind win against Vélez Sarsfield last Sunday, but the air of dominance is quickly evaporating. Boca's shocker of a loss to Uruguay's Nacional in the first leg of their Copa Sudamericana matchup ended the Xeneizes' 23-match unbeaten run. And tearing down La Bombonera? That's like razing Wrigley Field and Fenway Park with the same wrecking ball! 7 7 AS Roma The loss at Valencia hurts, but it was an away game against the best team in Roma's CL group -- plenty of time to make that up. Meanwhile, the Giallorossi have taken advantage of Inter's struggles to take the top of the table in Serie A, with a handful of winnable games ahead through the end of the month. 8 -- Arsenal Highbury's finest are rolling again after a brief early-season hiccup. The Gunners have rattled off five wins in a row and haven't lost since August. The best part is that the supporting cast is starting to gain confidence after Arsenal knocked off both Man Utd and FC Porto. Meanwhile, Robin van Persie has found his form, and the team will soon welcome back young Swiss defensive stud Philippe Senderos from injury. No wonder Arsène Wenger believes the best is on its way. 9 9 São Paulo The Tricolor hit a major road bump with a 3-0 thumping at Pameiras on Sept. 24, but Wednesday the Brazilian front-runners throttled Vasco da Gama in a 5-1 goal-fest. So we'll call it a wash. São Paulo still has a tenuous grip on first heading into the fall home stretch, and caught a bit of a break as Internacional and Grêmio have cooled off. 10 10 SC Internacional Somehow, the Libertadores champs are sticking around in the Brazilian race after weathering huge hits to their roster by both injuries and European pillagers. The Colorado's win over Paraná Clube last Sunday was a huge boost to its title hopes, as is the return of captain and MVP Fernandão. As of Thursday, Inter is nine points back with a game in hand and 12 to play. Can they make a run? Honorable mentions: Celtic, FC Sevilla, Real Madrid, Grêmio, Toluca, Fenerbahçe Dropped off: Inter Milan