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| I don't know what kind of bookies SI.com's Greg Lalas consorts with, but he called it: It's Liverpool vs. AC Milan, the Sequel, for the Champions League final. Both semifinal second legs were highly entertaining matches: Liverpool-Chelsea for the tense drama and deafly loud Scouser crowd, Milan-Manchester United for the sheer surprise of seeing mighty United get fully exposed and dominated in a way it hasn't been all season. Here at Rankingsville, though, it creates a nightmare we've never had to deal with before. Neither of the two Champions League finalists are anywhere near tops in their own domestic league, nor are they alive in any other cup competitions. Therefore, sayeth the Rankings guru, neither deserves the No. 1 spot. So after running our numbers through our high-tech Stanford University particle-accelerating quantum Rankings transmogrifier, we hereby leave Man Utd on top. The Red Devils still are on the cusp of winning the English Premier League which, to me, has been the best league in the world this season (this season, folks, don't pillory me yet) and stand a good chance at hoisting the FA Cup, perhaps the world's toughest domestic cup competition. Unsatisfying like a nil-nil draw? Perhaps. But what the transmogrifier says, goes. Got a problem with it? You know what to do. • In other news, we're going to toot our own horn and point out that, of the 16 clubs that advanced to the knockout phase of the Copa Libertadores, seven were on our all-South American Rankings back in January. And if you knew Internacional and River Plate were going to self-destruct, well, congratulations -- you and Lalas clearly were given a sports almanac from the future. Note: All rankings, records and statistics are through May 2.
| World Soccer Power Rankings |
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Manchester United
Karma sucks, doesn't it? Three weeks after embarrassing No. 10 Roma 7-1, Italy got its revenge on Man Utd. Sooner or later, someone was going to expose United's most glaring shortcoming: its weakened, makeshift defense. It figures that counterattacking specialists Milan were the ones to do it. Unlike, say, José Mourinho, Alex Ferguson is willing to admit his men were simply overwhelmed by a team that played better. Kudos to the classy Scotsman.
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Inter Milan
Finally, the least suspenseful race in European soccer is over, and Internazionale has its first outright, honest-to-goodness title in 18 years. Sorta. Don't get me wrong, I'm very happy for the Nerazzurri. Of all the Italian powerhouses, they've always been my favorite to follow because of their long line of flashy, international players, their underdog status in their own city and their role as Serie A's dysfunctional-but-lovable family. (And I defy you to name one team with cooler jerseys.) But for Inter fans, this is the title that will prompt barroom arguments for years to come. Not only did their team benefit from being the only Italian power club not punished in the Calciopoli scandal, the roster was also bolstered by two players pilfered from shamed Juventus: Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Patrick Vieira. In so many ways, grazie, Bianconeri.
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Liverpool
Unreal. Yet again Liverpool started its season ignominiously. Yet again Rafa Benítez's gang turned it around with late magic for a chance at major hardware. And once again a keeper with a funny accent is the hero on the Merseyside (and has his home burgled and Porsche SUV torched as a reward). I don't mean to pour water on this (no pun intended), but let's not forget: This is all Liverpool has left to play for. I don't mean that as a knock, because clearly the Reds wanted it more. The teamwork was superior to Chelsea's, the desire was greater and the fans were exponentially louder and more passionate. On to Athens we go.
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AC Milan
I'm still speechless. Like you, I thought Milan had a pretty good shot at upsetting Man Utd. But I never expected anything like this. That was one of the most wide-open performances I've ever seen by a Rossoneri side, and I am duly impressed. What I'm finding most interesting now is that United-killer Kaká is now being pushed onto that "greatest player in the world" pedestal. Which is hogwash. This is nothing new. If Ronaldinho were having the kind of year he had last season, and his club didn't bow out of the Champions League so early, this wouldn't be a debate. That said, can you imagine what Milan might look like with both of them?
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Chelsea
What a massive turn of events. Less than two weeks ago, the footballing world was talking about a quadruple title haul for Chelsea. Now it looks as if the FA Cup final may be its only shot at a major trophy this season. Make no mistake: Roman Abramovich didn't spend close to $1 billion to win the FA Cup. He wanted his plaything to be the best club in the world, and it hasn't come close to happening. Things will unravel quickly from here. Expect Mourinho to be handed his walking papers, others likely to follow him and major changes in store at Stamford Bridge.
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Sevilla
Consider this a provisional No. 6, since as of this writing, we're waiting to see if Sevilla can dig itself out of yet another hole in the UEFA Cup. This time, it's a manageable 1-0 deficit to Osasuna in the semis with the second leg to come on Thursday at the Sánchez Pizjuán. Until the Sevillistas bow out, they're still the only Spanish team in the running for three trophies and are keeping heavy pressure on Barcelona in league play. And with Fredi Kanouté and keeper Andrés Palop returning to the lineup Thursday, Sevilla's getting serious.
Update: And they were serious, slamming Osasuna 2-0 to advance to the UEFA Cup final. Thanks Sevilla, for making me not look stupid.
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FC Barcelona
Not good. The Blaugrana are still barely at the peak of La Liga, but other than that Leo Messi Show in a 5-2 rout of Getafe last month, the two-time defending Spanish champs scored only two goals in four matches in April. Wrote Madrid daily El País: "Barça seem to be at their limit while their pursuers are at full speed." Indeed. Who would have though Real Madrid would be this hot on their tail this late in the season? And who would have thought we'd be talking seriously about Ronaldinho leaving?
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Pachuca
Alright, Tuzos, you've got our attention again. Pachuca became the first team to book its ticket to December's Club World Cup and is a favorite to defend its Mexican Clausura crown, which would be its fourth major trophy in 12 months. There aren't many teams in the Western Hemisphere more entertaining to watch -- yes, they looked mightily mortal at times against the Houston Dynamo, but the new CONCACAF champs come at you in attacking waves and don't stop pressuring you. And as far as a rock-solid defense, well, cap-wearing Colombian backstop Miguel Calero is becoming a new favorite here in Rankingsville.
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Club América
Here's a first: two Mexican clubs on the Rankings at once. A 3-0 smackdown of Chilean heavyweight Colo-Colo on Wednesday to kick of the Copa Libertadores round of 16 isn't a bad way to make a statement in Latin America's más grande tournament. And for our Salvador Cabañas watch, that's now 10 goals in nine matches for the Paraguayan international. (Where was this kind of punch during the World Cup?) Meanwhile, the Azulcrema and Pachuca look like the best bets to steal the Mexican-league title from Chivas as the Liguilla playoffs kick off.
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AS Roma
Sure, the Giallorossi kept Inter from winning the Scudetto for another week. But then they marched into Atalanta and were whitewashed 2-1, officially handing the title to the new champs. On top of that, Roma blew a nice chance for bragging rights in the Rome derby in a scoreless draw with Lazio last weekend, after which Daniele De Rossi said he might leave the club. The homegrown midfield whiz would likely get a nice paycheck from one of Serie A's power three, but we dock the 23-year-old points for spouting the worst cliché in soccer: "In football, you never know what could happen" -- also known as Lesson 1.A in Footballers Media Training for Dummies.
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Honorable mentions: Boca Juniors, Olympique Lyonnais, FC Porto, Santos, Celtic, São Paulo, VfB Stuttgart
Dropped off: São Paulo
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