What a week it's been. I've only been back a few days from my little jaunt to London, which started as a trip for a wedding (everyone congratulate Ben Franklin, one-half of our Limey crew, who now has a legal better half!) and ended up being a feverish week of work. I toasted the happy couple with former Arsenal and England national-teamer Martin Keown, paid a visit to the American trio at Fulham, caught Chelsea vs. Manchester United at Stamford Bridge, dropped in on Sports Illustrated's corporate cousins at World Soccer magazine, had a bizarre meeting with Andriy Shevchenko (watch this space on Friday for more on that) and all in all, lived and drank (mostly drank) English soccer. It's the little differences you notice when you're in a nation where footie is the No. 1 draw. You certainly won't see American TV sports networks endlessly breaking down, say, the Triple-A minor-league baseball championship. But you will in England, where even the fourth-division League Two playoffs are a big deal. That's to say nothing of the feverish hype heading into the FA Cup and Champions League finals, which will dominate the soccer landscape for the next week. So try to distract yourself, if you can, and let's try to remember those aren't the only games in town. Even if there's no way you could ever convince the esteemed Mr. Keown of that. Note: All rankings, records and statistics are through May 16.
| World Soccer Power Rankings |
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Manchester United
We took a lot of stick last time around for complimenting Alex Ferguson's sportsmanlike words for Chelsea, but ignoring his childlike shot at the English Premier League for its scheduling system. Duly noted. Sir Alex did sound a little silly. Meanwhile, Man Utd is finally the champion -- but I'd feel a lot better about keeping the Red Devils at No. 1 if we were assuming they'd already won the FA Cup final. After all, it's been nearly two weeks since they've played a game that actually mattered.
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4 |
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AC Milan
Funny: Milan has sleepwalked to a pair of draws since dispatching Man United, but no one seems to notice. That media momentum sure seems to be swinging the Rossoneri's way, doesn't it? All of a sudden, we're all lauding Milan as one of the most complete clubs in the world. Even Steven Gerrard admits he's terrified of them this time around as we get set for Istanbul Part II: Revenge in Athens. We couldn't possibly outdo the last two Champions League finals, could we?
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3 |
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Liverpool
Worldwide, European final hype is perhaps even bigger than Super Bowl hype. If I'm reminded that Liverpool is "the greatest club in European Cup history" one more time, I'll choke on my Scouse stew. But who cares? This is going to be a great rematch. My top storyline: Which Champions League version of Peter Crouch will show up? The one who abused Galatasaray with two goals on five shots -- including that awesome scissor-kick strike -- back in September? Or the useless, lead-footed striker who's only found the net twice during Liverpool's six knockout-stage matches?
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6 |
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Sevilla
Gracias, Sevilla, for flying the flag for La Liga during a somewhat down year in Spain. Sevilla shouldn't have had to work as hard as it did to secure its second straight UEFA Cup -- that's a testament to Espanyol, which has stuck around like paella in your lower intestines. Still, Sevilla's heroes came through when it needed them most: Adriano Correira kept defenses guessing with his unpredictable boot, Fredi Kanouté nailed the crucial goal and, of course, keeper Andrés Palop came up huge during the decisive penalty shootout. The league title may be just out of reach now, but Sevilla should be able to add the Copa del Rey to its haul this season. Not a bad finish.
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2 |
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Inter Milan
We'll save the dish on Inter's humiliating loss in the Coppa Italia first leg for our comments on No. 8 Roma. Instead, we're going to back Hernán Crespo's plea for Inter brass to make a play for Carlos Tévez. Crespo is right -- "Carlitos" would be perfect for Serie A. His finishing skills, speed and enigmatic nature on the pitch are the kinds of things that would give Italian defenses fits. Of course, I don't see how they'd end up being a duo up front, as Chelsea will surely call Crespo home from his loan spell at the San Siro once the season is over.
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9 |
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Club América
Assuming las Águilas can bag a goal at No. 9 Santos in their quarterfinal second leg (and actually start their first team), América might have a clear path to the Copa Libertadores finals and another chance for ultimate Latin American glory. If all goes well for the Azulcrema, odds say they'd have to finish their season with two-leg ties against the following opposition: Chivas in the Mexican Clausura semis, Toluca-killer Cúcuta Deportivo in the Libertadores semis, Pachuca (probably) in the Mexican finals and perhaps Boca Juniors in the Libertadores finals. If they pull all that off, we'll have to seriously consider them for No. 1. No, that's not a joke.
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5 |
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Chelsea
Chelsea's luck has been dropping like a rock ever since Liverpool sealed its doom in the Champions League. So we'll instead reflect on the atmosphere from its meaningless 0-0 draw against Man Utd at Stamford Bridge last week. In the English tradition of finding as many lyrics as humanly possible to sing to the tune of La Donna È Mobile, here were my favorites while I sat in the north stands: That's why you're CHAAAMP-ions (after a particularly chippy United tackle), José Mour-EEEN-ho (upon pretty much anything the gaffer did) and my particular favorite, Speak f---ing ENG-lish (directed at the Northerners in the away fans' section). At least the fans can laugh in what, in all honesty, could end up being a titanic failure of a season.
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10 |
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AS Roma
I love it. Roma was in danger of dropping off last time around, then decided it needed payback on someone -- anyone -- for the collapse at Old Trafford last month. So why not beat the snot out of Inter again? The Giallorossi's 6-2 romp in the first leg of the Coppa Italia final was, in a word, epic. I mean, they were already up 5-1 just after the half. Pipping the trophy from two-time champ Inter would be a nice bonus for Roma.
Update: It's a Roman holiday. A first Coppa in 16 years, a second-place finish in Serie A and a quarterfinal showing in the Champions League. All in all, a dynamite season.
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Santos
OK, I'll admit why I've been hesitant to throw the Fish on here -- they beat up on pansy opposition in the Libertadores group stage and nearly blew it in the Paulista final to lowly São Caetano. But Santos finally has me convinced, outlasting the Libertadores' peskiest team, Caracas, in the round of 16, then marching into the Estadio Azteca on Wednesday night and holding América to a scoreless draw. Considering how shockingly poor Brazilian clubs have represented in South America's big show, it looks like Santos may be the only hope for a Brazilian three-peat.
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Real Madrid
No, I can hardly believe my eyes either (see above comment on the slow year in Spain). Somehow, Real has climbed its way back onto the Rankings with seven wins in its past eight matches and a shock ascension to the peak of La Liga. The erstwhile Galácticos are even with defending champs Barcelona, who are gambling that the pressure will be too much for Real to handle. But really, who has more to lose here? A club that was left for dead months ago? Or the one many expected to compete for a treble? Color Barça nation an ugly shade of embarrassed.
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Honorable mentions: Boca Juniors, Olympique Lyonnais, Pachuca, FC Porto, VfB Stuttgart, Libertad
Dropped off: FC Barcelona, Pachuca
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